#he becomes way more likeable after the fact

[the-cat-and-the-birdie]

Funniest thing ever is that Hobie has NO IDEA how cocky and arrogant he comes off as.

Like the first time we meet Spider-punk he comes off as so obnoxious and condescending and oblivious 😭😭

He's making fun of Miles' suit and giving him pointers and cracking jokes and shit and we're watching this like

'who the hell do this man think he is frfr'

Cause we write Hobie all friendly and warm and stuff meanwhile most people's ACTUAL first reaction to Hobie and his introduction is confusion and distain 😭😭

Couldn't understand a word he was saying and he was still pissing me off 😭

Meanwhile Hobie probably thinks he's the most inviting and friendly looking person on planet Earth.

He probably thinks him and Miles hit it off right away. NO ONE has told Hobie how he comes off so he just.. doesn't know.

Imagine Miles breaking it to him like

Miles: You know Hobie, the first time we met, I couldn't stand you! Then you helped me out and I was like 'huh, this guy isn't so bad'-

Hobie: You what, mate? Why??

Miles: What do you mean 'why'? You have the biggest ego ever!

Hobie: ...What

Gwen: Yeah, Hobie. You do come off a bit.. gosh, how do I say this?

Pavitr: Conceited? Cocky? Really really arrogant?

Gwen: No, I-

Miles: Egotistical? Pretentious? Big-headed? Kinda annoying?

Gwen: PATRONIZING! That's the word I was thinking of.

Pavitr and Miles: Oh!! Yeah, that one too.

Hobie: Please tell me you're taking the piss. You're joking. Please tell me you're joking right now.

Gwen: You bringing up the time you were briefly a model?

Pavitr: Poking fun at people's fashion taste 30 seconds after meeting them?

Miles: Giving unsolicited (but eventually useful) advice no one asked for?

Gwen, Pavitr, and Miles in unison: 'I was this cool the whole time'?

Hobie: For fucks sake.

[butter-bubbles]

Why Not Making Byler Canon Would be a Massive Mistake...

Okay, so clearly the Byler brainrot has been getting to me. But this post will be about how Byler would fundamentally improve Mike (and Will's) characters, and making them canon would be an insanely easy way for the Duffer brothers to prove their masters in story crafting and writing.

Unlike a lot of people on this sub, I'm not one to believe Mike was secretly in love with Will the whole time and was using El as his beard to conceal being gay. I think there's enough evidence to prove that he was in love with El, probably for all/most of S3. I'm also not one to just ship two guys because I'm a "teen girl who likes f*tishizing MLM" like a lot of (honestly mainly misogynistic) believe.

I ship them for one simply reason: Mike, especially, becomes an infinitely more interesting, complex, and likeable character by doing so. I loved S1 and S2 Mike, and was so deeply invested in his character, his eventual reunion with Eleven, and his friendship with Will when I was younger.

And I never understood what happened to Mike between S2 and S3. Being a good friend was his defining trait of S1/2, so what happened that made him such a selfish and self-absorbed character? It never made any sense to me, and I just chalked it up to him being a cringy preteen.

But no one else has trouble maintaining a relationship and their own sense of identity/selfhood, even the other preteens on the show. Hell, El's whole arc is about moving away from this sense of dependence on others for her identity.

Now I don't think he was secretly in love with Will the whole time; there's just not enough evidence to say that he wasn't in love with El (atp) and I do think his feelings were genuine. What there is evidence for is that he fused his identity/self with being El's boyfriend, to the detriment of his friends, his girlfriend, and ultimately himself. He could think of nothing and no one outside of El, which is age appropriate but also deeply unhealthy.

There's also evidence to suggest that he feels playing with his friends and otherwise indulging in hobbies/anything outside of his girlfriend is a "kid" thing based on his fight with Will. In fact, he intentionally distances himself from Will, which to me indicates that he viewed Will as "childish" and too far from heternormative boyhood to fully indulge in a friendship with.

At the end of S3, we see the infamous awkward make-out session that was one of the first indications that Byler could be real to me. Because it just didn't make sense to me; I get struggling to say I love you, especially for an adolescent boy (even if they really mean it), but after El affirms her feelings shouldn't he look happy? Instead, he's just confused.

In S4, I believe that this is when Mike really begins to fall for Will (without even knowing it). He's so obviously jealous over who the painting is for, which just doesn't have a heterosexual explanation; he's paying close attention to Will when he should notice his girlfriend's struggling; he, for some reason, is still having issues with saying I love you even though there's been no explanation for why he can't; all he does is fight with El and seems more "in love" with (the idea of) her when she's absent.

I think what's happening here is he's realizing that everything he wants in his relationship with El, he gets from Will. Self-assurance: emotional intimacy: mutual understanding: and especially a need for him that validates his protective instincts. And I don't think he's even conscious of it, but he just can't hide it from his face (or his actions) at all.

I've been on the fence about canon-Byler because of David Harbour's comment about Mileven being firmly at the forefront of S5 and that moment in S4 at the pizza parlour where Mike almost confesses to loving El, which seemed incredibly sincere. And ultimately, I still don't know if they have any chance in S5.

But what I do know is that Mike and Will complement each other the most out of anyone in the show. They can complete one another, recontextualize all of Mike's incongruous behavior, and illustrate that the Duffer brothers are thinking about their story beyond basic (and outdated) tropes about teenage boyhood and douchey male behavior that emerges post-puberty.

So even if Byler never becomes canon, I will maintain that they would be one of the best things to happen to Stranger Things. I'd be content with another love interest being introduced for Will, but I honestly don't think anyone else could do this much for the writing and story as making Byler canon (at least not in a single season). Only time will tell.

[jals-stuff]

it feels like the death penalty.

Orter Mádl x f!reader

Having to leave him because of your father's decision is the worst outcome you could imagine.

Warnings: female reader, angst with comfort, arranged marriage, anxiety, mentions of death (only mentions).

Note: written in approximately 15 minutes, not proofread, no sleep.

word count: 1.8k ish

i swear i have never simped that hard for a man. sorry for any mistakes, i am very tired <3

As a fellow Divine Visionary, Orter Mádl was not exactly the perfect colleague. Intimidating, cold and sometimes even condescending, working with him could be a hassle for most people, but it wasn’t for you.

His attitude had nothing on his allure, his punctuality and his diligence. You admired him as an absolute idol even though you and him had the same status now. You were probably the only one in the whole Bureau who could stand spending time with him, and also the only one he tolerated as well.

The two of you had become a really good team, being sent on missions together and sometimes celebrating an especially hard one at the bar, but that was all.

To him, you were but another colleague, maybe a little more friendly and likeable than the others but it was nothing more; yet to you, he was your reason to wake up in the morning and clock in. 

It was pretty much obvious to anyone who wasn’t him that your feelings were beyond “friendship”.

You had always been raised in a traditional way for women; taking dancing and piano classes, learning manners and ethics, and mostly; you knew you wouldn’t get to choose whoever you married.

Before you had met Orter, you were quite indifferent to that fact. What was an arranged marriage other than an alliance between two families, after all? You didn’t need to love your husband; and a marriage would only be an etiquette put on you and whoever your parents would pick for you.

But the more you spent time around him, the more your heart ached at the thought of never being able to have him, ever. Marrying another man suddenly became your nightmare, and a sword of Damocles hanging over your head every day and night, like an impending sense of doom you knew you couldn’t escape.

One morning before clocking in, you had received a note from your father: he had found a suitor for you, and you would get to meet him as soon as you’d come home. For the first time since you had started working at the bureau, you couldn’t muster your usual smile; only a polite one to greet the man you could never have.

Spending time with him, working in his office or having a random coffee break was just painful now, and your usual clinging to this hope that maybe, just maybe you’d ever be able to be more than just colleagues was starting to grow distant like an echo.

As dense as he was, your depressed demeanour did not go unnoticed by Orter and as you sipped on your coffee, he let go of his pen and looked at you, adjusting his glasses.

“Is something the matter today? You aren’t quite as energetic as usual.”

Where to begin? Were you supposed to tell him about it? Your father would probably dislike that very much, and you didn’t want to bring it up around him anyway, lest he’d find out about your feelings if you accidentally let it slip.

“Just received some… terrible news from my father this morning, it’s nothing you should concern yourself with." You politely said and gave him a small smile; as honest as you could. But your chest and throat felt tight and every second you spent looking at him only brought you closer to tearing up. 

He simply gave a nod and kept working, yet your eyes simply couldn’t let go of his figure, like a death row prisoner savouring their last meal before facing the ultimate punishment. You probably wouldn’t be allowed to keep working around him after today, would you? A sigh escaped your lips as you plunged your mind right back into your paperwork, determined to finish it before you would have to leave it forever.

“Say,” Orter started. “I think you have been working very hard lately, and I must say I am not against blowing some steam off.” He trailed off, his eyes now on yours, with his usual neutral face. “I have an appointment after work, but what about a drink at the bar afterwards?”

Yet another thing you would have to let go… you wouldn’t ever be able to spend these private moments with him anymore, and the thought made you swallow your emotions down as hard as you could.

“I wish I could, but I unfortunately have something to do with my family tonight.” You managed to speak without tearing up or letting your feelings get the best of you; you couldn’t, no matter how hard it was. 

He hummed in understanding and went back to his paperwork, he didn’t seem too bothered either… After all, why would he? You were but a colleague for him and, as likeable as you were, there was nothing more to it.

Every minute spent in his office felt like your doom was approaching, and time flew really quickly today, no matter how much paperwork you were torturing yourself with. Although you were focused on your work, many thoughts crossed your mind.

You had already refused the idea of running away; where would you go anyway? And you’d obviously be running away from Orter as well. You could always refuse your suitor, but your parents would not let that slide and you would probably be severely punished for it.

…unless your future husband was the one refusing you; then there would be no issue, right? If you were unbearable, rough and ungraceful, maybe he wouldn’t see you as a possible partner anymore, and you could always play dumb if your father scolded you afterwards.

There weren’t many options, but this one was probably the least unrealistic. Of course, you would rather ask Orter to take you and elope, but you were sure as hell that he would refuse and not even understand where that request is coming from.

The day went on rather quickly and, before you left to clock out, you stood in front of his desk for a bit longer than necessary, your eyes on his. 

“I’m glad we became such a great team, Orter. I don’t think I would��ve appreciated working with anyone else that much.”

He raised an eyebrow and leaned back in his chair in surprise. Why would you say such a thing? “Are you planning on leaving?” He asked, clearly a little suspicious. “I doubt you would say such a thing on any normal day.”

You gulped down and chuckled a little dryly, looking at his desk while your hands fiddled with the hem of your shirt. “I… might not be able to work here anymore starting tomorrow, I don’t know yet. So, just in case I do have to quit, I just wanted you to know that you have been a fantastic coworker.”

He was a little taken aback by your sudden gratitude. In fact, no one had ever complimented him that way since he was rather cold and sour to other people, but he accepted it nonetheless. “Thank you, (Y/N). You have also been a great coworker, no matter what happens, I hope you will find satisfaction in the path you are following.”

“...thank you.” You turned around immediately as you felt tears grow in the corners of your eyes, and you couldn’t let him see it. You simply waved at him and left his office, every step you took feeling heavier and heavier. All you could hope for was that your potential suitor wouldn’t make you stop working at the Bureau. 

Your chauffeur was waiting for you outside and you sat on the back seat as if it was an electric chair. The ride home felt awfully quick and you couldn’t stop squirming and nervously pulling on your sleeves in anxiety.

As soon as you stepped inside your family’s manor, your father ordered you to get changed into something more refined, and hearing his authoritative tone demotivated you from your initial goal of appearing rude and ungraceful; the consequences would be too great.

You stepped into your room and picked a nice black dress that stopped at your ankles and had long sleeves. Your shoes were simple, with small heels to make your legs appear thinner. A bride supposedly dresses in white, for her marriage is the happiest day in her life, and here you were, wearing all black. It fit you really well and you were still graceful; your father probably wouldn’t say anything about it.

As you brushed your hair, you put on some discrete jewellery and refreshed your makeup a little, reminding yourself not to cry so you wouldn’t ruin it a second time. 

The belfry that tolls your death knell resonated in the form of a knock, followed by the screeching of the front door. Now was probably your last chance to jump out the window and run away, but you knew better than to disappoint your parents in such a way. 

One of the maids came to get you, and you made sure to take your time and walk slowly, savouring these last moments of freedom, your mind filled with Orter’s face and voice, his beautiful golden eyes, the way he would look so silly whenever he took his glasses off to rest, and the words he had said today. 

A long sigh escaped you and you stepped into the living room, your eyes on the ground the whole time as you sat on the couch next to your father, finally facing the man who was unwillingly about to crush all of your dreams, not even sparing a glance at him.

“My offer still stands, (Y/N).” The man spoke and your eyes widened slightly. It had this tone, this unmistakable neutrality to it, a voice you could probably differentiate amongst thousands. You looked up slowly and your heart stopped beating for a second.

Here he was, sitting in front of you, next to his own father, his legs crossed and his figure leaning back against the couch as he adjusted his glasses. You couldn’t believe your eyes and immediately thought you were dreaming. 

Why, of all the people your father could have chosen, why was Orter Mádl the one sitting in your living room? You were suffocating, but not in a bad way. It was as if a huge weight had been lifted off your shoulders and chest, your diaphragm finally free from the oppressing grip anxiety had on it.

“That is, of course, if your father allows it.” He added, looking at your father who chuckled in a surprised way. It seemed he had no idea Orter was your coworker— and additionally, the only man you truly desired. “Am I allowed to take your daughter out?”

You looked at your father in surprise, and he looked back at you in confusion. “Why, yes. It would be better if you two get to know each other first anyway.” He added, and you let out a sigh of relief. Sure, Orter was probably not in love with you, but this scenario was much better than you had anticipated. He stood up and adjusted his waistcoat and tie, then held out a hand for you to take. 

“Well then, miss (L/N), let’s have a drink and talk about this all, shall we?”

And suddenly, it felt like the death penalty wasn’t so bad anymore.

[smilingformoney]

Rickmas Day 8: Never-Ending Consequences

Character: Severus Snape (Harry Potter) Relationship(s): Snape/Persephone, Snape & Abbie, Snape & Lily Warnings: None

Based on Soul of Ice

Read on Ao3 or below:

Three years had passed since the Battle of Hogwarts, and still, nobody seemed to be able to let it go. Immediately after the battle, almost every single day, an owl flew into the kitchen of Nightingale House in Lamorna, on the coast of the Celtic Sea, and dropped a letter or two on the table before flying off again. They were always the same - requests for interviews from the Daily Prophet, from independent writers and former students who suddenly realised they’d always respected Professor Snape.

By now, the frequency had lessened, and the letters were down to a few per month. Still, any interview requests always wound up in the same place: disappearing into ash at the bottom of the fireplace.

Severus Snape didn’t care to give strangers his life story. Neither did his wife Persephone for that matter, and as for their daughters - well, Abbie was off in America most of the year, and when she was home she had better things to do. April and Ariadne were both two and a half, so they had little to say about anything - nothing comprehensible, anyway. Most of Ariadne’s speech was babbling, and April wasn’t speaking yet at all.

It came as a surprise to Severus, therefore, that during a trip to London to pick up some supplies for his Potions research, he saw his own name in the window of Flourish & Blott’s.

He almost missed it, as he was focused on avoiding the crowded streets to get to Knockturn Alley, but he happened to glance at the book shop, and stopped in his tracks when he saw a new release being advertised.

A black leather book cover, and green writing emblazoned across the front: Snape: Scoundrel or Saint?

A few steps closer to the bookstore, frowning in disbelief, and Severus was able to make out the author’s name on the cover.

Rita Skeeter. Of fucking course.

Irritated, Severus immediately turned and stormed away. The last thing he wanted now was for anyone to see him looking at that book cover.

He almost stormed right into someone; after they managed to jump out of his way, another wizard wasn’t so lucky, and found himself shoved aside as Severus made a beeline for the darkened entrance to Knockturn Alley and disappeared into the shadows.

Later, after putting April and Ariadne to bed, Severus went outside to his garden; now the sun was down, it was the perfect time for him to cultivate his moonflowers. That was what he told himself, anyway - perhaps a more truthful reasoning was so that he could ruminate on the fact Rita bloody Skeeter had had the audacity to write a book about him! He had spent years ignoring requests for interviews because he specifically didn’t want anyone other than the very few people in the world that he trusted to know anything about him. If it were up to him, he would fade into obscurity and no one would know his name except for his immediate family.

Unfortunately, Severus didn’t have that luxury. Apparently, it was illegal to obliviate the entire wizarding population, as Harry Potter had reminded him. Harry Potter, the boy who broke every rule he could find in the Hogwarts rulebook, was now an Auror, and he was the one enforcing the law. How unjust.

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that the whole. damn. world. knew his name - the whole damn wizarding world, at least. Muggles had fortunately yet been saved the misfortune of knowing the name Severus Snape. 

And why? Why had Severus, the least likeable, most asocial and unfriendly wizard in the country, become famous?

He could blame it on Harry Potter, who liked to blurt out at every opportunity what a hero Severus was. He often did blame it on Harry Potter, because blaming things on Potter! had been second nature to him since he was eleven years old.

But Potter didn’t make up Severus’ role in the wizarding war. He had indeed been a key player in the war, acting as double agent between Dumbledore and the Dark Lord, risking his life by deceiving one of the greatest Legilimens of all time, planting false information with the Dark Lord and bringing valuable truths back to Dumbledore.

And why had he done that?

Guilt. Shame. An impressive amount of self-hatred that stemmed from stupid decisions he’d made when he was barely a child.

Because, being young and stupid and naïve, and very stupid, a twenty-year-old Severus had thought it a good idea to tell the Dark Lord of a prophecy he’d overheard. He hadn’t thought of the consequences outside of the immediate. “If I tell the Dark Lord of this prophecy of his doom, he’ll reward me for warning him.” That was the only consequence Severus thought of, the only consequence he cared about at the time.

He didn’t consider that telling a psychopath that a yet unborn child was fated to bring him down would cause that child to be in danger. Perhaps he did; perhaps he didn’t care.

Nor did he consider that the Dark Lord wouldn’t just try to kill the child - he’d kill anyone who stood against him. Someone like the child’s parents. Someone like the child’s mother.

And so Severus was left with nothing. Lily, his first friend, dead; Persephone, his first love, so disgusted by him that she cut off all ties.

He had visited her, once, after Lily’s death. He wasn’t sure why. Perhaps some stupid part of him thought that, if he showed her he regretted who he’d been, she could forgive him. Instead, she asked him to leave, and he lived over a decade with the burden of guilt resting on his shoulders, knowing the consequences were all his own doing. Lily and Persephone had both loved him in different ways at different times - and it was because of him they were gone from his life.

And the question, the ultimate question, the one he wrote on parchments a hundred times before throwing them in the fire in disgust with himself.

Is the child mine?

That was the ultimate consequence. A decision to divulge valuable information had led to death; and a decision to do as humans naturally do had led to life.

If the consequences never ended, his penance never would. So even though it had been well over a decade, when the Dark Lord returned, Severus knew what he had to do.

He had to protect Lily’s child, for her sake.

He had to protect his own child - for her sake.

Did being a Death Eater make him a scoundrel? Did being a spy make him a saint? Or was he just a man, making mistakes as men do, and fixing them as men should?

The consequences of his actions as a spy weren’t always good, even if he told himself they were in the name of good. People died. He may have only killed one, but there were so many he could have saved. Hearts broke. He continued to make poor decisions. After being so reckless in his youth, the older Severus questioned everything he did. Would the plans he made work? Was he right to make the sacrifices he did? Could he have achieved his aim with less pain, less death, less betrayal?

He knew the questions would haunt him for the rest of his life. He knew he would never find the answers.

That was why, kneeling in the dirt of his garden as he shaved the dead leaves from his moonflowers, Severus started to laugh. Saint or Scoundrel? What sort of question was that? It was impossible, unknowable. He didn’t have the answer. His own wife wouldn’t have the answer if he asked. Yet this woman who knew nothing about him thought she could answer. She thought she could weigh a feather against the heart of a man she knew nothing about and give judgment.

But that, he supposed, was a consequence everybody faced. People always try to make judgments of others when they have little to no facts. He, by misfortune, was being judged publicly.

He couldn’t control what the general population of dunderheads did, or what they thought. Sixteen years of teaching had taught him a lesson too - one cannot force someone to learn something they don’t want to know. If they wanted to believe him one or the other, there was nothing he could do about it.

What he could do was control his own reaction. He could burn every copy of the blasted book - and admittedly, this was the most tempting and would be the most cathartic. He could petition the Ministry to force the recall of the book - but knowing a book was recalled would only make people want to read it, and believe it, more.

Or, of course, he could continue to live his life. He rarely left home anyway. The only people who mattered in the world - his wife and three daughters - they knew the truth. They knew who he was. Persephone and Abbie were the only people who saw him for what he was, who knew what he’d done and in some cases had seen it too. They, more than anyone else, knew the worst of him.

And yet they loved him.

Persephone had married him. Abbie had taken his name. They called themselves Snape with pride, knowing what it meant to most people, but that didn’t deter them. Because they knew what it really meant and who he really was - and they loved him as much as he loved them.

Severus had too many regrets to count. And yet, if changing a single thing would risk losing what he had found, he knew he would do it all again in a heartbeat. The consequences of his decisions from many years ago may be never-ending, but so was the love he had found with his family, and he wouldn’t change that for anything. Certainly not for a bloody book.

[theonethatwatchesalotofshows]

I have already talked about how people hate Rory for the same negative traits that they ignore or even praise in Paris but I would like to talk more about the narrative that Paris is sooo hard-working while Rory just slides through life on pure luck and privilege.. because that's literally not what happens. Let's break this down:

Claim 1: "Rory is privileged while Paris is hard-working."

How is Rory more privileged than Paris? They are literally both white and go to the same fancy prep school, except Paris went to fancy schools like this literally all her life while Rory transferred in her sophomore year. I would argue Paris is more privileged than Rory. Out of the two of them she is the one that grew up in a mansion with lawyer parents and a silver spoon in her mouth, while Rory grew up in a shed (they lived there for more than half of her childhood) with a single working blue-collar mom. Yes Rory has rich grandparents and will inherit one day but she didn't even really know them until she was 16, so she didn't benefit from their money and connections for all her childhood, while Paris has.

How is Paris more hard-working than Rory? They are both top students in the same prep school, they are both in the student government and school paper, they both built that house one summer. People love to say how "Rory never has a job" but Paris literally didn't have a paid job till she was 21 and when she got one she spent the whole time complaining that she has to work. While Rory worked at the inn part-time in high school, worked at the school cafeteria in Yale, did the inventory at the Stars Hollow bookstore (although this one annoys me because she ended up spending more on books than earning), did the internship at Mitchum's newspaper, worked for the DAR, at the Standford Gazette and then had the tutoring business along with Paris. She worked, we just sadly didn't see it that often.

"But Paris had extracurriculars" so did Rory- the aforementioned student government and paper, volunteering to build the house that one summer, and I am sure all those years of helping out at Stars Hollow's festivals and town events count. Rory had extracurriculars, volunteering and work experience, while Paris only had the first two.

Claim 2: "Rory takes everything from Paris that Paris deserves more"

If you watch the show you will see that's not true and I don't say that because I think Paris is dumb or lazy. The problem with Paris is that she lives in her own personal hell where everyone is out to get her or sabotage her, so she acts accordingly and ends up getting in her own way and sabotages herself. It happens time and time again. Rory didn't get into Harvard over Paris because she was more privileged or luckier, she got in because she is likeable and didn't bomb the interview unlike Paris. Rory didn't become the new Yale Daily News editor in chief over Paris because of dumb luck, it was again because she was likeable and capable, which made the people like her more and vote for her over Paris, who was a terrible editor. As to how Rory became valedictorian over Paris I don't know, I am not American so I have no idea how that works, but maybe if Rory's grades from Stars Hollow High counted and Paris's grades slipped after she got rejected from Harvard, it is possible that Rory had better grades than her? I have another theory that the headmaster didn't want Paris to give a speech after the fiasco on C-SPAN, so he just named Rory and Brad over Paris, but I have no idea if he can do that.

Anyway, I don't hate Paris but these double standards just piss me off. I mean I understand that Paris seems more relatable to most people exactly for these reasons- because things usually don't go her way and she gets in her own way a lot. But please don't ignore the facts.

[thebottomfromhell]

Hiiii! Could I request something for Hantengu (main body). I could imagine him getting jealous over his clones. Maybe they’re being extra touchy feely and he’s jealous. Thank you so much!

No prob, jealous Hantengu coming up! Sorry for the wait, as always.

Hantengu being jealous over his clones, GN Reader

Warnings: idk, this one seems pretty safe, Slight harm to reader (Hantengu just grabs you). Also a description of Hantengu that might inply sexua content.

Hantengu has always been fine with having you around the clones. Who else is meant to protect you? To keep you around? Him? HAH! Nice one, the idea of you depending on him make him want to throw up of the nerves. How is he supposed to keep you safe and happu when everything is so scary? So unfortunate! He can't, he can't do it by his own, that is why he has clones!

Amd of course, just like he loves you, his clones adore you. Sekido watches over you, Aizetsu likes to spend time with you, Karaku is the first one to come up with something fun to do and Urogi even sleeps over you (he doesn't need to sleep, he likes the cuddles). The four are rather protective over you, which is good. Is good, of course it's....

"And Sekido was like "Urogi, you better stop before get angry" but he didn't need time to get angry before attacking us all! We are so in pain! We need attention and adoration to heal up!" Karaku justifies the fact that he si sitting in your feet while Urogi is grabbing you from behind to lean in your back. Aizetsu is just quietly cleaning his spear besides you and Sekido is fumming some steps away. "You should be more respectful of people's property and personal space!" Aizetsu speaks without looking. "You can leave if you want to. It's sad that you pretend you don't want attention too, getting the short stick for your pride." Holy shi- as if Heantengu didn't need more reasons to feel insecure. His clones are so.... likeable, maybe, probably even more than him, and the fact that They. Keep. Touching. You.

It's an impulse that gets him into grabbing your arm and pull you from Urogi's hold, pushing Karaku to the ground in the process. "Eeeeeeck! Get away! Get away!" The clones just look at him, slightly confused, as the main body keeps pulling you to himself. "Get away!" Hantengu is trembling, thick tears rning through his arms as he squeezes hard enough to leave some marks in your skin. The clones then look at each other, Urogi and Karaku smirking at each other.

"Oh! Is Hantengu jealous? Is he afraid that his emotions will take his beloved Y/N away from him?" Karaku stands to tease, passing his arm through Hantengu's shoulder, making the main body squeal and release your arm as he brigs his hands to cover himself. "That's not true! That is not true!" He blushes hard as he keeps crying and sobbing, specially when Urogi starts flying around them. "So cute! So cute! Hantengu wants attention! He wants attention but he is too shy to ask for it!"

Even Sekido and Aizetsu smile a little as the pleasure clone and the joy clone keep teasing their main body. You must also contain a laugh, the scene is cute. Your beloved looks so nervious, shy and a embarrased... soft, in a way. He always looks so delicate and fragile, so pitiful. "I'm not! Stop bullying me! It hurts! It hurts!" And honestly, you are into that. "It's so pitiful, so sad. Y/N is Hantengu's lover after all. But the fact that he is jealous of clones of himself. It's very, very sad, pathetic even." Even Aizetsu joined in!

Part of you wants to wait and see if Sekido will also join to tease and bully Hantengu, to let you see that face become more flustered, the body shaky, the whimpers louder. A pretty mess for you to pick up for yourself. But. You can also feel the intense, begging gaze, of Hantengu upon you. He wants you, needs you, he can't share you with anyone. Help him, make him feel safe, pleasepleasepleaseplease

"I think that's enough." You decide to have mercy with Hantengu and push Karaku off gently, the main body taking the chance to cling into your waist, kness on the ground and face burried in your stomach as he weeps. "Y/N! Y/N! Y/N! Too much accusations! Please! I'm being bullied!" You can only smile as you pet his head. "Don't worry darling. You are safe with me." He keeps crying against you as you comfort him, the rest of the clones looking. Urogi chuckles, Karaku looks bored, Aizetsu is pitying Hantengu with a side-eye and Sekido just looks uncomfortable.

"Can you leave me alone with my little Hantengu? I want to have a moment." Sekido rushes before anyone else can speak, using his staff to stab both joy and pleasure before they can speak. As they complain of the pain, anger stamps the ground with the end of his weapon. "We will be leaving now! We don't want to see whatever you will do! So you all three fuckING MOVE!" He stamps the floor again, this time attacking with the electricity, forcing everyone but you and Hantengu to move before joining them.

"Mine... mine... please! Please let me-" He can't even articulate his thoughts, but you don't mind. "Yes, I am yours. No need to make a little scene." He relaxes once you say that, and damn- "Or do, it's so cute when you act so helplessly." He sobs again as he grips harder against you. What? He is fun and cute to tease.

[kassandrasdisciple]

~spoilers for ATLA, LOK and ALL COMICS~

A critique of

(Significant Spoilers / final panel spoilers)

Tl:dr at the end

Disclosure

Hi, this is going to be a critique specifically about how June and irohs interaction in bato of the watertribe (BotWT) was delt with in the bounty hunter and the tea maker (BHatTB).

I recognize this is only 1 page in a 78 page long comic but I think it's worthy critiquing how this was handled. I've watched both shows, read all the ATLA comics, along with the one shot ALTA comics, I'm not meatriding for Iroh in this as you'll see, neither will I do the like for the writers of the show or the comics, I also won't demonize either, I'll just be stating what i disagree with and what direction I think would serve the world/characters better.

1. The Comic in Question

This comic is an okay comic, like the other one shots it's self-contained, if you don't read these, it's fine as they won't come up in any other works from avatar studios (apart from maybe Azula: and the spirit temple). Due to this microcosm, they have all focused on characters or world building that either the audience or the writers think is worthy of expansion (the metelbending academy, sukis imprisonment, ect). You'll also notice a meta theme in that all these comics are woman-focused, expanding the role and background of our female cast, this is a mystery mouse KaTool that'll help us later. This is interrupted by our deuteragoists of BHatTB.

The plot, in summary, is that June is hired to capture Iroh by an old soldier who served under iroh and wants revenge for Iroh leaving him in Ba Sing Sei. In the background is tea cartels and the dying career as a bounty hunter in a peaceful world.

The title would lead you to believe that both protagonists have equal impact but make no mistake this is an Iroh comic. I love Iroh as a character, bit this comic was written with the explicit effect of maintaining his pedestal. After hes captured by June he gives the "perfect" apology by hitting all the action points, initiating the apology and leaving June to accept it on her own time. Later we get an acceptance of the apology and she starts working for Iroh, making it explicit that he's been forgiven by June for how he acted in BotWT.

Secondly, in the beginning and end of the comic he explicitly rebukes his warmongering ways, apologizing to a earth kingdom protester (side note: this scene is a whole thing, I personally found it distasteful but I'll leave it to another day) and later apologizing to his ex-soldier while reinforcing his repentance for being a general. This is a more general apology to all the people who make "Iroh is a war criminal" memes.

2. Why was this nessesary

Because BotWT aged like milk. There's a conspiracy theory that the third writer, Ian Wilcox, was blacklisted from writing for the show after this, but I can't find any evidence other than the fact this was the only episode he wrote, compared to others writing multiple episodes, however he was a busy writer so he might've just not had time. Also both Bryan and Micheal are credited so their just as complicit.

It makes the most likeable fire nation character so far seem incredibly creepy. Unfortunately it aired in 2005 and this was an incredibly common gag, especially in anime(and still is), which avatar took a lot of inspiration from (think of master Roshi from DB or Jiraiya from Naruto). Iroh is filling the pervy old man trope and in the early 2000s that was perfectly fine.

Tragically time isn't stationary and as writers rooms for cartoons have gotten more diverse we've all come to the conclusion it's weird as fuck. I think it's weird as fuck. However why did 1 scene from 1 episode nearly 20 years ago (I just gave myself psychic damage FUCK I'm old) need a comic tie in?

Because media literacy is dead and CinemaSins.

Okay no, so the TL;DR is that Iroh has become a mascot for avatar studios, but also people make perv and war criminal memes about him, and you don't want to sell merch with the war criminal on. So they did the beauty and the beast remake move and made a follow-up to address all the CinemaSin-esque takes.

Unfortunately the interesting part of Iroh is that he was a war criminal (this is a joke, IK they dont have Geneva, chill). He was an interesting shade of grey but when you put someone on a pedestal they either stay in the sky or fall, and avatar studios decided to build some scaffolding. This entire comic was a way to scrub the morally bad parts of Iroh away, and personally? I think that's pretty boring, so what else could we do?

3. The ReWrite

So first thing what's the comics theme? I don't want to change too much so let's keep that the same, luckily I think June's mum sums it up.

Freedom, and along with that, responsibility to grant freedom. June wants to be free and gives freedom to Iroh, Iroh wants to be free of his guilt but to do so he must take responsibility, Fan and the others wanted freedom and took responsibility for their lives, making a homestead, and lastly Keung wanted Freedom from his past and was going to make Iroh take responsibility.

Metatextually this is also a comic about freedom for Iroh and June's characters by taking responsibility for what happened in BotWT, so we'll keep that theme.

Secondly, I lied about not making big changes, we're kicking out Iroh and the tea cartel plot. Our new title is The Bounty Hunter And The Fire Lord. Our new plot is going to be set after azula and the spirit temple, and follow an unsuccessful attempt my Zuko to find Azula with June's help. We're keep June struggling to find work, and even meeting Fan and the ex-hunters. We're also going to keep the fallout of BotWT.

5. Why Zuko

For this story I envision a fire nation that is returning to pre-war mentalities, and I think in this nation sexism would be returning hard. Just like the UK after WW2 women had been moving towards egalitarianism but were shoved back to the household once peace was established. In this climate Zuko doesn't know what to do, remember, the 2 non-genociding states are both patriarchal with misogyny baked in, the Water tribes are Overt, but outside of Kyoshi island we don't see women in power in the Earth Kingdom. Zuko doesn't have a societal reference for equality other than his homeland, and he's previously been erasing alot of fire nation culture (dragon hunting, colonies, royal deification), he's now dealing with advisors trying to tell him how women should act and he's frozen, should they be like the water tribes?

Secondly, Zuko has no female advisors, he has Katara and Toph as friends, he has Suki and Mai in the palace but none of them know the court machinations, not like Azula would. His mother has been out of the court longer than she was in it, and is still pretty traumatized. So, spurred on by his need to do the right thing and as another excuse to bring Azula back into the family, he hires June to help him find his sister.

I know it might seem out of left field but personally, it would be great worldbuilding for how we went from the treatment of Zeisan and Ursa to fire lord Izumi. Secondly Zuko is always itching to reconnect with Azula in the comics and he loves making bad decisions, he's also got more backstory with June than Iroh.

Onto the meat of it, on their road trip June opens up more to Zuko, same as she did with Iroh, and zuko uses June as a sounding board for all these questions he wants to ask Azula. June has traveled the world's underbelly, she knows what women are capable of and the calculating demeanor means she gives similar answers Azula would.

Eventually Zuko says he could've asked Iroh for his help on the topic, but June snorts at him, she tells the story of what happened to her from her POV. We don't have Iroh to give us a perfect apology, we have Zuko having to choose if he defends his uncles honour or not, who does he believe? This is what his story is about, does he believe his advisors or the women of his country.

Let June use her knowledge of what the dark side of the world is like, let her say what a noble fire nation man probably grew up hearing about women, especially when in the beginning of the war we see no female soldiers, so the gender roles where probably still enforced.

If you want to address Iroh's actions then have them serve the greater narrative, how have women been treated by the fire nation, and also don't have the interaction be kept to just June and Iroh, have it between a woman extending trust and a Fire lord who all to often puts Iroh on the same pedestal as the audience.

If you want, you can have a final scene with Iroh, where he sides with June and apologizes, but I think what we where given serves only the male cast and relegates June's story to a checklist, instead of treating it like a narrative she should get to control.

TL:DR

BHatTB whimped out on adressing Irohs actions, and it's easy to see that they did so just to get people to stop bringing it up. I'd instead propose this conversation happens with Zuko; with Zuko being treated as the audience, glamourisng Iroh, and June reinstating that he's still a human man, and that he isn't free of societal influence.

Have it be about freedom, both individually and societally, and responsibilities; to those you hurt and to those you've sworn to protect.

Again, this critique was focused on this one interaction, if I was to do a full rewrite I would change other aspects and flesh out how I think a June/Zuko road trip would go, still it would be vastly more interesting than what we got.

[noxer]

"Getaway - from hero to zero"

DISCLAIMER: Everything expressed is a subjective opinion that does not claim to be true or significant, I am not justifying anyone, and all this is necessary to simply examine one character under a magnifying glass.

I really love Getaway as a character because you can endlessly interpret him and his actions, even though he only appears in MTMTE and LL, which I remember were written by the same writing team. Getaway is interesting as an antagonist, especially since at first he is presented as a rather likeable character, and at the time of the events of MTMTE his motivation is still quite understandable. And the fact that it's getting such a negative reaction shows how well it's written (or how much people like Cygate). And he’s so pathetic that I want to tenderly bite his head off. So I want to put together what we have on this special agent and see what he’s like. After all, despite the fact that he is revealed to us in comics, we can only guess about many details, since the writers could not show everything as it is, so as not to disrupt the intrigue.

First steps

The only thing we know about Getaway's past is his telling Tailgate about his first battle, from which the newly activated Getaway escaped. I don’t want to analyze specifically the act itself, because it is quite difficult to judge whether this escape was justified or not (pro - what else did the Autobots expect from a newborn?; con - the other MTO, it seems, remained to fight). I want to talk more about the impact of this act on Getaway's personality. Because Getaway is definitely ashamed of what happened, since it doesn’t fit into the image he wants to create. The only reason he shares this story with Tailgate is to a) make Tailgate feel sorry for him; b) instill in Tailgate an even greater sense of hostility towards Decepticons; c) a kind of therapy - he needs to share this with someone, and he doesn’t feel an emotional attachment to Tailgate, that is, he doesn’t care what he thinks about him, plus, Tailgate still has to die according to the plan, which means he’s already won't tell anyone anything.

Shame in most cases leads to anger, either at oneself or at others. Getaway chooses the second, and begins to slowly accumulate resentment and anger towards both the Autobots and the Decepticons, that is, towards those who started this war and thus forced him to be born as a soldier. In addition, the feeling that he is now forever branded a coward lays the first bricks of Getaway's exorbitant ambitions, as a way to make amends for his initial transgression. Let's add to this the very status of Getaway as literally a consumable item - the fact that he could die in the first minutes of his life was quite expected. Then attempts to become something big become a matter not only of ambition, but also of banal survival, because a specialist is less likely to be sent directly under fire than an ordinary soldier.

Diplomatic corps

We know almost nothing about Getaway’s work in the special unit. What I want to highlight here is Getaway's attitude towards Prowl. He clearly has a certain respect for him, and we have no reason to believe that this respect is feigned, if only because Getaway's behavior is in many ways a copy of Prowl's, only a little more inept. Getaway tries to manipulate like Prowl, tries to scheme like Prowl, but since he has less experience being the one who plans the operations rather than the one who executes them, things do not go entirely smoothly. Honestly, I can't get out of my head the image of Prowl berating Getaway not for attempted mutiny, but for how clumsy it was.

I mean, his entire plan rested on one Tailgate, and if something happened (and it did), all, literally all the threads would lead to Getaway. Getaway tries to be smart and accurate, but in the end his actions still amount to brutal blows to the head (sometimes literally), simply because that's how Getaway is used to acting. He is an operative, not a tactician or strategist. He acts here and now, with small goals like “kill X”, “successfully escape”, “survive”, and when fate confronts him with the need for long-term planning, Getaway simply cannot cope. No matter how manipulative the scriptwriters make him out to be, for the most part Getaway behaves almost instinctively. I highlight this this way because a similar pattern of “a small person (bot) trying to seem like something big” is clearly visible in Getaway’s behavior almost always. He tries to be an Autobot, but escapes from his first battle. He tries to be an "evil genius", but in the end, all his plans fail and he gets through only through luck and evil chaotic throwing, in the hope that something will work. He wants to become Prime, but does everything to ensure that his name is associated with this title as little as possible. Getaway may be a villain, but he's primarily a failed villain, not a villain with a plan.

"Primus apotheosis" - or similar symptoms?

I'm actually very wary of the whole "primus apotheosis" situation, because it was only added in LL, and therefore there are some doubts and inconsistencies with MTMTE, but more on that a little later. What do we know at all: there are certain signs that distinguish Prime from among ordinary bots, and Getaway, having discovered them in himself, becomes fixated on this. Why is that? Back to the “I’m-more-than-I-seem” pattern. For Getaway, it is important to be more significant than he is, so much so that he is ready to cling to semi-mythical descriptions just to feel better. In fact, these signs are no better than some “aryan standards” - they are just an easy way to gain superiority over others. For Getaway, “primus apotheosis” is only a consequence of his ambitions and inferiority complex, which took this form due to the war surrounding him and a certain “cult of Prime” that reigned among the Autobots. Since 1) i am a doctor not in the field of psychology, 2) we have no information about the Cybertronian psyche, 3) Freud’s diagnoses is not the most reliable, in principle, it is difficult to say whether Getaway actually has such a disorder, but if yes, it fits perfectly into his image.

Also, the “primus apotheosis” fits into another aspect of Getaway’s personality – his rather contradictory relationship with their god. The Autobots, unlike the Decepticons, in some places still retain a somewhat functional attitude, as well as faith in Primus. From this point of view, Getaway is in a rather unenviable position - he is a MTO who ran away from his battle, that is, in some sense, did not fulfill his function, he is constructed cold, that have long been considered second-class, he is a murderer, no matter what he said. And Getaway simultaneously hates Primus for who he created him, who he forced him to be, and longs for recognition and forgiveness from him. Becoming a Prime was about affirming that he was worthy, that he was forgiven, that everything he had done was right. Because if sinners like Optimus and Rodimus could become Primes, then so could Getaway.

Mutiny

We already know that Getaway hates his origins, and this anger is constantly projected onto others, but especially Megatron. The logical chain is as follows: “if you had not started the war, I would not have been created as MTO, I would not have had to become what I became, I would not have had to prove my right to life, I could have been like others.” For Getaway, Megatron is another obstacle to being as valuable as the others. He dared to start this war, and made Getaway's life like this. I also wonder if Getaway might see killing Megatron as some kind of “redemption”? "I killed the greatest monster in our history, something previous Primes couldn't do, I'm not that hopeless, right?" However, even if you remove the specific reasons, Getaway will still have the motivation to get rid of Megatron, because of whom many, many cybertronians died. Removing the one who started and supported the most destructive war of your species away sounds like a good reason. And Getaway does everything for this purpose, at least until the ill-fated events of LL.

Crucial moment

The difference between Getaway MTMTE and Getaway LL is quite noticeable. In MTMTE, Getaway is motivated precisely by his hatred of Megatron as a military leader; his “primus apotheosis” was only added into LL. In MTMTE, Getaway really was a mini-Prowl - he had a completely understandable and even justified motivation - to get rid of an objectively dangerous crew member - which he solves in a not the most humane way, using Tailgate. Getaway in MTMTE has a lot of likeable traits until we are gradually introduced to his slightly less pleasant sides, making it difficult for us to know how to feel about him. Yes, he put one of the beloved characters in danger, but he did it for a reason we can understand. We get asked a pretty tough question, which is great, right?

Now forget all this. Because in LL, Getaway does terrible things for terrible reasons, and his “primus apotheosis” is revealed, and it just becomes difficult for us to respect him at least as a villain.

But why is this even the case?

Doylist explanation

It was vital to the writers that the core cast was Always Right™. In MTMTE, it was quite easy to sympathize with Getaway (unless you are a fierce fan of Tailgate and Cygate). And since the main goal was the redemption of Megatron, Getaway had to be removed. Because Getaway's character asked this question: "Maybe Megatron can redeem himself. Maybe he deserves it. But what if we, who suffered from his decisions, are physically unable to forgive him after all? Don't we deserve our good ending?" And the writers didn't have an answer to that question (because there's no right answer). And they had to make Getaway much worse so that readers would not have the slightest desire to understand and and accept his ideas.

Watsonian explanation

Getaway has really, truly gone crazy. He has currently spent some time in a cell, unable to move or speak, having previously been held captive by Tyrest for an undetermined amount of time. Yes, Getaway is an operative, his psyche must be prepared, but everyone has their own limit of strength. Getaway later leaves the team at the mercy of DJD because they were the ones who threw him into the cell, even though he was doing them a favor by getting rid of Megatron. Thus, he allows his partner and friend to die, which is also unlikely to contribute to mental health. And as time goes on, Getaway's actions become increasingly desperate and insane in an attempt to survive and reach Cyberutopia, where he hopes he can find forgiveness for all the terrible things he has done. In the end, his last actions are, in order, 1) an attempt to blow up the ship along with himself; 2) unsuccessful suicide attempt; 3) an absolutely senseless attack on Cyclonus, either out of desperation or in the hope that he would kill him; 4) he lost his sense of reality so much that he believed the illusion created by the scraplet colony. By the end of LL, Getaway is more of a hunted animal than the calculating saboteur he was in MTMTE.

Bottom line

So what do we get in the bottom line? Getaway was destined from birth to become a bargaining chip in a conflict to which he had nothing to do. His unsuccessful "debut" began his quest to become something significant, in the hopes that others would forget who he was. Prowl gives him this opportunity, which is why Getaway begins to see him as a role model, adopting his worldview, ways of acting and attitude towards others. At the same time, Getaway “grows up” in an environment where some stereotypes and prejudices, including religious ones, still persist, and there is also an idealized figure of Prime. Since his promotion to special agent has hardly changed anything for Getaway about himself, he becomes fixated on the supposed signs (perhaps with the occasional intervention from Skids), although most of the time he "keeps it under control" until something serious happens. Getaway has loyalties and principles, he can have feelings towards others, and I don't believe his attempts to kill Megatron were always purely selfish. But Getaway puts these feelings aside in favor of “more important things,” because the fear of being a nobody again, of being just MTO running away from battle, is stronger than all his attachments. Getaway is a terrible (and rather unhappy) bot, not because he has always been like this, as they tried to present it in LL, but because between real significance - being important to someone - he chooses false significance - being important to everyone, which the same as being important to no one. It is still easier for Getaway to run away, chasing something illusory, than to fight for something important. And no one is to blame for this but him.

[esosage]

God i need more movie robotnik angst! Like my man is prime angst material and theres just not enough for him!

Need him to be sobbing, and crying, and haveing a mental breakdown.

Especially when it involves stone, since it forces him to let his walls down, and bear his soul to the other man wether he likes it or not. Which could really offer some interesting developments in their relationship.

I can see movie eggman being very antsy after he has a mental break down infront of stone, since he's primarily waiting for the other to either take advantage of him or leave him. Since thats probobly what he's experienced in relationships up till now (with the whole trust issues thing.)

Infact, i'd say he gets so antsy that he becomes a self fulfilling profocy. Being so pent up, and not beliveing stone has anything but maliciouse intent twards him now, he lashes out at the other. Saying some real horrible shit in an attempt to push him away before stone can hurt him.

He ends up secretly regretting it after the fact. He tries to convince himself that its better this way, or that he doesn't care, or that he likes hurting the other, in attempt to cover up that guilt, but he knows deep down that its just not true. Even so, that doesnt stop him from returning back to old habbits to cope with being in a very unframiliar situation: aka him being a dick. Maybe not directly to stone this time, but by avoiding him. He isn't really angry at stone, more so angry at himself, but he doesnt have the emotional intelligence to recognize that. So he tries to put up walls. In his mind hes gotten far to attached to stone and needs to cut the other man out before he has a one up over him, or uses robotniks emotions against him. But robotnik just cant do it. He cant force himself to get rid of stone, he cant force himself to just fire the man, because stone is the only person who takes care of robotnik.

Now, robotnik doesnt think that stone genuinlly cares for him, he doesnt think anyone is capable of that, but stone does give him attention. Attention, that he despretly seeks and searches for. Infact, stone has probobly cared for robotnik, more than anyone else before. Which isnt a high bar, since robotnik isn't exactly a likeable person, but its still a very big thing for a robotnnik. Because in his whole life, stone is one of the very few people who has cared about him somewhat, and managed to stick around him for this long without gwtting tired of his bulshit. And as someone who has been longing and desperate for attention their entire life, who craves it, robotnik just cant give stone up. Regardless of if stone huets him or not, because he doesn't think he'll find anyone else who will care for him as much as stone does.

Of course, he never acknowledges this, because to him, saying that he needs the agent on such a deep level is admitting to being weak. Since he's supposed to be untouchable (and perfect.) And he much less has enough emotional intelligence to understand this, so he puts up walls instead, in the hopes that stone will do it for him. That stone, just like everyone else, will get sick of his bullshit and leave. (He doesnt really want this in reality. But because he's in such an unframilar situation, hes resorting back to old habbits and lashing out to feel more incontrol. Because theres nothing robotnik hates more, than not being in control, because in his mind, if hes not incontrol then he's going to get hurt.)

Thankfully for robotnik though, stone is crazy and refuses to leave. He might have before robotnik had the mental breakdown, since he didnt belive the doctor genuinlly cared about him before then, but after the mental breakdown, he knows that the doctor cares about him more than he's letting on. So he refuses to leave, because he knows somethings up with the doctor, and he's not going until its fixed. Careing more about robotniks wellbeing than his own, (regardless of how unhealthy it is.)

This confuses to robotnik till no end, and sets his mind down another spiral. Because normally, your mean to people and they leave, but stone isn't doing that...... why? Thats the part that catches robotnik up the most: the why. In robotniks mind, he's an asshole, he knows he is, he plays into it sometimes, and thusly he thinks nobody can care about him. That because he's a horrible person, and because, in his mind, he'll never be anything but one, its simply impossible for anyone to care, much less love him. So he doesnt think stone is capable of loveing him. Which begs the question of why stone is staying.

If stone doesn't love him, and has every reason to leave him right now outside of the pay, why stay? Does he want revenge? Does he have a card up his sleeve? Is he trying to take robotnik down? Is that why he's been more nosey lately?

All of those are questions floating in robotniks head. His trust issues takeing his anxiety twards the issue and going wild. Which naturally sends robotnik down a paranoid spyral.

All of this, culminates in another argument. Stone demanding to know whats wrong, and robotnik eventually slipping up in the moment, and admiting that he thinks stone hates him, and is trying to sabatouge him.

The agent vehemently goes against this motion, claiming he would never tries that, and that he doesn't hate robotnik. Of course, due to his trust issues, robotnik doesnt buy it. Combating this with the "facts" he has gathered thus far. Asking why stone would stay with him otherwise if it wasn't to gain something.

Another thing the agent opposes, stuttering over his words to avoid saying the obviouse, but just enough to hopefully convince robotnik when he says he cares. Though robotnik keeps pushing back, still not buyinh it.

And exaughsted, stone just screams out rhe truth in the hopes that it will get through the others thick skull. Admiting that he loves robotnik, and thats why he stays, because he cares about him dammit!

This leaves robotnik floored, he doesn't belive it at first, can't fathom the thought of someone actually being in love with someone like him outside of what he can give them (relationships arw transactional in his mind,) but hes putting up a lot less ressistancdñe than before. And while he doesnt want ot admit it, logically speaking, it would explain t a lot of things.

Eventually robotnik does something slightly emotionally intelligent for once in his damn life, and asks for a moment, (he doesnt say its to prosess his emotions, but its deffinetly implied,) and he asks stone to leave.

This obviously leaves the other anxiouse, wondering if he did something wrong in admiting his feelings, but he complies. Thr two on their own to process everything..

They end up haveing a conversation about it later once they've calmed down, (something stone had to initiate,) and it ends up being productive! The two of them planning a path forward for the both of them (with no romance by robotniks request) and they begin to work on things.. very slowly yes, and with a lot of cognitive disonence on robotniks part (he still cant admit that he cares, much less loces stone yet, even if he does,) but its progress and stone is satisfied with it.

Anyhow, sorry i went on a ramble, my thoughts decided to just go this way lol. Regardless, my point still stands, robotnik is a very deep and interesting character, and deserves to ve explored more. And also deserves a hell of a lot more angst.

Thank you for listening to my bullshit.

[plusvanity]

Thanks to your blog — that I discovered randomly — I got sucked into the whole Mayhem lore. 🥲 I got the general order and gist of the things (especially around the whole mythos that people build over the years) but there is one thing that I can't stop thinking and it just bothers me.

So, we all already know that Varg and Øystein start as friends, good ones at that. Varg admires Øystein meanwhile Øystein thinks they share the same vision music wise, they burn churches together, he defends him from the press (and generally TO ME, it seems like it was Ø doing the heavy lifting and all the work in this friendship but whatever) and so on; until Varg's opinion of him shifted all of a sudden: Øystein became full of flaws, or only flaws at that point, and the tension arises. Many people spoke about how they were kind of fighting for dominance of the BM scene, but really, how much is this a factoid? Yeah Varg can brag alllll he wants about how Øystein was jealous because he was becoming more popular, but to me it's more that Ø was just annoyed by his behaviour, he did not feel threatened of being 'dethroned'; it reads like a fantasy of Varg (that besides, came out of nowhere and all of a sudden in the scene meanwhile Øystein was already a well established personality). I also do not really agree on the stance that Øystein was a megalomaniac, but I'll put that aside.

Varg at a certain point says that he 'listened to a call' where Ø was talking about how he wanted (and would) kill him. Is this even true or pulled out from his ass to justify himself? I only found one source that mentions briefly that he THOUGHT about 'getting to him first' but A) he never really wanted that nor was violent and B) it was a private conversation that got out after his death, and I'm referring to Mortiis.

Either way, it does seem that Øystein was a bit preoccupied when it came to Varg. He wanted him out and most importantly, far from himself. There is also what I'll label as a rumor that Ø was agitated after hearing that one clairvoyant (sprinkle of salt). So why would he EVER open the door to him that night? It certainly was weird and he knew that Varg was dangerous, hence why, among other things, he wanted to put him in jail. And even Varg admits that Øystein was clearly uncomfortable seeing him. Would Varg have killed him even if Øystein never opened that damn door (oh, how I wish!), or would his impulsive anger cool down?

Varg and Øystein started as friends because Varg was looking up to Øystein. I have no doubt that Varg was putting up a mark at first to seem more likeable, to get closer to Øystein and eventually become relevant in the Black Metal scene since back then he was a nobody and Øystein was a well-established personality between their friends. As time progressed, Varg's admiration turned into jealousy and envy since he was an undisclosed egomaniac and wanted to have what his 'mentor' had. Their fight for dominance is not a rumor. It is a fact that led to Øystein's tragic end.

No one can blame Øystein for getting sick of Varg's bullshit and giving him the taste of his own medicine by talking badly about Varg's on his back. I believe their animosity was going back and forth because I think I'm one of the few people who believe that Øystein had a bit of an ego too, because after all he was leading a brand new music scene and he was entitled to his position. I don't necessarily think there is something bad about this because after all he was the one (together with Pelle) who built their own, unique style. Whether he really felt threatened by Vikernes or not, we can't tell for sure.

Varg will use everything in his side of the story to make people believe that he was right all along in what he did and not only that, but he even 'did the right thing' by his delusional, egoistic and envious standards, so, my suggestion is to believe anybody else but Varg. You cannot tell what is real and what is fiction, including the call that he pretends he heard. I would say (with indulgence) that 90% of what he states is pulled straight of his ass. He is a nothing but a pathological liar and that's it.

I believe that Øystein was, to a certain extent, having the thought of Varg doing 'something' against, but when all they ever did was throwing empty threats, how could Øystein be sure that this time Varg means business? He wanted Varg out of his life, that's for certain. Vikernes' actions cause him bad publicity and his shop, Helvete, to close.

Why Øystein opened the door that night, I can only speculate the most plausible answer. It was 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning and he woke up from his sleep, too tired to realize how late it must've been, and answering the door came as an automatic reflex. He didn't know who was waiting on the other side and he was surprised to see Varg there. In retrospect, Øystein would've had the chance to put up a better fight if he wasn't taken by surprise like this, but after all, Varg had a knife on him and this was the surprise element that, if you don't have an equalizer, you've already lost the fight unfortunately.

Varg must've been a madman to drive 5-6 hours in the middle of the night from Bergen to Oslo to kill. I don't think that not having that door open, you would just shrug and be like 'Well, that's it, folks. I'm going home'. No, he would've find a way to get in. It's the adrenaline that brought you there that won't allow you to leave even if you would somehow realize that what you do is gonna cost you a lot of trouble. The impulse is too strong, you can't just walk away simply.

I also wish Øystein never opened that door, but I guess we all wish that.

[they-breasted-boobily]

Ways the plot of tua s4 could have been improved while including a lot of the same storyline:

It goes without saying that a 6 episode season was too rushed for even the shitty plot we got given, but I'll mention that these ideas would have worked better for an 8-10 episode season. Or maybe you could use them for fics or comics- I'd love to see them!

1. The careers and new lives of non-powered umbrellas: While Lila, Klaus, and Viktor had decent set-ups, the others seemed out of place. Diego's personality and desire to be a hero would have been better suited to a mall cop or traffic cop, where he feels undervalued and underutilised, rather than just beaten down as a delivery driver for jokes about peeing in a bottle. Luther only mentioned Sloane a couple of times in the entire series- with more than 6 episodes, it could have been possible to give flashbacks of him trying to get back to her, but her not recognising him and not being romantically interested. Not sure what changes could be made to his job or housing though. Allison's setup was mostly fine, but we really should have been given an explanation for why Raymond left- maybe lean into the horror of being taken from your time and timeline raising a daughter you suddenly have? Five would not work for the CIA except as a double-agent, either that or he would be retired as a fishing supplies store owner. Ben is his own whole point later in this post.

2. The marigold sake shots: I feel like this plot point added to Ben just being an asshole and scapegoat for the entire season, which could benefit from major changes. If left relatively unchanged, the fact that Klaus threw it over his shoulder could have led to greater implications if it landed on an unknown person behind them and gave them powers. This person could have been the subject of an episode or two as they were tracked down when it was necessary.

3. Ben's character: While s3 Sparrow Ben was a dick, he was not as edgy, conceited, or self-absorbed as he was in s4. I think it's fine to start his arc with him leaving prison, but making the crime as major as crypto fraud (just because you think it's funny) makes it much more difficult for him to seem likeable and relateable to Jessica or anyone else. If the crime was something more minor, or he was framed/unfairly jailed it could set up a revenge/redemption arc from the get-go. With his relationship with Jessica, it would have benefited from being more of a slow burn, or if the gradual unnatural obsession had more than 6 episodes to build up.

4. The subway romance: While I can almost understand why it was Five and Lila due to their history working together and especially using time travel together, I think if Five needed a romance (which I don't but show writers can't stand having one member of the main cast never being in a relationship), it should have been someone he met while on that 7 year subway adventure (probably an older woman) and settled with in Strawberry Tradwife timeline while Lila keeps looking for a way out for the sake of her children. Lila would find the journal a few months later and using both it and the subway map, get back to Five because she still needs his powers to get entirely out of the subway system. Could you imagine a scene with Lila trying to convince Five to leave the peaceful Strawberry Tradwife life he's always wanted after dealing with the trauma of being stuck in time twice?

5. Klaus's return to addiction: I think Klaus's arc could have definitely benefited from the season being longer. If there was a slower burn towards his addiction returning and his confrontation with Claire and if she stressed more that he didn't need to go down this path again, it could have really been impactful. The ghost sex trafficking thing was gross but if that was the only way to get him buried alive then so be it, because having him in a situation where he would have to directly face his trauma from the mausoleum and become stronger would be so good for the sendoff of his character. Maybe that could have been the point where he learned how to levitate?

6. Reginald and false memories: Why was the fact that he's literally not human and crafted this timeline so he could have as much power as possible (including a militia town) not explored at all? The plot should have revolved a lot more around at least verifying what he was saying about marigold and durango, if not about handing him a final defeat for this final season. Everything around him killing Ben led to huge plot holes (why wouldn't Klaus know the truth from Ben's ghost? Ben easily could have been spared and only Jessica shot. Why was Jessica being in a squid never explained?). While it's interesting to see the Umbrellas all give a brainwashed explanation for Ben's death, it couldn't be something as blatant as that, because Klaus would have to know even if everyone else was brainwashed. The brainwashing is an idea with promise, but it should have been something like Ben and Jessica being consumed by the giant squid together because Ben went against orders.

What other things could have been changed? I personally liked the CIA subplot, especially as it taught Diego to appreciate his family more. I also found Jean and Gene and the Cleanse conspiracy theorists to be fun new mini-villains.

[luminique]

Hello, Anon who uses translator again! XD

I also loved the idea of ​​a Reader who works in Cheesetopia, do you think a Reader who is both an official mechanic for the Sons of Calydon and a cook in Cheesetopia would be possible? I think this possibility would be interesting, because, considering that it is difficult to survive in the outside area, having two jobs would be something that would make your life more stable, because it is not every day that you will probably have a motorcycle for Reader to fix or make improvements, so having another place to earn money would probably be viable, and I believe Kasa would be understanding and would allow him to have a flexible work schedule so Reader can dedicate himself to both jobs.

I would also like to know what you think of Harumasa, to be honest, I currently think he is cute, especially after seeing him in Yanagi's Demo. I know we don't know much about him yet (in fact, I think that out of many characters in ZZZ, unlike Genshin and Honkai where we have information or clues about the characters' past and goals, ZZZ leaves its characters with more mystery), but well, that doesn't stop me from imagining more about him, just like I do with Lighter. XD But about what I think of Harumasa: he seems like someone who is easy to get along with and who will easily become your friend (as long as you don't try to make him work more than necessary haha ​​XD); well, we already know from the official posts that he is much stronger than his appearance conveys, but he also gives me the feeling that he is quick to do his duties so he can rest easy and sleep (I say this considering that he was sleepy and still took care of part of Yanagi's duties); Harumasa's personality is probably more complex than just what I said, since Hoyo makes his characters with well-developed personalities, and in the 1.3 live stream it is said that the members of section 6 are all eccentric, and this must certainly apply to Harumasa.

Also considering the statements of Harumasa's former classmate and an older classmate of Harumasa's (who I believe is Yanagi, since there are already comments from Miyabi and Soukaku about him), I believe that his former master was someone decisive for him to act the way he is today, now whether this is something positive or negative we will only know with time.

Now Harumasa in relation to Reader, I can't help but imagine him trying to persuade Reader (who is his romantic partner or his crush) to relax with him, and especially using Reader as his personal teddy bear. Those typical scenes of someone using their legs or shoulder as a pillow are certainly typical of Harumasa x Reader. I also believe that making Harumasa more comfortable when he's sleeping is something that would make him captivated by Reader. I may be wrong about his personality, but he gives me this energy of someone who would like someone sweet and kind taking care of him, and that he probably couldn't wait to finish his workload so he could go out with Reader to a relaxing place.

HI TRANSLATOR ANON !! sorry for such a late reply. this is very much before i’ve played the newest story so anything i write out rn may change after i finish the story !

i think that kasa understands how hard it is to live in blazewood, so she might be willing to let you work more flexibly. even if its not as a cook, maybe a waiter or at the register.

for what i think about harumasa (pre 1.3 story), i agree that he seems to be quite easygoing especially when we first met him. he seems to have a naturally likeable personality and also understanding his own tasks and duties. in yanagi’s demo, he seems to be someone who is willing to share the workload (as long as it isn’t too much?) but maybe because it’s yanagi and she was busy.

he does seem like someone who just wants to do what he came here for though, not wanting to do too much or that will make him do overtime. if he ends up doing overtime, then that means he doesn’t get as much time with you. i think he can be that kind of person who likes spending quality time and can relax with a partner that knows he works a lot.

this is just my thoughts on harumasa and i agree with a lot about what you said !! i can’t wait to know more about section 6. if i like harumasa enough, maybe i will write for him !

[meetinginsamarra]

mayprompts2024, #32 determined

Chapters 1 to 8 here on AO3

If you like the tattoo AU give it some love on my AO3, please. It would mean a lot to me. TYSM!

The remaining chapters will be uploaded one every following day.

+++++

White Pony Tattoo - Part Twelve (determined)

Sherlock was completely stunned by John’s angry rant.

For once, witnessing the fierce side of John’s, the fearsome soldier, the way he was bristling with furious energy and righteous anger about Sherlock deriding and loathing himself was simply spectacular.

Also, because thinking about what John had actually said, Sherlock realized with growing surprise that firstly, he himself had never seen it this way and secondly, that John had made a brilliant deduction Sherlock had been so far uncapable of observing and thus, John was pretty damn smart, too.

Sherlock blinked rapidly, trying to compute the new point of view.

“I’ve never thought about it this way before.” Sherlock said in a small but not unhappy voice.

“Obviously.” John commented gruffly and sat down in the recliner chair again.

They were quiet for the next hour, the only sound to be heard was the whirring of the tattoo gun and Sherlock’s occasional instructions for John how to hold the arm.

It was a comfortable and contemplative silence as each of the two men pondered what had been said and what there was to be learned from it.

Sometime in the midst of the tattoo job, Sherlock began to speak.

“The tattooing helped a lot, with coping, I mean.”

Then the dam of keeping his past inside broke quickly and Sherlock told John everything. He had not been right out rejected by John after confessing his junkie past and the ongoing struggle of resististing to cure the itch. He hoped that John would still not reject him after confessing how stupid and gullible he had been.

“I’ve been studying chemistry at uni and apart from the equations and chemical reactions and experiments everything else bored me. I had no other hobbies and I especially had no friends. All of my peers thought I’m was weirdo and an asshole and shunned me for very good reasons because I was both.

I always wanted to be perfect, to fit in. Just be normal. But I am not a likeable person, I’m abrasive and obnoxious and I see things that people want to hide and I hurl these into their faces so that they’ll leave me alone.

One day I met Darren on campus, a drug dealer looking for new clients and he introduced me to cocaine.

It was heaven, John.

The cocaine softened all of this. I could concentrate better. I was happy, really truely happy with myself and my life for the first time since I was a teenager.

Shortly after, I fell in love with my now regular supplier and he became my first boyfriend. Darren might even have really loved me but that didn’t stop him from taking advantage of me.

He soon talked me into using my proficient chemistry skills for synthesising Ecstasy and I didn’t think a lot about it because he gave me free cocaine that I had quickly become addicted to.

I’ve been on a continuous high for over one year and have been able to hide it very well from everybody. In fact, my peers had become more friendly and open with me now that I apparently acted like what was generally perceived as “normal”. Which only confirmed my belief that without the drug I’d never be able to function adequately.

I had developed a severe drug addiction in the meantime. I was injecting cocaine several times a day and the veins in my left arm were utterly ruined.

The first time I tried to shoot up with my left hand using the good veins on my right arm I accidentally overdosed. It happened to be right here in the shop. Back then, the locality had still been a café. Mrs Hudson had run it, serving coffee and the best home-made bakeries. She found me unconscious on the toilet floor, barely breathing. She called the ambulance and I died on the way to the hospital due to cardiac arrest but they could reanimate me just in time.”

Sherlock was grateful that all the while he talked John merely listened without any judgemental comments. Being allowed to finally let go of at least some of the hurt was a huge relief.

“While I was in rehab, I made the acquaintance of another recovering addict who was a very skilful tattoo artist. When we were both clean, I asked her to put the white pony I had designed onto my back. Her art of painting with ink on skin intrigued me and she taught me all there was to know.”

“And now you are here.” John stated.

“And now I am here.” Sherlock confirmed. “And I’ll do everything to keep being here.”

“Including to keep everybody from eventually becoming part of your life?” John asked quietly. It sounded a bit defeated.

Sherlock sighed. “So far, yes.” He looked at John. “But that might change.”

“I’d be very happy if it would.” John gathered his courage. “If you would let me into your life.”

They watched each other silently for a minute, examining their feelings and what might be found in the depths of each others eyes. The seconds stretched out, trickling by agonizingly slow.

“I’ll make you a deal.” Sherlock said, fiddling with the tattoo gun. “We’ll finish your tattoo now. You will let it heal thoroughly for two weeks and I will think thoroughly about all that’s been said today. We both have to be sure.”

“That’s okay with me.”

“And then, we will go out on a date and have dinner, if you’re still interested in getting to know me by then.”

John had already opened his mouth to strongly object that he could ever lose interest in Sherlock but was shut off by Sherlock’s gesture to keep mum.

Sherlock smiled softly and pointed to his shop sign. “No arguing, John.”

“Okay, fine, good.” John nodded and swallowed. Somehow, a tiny tear of joy at the prospect to have a chance formed in his eye.

Sherlock smiled some more. “Also, no crying, John.”

++++++

Two weeks later, John arrived exactly on time at “Angelo’s Italian Restaurant” to have dinner with Sherlock.

This time, John did not hover in front of the door, he did not hesitate, or oscillate around on the pavement.

This time, John knew what he wanted and what he needed to do. Determined, he opened the door, entered and saw that Sherlock was waiting for him at a candle-decorated table for two.

+++++

(and they tattooed happily ever after)

Thank you all for reading, liking and commenting. It's been great to write this!

tagging some people @calaisreno @totallysilvergirl @lisbeth-kk @raina-at @peageetibbs

[kyliivan]

Sampo… more like, Hoyoverse rant… thingy..? Idk what to call this

So this random thought popped up in my brain at 5 in the morning after I watched Mina and Molly (Seele’s va)’s stream where they ranked HSR characters, and they said some things specifically about Sampo that got me thinking.

Hoyoverse always makes sure their characters are marketable, or at the very least likeable enough. even in cases where their characters end up being unused or straight up become a punching bag for the community it’s usually never because that’s what the company intended to do.

I find it very odd how Sampo specifically doesn’t meet any of their criteria of character making. He’s not particularly hot (he is the hottest character) or to be more specific he’s not the same type of hot as Jing Yuan or Blade for example that would have a lot of people fangirling over

He’s not really “cool” (he’s the coolest character) in the same way Blade or Dan Heng are cool, enough to get people invested in him.

He’s deliberately created to be unlikeable, it feels like Hoyoverse made him this way on purpose which just feels so… unlikely for them to do.

In fact, like Molly said, he’s not like anyone Hoyoverse has ever made, I mean I’m very glad that Sampo is actually so special, they managed to create such an outstanding character with him, but I also have to question why?

I know silly goofy man is technically what his fans like about him the most but in the grander scheme of things if you really take a look, Sampo is one of the least liked characters. there’s so little attention being given to him by HSR fans especially in comparison to other characters like Jing Yuan, Dan Heng, Kafka, Welt yada yada, and I know they’re like main characters but still… heck I would argue characters like Qingque are more popular than Sampo come on.

My point still stands that Hoyoverse seems to want to make him dislikable on purpose, which is a behavior so opposite of what they typically do. they must have a good plan for him. I refuse to believe otherwise.

[danjaley]

Das Leben der Hochgräfin Gritta von Rattenzuhausbeiuns

My favourite book in elementary school (and I still like it today)

In my last book post I wrote that I first heard of Anne of Green Gables when the girl who bullied me in elementary school presented it as her favourite book. So I thought I might show you the book I held my presentation about.

Das Leben der Hochgräfin Gritta von Rattenzuhausbeiuns (The Life of Gritta, High Countess of Ratsareathomewithus) is a fairy-tale-novel by Gisela von Arnim. It was written in the 1840s but only rediscovered and published in the 20th century. It was adapted as a screenplay and simplified children's book by GDR author Christa Kożik. This was the version I read aged eight and loved to pieces. I also saw the film once, but I didn't love it as much as the book. It has some very good songs, I remember.

The story is about Gritta, a girl countess who lives with her father, an inventor, at their run-down castle some time in the 18th century. She loves to read and she's friends with the Queen of the rats which populate the castle in abundance. One day a runaway spoiled noblewoman takes refuge with them and Gritta's father falls head over heels in love with her. They marry and Gritta is sent to a horrid convent school. There she discovers a plot: Young girls are sent to the convent. Once they're there, the nuns find ways to grab their inheritance and keep the girls locked away. This was the fate her stepmother ran away from. Together with ten of her friends Gritta escapes from the convent.

Here the two versions take slightly different paths. In the modern one, the girls live at an abandoned farm for one summer until they return to their homes. Gritta proceeds to the capital city, where she finds her family again. They've lost their remaining money and have gone to sell an invention to the king: A catapult throne that will save him in case of revolution. A twist that you rarely meet and I really loved: Poverty and the birth of a son have turned Gritta's spoiled stepmother into quite a responsible and likeable person and she apologizes for her behaviour. Gritta had already met the king's son while she was on the run. He smuggles her into the palace of his naive and gluttonous father. There she reveals to him the doings of the corrupt royal advisor, who is also at the bottom of the convent's plot.

While this was a quick summary of the simplified version, the original runs absolutely wild. After the girls escape the convent, they go on an adventurous journey, which becomes increasingly fantastical. Some episodes seem prototypical of Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz. Finally they get shipwrecked and build up a new life. But their "lonely island" is in fact a valley near the capital. Here the story in which Gritta reunites with her family and saves the kingdom comes back in. In the end the girls set up an alternative convent according to their own rules. Except for Gritta, who in this version actually marries the prince and refurbishes the kingdom, but of course stays their friend.

I think if I'd read this as a child I would have loved that the focus stays on Gritta's girl-gang. They have so many more adventures here. I always thought the modernized story dismissed them too quickly. Not sure what I would have made of the fanciful nature of their adventures. One of my favourite characters today is Wildebeere (Wildberry), one of the girls, who starts out as a botanist, but is later adopted by wood-elves and becomes a sort of forest spirit. And I'd certainly have struggled with the over-the-top 19th century language. Though that makes up the poetry of it.

I've kinda outgrown the modernized version today. As a historian I can't help noticing the GDR mindframe. Indeed the original was written before the 1848 revolution and pokes some acid fun at absolutist monarchy, aristocracy and the church. That's the most likely reason it wasn't published. But the adaptation presents the messages rather bluntly - to children who don't have the foggiest idea what were the problems in 1848.

On a related note, I feel today that the modern book made Gritta a bit too sassy. She's much more gentle in the old one and as so often this clashes in scenes where she's supposed to be insecure. Some scenes actually get funnier with her acting all demure, like the one where she locks the king in a cupboard. Also, I'm all for the concept of becoming an independent spirit through reading. But as a book-historian I can tell that you don't become a cheeky kid by reading a library full of 18th-century books.

What also fascinates me today is the story how Gritta was rediscovered in the archives in the 20th century. The manuscript had been scattered over several bequests and wrongly attributed to Gisela's famous mother Bettine von Arnim. I kinda envy the guy who pieced it together. But I should be content with my lot, because that's exactly the sort of thing I'm doing in my PhD project right now.

Actually this book relates to the McCarrics in two very peculiar ways: For one thing, Gisela von Arnim was the great-granddaughter of Sophie von la Roche, after whom I named Marianne's family.

Then, according to my mother, my first two stories ever were two endless nonsensical serials I always updated her on, aged around three. The first was called The Lady of the Rats' Castle. Sadly I don't remember anything about it and my mother says it didn't have any rememberable plot. Possibly she bought me Gritta because of it.

The other was called The very Elegant Scottish Girl. I remember I started this one because I loved my red tartan skirt and my father had told me that in Scotland everyone is always dressed in tartan, even the men! So I thought this country must be the epicentre of nobility and elegance. I just love that these two titles still reflect my literary activities to the present day.

[love-is-a-pearl]

Watching Pokemon mezamas for the first time because I can't binge DP rn orz

If you wanna see me ranting and reacting, I'll leave things under the readmore >w<)b

Starting with ep 1 and 2! Cause I dont have as much free time as I wish I had so I'm doing 2 episodes per day till friday.

Winds of Beginning! The Endless Road!!

It's just me or the music at the beggining was Alola music? If yes.. That's just the cutest. Alola music as Ash's music QAQ

The best part of the episode was the 5 minutes we spent with Ash and Pikachu before the stupid Latias appeared. Add that one to the pokemon I now hate because of the anime..

Man, I'm still bitter those 10 episodes weren't focused on Ash and his Pokemon only. It would've been the absolute best way to use those 10 episodes (and still reach the same conclusion Mezamas as it is reached), why couldn't Ash ever be alone with his mons? He can be enjoyable if the writers tried. Sigh

At least Buizel is here ♥ Also it was adorable to see Noivern and Sceptile in security duty while everyone else slept! Babies! However I'm sad Buizel and Donphan didn't go to cuddle with AshPika and Latias ù3ú

What was the point of all the drama about "Ash's pokemon not being able to attack TR because it could hurt him" when... Pikachu just went and... did just that? (also, Noivern going there and breaking the glass would've hurt Ash less??????) I get they needed "Ash suicidal tendencies make him likeable" moment but gosh, it could've been done better, for sure.

And you know, mandatory Dawn mention, but it's kinda poetic that both Ash and Dawn got done dirty in their final moments because of some stupid legendaries. They're trully one and the same. Even in shitty writing decisions from anipoke staff LMAO

Satoshi VS Kasumi! Seaside One-on-One!!

I know that Misty's metaphor about how her and Clauncher are meant to be is an obvious Pokeshipping hint, of course it is! I know that! but...

Not to sound like a conspiracy theorist but the fact Pikachu ignored Psyduck for Misty, and Clauncher didn't seem at all to reciprocate Misty's feelings is... interesting... Added to that how Ash just replaced her lure with Cilan's is.. Almost like adding to her own metaphor, that while Misty still has feelings for Ash and believes that they're meant to be, because of fate, because she is the "OG twerpette" like TR called her, Ash himself is like.. Pikachu to Psyduck and Clauncher to her. Neutral at most, and with someone else having their favoritism.

And y´know, it's even more interesting that at the beggining of Sinnoh Ash still had her lure (and was protective of it) and immediately after Sinnoh he changed her lure for Cilan's. I sure wonder what happened between those events for him- It's Dawn! its Dawn that happened!

Dont judge me I can make anything be about pearlshipping if I try hard enough.

Shipping aside, I adore seeing episodes with the general same plot but with different characters. Compare this to the Buneary catch and it's really interesting to see just how different Ash acts with Misty and Dawn about the same thing. Him and Misty have a battle about who is gonna get it, which does makes sense, they will resolve all their arguments with battles instead of actual talking and I adore that trait of their relationship~

And even Misty's disappointment at the end, that Clauncher still likes hanging with Corphish is very different than Dawn bringing up her closeness with Ash to win Buneary over. I love those sort of similar episodes, it's great to understand how each character thinks.

Gosh, even comparing to Totodile's catch shows how Misty and Ash themselves have become closer and more understanding of eachother! In here they make rules about how to catch Clauncher instead of fighting the whole time, it's a nice showcase of how they've grown! I'm just sad that Totodile was in this episode and no one mentioned the similarities :T

Also I will never get tired of Pikachu's "Pikachupi"! Ikue Otani does it in the cutest voice and I just want to squeeze the rat's cheeks every time he says it!!!

Speaking of Pikachu, I love that at the very least in those 10 episodes he went back to having some hint of a personality since he hadn't shown much of it for... a long time before it (and remembered the names of the people he cares for. I was so angry at the lack of "Pikapi" in Alola).

Same goes for TR, is nice to see their motto being animated instead of some re-used footage. One of the things that made their apparitions enjoyable in OG-DP was that they always added some personality to it. That was fun to see again.

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And that's it for today.