#every choice made here was just 'what would be funnier'

[diningndashing]

i had a vision

[bookshelfdreams]

So the German dub is out and I would like to offer up to all of you how it deals with the problem of formal/informal form of address because it's really interesting

(Preface: all of this applies how we as modern people use these forms of address. In the actual 18th century, addressing any adult informally was very uncommon, even between close friends. But we're doing a DJenkins approach here)

(@rocketrouquine wrote about how it is handled in the French dub here; also very interesting!)

The thing to understand about formal vs informal you is that it's about politeness, yes - but that's just a very basic understanding. Yes, you are supposed to be formal with people you don't know, but what they don't teach you in highschool foreign language class are all the things choice of address can communicate. Namely, what distance there is between people. About the closeness of a relationship, what level you're interacting on, about signaling how far you will let a person into your life.

The crew of the Revenge all call each other Du (informal) - except for Stede, who everyone calls Sie (formal). Du is for friends and Stede is not their friend, he is the boss. There is a camaraderie and solidarity among the crew that Stede can't partake in. Sie, in this case, is like a barrier that you put up to keep someone from becoming too friendly with you and reminding them what kind of relationship this is (namely, a purely professional one).

This is underlined by the crew obviously and openly thinking Stede is an idiot - and by Stede calling everyone Du. Is it because he sees himself as a social superior who can address people informally but insists on formal address for himself? That's one way to read it! But more interesting and more accurate, in my opinion, is to read this as an attempt by Stede to make himself part of their ingroup. It's especially obvious when Stede invites Olu and Jim to sit with him on the couch in ep1; he's using Du while Olu very poignantly keeps insisting on Sie. It underlines how visibly uncomfortable Olu is sitting there trying to explain to Stede that people choose a life of crime out of necessity, while making Stede seem even more oblivious and out of place.

Interestingly, Stede uses Sie himself to put some professional distance between himself and someone else. Namely, with the tribe elder from ep2, who he addresses formally. Is this a sign of respect? Sure, he has a tendency to go for Sie by default. But it reminds me more of how one would be per Sie with a doctor or therapist; as a reminder that this is a strictly professional relationship. It's easier to be open and vulnerable with someone who you know isn't emotionally invested in your wellbeing, isn't it?

Stede comes from a background where one is expected to address everyone with Sie unless granted permission otherwise. This is a sign of respect, the same way lower class people on this show tend to use Du as sign of solidarity; on Nigel's ship, all the officers call each other Sie. So when Nigel uses Du with Stede, it adds a layer of disrespect, despite it being perfectly acceptable, since they have known each other as children. This is even more evident with Chauncey, who we see interact more with other pirates; when he wants something from someone (Izzy, Spanish Jackie) he calls them Sie, no problem, while Nigel's crew doesn't even make an attempt at showing some respect at the ep1 tea party.

And then there's Izzy. Izzy and Stede call each other every insult under the sun and also address each other formally the whole time, which is the funniest possible choice. Like. I'm not sure why "Sie Arschloch!" is 1000x more bitchy than "Du Arschloch!" but it just is. It's taking this whole game of distance and closeness to a whole new level; I despise you so much I would never entertain the notion of being friendly enough with you to use your first name. Sie Wichser. It's made even funnier by the fact that for Stede, Sie is much more intuitive than for Izzy. It seems like Izzy has to make a lot more of an effort to keep the Sie up, but he's not gonna be the one to break this particular stalemate first, goddammit.

Finally (because that's the really interesting bit, isn't it) Ed. Initially, in ep3, Stede calls Ed Sie, which, of course he would think to do that while he's laying there half dead and bleeding, I love him. Ed echoes this back, because he's determined to "do this right", make a good first impression, and I thought this would be it, they'd be per Sie until the kiss, like it often goes in media translated from English. Fine, I guess.

But then.

When Ed wakes Stede up, he immediately goes for Du. No warm up, no getting to know each other first at all. And it's great! First of all, because Ed of course is the type of person to just call everyone Du, but also because of what happens next: Stede calls him Du back. This is the first time this particular hand has been extended to him, and oh, is he excited to take it.

(Other people call Stede Du first, Spanish Jackie, the chief, but it's not like this; not an invitation)

Stede isn't meeting Blackbeard, he's meeting some guy named Ed. Someone he instantly makes friends with; someone who has already seen him at his worst and so, who he can be himself with. Someone he doesn't need to put up pretenses or worry about proper behaviour with. This scene would have lost so much had they decided to keep up the Sie.

Remember that camaraderie I talked about earlier? Solidarity among the crew that Stede tries but can't manage to share in? Here it is! Here is the guy who will play dress up with him, who will delight in his interests, who will be his friend.

Yes, sometimes an unprompted Du can be disrespectful. But sometimes it is like this: Hey. I see you. Want to be friends?

[queenwendy]

My favorite thing with Relativity Falls is trying to wrangle Dipper and Mabel’s gender with the identity theft. Are one of them trans? If so, which one? If they don’t have any siblings, that means one of them is Stan and Ford’s grandparent. Is the remaining twin pretending to be the other or are they honest about being a different one? There’s a lot of fun combinations:

I flip flop on which twin works better as the author, but I really love Grauntie Mabel so if I ever made Relatively Falls fanfic I’d probably have Dipper be the Author with Mabel running the shack. I also really like the secret identity angle so I fully support Mabel impersonating her brother. To solve the gender issue you can either go the trans route or the crossdressing for 30 years route. The most “natural” feeling one, at least fanon wise imo, is that Dipper is transmac but fell into the portal before transitioning. But the dipper as transmac headcanon bugs me for reasons not relevant here, and I like Grauntie Mabel too much to make her crossdress as a man for 30 years; so I actually prefer transfemme dipper who fell into the portal after transitioning (I am also definitely not impartial, I am a trans woman lol). That also ties into Dipper feeling like a weird outcast who would study cryptids a la Ford, as opposed to him just being a mystery loving nerd with a constellation birthmark (of course, that’s if you make Dipper study the same things as Ford, which lots of people don’t).

Of course, that line of reasoning leads to all sorts of interesting questions as a result: who is the McGucket analogue? I usually see Candy or Pacifica, but if you wanted to mirror the show (and lean into the queer angle/a relatively falls fiddauthor), Wendy works pretty well. That also helps put Fiddleford in the shack so he can go on adventures with Stan and Ford. And Shermie? Oh god, Shermie.

Shermie is his own can of worms. If he’s Stan and Ford’s brother, is he older or younger? Is he there with them over the summer or is he back with Filbrick and Caryn? Maybe he’s still the unseen grandpa, making him Dipper and Mabel’s brother and sidestepping which one of them is the grandparent. Imo, Shermie works best as Stan and Ford’s older brother adventuring with them. Maybe even as a Soos analogue.

As for who the grandparent is, I dunno! Maybe Soos is, making him Dipper and Mabel’s brother. Maybe Mabel was, making the fact she faked her death and impersonated Dipper all the more tragic and gut punch-y (and very different from Stan, who Alex Hirsch thought never would do that). Maybe Dipper was, and so Mabel is pretending to be a grandparent. If it was Mabel or Dipper, who’s the spouse?

I like swapping Soos and Aubelita too much to make Soos Stan and Ford’s grandpa (though it’s a fun idea I don’t see anyone do). So then one of the mystery twins has to be the grandparent. I don’t think Mabel would abandon her family, so Dipper as the real grandparent has to happen via process of elimination (meaning until Not What (S)he Seems, Mabel goes by “grandma mabel”). Who the other parent is up in the air; Wendy or Pacifica are already popular ships with Dipper, and also potential McGucket analogues. If you wanna get really weird with it, Bill is, imo, a valid choice given the implied romance between him and Ford.

And that snowballs into dealing with Bill. Does he get swapped? If so, with who? Gideon kinda makes sense, especially if you want to keep the Hand that Rocks the Mabel(Ford? Stan?) plotline (as opposed to Stan x Bud which… okay that’s actually funnier). But Dream Demon Gideon sounds kinda stupid to me, even if it fits oddly well (I actually think that works better if Mabel is the author). Do you swap Bill with Euclid and Scalene? Then there’s two dream demons and baby bill running around, but Bill’s parents are kinda nothing burgers of characters. Why do they want a portal? You can also just keep Bill as Bill. I mean, the Book of Bill indicated that there’s a Bill for every universe. I dunno where I stand there, but I lean towards keeping Bill as himself. But swapping any obsessive ex tendencies of his from Ford to Dipper for obvious reasons.

I dunno if I’ll ever write anything, and that’s obviously not all the questions this AU raises (if Pacifica is swapped with Preston, how does Double Dipper play out? Does Boyish Dan work at the shack or is he the estranged son? Who do Candy and Grenda swap with? Are they the Rico and Jorge of Mabel’s backstory? How different is Mabel and Dipper’s backstory to a Tale of Two Stans?) but this AU is probably my favorite and every time I reblog art or an idea about it I get more and more drawn in. It’s really thought provoking.

[weirdmarioenemies]

Name: Mr. Egg, Mr. Pickle, and Mr. Hot Dog

Debut: BurgerTime

BurgerTime is one of those retro games and that's about it. It existed, and it's Retro!, and I feel like people don't really care about it aside from that. It never even got an awkward attempt at a scrimblo adventure reboot, like Frogger did! Poor BurgerTime.

Anyway, my first time playing BurgerTime was not by playing BurgerTime at all, but a SpongeBob Flash game clone of it. I have no personal connection to BurgerTime itself... but I know it has some enemies that are living foods! I always get a kick out of that! So I'm going to talk about some of the various design incarnations of them!

These original designs are exactly what you would expect from a 1982 arcade game. I feel like I've seen Pac-Man ghosts drawn EXACTLY like this. I like how Mr. Egg has the strangely realistic crispy bubbling detail around his edges. They're all fine.

...is what I felt before I noticed their elbows and knees! Ew! Bones! Wretched creatures!

Ohoho... now what have we here? The in-game sprites are delightful! The simplicity makes them very cute! Their feet are interesting, being just little floating lines, except for Mr. Egg's, because his legs are made of amorphous albumen! Mr. Egg is really the breakout star here. Look at his yolk! That's his EYE! This is so awesome! That's such a rare design choice to see, especially since egg creatures that are not of the "creature hatching from them" variety are pretty rare themselves.

Mr. Pickle is no slouch either! I appreciate him being specifically a pickle slice, often portrayed as nicely crinkle-cut. I just have to question why he is a villain! Pickles are one of Burger's best friends! This is like if Cheese was a villain! I think if anything Mr. Pickle should be a cute little sidekick on the side of burgers, and in his place can be, I don't know, Mr. Olive? Of course, pickles are much funnier than olives!

Mr. Hot Dog is not as interesting as the other two, but a simple sausage with eyes and feet is still cute. He is like the leader of the bunch, the main antagonist of our hero, Peter Pepper, who I do not really care about. I like that it's him! Burgers and hot dogs are like counterparts, but in no way equals. Hot dogs are easier to hold and eat, but burgers are just Better. And hot dogs have finally decided to give burgers a piece of their mind!

This flyer art is funny. I don't LIKE any of the designs showcased, but they're funny! Faces are moved around on the foods, noses are introduced to the series, and Mr. Egg is now a slice of a hard-boiled egg. You will also notice the elusive Mr. Lemon! Mr. Lemon is not real! I don't know why there is such an emphasis on lemon here. Finally, of course, you will notice the personified Cheese, as she noselessly beckons Peter to recline atop a beef patty. Ooh la la! Don't you wish you were invited to hang out with such a beautiful female cheese who is a girl woman?

Really, the designs of the core food fiends never diverged much from the classic cartoon-style versions they started out with, appearing like that in pretty much every sequel. Except...!

In BurgerTime World Tour, which was not a good game at all, these guys have been utterly rebooted! Now known as Frank Furter, Ruthless Dill, and Sonny! Are these their real names? Or just some similar guys?

The designs are rather basic, as to be expected from Foods With Faces, but it IS interesting seeing them generally made so much more monstrous. Something ESPECIALLY interesting is that Sonny the egg is the only one with limbs, reminding me of how Mr. Egg is the only one to have actual legs in the original sprites!

Ready for the SCARIEST redesign from World Tour?

This game's version of Peter Pepper is this horrible gentrifying millenial and I'm glad his game was prematurely delisted. I hope he got eaten by an egg and chewed by teeth made of yolk. I hate him!

[keepyourpantsongohan]

Ayesha Liveblogs Mashle S1

"I'm a chic and elegant 75-year-old." Senior Citizen Vibes Goals

Also why's Regro's kid so young, is this a wizard life span thing? Or is this a 'I found you in the woods' kind of thing?

"I couldn't remember if I had to push or pull." "How many years have you lived here?" Hey now, we all forgor sometimes, Regro

"You can't use magic at all, because for some reason you're different. The least I can do is..." Thank you, Exposition Elder

"You're such a good, amenable son." So, I started with dub before I decided I liked Mash's sub voice better, but in English, Regro says, "good, smart son," which is a wild thing to say to someone who just tried to put a door back on sideways

Wonder if the mark on Mash from the intro is makeup. Why not have him do it before going out?? It'd save some trouble

Not a fan of the violent interlude. Bold choice so early

"Ya aimin' for an indirect kiss or something? Ya love me? Are ya pickin' a fight?" Again, I direct you to the English: "What, you want to make out with me? Or are you trying to pick a fight?" which is a much funnier translation. I love localization

Well, say what you will about how little Regro has prepared Mash for society, at least he believes in hands-on parenting:

What I've learned in the past 10 minutes of watching this show is an essential part of the Clark Kent/Teen Hercules formula is that they need to feel friendly and well-meaning. Mash does not have the same, "Oops!! I sincerely want to help," energy. However, I do enjoy that everyone he runs into is absolutely petrified by his vibes

"I can't stay mad at him." Regro said: I'm no disciplinarian

"It's because we aggresively rid ourselves of inferior blood unable to use magic." Why is it always eugen!cs. I am so tired!!!!

I was correct, it WAS an 'I found you in the woods' situation

"Even though we weren't related by blood, even if the entire world denied his existence, I would always be a father to that boy!" At least someone in this society isn't icky

"Can magic be pff'd (away) just like that!" Mash said: RIP to the other guys, I'm literally built different

SCREAM not Mash bumping the Nalcom Pass Magic like a volleyball

"Enroll in magic school and be chosen as [Divine Visionary]. Simply put, if you're selected, that means God accepts you. Which means, society will accept you." We have arrived at the plot. Also, why should anyone believe you, Bradley Coleman, Discrimination Detective and Torture Afficionado

"I want us to be able to live in peace again." [Sobbing] "You're such a good boy. My son." I really do enjoy how much Regro loves his kid. Every couple minutes he's like I Have The World's Best Child

"I made his scar indistinguisable from a real one." Bradley's immediate transition from Evil Guy Who Beats Up Dad to Makeup Artist Acting as Foliage During Exam Prep is incredible. Tell me more

"Claude Lucci!" "This year's seventh best up-and-coming mage!" What, the other six were busy?

"Kindly... stop moving." Not Mash disenchanting his exam paper by asking it nicely

"There's a certain reason I have to keep you away from the goal." Lemon Irvine coming in hot with her not-so-hidden agenda

If the sphinx is the only way we get brown skin in this show, I think that's a hate crime

(That's not what a hate crime is, Michael. Well, I hated it!)

Honestly I'm shocked it took Mash that long to start busting through the maze walls, I thought that'd be his first move

"Professor Lucci asked me to. He told me he would pass me if I got in [Mash's] way. My family is poor, and I desparately wanted to be accepted for their sake." They do love expositional dialogue

I figured Lemon might be a love interest, but wild that she went from sabotage to marriage proposal without a breath

Breaking Lucci's wand is certainly one way to stop him

"Headmaster Wahlberg!" HEADMASTER WHO????

"You never considered that the sphinx might be stronger, or that you may not be able to break the walls." "Well, even if I considered, it still had to be done." Mash is growing on me

"I'm immensely more powerful than you." I give it 3 seconds before Mash decides to cut out the middleman of attacking the magic and instead punch Headmaster Wahlberg directly

Oh, colour me incorrect, he caught it by letting the magic knife go through his hands instead of his dad's doll:

"That is the reason I put emphasis on protecting the weak and regulating the strong. Noblesse Oblige. One's capacity as a powerful being. According to my observations, you are a human being that possesses that capacity." I like this philosophy, Headmaster Wahlberg

This is very Naruto bell-test/chunin exam where the test is more if you are willing to set your own goals and needs aside to prioritize your comrades who may be struggling. It's a good test of character!

HAHAHA Mash clarifying that he would also beat the headmaster up if needed

"God is dead." Mash is me every time I do bad on an exam

"I'm Finn Ames. I'll be rooming with you." I'm guessing this is Divine Visionary Rayne Ames' brother, and Finn seems like social anxiety incarnate

"The dorm pairs up transfers and continuing students together as roommates." That makes sense, in my mind it was just normal that people start Magic High School at 16, but I guess it's helpful to have Magic Elementary/Junior High School

"Finn made sure to not say, 'Let's do our best together.'" Finn said: And they were roommates (not friends)

Based on him having them constantly in the intro, I wonder how many people will think Mash's magical power is generating cream puffs

Why would Mash agree to a broom race knowing that he doesn't have the magic to fly lmao? Is he just going to jump very high?

Update from 1 minute later: He threw the broom and then jumped on it mid-air. Close enough!

"Would you like to be friends with me?" I guess Lloyd Cavill is their in-universe Draco Malfoy

"Because he's the son of a high-ranking member of the Bureau of Magic." Myfatherwillhearaboutthis.jpg

LMAO amazing that Lloyd is trying to bully him but Mash is unbulliable because he's strong enough for every task and too stupid to be emotionally harmed

"But I really am glad. To have a great guy like you for a friend." Mash said: We're friends whether you like it or not, Finn 💝

"I'm getting tired of textbooks. Next, I want you to burn his clothes. Got that, Finn?" Oh no, Lloyd's using Finn for his bullying. That WILL, unfortunately, work

"You called me your friend, but... Still, I did horrible things to you. So I just... I needed to apologize to you. I'm so very sorry." Oh, Finn

"You two and [Lloyd] are of different status. Different social status means different treatment." They really don't bother to hide their prejudice in this world. Vice Principal Farman said: You get expelled because you're poor. Next question

PLEASE I thought Mash might attack the Principal but then I thought, 'No, that'd be too stupid.' Imagine my surprise when I unpaused:

"He didn't seem that open to reason, so I couldn't help it. But really, after one, what's one more?" "That's serial killer logic!" LMAO, WHEN YOU'RE RIGHT, YOU'RE RIGHT

"You can expel me at any time. I can bury you at any time." Now THAT'S serial killer logic

"The Bureau of Magic is this country's highest legal authority." I will not lie to you, every time this comes up, I think of Fairy Tail and how they made Jellal one of the Ten Wizard Saints. It's not a foolproof system LOL

"The Divine Visionaries who lead the Bureau of Magic have a role. That role is to carefully consider what other people desire. That is why I sincerely hope that someday, someone like you will become a Divine Visionary." 1) Maybe make Mash pass an IQ test first, he doesn't know how to open a door 2) Insane thing to say about someone who just beat up and buried a faculty member

"I will handle the Vice Principal and the Bureau of Magic." Headmaster Wahlberg said: I do pick favourites, and I pick you, Mash

"There is one more problem that you will eventually have to face. I but I have faith in you, that you will overcome it." Does this imply the Headmaster knows Mash is magicless?

"Mash was chosen as a player for Duelo, an aerial magic sport using brooms." A classic part of the Wizard Boy's journey

But really: It's a wonder that Warner Brothers hasn't come after this show for IP theft, considering the design of Headmaster Wahlberg, the school, the Duelo Sports Designs. They've even got them wearing the same house colours, for some reason. Whatever the case may be, I don't think Joke Revolting needs any more money, so, that's fine I guess?

PLEASE why did Tom wait until the game started to explain the rules of Duelo to Mash

I was wondering how they were going to solve the no flying issue long enough for Mash to play a sport, and the answer is: Mash jumped and then kicked his legs very, very fast like the world's most peculiar bird. God bless

"Totes sorry for throwing garbage at you." LOL realistic crowd commentary

"He has two marks. I've never seen him before." Does number of marks correlate with magical abilities?

Nobody at this school has a problem with Lance Crown kidnapping three students and trapping them in a bottle right in a classroom with witnesses? Is his daddy also rich LMAO

"If you want it back, come to the forest next to the owl hut." Maybe it's the intro, but I'm convinced that this deranged interaction will end up with Lance and Mash being friends

"And the lines on your mark reveal the amount reveal the amount of magic power you currently have." Thanks for confirming, Tom

"Double line magic users. They exist in this realm at a rate of one in 100,000. They're considered chosen by magic itself." Makes you wonder what's the max amount of lines someone can get on their face

"Don't do it, Mash! He's dangerous!" [Finn yelling, simultaneously] "It's over. My life is going to end!" Tom and Lemon legitimately warning Mash away while Finn just screams in the background that he's going to die. Poor baby

"I wonder if Mash is okay." "I'm worried." [Regro looks up, shocked] "What?" [Bradley, defensively] "No, I'm talking about my profits." Bradley Coleman for that One Bigoted Uncle You Still Have to Maintain A Relationship With

Also also also. Why is Brad still wearing the leotard. Why isn't he working his day job? Several days have passed. Has he quit being a Magical Bigot Cop to hang out in the forest with Regro all day?

"I have to call the police. He's a criminal." LMAO why is Mash's first assumption upon seeing a young girl in Lance's locket that he must be a freak?? Mash said: I can excuse kidnapping, but I draw the line at being a child predator

"I don't have a Lolita complex. I have a sister complex." "And that makes it better?" I gave Lance too much credit. Call the police!

Also, this is NOT a good enough show for me to put up with this weirdness. Meet me in the back alley, behnchod

"Apparently, it's an incurable disease that will strip her of her mark and magical power. The doctor says she has five years at best." I don't know if I like the positioning of magiclessness as a disease, but I guess interesting that being born with magic isn't a guarantee that you'll continue to have it?

"The Bureau of Magic made this rotten system. I'll become a Divine Visionary and make sure to save you!" You see, Lance's disowning his parents and rebelling against the system that makes his sister Anna's magic loss dangerous is a compelling enough story. There was no need for the other stuff. Share those feelings only with a psychiatrist

"Unbelievable. Is he using physical enhancement magic?" This Lance vs. Mash altercation is good for establishing the different kinds of magic. Lance's gravity. That people DO have body magic, even if Mash's is not magic, just Insane Strength

"You don't seem like a bad guy. We shouldn't be fighting." Mash chooses his character judgment purely on Lance NOT dropping his friends off a cliff, and not the whole kidnapping thing

Lance said: I may have overreacted, you are entitled to compensation. He went to the My Dad School of Hey, My Bad, Here's Some Money

"There are three dorms in Easton Magic Academy. Students with corresponding characteristics are assigned to each dorm. Adler. Courage and conviction. Orca. Wisdom and willingness. Lang. Ability and ambition." Ah yes, the famed One Trait to Rule Them All test. They said: We don't need a Hufflepuff

"I did it! I did it, Lance." "Even slackers like you should be able to do this much." [Finn, mentally] "Maybe Lance is really good at taking care of others." The way Lance showed up to Finn and Mash's dorm just to gently bully them into letting him be their Potions tutor. He'd be a great character if not for The Troubles

We interrupt this program to say: Their Potions aprons are SOOO cute. Also I love that they did a silly transition screen with them

"You're completely useless when not fighting, huh?" "Well, yeah." Mash knows his flaws

"Side characters have no right to give me orders, you moron!" Rude Redhead provides meta commentary as his first line

I do think it's funny how Mash and Finn have immediately accepted Lance into their friend group. He didn't apologize. He just started showing up and helping them, and they were like 'yeah, we're accepting strays'

"I, Dot Barrett, is the main character of this world." Do you think the grammar is intentionally off in this sentence LOL?

"I'm going to join the Bureau of Magic and rid this world of hot guys!" 1) Crazy plan, please elaborate. 2) Indirectly, Dot's saying he thinks is Mash is hot

"Hey, Mash. Ignore him. He's one year older than us. And he's infamous for misconduct." Lance said: You can only accept challenges from me, your self-assigned rival, who plays fair, by trapping your friends in a bottle to lure you to the woods

Dot's voice sounded familiar and apparently he is Kaji from Given AND Loid from Spy x Family. He said: I have range. I can play Bisexual Drummer, Anxious Spy Father, AND Annoying

"What's with him? Freaky." "Huh? What'd you just say?" "I was just marvelling at how manly and wonderful you are." I expect the girl showing interest in Dot has been paid for this somehow

"With my magic, I can make anyone even slightly attracted to me fall in love." To be fair, I think Dot just acts that way normally

"I don't want to be involved in anything that's bad." Personally, I think Silva and the girl (whose hair also happens to be silver) are in cahoots

Explosion does seem to be an effective combat form for Dot

Again, I cannot emphasize strongly enough how funny it is that Lance is now Lemon and Finn's comfort person. HE KIDNAPPED AND IMPRISONED YOU ONE EPISODE AGO

"Endure five hits from my magic, and I'll leave that girl alone." Well, if Mash is involved, I bet he can take a punch

I guess Mash did not feel inclined to help Dot LOL

"I know you're under my charm spell, but I didn't think you'd be this desperate." Called it, she's working with Silva

Well, I guess throwing a cream puff in Silva's mouth is one way to shut him up

Also why is there no professor monitoring the clear fight between students during class hours? This school has NO safeguards

"There are different types of magic users. White Mages excel at scholarship and support magic. Red Mages excel at combat. Mash has been facing White Mages so far." [Schmidt from New Girl voice] A White Mage? NO! Typical!

"Triceps Magic: Ballista Knuckle." I wonder how long Mash can give the appearance of magic by just saying Magic before he beats people up

"That makes two." "Huh?" "You're going to endure ten hits, right? Show me how much better you are. You have eight more to go." Alright Mash, I have to admit, that was pretty metal (no pun intended)

"I treat everyone equally," said Mash, as he pile drives his girl opponent into the ground

"Sorry for getting you caught up in all that. Thanks, man." "That's not like you." Mash said: You do not give the vibes of someone capable of an apology, Dot

"The great war for the coins against Lang's elite, the Magia Lupus." LUPUS??? LIKE THE DISEASE? WHAT?

"Touch the unicorn's horn, and through your magic power, it will read your thoughts and ideas to select a dorm that suits you." Not the Sorting Skeleton LMAO

PLEASE I thought the problem was going to be Mash's lack of magic not allowing the Skeleton to read him. Instead, it is Mash only having thoughts of cream puffs so the Sorting Skeleton just has to make up what his vibes could be. Mash is literally, no thoughts, head empty, incarnate

"Perfect education. Overwhelming talent. Noble bloodline. We're collecting coins to create a world free of impurities." I am so tired. Is there any shonen anime that isn't about eugen!cs???? Give me a break!! I have so much to say, and it all amounts to 🖕🖕🖕

Are all those puppets former students??? Does Lang only have like 7 students in it now? Were the parents of these children notified?? This school is terrible

To Regro's credit as a parent, he did try to talk Mash out of wizard school

Bizarre to have a recap episode six episodes into the series LOL

It is interesting to confirm that Mash was keeping Regro in the loop about his school fights but how is it that the school didn't notify Regro that Mash fought an adult man, The Vice Principal, no less

"Do you know why humanity has flourished? Because we tireless pillage, use and devour those weaker than us." That's why capitalism has flourished. Lifespans are GREATLY increased in countries not committing [LOUD FOGHORN NOISE]

I guess Silva proves the puppet transformation isn't permanent

It looks like Serial Pupetter Slyther-Lang has three magic marks?

"I'm going to take him to the nurse's office." "You're giving up your coin?" "No, but I'm prioritizing." "Besides, it doesn't matter how strong you are, I'm not gonna lose." Mash is a sweet boy, after a fashion

I know the fact that Serial Puppetter was tricked by Mash's slight of hand is supposed to be interesting, but it seems so silly that they explained it Humpty Dumpty-montage style with Mash huffing and puffing the coin like the Big Bad Wolf?

"When of us is in trouble, we're all in trouble, huh? Damn that punk." Mash's rescue of Silva has prompted a crisis of conscience

"What do you think you're doing here? And did you change your hairstyle?" Lance said: There's only room for one unhinged friend in Mash and Finn's dorm, and that position is occupied by me

"His face clearly scores above 70th percentile. And being so tall... his difficulty playing the game of life is... Easy Mode." Dot, evaluating all the men you meet by how hot they are is kinda gay, just so you know

"I hate good-lookin' guys to death." Dot has a crush and doesn't know how to deal with it so he's writing Lance a letter that says 'get out of my school'

"What? Always have a gift when you drop by someone else's place. That's common sense." [Finn, internally] "Despite talking and acting like a ruffian, Dot may have a good upbringing? And it's herb tea to boot." I do like this characterization for Dot

"Adler upperclassmen who could stop them are all away for off-campus internships." Aren't they always LOL?

It's v fair that Mash got detention for kicking a staff member

Whoever designed the owls was so on the ball, they're adorable

[Lance, seriously] "Lang guys might come into contact with you, targeting your coin. And I will hut them down." [Mash with a shojo background] "You're worried about me?" Maybe Lance also a crush (on Mash)

"*Help me. I've never swum before in my life." LOL @ the captioned gurgling

OH, LANCE NOT WANTING TO HURT THE OWLS. I want to like him so bad. I wish you weren't a freak 💔

There's more blood in this fight than I thought there would be

"He wasn't attacking me the whole time because he was worried about the owls." Wahhhhhhhhh Lance 😭

"I'll get serious about this," said the Shark with a wand in his fin, fighting a human torpedo who couldn't swim two minutes ago

"I apologize for seeming menacing." The masked Lang member is the only interesting one so far LOL

"Such speed, and with no magic... Then he is the same type as me." See, interesting!

Why does Lance have Mash's dorm robe? He's so involved in Mash

Are Tom and the other students in the hospital wing people who were turned into puppets? Or has another magic stricken them?

"I feel bad for them. Let's take them with us." Please. Why are Lance and Mash the pillars of this friendship group

Perhaps it's because they are the ones bonded by protecting their family and generally being able to deal with a crisis:

"Don't do anything too risky, all right?" [Mash presses Lemon's stuffed toy cream puff to his chest] "I'm sorry, but I don't think I'll be able to keep that promise." Maybe Lemon's feelings are reciprocated!

"An arena?" "What is this?" "Are you a little slow?" Yes he is, Dot

"I'm here at Third Fang's request." Is Third Fang the name of a student or another school clique like Magia Lupus?

Dot's reason for fighting this guy being him being hot. He may be the gayest person at this school

Even the background artist knows it. The rainbows are a metaphor:

"Six of death row's most notorious inmates have escaped from Hecatrice." Maybe that's where the other six up-and-coming mages were

"You guys beat Silva the second-year, didn't you?" "Actually, he maybe kind beat the crap outta me." Dot said: Mama didn't raise no liar

"I never said anything about making you step on the marks." [Explodes his opponent's wand on a time bomb] Dot is smarter than he looks

"This punk. Striking an attractive pose, even in defeat... He sure is unwavering. I don't exactly hate that." Dot said: Baddie down 😔💘

I need to describe to you exactly what just happened. Honestly, it makes the most compelling case for their friendship thus far:

[Everyone being sucked into the ground by quicksand pits]: Mash, deadpan, holding a cream puff above his head: Please, save my baby. At least spare this one. Lance, shockingly calm for someone being sucked into quicksand: I assume this means our enemies have no intention of letting us g.... Finn, crying, wrapping his whole body around Dot: I'm sinking! I'm going to sink! Dot [internal monologue]: I think these guys are... even more insane than I am?

"I am the Third Fang of Magia Lupus, Wirth Madl." What a sentence. Also I guess it was neither student nor clique name, it was a position

The individual battle thing is fun, but these names are all crazy. Every name on this show is so silly. Milo Genius, Love Cute, Abyss Razor, it's like a random word generator

"You're unable to use magic, aren't you?" "Th-Th-That's not necessarily t-t-true." LOL Mash never expected anyone to call him on it

"The Crown family is renowned for their gravity magic. You come from a good bloodline. Your talent is wasted." Wirth said: Have you considered ✨being a bigot✨?

Wirth does look a little like a Gojogeto baby. Like Dad #1, he has lil round sunglasses and a spiky hairstyle, and like Dad #2, he has dark hair and a belief in geno—[GUNSHOT NOISE]

"You said people become stronger with a better environment. Based on on your logic, it appears my environment is the superior one." Lance said: I do have house spirit actually

"This is concentrated magical essence, extracted from other students." Gross. Student juice

"So the only one allowed to insult them as flunkies is me." Lance said: Quit dissing my friends

WHAT KIND OF AN ATTACK NAME IS TORTURE POLE, LANCE?

Apparently it is an attack name where the subject is quartered by opposing graviational pulls. Fitting I guess. Lucky he's using it on a mud monster and not a person!

"Do you understand? You are still worthless to me." Bad choice of name for your baby then, Wirth's Dad

"I don't like the way you talk or act. But I respect all the effort you've put in." I think Lance just talk-no-jutsu'd Wirth

Abyss is the first person to be able to get real damage on Mash. They seem to be doing magic, so is it that they have magic tools, or that they meant by being despised by the world that they just look very strange? They do have funky eyes

"How revolting. Your situation is similar to mine, but those ideas... You must've blessed by whoever was around you." Abyss said: I'm gonna make my bad childhood YOUR problem, Mash

"This device drains magic power." That answers an earlier question of what was happening to the students

Mash using being impaled to get a hit in is unexpectedly clever

"The Eye of the Devil temporarily disables the magic of all who fall under its gaze. Magic is everything in this world. Thus, I am a pariah. A target of scorn." Everyone states their motivations outright in this show

"I feel kinda bad now. You can't use that eye on me at all." LMAO @ MASH APOLOGIZING FOR BEING HARD TO ATTACK

[Abyss as Michael Realman voice]: Birth is a curse, and existence, a prison

Mash splitting the floor to force Abyss into a single path. What Mash lacks in thinking, he makes up for in instinct

"My Secondth spell was shattered by ridiculous violence?" Sounds about right

Mash shouting which muscle he's using to attack before doing it seems like adding insult to injury LOL

"I was an affront to God's gift of magic." Everyone seems real religious in magical society

"Lord Abel needed me. Even if it was simply to be a useful tool." Abyss fulfills the Haku archetype (a power feared by people, attempted murder by parents, taken in by someone who needs them, even the ambiguous gender vibes), so I am more sympathetic to their plight

"You're probably right about me being blessed. I can't even begin to put myself in your place. But we could become friends, then..." That's a very sweet way for Mash to end this fight

Abyss can't even trust Mash not to hate him for his eye eventually

"Oh, and I won't change my mind. No matter how much the world loathes your eye. No matter what others say about you because of it. My attitude towards you won't change. That's how Pops raised me. Me, who can't use magic." Mash said: Maybe the real magic is the power of good parenting

Oh!!!! Is Finn's brother (I assume) from the intro finally showing up??

"Hey. Do you like me, or don't ya?" "It's just, I barely know you, so. Right, Finn?" We have finally found someone Dot doesn't find hot

Awwww, Dot stepping in front of Finn to brace for the attack

"Daddy said I can kill any guy who doesn't cherish me." Honestly, a slay for Love's dad!

It is not enough to have the battle, they must also have a 30 minute time limit before Mash gets to face Middle School Medusa

"You seriously give up too easily. But that's gonna be a problem once you get a real friend." "A real friend?" "That's right. Someone who'll honestly get sad or angry on your behalf." I like Dot's sister

(Also, this proves the point they CAN write a normal sibling relationship and simply chose not to. Eep.)

Did Dot just gain another magical mark from the power of friendship?!?!

"Children born with the Warding Cross on their foreheads... Battle demons who unleash their magic power when their emotions cross a certain threshold." WAIT, THE BANDANA WAS A PLOT POINT?

[Stomping on Milo's spine repeatedly] "The most important thing in this world is actions. Not words." Big Brother Rayne is here, but he's more spooky than I expected

Also wild that you can be a Divine Visionary while also being a student. They're letting teens run the government?

Also also. How does no one know that Finn and Rayne are siblings. They all know Lance. Somehow how they don't know that this guy with the exact same half-blond, half-black hair, same gold eyes, and same last name is related?

I'm shocked that we still haven't seen Finn's magic style

"Allow me to apologize for my rudeness," said Rayne, after pelting Mash with a series of magical swords three times without even asking his name

"But without any magic, you're going to have a tough time." [Mash, lying defensively] "But I can use magic." He keeps getting called on it LOL

"Our world has no shortage of problems. For allies, I want people who are strong on their own." Rayne said: We're friends now whether you like it or not. He's uno reversed what Mash did to his brother

"He's probably a good guy." LOL that's about the level of confidence I have in Rayne too, Mash

Mash going from destroying doors because he's confused to doing it because he's angry on Lemon's behalf is character development

"You can't possibly be a better magic user than Rayne, a Divine Visionary." Oh, he isn't!

"They're on the receiving end, yet they take advantage of our kindness. And they selfishly assert their rights. Audacious, is it not?" This is what it feels like talking to Conservatives LOL

"What? A double back somersault at this age?" PLEASE, excessively advanced toddlers is my favourite trope:

"Your way is kinda a problem for me. So I don't think we can be friends." Mash is so polite about it

Using magic to make someone fight themselves is a very evil combat form

"If you break the rules, I will break your friend apart." I said that, and Abel found an immediately more evil way to fight, by using Finn as a puppet and threatening to disassemble him if Mash fights back

"What I am doesn't matter. I need to have you regret lashing out at my friends." Mashhhhhhhhh

"It's true my magic only transforms the exterior which I then puppet, but internally, they remain human." Everything we learn about Abel's magic is deeply horrifying

GKHJDJHKD??? Mash was saved from being a puppet because his spinal reflexes activated when Abel reached for his cream puff??? What kind of fight mechanics

"My mother said it was only by chance that we were born privileged." Abel proving that good parenting isn't enough to turn out well

Abel believing in [LOUD FOGHORN NOISE] because a poor person stabbed his mother is giving that one Liam Neeson racism story (look it up, it's terrible)

KHGGHKGHGKH Abel just casually agreeing to release the students from his magical torture device. Mash does love a civil battle ending

"But since this all for your mom, I guess you're not that terrible a person. I'm slightly relieved by that." I'm still Team Cool Motive, Still Murder

"They're all such fools, aren't they, Mother?" I think Abel has to like them a little by now

HKDHKDHJKD they're not going to explain why Dot's face is inside out???

"Guilty until proven innocent is more expedient." I don't know if I like your political philosophy, Rayne

"I even chose the face of a student here, too." THANK GOD Lance is a real boy he is one of the characters I half-like LOL, it'd be a real bummer in this like medium-at-best show

"I'll be your opponent. The serial killer and cannibalist, Jon Pierre." Now, why on earth?

"They won't stand a chance against him." Rayne does care!

Brad is back in his cop uniform, so I guess he hasn't quit his day job yet

"You don't need to work?" "Time on screen is better than work." "Time on screen is important." LOL Brad and Regro's fourth wall break????

"Where is that handsome punk?" said Dot about Lance, like that was a normal way to refer to your friends

OH NO, CALLING ABYSS HAKU WAS FORESHADOWING:

"He was all alone for the longest time. It was so tough for him to keep living. And that's why I think he was happy that you needed him." It's a little fucked up, but I do think there's some kind of love between Abyss and Abel

Also they've confirmed that Abyss is he/him. Wasn't sure!

"Learn to put yourself in another's position. If you can do that... You will become just a little bit kinder to others." Abel had a REALLY good mother

Dot not getting involved in Mash's fight because he wants to be there to protect Lemon and Finn!! Ohhhh 😭

"The strong take from the weak, and that's their right. And... the weak oppose the strong, and that's also their right." What a quick philosophical turnaround, Abel

"I'm asking what your personal magic is." "Huh... Um. Power." LMAOOOO

"A powerful magical item that reflects any and every spell cast its way!" HAHAHAHA a very funny final battle for Mash

"It's..." "It's..." "It's not magic." EVERYONE LEARNING THIS AT THE SAME TIME HAHAHHA. WHO'S GONNA TELL LANCE

"Y-you mean nothing until now was magic?" "Mash did everything with his body alone?" I guess in a world where everything is magic, being exceptionally powerful without it is the fantasy

If Innocent Zero is looking for Mash, does that mean he's some kind of prophecy baby? His lack of magic means something? One Strong Baby to Rule Them All?

"My name is Cell War." Another randomly generated name. Until this moment, I thought HIS name was Innocent Zero, not his group

Rayne's healing bunny hankerchief was also a plot point. I forgot!

"I give you my thanks, Mash Burnedead. I will make sure to return the favour." Still sounds a little threatening, Abel, but it's a nice thought

Awwwww the way all of Mash's friends are immediately so concerned for his lack of magic putting him in danger. He is a terrible liar:

"Anyway, we've gotta protect Mash's secret so people won't find out." Yeah you do 💗 Also what do we think that chances are that Lance already knows but hasn't said anything about it for like 9 episodes

"I heard everything! A student who can't use magic in our school? That's an outrage. I'm telling the teachers!" They probably should've waited to have this conversation 'til there weren't tons of other students around waking up from their puppet trance

Is this the way the season ends? What a cliffhanger!

Also, This is the first time I've watched the full outro and it is very silly and cute

[booreadsbooks]

The Wicked King (The Folk of the Air #2); Holly Black, Review

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (one more than last time oooo)

"There is only now. There is only tomorrow and tonight and now and soon and never."

Thank you to my friend who convinced me to keep reading the series, and lent me the book so that I actually did. A slay for real.

The shortest possible review I could say is this: The Wicked King had a lot more of the things I liked from the first book (excellent world building, tense political intrigue and scheming spy antics, some pretty good humor) and a lot less of the things I didn't like (Taryn, general high-school bullying antics). Overall the stakes felt a lot higher, and I really loved the constant push-and-pull power struggles that Jude was facing on every side. Some of the characters I still hate (and what are you gonna do, they're teens) but I'm glad I got to see more of the spies. Cardan, shockingly, got to be much more tolerable in this book (and he was the source of a lot of the humor).

4 stars and not 5 cos... IDK. This needed something to push it to 5. Don't ask me what though, I don't know. Maybe a Taryn death.

Go below the cut for specific thoughts, as always:

There are spoilers here, by the way, massive ones so... you've been warned.

Jude corruption arc continues with this absolute banger of a scene: Taryn, the annoying sister who won't go away (she haunts me every moment) brings Jude her stuffed animals from home, and this happens:

"Once she's gone, I take my stuffed animals and seat them next to me on the rug. Once, they were a reminder that there was a time before Faerieland, when things were normal. Once, they were a comfort to me. I take a long last look, and then, one by one, I feed them to the fire. I'm no longer a child, and I don't need comfort."

God she's so young. I just love that this whole scene illustrates exactly how young she is. Like, she's playing big scary adult, she feels like she is but... a scary adult would not feel the need to "prove" her maturity like that. The Wicked King is basically Jude constantly trying to prove that she's as tough as everyone around her, falling apart, and not actually recovering and resting until she's absolutely forced to do so. And I love that arc for her, and can't wait to see her do more murder once she realizes the MASSIVE HINT in Cardan's banishment (until the crown allows you to return... girl. Be so fucking for real. You literally called yourself the queen... I was so mad like how can she be so smart and so stupid at the same time).

As for Cardan, I'll be honest, taking a break between book 1 and 2 was probably for the best, because it made Cardan much more likeable when I could only distantly remember how evil he is. He's still dumb, and a cruel prince king, but he's also much funnier when I'm not thinking about high school bullies. Favorite Cardan moment:

"So what?" I ask. "Our choice is to endure her games, no matter how deadly, or engage in a war we cannot win?" "Cardan shakes his head and drinks another cup of tea. "We show her that I am no feckless High King." "And how do we do that?" I ask. "With great difficulty," he says, "Since I fear she is right."

Also, Cardan has a hate/murder kink. Not copying down all the reasons I know, this, but if you read the book it is very obvious.

Anyway, one other thing I wanted to mention was that I really enjoyed the part where Jude was captured by the undersea. Not that I liked to see her suffer like that, but also kinda... I did. BECAUSE it was cool to go back to her roots as "spy" Jude, instead of Seneschel Jude. And her tricking them and being sneaky was fun. Also, because I feel that we were always going to lead to a weakened state Jude, she was burning herself out way too fast. This was the opportunity we needed to actually achieve Recovery Jude!! Who will come back to Fairieland as soon as she stops being dense better and more badass than ever.

And Madoc... Madoc when I catch you! When I catch you Madoc...

EDIT: “Kiss and Tell” by I Don’t Know How But They Found Me is unapologetically Jude and Cardan coded, sorry I don’t make the rules

[crazy000567]

Ok I wanted to talk about this on my twitter but realized it will appeal to no one so its going here. Being autistic about critter character designs. VERY LONG

Pim/Charlie/Allan/Glep have interesting designs to me like they are some of my favorite character designs possibly in any cartoon cause they're all very well balanced - easy to draw, cute, but slightly ugly also. Well maybe not ugly but certainly not Conventional.

(Glep applies slightly less there, he's just straight up a cute lil guy, how plushies don't exist of him yet baffles me)

I like their slight offputting quirks, like, Allan's spine is visible, Pim's Teeth. They are just strange creatures and I enjoy that. Of course there's also the fact all of their frontfacings (maybe slightly excluding pim's) are just kinda goofy and bizarre looking.

Its just, the choices being made here are really good, okay. They're very appealing lined up, yknow.

The fact they are just kinda cute sometimes makes the expressions being pushed and the weird quirks funnier. If pim was an ugly lil freak all the time it would be less effective when he does that weird awkward toothy laugh. Which brings me to my next "Point" which is like, I really enjoy that they are some of the only critters that arent.... fugly as hell

There are some few exceptions with BG/side characters (just look at amy, shes a pretty gal) but like, most of the side critters that have gotten screentime are very very strange. Allan's landlord is a prime recent example. Look at that guy. Jesus christ.

This is not to say the uglier designs are Bad, quite the opposite, I love when they are hideous <3 But the whole thing is, if the main characters we see every episode were on the same level as them appearance-wise it would get very tired. This is probably like, entry level design stuff for a cartoon, and not very interesting to anyone lol, but with adult cartoons it feels like it can go way too hard on the ugly scale.

Onto the next thing thats been on my mind lately when it comes to critters - I enjoy that their appearances truly are pretty random. Its fun to make things like crittersonas cause like, you can almost do whatever the hell you want lol

I like that some of them just dont feel like wearing clothes, this was talked about by Michael on twitter at some point a few years back I think.

Their hair is a topic that kind of mystifies me lmfao like we see the wiry sparse hair a lot (gnarly, filmore, etc) but then there are characters like amy, pims dad and duncan that have more full human-esque hair. This makes me wonder if its like, randomly possible for some critters to get full heads of hair, or if wigs/hair transplants are a thing, or even if hairloss is just more common which results in the wiry hair later in life. Really NOT important or compelling to anyone but me but I seriously do think about this. Critter Hair Essay coming soon (i'm kidding ............. or am i?)

Also just like, the concept of what critter beauty standards or smth could be sort of interests me, but this is getting incomprehensibly long and stupid anyway, and I would have to be going into heavy Speculation Mode there. so BYE Goodbye

[saika077]

I made this tier list of where I'd put r:1999 playable characters in twst kind of like in the twst manga as the MC a while ago and here's some interactions I thought of:

(While making this tier list, I realized that a lot of these characters are way too op for this verse and could 100% end the story earlier than it needs to.)

Some of the adults are hired as a faculty member in their respective AUs while being Grim's guardian.

Book 1 is mostly filled with children who are full of joy whimsy and wonder. Something Riddle probably lacked growing up.

I feel like Sotheby and Sonetto could memorize the entirety of the Queen of Heart's rules. Sonetto would try her hardest to make sense of it while Sotheby would be like "oh! That completely makes sense!"

Regulus immediately getting "Of with Your Head"ed.

Cater and TTT would share so many gossip together.

Book 2 is half filled with people who I think would be very much interested in participating in the tournament, thus accepting Crowley's offer to investigate the recent incident.

Lowkey Book 2 is pretty much your typical situation Matilda would find herself in.

Desert Flannel and Ruggie would either be friends or have beef with each other since both of them are 17 year old parentless broke mfs who was raised by their grandma, constantly on that grindset. Also I'd like to see Ruggie getting drop kicked by an ostrich when they were chasing him in this au.

Mondlicht would try to kill Jack every single day without any success.

Book 3 is mostly filled with people who I think can outsmart Azul and/or scam him back. That and people who have connections to the ocean.

Literally what's stopping Pavia from stealing the contracts when he can move and hide in the shadows?

Melania could probably come up with a better plan to steal that picture than walking through the front door and immediately getting ambushed.

I want Lisa and Louise to do what they did to Pandora Wilson in their interview to Azul when he tries to make a deal with them. Instant Win.

I know I put Tuesday in Book 7, but imagine her and the baby getting evicted from the ramshackle dorm and was like "y'all would do that to a single mother and her baby...?" And the twins are like "heh.... Sorry.... Azul's orders..." Or some shit like that but that night they stayed up contemplating their life choices bc damn... They fr did that to a poor single mom and her baby... (Even funnier if you consider the hc that Floyd is a mama's boy.)

I put Oliver in book 3 specifically for the capitalist vs union worker thing.

Book 4 is mostly people who I think could be a tutor for the Scarabia students. "Oh, your dorm is staying over the winter breaks to study? I can help with that."

Kalim and Yenisei could bond over their respective water magic.

Mercuria would meet Jamil and just know his vibes are off. I just know she'd immediately know what's going on.

Book 5 is pretty much filled with people who knows a thing or to about stage performance (J is canonically good at acting btw).

Epel🤝Ezra canonically pretty enough to get mistaken as a girl except one of them has a more fragile masculinity than the other.

I just found out about this the other day but apparently J's en va also voiced Vil in a fandub project

Deuce and Epel in J's au:

Books 6 are mostly Laplace people (for obvious reasons)

Then there's 6 who is basically Idia if the stuff that happened to him happen when he's older and grew up without internet access

Book 7 are some of the people who I feel like could solo Malleus.

The way that Barbara's arcane skill is like Silver's UM but better. Bro lost to a 12 year old.

The way Sebek can't call J, Satsuki, Pavia and Jiu Niangzi "HUMAN!" bc like him, they're also only human and that'd be hypocritical for him. Also Barbara for more reason than one.

Kakania giving these kids free therapy session.

In Pickles' AU Ace would make fun of Deuce for not being smarter than a dog

There's a rumor going around about a new school nurse with a fascination for teeth especially beastfolk's.

Deuce would be extra extra mindful around Tuesday.

I feel like Jade would get along with Ezra (bc of their shared interest in mushrooms) and Tuesday (for their shared interest in finding out people's weakness and fears)

Speaking of, imagine the first years being tasked with babysitting Tuesday's baby and they're shocked to see the baby for the first time. Ace was the first one who spoke up saying "lmao it looks like you Sebek."

I think these people would assume that Ortho is an Awakened when they first met him and after Book 6 where he's like "I'm finally a real living boy!" They'd be like "you weren't alive this whole time???"

[ghostsandmirrors]

DO ME my url lol

Send me your URL and I'll tell you...

(under read more for length)

...My Opinion on; Character in general: I love Wanda, man. she got fucked up by the MCU writers and didn't deserve it at all but she's still like... one of the best and yours is one of my fave versions though I've only rped with like 3 Wandas but still. I usually put that in the next section but that bitch is already going to be too damn long.

How they play them: for people to fully understand the scope of how long we've been following each other in one form or another; I remade Bucky's solo blog in like what? 2018? and we were mutuals over there, then I made this blog in 2019 and we became mutuals again, and then you made your blog again and we became mutuals again. I would not have stayed mutuals with you across both my blogs and yours for this long if I didn't like your version of Wanda or how you write her.

I think you're one of the like three people since I started this blog whose threads I've read because I love your Wanda, man. I love her. she's hilarious in any thread (the little 'oh fuck' in the one with agentsterling tickled me) and she's so cute in every single thread we've had, and ofc it's because of how you write her. the word choices in her dialogue, the actions, even just the way your posts flow. it creates her in such a way that she feels so Wanda but also so your version of her, if that makes like any sense at all.

I wish I read more of your threads. but also I want to say that my favourite part I've read of anyones' threads is probably Wanda calling Ghostface 'Daddy' because that shit's hilarious. I read it at the time and then I went back to read more shit so I could ramble about how goddamn good your writing it and it's somehow funnier the second time round, I think because I forgot. I forgot she did that. it's so good.

we don't even thread that much, I just like watching her occasionally pop up on my dash and going 'hell yea'.

it's 5:32am at time of writing this bit here. Idk what the fuck you expected when you sent this.

The Mun: ok firstly, ilu but also for anyone else seeing this, I gotta tell them.

so, 'hoy lads, listen; this cursed motherfucker sent me some fuckin tiktok and I don't even remember what the fuck it was but it made me reconsider having a tumblr blog for a good minute or two.

but also I said 'goose mommy' and didn't get blocked so I love this mun. 10/10.

nevermind. I remember what it was. 0/10. I'm blocking you. /big jk I would never.

Do I: RP with them: I don't think so. unless you count the measuring as a thread which would be very funny. 'yeah we rp but our only thread rn is bucky measuring his dick and wanda trying to guess the length in inches.'

... we 100% have a thread rn and it's that one.

Want to RP with them: always. I don't have a single specific idea, I just want to write with you.

What is my; Overall Opinion: the mun is a babe and the muse is incredible and one time you helped with the Spanish on Duo's DBD verse so I'm forever in your debt. also you and Wanda gives me the vibes of like, 'canon couldn't give you what you deserve so I'm gonna do it' and as someone who did the same damn thing with Bucky, who watched l-ethiferous do the same with Danny, hell yeah. give her everything she deserves.

gonna go piss on the lawn outside the mouse's house, too. (for legal reasons, this is a joke; idk where the mouse lives.)

[fagsystem]

Headcanons/Prompts centred around Mario and Luigi being brothers.

1. In high school Mario got super insecure about his height, so Luigi acquired every single movie with Danny DeVito in it and made him watch it. Then if he ever suspected Mario was being insecure about his height, he would hand him a printed out photo/screenshot of Danny DeVito.

Mario found this so hilarious that it would usually distract him and cheer him up. He also found it so sweet how much effort Luigi put into it.

2. Luigi is chronically ill and disabled (long headcanons of this here) and as a kid and into adulthood Mario was the one who cared for him. Mario got a job in high school to help cover Luigi's medical bills. He spent a lot of time researching to try and figure out the problem when doctors were dismissing Luigi. He made sure Luigi ate three full meals a day and drank enough water. He helped Luigi get outside to get sun and fresh air.

When they finally figured out what exactly Luigi had and began treating it (I personally headcanon POTS and EDS) Mario ensured Luigi followed his treatment plan to a T.

Once Luigi's symtoms were managed quite well, he and Mario had quite a bit of tension of Luigi feeling smothered by Mario and Mario feeling overprotective after so long of caring for him. It caused one of the worst fights they have ever had, which ended with a, "YOU'RE NOT MY MOM!" "MOM WASN'T THE ONE WHO [long rant about all the things he's done for Luigi]." After Mario finished the ranting, they were both just sad about being mad at each other. They communicated about it and got better.

Once they got older, and especially after they became adventures, Luigi took on the role of caring for Mario's wellbeing. He was Mario's player 2 not because he was less skilled or capable, but because he wanted to be. He liked being there for his brother in the way his brother always was for him. He didn't care when people called him 'Green Mario' because there's no one in the world who he would rather be more like.

Although, when he had to fight Mario about taking breaks to eat, he thought it was absolutely karma for the hell he gave Mario when he was nauseous and did not wish to eat.

3. All Mario wants for Luigi is for him to be safe and happy. If he were to, say, get a romantic partner who will keep him safe and happy, values that above any personal hard feelings against the person. I am going to use Bowser as the example partner here, but any work.

A funnier route for this is Mario giving Bowser the biggest death glare possible whenever Luigi is not looking.

A less funny route is Mario bottling up his negative feelings as opposed to processing him, and something happens that shakes him and he pops like a shaken carbonated beverage. (I mean, the illustrative language I have used could also be comedic.)

4. Luigi has very high standards for people Mario date. I feel as though the only person who maybe would meet those standards would be Peach, and that's only because she is good at figuring out how to frame things she's done in a way that matches what people want from her. You know, political leader who has to make hard choices sometimes.

I am not a big DK x Mario shipper, but I will say DK would never meet Luigi's standards in 1000 years. I would say Luigi wouldn't necessarily oppose the relationship (unless you want some good comedy surrounding that) because he wants Mario to be happy and DK makes him happy. However, he thinks Mario could do better.

5. Luigi has bad taste in men. He is absolutely the sort of person to see an aggressive man with no ability to handle his feelings or self control and go, "I could fix him."

Mario always relentlessly bullied him for this. Then he ended up dating DK. Luigi seemingly remembered every single thing he ever said about his taste in men and is just parroting it back to him.

6. Luigi really likes dressing up all fancy, and Mario hates it. Luigi likes their matching outfits, especially likes it for adventures, but also prefers to dress up if going out anywhere. Going to see Peach casually for tea? Going to see a kids film? Going to the store? Dress pants, perfectly polished shoes, and a high quality, well fitting, tastefully coloured and patterned button down.

Mario on the other hand does Not like it. It's uncomfortable. It's expensive and he doesn't want to worry about running it. Usually doesn't fit well on him, and then tailoring is even more expenses. If he is not in their matching outfits, he is in shorts and a t-shirt.

They often go out together to a variety of events, some more formal than others, but at least one of them is always underdressed or (more often) overdressed.

7. The reason Luigi is afraid of animals is because he is afraid of accidentally hurting him. (Polterpup was the perfect dog for him.)

Mario helps his brother do exposure therapy for this fear. Luigi has made a lot of progress. When they were teens Luigi would back up as far as he could from any animals he saw because he was convinced he'd hurt them. Now, he just tends to freeze up and wait to see if he is making the animal uncomfortable by being close.

-

If you have made it this far, please comment or reblog with more ideas.

[lwamonstergirls]

(NEW) Little Witch Academia: Monster Witches List

Yep, that's right, starting fresh with a new list~! In this, I'm going to be listing what kind of monster each witch is in this AU, and this time it will include EVERY WITCH!!! Or at least Every Witch I have a monster for at the moment. Will get back to some just in case I missed a background character, or random professor, or character exclusive to the games or manga. But for now, here is the new list~.

Student Teams

Red Team:

Atsuko "Akko" Kagari - Werecat

Lotte Jansson - Barn Owlman

Sucy Manbavaran - Kraken Cecaelia

Blue Team:

Diana Cavendish - Lamia

Hannah England - Demoness

Barbara Parker - Black Widow Drider

Green Team:

Amanda O'Neill - Peregrine Falcon Harpy

Jasminka Antonenko - Pink Slime Girl

Constanze Amalie Von Braunschbank Albrechtsberger - Cyborg

Violet Team:

Avery - Vampire

Mary - Were-Jackalope

Blair - Dryad

Yellow Team:

Wangari - Wereleopard

Kimberly - Mothman

Joanna - Selkie

Peach Team:

Sarah Bernhardt - Giant Western Dragon Girl

Chloe - Cervitaur

Elfriede - Werewolf

Pale-Green Team:

Sóla - Salamander Girl

Rajani & Rashmi - Naga

Pale-Blue Team:

Shao-Yi - Giant Eastern Dragon Girl

Catarina - Arctic Kitsune

Katie - Weresheep

Light-Green Team:

Dorotea - Alphyn Girl

Irene - Strigoi

Eleanor - Enfield Girl

Light - Aqua Team:

Bianca - Rokurokubi

Aileen - Blue Slime Girl

Hilda - Osprey Harpy

Pale-Lavender Team:

Heather - Orca Mermaid

Rosie - Jellyfish Mermaid

Daisy - Siren

Lavender Team:

Katya - Shedu Girl

Carmen - Electric Eel Mermaid

Maria - Matango

Lime Team:

Gaëlle - Regular/Common Mermaid

Aira - Werecheetah

Isabelle - Griffon Girl

Aqua Team:

Abigail - Chimera Girl

Rachel - Giant Wyrm Girl

Rita - Coatyl/Boitatá/Cockatrice Tribrid

Light-Yellow Team:

Molly McIntyre - Wraith

Elsa - Tiger Mershark

Amelia - Ichthyocentaur

Pale-Yellow Team:

Erika - Peacock Jumping Drider

Bridget - Leafy Seadragon Mermaid

Bice - Giant Wyvern Girl

Pink Team:

Alice - Giant Drake Girl

Eliza - Seahorse Mermaid

Priscilla - Imp

Teal Team:

Verochka - Giant Sea Serpent Girl

Nina - Angelic Monster

Francine - Manticore Girl

Lime-Yellow Team:

Aisha - Buraq Girl

Esther - Eurasian Eagle Owl Harpy/Golden Weretiger Hybrid

Henrietta - Fairy

Orange Team:

Michelle - Wedge-Tailed Eagle Harpy/Frilled Lizardman Hybrid

Li Na - Common Lizardman

Theodora - Weretiger

Purple Team:

Teresa - Deathstalker Scorrow

Julietta - Giant Squid Cecaelia

Alma - Minotaur

Miscellaneous Students

Katherine - Honeypot Ant Girl

Lin Lin - Werepanda

Jeanne - Dullahan

Shiki - Medusa Lamia

Balsa McVinegar - Crow Harpy

Marianne - Sailfish Mermaid

Verde Shidariza - Peacock Harpy

Jiji Delevingne - Dolphin Mermaid

Professors

Professor Ursula/Chariot - Centaur

Professor Croix - ShapeShifter

Professor Finnelan - Banshee

Professor Nelson - Golden Eagle Harpy

Professor Lukic - Goblin Mershark

Professor Meme - Cyclops

Professors Abby & Britt - Giant Hydra Women

Shao-Yi's Mother - Giant Eastern Dragon Woman

Professor Matilda - Were-Jackalope

Professor Badcock - Great Horned Owlman

Headmistress Holbrooke - Papillon Fae

As for Professor Pisces, she's basically the same. I could make her a mermaid, but I feel like keeping her as a regular fish that's just sapient would be funnier. Besides, she know has an entire section of the school she can swim around in freely~! Yeah, I'll be getting to that eventually.

Finally, I've gotten this list all done and typed! Not lying, this took me literal days to finish since I couldn't think of monsters for some girls and kept switching species around! Luckily, the people I've asked say this list is good, which at least gives me some hope that I made the right choices for these characters. I'm not gonna lie, I can't wait to make spec evo bios for these girls and go into the culture and worldbuilding for monster/non-human societies~! And I'm gonna remake my old Bios now that there are more characters and I have some new abilities for them~! But for now, hold on tight, because this AU Revamp is just getting started!

[heartofroses112]

Our Own Choices Deleted Scenes — finding Ahsoka and Rex pt. 4

Cody looked down at his comm. A slow smile broke out across his face. “The Jedi are here,” he said as if it wasn’t the most life-changing sentence Ahsoka had ever heard.

Her chest tightened, and she couldn’t help the way her hands clasped the hilts of her lightsabers. If she opened herself to the Force, what would she find? Two councilors, that was what Cody had said. But which two? She knew who it could not be, but that still left so many it could.

Cody turned his smile on her. “Relax, Ahsoka. It’s okay.”

Ahsoka sighed, meeting Cody’s gaze. “I’m not a Jedi anymore,” she said. “And… well, last time I spoke to the Council, it didn’t go very well.”

“You’re worried about what they’ll think of you,” Cody supplied. “Worried they’ll be disappointed when they find you and not someone else.”

She fought back a flinch. That was exactly what she worried about. Cody and Obi-Wan had always had the innate ability to see right to the heart of any problem. Cody pressed on. “They’ll be happy to see you. Not because you’re a former Jedi, not because you’re a soldier, not because you’re an agent of the Rebellion. They’ll be happy to see you, Ahsoka, and know that one more child survived.”

“I haven’t been a child in a long time,” Ahsoka responded.

Cody searched her face. “And wasn’t the point of our discussion last night that it’s okay for you to let down your guard again? Sure, you’re not a Jedi. But, well, technically they aren’t either.”

Ahsoka raised her brow. “Is talking in circles and exploiting every technicality something Obi-Wan taught you, or did you leave Kamino with that ability?”

The cheeky grin Cody gave her was something she had missed seeing from Rex. It made her insides flip around in a weird way. Had it truly been so long since she had seen her best friend so happy that a smile from his brother made her ache for better times?

The door behind her slid open before she could let her anxieties run any farther. Ahsoka turned and found herself face-to-face with Commander Wolffe.

The old commander was already speaking as he walked in, head down as he fiddled with his gloves. Perhaps that was why he didn’t see her at first. “All right, Cody, we’re here after you dragged us out of our nice warm beds in the middle of the night, so where’s this padawan and captain you—” Wolffe raised his head, words halting in his mouth as he finally met Ahsoka’s eyes.

She smiled, warmth tugging at her heart and shockjoydisbeliefwonder filling the Force around the commander. “Hello, Wolffe.”

“Commander Tano!” Wolffe snapped off a quick salute, eyes wide and grin big. “What, I mean, you’re the Jedi Cody was talking about?” Wolffe’s gaze shot to Cody. Ahsoka could feel how Cody radiated smugness. “Why the kriff wouldn’t you just say it was her?”

“It’s funnier this way,” Cody replied. “Bet you can’t guess who the clone with her is.”

Wolffe dragged his eyes from Cody to Ahsoka and back again. “But he… I thought Rex died on Felucia?”

“And I though you died on Cato Neimoidia,” Ahsoka shot back. Then the implications of Wolffe, Commander Wolffe, Wolffe of the 104th, standing before her truly sank in. She looked at Cody as well, his smugness shifting to something far more genuine. “Cody. You said two councilors.”

“I also said they would be happy to see you, didn’t I?” Cody jerked his head toward the door. “Go on. They shouldn’t be far.”

Ahsoka turned slowly, gaze dragging across the walls of the room until it felt as if she was staring through the very heart of the ship. Ahsoka let herself open up to the Force once more, let down her shields and stretched her senses as far as she could reach. There, so strong, so close, closer than anything had been in years. Wolffe was saying something at her side, but she wasn’t listening. How could she when all of her focus was on the bright lights in the Force?

“I’ll,” she breathed out. “I’ll be back. I have to…”

And then she bolted out of the door.

She’d like to say she had more dignity and walked serenely through the ship. That would have been a lie, however. Ahsoka raced through the halls, nearly falling over herself in her haste. Troopers saluted her as she passed, and she called greetings over her shoulder. She didn’t have time to stop, not now.

Time and distance worked against her; she could not tell who it was that she was running to. But she knew them, even if names were far from her tongue. They were home, family, safe. She had to get there, had to see them.

A door appeared before her. One of the troopers who saw her coming slammed the control, and she waved at him as the door slid open without her having to stop. He laughed and cheered her on.

Ahsoka burst into a room, one she didn’t recognize. Maybe it had once been the officers’ rec, or even one of the smaller messes. She didn’t have time to think about what it was now. Because there… there…

Ahsoka burst into the room, and she found herself face-to-face with Plo Koon and Mace Windu. Scarred and weathered, no longer the same men she had once known, and yet…

“Master Plo?” she breathed out, eyes already burning. The Kel Dor exhaled, eyes growing wide behind his mask. His hands dropped to his side, claws clenching in the long robes he still wore.

“Little ‘Soka,” Plo rumbled. “Young one, I never thought to see you again.”

“Ahsoka Tano.” Mace Windu folded his arms across his chest. Under his gaze, she felt like a padawan once more, hiding behind her master. “It is good to see you alive.”

Unable to differentiate between the past and the present, Ahsoka dipped into a bow, heart thundering in her chest. “You as well, masters. I am glad to know that I am not the only survivor.” She swallowed as she raised her head, back straightening beneath the weight of the two masters’ attention.

Plo searched her face, and she felt the brush of his Force presence against hers. Ahsoka sucked in a breath, hands meeting behind her back as she tried to hold herself together. “There are not many of us,” the Kel Dor said, the cadence of his voice familiar and comforting, “but enough that all hope is not lost.”

“How many?” Ahsoka asked.

“Less than a dozen masters,” Master Windu answered, “but about thirty knights and padawans, and nearly twice that of younglings.”

Ahsoka closed her eyes. “That is… that’s wonderful. I never expected our—” She paused. “I never thought so many Jedi would have escaped the Purge.”

“I am glad we can add your name to our numbers,” Plo said.

Ahsoka shook her head with a small smile. “I’m no Jedi, Master Plo. I haven’t been for years.”

Master Windu tilted his head, arms still crossed. Like Master Plo, his Force presence was reaching out to hers, an unreadable wall that blocked out the cold touch of the galaxy. She’d forgotten the simple pleasure of her fellow—no. Not fellow. But she’d forgotten how the presence of the Jedi had always made her feel so much safer.

Ahsoka could not help but remember the last time she and Mace Windu had spoken. It had not gone as well as it could have. She could blame him. She could blame the war. Or she could simply accept that it had once happened.

“Ahsoka,” Windu started. Ahsoka had no idea where his next statement might take them. Master Windu had always been the hardest councilor to read. “There is much to regret about the fall of the Republic. Much that I wish had gone differently. I want to apologize for how you were treated, on behalf of the Council and myself.”

Ahsoka shook her head again. “There is no need, Master Windu. Over these long years, I’ve had many opportunities to think about it all. And while the decision made perhaps wasn’t the best one, it was likely the only one available. And… well, I like to believe that my departure from the Order was meant to be. I know it helped me understand my place in the galaxy.”

“Nonetheless,” Windu pushed on. “An explanation is not an excuse. I could have fought harder for you, as Masters Koon and Kenobi did. It was a poor precedence to set, abandoning you as we did.”

“You were Master of the Order,” Ahsoka said. “You had to focus on what was best for all Jedi, and that was complying with the Chancellor. It wasn’t right. But I understand why. And you and the other councilors have long been forgiven.”

Master Windu was still examining her. She lifted her chin, confident in a way she had not been in some time. Ahsoka had always wondered what she might have said to the Council had she seen them again.

Windu’s arms dropped to his side, face softening in an expression she had only ever seen him reserve for his lineage. “You would have made an excellent Jedi Knight, Ahsoka Tano. One of the best the Order had ever seen.”

Choking down the swell of emotion in her throat, Ahsoka bowed once more, hands shaking at her side. “Thank you, Master,” she got out. She raised her head once more, unsurprised by the familiar burning at the back of her eyes. Master Windu met her gaze with a small smile.

“Little ‘Soka,” Master Plo rumbled again, hands reaching up and out toward her. “We are so very proud of you.”

And then she was crushed against his chest, in the arms of the father she thought she would never see again. Ahsoka inhaled deeply, forgotten scent heady in her nose.

She opened her eyes, chin tucked against Plo’s shoulder. She reached out a hand, barely able to focus through the film of tears. Master Windu took her hand and pressed it to his chest. His heart thundered beneath her palm, strong and reassuring.

Ahsoka gasped, every tear locked in these last twelve years now hot and heavy in the back of her throat. Master Plo tucked her tight, claws gentle on her back as he held her. Her fingers twined in his robes, the fabric rough and familiar and warm. Master Windu let her hand go, but she did not take her eyes off of him.

Master Plo pulled back, lifting his arm to bring his sleeve to her face. With gentle motions, Plo wiped the tears from Ahsoka’s face, his other hand cupping her cheek.

pt 1 | pt 2 | pt 3 | pt 4

[skylarmoon71]

Aaron Hotchner (Criminal Minds) Chapter 34

The spot he’s chosen is fairly popular. You both arrive a few minutes outside of the given time, but your seat is ready. You both sit down, and your waiter goes off to get you drinks as you think about what you’d like to have.

“Nice choice.”

Glancing through the menu, there seems to be so much that you’ll enjoy.

“I’ve noticed that you’re very fond of seafood.”

The fact that he pays attention to that isn’t even strange. It’s a bit difficult to turn off his profiler brain.

“I do. My mother was obsessed with that cuisine. I think it rubbed off. Especially-”

“Shrimp.” He finishes. 

You grin.

“Yep. It’s my favorite. It’s even funnier because my dad isn’t as crazy about it. This one time my mom had just eaten shrimp. My dad wanted a kiss. So he had to decide between a smooch or shrimp breath."

 The memory you share makes even Hotch laugh.

“I take it he chose the former. “

“He really did.”

You were a bit worried that this would be awkward, but it’s going very well.

“I know I don’t say it enough, but your contribution to this team is valuable. “

“I’m glad to hear you say that. You all are like family to me. I know I haven’t been here long, but it feels like I’m where I’m supposed to be.”

“I’m happy you feel that way. I know I never made it easy for you. I apologize if my actions made you doubt your place here.”

“Hotch, you never have to apologize for protecting the people you care about. I understand. I’d do anything to make sure the people I love are happy, safe.”

There’s a pain that follows those words, he sees it for a second in your eyes. But you school your features too quickly for him to make any real conclusions.

“I’m glad to be a part of this team.”

You mean it. You wouldn’t trade it, not for anything.

~

Three hours later and Hotch is dropping you off at your apartment. Since you’d left your car at Quantico, Hotch has offered to pick you up in the morning.

“Thank you for the dinner sir. I really did enjoy it.”

For Hotch, you know this is a treat to sort of welcome you to the team. There were points when you thought there was interest on his part. He did ask you out. But you convince yourself that this is purely platonic.

Because you aren't sure you can take any more heartache if you’d created it in your head. He has Hailey. Although they are still divorced, there will always be that love. You won’t get in the way of that. Not after all you’d gone through to bring her back to him.

“You’re welcome.”

It’s one of the rare times where he smiles. You’d almost forgotten what they looked like. When the both of you were together, he wore them so often. But this isn’t then. Right now you’re practically strangers. He isn’t yours anymore. You're not entitled to those looks.

Standing at your doorstep is a bit daunting. It just resurfaces those old feelings. The ones you’d train your body months to forget. You can’t accidentally touch him when you think he needs comfort. Or kiss him when you know all he really wants is support.

“Why do you always look at me that way?”

You snap out of your pity party when he speaks. In that moment, you can physically feel your heart drop. You scramble to gain a neutral expression.

“I-I’m sorry I don’t know what you mean sir.”

“I’ve been watching you. Since the moment Strauss recommended you. The way you interact with the team displays ease, as if you’ve known them for months. Your resume was extraordinary, and your work in the field is remarkable. “

“Ummm, thank you. I’m just trying to be an asset to the team sir.” 

Hotch takes a step closer, and you swallow.

“The fact that Strauss was the one who placed you on my team has always made me weary. But when I look at you, when I’m around you every bone in my body tells me to trust you. Yet whenever you look at me, all I see in your eyes is grief..and love..”

You want to scramble away. Make a break for it before he says anymore and you fall apart right there. It’s only when his palm rests on your cheek that your body has regained the ability to move.

“S-Sir we shouldn’t be..doing this..”

“Can I kiss you.”

You feel as though you stop breathing altogether, and you no longer have the ability to stop the tears. Hotch looks shocked at the way your eyes water. He doesn’t even get a chance to ask, because you kiss him.

It’s like Deja vu.

You’re very first kiss, both this time, and the one before.

Hotch is slow to respond, but when he does, he wraps his hands around your waist, pulling you as close as your bodies will allow. He can feel the wetness of your tears on his cheeks, but it doesn’t stop him, if anything it encourages him. His hand is pressed to the door for support as he deepens the kiss. You open your mouth and your tongues collide. It’s so raw and wet. You’re begging to taste every bit of him, and Hotch complies wholeheartedly. Your fingers dig into his suit, and you’re both so taken in the kiss that you don’t see the lights flickering above your head.

Hotch is the one who parts. It’s slow, and he pulls in heavy breaths. You’re not much better. Your eyes open simultaneously. When Hotch looks back at you something is different. There’s a recognition in his eyes that you hadn’t seen before.

“(Y/N)...”

His tone is so familiar, but that’s

“Impossible.”

You read right through his thoughts, and when he looks at you, that’s when you know.

“A-Aaron..?”

His smile is weak, like he’s apologizing.

“ I’m sorry that it took so long.”

You sob, and pretty soon you’re crying. Not those controlled tears you always see on television. No, this is messy. You’re full on bawling as you clutch onto him. Because the last six months have been hell for you. Watching the man you love walk around with no memory of you. Potentially losing him. It’s finally caught up.

Hotch just holds you, because he knows right now, that’s all you need. 

[n0sewise]

hi! 1 & 12 for choose violence game, if its okay to ask

hi, yes it's totally okay to ask!

1. Oh god, it could be any of them, honestly. I see a lot of UwU Killua, but also there's a ton of really great Killua too. I'm going with Gon since we never get to hear his inner thoughts. There's a tendency in fandom to go really extreme with him either as The Sweetest Most Innocent Boy In The World or Selfish 8ft Monster Who Hurt Killua. I don't see him as either, and even in my own writing I've had people misinterpret him as being dumb for the sake of it, or an alpha bro type when in reality, he's got the mother (father?) of all abandonment issues. This is the kid that went out to see what's so great about smoking bc his dad left to get a pack of cigarettes(someone funnier than me made this comparison and i forget who). Gon is Complex. His morality is a little weird. He loses his arms like it's a hobby. Anyway. Yeah, Gon is my pick for 1.

12. Illumiiiiii. I love Illumi, but this won't be in defense of him (I don't even think he's unpopular). Something about him makes my brain go brrrr. He is The Worst and here is why I love him:

1) a fantastic villain. We don't even know who he is until his big reveal in the exam arc when we find out Why Gittarackur has been in disguise this entire time. He's got those big, empty shark eyes. He's an assassin and yet he walks around in weird, green, puffy sleeved outfits when it would clearly be more practical to dress in literally any other way. He hardly emotes until He Does, at which point he becomes Terrifying to behold.

2) he's the kid that Silva and Kikyo fucked up first. Look, that Speaks To Me as an only child gifted kid burnout. Illumi is their firstborn, but he's not the heir, and he's Very Good at what he does. Was he born with the right temperament, or was it beaten out of him? We don't get that info, but I think it's fucking fascinating, and even more so when you consider that Milluki must have been the overcorrection of whatever was done to Illumi to make him the way he is. Was there any point where they looked at this perfect assassin and were like, "...we might have messed him up a little" ? Was he told to have a hand in Killua's upbringing, or did he take that on by choice? The Implications of his childhood and that of the rest of the Zoldycks are some of the most interesting in the series to me.

3) he's a hypocrite! He's delusional! Mr. Assassins Don't Have Friends went and got engaged to a magician clown? Illumi is so delulu for his entire conversation with Hisoka where he assumes he is the person Killua loves most and it makes me choke on my coffee every single time. He's removed from reality, which is a charming and horrifying trait to have, and it has endless au potential.

So far I've only written him as The Worst Person Killua Knows, but can you imagine au Illumi as the most embarrassing older brother? Illumi showing up while Killua has Gon over after school and thinking he killed it because he just dabbed like the kids do, and Killua is hoping the ground will open up and swallow him bc his big brother Did Not just do that in front of his crush? Illumi bringing his awful, creepy boyfriend to An Important Zoldyck Function and not understanding (or caring) when they manage to clear the room because their combined vibes are just too rancid?

I love Illumi. I don't want to see him succeed. I do not think he has a healthy relationship with any of his siblings. He is Not a good person in the series, and it makes him so fun to watch. Hisoka makes my skin crawl, but I could watch 8 hours of Illumi failing at human interaction.

This came out longer than I intended, whoops. Thanks for the ask!

[myjustice]

🌿🍒

it was something she never thought she would ever get to do. to see the fortress from within herself & see all of the people within it, some vaguely familiar given the many trials she had been present in. everybody was so hard at work here & being able to see just how much wriothesley changed things down here ... she found herself almost speechless. it was still a thorn 'pon her finger, he really never should have gotten sent down here but he had grown into a fine man, the fruits to his labor were evidence & proof enough. he was well respected down here.

as it was the holiday season, it seemed like even within the fortress the duke allowed some semblance of celebrations, it was easy to tell with some of the lights & choice of decorations. she was the one who presented the idea of her coming down here actually ... ideally without neuvillette knowing if only to spare him a headache was all. she wanted to perform for the people here, she wanted to sing for them. it was hardly anything, she was well aware, but it was a start. the majority took well to her presence, some didn't seem huge fans, which she hardly blamed them, & they probably kept to themselves because the duke was present the entire time.

when she took to the stage & sung her song for them, she beckoned that their hearts find it within themselves to forgive her. it was selfish, she knew, but when she sang she poured her heart into every word & vocal. she saw stars in their eyes, admiration, & awe, shades were all too familiar. the white dress she donned stuck out like a sore thumb here, but she had to look the part of course. even if she, as an individual, was not fully well received by everybody, her performance was. when she concluded her song, furina bowed to them & the applause was loud, echoed throughout meropide from both those who inhabited it & its guards. though the hearts of many she may not have down here, it was without question that while she was on the stage she did if only temporarily. it was fragile & sensitive, but she would find a way.

after her performance she mingled among them alongside the duke by the cafeteria. compliments & praises, those came in abundance, it came with her territory. some so happy to see her in person & some found it in them to share their woes with her & their concerns. throughout the entire night, furina listened & listened & listened, & she would remember everything, all of it. her heart ached for most, but she would remember & she would make sure to at some point bring this to attention to those above.

' you have done so much down here, wriothesley. ' it was admirable & even she knew it. everybody here had nothing but good things to say about him to her. her eyes wandered towards the crowd before them, some merely conversing whilst others engaged in some of the activities that were set up for them. this community of his ... she could only imagine how hard it must have been to get to this point. furina's eyes then wandered to the decorations if only out of her own curiosity, quite taken by how well they fit the fortress & it was in the wandering of her eyes that she noticed a certain ... festive ornamental plant hanging above their heads up high. was that always there? & it was upon realizing that single one that she also takes notice that there's actually quite a few hanging here & about down here. why does this almost feel like ... a setup of sorts? a trap for those unsuspecting even? & why does that sound so like the duke? now she wondered if he found entertainment or enjoyment out of playing some sort of cupid. she'd laugh, but she couldn't find that want to laugh even if the thought was rather humorous to her.

he seemed oblivious to the fact that he had fallen into one of his own traps as well & that only made it that much funnier to her. what prompted her following actions were many things, though mostly to play the hand that got dealt ... she felt a sense of gratitude & a need to display that for him.

furina reached for the duke's face, his cheeks cupped warmly by her gloved hands as she guided him downward to meet with her height halfway & pressed a soft lasting kiss upon his cheek, right underneath the scar under his eye. ' happy holidays your grace. ' she bid him a festive time as she pulled away & released him with a smile. ' thank you for giving so many people a second chance here. ' there was still so much about her people that she didn't know, so much that she was blind to, but over time she would see more, & on that journey she'll find a way to help. stepped down she had to, but she was not going to abandon them, divinity or not, she was not going to leave them.

... she hoped he wouldn't mind the lipstick stain, that was completely unintentional from her part.

mistletoe meme. / @vaultingfist

[postguiltypleasures]

My Peak TV journey *The Marvelous Mrs Maisel*

Prior to the final I made some predictions about where the show would end up. one was that Esther would grow up to resent her mother like Lorelei resented Emily Gilmore. I was right about that. I also speculated that maybe this was the story of how Midge could make anybody laugh, but could not make it as a comic. I was wrong about Midge’s career.

I liked the flash forwards but some of the choices of people she would be involved with seemed more funny peculiar than funny haha. It implies she was involved with Mike Nichols. In the first season there was an episode where she did not know about his act with Elaine May and almost ended up in a Nichols and May knock off act, making this later implication funnier. The flash forwards made a big deal about her working with Bob Hope which tracks with aspirational dialogue from earlier in the series. While Hope had a long and successful career, (meaning I understand why he was chosen as the symbol of what success in the field looked like), he also fell incredibly out of fashion starting in the late sixties. As a choice, it says Midge never quite seemed “young” in her career. Which, I guess makes sense.

That said I really liked the final season. In earlier posts about the show I acknowledge criticism that the Weisman’s players by goy actors were so much more likable than the Maisels, played by actually Jewish actors. This season seemed to recognize it and subtly correct.

The elder Maisels were suddenly hilarious, if still crass and unkind. The Wiseman’s reliance on their housekeeper Zelda, who got married and retired over the season revealed some very unappealing aspects of their characters.

The show sometimes felt like it took place in 1960 for multiple years. As a series The Marvelous Mrs Maisel didn’t exact love the time period in which it took place, so much as it loves the pop culture from its time. It never made me want to be there, just to keep watching people in their colorful, well tailored clothes. But it was not particularly critical, nor interested in a “this is what led to things being the way they are now” type of rational for its existence. As a choice it’s doesn’t clarify, but doesn’t let you wallow for the good old days either. Sometimes it felt like every year on screen was 1960. This disinterested ambivalence occasionally led to wanting to me I’d want to fact check it, but rarely actually doing it. The one time I did was regarding Clark Gable’s death, which I thought took place a year after the season was set. I was wrong. 

In the final episode there was an establishing shot of the Ansonia indicating that is where Midge live in 2005. Later she makes a comment about Yoko Ono being one of her neighbors. Ono famously lives in the Dakota, several avenues from the Ansonia. I was going list this as another thing that makes me doubt the interest in veracity o the series. Then I found this discussed in this post finale interview with Amy Sherman-Palladino. It’s a fictional building in a fictional timeline. Don’t make a big deal about it. Some how this made define with it.

I want to end this by praising the actors who joined the series late players. 

Some how I forgot that Julie Klausner joined the series late in the fourth season, but she regularly had me giggling over her appearances in the final season.  (Interestingly, Klausner is not a Lenny Bruce fan.)

Alfie Fuller is new to me and she was so great as Dinah. I hope Dinah has as great a management career and I look forward to seeing Fuller in something soon.

Reid Scott is such a charming bully as Gordon Ford, you almost don’t resent his character’s success. (Though I think the no writer on the show rule was a good one) 

I’ve liked Chris Eigeman since those Whit Stillman films and I really liked seeing him run the Village Voice here.

Jason Ralph, (Rachel Brosnahan’s real life husband) had some very funny bits as Mike, especially in relation to Suzie. Seeing him here mostly made me think how I want to see him as a lead again. 

Nina Arianda has intrigued me since I saw her play Stan Laurel’s wife in Stan and Ollie. She still does as Gordon’s wife/Susie’s ex, Hedy.