#even when it’s not their important role / point it’s still used and still boring

[kiwikipedia]

I’d like an event where d’Eon’s role isn’t “cross dressing maid”

[aussie-roadkill]

Hi guys I am going to ramble about the end scene of Generation Loss now

I fucking LOVE how Hetch taunts Ranboo in this,

“I still have a roll here to play” A nice hint of superiority, saying I’m important, you’re not, I still have a purpose, which of course is furthered with the “You’ll stay until you’ve outlived your use, that might be tomorrow, or a thousand years from now” Ranboo might be the hero, the main character, but he’s still just playing a role, he’s still a toy that will get tossed aside when Showfall gets bored of him

“Your choices, your decisions to let other people die for you” Calling Ranboo selfish, telling them they killed those people. That its their fault. Live or die this is the last time Ranboo would have free thought, and Hetch wants to make that as painful as possible, make him feel guilt, make him hate himself.

“They can’t get enough of you, and looking at the poll they want to play with you forever” the vote was 51/49 at this point, and Hetch implies the audience all want Ranboo to stay, to suffer in this twisted show. He wants to make ranboo panic he wants them to be afraid, to feel terror, to feel like they’re trapped, and it works, they start screaming, begging the audience too kill them, saying they can’t live with the things they’ve done. Hetch just lies to scare him, he just lies because he enjoys the pure raw emotion it gets out of his ‘actor’

“He’d rather quit than (...) keep entertaining you” Taunting both Ranboo and the audience, calling him a coward, a quitter, trying to make Ran seem like the bad guy, telling the audience they don’t care about them- how selfish, he’d rather die than make you happy, does he really deserve this mercy? Don’t you want him to stay and suffer, keep giving you content, keep being your puppet

Ran saying “I saw everything” and Hetch responds “And you’ll see so much more” at 55/45, the vote just ended, He won’t be seeing more, that’s a lie. He just wanted Ranboo to panic, he wanted them to think they were going to be trapped in here forever, he delighted in the sheer panic, the begging for anything else, even death

anyway, all hail Autism Jesus, he died for our stims

[youneedsomeprompts]

I am currently writing a story, and almost every character I’ve introduced so far uses she/her pronouns. I keep having to use their names over and over and it looks redundant and odd. I’ve used epithets a few times but I absolutely hate having to do that.

Is there any advice you have for this sort of issue, and if so, it would be great if you could share some! Thank you :)

Multiple Characters with the Same Pronouns

Having multiple characters with the same pronouns in one scene can make describing the scene a little difficult. I'm not sure if I have entirely new tips for you because you already pointed out the three most common ways to refer to a character (name, pronouns, epithets (a term used to characterise a person/thing)) and what the problems with each one can be. But I'll try my best :)

Repetition of Pronouns

First off, there is nothing wrong with using the character's pronouns a lot, as long as the reader can follow. A good thumb rule is that all fitting pronouns following the mention of a name (or an epithet) are referring to that mentioned character.

"Eleanor stormed out of the house. Her feet carried her aimlessly down the gravel path. She didn't care about the stares and she wouldn't slow down no matter what they would call after her. She had her mind made up."

This example is rather clear because there is not much back and forth between multiple characters with the same pronouns. It is very obvious that every 'she' and 'her' refers to the character named Eleanor. Now, if we have, let's say four characters in a scene that use she/her pronouns, we can still try to apply the same rule. Use an epithet or the name when the focus wanders from one character to the other. In between, when treating the same character, you can easily use their pronouns.

"Eleanor gritted her teeth. Why did she have to listen to her mother's long sermons? It wasn't fair. Everyone knew she had more important things to do. But now her mother's eyes bore even more accusingly into her. 'Do you think this is a joke, Eleanor?' Mother's voice flipped as she drew out the syllables of her daughter's name. 'Oh, leave her be, mother!' Ivy chimed in. She was always ready to defend her elder sister. She was such a sweetheart, Eleanor thought. Meredith, of course, had a different opinion. 'I don't know why Eleanor should get a different treatment than we. All she does is make trouble, and now there isn't even a consequence, or what?' She wasn't hateful, she just had a very strong sense of justice. Too strong maybe, Eleanor thought. People were different enough; a good reason to treat them individually and not by some harsh standards that Meredith so liked to set."

I don't know if this is the best example but I hope it demonstrates a way to deal with the problem. Just as using pronouns a lot, it's also alright to repeat the characters' names quite a few times. It can help the reader 're-centre' in the story and be clear about which character is actually doing what.

Epithets

As to epithets, you don't have to use them excessively if you don't like it, but I feel it can be a great way to loosen up the story a bit here and there. As you said, with quick changes of focus between the characters, there is not much possibility to use the pronouns because we have to 'reintroduce' the characters whenever the focus of action changes. We don't always want to use their name for that. So? Epithets? Maybe it helps to find the right epithets for your story. Maybe it doesn't feel cohesive to use attributes like 'the red-haired woman' or 'the grim-looking, old man'. Maybe it fits the story more to use the characters' roles like 'the teacher' or 'the butler'. I think when using the fitting epithets it can feel so coherent that you don't even notice them. E.g. Of course, character X is the driver, so we refer to them as the driver every now and then. Of course, character Y is the father of Z, so we can use epithets referring to their parental role. This, for example, can feel very natural, but what exactly feels natural is individual to every story/scene. It can be one way to look for the epithets that are most natural to the character to not interrupt the flow of the story. Or it can be another way to look for the epithets that most set the character apart from the other characters to make a clear distinction of who exactly is acting right now. You can make this choice again and again with every new sentence. And of course, there are a lot more ways to categorise and choose epithets (I could maybe make another post about that if there is interest). But I hope this may already help a little :)

Let me know if you have more questions about this topic!

[poisonous-honey]

Child of the Otherworld

Who’s Here: Reader/Player, Aether, and a bunch of others with roles so small it’s not worth saying lol

Contains: SAGAU (Not Cult AU), Child!Reader, Barely proofread I got tired and busy

Note: Hey Anon! Sorry, but I don’t write for the cult AU. I consider any mention of the reader being the creator the cult AU. I haven’t written or read about that AU in forever. I still got inspired and wrote the rest of this though! So here’s a short intro and then a few small bits at the end (╯▽╰ )

----------~~~~~~~~~~----------~~~~~~~~~~----------

They don't really care if you’re a child or not.

They're happy both living their lives in their respective roles (for the most part) and acting it out on the grand stage that is your device. It's simply the nature of their existence, whether you're young or old matters little to them. What matters is that you continue to play.

Cause if the player stops playing, do they really exist at all? What would you do if you eventually got bored of them? Will their world come to an end if you ever decided to delete their game?

Even if it didn't, they would feel terrible to not put their all into their respective roles. To some, it's fun and exhilarating. To others, it's just their job, an important aspect of their life that they take pride in. Your enjoyment is key, whether keeping it has dire consequences or not.

So when you suddenly stopped playing one day, without any kind of forewarning or hint that you might be taking a break, they panicked.

The first day was odd. You didn’t normally skip any, nor did you verbalise if you wouldn’t be able to play that day. At least to the Traveller’s and Paimon’s knowledge since they’re the only ones that can hear you. Maybe you had somewhere to be last second or your device got confiscated. They could live with that.

The second day they got antsy. They tried to keep a level head, maybe you got hooked onto a different game for a bit, or you were being forced to study or do homework. Two days still wasn’t much to go off of, you could be fine. They can wait.

Well they hoped they could, but their resolve didn’t last for very long. The third day with nothing from you they sent out notification. They weren’t even hoping for you to use it to open the game, well they were, but they mostly just wanted to to interact with it. Opening the game, silence it, swipe it away, anything. Their nerves grew when it sat untouched for the whole day on the shelf.

The fourth day they sent an email. They didn't know if it was you in charge of the email account or someone else, but it was one of the only ways they could communicate off the device. Nothing came of the email as far as they knew.

With the lack of interaction with any form of direct contact by the time of the fifth day, some started to think that something bad had happened to you. Not everyone, but enough to try and see if anyone from any of the other games on your device knew anything about your disappearance. Unfortunately, none of them did.

After getting nothing from them, they scoured for information on any other application you may have on the sixth day. All they found out was that none of them had been opened since you first stopped showing up.

The seventh day they're scrambling, trying and failing to look for information anywhere on your whereabouts. By this point it's made clear you haven't even touched your device since you left them. Most of them now are worried for your safety and the potential danger their whole world is in with your absence.

It's when Aether is taking a mental break from all of the searching and worrying that he finds you in Whispering Woods. You’re trying your hardest to collect the apples in the tree and failing pretty spectacularly. He doesn't expect every kid to be able to jump high enough or climb trees though. Or have bombs.

He doesn't know it's you at first, just a child who wandered too far off and is probably hungry. So when he comes over to help you he's not exactly expecting his worldview to get shattered.

“Hey! Do you need any help?”

You quickly turn upon hearing his voice and beam at him. He doesn’t think he's seen anyone smile, or at least give a genuine happy one, since this whole debacle started. Your smile is so precious he's happy he's found you. Though in the back of his mind it does get him to think about how you could've ended up here. Were the knights at the gate not as vigilant as he thought? Or did you sneak out some other way?

“Yes please help me! The apples are so hard to reach. I've been hungry forever!”

Aether chuckles, just a bit concerned about your statement but not thinking much of it, and easily climbs the tree to safely pick the apples for you. He wanted to make sure not to damage them so you could eat the full thing. His usual methods of jumping or hitting the tree until they all fell probably would lead to a very blemished apple.

He hops out of the tree with all three apples and hands them over to you. You struggle a bit to hold all of them, before Aether suggests using your shirt to hold them. You follow and proudly call your shirt the basket shirt. Now that he's pointed it out, your shirt doesn't seem to be of Mondstadt origins. Nor does it seem to be from anywhere really. The rest of your clothes are also out of place. Why didn't he notice before? Just where are you from-

“Thank you so much Aether!”

Hearing his name causes him to freeze. How do you know that name? He's been very particular about which name he uses when, and the code doesn't give away information to everyone freely. Not to mention anyone who has heard his real name hasn't ever brought it up again, so at this point the only people who should know are Lumine, Paimon, Dainsleif, and-

Oh

Now that he thinks about it, your voice is awfully familiar.

Oh

He doesn't know if his current train of thought would be good or bad to be proven true. He guesses it would be a bit of both, but…

Aether gives you a smile he hopes is reassuring and kneels down to be eye level with you.

“I'm glad I could help. Do you think you could do me a quick favour now?”

You tilt your head, “Like a trade?”

Aether nods, “Sure, I'd just like to ask a few questions if that's okay with you?”

You smile at him again just as bright as your last, “Okay! I can do that!”

He asks questions that no random child would know pertaining to his journey and people he's met. You answer most of them with ease. You took a bit to think for some, but every answer was in some form correct.

----------~~~~~~~~~~----------~~~~~~~~~~----------

“Who helped free Dvalin from the abyss?”

“That's easy! It was you, Diluc, Jean, and Venti! Deeval- uh, oh yeah, Stormterror is Venti’s so of course he's going to help.”

“You know who Venti really is?”

“Yeah, he's the wind god! Barb… Bar- uh… Bartobas?

“Close enough.”

----------~~~~~~~~~~----------~~~~~~~~~~----------

“What’s Dainsleif's goal?”

“To fight the Abyss, the enemies of humanity!”

“Do you remember what our first conversation was with him?”

“I think he asked us questions? I don’t really remember, sorry.”

“That’s fine. You’re doing great so far.”

----------~~~~~~~~~~----------~~~~~~~~~~----------

“Do you know who Neuvillette is?”

“Mr. Neuvillette is the hydro dragon. Hey, do you know if he can fly?”

“I think he's just good at swimming.”

“I did too, but my friends don't think so. They were like, ‘He's a dragon! He must be able to!’ But not all dragons can fly! Did Pokemon not teach them anything?”

“I'm… Sure they'll learn soon.”

----------~~~~~~~~~~----------~~~~~~~~~~----------

“Who’s currently in charge of the Abyss?”

“Lumine! I hope you can travel with her soon, it's pretty mean to leave you for the bad guys like that.”

Okay you're definitely the player. Now he's freaking out for a different reason.

Why are you here? How did you get here? How is this even possible, you're not made of code. What does you being here mean for the world? You're technically not playing the game, but you still exist with it. Does this count as you playing it or do you physically have to be playing with your device to keep the world stable. How long do they have if it doesn't count? Is this even something they have to worry about in the first place?They were never able to find a concrete answer about that. Most importantly though, how can they bring you back to your own world? Your parents must be worried sick.

“Did I do a good job?”

Hearing that snaps him out of his whirlwind of a mind. Right, you’re still here and in the middle of the woods, probably starving. Three apples aren’t going to do anything. Everything else has to be second to you right now. He needs to make sure you're able to be cared for before he can think about any of that.

Aether kneels in front of you and puts out his hand for you to take, “You did great, thank you. If it’s okay, do you think you could come back to Mondstadt with me? It’s dangerous to stay out here all alone. I’m worried for your safety.”

You happily grab a hold of his hand, “Thank you! I didn't know where I was for a long time, but then I saw the sunset fruit and when it got dark I saw lightflies and found out I was in Genshin! It's so cool, but I can't find Mond. Sleeping on the ground hasn't been fun.”

Just how long have you been alone in the forest? Aether hopes with his entire soul that it wasn't when you first disappeared, that was a week ago. How has no one found you???

He thinks he's finally going to have to tell Jean about all the slackers if they can't even spare the time to do their patrols properly.

As soon as he could, Aether rushed you over to Mondstadt and straight to Jean’s office, accidentally ignoring Paimon on the way. He thinks she went through every emotion she could as he was telling her about everything leading up to him barging in. She was currently in shock as you were running around the room chasing Paimon, who caught up and heard the tail end of the conversation.

After the initial shock, Jean starts a letter to inform the other nations that you’ve been found in the game and asks Traveller to go around to tell the rest of the vision bearers in Mondstadt. He does just that after stopping by Good Hunter for you. The news isn’t taken lightly by anyone. A few had to be convinced, but promptly stopped doubting when you said something out of pocket about them. Once Albedo was in the know he said he would dedicate his time to figuring out how you got here and how to return you, but it would be best to get the Dendro Archon’s opinion.

After leaving you with Albedo so he could run a few wellness checks and general tests to see how your physicality was holding up, he teleported to Sumeru to see if Nahida knew anything. Unfortunately she’s just as clueless as everyone else, but asks him to play scout again and gather anyone who he thought could be of use in solving your predicament.

Even with some of the smartest minds in Teyvat collaborating to work on this project, it will still take a while before tangible progress is made. So for the foreseeable future you’re stuck with them and you’re going to need someone to look after you. Almost everyone was willing, so they just assigned Aether as the main babysitter since he travelled a lot and you’d get to meet a lot of people that way. If he ever needed to do something dangerous or just time to rest he could easily ask someone to care for you for a while.

Now they just have to hope that Teyvat doesn’t implode. 

At least you weren’t kidnapped.

----------~~~~~~~~~~----------~~~~~~~~~~----------

Aether: You both need to slow down. The food’s not going anywhere.

Paimon: You’re the one who kept Paimon waiting for so long and then ignored! Paimon’s stomach will not wait another second! Paimon can handle this anyway.

You: Yeah, we’re hungry and won’t wait anymore!

Aether: Maybe for you Paimon, but they might choke.

Paimon: They’ll be fine

You: Yeah, I’ll be- [chokes]

Aether: *sigh*

----------~~~~~~~~~~----------~~~~~~~~~~----------

Paimon: Are you sure it’s a good idea to let them talk to Childe?

Aether: No, but he’s good with his family. I can’t see why he’d treat them any differently.

You: Look Ae- uh, Traveller! He taught me how to use a dagger!

Aether: I also can’t kick him out of the teapot on my own.

Paimon: Maybe you should find a way around that.

----------~~~~~~~~~~----------~~~~~~~~~~----------

Neuvillette: Lady Furina, these clothes are much too big for them.

Furina: Nonsense! Look at how adorable they are!

Paimon: They are cute, but what if they trip and fall over!

[You run around the room with ridiculously sized clothing on, trying to act like Neuvillette before you trip and face plant onto the floor]

Aether: We’re getting them new clothes.

----------~~~~~~~~~~----------~~~~~~~~~~----------

Kaveh: Alhaitham what are you doing? Shouldn’t you be planning with the rest of the club?

[You're on his lap as he reads you simplified versions of battle tactics]

Alhaitham: We’re currently at break, and the Traveller needed to get something done so this one is with me. I'm currently teaching them how to create better builds and team compositions.

Kaveh: Have they even expressed the want to do any of this, or are you taking this as your chance because you can’t stand being played suboptimally.

Alhaitham: Wouldn't you rather be used as you were intended, or do you like acting as a spinning top and providing nothing to the team's damage?

Kaveh flustered: W-Well- Ugh that's not the point! They can play however they want, put the book away!”

----------~~~~~~~~~~----------~~~~~~~~~~----------

Zhongli: Why are you here Barbatos.

Venti: I had a feeling you were going to bore them and I was right! What kid wants to be talked at for days on end.

Zhongli: The little one expressed on their own that they wanted to hear of Teyvat’s history.

Venti: Maybe if- Wait where'd they go.

[They turn and see you in the clutches of some random treasure hoarders]

Treasure Hoarder: You lot look like you got a fair amount of mora. Why don’t you hand some of it over and no one gets hurt.

Venti: If you know what’s good for you, you’d let them go now.

Zhongli: [his eyes begin to glow] If they knew what was good for them, they wouldn’t have pulled such an inane stunt in the first place.

Dead Men Walking: I- We just need some money. We know you got some so hand it over!

You: Ow, you're hurting me.

[The Treasure Hoarders proceed to get their ass beat into the ground]

----------~~~~~~~~~~----------~~~~~~~~~~----------

Amber: Aw they're so cute!

You: You’re the gliding champion right? Can I see how fast you can go!

Amber: Maybe once this meeting is over. I'll happily show you just how fast I can be!

Jean: Don't put any ideas in their head Amber.

----------~~~~~~~~~~----------~~~~~~~~~~----------

Fischl: Why, if it isn’t thy benefactor from beyond the veil.

You: [giggling] You still talk funny.

Fischl: Huh? Wh-What's that supposed to mean???

----------~~~~~~~~~~----------~~~~~~~~~~----------

You: Mona Majiks!

Mona: It's Megistus, but you are a young one so I'll leave it for now.

You: You're a super cool fortune teller right? Are you able to read my future?

Mona: You already- Uh, sure! I don't see why not. No promises it’ll work though, you are from a land beyond Teyvat’s stars.

You: That’s okay![She then got a migraine that lasted the rest of the day]

[pollymorgan]

Ex-husband Negan Part 1

Warnings: Negan is a total asshole, but hot!

When I first saw Negan, almost exactly 29 years ago, I had no idea what important role he would play in my life. I was just a naive girl, instantly infatuated with this rebellious, outspoken, handsome motorcyclist who didn't follow any rules and did his own thing. Just a few days after that first meeting, he became my first serious boyfriend.

Love is blind, they say, and that certainly applied to me. I put up with all his mistakes, lies, and escapades for three whole years until I finally had enough and ended things. The pain and disappointment overshadowed my life for a long time. But if you think you learn from your mistakes, then you don't know me. When I was in my late twenties, this guy had drawn me back in and even convinced me to marry him.

Had he changed? Not at all! Despite his constant assurances. But maybe he simply can't help it. Negan remains Negan. In the cursed seventh year, I couldn't take it anymore and filed for divorce. Not because I didn't love him anymore, in fact quite the opposite, but the disappointments were just too much to bear.

Despite everything, he had given me the most precious and wonderful gift in my - our life. Our two babies. Gracie and Lizzie. And that fact alone will probably never truly separate us.

The two of them are no longer little, though, but 11 and 17 years old. And my ex-husband is the best father i could imagine. It seems like he wants to make up for all the mistakes he made with me through them.

They love their father more than anything, and that alone makes me incredibly happy. That's why I can't hate him, even though I have pretty good reasons to.

Just now, the three of them spent the last weeks of summer vacation in a cabin in the mountains. The fact that my media-crazed girls wanted to spend their free time fishing, swimming, and hiking, all without cell phone reception, fascinated me immensely. They probably would have thought I was crazy if I had made that suggestion to them.

It was strange not having my daughters in the house, but I also enjoyed the peace a little. It had been quiet around me for a long time.

My new partner, an architect from the office where I work, and I had been arguing more and more in recent months. Last week, it even escalated to the point where he moved into a hotel. Fortunately, Gracie and Lizzie weren't home.

I wanted this relationship to work so badly, but apparently it was doomed to fail. Steve is the complete opposite of Negan - calm, down-to-earth, perhaps even a bit boring, but I thought that after everything I had been through, that's exactly what I needed.

Ironically, what I constantly accuse Negan of, that he can never maintain a long-term relationship, unfortunately seems to apply to me as well.

But today, I tried to push my worries aside because my daughters were returning from their vacation, and I was looking forward to being able to hold them in my arms again after two weeks.

I was just about to put their favorite casserole in the oven when my phone rang.

"Gracie, my darling!" I almost shouted into the receiver.

"Hello Mom, we're on our way back now!" she replied.

"When will you be here? ... Dinner won't be ready for another hour.."

"Dad, how much longer do we have to drive?" I heard her ask.

When I heard Negan's response faintly in the background, my expression hardened and I looked at the clock in shock.

"Another 5 hours???" I asked incredulously.

It was almost 6 PM and school started tomorrow. Negan had promised me that they would be back in time for dinner.

"Sweetheart, can you please give me your father on the phone..." I spoke as calmly as I could into the receiver, and Gracie immediately handed the phone over.

"Hello, my beautiful..." he said with his unmistakable, deep voice that still gave me goosebumps after all these years.

At his words, I couldn't help but smile, even though I wasn't really in the mood for it.

"Negan, damn it, you promised to be back for dinner, the kids have to go back to school early tomorrow morning.." I said seriously.

I heard an irritated grunt from him, then he replied, "I didn't know that you bourgeois have dinner promptly at 6, but now seriously... our girls wanted to see a waterfall, and you know I can't deny them any wishes. I'll bring them home safely, I promise."

"I know..." I whispered into the receiver and then emphasized louder, "...but that's not the point!"

After the call, I turned off the oven in exasperation and sat down in front of the TV with a glass of red wine, trying to distract myself with some silly soap opera to prevent my anger from escalating even further, but it wasn't really working.

"It's okay, nothing happened, they're just coming home a bit later," I tried to reassure myself, cursing Negan inwardly. He broke every promise he made to me with such ease.

The hands of the clock seemed to stand still, or at least that's how it felt to me. Time passed agonizingly slowly. I started preparing everything for Lizzie's school day tomorrow. She would be so tired in the morning, and I already felt sorry for her.

By 10 PM, I was standing by the window, staring out into the dark night, while the table was set and dinner was ready. After what felt like an eternity, the car finally pulled up with my family.

My two girls jumped out of the car beaming with joy, and that dashed any hope I had that they might have slept a little during the drive.

I immediately opened the front door, and Lizzie ran into my arms.

"Mama, I caught the biggest fish of all..." she shouted from a distance.

"That's amazing, did you have a lot of fun?" I asked her, holding her tightly in my arms, breathing in the familiar scent of her hair.

"It was the coolest vacation ever!!!" she said convincingly and then rushed into the house. My eldest approached me more slowly, but she too had a big grin on her face. Gracie had inherited her father's smile and knew exactly how to get away with everything with me. She had to use it quite often, considering she also inherited Negan's temper. I pulled her into my arms as well and was once again taken aback by how grown she had become. There wasn't much left of my little girl; she already seemed so mature.

"It was really cool, Mom," she said coolly.

Then my gaze fell on Negan. Damn, after all these years, just seeing him made my heart beat faster. With my arms crossed, I tried to glare at him as menacingly as possible, but he just smiled and planted a way too long kiss on my cheek.

The smell of his aftershave and the feeling of his lips on my skin took my breath away for a few seconds. I quickly composed myself and swallowed hard.

As he tried to enter the house as if it were the most natural thing in the world, I stood provocatively in his way.

"Thanks, Negan! Have a good night, get home safely..." I said.

Lizzie came running back immediately. You could hear her running on the parquet floor from a distance.

"Can't Dad eat with us?" she asked, completely excited.

"It's already late, my dear..." I replied firmly, ruffling her hair, but not breaking eye contact with Negan.

"Is Stevieboy projecting his jealousy again, or why can't I even take a damn step into my family's house?" he asked, slightly amused.

Shocked, I looked at him. I was used to his remarks, but claiming something like that in front of our youngest daughter shocked even me.

"My husband isn't here... he's on a business trip!" I lied.

"Husband? If anything, he's more like your friend, or rather your companion for this phase of life..." Negan corrected me provocatively, underlining his statement with another grin.

Gracie returned to the door as well. "Dad drove forever, can't we eat together at least? We can show you some really cool pictures. Dad bought us a really awesome DSLR camera..."

I bit my tongue to stop myself from commenting on his unnecessary expenses. How many times had we argued about his inability to handle money in the past? But unlike him, I didn't want to say such things in front of our children. So, I reluctantly stepped aside and gestured for him to come into the house.

During dinner, everyone was talking at once, sharing the wildest stories from their trip. Both my daughters definitely inherited their tendency to exaggerate their stories from their father. But just like him, they always made me laugh with their tales. So, I even shed a few tears of joy as they recounted every detail to me. I felt Negan watching me the whole time, when he wasn't putting on his black-rimmed glasses to find the right picture to match the current anecdote on his camera.

Mid-conversation, Gracie suddenly jumped up as her phone vibrated, "It's David finally...." She ran out of the room with a big smile on her face.

"We won't be seeing her tonight..." I stated, wiping a few tears from the corner of my eye that I had shed while laughing.

"Oh, David... that guy doesn't sit well with me at all..." Negan observed seriously, looking at me somewhat perplexed.

"May I remind you that our daughter hasn't been a little girl for a long time... she's 17!" I chuckled at the fact that it seemed to genuinely bother him.

"David is her boyfriend..." Lizzie chimed into the conversation.

"Sweets, promise me that at least you won't bring a boyfriend home, okay?" Negan addressed our youngest.

"That's nonsense, your mom was 16 when she met your dad... even a year younger than your sister now..." I explained to her.

"That's exactly why this whole thing worries me so much..." Negan cut me off, and as I looked at him, I couldn't help but think back to the night I lost my innocence to this guy. Everything was so perfect back then. I know not many women can say that about their first time. But even though we were both so young, Negan was so tender and considerate with me, yet so confident that he dispelled all my insecurities. And that night was just the beginning of many more, even better... Lost in thought, I bit my lip until Lizzie's words snapped me out of my reverie.

"Can Daddy tuck me in, pleeease...?" she asked.

Smiling, I kissed her forehead. "Yes, of course..."

After everyone had gone upstairs, I started clearing the table, taking my time. I slowly washed the large casserole dish and then loaded the rest into the dishwasher.

"Is anyone checking out this perfect ass?!"

Negan's voice made me jump. I hadn't heard him approach, and as I turned to face him, he was pouring two glasses of red wine as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

I had to process the shock for a moment, then I made a dismissive gesture with my hands as he approached me.

"You should leave, it's late... way too late..." I said as convincingly as I could.

The tall man stopped right in front of me and wordlessly handed me one of the glasses. I knew the sparkle in his hazel eyes all too well, and it made my knees weak.

For a while, he just looked into my eyes, then he gently caressed my bare upper arm with his fingertips. Goosebumps formed where he touched me tenderly.

"You were thinking about our first time earlier, weren't you? I could see it in your beautiful eyes..." he whispered softly, while his gaze roamed unabashedly over my body.

I swallowed hard and then looked at him feigning surprise. "No, I don't know what you're talking about..." Why could he still read me like an open book after all this time?

Instead of protesting, he smiled knowingly.

I needed to get away! Away from this situation that always led to the same thing. Determined, I took a big sip of wine and went straight to the small table in the other corner of the kitchen. I needed to create as much space between us as possible to be able to think a bit clearer.

I had left my cigarettes there earlier when I smoked one on the terrace while waiting. Now I took one out of the pack and lit it, leaning against one of the stools.

Steve had strictly forbidden smoking in the house, he didn't like it at all when I did, so I usually smoked secretly behind the shed in the garden. But right now, I didn't care. Steve wasn't here, only Negan, trying to ensnare me in his web once again, as he had done hundreds of times before.

"What's all this about, Negan? Do you need that reassurance to be able to get me into bed?" I asked directly.

Surprised, he looked at me, "Who's talking about me trying to get you into bed? You have quite the wild imagination, that's what I've always loved about you. ... That you were thinking about back then earlier was just an observation, my dear..."

Once again, he came directly towards me. I felt like prey caught in a trap. When he stood in front of me, I automatically spread my legs slightly so he could squeeze between them. I looked up at him, and without breaking eye contact, he took the cigarette from my hand, took a deep drag, and then tossed the rest into the last gulp of his red wine, causing a brief sizzling sound. Only a moment later did he exhale the smoke.

"Damn, you just keep getting more beautiful," he whispered, taking my chin between his fingers.

As often before, I just let it happen. Then he gently stroked my lips with his thumbs, and I tasted his slightly rough skin. It sent little jolts directly to my core, making me nervously shift back and forth on my stool.

"Do you often think about how it feels when I touch you, my sweet? What it's like when my lips explore this perfect body..." he asked in a deep voice, and I could only nod slightly. But then I tried to gather myself again. Gently, but firmly, I pushed his hand away from me and then said, "But it won't happen again, Negan. I can't make the same mistake over and over again..."

[furiousgoldfish]

Being raised in an abused family will often leave you with the abusive system of social hierarchy in your subconscious mind, and you might not even realize you're following its rules in the life after abuse.

The system is created to rationalize and enable abuse, to the point that it's difficult for anything but abuse to go on within the system. It puts all of the people in your life in 2 possible roles: First role are the people with authority over you, who can use you, hurt you, and you have to tolerate it, you have to see it as them 'just taking their frustrations out on you' and 'not knowing any better', and not take it personally. You can't act against them because they always have some hold over you, or just scare you too much to retaliate. The second role are people who have less power than you, or depend on you in some way, and they're the ones who are acceptable for you to demand things from, take your frustrations out on, expect things from them, criticize them or complain how they're not doing enough for you. For some people, who have are used to being at the very bottom of the hierarchy, don't have anyone with less power than them, and will therefore expect always to be the one others are hurting, with nobody to take it out on but themselves.

The reason we learn this is because it happens in the abusive homes, and often other parts of society, to the point where we think it's normal. Parent getting yelled at by the boss, then yelling at home at their spouse, then spouse yelling at the children, and children yelling at each other. In each of these stages, one person is getting their need to feel 'superior to someone' met by dehumanizing and using someone they can do it to, without suffering any consequences. And we accepted this is just how life is, how is one supposed to live without having someone to vent their frustration on? And the solution they propose is 'don't take it personally, this person still loves you they're just having a bad day'. But it's not just one bad day. And there is no love, only dehumanizing you in order to feel superior.

In abusive systems like this, attention, love, caretaking or fulfilling someone's needs is scarce, and will only ever come from those lower on the abusive hierarchy. This means that the less abusive spouse, and the children, will end up giving love and care to the worst abuser, they'll have to fulfill this person's needs and wants, when it should be reverse. Families exists so children could be taken care of. The competition for attention and care can be so fierce that anyone getting attention can make other members of the family angry or jealous, because there's so little of it to go around, and the people giving attention will be taken for granted and used as resources. Dehumanized, only there to fulfill a need.

This is not how normal, healthy communities work. In a normal, healthy setting, everyone is getting their needs met, and we don't fight to feel 'superior to others', we understand that we're all equal, nobody better or more important than another, and each of us special to someone. There's value in humans that isn't shown when all you can do is try to avoid being the target of someone's anger, or trying to prove that you're a good enough resource and you don't deserve to be punished for not doing enough. No human should ever be somebody's target for letting out frustrations. Nobody deserves that.

How to tell if you're still unconsciously living by this system? See if you check any of these points:

people who willingly give you care, attention, love, and fulfill your needs, are people who you give no attention, they're boring and you know you can take them for granted

people you seek attention from are people who are in higher authority than you, popular or special in some way, and who repeatedly ignore/neglect you or are emotionally unavailable and unwilling to care for you

you don't feel guilty or ashamed for yelling or berating someone in your life who annoys you or is in your way, even if they didn't do it on purpose. you feel it's completely their fault for not thinking of you first.

you feel immensely stressed if you accidentally annoy or slight someone who you want attention from, you obsess over how will they see you now and how you must have ruined your chances to be loved or admired by them

you long for more success and better social standing, not only for the money but to feel like you're on top and allowed to tell other people off and never have any consequences for it

you look down on people who are doing worse than you, you feel inclined to tell them it's their fault because if they had tried harder, like you did, they would have made it

you don't feel guilty or ashamed of manipulating people to get what you want, especially if they present no threat to you and there's no consequences for it. You feel inside that they deserve it

you refuse to admit or acknowledge if you're being manipulated or used, because it would feel too humiliating and unbearable to withstand it, you instead pretend it didn't happen

you don't think it's a big deal to cut off anyone who isn't of any use of you, and you don't consider their feelings on the matter

being cut off by someone whose attention you want puts you in a lot of pain and humiliation and you feel like you need to keep it secret or pretend it didn't happen, it damages your sense of self to be aware of it, and you feel it's your fault it happened

you're ready to defend and make excuses for people who are above you in social standing, if they hurt you or anyone else, you feel connected to them and want to reach their status, and for this status to be protected from criticism

you feel that people who are 'below' you in society are at fault both for being hurt, and for hurting anyone else, their motives must always be malicious and you don't think any measure of sanction is too much for them

you find it very normal to vent your frustrations at people who, in your mind, should tolerate this and understand it's just a way of life

If you were at the bottom of the hierarchy in your upbringing, it's likely you don't align with most of these, because you had nobody "under" you to take for granted, or use in any way, and instead you became the resource and the world became the unreachable, scary, and filled with pain for you. If, instead, you were in the middle of it, and were constantly relying on someone to take your frustrations, fulfill your needs, while you're also doing that for somebody else, you could potentially get caught in the loophole and continue living this way, as if its the normal way of life, without realizing it.

This is not a normal way to live. In the system, there is no love, no true connection, no humanity and no respect for any human being. There's only chase for power while stepping all over people who care for you. It's not humane, not sustainable, and the system inevitably crashes once those who provide care and love, withdraw because they realize they've been abused, exploited and got only hatred in return. System relies on abuse and fake feeling of superiority in order to run, and the result is only the abuse of human beings. Nobody is still superior to anyone, but everyone in the system gets a share of being abused, exploited, manipulated and dehumanized.

[the-orion-scribe]

A critique of Northwest Mansion Mystery – how Pacifica nearly upended the show’s narrative

Note: This essay has been in the works some months before the Book of Bill release. But my opinion hasn't changed much, and highlights concerns from other GF fans.

This might be a little controversial. Don’t get me wrong, for first of all, I’m a dipcifica shipper and I like the episode very much. But every time when people ask around in the fandom (particularly on Reddit) what’s the best episode, Northwest Mansion Mystery would certainly be among the top choices. Reasons would, of course, include the darker tone and visuals, the mystery, the backstory, lore and, above all, the hints of a romance that kicked off the fandom’s most popular ship. It certainly scored very well in terms of the mystery and dark elements that are key to its popularity.

NMM certainly also fleshed out Pacifica a lot more, giving depth to what was initially a rather one-dimensional antagonist. In this episode, we are offered a glimpse of her family’s dark history and her struggle against their expectations. All of that humanized Pacifica, turning her from the stereotypical “mean girl” into a more sympathetic figure. This transformation was one of the episode’s strongest points.

But, unfortunately, as a Gravity Falls episode, it isn’t really the greatest. Truthfully I think the episode also had set false expectations of what was to come, and is rather reflective of the pro-dipcifica reddit side of the fandom and what they wanted more of the show, despite it going against some of Hirsch’s expectations and intentions.

Let me explain.

In my opinion, sometimes the fandom tends to forget what is actually core to the show. Yes, the mystery element is certainly one thing. But there’s another which doesn’t get talked about as often – the sibling bond in the show. What’s sorely lacking in this episode, and what many really overlooked, is the lack of any sibling moments between Dipper and Mabel. Ok, we still have the beginning when Mabel nudged and urged Dipper to negotiate with Pacifica three invites for the party, but after that, the twins went their separate ways.

I understand of course that Pacifica specifically requested for Dipper’s help, and Mabel might not be as attuned to the supernatural. But of all possible things the writers could have done with Mabel and co, they sidelined her to another romance subplot. Really? They could have perhaps made better use of her and her friends at the gala (some fans I've spoken to even suggested she could have joined with Wendy to uncover the ghost backstory). I can get the girls wanting to have fun, but I think it's a bit boring to fall back to some crush rivalry subplot. Especially after what happened in Sock Opera and her trying to move on from failed crushes in Society of the Blind Eye.

It’s actually a chronic issue not rather unique to this episode, I would add. In much of the first half of S2, while Dipper takes the lead in solving the mystery of the mysterious Author, Mabel takes more of the backseat and becomes goofier. This is quite a change from S1, when in episodes like Headhunters and Irrational Treasure, both twins worked together as the Mystery Twins and Mabel still considerably contributed in both cases. Into the Bunker is what I identify as the turning point where Mabel’s character and role regressed to being that goofy sister that messes things up (mostly by accident – I must add) instead of being the supplementary role to Dipper’s mystery-hunting. And that quite led to much of the fandom overlooking what actually was core to the entire series, and also fuelling a bit of the Mabel hate in the fandom. By pushing Pacifica into the spotlight and hinting at a potential romance with Dipper, the episode diverted the fandom's attention from this central theme.

The show quite elevated Pacifica’s character and her importance, to the extent that some in the fandom believed she would play more of a part in the show afterwards. This is rather implied from a few moringmark comics showing her moving in with the Pines. Understandably, this builds from the Bill tapestry at the end of that episode. However, she was never planned to be important to begin with, and she ended up playing very little part in the WMG episodes. It was largely only due to her popularity in S1 that she was given a character arc over two additional episodes. As Hirsch has discussed in past commentaries, he never even planned to develop her in the first place, since she was mainly a foil to Mabel, like how Gideon was to Dipper, but did so for the fan service.

Sometimes I feel like he cares about what fandom thinks too much. But as we've seen in other interviews, he thinks of himself as a fellow fan in the service of the fandom and not just the fandom god. Nevertheless, It’s great that Hirsch never detracted away from his vision of the show. After this episode, he returned the narrative to its original focus on the core mystery and the sibling bond between Dipper and Mabel, while drawing some parallels with the Stans twins.

This certainly left some fans feeling disappointed, as the character development and relationships they got invested in were not given the resolution or continuation they had hoped for. In many ways, this episode highlighted a conflict between fan service and narrative integrity. I would agree it’s certainly a missed opportunity to give a bigger part for Pacifica after the episode, but we already had a much shorter runway to Weirdmageddon. The remainder of the show barely juggled featuring Ford more, and so there was already no way to feature more of Pacifica or even build a romance the fandom so desired. The only nod to that tapestry in the show in the end is Preston attempting to make a deal with Bill, which, of course we know how that ended up.

In conclusion, while Northwest Mansion Mystery is undoubtedly a fan-favorite episode, it kind of stuck out as a sore thumb given it nearly disrupted the show’s delicate balance between mystery, sibling bond, and character development. This shift, though temporary, had some impact on the fandom’s expectations and the perceptions of the show’s later episodes. Nevertheless, Hirsch compensated this by featuring Pacifica more in some supplementary material in Lost Legends and as of late, The Book of Bill, to satisfy the fans.

Ultimately, Gravity Falls remained true to its core themes, but Northwest Mansion Mystery stands as a testament to the challenges of maintaining narrative cohesion while exploring new character arcs and storylines.

Check out more of my essays here! Feel free to comment and reblog!

[aihoshiino]

chapter 152 thoughts

Chapters Since The 143 Kiss Happened And Went Entirely Unacknowledged And Unaddressed Count: 9

Aqua Hoshigan Status: White??!???!?!?

WELL DAMN. OKAY. LET'S FUCKING GO I GUESS.

With the End Of The Play… miniarc? interlude? wrapping up, Oshi no Ko officially confirms we're in endgame territory and slams down on the gas to barrel full speed towards its conclusion. This chapter was definitely a mixed bag, but I didn't dislike it and I SURE CAN'T SAY IT WAS BORING AT LEAST………….. It reframes a lot of things that lead up to it - I suppose that makes 'recontextualization' the keywork for this chapter, then.

The return to the volume 1 interviews in this chapter were kind of a surprise LOL. Given that the anime trimmed all but Ai's, I kind of took that as an implicit confirmaton that they weren't really that important so it's a bit of a jumpscare to see Gotanda (& Aqua's) revisited here. That said, revisiting them here is more about clueing the viewer that we're caught up chronologically with those flashforwards and thus that everything from this point on is officially uncharted territory, so I still do think cutting them from episode 1 was the right call to make. I don't think it causes any plotholes or incongruities since these interviews are really kind of incidental in the grand scheme of things… also let's be real I don't think any of us are expecting the anime to get that far into the story, even if I would give my left leg to see the anime team work their magic on chapter 137………………………….

That said, it's pretty fucking rich for Gotanda to try and talk big about the movie not being fictional when we heard from the horse's mouth that Abiko and Yoriko just fucking made up the dynamics of one of the most central and pivotal relationships in it out of thin air lol. Not only that, but like…

15 Year Lie is a movie with a pretty clear narrative. This by itself is natrual and expected. Narrative is the shape in which the human brain most readily accepts information but to create a narrative about something is to fictionalise it. Even when it's a narrative about real events - because narratives are, themselves, fiction. They have cleanly defined beginnings and ends, arcs and the promise of neatly packaged payoff and catharsis that is impossible to achieve in reality. To create a narrative about Ai's life in any form, let alone in a movie made for mass general audience consumption, unavoidably necessitates reducing her to a fictional character to observe rather than a fellow human to understand.

Which is… you know, horrifying! Fucked up and ghoulish! It's exploition of Ai in death just as she was exploited in life and I really wish the Movie Arc had actually focused on that uncomfortable undercurrent. This was, after all, supposed to be a movie about Ai.

BUT ANYWAY, CAST SCREENING OF THE MOVIE… we get some detail about reactions to the content but even as characters are literally talking about the movie and Ruby's extremely important role in it they just conveniently avoid discussing the content of it. But surely with all those important scenes that were set up and with the public release of the movie and Kamiki's side of the story to tell, we'll get some more details, right??? [audible copium huff]

Akane's tearful reaction is interesting, though. They're specifically singled out as not being to do with the content of the movie and her expression is a bit ambiguous - you could read is as resigned or relieved just as easily. I think she has clearly recognized something about Aqua's revenge in the movie which prompts that reaction but who even knows what's going on with akane at this point lol. sure not akasaka.

The girls all ragging on Ruby's acting was also kind of… like, yeah, remember when Ruby not being a good enough actress to carry a whole movie was kind of a huge issue??? The fact that this is resolved by everyone saying "yeah it was bad but idk aqua made it good somehow" was kind of silly lol.

I do really like Melt stepping in to stick up for Ruby, though - because yeah, of course hearing that would probably bring up some bad memories for Melt…! I also like that he doesn't try to shallowly flatter her or butter her up - he's frank about where she still needs to improve but hones in on the part that really matters. He really is a good kid.

That said, him sticking up for Ruby and her glomming onto him and calling him 'Master' (ししょ/師匠, shishou, as in the master of a craft addressed by their disciple, in Japanese) does kind of highlight that the MLRB mentorship that got set up in 144… went nowhere??? We can assume by Ruby's response to him here that it happened offscreen but it really does feel like a total waste of time to have spent what was effectively an entire chapter on setting up a new character dynamic that just didn't happen. Like… really, in hindsight, what was even the point of that chapter other than to establish that Melt… was also here??? I guess we still have the final arc for that to resolve into something but.

It just kind of sucks because I think a MLRB friendship could be really fun! I think they have the potential for a good dynamic and there's some really interesting parallels between them both that are ripe for farming. At this point, it's probably way too late for us to expect anything to come of it, so I can only daydream……..

tho it is really funny to me that at this point, since 143, ruby has had more meaningful on panel interactions with melt than she has aqua. What Did They Mean By This.

Gotanda and Kaburagi's talk that followed also left me with pretty mixed feelings. As expansion on/closure for Kaburagi (and Gotanda to an extent), I think this was fine… there's just a few little details that bother me, I guess.

On the one hand, I really like Gotanda's frank admission that there's no way to know whether the movie really captured the 'real' Ai. This is another thing I've talked about over and over during the Movie Arc but nobody making this movie is really in a position to be making that call - the only person who really could is Ai and… well, she's not here anymore to advocate for herself. Seeing Gotanda acknowledge that does scratch some of what was left unitched by this thread but…

Eugh. I don't know. Something about this movie, which is about Ai's life, Ai's tragedy, Ai's final push to be shown to the world as she was and to potentially be accepted being made to be about Gotanda's regrets just feels kind of icky to me. Maybe it just feels especially bad because it feels like 15 Year Lie has become more about every other character involved than her. I'm sure people are sick of me complaining about it, but it really does feel like Ai as a figure of emotional importance to this story is getting increasingly downplayed and dismissed and…… just feels bad, I guess!!!!

Kaburagi's side of this conversation is a lot more engaging, at least. This does tragically represent the end of my Secret Villain Kaburagi Theory and I feel decidedly mixed on the story choosing to frame him so sympathetically… but on the other hand, I do like how this implication of guilt and sense of responsibility reframes basically all his prior actions in the manga. It seems to confirm that he clocked Aqua (and thus by extension, Ruby) as being Ai's child right from the start and explains why he was willing to go so far in pushing their careers along at little benefit to himself - it was out of atonement to Ai.

that panel of young kaburagi and baby ai having lunch together. fuck, man. the fact that she took the burger out of the wrapper like she does in viewpoint b………….. babygirl i loev u so muuuuchchchchchchhchchchchsjsjsskasklsndkdkd

and……………………….. now it's time for aqua's interview. Jesus Christ.

I like the recontextualization of Aqua's interview here and the way we see This Mysterious Interviewer gradually pick apart his responses. I especially got SUCH a thrill out of his 'I won't love anyone' schtick being called out as the bullshit it is - one of my first really meaty OnK metas was of Aqua's interview segment specifically and I zeroed in on this sentiment specifically as being a lie that Aqua was trying to project and seeing the text back that up makes me a very happy Claire

But more importantly though… what Aqua has to say after that makes me particularly excited.

First of all, let's get it out of the way: KAMIKI JUMPSCARE!!!!!!!!! It seems implicit that he was the one doing all the interviews which is very fucking funny considering his presence in the movie itself, but I'm not entirely sure it changes or adds much other than giving Aqua the opportunity to death note speech his ass.

What is fascinating to me about this talk is what it implies about Aqua. Every time we've seen his revenge play come up before this, the very strong implication is that Aqua intends to die at the end of it, either by Kamiki's hand or his own. But here, face to face with the man he's dedicated his entire life to ruining, Aqua doesn't just state his intent to get revenge but his intention to reclaim his future by doing so. We've gotten some pushes towards this since 150 but this is the clearest declaration of his intent to finally seize hold of this second chance and fucking live it that we've gotten out of Aqua… honestly, ever!

And accordingly, we see Aqua return to his white hoshigans here. I don't necessarily know if I want to call this slam dunk confirmed but this WAS really exciting to see given how it falls in line with my interpretation of "white hoshigan = hope = future" and "black hoshigan = despair = futurelessness". Everybody has been spending the last few chapters basically begging Aqua not to throw away his future and hurt the people he loves just to chase his revenge and it does seem like they're starting to get through to him.

Is this development kind of rushed? Honestly, yeah! I would've loved to see this explored more from properly inside Aqua's POV and it feels especially abrupt given how hard he got ignored all during the post-123 section of the Movie Arc. But at this point, it just feels so fucking good to see Aqua say out loud that he wants to have a future, that he wants to finally move forward and live that I can't bring myself to care. I just want him to finally be happy!!!

that said how fucking funny is it that the closest thing aqua has gotten to therapy in years is from his estranged father, a serial killer

break next week…!

[mcbride]

Daryl Dixon Rewatch S1E01 - L'âme perdue

i have some thoughts, but before we get to it and explore the episode, i just wanna point out that the writing is what stood out for me. after seasons of mediocre writers and writing on TWD, it felt like a breath of fresh air. that ain't saying much, but it's a big improvement. also the cinematography, plsss!!

i will digress, this will be long, boring and full of spec for s2!!! read more after the jump...

the best part of it for me was Daryl. Daryl is finally using his words, keeping some things close to the vest he ain't no longer wearing, but he is actually speaking up, telling shit how he sees it, being his observant self, and not taking that religious crap bullshit they trying to feed him. he is also done with it all, and his goal is always and will always be getting back home.

"You deserve a happy ending, too." the ep starts with Judith voiceover, which is repeated in Daryl's feverish dream, and once again by Laurent. Carol isn't mentioned directly, but you can feel her presence throughout the episode. it's sort of a quiet energy that hangs in there whenever Daryl mentions he wants to get back home, he needs to use the radio, he needs to get to that possibly active port. and of course, her smiling face in his dream, with one of the last things he said to her "it's not like we are never gonna see each other again."

"witchy shit;" "dead priest and creepy kid," "you've been fucking with me," while putting his finger in Isa's face and storming out to borrow some cool weapons will always be hilarious to me, but it also felt like genuine Daryl is back. this is the Daryl we fell in love with. he is changed by his experiences, but he is still the OBSERVANT dude with the sass and zero tolerance for bullshit. i like this Daryl, so i will thank Zabel and Norman for bringing him back to us!

NOW let's get to the spec: i think the first episode tells us all we need to know about what is really set to happen, it's so in your face, you may not even notice and just assume they are talking metaphorically - i'm talking about the nuns, the nest, the kid, the whole conspiracy you shouldn't see coming.

for some reason it will probably never be clear, they think Daryl is the one, the messenger to deliver the new Messiah, and he's got an important role delivering the kid to the Nest, like he is the only one who can do it. i mean Isabelle watched Daryl fight and lose, and now she thinks he's Messiah's protector. PLEASE, bitch! maybe he is chosen simply because he is American, he made it across the Ocean, he must be special??? ok, i'll buy that.

now when Mother is dying she agrees Daryl is the one (to protect Laurent) and says "reasons are everywhere." YES, there's a reason Daryl had to come back to protect the kid, there's a reason he doesn't get on that boat to return home, too - and that reason is CAROL is coming. he cannot leave, she's coming to him, and i believe that TOGETHER they are the ones supposed to save Laurent.

WHY Carol, you ask? Daryl just may be to close to the Nest, their people to see them for who they are - some sort of cult who believes "the kid is the cure for a sick world," Mother's words. but how are they dangerous??

they literally tell you, if you're listening. the monk, possibly Losang, says the kid is special, says the kid is the NEW Messiah. Isabelle tells Daryl they need to take the kid there cause he needs safety, teaching and nurturing UNTIL he is ready. ready for what, Daryl asks. ready to be the new Messiah and lead the REVIVAL of humanity.

now Laurent said they had walker!Father Jean there because they were waiting for him to rise again. say what, kiddo? but Father can't rise again, cause he ain't special, he ain't the new Messiah. so there you go, i think the Nest, they're planning to turn Laurent and wait for him to RISE again (be the cure) with help from praying and poetry. maybe the good guys ain't so good.

and this is exactly why the kid is also valuable to Genet. perhaps she also wants to test whether the kid is special or not, knowing his history.

i can see Carol making it to France and figuring out their nefarious plans in like the first 5 mins. and that's why she needs to come to help save Laurent. that would pretty much bring their story full circle, and allow them to deal with the guilt and the trauma of not being able to safe loved ones.

[hutahuta]

I SAW PAVIA AND STARTED SPRINTING, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE

Maybe some headcannons about a protective Pavia? I mean, being a mercenary probably has gotten him some (read as a lot) of enemies, especially considering he’s good at his job! So it wouldn’t be a surprise if his partner got targeted as a way of getting to him. Obviously, Pavia’s not gonna let that happen, not by a long shot. Maybe hurt/comfort in a way? And gender neutral if it’s okay!

P.AGE OO.2 — 𝐃𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐔𝐌 & NOBILITY : 交 ✦ ⏱

thank you for requesting, i hope you like this <333 ( •̀∀•́ )ﾗ✧ !

Unfortunately for him, Pavia bore the scars of a life that was etched by loss and fleeting connections. No human ever got as close as you did with him, so it was important to protect such things. Yes?

His heart encased in solid steel and armour, found solace in the comfort of your arms. Yes, this man was laid back most of the time, but under that thick smile of purity and hearty laughs, he wanted to keep you forever as his own.

Embellished in jewels and tied and restrained for himself. Guarded by his sole bonds of his canine family, he couldn't possibly think of letting you be exposed to the outside danger out there.

Every beat of his heart echoed with the lingering memories of his past separations. His bond broken with his family and his scarred nature of a relationship broken down with his aunt. He doesn't know how to handle such things, he wasn't taught proper coping mechanisms.

You, vulnerable to attacks, not necessarily naive but still innocent as a feather; are more susceptible to violence catered by Pavia's enemies surrounding him on a day-to-day basis..

And—,, the thought maliciously stabs him every single time. To see you lying in your own warm, pool of blood. He hated the sight, and vowed to always keep you with him, safe and sound even if it meant his own skin will be torn apart. Pavia, originally, had nothing left to lose. He had nothing to go down with. His legacy was scarred with the torment of his past. His family had no connections with him whatsoever, and he planned to keep it that way.

This fear, an indelible mark left by the merciless hands of fate, propelled Pavia to assume the role of a vigilant guardian. He shielded his beloved with unwavering determination, an impassable fortress erected to defy the encroaching shadows of abandonment.

Skeletal hands trace the outline of your jawline towards the base of your neck, leaving lingering touches that'll never fade away for months to come. You'll always remember how he told you.

` Non allontanarti troppo dal mio cammino.. Amore. `

Which meant, ' Don't stray too far from my path, love. ' His hands firmly gripped your waist, leaving soft kisses that marked the vow of his undying love for you.

He shudders to think of your figure being manhandled by someone who would bruise such tender skin of yours, to discard your love and treat you like nothing but a used rug. You're nothing of the sort, to him.

Precious diamonds and jewels like you need to be treasured, kept under someone's eyes like Pavia's. Right?

It's conflicting, to say the least. You'd wonder why he's so protective when it's mixed with such a lazed stare. A laid-back figure who offers you juice and drinks at parties and festivals. But he isn't stupid enough to let you wander too far. Just think what could happen-

Someone kidnaps you, holds you for ransom? Knowing Pavia, he's smart enough to go along with such plans then storm into the area himself and take you back. Leaving only the echoes of men screaming, bodies thudding against the floor as they get a bullet launched into their skulls.

That won't happen though, right? He's not stupid enough to let you go like that..

Pavia struggles to keep himself from being too overprotective to the point you feel suffocated, to being too laid-back that it makes him seem uncaring and unloving. He wants to let you go do your own thing, after all.. that's why he loves you, right? That's why he fell in love with you.

But it pains him to think that now you've officially established something deep with him, he could be at fault for your uneasy, incoming death. You're at heavy risk if you step too close to the edge of his outside perimeter.. That's why-

You stay with him. Right beside him.

Excuse him when he pulls you closer by his waist when near enormous crowds and traffic during festivities.

Don't mind his behaviour as he trails a hand down your thigh to subtly mark to others that you have not one, not two, not even three, but a whole family of dogs watching over your guard.

You have eyes on you 24/7. Don't forget that. Now you're with him, it's important you try to manage your way through this skilfully with the intent to have the best possible outcome with your protective little man.

Safe to say, he won't let anything bad happen as I stated previously. Just as long as you follow the rules he gave. It's his way of trying to tell you that he has boundaries and he wants you to stick with him almost every time both of you are out.

His protective stance wasn’t fueled by dominance but rather by a desperation to defy the cruel whims of destiny, to safeguard the one person who illuminated the shadows of his tumultuous existence. In their presence, Pavia found a fragile haven, one he fiercely guarded against the specter of loss that loomed ominously over his turbulent life.

As you know, despite Pavia’s instinctive urge to shield you, he wrestled with the awareness that his protective demeanor might eventually suffocate the relationship. To counterbalance his guarded nature, Pavia embarked on a path of intentional vulnerability, striving to open up the vault of his emotions..

He tends to be honest with you then and there, but often finds himself leading the conversation into something else more uplifting. All in his worries that you might see him as him trying to justify his actions, which is possibly why he cannot exactly open up fully. That, and he just can't help but talk about other stuff mid-sentence. Learning more about you, your boundaries, your silly interests is just.. more of a reason to keep you safe.

He doesn't know communication skills all that well. But he takes it on after you, so guide him properly and heal those scars that may linger for a life time.

But if you stick around, he's sure to let go of the tension on his shoulders a few times and enjoy quality time with you without the doubt you'd potentially get harmed in the process of your relationship. <3

[ganondoodle]

as i was awake in the middle of the night for like 2 hours bc i felt sick i had more somewhat random totk thoughts

one being that i really hate how raurus response to concerned zelda is, after sonia died in that almost funny how little impactful it was way, "im sure you are here for a reason" (actually, i hate how often this sentence is used in general to .. idk i guess its supposed to be inspiritational???)

bc what does that mean actually? him saying that to someone who got there absolutely by accident really just sounds like "i dont care go figure it out yourself bc i dont want to think about anything concerning you or your troubles lol" i guess its meant to sound like OOOOH fate has BROUGHT you here bc you have to furfill a role you dont know yet (spoiler its being a sacrifice girl with no personality) and besides me hating the 'inescapable fate' trope in general (at least the way its usually done in these games, which is not to struggle against it but willingly accept whatever you are told and pretend thats good) its really jsut goddamn boring and is really only an excuse to well .. ignore her and her trouble; shouldnt you, if you were actually such a cool guy like the game wants me to believe so bad, do everything in your power to get zelda back to her own world before shes pulled even further into the war you caused now that her only ""mentor"" that could help her get more use of her pretty much useless sudden powers is gone too?? i know shes basically dead wife sonia replacement (can of worms ugh) but it still grinds my gears whenever i think of that cutscene, bc i cant help but hear it as the lamest excuse in existence to not care about her and just kinda .. see what happens which in this case means leave zelda completely on her her own since both rauru and mineru die as well (honestly shouldnt rauru have thought about like .. any plan to defeat gan besides dying himself, given hes the oh so cool and goodest guy king whos only mistake was not stabbing gan the second he stepped into their kathedral castle thing, like even if you had a plan it can still fail but it seemed like he just kinda went in with a handful of people that didnt seem to know each other at all, never got names or faces -or unique voices for that matter- to fight gan face to face inlcuding the girl that came from a different time and had nothing to do with any of this conflict and couldnt even really control her sudden new powers just seems pretty stupid)

thought 2

how totk really feels like botw but for the people who didnt like shiekah tech, its not a sequel, its botw again, but version of only sonau, its like a pokemon game that had two versions but one has weirdly incoherent story and acts like the other never existed jsut as a whole its like retreading the same points but worse, all shiekah tech that was so integral to the world and had such a long history just vanishing and no one caring about any of it like it never happened, HELL the titans were called divine beasts in english but i guess they werent divine or important enough to keep around LOL champions WHO and isntead a never before seen or even heard of race for that matter showing up and planting their ass in every place the shiekah were before, dare i say it feels weirdly manipulative, like either them or some outside force erasing every fact about the ancient shiekah and replace them with sonau stuff bc they are the hot new shit now

this is a point that just doesnt stop bothering me, how the shiekah tech seemed so carefully designed and integrated into botws world and story, its a difficult to keep balance after all, integrating high tech stuff into a medieval setting, but they made it work! and then totk comes around and throws a bunch modern day tech into it puts some vague greenish stone filter on its exterior and call that even better more ancient tech; why did they even bother to make pottery inspired laser shooting spider legged robots so well integrated when they throw a car and rockets into the next game without a thought and call it a day, what was the fucking point

it feels like someone was dead set on having a set of legos thrown into the game it had no place in, if you want players to build whatever they want make a building game instead!! especially if you are just gonna throw it in with seemingly no consideration how out of place it feels togehter with the fACT THAT YOU ALREADY HAD AND ANCIENT HIGH TECH CIVILIZATION WITH A VERY DISTINCT AESTHETIC THAT WAS ALREADY WELL INTEGRATED INTO THE WORLD YOU ARE PLANNING TO REUSE WITH ALOT OF MYSTERY AND UNKOWN STUFF ABOUT THEM TO EXPLORE FURTHER YOU COULD HAVE USED!! but i guess they just "didnt want to play with you anymore" and that so much so that they went out of their way to erase every trace of it, i dont think the words shiekah tech are ever used in the game, and the purah pad and her towers just drive me more isnane bc they are the same shit but called different and also much worse, liek the purah pad isnt some more developed shiekah stone, no its a glorified camera with a teleport function and thats it

(i know i said this before but i really cant stand how obsessed every single NPC is with sonau shit, you get told to your face every second line of dialog that they are so cool and are so mysterious that it just makes me annoyed of them even more, the game is obsessed with shoving them everywhere and telling you over and over you too should obsess over them, they werent weird like that about the shiekah stuff in botw?? the biggesst talking point in botw was calamity ganon ..... which makes sense and in totk its like ... gan is mentioned what, in a newspaper article??? once???and then not even by name i think???)

aside from that big point which will never let me go, its also just .. its not moving forward anything, it actively walks BACK the progress that was made in botw, call me dumb but i dont really count moving one step up in the social roles of each race as a character development (for the side characters like the champions desc- ahem SAGES) but mainly zelda ... god how dirty she was done, totk pretty explicitely makes her regress any development she made in botw aside from she likes link uwu and some people like her too, but also not enough to notice that that weird zelda being all evil and weird isnt her (INLCUDING THE CHAMP- SAGES WHO YOU ARE SUPPOSEDLY FRIENDS WITH??? you dont have to be a genius to pick up on that my god, were you all given the mc dumbo potion or what)

she gets put back to square one, back into the little itty bitty princessy maiden role forced upon her by her royal parentage, this time rauru edition, back into a white little dress, back into the scared puppy eyed teenager, back into a situation she cant handle, back into losing everyone around her (tho honestly botw made me care more about rhoam than totk did about rauru), back into being forced to do a big sacrifice- but worse actually

in botw she went to FIGHT AND HOLD GANON IN THE CASTLE SO LINK HAD TIME TO RECOVER AND IT WOULDNT DESTROY THE LAND!! and you are telling me in totk rauru takes up her botw role and she bascially killed herself to ... restore the mastersword.

......... she ... she did that only to be a glorified version of the stone pedestal in the forest. and then she gets returned to normal itty bitty girly no problem via magic sparkle beam at the end and

DOESNT

EVEN

REMEMBER.

it really is just botw but worse, you even get yet another ghost king of hyrule to guide you around (rhoam did it better fight me ... we dont talk about the questionable choice to make himself darker skinned when posing as just some guy)

i honestly dont think i was ever truly taken aback by anythign that happened in botw, while in totk, the further i played, the more i had to fight with myself to keep the feeling of unease, disappointment and betrayal down

its such a god damn shame, totk should have stayed a DLC, i will forever mournfully dream of a game that explores more of the ancient shiekah, doesnt erase integral parts of the world, developes characters more instead of making them regress back and make them end up even less developed than at the start of the game, dives into buried secrets and mistakes of dark pages of history without giving into a weirldy nationalist(imperalisitc?) narrative and lets characters have some agency for once

if it werent for the yiga i might have actually considered refunding the game, just to be at peace with myself

anyway, aboslutely incoherent word vomit.

[lemonavocado]

i have many many thoughts about the portrayal of elizabeth (and henry) in adaptations of frankenstein and they need to be broadcasted immediately. feverish incoherent raving about this subject under the cut. tw for very brief mention of SA

so. elizabeth lavenza. by the time of the wedding, elizabeth is rather obviously portrayed to be just as morose and brooding as victor is, she just isn't as susceptible to episodes of mania and psychosis so it doesn't seem nearly as dramatic compared to victor's trauma. she's been through the gutter herself, being an orphan for starters, then being adopted into a family and having to assume the role of caregiver in the frankenstein family because of the coercion of her dead mother to not only take her place as the maternal figure in the family but also marry her surrogate brother (or literal cousin, depending on which version you read). then her surrogate younger brother william dies, and the within weeks she has to watch her closest heterosexual life partner justine be unjustly hung by a corrupt justice system. and she vocalizes, actively, her pessimism and hopelessness in light of these many tragedies. tldr she's fucked up and rightfully so, and while she's a little less crippled by depression than victor, she still has the distinct appearance of being rather ill, listless, and tired, especially towards the end of the novel. anyways my point is in the novel, the most important thing about elizabeth is not that she's a woman and victor's bride. yes, that's obviously the purpose she was created for, but shelley went out of her way to give elizabeth an extremely definite and unique character. she's gentle and maternal like most woman in early 19th century literature, but she's also introspective, intelligent, and perceptive. she displays agency and self-awareness repeatedly (her guilt over the locket, going to the execution of justine even when alphonse tells her not to, waxing poetic on the failures of the justice system, asking repeatedly and rather pointedly if victor actually wants to go through with the marriage, obvious anxiety and solemnity concerning the wedding) we also have to take into account that elizabeth's personality is being relayed to us BY VICTOR, and he wants to see elizabeth as docile and femininely passive, even if a lot of her actions themselves in the novel actually seem to contradict that. also, i am peppering in that many people can (and have) made a genuine and convincing argument that victor and elizabeth are not in love and were groomed to accept their union by their weirdo parents - that they care for each other, but the text includes important nuances that make it evident that victor doesn't feel anything for elizabeth like that. it is a legitimate interpretation of the book - dare i say it's the correct interpretation of the relationship between victor and elizabeth. but that's another essay for another day and it's not SUPER integral to my rant here today. it just highlights the complexity of elizabeth as a character.

so. for some fucking reason, writers do not understand this when they are adapting the novel, and do not want to apply more than eight seconds of critical thinking and the absolute shallowest 3rd grader levels of reading comprehension to this character, so they simplify her from what she was in the original novel, freshly complex, opinionated, and introspective to boring useless incest lady. victor is never portrayed with the same amount of nuance he deserves in any adaptation (also another essay for another day), because adaptations also have a very surface level reading of him as "guy who was ambitious and played god which immediately cements him as an irredeemable self-aggrandizing asshole and/or a raging insufferable narcissist who's a dick to everyone around him EXCEPT for elizabeth" but at least SOME adaptations are able to kiiinnnddaaaa capture the sympathy meant to be felt for the character in the novel. not so for elizabeth. her character in basically every adaptation can be boiled down to this: "omg victor my brother let me hammer in that you are my brother. im just going to stand here and look clueless and annoyingly naive for the entire time im on screen/stage. im just a little girl and idk what's going on victor but im gonna stay blindly devoted to you and ask numerous but completely useless questions 🥺 let me stare at you with tender worry in my eyes and treat you like a child even though we have absolutely no romantic chemistry and you're an objectifying dick towards me and we have nothing in common and the audience is actively dry heaving as we sensually make out for no other reason than to have characters in this movie sensually make out. im basically a carbon copy of original-novel-henry expect super boring and super useless because im a woman which means the doylist explanation for why im here HAS TO BE ONLY for the main character to fuck me and to hold the attention of the male viewership. now time for me to get SA'd by the creechur for basically no reason" we can observe something approximating this in basically every frankenstein adaptation i've ever seen: kenneth branagh's (my enemy) 1994 film, the 2004 hallmark miniseries, the musical, and the ballet. also in the 1931 film, but that one isn't really trying to be book-accurate so it doesn't really count for this rant.

with this understanding of elizabeth, writers then attempt to artificially generate more romance between these characters, mostly by, yes, replacing a lot of henry's role in the novel with elizabeth, hence why we see so many adaptations (1994, 2004, ballet) make elizabeth nurse victor back to health in ingolstadt instead of henry, which generates... so many problems. one problem with this is that it just sorta ruins henry's original role in the novel in one go. writers recognize that henry is supposed to be victor's character foil, but now they don't have much for him to do so he can demonstrate that role in the story since they gave all of the romantic tension moments to elizabeth. meaning that in adaptations you can tell the writers didn't really know what to do with henry because he's reduced to a comic relief bumbling idiot (1994, ballet, 2004 to an extent) with his only personality traits being "random xd" and "morals good playing god wrong!!!! 😠" (2004, musical, several independent stage adaptations). they keep him as a character foil, but just replace all of his compassion, tenderness, and devotion with elizabeth, while effectively draining henry of all of his original appeal and charm and stamping those traits onto their already stripped-of-all-nuance elizabeth. so now both henry and elizabeth are not only extremely different from their original roles in the novel but extremely, woefully less charming and complex. this especially pisses me off because it's explicitly stated in the book that henry was victor's only friend precisely because he was victor's intellectual equal, so seeing henry reduced to a smiley idiot and/or stupid generic male side character with Morals fills me with a visceral rage. writers will also sometimes make victor and henry meet in college (ballet, 1994) and try to strengthen the bond between victor and elizabeth by making it appear as though she was victor's ONLY childhood friend and companion. other times, victor and henry will be friends pre-ingolstadt (2004, musical) but most of the relationship development will be between elizabeth and victor. those two have all of the tender bonding moments while henry is just kinda inexplicably there sometimes. but i digress. this post is supposed to be about elizabeth. but IF YOU NEED A CHARACTER TO BE A SUNSHINE SOFT OPTIMISTIC LOVER FOR VICTOR IN A FRANKENSTEIN ADAPTATION, HENRY IS ABLE AND WILLING ARE YOU STEPPING ON MY BALLS

clervalstein is true. anyway

elizabeth is somehow more complex and powerful as a female character than the literal adaptations produced almost 200 years later. in adaptations, the most important thing about her is somebody else. the development of all of her character traits (which usually never go beyond standing around and looking helpless) are solely dependant on victor. she feels more like an appendage of the protagonist than an individual with thoughts and experiences separate from victor, and her character is loosely defined and flimsy so the writers can have her conform to her actions in the book whenever it's convenient and then change things up entirely that completely contradict her characterization in the book whenever it's convenient. i have no idea why the fuck this keeps happening with frankenstein adaptations (it's misogyny) and because it isn't looking like guillermo del toro's film (from what ive heard) is going to be super book accurate, i dont foresee too much of a shift in frankenstein adaptations.

look i get it. it's a movie/play/ballet which lasts like 2 hours and you have a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it. i understand you have to make sacrifices for brevity and these characters are, frankly, a lot less interesting and exciting than victor and creechur. people didn't come to see john hughes levels of charm and complexity in the side characters, they came to watch the creechur do scary shit and for victor to say IT'S ALIVE 😱 and be an evil mad scientist you love to hate. they came for their values of "it's wrong to play god!!!" and "too much ambition bad!!!" to be re-cemented even though that's not even the original point of the novel. which is why imo if you're going to adapt frankenstein in a manner that does justice to the beautiful and sublime subtlety of the original novel, it needs to be either a miniseries or a REALLY LONG film. it's a short book, but it's very eventful, and imo for an adaptation to work you have to let the audience sit with it. which is why you all need to donate to my gofundme so i can produce an honest to god frankenstein adaptation. in fact, im running for president in this year's primaries :3

just a disclaimer: im not an academic or a scholar or anything. i just like the book. i probably have no idea what the fuck im talking about. but im a very very passionate little guy and this has been my rant

[jadeacereigen]

Claw Reigen? 👀

oh GOD I DON'T KNOW WHERE TO BEGIN WITH THIS

TIME TO LOOK AT MY OLD NOTES ABOUT HIM TO REFRESH MY MEMORY 😭

So Claw Reigen was this AU I came up with based on that moment in S1 where they make it seem like he's the Claw Boss. I never believed it for a second, but in my head I was kinda going "huh it would be an interesting au if it WAS true". Then I had my friend Parker watch the show and they genuinely fell for it and got super upset, so this made me come back to the random idea in my head and develop it more.

He's not the actual boss in my AU though, I made him a Scar instead because I thought that fit him better. Although he's a member of Claw's 5th division, no one has ever seen him use his powers and he still only describes them as "spiritual" when asked. Despite this, he is the 5th division's second-in-command and the leader Sakakibara obviously favors him despite him seemingly not contributing much to the group. This leads to rumors about Reigen being an incredibly weak esper or maybe even someone who isn't actually a Scar. (Because how could the Boss have respected his weak powers enough to spare his life after challenging him?)

None of these rumors are true, however...

(more details below sorry this got really long)

Reigen is certainly hiding many things from everyone in his life, including his fellow colleagues at Claw. But perhaps he's hiding the most from his disciple, Mob, who he is training to become a strong esper. He wears makeup to hide most of his scar when he's not interacting with Claw members, so Mob doesn't see his scar until... Season 1 events. Mob believes that Claw is a group of superheros whose mission is to make the world a better place. If he proves his worth, they'll allow him to join his ranks and become a fellow hero. However, as of now he is just an apprentice and is not allowed to meet any other members.

Claw is actually unaware of Mob's existence, and Reigen very much intends to keep it that way. In truth, he's not actually loyal to Claw, but he knows what he must do to survive. He's fully aware that his scar is not a badge of honor but is in fact a marker of his own unworthiness to Suzuki. Once Suzuki completes his world domination, Reigen knows that he and the other Scars will be disposed of, and he is determined to not let that happen. Somehow, Mob is a very important part of this plan...

In terms of personality, Reigen is similar to his canon lighthearted counterpart when he's with Mob. However, he can have a bit of a cruel streak—when he saves Mob from the S1 art gallery scammers, he intentionally sends an evil spirit to haunt them. He's also not the best role model and still smokes around Mob sometimes, though he'll awkwardly snuff it out and make a lot of excuses if Mob stares at him for too long or points out that it's bad for his health.

This is in stark contrast to how he is when Mob isn't around. The makeup he wears to hide his scar also hides his dark eyebags and stress lines on his face. He generally has a bored, heavy look to his face and doesn't smile. When he's with Claw, he sneers a lot and talks very condescendingly to make sure he doesn't look weak. (Also he just hates everyone there tbh-) People don't take him seriously, but the few who actually manage to piss Reigen off know that his sneer disappearing is a very bad thing.

(Another random but important fact that I'm not sure how to fit in here is that he never takes off his gloves.)

In summary, Scar Reigen is still very much a man of lies and self-serving deceit, just... in a far more twisted way than canon. He thinks he's long past redemption or changing his ways, but is that really true?

Anyway uh wow I talked a lot I'm not even sure if any of this makes any sense 😭 I was pretty into the idea of writing this au out as a fanfic last year but I quickly got stuck because I just couldn't figure out where to begin with it and what the structure of the story would even be like. I don't exactly see myself coming back to it but who knows. Idk

[houseofkirklands]

Ireland headcanons cause I'm bored

P.D: Mention of mental health problems (depression, anxiety....)

1. He took the role of oldest brother even though he is aware there might be a possibility Wales could be older than him but since they don't know, the brothers just decided to go in a certain order

2. Ireland influenced a lot in Scotland, his younger brother used to look up for him a lot when they were only the two of them and the parents figures they had dissapeared. Ireland tried to teach him everything he knee from basic survival tips to how to shot arrows, personal development and culturally influenced as well. However, Ireland hasn't forgotten Scotland for what he did to him during the plantation of Ulster.

Ireland just though that Scotland among all the brothers, he could be the one who could listen and understand Ireland then to realize Scotland agreed with some things England did

3. He has every reason and right to hate England. He is aware England isn't like it was before, that he has changed, their relationship is quote good comapred with the past and he knows many things England couldn't really control them but he can't forget neither forgive, the few things England had in his control, he didn't do anything to help Ireland

4. There was a time he hated all his brothers, all of them, even North at some point. He just felt..left out...lfor him it was clear none of his brothers wanted him just tk follow England shake

5. The last 200 years have been very difficult for him, very, very difficult, starting from the famine, where he just wanted to dissapear, it was too late when the brothers helped him, consequence of that and the fact the population of Ireland hasn't recovered yet. He really struggles with food...it causes him so much anxiety, there were times he just couldn't even eat....The brothers noticed this...how little he ate, how he would suddenly have panic attacks, even thought his people are doing well nowadays but the trauma and the PSTD still lingers in him and he really struggles with it. Sometimes he could eat without any problem but when his thoughts go back in the past....

He just thinks, the less he ates, the more his people could be feed, his brothers specially Scotland and Wales try to talk with him and assure him, the famine has ended now and his people nowadays live in good conditions overall, that he deserves too eat but for Ireland it's difficult, it's very difficult...is still there and it still haunts him...

When he is in the UK house visiting the brothers, he would really try to think "it's okay, I should eat" but he sees the amount of food that are in the table and he just can't help it.... England knows that he can't talk to him when Ireland suddenly get so anxious cause it would make the things worse, given he fact Ireland in that moment, thinks he is still in 1847 not in the 21st century, and if he looks at England, he will see the Empire, not modern England.

He has really tried not to be like this, not in front of the brothers and specially not in front of North, he knew North knew about the famine but he didn't know the details of what Ireland went through both physically and mentally during that time. It didn't help to Ireland when North was a young child and he would be very picky with the food. Scotland would get very angry at him telling him that if he wasn't angry, then don't eat but the food wasn't going to go on waste and North with time learned the lesson and stopped being picky. Even England sometimes would tell North to shut up and eat knowing thay if Ireland was there, the fact England told North those words made some impact of Ireland

6. He likes to be alone but he hates feel alone, he knows he has been alone most of the time, nobody listened, nobody cared, he felt like he wasn't important, not even in his family but with time he has noticed he is important and he is loved

7. He is best friends with Spain, Belgium and France, specially Spain and Belgium, Spain was both Catholic and hated England and Belgium was Catholic and understands Ireland even it comes the division of brothers between religious beliefs (Belgium being catholic and The Netherlands being protestant)

8. Despite of his Catholic belief, he is still pagan and hasn't forgotten about his Paganims beliefs when he was very young

9. Wales and Scotland agreed back then when Ireland was just not okay to call him once per week to ask him how was he doing and if he was doing alright? Sometimes Ireland will try to dismiss his own feelings but they will encourage him to open up and that it was okay, he deep inside appreciates this gesture from both of them and thanks to them, he is accepting a side of him, he has always refused to acknowledge

10. Related with the previous one, Wales and Scotland agreed also that becasue of all the damage mentally and physically England has caused to him, as a "punishment" and to make Ireland get better, England was and still is forced to pay for all the medications Ireland needs, Engkand wasn't aware on how much badly Ireland was until he went to the pharmacy and bought all the aspirins Ireland needed cause yeah he needed quite a lot but like Scotland said "If you really feel bad and wanna help him, pay for those medications he needs cause most of them he needs to take them because of your actions"

11. Despite of everything, Ireland and England are now on good terms, there are times when Ireland would be very hesitant with him but they actually have learned to not to be at each other throats for more than 5 minutes

12. Despite of living separately, Ireland has been a huge influence when it comes to North raising. He had always tried to be there on special occasions when it was important to North like a performance in school or when he celebrates his birthday and North wanted him to be there or even when North couldn't stand the other brothers and called Ireland to some comfort and talking. Also he has helped him financially,since North lives with England in London, Ireland send money to England just for the raise of North such as basic needs he needs like clothes, school books or anything related to his education, another activities like swimming and ofc when Christmas arrives and he knows North waits for that moment every year, he always tries to be there

There have been sometimes when Ireland couldn't attend a special day for North and he had always sent him a little present, might be a book or a toy he wanted and apologise for not being there but wishing him the best and always reminding North that he was very proud of him.

13. He and Scotland talk to each other in Irish/Scottish gaelic always because both of them are scared to wake up one day and completely forget their native language due to the lack of people they have nowadays speaking it.

They kinda envy Wales because Wales has managed to save Welsh but due to the fact North was to learn and speak the language, both are very happy he wants to learn it, England doesn't like it but he also understands why North woukd want to learn it

14. For me as the oldest brother, he is the one who has more knowledge of magic and spells but due to the fact magic requires so much concentration and strength, Ireland for a very long time couldn't use most of the magic he knew since he was constantly feeling ill and tired enough for not even trying

15. Sometimes he keeps wondering what would have happened if he had stayed in the UK instead of going for independence? The question of maybe North wouldn't even be alive its very disturbing for him, he loves that boy so much

16. North many times call him a boomer but its his boomer

17. Despite of everything, Ireland and North are very close, there are some conversations they prefer to avoid (and know they need to be talked about) but North time to time is understanding so much better Ireland and his positions, his own past and is trying to be more fairer with him. Ireland always tries to reassure him that he understands he is not easy to deal with but he doesn't want to cause any harm to him and that North can trust him with anything, Ireland won't force him to speak up if North doesn't want to but if he ever needs someone...he is there, he is always there for him.

18. He plays Hurling and Gaelic football, sometimes the rest of the brothers join him specially Scotland and North

19. He speaks French and Spanish to some degree and has very basic knowledge of Danish and Norwegian

20. Wales might be the less closer brother to Ireland but is the only one who has always listened to him to some degree. Wales has always shown him so much respect and have tried to speak with England and make him considerate his choices when it came to Ireland or when something about North is around. He has always hated the way England treated Ireland, Wales couldn't do more than he actually did but he regrets not have pressured England way more to make him relaxing Ireland was in a very bad condition

21. Despite of their history, Ireland would never change his brothers for nothing, nowadays they are fine, even though there is still so much going on but they have never been more in peace than they are nowadays and that's everything he has ever wanted

[beevean]

Rewriting Castlevania

To be more specific, Castlevania post-Season 2. The first few seasons shall serve as the launchpads from which to build upon and iron out the kinks for later stories.

I don’t have an exact vision of how rewritten versions of Season 3 and 4 (or Nocturne, but that isn’t the focus here), but I know, for starters, they could’ve used a more compact cast.

First: remove Trevor and Sypha. They may have been major protagonists in Seasons 1 and 2, but their story was over. Alucard, as well. His story was also done… for now (because he’s too iconic in the franchise as a whole not to bring back in a sequel series).

Next: they could’ve easily cut out Morana and Striga (whose names escaped my memory until I just looked them up) without substantially affecting anything in Carmilla’s whole story. Lenore can stay (maybe as the show’s equivalent to Laura), but she should not get a “redemption”. Instead, develop the idea of how weak others see her and how her devious intellect helps her overcome her perceived weakness. Write the woman a Starscream arc, even (“I am Lenore of Styria, and fuq you, Carmilla! I win!”), with mistress Carmilla as her Megatron! Give her lots of ambition!

For Isaac, I would love for his chat with that Captain to be preserved (I rewatched it recently and loved the vibe of it), but a couple other events in his journey need adjustments so that he doesn’t go through the “I had an nice talk with a human, so my mind about humanity is changing, but these guys are blocking me and I can’t reason with them, therefore I’m stupid for trying to be civil and hate humans again, now they die!” bit twice. With a little streamlining, his screentime in Season 3 could be devoted to building him up as a threat, and then set up Season 4 with his role as a co-antagonist (with Carmilla) to Hector fully set up when they reunite. No sanitizing “I’m going to live!” revelations here.

Then there’s Hector. I still think we didn’t need to see the immediate aftermath of his imprisonment. In this hypothetical rewritten story, I would suggest having a 1 or 2 year timeskip, so he’s been slaving away in Carmilla’s dungeon for quite a while, forced to build her an army with his Devil Forgemaster powers, and Lenore’s been keeping watch and giving him plenty of incentives not to betray the sisters. Maybe for his first appearance in this version of Season 3, he could have this intimidating reveal where it dramatically shows the scrawny boy from Season 2 has become a buff, scarred son of a gun, clearly having worked out a lot during his year(s)-long stay.

The story following the Castlevania 3 adaptation would not have to be a Curse of Darkness adaptation, but the pieces were in place to pass the main protagonist torch over to Hector anyway. By making Season 3 all about his eventual escape, and having Season 4 follow him on the run, eventually overcoming his oppressor (Carmilla) and former partner (Isaac), we have ourselves a cohesive story that blends everything it establishes into one, airtight package, rather than feeling like a convoluted animation anthology.

Also, maybe Saint Germain’s Infinite Corridor quest can be worked into Hector’s adventure to freedom in some kind of creative way, without Saint Germain having to sacrifice his morals or gain info from a shady 3rd (or 4th) party.

Reply: I like your ideas!

Hard agree on removing Trevor and Sypha because they are effectively done, and Morana and Striga because they add absolutely nothing of importance. Ellis said that he created the council to explain who ran the kingdom while Carmilla was in Wallachia, but Lenore could do the job herself.  I’m not sure about Alucard because his story is also over, but I do see the potential of him grappling with his grief, and fearing he might become like Dracula. It’s just, the way it was done was skull-crushingly boring, and for now I have no better ideas.

(btw yes, Carmilla and Lenore could be wives at this point lmao, their personalities are strong enough that it wouldn’t come off as The Lesbians For Brownie Points. Maybe Carmilla turned Lenore so she’s her dame and superior, and this would cause frustration in Lenore who feels like Carmilla sees her more as her pet than a lover... frustration that she channels on Hector, in some sort of cycle of abuse way :) I still like the idea of her falling in love with Hector, but it’s an unhealthy, possessive love typical of a vampire, that Hector doesn’t reciprocate or grows out of.)

For Isaac, I mentioned the other day that he could use as a springboard the realization that Dracula cast him away like a broken tool, and from there, his affirmation that he’s worth more than what Dracula told him. ... yes, this is still Hector’s arc, but whatever at this point. Absolutely, S3 should avoid that stupid pattern of “oh maybe humans aren’t so bad-- nvm y’all rude, die”. Maybe he avoids people instead of barging through cities, and makes his army from the corpses he finds in abandoned towns? But he still can’t avoid everyone, hence, the scene with the captain.

Mhh. Hector’s story spanning so long would also influence Isaac’s, and it feels like too much? If Isaac had one year of time to build an army, dude would lead a small country basically. He’s already OP af, even if we nerf him by making him weak in physical combat. Same with Carmilla, she would definitely do some damage in one year.

I’m torn. Hector’s story in S3 could be tweaked a bit by making it less fetishistic and still treating Hector like a person: as in, someone with goals and principles and was not hired as General only because he’s pretty, that Lenore has to whittle down to convince him to work for him (the idea that Hector cannot be physically forced to work and his master needs to earn his trust is actually really good for a conflict). The two should butt heads and have more intriguing conversations, make the job harder for Lenore, let’s see if she keeps with the diplomacy or gets frustrated and needs to resort to the ring (which only makes sense in the scenario where Hector is deemed too dangerous to be allowed to work freely, since its only shown function is to bequeath control of the Creatures). I actually jotted some ideas down, if you’re interested :P

(oh, and no rape. obviously. she really didn’t need to do that.)

And S4 can kind of stay the same, but with the difference that Hector trapping Lenore is a form of cruel mercy, he does not crawl back to her because he too realized he does not need to cling to people to earn love, and he actually leaves the castle, ready to explore the world (with the implication that he might meet the equivalent of Rosaly, but it’s not necessary)

To clarify, what is your idea of Hector’s story in S4? Does he flee from Isaac on the chase? Will he eventually fight him and Carmilla? Will he meet Rosaly in the finale, and in this timeline they stay together without Isaac interfering? (please say yes 🥺)

But yeah. I still think the prequels could have been adapted, but if we need Carmilla as a spanner in the works tweaking the timeline, this feels much better. Trevor and Sypha alone not bogging down screentime would solve so many issues with the rushed pace.

[asordinaryppl]

A3! Main Story: Part 4 - Act 15: PAINFUL RE:BAKE - Episode 22: "Never Again" One More Time

Banri: “This is me. This is my acting.”

Kabuto: You’re too good. That’s bad.

Banri: Don’t give such nonsensical advice, man.

Kabuto: Judas’s acting that touches people’s hearts shouldn’t be perfect here.

Banri: … I understand the reasonin’.

Kabuto: I’m sure.

Kabuto: — So, Baal.

Juza: Yeah.

Kabuto: You’re not exuding any of his otherworldly air. This is a guy who thinks he’s the future of theater.

Juza: — Got it.

Kabuto: Show me the results of having you two act as each other in the etudes. The point wasn’t to have you imitate each other’s tone of voice and posture.

Kabuto: I wrote this with you two as beginners in mind, so you should be able to do it even better. There’s no passion in this at all.

Banri: Hold up, how long are ya gonna make us play each other’s roles for?

Kabuto: If you don’t reach the level I’m looking for, you might be playing these roles longer than your actual ones.

Juza: Wha…

Banri: Are you for real…

Kabuto: Guess I need the handcuffs. Hey, go bring—

Banri: NO NEED! Quit bringing up random shit from the past.

Juza: Please spare us.

-

Kabuto: There are no problems with this formation.

Banri: Got it.

Kabuto: You’re stupidly good at making stuff like this.

Banri: Thanks.

Banri: (The hell’s stupidly supposed to mean?)

Kabuto: The lighting, sound, hair and makeup and projection images are all set. All that’s left is the play’s most important part: acting.

Banri: I’ll definitely do something about that, as the lead.

Kabuto: You’re not thinking it’ll all be solved by the magic of acting right before the curtain rises, are you?

Banri: ——

Kabuto: It’s a common misconception inexperienced people have, but as time passes, you realize that if you can’t do something in the practice room, you won’t be able to do it on the actual stage.

Kabuto: … Have you guys grown comfortable with each other?

Kabuto: Back during your debut with Picaresque, the entirety of the Autumn Troupe, but especially you two, were so ready to tear the stage apart that I could feel it through the video.

Kabuto: You may not be able to go back to those times, but you should be able to remember them. Give me what you had back then, or even more than that.

Kabuto: If you can’t do that, what did you leave the comfort of your company and come here for?

Banri: You’re right, back then…

[Flashback starts]

Banri: ——

Juza: ——

Banri: … I win.

Juza: … I win.

[Flashback ends]

Banri: (That time in Picaresque I was so moved… That I acted unconsciously.)

Banri: (Right now, us members of the Autumn Troupe are trying to find an impulse that surpasses what we had before, in order to perform the Picaresque sequel.)

Banri: (But something that becomes a formative experience ain’t something you go through half-heartedly, and it ain’t something you can just look for and experience.)

Banri: (That was also a once-in-a-lifetime miracle.)

Banri: (... I wonder if a moment like that will ever come again.)

Banri: …

Kabuto: But still, Juza Hyodo’s too boring to mess around with.

Kabuto: He nods his head sincerely no matter what I tell him. I wish I could see him go “Stop fuckin’ around” the way you do.

Banri: Ahh?

Kabuto: Well, I’ll be having a one-on-one interview with him tonight. I’ll pull a sweet one on him and reveal his true self. (1)

-

Itaru: GW. That troublesome Senpai won’t be coming at all today, TY for your all-nighter. 

Banri: I’m beat from practice, man…

Itaru: That’s exactly when gaming comes in clutch.

Banri: Ughhhh…

Itaru: What’s practice at Hyakka Troupe like?

Banri: The director made Hyodo and I exchange roles and is workin’ us to the bone. Said he won’t let us play our actual roles till we perfect this.

Itaru: You exchanged roles? That director’s got some interesting tricks up his sleeve again.

Banri: Yeah, well, he saw a video of Picaresque and told us to bring the same fire as back then, and not just act half-heartedly.

Itaru: He sure researched you two thoroughly. Ah, disable the trap there, pls.

Banri: kk. And it seems he even watched Hyodo’s Portrait.

Itaru: That reminds me… we were gaming like this while everyone else in the Autumn Troupe were writing their Portraits. You were the only one slacking off.

Banri: Ahhhh…

Itaru: That’s from back when you were young and arrogant.

Itaru: Looks like that director’s not someone you can fool, same as our Director-san.

Banri: IKR…

Banri: It’s exactly because his abilities as both an actor and director are top-notch, that I want to take as much from him as I can and grow.

Banri: And then, put all that into Picaresque’s sequel.

Itaru: IKWYM.

Banri: Reminds me, the Spring Troupe’s RomiJuli sequel was pretty good.

Itaru: TY. Doing a sequel inevitably reminds you of all sorts of things.

Itaru: Yuzo-san criticized us pretty harshly for the first time in a good while, too.

Itaru: He told us to re-evaluate what we want to accomplish with this performance, and what we want to convey.

Itaru: So, on Sakuya’s recommendation, we all tried to sleep on the stage again.

Itaru: And then, he said that he wants to take on new challenges, so he won’t lose to how his old self used to be…

Itaru: So we all tried something new and came back a little improved.

Itaru: And on the first day, after everything that happened, our leader said–

[Flashback starts]

Sakuya: We each took on new challenges in preparation for the New Fleur Award, so I feel like we can return to this stage with new feelings.

Sakuya: Although we can only stand on stage for the first time once, we can have many other “firsts” from now on.

Sakuya: We can remember those feelings again and again. That courage we had when leaping into a brand-new world–

Sakuya: Let’s take all our “firsts” in a positive light and have fun together!

[Flashback ends]

Banri: That’s the Spring Troupe’s leader for ya.

Itaru: IKR.

Banri: (I can’t lose to Sakuya.)

Banri: (There’s no point if Spring and Summer are the only ones doin’ well.)

Banri: (In order for MANKAI Company to keep growing further, us Autumn Troupe’s also gotta put on a performance that surpasses the debut’s hype.)

Banri: (Honestly, since it happened once at the start, I figured it’d never happen again.)

Banri: (It’s exactly ‘cause I had this faintest feeling that we might not be able to surpass what we felt during the debut performance that I gave everyone a pep talk, saying that we absolutely have to…)

Banri: (I got no time to be twiddling my thumbs.)

Banri: (There’s no way I… we can’t surpass it.)

Banri: (The Autumn Troupe, and I as their leader, can definitely surpass the past. I’m sure of that…)

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NOTES:

(1) kabuto here replaces the 一杯 in 一杯食わせる (to play a trick on someone, or deceive them) with 甘味 (sweets), since juza likes sweets. i did the same with an english phrase to match the original vibe he's got going on