#however for all her loyalty she does seem to be easily influenced

[mega-banette]

going to go on a ramble in the tags hold on

Cochise is so underrated Lin did her dirty

Like everyone else has a Thing. Even Cowgirl has her 'he bit me!!' saga

We as a fandom need to give her a Thing

She deserves so much attention

Girlie had everyone's back right from the start

[darcytaylor]

Isn’t it career suicide when at the peak of his fame (because it is rare to be the lead of such a huge show), Luke is not taking full advantage of the exposure?

Choosing to not attend Wimbledon, meanwhile going to fashion week shows, paying to attend an influencer networking event, and bringing his gf along to all of these?

Rationally I don’t think it makes sense. And had Luke been a person as determined and career-focused as Nic or Johny B, you would have seen him fully capitalizing on his success by making appearances everywhere and leading new projects.

But if we look at things from the angle that Luke is very sensitive and anxious (we know he suffer from anxiety and finds life overwhelming due to his ADHD), then forget about making rational decisions, all of his choices regarding work and people to keep close in his personal life would be almost 100% dictated by his anxiety.

For example, he might choose to attend events with clearer structures, less pressure on meeting and talking to others, and more welcoming toward plus ones, so he can always have a comfort person there to support him. I don’t think this is what Wimbledon is about hence he wasn’t seen there.

His choices of people around him seem questionable, but when someone is vulnerable (coping with anxiety in this case), they might appreciate qualities that normal people overlook. Most of us have got the impression that his friends/gf seem off, but perhaps they are the most tolerant toward his anxious nature while others take him for granted.

Perhaps they give him the reassurance and acknowledgment that he craves without any expectations. And from personal experience, those who display certain negative traits (eg narcissism) do thrive on relationships with vulnerable people. There is a dynamics in which the narcissist gives the vulnerable what they don’t usually get from everyone else in exchange for company and loyalty, which I have seen repeatedly in real life.

We love Pen for her intelligence and girlboss power, which match up well with Nicola’s personality in real life. However, I don’t think we are prepared to accept, in place of the dorky cheeky Colin, someone like Luke who is an anxious laid back dude who is pretty much trying to lead a life as free of nerve-wracking moments as possible.

When Nic praises Luke for being kind, supportive, hard working and having no ego, I fully believe she is not lying. She could easily be describing an anxious person who is just nice and trying to do his job well. Nic does have this motherly and assuring nature which allows her to build this great friendship with Luke and they clearly bonded via going through the experience of stepping into the spotlight. Nic has done such an amazing job with handling press and public attention; I think Luke was grateful that she was there to take most of the pressure while he could just happily sit there agreeing and showing support. There is nothing wrong with this. I am sure Luke did the best of his ability.

Realistically, I don’t know how romantically compatible Nic and Luke are. I feel that Nic is good for Luke as a more experienced costar who guides and supports him, and a smart colleague who knows how to work with Luke’s strengths and weaknesses in order to make them both shine. If Luke had chosen Nic as a love interest I wonder if this might be too much for him to measure up. Luke probably wants a relationship as something to complement his life and helps him cope with his anxiety, meanwhile Nic is likely only dating casually on the side while focusing on her career.

Wow, this is a great analysis thank you for sharing!

I do think that Luke not capitalizing more on his career is odd, but I ultimately don't think that it is career suicide. I would also need to know where Luke wants his career to go, in order for me to come to a conclusion. It has been fascinating to look on the sidelines and wonder what he is doing or where he wants to go.

I think that comparing Luke with Nicola or Johnny can be a hinder to Luke, because they are a tough competition and they obviously know where they want to go. Nicola and Johnny are incredible at what they do on all fronts of their career, they are powerhouses and you can see that they know what they want and will go the extra mile to get it. Not many people are like this. I just hope that Luke can look in from the outside and get a better idea as to what he wants and how to get it.

(or maybe he already does know what he wants and it's not the Nicola or Johnny level of fame, so he is stepping back. Or maybe because of PR moves he fucked up and is not invited to things - although I don't think that is the case, but at the end of the day I have no idea)

As far as the friends that he keeps - I can take a glance at their online personas and gather information about them to come to a conclusion, but I also know that social media can be very misleading and will never tell you the whole story about people. It may be ignorant of me to judge them, but then I also know that they are the ones responsible for creating what they put out into the world.

Luke has been friends with them for a while now (especially Rory) and that alone can be very comforting. Just knowing that they know you on a personal level and you can be who you are regardless of anything. Especially if you have anxiety (I suffer from this as well), knowing that you don't have to mask or hide a version of yourself, lets the anxiety fade into the background a little.

Luke has also stated that he is a very empathetic person. Even if he sees friends/people in his life have questionable actions, an empathetic person will/can try to look past that. A narcissist would thrive on that and easily be able to take advantage.

I completely agree that Luke was grateful to have Nicola on his team. To have her by his side in all of the craziness that Bridgerton can bring. Nicola is smart and compassionate, she knows what she is doing.

As far as Luke and Nicola being compatible? I have no idea. Since we only see a very small part of who they actually are, I can't say what their dynamic would look like if they were a couple or if they would/could thrive together. I do think that they compliment each other professionally and that could be a good sign/starter for a romantic relationship.

[tommygrace]

I think the ultimate reason why TxL fans think they are the OG is because they are, at the end of the day, Cillian fans and Cillian has quite a few times implied in interviews that the TxL storyline is very powerful to him and easily his favorite on the show. However, that does not mean that in actual writing and character-wise, Grace isn’t the love of Tommy’s life. Grace has always been and will always be if we stay true to the writing. One thing is what Cillian as a person thinks and another is Tommy and what Tommy feels. I’m afraid that’s why TxL fans think Lizzie is “the one”, because they are simply influenced by Cillian’s preferences and they do not make the distinction. Also because Cillian was sort of pissed off when he knew Annabelle wasn’t really Irish so I think that’s why he might not be entirely fond of TommyxGrace on the show. But, yet again, Cillian isn’t Tommy. For Tommy it always Grace and it will always be her.

to continue with my previous idea about TxL, Lizzie seems to be Cillian’s favorite character and in his own words, loyalty is very important so that’s what Tommy loves about her. Also, Cillian says he would like Tommy to love Lizzie the way he, as Cillian, loves Lizzie. All of those comments are from Cillian’s perspective and own opinions as an individual. It doesn’t mean that Tommy really loves her. It’s actually only Cillian who seems desperate for Tommy to love Lizzie the same way he loved Grace. He also has said if Tommy had some common sense, he would simply stick with her and love her. I’m glad they didn’t follow that route though, even when Cillian became executive producer because it looks like he really wanted Tommy to fall in love with her.

Now, I don’t know why Cillian seems to be so keen on that idea since Tommy sleeps with whores and constantly cheats on her lmao but that’s him. I think that’s why these TxL fans think the same thing. They are simply influenced by Cillian’s own feelings towards the characters, not the characters themselves. These are all Cillian’s thoughts, not what Tommy actually feels!!!!!!!!

Now my answer :

Well I understand what you're saying, but I don't agree. Because I've seen so many interviews with Cillian Murphy, and he never said he was angry because she's not Irish, that's a lie, probably from Lizzie fans. Annabelle Wallis said that Cillian Murphy was nervous because he found out that the actress who is going to play Grace is not Irish, but she said that when they met they got along very well from the beginning and everything was fine. And Cillian Murphy is Irish, and he plays an Englishman, since Tommy was born in England, so it would be stupid for him to be bothered by that, and he doesn't seem like that kind of guy. And although I'm not Irish, I live in Ireland and Annabelle's accent is very accurate.

The other thing is that Cillian never said that he preferred the Tommy and Lizzie story over the one with Grace, or that he had a preference for Lizzie. He said that the story between Lizzie and Tommy and the kids is his favorite in S6, not in the show in general. And in S6, the only story is that, and he also said that the story with the children is powerful, because for Tommy it is always important that the children are well and saves, so he talked more about Ruby's story, but he couldn't say it because it would be spoilers. And he has said that he was heartbroken when he found out that Grace died, that he loves the character of Grace,and "in S1 and S2 she kind altered Tommy and this light side of him that he left behind in the trenches and France was ignited by her" and also that "she and Charlie are the only pure thing that Tommy has". He also said that he loves working with Annabelle Wallis, which is why he was heartbroken when he read the script. And he would have liked it to be Grace who was with Tommy until the end. And in the last S6 interview, where he talks about the story of Lizzie and the children, he also said that Grace's death is the most important thing that happened on the show, and that Tommy will never be able to get over it.

So I don't think Cillian has a preference for Grace or Lizzie, he likes both stories, both characters and he gets along very well with both actresses, he always speak highly of both of them. But something important is that when he talks about Tommy and Grace, he always uses the word love, and that she healed him, and when he talks about Tommy and Lizzie he always uses the word trust and that she was there for him, and that was what they showed us on the show.

But i do agree with you about Lizzie fans thinking that way because of what Cillian said and they prefers don't listen to what he said about Tommy and Grace.

[backjustforberena]

Any headcanons on vaemond and Rhaenys’ relationship? Vaemond seems pretty anti Targaryen to I can’t imagine he was all that happy at first.

An excellent question! It's interesting. I don't think I have specific headcanons per se but more... vibes I pick up. From the scenes we get and then little nuggets in interviews.

It's tricky. They only have one scene together, in private, and it's in extremis, and it's also after 30+ years of knowing each other.

But things I pick up on are use of names: they both speak to one another without title, and they both refer to one another by relation as well (good brother, good sister). Vaemond feels safe enough to confront this issue with her, which is also something. Admittedly, however, as much as this suggests familiarity, for both of them it also suggests the context of the scene - Vaemond seeing Rhaenys's power waning, and Rhaenys wanting to keep it a private matter. As well as other stuff. It's layered. It doesn't necessarily mean they're buddies in the fluffiest sense of the word.

I definitely think that Vaemond wasn't particularly happy with the marriage. I don't know if he liked Rhaenys as a person, but I do think he actually respected her and respected what she did for House Velaryon (to a point) and respect that his brother did love her and that she loved him.

But I think, from the get-go, he thinks it's dumb. Just looking at the interests of House Velaryon: sure, marry a Princess, that's great. But THIS one? Rhaenys? The Heir's only child? That yokes House Velaryon to the Crown's interests and, even, to be overtaken by the Crown as any of Corlys's heirs will be hers. It's just playing with fire. I think Vaemond probably questioned Corlys's motivations. And then, of course, Rhaenys gets put aside and Vaemond's like: brilliant, what was the point of all that then? And then Corlys keeps up with his ambitions and probably spent a whole lot of dosh on Harrenhal and it's just a whole thing and the root cause, alas, is Rhaenys.

I do think Vaemond loved Laena and Laenor though. He was devoted to his family and to his house. I think he loved those kids. And so it's easy to blame "bad influences" for leading them astray. Such as Daemon or the Targaryens as a set. It's very easily done.

I don't think Rhaenys thinks the world of him but I do think she respects his loyalty to his family, whatever support he has been to Corlys over the years and, by extension, her kids as well. She does care for his wellbeing and feels a sense of responsibility towards him as her husband's brother. She warns him, multiple times, and gives him an "out" during Episode 08, and does seem genuinely moved when he dies - she stands vigil over his body and stays in King's Landing to escort it home. There isn't a lack of care there or a hatred.

Saying that, Laenor totally got his influence to call Vaemond "Master of Complaints" from his mother.

We can assume that Rhaenys has been in charge often enough when Corlys has been away. Now, if she weren't Rhaenys then, in all likelihood, the running of Driftmark might have passed to Vaemond, especially where the Fleet is concerned, given that he's Corlys's closest male kin. But Vaemond seems very secondary to her and I don't think he ever tried to take that away from her. I don't think there was necessarily conflict because of that. Teething problems? Sure! But I think they both give each other grace and have their roles.

Whilst Vaemond is necessary to the opening of Episode 08 (obviously), I personally also choose the read it as indicative of their relationship as well. Vaemond isn't shunted to one side, there is some sense of inclusion and proximity. I've always imagined that scene comes directly from hearing petitioners or at least something like that, to account for the formality of the setting - Rhaenys on the throne, Baela at her side, Kelvyn in centre.

And, thinking on it, though I will wrap up soon, I wonder about Vaemond during those six years. I'm going to go out on a limb that he probably had more of a clue on Corlys's headspace than Rhaenys did - especially in regard to his motivations. I can even imagine him going to the Stepstones, initially. But there becomes a point where he can turn back where Corlys wants to press on and Vaemond is granted leave. Vaemond could know Corlys was going to keep going until he died or something similar (I'm thinking of the conviction Vaemond has towards Corlys's death). I like to think Vaemond has been back for a signific period of time by Episode 08. Maybe years?

And Corlys totally wrote to Vaemond wanting sly reports on how his wife is. Vaemond rolls his eyes but complies.

[weavefcrged]

So here's the thing with Reese in general. In my playthrough of her, she leans towards chaotic neutral / chaotic good. This is because she is the one that is influencing the decisions and trying to help those around her and at her core, she desperately wants to be the kind of person that she could have trusted and should have had around as an authority figure / protector growing up to stop the Bad Things that happened to her - that she never had until she was taken in by the sorcerer that would teach her to control and train her abilities.

At the base of all her decisions, when she's making them on her own is the thought of: I don't want to be the villain in anyone else's story. This, of course, means that there are times when she is going to have to do violence and hurt people to stop them from hurting other people / people that can't protect themselves / people that she cares about, and she's (generally) okay with that. It might haunt her sometimes, but she is used to living with regret and ghosts so what's a few more?

That is Reese as the Tav, as the lead. HOWEVER. It is important to note that Reese is incredibly love starved, affection starved, touch starved (outside of sex, which she pretty much never passes up because it's a pretense of affection) and as a COMPANION she is very malleable. She latches on quickly, becomes smitten and pines from a distance with gusto and she will very quickly come to crave the approval and affection and love (toxic or not) that she sees as a potential reward for her loyalty and her helping the MC obtain whatever goal they have.

She does drift, fairly easily even, to lighter or darker sides of the moral scale without much effort. Even the smallest signs of approval and affection for making a choice that makes the MC happy and she's floating for days (or until the first perceived sign of disappointment). She may try to tilt someone who's bent on mass destruction or world domination into a less toxic and dangerous path at first, because that just doesn't seem all that !neat! to her, but it does not take long for those protests to diminish if someone is taking the darker road. On the opposite side of that, if she's in a companion role and the MC is set on saving the world at all costs, Reese is going to be the first one to step up and say it's okay, I will be the one to set off the bomb in my chest or whatever other device of mass destruction that will end her but end the Bad Guy / Threat because she would see that as the most noble sacrifice she could make for her MC and the world, and the world clearly needs pure hearts like the MC than they need a broken, damaged thing like her.

Anyways: just some thoughts.

[progressofthepilgrim]

I'm a huge fan of CBE International and I seriously love that they give women a voice in the Church. So you can imagine how disappointed I was to see them speak poorly of two films that have had huge impact on my formative years and influenced my love of storytelling and the animated medium in general. I couldn't resist emailing the writer to explain what I thought she got wrong, and I'll post it here if anyone is curious.

I greatly admire this blog and all the good it's done. I get excited to read every new Thread and just discovered the blog by Kelly. However, I was sorely disappointed to read the article about Desiring God's writer Greg Morse and Kelly's response to it. I politely suggest that Kelly gets as much wrong about the heroines from Sleeping Beauty and Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs as Desiring God did about Captain Marvel.

Aurora LITERALLY has a magical voice. She is not voiceless [as the article states]. It was one of her magical gifts at birth and what connects her initially to the prince who ends up helping to save the kingdom along with the fairies. Having little screentime is an odd reason to dismiss her as a character (Jasmine and Elsa barely have more minutes on screen in Aladdin and Frozen, by the way, and nobody is condemning them as "voiceless"). The writer also seems to have never actually seen the film considering the three good fairies are the heroes- the film starts with them offering their gifts to the baby, continues with them figuring out a way to protect their foster daughter, and ends with them helping Prince Phillip (as remarkable a man as could be found in animation who both risks his life to save Aurora and shows kindness and consideration for her when she sings earlier on).

Phillip is not the main character. If anything, HE is the voiceless one. Once "Once Upon a Dream" ends he literally talks no more; he exists for the women of the film, not the other way around. The point of the film is that true love can defeat any evil, and we don't only see this in Phillip's selfless actions, but in the fairies' entire story. They are driven by their love for their adopted daughter, and go to great lengths to protect her. They grieve having to let her return to the castle. The entire film is inherently female-driven, much more so than almost any animated film that came after it, making it quite ahead of its time. I respectfully have to say that I find ignoring this aspect of it to be grossly inappropriate for a feminist writer. Pop culture matters. Representation matters.

Snow White is a more active heroine, too. This is a teenage girl who's never known love, only neglect and abuse. She still manages to refrain from succumbing to the same level of bitterness and resentment that so obviously drives Queen Grimhilde. She is forced to flee through the terrifying forest to make a new life for herself, which she happily does until she's able to be safe with the prince. But let's back up. After a frightening night in the woods, she finds comfort with the animals, scolds herself for making a fuss, and picks herself right back up. She finds a cottage that she believes houses orphans, and decides to clean up the place and cook a hot meal for the poor "children" in exchange for shelter. She's proactively trying to make a place for herself when she has every reason to sit, cry, and feel sorry for herself. When she realized it's actually the dwarfs' home, she quickly offers her skills as a former scullery maid so as to not just take free shelter because Snow White is a hardworking person with a good heart who doesn't believe in taking without giving. Even though as princess of the land, she could easily invoke her royal status to demand protection and a roof. She works hard to be useful and makes herself a new family, showing that family comes in many forms and your abusers do not define you. The dwarfs stop the Queen because Snow White has earned their loyalty and love, the same way she's earned it from the Prince and the animals. Snow White is a good person who inspires goodness in others; it's why the huntsman cannot bear to kill her and puts his own life on the line by letting her go. This says volumes about Snow as a person and a role model.

The Prince has very little to do with her.

By the way, ignoring that women can hurt other women is NOT helping the cause. Women regularly suffer from internalized misogyny, as Snow White's mother clearly did. Cinderella's stepmother abused her too. Women hurt women sometimes. It's a fact. Walt did not have some evil misogynistic agenda either, this is just what happens in the fairy tales these films are based on.

Women should be allowed to come in all forms. It is deeply misogynistic to strip away women's worth and dismiss them as role models simply because they don't carry weapons. I'm curious how Kelly just feel about Biblical women like Esther, Ruth, Rahab, and both Mary's, since they're ordinary women who never fight. Ruth especially reminds me of the old Disney Princesses, who went through trials with dignity and inner strength, allowing themselves to feel sorrow or anger at times but never letting it break them down into something they're not.

I do not write this to offend or even condemn. These films have a special place with me, and as someone who relates to the women in these films both in personality and as a fellow abuse survivor, it pains me to see these iconic women brushed off as anti feminist, especially from a Christian writer I deeply admire. I would ask that you consider that Aurora and Snow can't read your blog and have their feelings hurt, but real women just like them can. Is it feminist to uphold only a certain type of womanhood? I don't believe so. It's why I abandoned my Complementarian beliefs. I think putting down traditionally feminine women is one side of the coin, and putting down warrior women is on the other. We don't need to pit women against each other.

[phoenixyfriend]

👀 PLease tell us your thoughts about the Jedi babies re-growing up among different cultural contexts.

Oh fuck okay

Context: original post, chrono The specific post this ask is referencing: here

Summary of the AU: Disaster lineage got tossed back in time. Anakin stayed 21-ish, but Obi-Wan and Ahsoka got deaged, took new names for time-travel reasons (Ylliben and Sokanth, or Ben and Soka), are now staying with the True Mandalorians under Jaster Mereel because the Force said to, go back to the Temple after about a decade. They grabbed Shmi about three months after arriving.

So as far as the cultural background goes, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka had similar upbringings. She spent a few years on Shili first, but both spent the majority of their childhoods up to age 13/14 being raised in the creche. So that's the basis that they would default to, in a vacuum.

Nobody is raised in a vacuum.

Along with the Jedi cultural background, they're being raised by Tatooine natives in a Mandalorian environment.

Shmi and Anakin are both former slaves who have desert survival baked into their bones. The longer Anakin spends around her, the more his accent slips, the more he talks about old folktales, the more he uses idioms that don't exist on a cityplanet like Coruscant. All the things that he tamped down to be a Jedi come floating back to the surface, and Shmi's never known anything else. Anakin's knowledge of slave customs make her feel more comfortable, which in turn makes him feel better, and so on.

Mandalore is just... the culture they're living in. You don't grow up in a new culture with a new language without picking up on it personally. (Source: I moved to the US when I was a little under two years old.)

I think the thing I'm going to focus on as an example is the way each of these cultures approaches family, and then maybe how they approach the keeping of peace/what peace means.

Jedi: Where you come from means little, only the legacy you leave behind in your students. Mandalore: You protect your clan and your children; adoption is a major cultural value, if not actually practiced consistently. Tatooine: You can lose your family at any time, so you value what you have in all its forms. You don’t forget where and who you came from, to family of blood and family of choice alike. You cling to your memories and what little you still have of them, to what your master cannot take away.

These are all valid ways to approach family, and each of these approaches can have significant meaning to different people. But they do all, to a certain degree, conflict with one another, despite all three being fairly communal cultures.

The Jedi have a culture, one that’s built on a shared ability and religion over thousands of years. It’s not just an organization, but a continuous community with legends and traditions and art and records. But it’s one that is built on new blood coming in from the outside, volunteers who join because the religion speaks to them (near literally, given the nature of Force Sensitivity), given up by families who couldn’t or wouldn’t teach them in a way that let their talents flourish instead of pushing it all down.

For the Jedi, a culture built on people coming together due to something they have in common intrinsically that their families of blood do not, it makes sense to put emphasis on letting go of that past when they can, and to place importance on teaching lineages. It’s not just the official master-padawan pairs, either, but that’s the most obvious and easily paralleled element. Moreover, a lot of the Jedi culture is about gaining knowledge, so obviously spreading it is good, and also on supporting the galaxy to make it a better place; to view the Jedi order as a heavily communal culture would make sense, since their values are all about selfless betterment of the universe, which on a larger scale is about the galactic conflicts, but on a smaller scale is about supporting their own community, the children and the ill and elderly.

So that is the specific culture that Obi-Wan and Ahsoka grew up in, one that holds blood family as relevant but not particularly crucial to one’s identity, but is structured so people leave behind legacies through education in a manner that often becomes adoptive family (depending on your definition, I guess). Jedi are encouraged to connect to their home cultures, if not their families, with practices like the coming of age hunt for Togruta leading to the young Jedi taking a trip out to Shili to engage in that cultural milestone. This can also be viewed as a way for the Jedi to maintain personal connections to the wider universe, a (not entirely successful, but certainly attempted) way of keeping them from becoming too isolated and insular from the universe at large, and losing touch from what the galaxy actually needs of them.

They’re now growing up with two cultures that do place emphasis on blood and found family.

Mandalore, as presented in The Mandalorian, has their traditional values set as being heavily associated with their armor, battle skills, and childcare. While that’s clearly a set of values that aren’t actually followed by everyone with full sincerity, we can assume that these stated cultural values do have at least some impact on the way the society is structured, since we do see more traditional characters (Jaster, Din) adopt orphaned children and then have the Mandalorian elements of their immediate circles support that claim.

(We’ll ignore Jango and the whole clone army thing because the amount of Sith influence is up for debate and also holy trauma, Batman.)

However, we also see that a lot of Mandalorian culture is built on their family histories. On the New Mandalorian side, we see emphasis placed on the fact that Satine is House Kryze and that she’s a duchess. Her bloodline is relevant, though not the most important thing about her. On the Death Watch side, we have Pre and Tor placing emphasis on the fact that they’re Clan Vizsla, descended from Tarre, that this is important to why they deserve what the darksaber represents, this is part of why they not only deserve to lead, but should for the good of Mandalore.

Bo-Katan’s armor is a family heirloom. Boba’s armor was Jango’s, but before being Jango’s, it was Jaster’s. Armor is important enough to pass to family, but the family can be adopted. This all tracks.

The resol’nare specifies loyalty and care for the clan/tribe among the six tenets.

These two elements seem relatively well-balanced: the importance of adoption and the importance of family as a larger unit on the level of a house or clan.

And then you have Tatooine, which also balances blood and adoption, but for entirely different reasons, that being this: it can always be taken from you.

For all that a Mandalorian could historically expect their family to die in battle, and a Jedi could expect to lose their master the same way if things went poorly, those were usually choices. A Mandalorian was raised to walk into battle, and then they could make that choice to do so. It wasn’t often much of a choice, but they could feasibly turn their back and choose to be a farmer or a doctor or something, and support the people who went out to do battle instead of being the one on the field themselves. A Jedi could choose to be a healer or an archivist or join one of the Corps.

A slave does not get that choice. A slave can be killed or sold on a whim from their master. It’s not a one-time trauma, but an ever-present fear. Your parent, your child, your sibling, your spouse, all of them can be separated from you at any time. You can always lose them, and you have no choice but to grin and bear it, or try to run and die before you reach freedom.

In a context like that, I imagine Tatooine places a very heavy emphasis on family, both of blood and of choice, and on treasuring what you have while you have it. A person is always aware that they can lose whoever they have in their life, and so they make the most of their times together, have clear and consistent ways of expressing that love (I imagine primarily direct verbal confirmations and physical contact, practical gifts like water and fruit). Childcare is important, elders are venerated. Those who survived that far have valuable wisdom, and the children are to be given what happiness they can have before reality wipes that ability from them.

The family ‘networks’ among Tatooine slaves are smaller and tighter knit. There’s less trust for outsiders, but once you’re in, you’re in until you are taken away. Still, families are torn apart regularly, and often can’t contact each other after being separated if they’re sold far enough away, so families stay small because they’re always being broken up. Unlike Mandalore’s tribe/clan system, or the Jedi’s wide, loosely-structured community, Tatooine’s slaves form smaller groups that cling for as long as they can, and try to support each other. (There are selfish ones, of course, especially the newbies, but... well. Most try.)

Tatooine is also much more likely to assign a familial role (e.g. referring to an elder as ‘grandmother’). It’s not uncommon in the others (multiple Jedi refer to their masters as a parent or sibling, like Anakin’s “you’re like a father to me” line), but it’s not as baked-in that such a role should be given.

So on a structural level, we have two people from a community culture with little emphasis on blood family or formal familial roles are now being raised in a community that has them asking “what can you do for the people around you first, and then the wider world?” by people who tell them “your family, blood and found, is the most important thing you have; never let anyone take more from you than they possibly can.”

And that shit has an effect.

For all that Sokanth and Ylliben were once raised with a knowledge that their duty, their goal, was to better the galaxy as a whole, they are now being told that the community that raises them asks their loyalty back, because societies are built on support networks, and if you support the tribe, it will support you. There are parallels to that kind of thinking among Jedi, because it is basic social theory, but it’s not presented as the same kind of cultural value. It’s not given as something to strive for, just a basic fact.

This, for instance, means that once they’re back at the Temple, they have a tendency towards suggesting study groups and other ways of supporting people in their immediate circle, often structured in very unfamiliar ways. Again, this isn’t uncommon among Jedi, but it’s not done in the same way, or with the same emphasis. The Jedi also often approach problem-solving in a different order, so the step of “meditate on it and you may find your solution” often comes before “gather information from people who know more about it than you do,” while Ben and Soka have by this point learned to do it the other way around, because that’s what the Mandalorian system taught them: rely on your family first.

Meanwhile, the Tatooine element of their upbringing has them being much more willing to just... casually refer to ‘my dad’ and ‘my sister’ and so on. They use those words. It’s not just “my master is like a father to me,” but “this is my father.” They don’t hesitate to talk about the family they had and still have in Mandalorian space. None of the Jedi begrudge them it, really, but it’s always a shock to hear for the first time, and between the Tatooine refusal to pretend the connection is gone and the Mandalorian tendency to err on the side of roughhousing as affection, they’re just... odd. It’s not like none of the other Jedi know family outside the Order--some of the old books had Obi-Wan visiting his brother on Stewjon once in a while--or like none of the active Jedi are loud or boisterous, but the specific manner in which Soka and Ben interact with the Order, especially when their dad is around, is very weird.

More Soka than Ben, really, but that’s mostly just because Ben’s a very quiet person until he gets a little older, so it’s harder to notice on him.

Point is, while they still hold to their duty to the wider galaxy and will continue to keep that duty above almost anything else in their lives, the way they talk and act about the subject of family, especially in private, is heavily influenced by their new cultures.

This is already very long but I promised I’d talk about peace so let’s go:

The Jedi seek peace as an absence of war and conflict in the portion of the galaxy under their purview, in hopes that they will prevent as much suffering and death as they can.

The Mandalorians are varied, but Jaster Mereel’s group (which is the community the Skywalkers are with) is likely to view peace as unrealistic to achieve in the long term. They do not seek war, but they know the world they live in, and are prepared to protect against violence as their first resort. They always expect an attack, even if they don’t seek it.

The Slaves of Tatooine view peace as the calm in a storm. It is the status quo. Nobody has escaped tonight, for the guards aren’t searching, but neither is anyone dead. The Master you have is in a good enough mood to not sell you, to not kill you, to not beat you. Peace as an absence of suffering is impossible, so you seek for your master to be peaceful, that is to say: not raging at you.

The scope of each of these narrows significantly. From the known galaxy, to the wars that meet Mandalorian space, to the household one serves.

A community like the Jedi can choose to address peace as something to be sought on a large scale as an absence of war. They primarily function within the borders of the Republic, which has its problems but is largely structured to prevent such things from occurring until the Sith interfere. The Jedi have a structure that allows them to address peace as an ideal to be sought, at least within the borders of the territory they serve.

Mandalore, meanwhile, has been at war on and off for... ever. When they are not at war with themselves, they’re at war with someone else. ‘Peace’ is just the time between wars, and they know that if they do not attack first, they will be forced to defend. Jaster Mereel was known as the Reformer, and part of that was that instituting a code of honor, one that was intended to prevent Mandalorian warriors from acting as raiders and brigands, but rather acting as honorable hired soldiers, or taking roles such as the Journeyman Protectors. Given that, I imagine that he views war as something inevitable, but also something that can be mitigated.

War doesn’t touch Tatooine.

Oh, it might raise taxes and import rates. It might prevent visitors who come for the races. It can do a lot of things.

But to a slave, these are nothing. The only thing war does is affect the master, the person who chooses when their slaves get water, when they get beaten, when they are no longer useful enough to keep around or keep alive.

The peace of a slave’s live is dictated by how much abuse they are subjected to by the person who owns them.

What this means for Soka and Ben is... well, they are viewed as war-hungry by the people who don’t know them very well. They have armor. They focus on fighting, both with and without their sabers. They know tactics better than most masters. They claim that war is coming, and don’t seem too sad about it.

(It is a fact to them. War will come. All they can do is meet it. They’ve already done their mourning once.)

They also... well, Shmi tells them things in hidden corners. How to duck their head to hide the hate or fear in their eyes. How to watch for the anger in the tendons of a hand. The laugh of someone who enjoys the pain they’ve caused, not just the adrenaline of a fight. She is free, and so are they, but she has not forgotten how to hide in the shadows until the master’s ire has turned elsewhere. How to be small and quiet and unseen until the danger passes.

A Jedi’s first resort is words. Their second is their saber. But the Jeedai hold their heads high, and the Mandalorians do the same.

“You rely on the Force, and you have your pride,” she tells them, her hands on their own. “But there will come a time when you will not be able to remind people that you are free. You will not be able to say that you are a person, that you deserve the respect of a living sentient. Perhaps it will be a politician who treats everyone like that. Perhaps you will be captured by an enemy. Perhaps you will be undercover. You will not be able to fight, with words or with weapons, and you will have to know how to survive.”

Tatooine does not have peace. Tatooine only has survival.

And while Jedi fight for the survival and peace of the universe, they are refined and composed. Mando’ade fight like warriors of old, and Tatooine slaves fight like cornered, rabid anooba.

The galaxy comes first, but when the chips are down and the Sith come out to play, Soka and Ben do not need refinement, because they know how to toss aside their pride and live.

[umbran6]

The Argument Against Caleo

Spoilers up to Blood of Olympus and beyond. Beware! (Or not, the book series has been out for a few years, get over it). I wrote this after seeing a user wondering why people didn’t like Caleo, or in some cases, hated it. Here, I want to explain the answer as much as possible while doling out my own points. 

One of the main grievances I have as a fan of Leo Valdez would be the ship Caleo, or Leo x Calypso. It’s a complicated ship, to say the least, with multiple issues that make me question why people like the ship. And I admit it, they initially had some chemistry, but there’s multiple issues that Uncle Rick produced through making such a relationship that makes it extremely open to criticism, criticism which I will explain through this post.

One of my main points against them is that the ship was created on a very limited time scale. Although we aren’t given an exact date to date of when Leo and Calypso met to when they fell in love, we can safely estimate it to be a week at best. Such a limited amount of time from going through the multiple stages of a relationship already stresses the limits of the suspension of disbelief.

A counterexample would be Percabeth, or Percy x Annabeth. Throughout the series, we aren’t introduced to them being romantically involved until the Titan’s Curse, which was two years after they met. Specifically, this is brought up by Aphrodite, the goddess of love herself. Admittedly, Percy and Annabeth were twelve years old when they first met, when romance was definitely out of the picture, especially with a quest to get the Master Bolt.

However, from there we get to see multiple examples of their character depth, ranging from their respective fatal flaws to their ambitions, hopes and dreams, and their friendship. We get to see the slow build up of their chemistry, which was a really good writing move on Uncle Rick’s part. These characters took their sweet time to get to where they wanted to go, and despite the false romantic lead of Rachel, they still got together.

On the other hand, we don’t see enough of this between Leo and Calypso — we only see one book where they interacted with each other in The House of Hades, and that was only for a handful of chapters. While they are definitely older so they can jump straight to romance (some may say too old, but I’ll get to that) its still a pretty huge gap to jump through without making it stick. This makes it hard to root for a ship when it is built on a rather faulty foundation from the ‘they just met’ to ‘they get together’, especially when they don’t have a lot of events to show their chemistry.

Which brings me to Ogygia, which has raised a few red flags for me when looking at it from a retrospective point of view. Now, we know what the main issue of the island is that the hero who landed on said island can’t leave until Calypso falls in love with them. And we’ve seen this with Percy during the Battle of the Labyrinth, where he lands in the island and Calypso falls in love with him while tending to his wounds from, you know, being erupted from freaking Mt. St. Helens. Needless to say, this falling in love with each other montage happened quickly to the point of suspicion, which sets up the complication that Calypso and Leo might have fallen in love due to magical intervention.

And hear me out, because although this  might be a pretty big pill to swallow, we have evidence for this through Percy. It only takes one chapter for Calypso and Percy to meet, and the next he’s willing to consider leaving Camp Half-Blood and Annabeth behind to live on the island when Hephaestus gives him the choice to leave Ogygia or stay. We don’t even get an explanation on why Percy considered giving it all up just so he can be with her. All we know is, girl meets boy, now they want to live on an isolated island forever. It’s especially absurd considering Percy’s hamartia (fatal flaw) is freaking loyalty to those he loves.  Needless to say, It’s a huge YIKES, especially when we apply it to Leo and Calypso. 

It also raises the possibility that the romantic relationship between them is doomed to failure. And if you guys want to fight me on this, let’s look at Jason and Piper, a couple whose relationship started with a similar foundation. Piper had romantic memories implanted into her brain by Hera through the use of the Mist, while Jason was reduced to a Tabula Rasa (a blank slate for those who lack culture) by said goddess. They broke up before the Trials of Apollo because it was clear that when the dust settled, Piper had been aware that their romance was a lie and that their intentions to stay together was a mix of delusion and pressure from freaking Aphrodite. Leo and Calypso get together under what is arguably a very similar set of conditions if Ogygia’s magic had any influence on their relationship, and that this magic could wear off if given enough time. 

Third, and here’s a pretty big one for me, would be Calypso’s character, mainly because there are a lot of unfortunate implications attached to it. In The Blood of Olympus, she was turned into the divine equivalent of Princess Peach, with Leo being her Mario (except he saves her with a badass metal dragon). Its extremely unnecessary to make a character, especially as one such as Calypso, get  turned into the typical reward of a B-Class action movie. It’s insulting and puts her up as a trophy, a narrative that is definitely not ok by any means necessary.

In another direction, Calypso is also really, really worrying when things don’t go get her way. First, let’s look at The Odyssey, the first myth she pops up. Calypso had imprisoned Odysseus for ten years on her island until Hermes said to let him go, and although it gives them plenty of time to fall in love, it also raises the implications of stockholm syndrome. Then we’ve got the fact that Calypso cursed Annabeth out of spite, implicitly saying that she wished the daughter of Athena would suffer the same isolation that she did, which came to reality when Percy and Annabeth met the Arai in Tartarus. And Annabeth wasn’t even aware that she was still in Ogygia, much less intentionally intervened in the matter. When Percy left Ogygia, rather than be angry at Percy, Calypso cursed Annabeth out of all people to suffer the same loneliness and misery she went through. That’s some Hera at her worst levels of spite. 

Through such evidence we can see that Calypso is extremely wrathful towards those who break her heart even though they don’t want to. It certainly implies that Calypso isn’t in a good state of mind, and could easily repeat said actions if provoked. We could almost compare it to Medea and the original Jason, but at least in that case, Medea has every right to be pissed off at Jason and take her revenge. Calypso’s curse and how she handles things certainly implies a level of immaturity that would end in disaster if they broke up.

One issue that, I’ll admit is more from my personal point of view is that the ship took a lot of Leo’s character and threw it in the garbage in Blood of Olympus. Though we see him do a lot of stuff behind the scenes, the fact that its all for the goal of reaching Calypso just reduced him to someone who is more focused on love than, you know, fighting the evil goddess that was responsible for killing his mom and getting sweet sweet revenge. While the revenge plot can be cliched sometimes, it can be played well, while romance and the typical ‘always save the girl’ trope is just overdone. If Leo had been allowed to, you know, be more focused on other things rather than Calypso, we could have seen a lot more variety in his character.

For example as one of the possible character arcs he could’ve gone through, Leo has always been alone among the couples, often being isolated. Heck, Nemesis herself stated that he would always be the seventh wheel, and that he would never find a place among his brethren. Though some fellow tumblr users have taken this in multiple ways, either saying that he should learn to be happy by himself or that he is socially isolated in the Argo II because of these romantic relationships (I prefer a mix of both). Uncle Rick just giving him a girlfriend seems like taking the easy way out of solving such an issue and abandoning what could’ve been a rather interesting character arc. The relationship isn’t a bad thing if we remove some of the unfortunate implications, but it is a bad way to end what is a complex and realistic problem for a character and in some cases maybe possible in real life.

One more minor but still yikes worthy point is that there’s a huge age gap between them. We’re not talking about the ‘Hazel is 15 and Frank is 17 and in one year that’ll be a problem because then Hazel will be jailbait’ age gap. And even then, we can argue that Hazel is older since she is chronologically ninety-one years old. No, Calypso is older by millennia in terms of mindset and body due to the perks of being a goddess, while Leo is sixteen.

God-to-Mortal relationships are already complicated, even with emotionally and socially well-functioning adults. The fact that Leo is underage, inexperienced with romance (despite his flirting, Calypso was his first kiss), and has been through a freaking ton of trauma in his youth, does not make this okay. At best, they’re both mutually interested in each other but may have different expectations when it comes to a relationship. At worst, Calypso is taking advantage of a boy just so she can get out of Ogygia and possibly dumping him later on like the wrapping of a candy bar. Even though Calypso lost her immortality during The Trials of Apollo, that doesn’t even compensate for the immense age gap alongside Leo’s guilt at the possibility that he might’ve been responsible for her losing said immortality.

Oh, and about Leo... I’m a fan of him, but I can admit that he is in a bad spot both mentally and emotionally throughout the series. He’s lost his mom due to a mix of his own powers and Gaea’s trickery, and never had the chance to fully process that event and come to terms with it. The foster home system alongside his own trauma has forced him to hide his emotions through a façade of happiness and jokes when it’s quite clear to me he needs a therapist, stat. He's also run away from several foster homes, implying this means he was and still is being affected by the event. His mask is still on during The Blood of Olympus considering he hid a lot of things from Piper and Jason.

Speaking about them, not helping this matter is the fact that he’s rather isolated in terms of friendships since Jason and Piper, his supposed best friends are more interested in locking lip rather than, you know, actually hanging out with each other.  He doesn’t have good friendships with the rest of the Seven, and the closest ones he does have is with Hazel and Frank. And even then they start off in the wrong spot since Frank is very insecure about possibly losing Hazel to him during Mark of Athena while Hazel in the meantime, is also dealing with the fact that he is the descendant of her possible boyfriend Sammy Valdez. 

This could indirectly have made him desperate for affection since he has nobody else to confide in during the rest of the series, which is a bad mental state to be in when one lands on Ogygia, the island that we’ve seen could possibly force two people to fall in love with each other. A romantic relationship is not something that he needs or something that will help him in the future. He needs more than that, and having him in one that could end in disaster is the last thing he needs. 

And that does not make him a bad person, much less a bad character. While some who are similarly emotionally and socially isolated may turn to violence or creepy behavior on those they want affection from, Leo does not do that to the other characters. It just means that he as a character needs more time to recover and develop before we go giving him romantic relationships, much less one with Calypso.

That’s not to say that they don’t have some things in common. Both are starved for love and affection, with Calypso being constantly rejected by heroes while Leo was rejected by foster homes and his own family. It’s a trait that they have in common, but it shouldn’t be the only thing that they have in common, especially since it is laced with a trauma that is clear they haven’t had help processing. They need to develop more as characters and as friends before they should be paired together.

So… yeah. The Caleo relationship is, in my eyes, doomed to failure, or at least heavily flawed after taking the above points into account. Uncle Rick, as if seemingly aware of these criticisms, has put the relationship in a rocky place by The Tower of Nero, giving them the possibility of overcoming the above criticisms and their own flaws, or giving fanfic writers an out and pairing Leo with another character or have him single, but happy. Either way, in my opinion Caleo is a bad ship when it comes to how it was created, alongside the flaws and unfortunate implications it has.

While I can see some of the chemistry the ship has, you can’t just use a couple of moments where they get along as evidence that they belong together, especially with the above reasons. That’s like using a band-aid to cover a bullet hole without removing the bullet, stopping the bleeding, and preventing infection. If both characters and their relationship had been given more time to develop, I would understand how they would get together. 

[ryuuaka713]

Soukoku & The Red Camellias

Ok, I have been thinking a lot of this lately, so I am just gonna let this all out.

You guys know this official art, right? Right?

This is literally one of my most favorite SKK official art. Like I legit thought that this is a fan-art until I saw an entire comment section in pinterest basically summarizing: “I can’t believe this is NOT a fanart”. I literally lost my shit that day because MY GOD this is so CLOSE! I’ve been in the BSD fandom since January, and I have been obsessing over Soukoku since Dead Apple. 

But anyway, this official art--I showed this to my sister who has no idea what the anime is about, and I wanted an opinion from an outsider in regards of this official art just for the fun of it. And guess what she said: Apart from being GAY, she thinks that their relationship is almost similar to Romeo and Juliet (YEP! HER EXACT WORDS!). It is interesting, not just because these two act more like an aggressive version of R&J (or the anti-thesis of it), it is also the fact that the more I looked into this pic, the more I can see the whole bitter-sweetness to it.

So I decided to look up the meaning of Camellia flowers in which these two have been associated with by the fandom.

(OK, the next thing I am going to say will be something that not everyone will like. But please, hear me out)

I notice a lot of people (shippers to be precise), say that the Camellias represent love, desire, and longing. This meaning is based on WESTERN interpretation. But what about the JAPANESE symbolism of it?

In the Wikipedia version for the Hanakotoba (Japanese Floriography) the (Red) Tsubaki (the Japanese name for the Camellia) is indeed associated with “Love” (not far from the Western interpretation), but what’s interesting is that it also says: “Perishing with Grace”. Ok, Wikipedia is not entirely reliable, so I decided to do more research, and from what I’ve gathered, the Camellias are associated with Love (Again, derived from Western influence or the source is not that reliable), Divinity, and finally--Death.

So technically speaking, the reason why Tsubaki is associated with the divine is that it is used in tea ceremonies because it does not interfere with the scent of tea. Furthermore, it somehow evokes a sense of sacredness (whether directly to a Kami or not) to it, and you can see why this is almost in the same threshold as the Cherry Blossoms in terms of Japanese associations. Indeed, the Tsubaki is called the “Japanese Rose”, and very much like the Cherry Blossoms, these flowers carry a heavy meaning--Death.

Brutal as this may sound, I think the subject of Death behind the flowers is something that connects the most to Soukoku. 

But before I go over that, it should be known that the Tsubaki is associated with “Noble Death”--this comes from the imagery of how the buds of the flower, when wilted, falls as a whole immediately instead of petal by petal. And many called this blossom as a form of “bad luck” because it resembles Decapitation. With that being said, the Tsubaki can be related as a symbolic imagery of a Samurai’s death (since the process of their execution involves having their heads cut off). And thus, it should emphasize the unwavering loyalty of the warrior (it makes sense as to why the petals are intact with the bud--but this is just my interpretation), and why the flower symbolizes a “noble death”.

Now what does got to do with Soukoku?

This applies more to Chuuya as the whole “sacredness”/”divinity” of the Tsubaki can be easily associated with the fact that he possessed the God of Calamity. And because Corruption means total destruction, Chuuya’s fate is literally death like what the Tsubaki implies. However, what I find even more interesting is that after reading how these flowers are associated with the samurai, this is very similar to Chuuya’s case. Chuuya in BSD is the personification of loyalty, specifically to the PM. 

With his relationship with Dazai, it is a little bit different since Chuuya never wants to be his Dog (the most common symbol of loyalty). But what’s interesting enough is that he remains--CONSTANTLY trusts Dazai. In other words, he knows his motivations, trusts him, and would immediately jump into action. Chuuya would go as far as using the very thing that will kill him while keeping in mind that Dazai has a plan (e.g. Dead Apple). With that being said, this is exactly why Chuuya is the one who seems to be watching over Dazai while the latter is sleeping in the official art above. And the fact that the flower just rests on his open palm is well-connected to the aesthetic and “grace” of the Tsubaki. Chuuya’s corruption is brutally horrible, but the concept of his loyalty and trust is something that we can at least admire about him.

What about Dazai? Well, this is the part where things get a little complicated. One thing for sure, the whole death symbolism can be easily associated to his suicidal tendencies. But even so, this is still tied up (literally and figuratively speaking) to his relationship with Chuuya. Dazai said that his ideal suicide should be “clean and proper”--in other words, without burdening anyone. And yet, his death will always be tethered to Chuuya’s. This is seen when they are 15 when Rimbaud proposed that he must kill both Chuuya and Dazai to protect his crimes. This is again brought up in (SPOILERS!!!) Stormbringer when Mori brings up that if Dazai decides to give up and die, no one would save Chuuya (END SPOILERS!!!). In short they are inseparable. 

And because of that, Dazai can see how he can easily influence the fate of his partner-- the very same person who is prone to death despite his desire to live. Thus, one of the reasons why he fights side by side with Chuuya. it is not just Chuuya’s complete trust in him that makes their partnership effective, but it is also his recognition of the boy’s desire to live. And that’s why we have this official art:

In this official art, it is not as delicate as the first one, but we see the Camellias again. This time, it is Dazai holding the flowers, and he is clutching them in his fists. Personally, I see this as him grasping to that life-line while Chuuya is using corruption. While Chuuya, his corruption and the camellias are about the concept of potential death, in Dazai’s case--the camellia serves as a “reminder of death” (not the actual death). Thus, why he is clutching them. After all, he recognizes that Chuuya doesn’t want to die (unlike him). Not to mention, Chuuya would willingly lay down his life to him (and vise versa). In other words, it just shows that with the symbolism of the Tsubaki, both characters--despite the “hate” they have for each other--are always connected, and it is through Death. Death because of their circumstances, or because of their characterizations.

Furthermore, the complexity of Tsubaki being this beautiful flower that is considered as sacred, a love token, and a symbolic imagery of death--parallels so much with the complexity of their relationship. I am not going to dive in further with the analysis of their relationship since I know a handful of people who are excellent in doing that. But what I’m saying here: the Camellias are not only a love token, the same way you can’t say that Dazai and Chuuya’s relationship is like a love-hate relationship (it is way more complicated than that).

With that being said, there is bittersweet connotation in their relationship. It is Romeo and Juliet in a sense that they are connected by tragedy, regardless whether they are in the same organization or not.

And that’s it, thanks for reading my ted-talk!

[dhr-deleted]

I've made changes to the master list replacing "Incomplete" with "Abandoned" and added "Complete". I hope this change will make it easier if you are only looking for complete fics.

If you have a more complete version of any abandoned fics, please share them!

2022 September - Uploaded

Acheron Bloom (15KB - One Shot - PG-13) Draco Malfoy - a good guy?! It looks that way, and the Death Eaters want to kill him for it. Can Hermione Granger actually have feelings for him? Light, romantic, somewhat amusing read that leaves you speculating on the future.

akatsukireunites Break Me, Shatter Me (27KB - One Shot - NC-17) Like a china cup, every crack broke her. Tore her from the inside until she finally shattered.

Dark Circus (15KB - One Shot - PG-13) A dark magician captures the attention of his audience, his dark and menacing eyes dragging you into a magical show of danger. Your lover becomes a prey to his enjoyment and you are frightened. Told from Draco's POV.

Easily Seduced (10KB - One Shot - R) Hermione slyly tricks Draco into visiting Muggle London, but then leaves him all alone! How does he handle his first visit? And why is his little minx getting her way with things? Just what kind of influence does she have on him?

Angel Mischa Divided Loyalties (44KB - Incomplete - R) Hermione is carrying on an illicit affair with Draco, which inadvertently began when she was still dating Harry. Now Harry wants her back, and Draco can't decide where he stands when Hermione starts to take control of her life. (Sequel to Meant To Be?)

Gone (4KB - One Shot - PG) A snapshot of life for Draco and Hermione after the War.

Juicy Fun (9KB - One Shot - NC-17) Hermione comes across a fugitive Draco Malfoy whilst in someone else's body.

Meant To Be? (43KB - 7 Chapters - R) A Draco-steals-Hermione story with a twist! It all seems to start so well for Harry and Hermione, but his role as Boy-who-lived causes a rift to form between them when he tries to protect her, only to leave her vulnerable to Draco's revenge. As Hermione discovers the truth about her lover, will she finally discover true love as well?

A Silver Lining... Part 1 (76KB - 9 Chapters - R) Draco and Hermione are forced together in their seventh year, giving them a chance to start their relationship afresh. However, Draco's traumatic summer may well come between them, which could spell disaster for the rest of the Wizarding world.

A Silver Lining... Part 2 (99KB - 10 Chapters - R) So Draco and Hermione have worked through their differences and decided what they really want from each other. But nobody else knows, and with Marianne getting in the way of some friendships, they may have to come clean. However, their confession will prompt another, and some serious intervention will be required in order to patch up the schisms.

A Silver Lining... Part 3 (25KB - Incomplete - R) The War is over, but what will the impact be on Hermione, Draco and the others? This is the final part of the trilogy, and hopefully rounds off all unanswered questions from the first two parts.

Someday (11KB - One Shot - G) Draco and Hermione meet in a dark corridor of Malfoy Mansion whilst the Order of the Phoenix is raiding Voldemort's labyrinthine hide-out below. Each is thinking the same thing, but they still can't bring themselves to talk about it, so Draco makes a vow that someday he will come back for her.

Bunnyhops (Severus' Malfoy Maiden) Dear Diary (39KB - 4 Chapters - NC-17) Hermione is feeling lonely and a bit disgruntled. Her journey starts with a diary and ends with something she’d never expected. L/D/Hr

Finders Keepers (187KB - Incomplete - R) A Veela fic Dramione . AU about Hermione's true origin, the war, and Severus' role in everything.

I Remember (129KB - 17 Chapters - NC-17) She remembers him as the boy who cried on her shoulder after he apologized, but what of the man before her?

The Protector (49KB - One Shot - R) He is her protector, she is a pureblood...now. can they forget their past and make a future?

Thrown Together (75KB - 10 Chapters - R) marriage law...First time, Can they make it work?

Two Roads Diverged (20KB - One Shot - NC-17) “Miss Granger, this is an injunction to prevent you from being within one hundred metres of any Weasley until the end of time.” Hermione simply gaped as the magic washed over her skin and her connections with the Weasley family were irrevocably broken. L/D/Hr

Unmanageable Boys (20KB - One Shot - NC-17) Language paradoxes and mid-morning conversations are a perfect recipe for what could have been. DM/HG SB/HG

Gallaz You've Got 0 Messages (One Shot - PG-13) HG and DM are both hardworking divorce attorneys in the wizarding world. What happens when troubled couples bring them together and they get more than they bargained for. DMHG. Written in formats of mail, phone calls, etc. Based on Laws of Attraction.

LitheLies Argent (209KB - Incomplete - R) Draco agreed to return to Hogwarts; he didn't agree to play the role of Head Boy. ( Dramione / Eighth Year / Post-DH AU / If there's a plot, it's purely by chance / Draco POV )

Find A Way To Live On (486KB - 48 Chapters - ) As the war retreats into her memory and the new world forms ahead of her, she cannot seem to move forward. It doesn't feel right to act as if everything is fixed, and that the problems from before vanished with Voldemort. Because he did vanish -- didn't he? What if The Brightest Witch of Her Age is the flame that went out too soon; bright for the sake of brightness, clever for the sake of cleverness. Everything is too easy and too difficult, all at once, and she just wants -- well, what does she want? It's been years since she's allowed herself such a thought. (AU Slowburn Eighth year, Dramione.)

Pick Your Favorite (19KB - 4 Chapters - G) A series of short ficlets based on Dramione; from Hogwarts to married life, from fluff to smut. But as always, angst.

Threadbare (144KB - Incomplete - R) "They're saying," Hermione's voice shook. "That if we don't agree to marry whoever they tell us to, that we'll die, and it's… It's our own fault." ( Eventual, Slow Burn Dramione / Forbidden Romance / Enemies to Lovers )

Marpesia The Christmas Present (8KB - One Shot - G) It's nearly Christmas, and Hermione has a surprise for Draco. However, Lucius threatens to ruin not only the surprise, but Hermione's life.

Melissa_Sadwick The Way We Were (13KB - One Shot - PG-13) Hermione hated crying in front of people almost as much as she hated Malfoy. But that was the problem...she didn't hate Malfoy. At the end of her 7th year, Hermione looks back on the way things were. (Songfic to 1973 movie titlesong.)

Morbid Fascination Alone Together and Perfect Hell (4KB - One Shot - R) Together we are so alone and yet we let ourselves live in this perfect hell.

Damned Hard Chairs (KB - One Shot - R) Fred and George have taken over the world.

Family of the Gods (7KB - One Shot - PG) He put her up on that pillar and she had to get down, and graveyards always have perpetually bad weather.

Fashioned Rhymes (KB - One Shot - PG) Harry's lifeline without an ending, the way Ron used to be, a brief Draco/Hermione romance, what it means to be a lion, and tales of what blood means. All these stories told in a few poems of my own creation...

Home (16KB - One Shot - G) Hermione tells her story and the history of magic class doesn't know how to reply. Hr/DM, Hr/VK, PP/PW, PW/other. HR/others

Honoring Deals (5KB - One Shot - PG-13) Draco gets his soul back in a business transaction.

Let's Talk (33KB - One Shot - R) At the end we look back at the beginning. Rating is just to be careful.

Not In Kansas Anymore (186KB - 17 Chapters - R) Hermione wakes up.

Relationships (9KB - One Shot - R) After the war there were graves. There were relationships. There had to be relationships.

Scarred Roses and Blood Filled Chocolates (36KB - Incomplete - PG-13) The war is over, and the repercussions are a weight to bear. They weren't supposed to fall, it wasn't part of Fate's master plan, and in return for going against her rules, Fate is making it awfully hard for them to get along. And when that doesn't work, Fate slings ever growing darkness in their general direction.

We Are Angels (28KB - 7 Chapters - R) Hermione has sunken to the unthinkable: she enjoys killing. No biggie, as it is for the good guys. But she's starting to slip in her morals. And the farther she falls, the more it looks as if she is the next in line to become the Angel of Death. Two guesses as to who the Angel of Life is.... Oh yeah, and Snape is the Angel of Fear. Are we surprised?

provocative_envy A Little Piece of Sincerity (125KB - 18 Chapters - PG-13) Hermione Granger falls in love with the harshly realistic words written on a small scrap of paper she finds on her way to Potions. She loses it, only to have fate play a part in making her the victim of Draco Malfoy's deception.

A Mandatory Alliance (60KB - 13 Chapters - PG-13) A mandatory correspondence with a foreign wizarding school and a chance encounter with two Gryffindors start a chain of events that leaves Draco Malfoy reaching an inevitable conclusion: he is madly in love with Hermione Granger.

By the Way (70KB - 18 Chapters - PG-13) It was exquisite, the way his face fell, the way his eyes grew round, the way his mouth dropped open: he was a study in disappointment, his dashed hopes cluttering the space that loomed large and noticeable in between us.

Disasterology (66KB - Incomplete - NC-17) She wakes up at exactly midnight on the eve of her nineteenth birthday—She screams.

Lightning (11KB - Incomplete - PG-13) I remembered the times he'd made me cry, warned me not to, the times our bare legs had entwined themselves in his bed sheets, and all the while I'd felt ashamed, disgusted, atrophied, in the aftermath.

Stronger (105KB - 19 Chapters - PG-13) My whole life had been leading up to this moment, this second of tragedy. I couldn’t imagine anything less of a disaster, less of a letdown. There was nothing anticlimactic about the wrenching of my gut, the roaring of my blood.

The Science of It All (131KB - 21 Chapters - R) That clutching, awful, cold, hot, flashing, clawing, cluttering sensation curling its way through my stomach, tearing its way down my vertebrae, winding and trailing and ending up somewhere in my throat.

When Tomorrow Comes (17KB - One Shot - R) I'd wanted the rest of the world to know, the same way I did—elementally, with every last scrap of blood and plasma and grey matter that called my brain its home—that she was mine, that I'd managed to dislodge my head from my arse long enough to recognize that perfection personified had a name, and it was Hermione.

RavenpuffLove The Evergreen Game (155KB - 16 Chapters - NC-17) Ron Weasley has been doing everything he can to keep Hermione safe, but when a home intruder threatens their precarious situation he turns to Draco Malfoy for help, putting them all in a situation filled with more tension than they could have possibly imagined. D/Hr/R

the Stranger in the Moonlight The True Meaning of Silver (One Shot - PG-13) What if silver was a Gryffindor color, not a Slytherin? What if silver were more valuable then gold? What if someone understood the true meaning of silver?

[itsclydebitches]

The Bad Batch: A Crosshair Analysis

Hello, Star Wars fandom! I have just completed watching—and loving—The Bad Batch, which you know means I now need to dump all my thoughts about the first season into the tumblr void. Specifically, thoughts on the complicated drama that is Crosshair. I have no doubt that the majority of what I’m about to say will be old news to anyone who watched the show when it came out (I’m slow...), but I’m writing it all out anyway. Largely for my own sanity enjoyment :D

I want to preface all of this by saying that the above is not an exaggeration. I love the show and I love the entire cast. My enjoyment in each of the characters is directly connected to my enjoyment of the season as a whole, which I say because I’m about to get pretty critical towards some of the characters’ choices and, to a lesser extent, the writing choices that surround those. Does this mean I secretly hate The Bad Batch? Quite the opposite. I’m invested, which is presumably just what Filoni wants. I’m just hoping that investment pays off. 

But enough of the disclaimers. Let’s start with the matter of the inhibitor chip. I’ve seen fans take some pretty hard stances on both sides: Crosshair is completely innocent because he’s definitely been under the chip’s control this whole time, no matter what he might say. Crosshair is completely guilty because he said the chip was removed a long time ago and he chose to do all this, no moral wiggle room allowed. However, the reality is that we don’t know enough to make a clear call either way. The audience, simply put, does not have all the necessary information. What we have instead is a couple of facts combined with claims that may or may not be reliable. Let’s lay them out:

Crosshair was definitely under the chip’s control at the start of the series.

He was able to resist it to a certain extent, resulting in a pressure to obey orders coupled with a primary loyalty to his squad. See: telling Hunter to follow the Empire’s commands—which includes killing kid Padawans—but not turning his team in as traitors when they did not. It’s an in-between space.

Crosshair’s chip was then amplified to an unknown extent. I’m never going to claim I’m a Star Wars aficionado—I’m a casual fan, friends. Please don’t yell at me over obscure lore lol—but within TBB’s canon, no one else is undergoing that experimentation. The effects of this are entirely unknown, which includes Crosshair’s free will, or lack thereof.

Crosshair then becomes a clear tool of the Empire, hunting down innocents, killing on a whim, the whole, evil shebang.

In “Reunion” he’s caught by the engine and suffers severe burns to his face. One leaves a scar that covers precisely the place where the chip would have been extracted.

Removing the chip leaves its own scar behind. If Crosshair’s was removed, we can’t see that scar due to the burn.

After these events Crosshair seems to mellow a bit. He does horrible things under the Empire’s orders—like shooting the senator—but is still loyal to his squad—killing his non-clone teammates to give TBB a chance, saving AZ and Omega, etc.

Crosshair claims that his chip has already been removed. However, Crosshair is arguably an unreliable source if he’s been lied to or if the chip is still there, encouraging him to manipulate the team.

Crosshair claims it was removed a long time ago, which is incredibly imprecise. As we can see from just some of the events listed above, precisely when the chip came out—if it came out—makes a huge difference.

Hunter realizes this and presses for clarification, but Crosshair dodges giving it. Again, a legitimate belief that it doesn’t matter, or evidence that he can’t say because something else is going on? We don’t know.

Hunter checks Crosshair’s head and finds the burn scar which proves… nothing. As stated above, they wouldn’t be able to see the surgery scar one way or another: its existence or its absence. It’s useless data, as Tech might say. I’ve seen a few fans claim that Hunter was also feeling for the chip with his enhanced senses, but 1. I didn’t catch any evidence of that in the scene and 2. Even if we assume Hunter did that anyway, the chips are notoriously hard to spot. Fives and AZ couldn’t find the chip at first when examining Tup. Ahsoka had to use the force to find it in Rex. TBB themselves couldn’t find it at first in Wrecker. If machinery consistently fails to find the chip on the first couple of tries—it’s meant to be a hidden implant, after all—why would we believe Hunter’s senses could pick it up instantly? Maybe he missed it, or maybe it wasn’t there at all. 

Crosshair appears to be struggling with a headache in the finale, just as he was at the beginning of the season and just like Wrecker was for the first half.

The point of listing all this out is to emphasize how ambiguous this whole situation is. I don’t want to use this post to argue one way or another about whether Crosshair’s chip is really out. I have my preferred theory (the chip’s still in, but only partially functional), but at the end of the day none of this is conclusive. The writing takes us in what I hope is deliberate circles. Crosshair says the chip is out? Crosshair is not a reliable source of information until we know if the chip is out. What other evidence is there that the chip is gone? A scar? We can’t see if there’s a scar. Hunter’s abilities? He only checked once for a canonically hard to find implant—if he actually checked at all. And why would the Empire want the chip out? Well, maybe it has to do with that push towards willing soldiers, but if that were the case, why leave Crosshair behind and have the “clones die together”? By that point he was one of the most willing, chip or not. Did they have to take it out because of the engine accident? Pure speculation. We just don’t know and THAT is the point I want to make.

Because it means the rest of the Bad Batch didn’t know either.

The core issue I have here is not whether the chip is in or out, or even how long it may have been in if it is out now. The issue is that TBB spent 99% of the first season believing that Crosshair was under the chip’s influence… and they didn’t try to do anything about that. They abandoned him. They left a man behind. Does this make them all horrible monsters? Of course not! This shit is complicated as hell, but I do think they made a very large mistake and that Crosshair has every right to be furious about it.

“But, Clyde, they couldn’t have gone back. It was too dangerous! Hunter had a duty to his whole team, not just Crosshair.” True enough and I’d buy this argument 100% if Hunter hadn’t spent the entire season throwing his team into dangerous, seemingly impossible situations to save other people. Crosshair became the exception, not a hard rule of something they had to avoid. They went back to Kamino for Omega, a kid they’d only had one lunch with, despite knowing how dangerous the Empire was. They went into the heart of an occupied planet to rescue not just a stranger, but one belonging to the Separatist government. They helped Sid when she asked and there was plenty of compassion for the criminal trying to take her place. Most significantly, there wasn’t the slightest hesitation to go rescue Hunter when he was under the Empire’s control, in precisely the same place. Every explanation I’ve seen fans come up with—Kamino is too fortified, they don’t know where Crosshair is, they can’t risk Omega being captured, etc.—also holds true for Hunter, yet there wasn’t a second of doubt about needing to at least try to help him. And his rescue was arguably far more dangerous given that TBB knew they were walking into a trap. Going after Crosshair would have at least had some element of surprise.

I think the problem with these justifications is most easily seen in “Rescue on Ryloth” and, later, “War-Mantle.” In the former, we do watch Hunter decide that going on a rescue mission is too much of a risk, only for Omega to talk him into considering it.

Hunter: “It’s a big galaxy. We can’t put ourselves on the line every time someone’s in trouble.”

Omega: “Why not? Isn’t that what soldiers do?”

Hunter: “It’s not worth the risk.”

Omega: “She’s trying to save her family, Hunter. I’d do the same for you.”

The arguments that sway him are ‘Soldiers should help people’ and ‘Soldiers should specifically help their family.’ So… what does that say about their feelings for Crosshair? They’re willing to put themselves on the line for the parents of a girl they met once at a drop site, but not their own brother? That’s the message the writing sends. “But, Clyde, the difference is that they had an advantage here. Hera’s knowledge of her home planet tipped the odds in their favor.” Yeah… and Crosshair is stationed on TBB’s home planet. Even more than them collectively having the same knowledge that Hera does, “Return to Kamino” reveals that Omega always had additional, insider knowledge of the base: she has access to a secret landing pad and the tunnels leading up into the city. That knowledge was given and used the second Hunter’s freedom was on the line, but it never once came up to use for Crosshair’s benefit. 

“War-Mantle’s” mission puts this problem in even sharper relief. Another claim I’ve seen a lot is that TBB only took risky rescue missions because they needed to be paid. The guys have got to eat after all. Yet Tech makes it clear that going after Gregor will lose them money. They’re meant to be on a mission for Sid and deviating for that won’t result in a payment. He explicitly says that if they decide to do this, they won’t eat. They do it anyway. No money, no intel, a huge risk “on a clone we don’t even know.” But that’s not what’s important, the show says. All that matters is that a brother is in trouble. This time it’s Echo pushing that message instead of Omega. When Hunter realizes that they’re about to try and infiltrate an entire facility and they don’t even know if this clone is still alive, Echo points out that they took that risk once before: for him. “If there’s a chance that trooper is being held against his will, we have to try and get him out.”

Yes! Exactly right! So why doesn’t that apply to Crosshair?

“Because he tried to kill them, Clyde!” No, that’s the easy, dismissive answer. A chipped Crosshair tried to kill them. AKA, a Crosshair entirely under the Empire’s control. The only difference between his enslavement and Gregor’s is that Gregor’s chains were physical while Crosshair’s were mental. And again, the point of everything at the start of this post is to show that no one knows when or even if that chip was removed. TBB definitely didn’t have any reason to suspect that Crosshair was working under his own power until Crosshair himself said as much. We might have been able to make that case at the start of the season, but “Battle Scars” removes any possible confusion. The entire team watched Rex reach for his blaster when he learned their chips were still in. The entire team watched Wrecker become a totally different person and attack them, just like Crosshair did. The entire team forgave him instantly and had their own chips removed. So why in the world didn’t anyone go, “Wow, Crosshair has a chip too. He was no more responsible for attacking us than Wrecker was. We need to try to get him out, no matter how hard that might be, just like we had to try for all these other people we’ve helped.”

But they didn’t. No one even considered rescuing Crosshair. They only went back for Hunter and, when they realized Crosshair was there too, they didn’t change their plans to try and rescue him as well. He’s treated as a particularly threatening inconvenience, not another team member in need of their help.

The problem I have with how this all went down is that the team treated Crosshair like an enemy despite all evidence to the contrary. Despite Omega outright saying that this isn’t his fault, it’s the chip, the group seems to decide that he’s gone crazy or something and that there’s nothing they can do. “It’s fine,” I thought. “They don’t really get what the chip is like yet. They don’t understand how thoroughly it controls someone.” But then “Battle Scars” arrives and Wrecker is treated with such compassion (which he deserves!) only for the group to continue acting like Crosshair is somehow different. It’s easy to say, “But Crosshair shot Wrecker” and ignore the easy pushback of, “and Wrecker nearly shot Omega.” Up until Crosshair’s own accusations and Omega’s ignored comments, TBB’s understanding of the chip’s influence and the lack of responsibility that accompanies mysteriously disappears when the show’s antagonist becomes the subject of conversation. This is seen most clearly in how Hunter tries to frame things during his talk with Crosshair:

“You tried to kill us. We didn’t have a choice.”

“Can’t you see that they’re using you? It’s that inhibitor chip in your head.”

“You really don’t get who we are, do you?”

Hunter mentions the chip, but he acts as if it’s Crosshair’s responsibility to overcome it: “Can’t you see…” Of course he can’t see, that’s the entire point of the chip, the thing he currently believes Crosshair still has stuck in his head. But Hunter and the others—with Omega as a wonderful exception—never seem to have accepted this like they did for Wrecker. When Crosshair “tried to kill us” it’s seen as a deliberate act that he chose, not something forced on him like with Wrecker. When Hunter talks about their ethics, he subconsciously separates the team from Crosshair: “You really don’t get who we are, do you?”, revealing a pretty ingrained divide between them. Even Wrecker gets in on the action, the one brother who truly understands how much the chip controls someone: “All that time, you didn’t even try to come back.” What part of he couldn’t try is not hitting home here? Again, for the purposes of this conversation it doesn’t matter whether Crosshair was chipped this whole time or not. The point is that TBB believed he was chipped… and yet still expected him to somehow, magically overcome that programming, writing him off when he failed to do that. He’s consistently held responsible for actions that they were told (and, through Wrecker, saw) were completely outside of his control. Even when we factor in his claim that the chip was removed, TBB has ignored all the evidence I listed at the start. No one, not even Omega, challenges this super vague and strange claim, or seeks out proof because they don’t want to believe that their brother could willingly do this. There’s just this... acceptance that of course Crosshair went bad. Why? Because he was an asshole sometimes? Taking it all as written, it doesn’t feel like the batch considered him a true part of the team. Certainly not like Wrecker or Hunter. As shown, the batch will go out of their way, risk anything, forgive anything, for them. They have a level of faith that was never shown to Crosshair. 

“Severe and unyielding,” Tech says and he’s absolutely right, but I’d seriously challenge this idea that any of the others would have automatically done better if the situations were reversed. It stood out to me that each batch member has a moment of doubt throughout the series, a brief glimpse into how they think the Empire isn’t that bad, at least when it comes to this particular thing. Basically, a moment that could lead to a very dangerous line of thinking without others to stomp it down. Wrecker announces that he’s happy working for whoever, provided they give him food and let him blow things up. Tech finds the chain codes to be an ingenious strategy and is clearly fascinated with their development. Hunter initially wants Omega to stay on Kamino, despite knowing that this Empire has already, systematically killed an entire group of people: the Jedi. Doesn’t matter. She’s still (supposedly) safer there than she would be running with the likes of them.

There’s absolutely no doubt that those three made the correct choice in defying the Empire, but I believe that their ability to make that choice is largely dependent on them having each other. They survive together, not apart, and it’s their unity that allows them to make the really hard calls, like setting out on their own and opposing such a formidable force. But if Tech’s chip had activated and he’d been left behind, would he have muscled through to escape somehow...or would he have gotten caught up in all the new technology the Empire offered him, succumbing to both his chip and the inevitability that if his squad no longer wanted him, why not stay? Would Wrecker have escaped, or been easily manipulated into a new life of exploding things? Would Hunter have been able to push through without his brothers, or would he have become devoted to a new team to lead? Obviously there’s no way to ever know, but it’s always easier to make the right decisions when you have support in doing so. Crosshair had no support. His team left him and yes, they had to in that specific moment, but the point is that they never came back. As far as we saw throughout the season, they never planned to come back. They all talk about loving the Crosshair who existed when life was easier, but they weren’t willing to fight for the Crosshair that most needed their help. When he says “You weren’t loyal to me,” he’s absolutely right. The same episode, “Return to Kamino,” gives Omega two powerful lines that the group rallies behind:

Omega: “[The danger] doesn’t matter. Saving Hunter is what matters.”

AZ: “You must leave.”

Omega: “Not without Hunter.”

The key word there is “Hunter.” Danger, stakes, risk, probability… none of that matters when Hunter needs help. Crosshair did not receive that same level of devotion.

Which creates a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy. The group is upset that Crosshair isn’t rejoining them, but they fail to realize that he has no reason to trust them anymore. He’s not joining the Empire because he’s inherently evil and that’s that, end of discussion. He’s joining it because above all Crosshair wants a place to belong… and TBB has made it clear—unintentionally—that he does not belong with them. The horrible actions that Crosshair took under his own free will (theoretically) came after he realized that doing bad things while under the Empire’s control was, apparently, unforgivable. If it wasn’t, his team would have come back to rescue him. They could have at least tried. But they didn’t, so Crosshair is left with the conclusion that either what he did under the Empire’s control is something the group can’t forgive him for, or they can forgive that (like with Wrecker) and he’s the problem here. He’s the one not worth that effort.

“The Empire will be fazing out clones next,” Hunter says. To which Crosshair responds, “Not the ones that matter.”

He wants to matter to someone and events show he no longer matters to his brothers. So why not stay with the Empire? I mean, we as the audience ABSOLUTELY know why not. Self-doubt and feelings of isolation aren’t excuses for joining the Super Evil Organization. Crosshair, if he is under his own control, is still 100% in the wrong for supporting them, no matter his reasons. So it’s not an excuse, but rather an explanation of that very human, flawed, fallible thinking. He needs to be useful. He needs to be wanted. Crosshair is an absolute dick to the regs and I have no doubt that a lot of that stems from the harassment TBB has experienced from them (with a side of his inflated ego), but I’d bet it’s also due to Crosshair’s intense desire to be valuable to someone. He keeps pointing out the regs’ supposed deficiencies because it highlights his own usefulness. When Crosshair fails to find Hera, the Admiral says that soon he’ll get someone who can, looking straight at Howzer at the door. It makes Crosshair seethe because his entire identity is based on being useful, yet no one seems to need him anymore. TBB seems to no longer want him. The Empire no longer wants clones. Now even regs are considered a better option than him, the “superior” soldier. Everywhere Crosshair turns he’s getting the message that he’s not wanted, but he’ll keep fighting to at least be needed in some capacity, no matter how small. Even if that means overlooking all the horrors the Empire commits.

“All you’ll ever be to [the Empire] is a number,” Hunter says and he’s absolutely right. But to TBB recently, Crosshair hasn’t even been that. He’s been nothing. Nobody worth coming back for. To his mind, at least being a number is something.

I hope that all of this resolves itself into a conclusion that is kind to each side (preferably without a Vader-style death redemption), especially given the still ambiguous state of the chip, but from a writing standpoint I’m admittedly a bit wary. We’re obviously meant to believe that the batch all love each other, but as established throughout this entirely too long post, this season did a terrible job imo of proving that they love Crosshair. Or, at least, proving that they love him as much as the others. If this was really meant to be just a matter of miscommunication, with Crosshair making terrible life choices because he only thinks he was abandoned, then we as the audience would have seen the batch trying and failing to get him out. Or at least establishing a very good reason why they couldn’t take that risk, hopefully with entirely different side-missions so the audience isn’t constantly going, “So you can risk everything for Gregor... but not Crosshair?” I’m VERY glad that Crosshair was allowed to air his grievances to the extent he did, but the end result of that—Hunter continually denying this, Omega walking away from him in their rooms, neither Tech nor Wrecker actually sticking up for him and acknowledging the chip’s influence during at least some of all this—is making things feel rather one-sided. It’s like we’re meant to take Crosshair at his word and accept that he’s this garden-variety antagonist who joins the Empire because yay being on the winning side… despite all these complications that clearly have a huge impact on how we read the situation. It doesn’t help that the show has already embraced an inconsistent manner of portraying chipped-clones. We know every clone has one, we know only a couple clones are aware of the chip’s existence (and can thus try to get it out), we know they enter a “Good soldiers follow orders” mindlessness once activated… yet towards the end we see a lot of side character clones thinking for themselves. Howzer decides that he’s no longer loyal to the Empire, giving a speech where a couple other clones throw down their weapons too. Gregor was arrested because he likewise realized how wrong this all was. But how is that possible? Do the chips completely control the clones, or not? Are these clones somehow exceptions? Are the chips beginning to fail? All of that has a bearing on how we read Crosshair—what were his own decisions, how much he was capable of overcoming the chip, whether that changed at all during certain points—but right now that remains really unclear.

It’s details like that which make me wonder if all these other questions will be answered. Will the story resolve all those ambiguous moments surrounding the chip, or brush them off with the belief that we should have just taken Crosshair at his equally ambiguous word? Will the story acknowledge Crosshair’s points through someone other than Crosshair, allowing it to exist as a legitimate criticism, rather than the presumed excuses of an antagonist? I’m… not sure. On the whole I’m very happy with TBB’s writing—despite what all this might imply lol. Until my brain picks over the season and discovers something else, my only other gripe is not allowing Omega to form a solid bond with Tech and Echo, instead putting all the focus on big brother!Wrecker and dad!Hunter. I think it’s a solid show that does a lot right, but I’m worried that, unless there’s a brilliant answer to all these questions and an intent to unpack both sides of the Hunter vs. Crosshair debate with respect—not just falling back on, “Well, Crosshair is with the Empire so everything he says is automatically bad and wrong” take—we’ve just gotten the setup for a somewhat messy, ethical story. For anyone here who also reads my RWBY metas, I’m pretty sure you’re not at all surprised that I’m invested in going, “Hey, you had one of the heroes suddenly become/join a dictatorship and do a lot of horrific things, but within a pretty complicated context. Can we please work through that carefully and with an acknowledgement of the nuance here, rather than throwing the ‘evil’ character to the proverbial wolves?”  

God knows TBB is leagues ahead of RWBY, but I hope things continue on in not just a good direction, but one that tackles the aspects of this situation that many fans—and Crosshair—have already pointed out. As much as I adore the cast—and I really, really do—it was discomforting to watch a found family show where 4/5th of that family so completely wrote off one of the members and crucially have, at least so far, refused to acknowledge that. I want complicated, flawed characters, but that’s only compelling when the storytelling admits to and grapples with those flaws. We have quite firmly established Crosshair’s flaws in Season One. I hope Season Two delves into the rest of the team’s too.

Aaaand with that meta-dump out of my system, I’m off to write TBB fic. Thanks for reading! :D

[thebigqueer]

Ok, here we go. Dark!Bianca idea. Shortly after the events in the desert, a severely injured Bianca is found by agents of the Titans who were shadowing the quest party off-page. She is brought back to Titan HQ and is convinced to join their crusade against the gods while her friends and family think she's dead. Jump ahead to BotL, instead of Kelli the Empousa, it is a mysterious masked assassin who attacks Percy and Rachel at Goode. The events mostly play out unchanged until Geryon's (1/8)

ranch, where instead of Bianca, it is the ghost of Maria di Angelo who is revealed to be sending Iris messages to Percy about Nico, while also strongly hinting that Bianca's still alive. Jump ahead to Mt St. Helens, Percy fights the assassin again, and during his stint on Ogygia, Percy begins to put two and two together after the assassin demonstrated skills similar to the Hunters. At Antaeus' Arena, the assassin is finally unmasked to reveal a still-alive but scarred Bianca, replacing (2/8)

Ethan Nakamura as the demigod enforcer. Percy is convinced that Bianca is being mind-controlled and goes to Mt Tam to rescue her as well as stop Kronos. However, when he confronts her, Bianca reveals that she's operating of her own free will, feeling vengeful against the gods for robbing her of her life and having pledged her loyalty to her new Titan master. Kronos intends to make Bianca the prophesy kid, promising her the free will she craves so badly as well as promising not to hurt (3/8)

Nico. Going into the Last Olympian, Percy and Nico are both determined to convince Bianca that she's making a mistake, and this time Nico's duplicity is not to simply learn about his mother but to try and summon her spirit to get through to Bianca. At the same time, Kronos gradually starts treating Bianca as less of an ally and more of a tool, and the Titans' actions cause her to have doubts even though she dosen't know what else to do. It all comes to a head in the final battle.(4/8)

Nico returns from the Underworld by himself early, giving Hades an ultimatum to come and fight or hide. Just before the final attack, Kronos sends Bianca to infiltrate Olympus to disable the magic defenses, but Nico arrives to intercept her and make one last bid to save her. They fight, with both begging the other to stand down even as they slug it out. Finally, just as Percy arrives to chase Kronos, the battered siblings' duel ends when Nico gives another ultimatum. He throws down his (5/8)

sword and gives Bianca, now reduced to fear and frustration-induced tears, the choice between perusing her grudge and allowing herself to continue being Kronos’s slave or doing the right thing. Finally able to make a legitimate choice of her own, Bianca chooses to turn her back on the Titans. She still ends up wounded, but unlike Ethan in canon, Nico manages to save his sister while Percy and Kronos have their final battle. After everything ends, Percy petitions for Bianca’s pardon along (6/8)

with the rest of his list, though Bianca turns it down, realizing the harm she almost caused to the person she loved more than anybody else. She is given a reduced sentence in service to her father, and though she does not properly forgive any of the gods that hurt her, she does recognize that the spite and anger she felt would only lead to more death. Nico gets to visit her occasionally, and she starts a road to redemption that Luke never got the chance to take. In HoO, Bianca is (7/8)

more of a background character, but it is she that finds Hazel in Asphodel and alerts Nico to her. Overall, dark!Bianca is an anti-villain who’s affiliation with Kronos is clearly drawn from her pain and grief over the gods’ interference in her life, but her saving grace is her brother. Nico manages to pull her out of the darkness and save her from becoming the same monster Luke became. What do you think? (bear in mind, this is my rough draft) (8/8)

Okay, WOW. Anon, I am actually going to start a petition to make you the new Percy Jackson author because that was such an interesting plot to read.

First of all, I love that you replaced Bianca with Ethan. As interesting as he was in the series, and as much as I loved his character, after reading through your rough draft, I feel like Bianca would have been a much better character to use throughout PJO. Her arc could have been expanded upon and completed thoroughly, and it could have made a lot of sense. Ethan felt more like a representation of "demigods turned to the other side," which I get is the point, but I loved the way you used Bianca because with your plot, her character could have been used so well to properly show how easily the Titan army manipulated kids.

Furthermore, I feel like your plot with Bianca could have been a much better way to use her character throughout the series. From my interpretation, in canon she seemed more like a stand-in tool just to enhance Nico's own character arc and his motives, but your plot for her would have actually given her some kind of foundation and an actual arc for her to go through. You've given her such an interesting character and I think it really provides more justice to what she could have been.

I also love the way that not only did you give her a better arc, but you also enhanced Nico's own arc and the plot, too. Her death in the books seemed more symbolic to him and a turning point in his character, but with her character in your AU, it's both important to Nico and Bianca. You've given her an actual character, and you've set up such an interesting conflict between Nico and Bianca.

Additionally, I love the divide you've created between them. I think that - based on what we know about her in the books - as much as she loves her brother, Bianca also feels very limited with him because of how she's been forced to grow up and be his savior. She understands that he's only a child, though, which I think could also play into her own hatred for the gods - they've not only destroyed her family, but now they're forcing her to take the role of an adult when she's a mere child, too? She was never angry at Nico - she was only ever mad with the gods.

Maybe that's something that Nico also feels bad about, and maybe he tells her about it when they're standing each other down. Maybe she lets him know that she never hated him or felt that he was bringing her down.

Also, I want to add that I adore the way you put them on opposite sides. It sets up such an interesting dynamic to their relationship because here you have two people who love each other so much, but they're on two different sides of a large war. They're both too stubborn to go onto each other's sides, and Nico knows Bianca's only going to get herself into more danger. I just love the potential that has for both of their characters.

I know Percy had a large fear about Nico being another kid to join Kronos' army, so I bet Bianca being on his team would have left Percy incredibly terrified for Nico, too, because he knew how much Nico loved Bianca. Would he have been nervous for Nico's ability to change his mind? Nico knows he'd never join Kronos, but would Percy have known?

And, knowing that Bianca's now on the Kronos side, how would Percy react? Because he felt pretty guilty about her death in TTC, right? Would he feel guilty that she's on the other side now, too? Would he try to reason with her, only to push her further away? I'd love to see how Percy would deal with knowing that Bianca - an important child of the Big Three - would react to her being there. He was already nervous about Nico joining sides, but having Bianca there would have really scared him.

And the part about Bianca finding Hazel instead of Nico? That was mind-blowing. I love everything about that situation because now that introduces Hazel into the narrative of Nico and Bianca's story. My question for you would be how does Hazel's character change now? How does she fit in with Nico and Bianca? Because in Heroes of Olympus she's clearly very insecure about her relationship with Nico and how he views her, but if she actually knew Bianca, how would she feel? Would she feel more left out (knowing that Bianca and Nico have known each other much longer and have a stronger connection with each other)? Would she be distrustful? And how would the three of them adapt to this additional family member? I have high hopes that by the end they would all love each other very much, but I'm just really curious into how Hazel's addition would influence the dynamic of all three.

And, essentially, it all ends into a somewhat win-win situation. Bianca's still living; Nico's got two new sisters; Hazel now has a new family.

I think this is such an interesting concept, and I'd love to read it. If you ever post it anywhere, please do share the link! This was such an intriguing plot to go through and, again, I think this could have been a much better use of Bianca's character.

Thank you so much for sharing it with me.

[fenristheorem]

Hi! First of all, I just wanted to say that I fell in love with your writing and the way you analyze the characters. Now, there is something that has been on my mind for some time, since I found out that Huang Hua can feel other people's feelings, I just imagine that she found out how Lance started to develop feelings for the Guardian. The secret looks he gives her, the restlessness he feels when she enters.

Hello! Thank you so much for the compliment! ❤

The request wasn’t exactly formatted in the way of the typical ask, so I wasn’t exactly sure if you were requesting this as a hc / scenario or just commenting for a discussion, but since my page is primarily writing requests I can only assume it’s a request lol.

I’m not entirely sure what Huang Hua’s special power exactly is to be honest. Some people say it’s the ability to read souls, or sort of read minds, or emotions, things along those lines. I have a general idea that she can read someone’s inner heart, energy/aura, and true intentions, which sort of combines many of those ideas as well as your ideas in the request, so I’ll be writing with that in mind. I hope you don’t mind! It won’t really have much of a difference on how I write this as the general idea (how it’s used) is the same.

~ Under the cut ~

Huang Hua’s observations as Lance falls in love with Guardienne:

Huang Hua, of course, observed Lance during his years of change at the guard. He certainly did become someone different; wiser, more resilient, more composed. She knew him once before his years of being Ashkore, but if asked, she would say that she would like this new Lance better. His actions have humbled him and made him wiser, and he has a more realistic perspective on life now. She’s not pleased with what he’s done in the past, but she realizes that sometimes someone can be their own worst enemy, and if they rise above that and don’t give in to living their life in self-pity, they can become even greater than they once were and provide greater things than they once could have. It seems like this was one of those cases, so instead of holding his past against him, Huang Hua lets him thrive in his new era and provide what he can for the guard.

However, there was one thing that always bothered Huang Hua about Lance: it was nothing but work with him.

Even prior to being Ashkore, Lance spent very little time to himself. He would take care of himself, of course, but aside from the occasional friends or acquaintances, or the occasional one night stands (I don’t think it’s confirmed that Lance had a lot of one night stands, but looking at Valk’s history we can say it’s probably true), he didn’t really spend much time to himself.

This still holds true in this new era, but Huang Hua understands his reasoning better. Even so, everyone needs a bit of a break sometimes; a time to wind down and de-stress. She’s mentioned this once or twice to him when he seems to be carrying the weight of the guard on his back, and he says he’ll keep it in mind... but never really does anything different.

This changes when Guardienne emerges from the crystal.

Immediately, Huang Hua picks up that Lance is high strung and stressed - although he hides it very well (after all, a soldier shouldn’t be easily visibly stressed out right?) - at her presence... but there’s something else, too. Something... deeper. Admiration? Respect? ... Fear?

And even deeper than that seems to be some other sort of distress... Longing?

This genuinely shocks Huang Hua.

Lance, the destroyer of Eldarya, is scared of Guardienne? Sure she saved the world and put up a good fight, but physically she’s completely out of shape now! A great warrior like him has nothing to fear now!

Except, she’s aware that Lance knows the art of warfare much better than her, and he knows personal things about himself that she doesn’t know, even despite her abilities, so perhaps there’s something she’s overlooking or can’t see.

As leader of the guard - with the ability to learn about some of the most private areas of someone’s life by simply wishing to know - she’s basically promised herself to not use her ability unless necessary.

But Lance being terrified of Guardienne is a valid call for her to use this ability to monitor him, right?

Huang Hua has roughly mastered the art of balancing work and her personal life, so she carries on day to day life with little issues relating to this. She knows how to not let this effect the guard, and knows how to hide it so well that nobody would know that anything is going on, so she allows herself to indulge in the sudden mystery that is Lance and his emotions.

And then she realizes just how deeply Lance feels emotions, and just how influential they can be, and it nearly takes her breath away.

All of the emotions flooding through him at once; the regret, shame, sorrow, anger, and even fear, all have a special place in him. They’re always so consistent, and so overwhelming. For a while, Huang Hua wonders if it’s these emotions that drive him in general.

Yes, this is not the first time she's looked into his inner being to know him better - after all, looking into him is how she knew it was safe to release him back into the guard to train new recruits - but this is the first time since then that she's bothered to truly observe him again, and she's shocked by what is revealed. Huang Hua did not know that Lance still carried the burden of his past actions so heavily upon his heart.

But every once in a while, when Lance and Guardienne aren’t feuding with each other, Huang Hua sees the dark cloud of those horrific emotions clear away, and something... wonderful happens.

Lance holds a tender spot in his heart for Guardienne.

Beyond all of that fear, and anger, and sorrow for everything that’s happened to him and because of him - including what Guardienne went through - is a soft spot for the woman he hurt most.

Huang Hua nearly gets whiplash from the sudden realization.

And then she gets curious, perhaps more curious than she should have been.

How long has that been going on for? Did he feel this way before the final war? Is this another reason why he kidnapped her and ran to Memoria? ... Would he have even have been able to feel this way back then?

Huang Hua has never been more interested in someone else’s relationship drama.

She takes to observing his actions over time, trying to decipher what he does for what reasons, and then finds that when he’s not doing things out of responsibility, he tries to make things a bit easier for Guardienne. He keeps his distance, sure, but if there’s anything subtle that he can do behind the scenes to help her, he typically does so.

On occasion - when Guardienne isn’t paying attention to him - he’ll observe her as Huang Hua observes him. She can’t read his thoughts, but she can at least guess what’s going through his mind by the emotions that flood through him, and a common emotion she’s picked up on is cautious hope. 

Hope for what? That Guardienne will manage to fix a future mistake he fears making on accident? That she’ll someday forgive him, or move past looking at him and always seeing his past actions? That perhaps someday they can actually be close with each other?

As much as Huang Hua understands why Guardienne is so persistent on being cautious about Lance, she can’t help but hope that one day soon she may relax around him and trust him, perhaps even grow closer than just co-workers or friends.

After all, the savior of Eldarya and destroyer of Eldarya in love? That’s a story of impossible odds, tragic stories, and bending the world’s rules that people write legends and stories about! But it’s also a symbol of hope and faith; that if Eldarya’s savior can one day look past the actions of Eldarya’s destroyer and fall in love with him, then who’s to say that anything is in vain? Who’s to say that moving forward alongside one’s past enemy - despite their past wars - is a fate hopeless and filled with inevitable hurt? Their story could be passed down through legends, and teach important stories to future generations. Among that, she would be a good influence on him! She knows how to relax and spend time with friends, and knows how to stand up and fight and hope for the best even in the darkest times. If the sky were to fall in their future, and their loyalty lie with each other, Guardienne’s hope and faith could be the sole driving force for Lance to perform wonderful miracles. He has the strength, stubbornness, and resources to do so, he just needs the faith.

And then Huang Hua realizes he does have hope and faith... but it’s invested in her.

Guardienne - just like for everyone else - is a representation of hope, but in different ways for Lance than with everyone else. He’s aware of the possibility that she may never be able to see past his former actions but he still works hard regardless, and not to impress her or make anything up, but because he knows that that’s what she would want from him, even if she has her doubts about him.

The Phoenix begins to see a side of the Dragon that she’s never seen before, and she doesn’t know if she approves or disapproves.

Lance begins to work even harder in Guardienne’s presence, and this concerns Huang Hua for a while. He works himself hard enough, how is it possible that he can still give more? Doesn’t he ever get stressed? Will this somehow kill him from overworking? And yet, as she continues to observe him, he still manages himself just fine, and now he’s even more driven to protect Eldarya. 

These observations carry on for a long time, and as time continues on, Lance manages to sort out his emotions a bit more, identifying exactly how he feels about Guardienne and learning exactly what pleases her. He does his best to provide what he can for Guardienne, in all aspects of life. However, Huang Hua notices that Lance continues to keep a distance from the Aengel.

This makes her wonder; why is he being so cautious with her? Surely they’ve calmed down to each other by now?

But a small look at how Guardienne is feeling makes her realize why Lance is still keeping away from her; she’s still scared of him, and Lance can sense this.

The Phoenix gains a deeper sense of respect for Lance.

He loves Guardienne, and craves to be closer to her, but notices subtle gestures that she may not even know she does that tell him she still can’t fully accept being around him. Despite his want to be closer, he respects her need for space, and Huang Hua has a feeling that he would keep doing that for the rest of his life if that’s what Guardienne needed. However, even while knowing that she can’t stand to be around him, he still works hard with her in mind.

His loyalty to a woman who can barely stand him nearly makes Huang Hua swoon. This is not a common thing with people, others rarely have this deep of a sense of loyalty to one person - especially someone they hurt who keeps pushing them away; they usually just split up in time - but Lance is firm in his loyalty and persistence for Guardienne.

And then Huang Hua starts to catch him displaying subtle physical signs of his interest. Perhaps he’s decided it’s time to push the boundary? Was he really willing to take the risk of upsetting her?

His eyes will linger on her, no matter where they are, only looking away when he feels as though he’s at risk of being caught. He’ll try and stay physically close to Guardienne when he can, standing close to her side, and on occasion when he leads her somewhere he’ll touch her gently, even if for a moment. He’ll place his hand on her back or shoulder for a few heartbeats, guiding her in the direction they need to head in, and he’ll take her arm softly when he pulls her aside from somewhere to talk to her. Guardienne’s reaction really depends on her mood. If she’s irritated or is feeling threatened, Huang Hua observed, she’ll pull away from him, possibly even snapping back with a blatant statement of “don’t touch me!”. Lance remains calm and collected, but Huang Hua is aware of the jolt of pain that thunders through him when she rejects him, as that same jolt ripples through her as she observes his emotions. However, he never holds it against her, and almost seems to be expecting this sometimes.

On the other hand, every once in a while when Guardienne is having a good moment where she seems to be more trusting of Lance, she’ll allow him to touch her for longer, and Huang Hua could swear she could pick up some sort of... longing, or perhaps disappointment, from her when he pulls away.

And during these times, there’s something that happens between them when they touch. A tension seems to crackle in the air, so thick that Huang Hua is sure that they can see it, and is shocked that no one else can see it. But how could they? No one else has her powers.

This tension is what sparks Huang Hua to become truly invested in their possible relationship. Most of the time Lance and Guardienne don’t seem to know what to make of their relationship, but Huang Hua knows there’s something there that can’t be ignored. Sometimes she finds herself thinking to Guardienne “Oh, kiss him you fool!” when Lance is being particularly tender with her, laying all his tragic emotions bare in front of her as they talk about a harsh topic for him, or when he tells her that he’s glad she talks about important things with him every once in a while, even if it is hard for him. Guardienne didn’t seem to realize that this wasn’t a common thing with Lance; he wouldn’t lie about his emotions, but he was very evasive with talking about his past. To get him to talk openly about his past and have him openly admit his regrets was a rare sight - not because he didn’t like to admit his regrets, but because he felt it wasn’t relevant anymore. It was seven years ago, and he had clearly changed since. He regretted his actions, he wished it never turned out this way, he tries to keep it from repeating in the future; what more needed to be said about the subject?

In this time, Huang Hua begins to realize just how deep his emotions for her run.

Lance had a respect for Guardienne, for every part of her, even when she screwed up a bit or caused a bit of chaos, even if he was angry with her. He admired her stubbornness and diligence at defending the guard and Eldarya, and her optimism even in the darkest hours always had a tendency to shake him to his core and snap some sense back into him. Huang Hua began to notice that his emotions on him pursuing her reflected her emotions during dark hours of their story; it wasn’t over until it was over, and as long as there was a possibility that something could change for the better, that possibility should be sought after.

The Phoenix begins to understand why Miiko once had such intense feelings for the Ice Dragon. Even though so many things have happened to him and because of him, he refuses to be held back or muted. He still allows himself to be who he is at heart, and doesn’t care if others like his personality or not. He had confidence in himself, even after the terrible things he’s done. Lance knew very well the extent of his abilities, and was aware that the most important thing about those abilities were how they were used. He had committed atrocities, sure, but he was confident in himself now because he knows he’s not using his strengths for wrong anymore. He has chosen to fight for good, he can see clearly now, and his loyalties lie with the guard, and, overall, with Guardienne.

However, Huang Hua picks up another emotion as she observes Lance over time, and she’s unsure of if it comes from him, or from herself because of what's beginning to be revealed to her about him.

Some sort of hollow loneliness pierces her chest every once in a while as she watches him. He doesn’t have close friends, he doesn’t pursue any other women, and he doesn’t allow himself much time to relax. Lance is a ghost that drifts around the guard, searching for some true place not within the responsibilities, but within the people he protects.

His past makes him hard to relate to, his perception vastly differs from most faeries, and his emotions are a deep well of running water, constantly shifting and redesigning who he is in any given moment, and yet he strives to find his own place within the guard, not as the Leader of Obsidian, but as Lance; the Ice Dragon, the man, the deep ocean of emotions and history who may very well never find a home among a people he can truly call his. Still he remains the same person inside, but always he is adjusting for the outside world, and he had yet to find someone who would risk unraveling his constant adapting to truly know the man underneath.

But everyday he rises to that challenge, brushing off the echoing thought that perhaps he doesn’t belong among these people - that perhaps he may never find peace here at the guard - because he knows he’s best fit for this responsibility. He can protect these faeries better than anyone else could, and his morals lie first with that, and second with his own fantasies.

Even so, Huang Hua doesn’t miss the hollow echo in Lance’s soul as he watches the guard celebrate, or witnesses close friends embrace each other and confide in each other, and she realizes that Lance doesn’t truly feel at peace here, not at all - not among the people who he’s betrayed and become an outcast from. He feels no peace at all among these people, they are not his people... but perhaps, when he looks at her - Guardienne - within her hope he finds peace, and someday, perhaps, he may find peace, a home, within her arms. 

Was it possible that, even as Ashkore, he felt he felt he could find solace within her? Some opening within the dark clouds that overshadowed his existence for him to strive towards?

Did Lance believe that Guardienne made him a better man, even more so than he already is?

By mere chance Huang Hua managed to piece together everything she knew of Lance and his relationship to Guardienne, and she came to realize that there was something between them for a long time. It was deep, and complicated, and was never able to be pursued until now. The Dragon’s emotions for Guardienne ran deeper than any of Eldarya’s oceans, farther than the furthest mapped points, and was purer than even the Aengel’s powers. 

Lance was truly in love with her. Not her powers, not her history, he fell in love with a woman who moved something within him that no one has ever touched before.

The Phoenix almost begins to feel guilty over time.

There was something there for a long time. Did Guardienne know this? Did she need a wake up call in order to realize what was happening before her? Was Huang Hua supposed to intervene and help get their relationship going?

If only she knew...

I shouldn’t interfere with this, Lance would feel violated and Guardienne wouldn’t trust me ever again...

But isn’t it a shame to let them possibly waste their life away not telling each other how they feel, or giving this a chance?

Stress eventually invades Huang Hua throughout her days, even when she's not around Lance and Guardienne. The Dragon and the Aengel, in time, grow ever closer, ever more comfortable with each other, and may even be expressing signs of interest for each other! But no one is doing anything about it!

But no one can see the deep roots of their feelings like Huang Hua can, and she's nearly certain that Lance and Guardienne will continue to tip toe around each other in a fearful dance of figuring out where they fit into each other's lives, never daring to test deeper waters in fear of hurting the other and sparking off another bout of painful emotions that may haunt them, and the guard, for years.

It's very possible that their relationship could change the guard and Eldarya - positively - forever, so doesn't this give Huang Hua some right to try and push them together? But romantic relationships are so personal, especially ones as special as this. A unique relationship like theirs shouldn't be interfered with, it will bloom in time if given the right opportunity... but what if Huang Hua can create the right opportunity!? But that's still interfering in their relationship!

Without even knowing, the emotional toll of observing and pondering over Lance and Guardienne's relationship does begin to take effect on her, and Huang Hua's own partner, Ewelein, is the first to notice and call it out.

The leader of the guard then needed to decide if she was willing to indulge her partner, someone completely unrelated to the matter, in her almost stalker-like tendencies of observing the simmering relationship between the guard's resident Dragon and Aengel.

Eventually she breaks and admits to the Elf that she's been observing the inner worlds of Lance and Guardienne as of late, and has realized just how much of a mistake and a blessing it's been.

The first thing Ewelein jumps to is the fact that it's an invasion of privacy, something that - of everyone in the guard - the leader especially should not be partaking in. Huang Hua doesn't really fight back on that idea; she knows it was inappropriate, she should have just approached Lance and asked if he was alright.

"But of course he would say that he's alright! Maybe a bit unsettled, but come on, at the end of the day nothing shakes him for long, and to him that translates to he's alright!"

Eventually its clear to Ewelein that regardless of how Huang Hua came to be in this position, she's trapped in it now, and feels very passionately about the possible romance brewing within the guard, to the point where it truly is stressing her in possibly unhealthy ways.

Ewelein does her best to comfort Huang Hua as she spills everything that's been revealed to her, starting from the beginning of when Lance and Guardienne were still fearful of each other, to the most current moments of when they've been relying on each other, talking civilly, and even possibly shyly flirting. The Elf is quiet and attentive all throughout, knowing that - even as she's surprised in many ways as well by the things time has revealed about Lance and Guardienne - her shock and emotions couldn't begin to rival what Huang Hua has been feeling for the past endless days that she's been observing them.

“I can’t believe it! This is love that stories are written about, that changes worlds and changes people. And he’s hiding it so easily!”

"But would it be right of you to intervene? This is their story, not yours."

"I know, but couldn't this be good for the guard, too? And possibly even Eldarya? And as the leader of the guard, shouldn't I try and do what I think could benefit us?"

"You first started observing Lance under the excuse that it was for professional reasons, to make sure that he was alright to remain in power and carry out his responsibilities despite her presence, but we both know you did it for selfish reasons, too. You were curious as to why Lance felt what he did about her, and now you have your answer. However, you kept observing them after that, even going as far as reading into Guardienne's responses to Lance. Is that professional at all? And instead of invading her privacy, don't you think she would have told you the truth of her fearful emotions for Lance if you asked her heart to heart?"

Huang Hua lowered her head and avoided her gaze.

"You've gotten your professional answers and now you've seen into a very private portion of two people's lives. None of this is professional anymore, so you can't act professionally on it. You need to treat this as what it is; intimate, personal, and something that should be respected, not exploited. I know it would make sense to try and get this to help the guard, but really, there is no guarantee of that. What if they got together and then broke up a while after? What would the message be then, especially if it were known that you set them up together? My advice is to stay back and let this develop in time. Sometimes when I'm with a patient there is nothing I can do for them, sometimes leaving the body alone to heal itself is the best thing to do. I think this is a case where that rule should be applied. The best thing you can do is let them figure out their relationship in time. You can support them, but do not influence them."

Huang Hua knows Ewelein is right, and forever appreciates her partner listening to her thoughts. If Lance and Guardienne's relationship were to be true, they needed to figure out what they meant to each other in their own time.

So Huang Hua follows the Elf's advice. She bites her tongue and hides the fact that she’s witnessed almost every moment of him falling in love with Guardienne, vigilantly awaiting the day where Lance decided to emerge from the dark and shake the guard’s history for a second time.

Goodness this took a while to write, but I'm very pleased with the results! I think I got a good idea of Huang Hua's reaction and how her reaction developed in time in response to Lance and Guardienne growing closer, especially since I don't think her reaction would begin and end within one day of realizing what was going on.

Thanks for asking!

Have a request? Ask them here!

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[ookamihanta]

Fan jojoallies! Had a lotta fun making these guys!! <3 Oh and i also gave Josie and Jordan a redesign lmaooo. Main Jojos Jobros

Stand User: Michelle Williams Zeppeli Stand: Destiny's Child Stand Ability: Turns anything Michelle touches into paper. *Michelle is also a natural user of Hamon and uses her stand more to enhance her hamon abilities rather than the other way around. She can also turn parts of her body into paper as well, allowing her to slip through areas or hide in plain sight. However, this obviously has its repercussions as she can be easily harmed whenever she transforms herself.  Age: 21yrs old Background: Michelle is a descendant of the Zeppeli family. She grew in a relatively poor home and her family had been moving from country to country to avoid loan sharks and general bad people. She ended up in Paris and started singing and playing guitar to help earn money for her parents. She eventually made her way up in the charts and has become a relatively famous singer. She finds a rivalry with Josephine but eventually comes to befriend the other singer. She initially disliked Josephine because Giselle was more interested in recruiting the Joestar over her and couldn't fathom why such a well renown scout would choose 'some unknown singer' over her. Of course, this all changes when she eventually meets Michelle in person. The two still hold a rivalry, but it's much less antagonizing.

Stand User: Lillian Bounds Stand: Pussycat Dolls Stand Ability: Everything in her stand's radius is transported into a separate space that resembles a dollhouse. There, everything will attempt to harm the target locked inside. The only way out is to please the lady of the house (Lillain) by doing various requests. If not, the target will be subjugated to various tortures from dolls, house hold objects, etc. If Lillain is knocked out, the house locks the target inside until she regains consciousness. Everything is made of plastic, however. Age: 16yrs old Background: Lillian is Aaron's fiancée. They were arranged into a marriage when the two were infants and grew up together because of it. Lillian is the heiress to the oil company her father owns and is an only child, growing up rotten spoiled and getting everything she ever wanted. She's frustrated Aaron does not share the same interest of getting married as her, as she sees it as a great way to gain extreme wealth and influence. She grows bitter when she learns Aaron begins to spend more time on his studies and work rather than times and dates with her. Lillian eventually turns her anger on Jordan, as she seems him as a lowly pest and distracting Aaron from her. She attends a high-class all girls school separate from the high school Jordan attends.

Stand User: Carbonara Mista Stand Name: Backstreet Boys Stand Ability: Allows Carbonara to travel through technology/internet signals physically. Think of it like Digimon but if Carbonara was the digimon. He can create digital spaces from wherever there is a wifi signal and travel between locations. Bad connections can harm Carbonara physically and cause him to freeze in place. Age: 27yrs old Background: Grandson of Guido Mista. Like Guido, he has a sworn loyalty to Passione and thus whoever the boss is at the time. He assists as the hacker and strategy maker of Passione, making detailed plans for several heists and the like. Carbonara himself is a neet. Hates going outside and socializing, only making exceptions when Josie says so. Carbonara also served under Giorno for the last few years of the previous boss’ time as the head, so when the power transferred over to Josie, he was completely on board with it. If Giorno said this random ass girl from Mexico was worthy as boss, then he would go with it. When he's not doing some big plan for Passione, you can find him staying up for days just to get in a certain amount of hours for a game. He also of course, collects figurines--exclusively figurines of male game characters.  

[yanderenightmare]

BNHA HEADCANNONS

WHAT TYPE OF DARLING?

goodiebag WARNINGS: yandere, noncon/dubcon hinting, stalking, kidnapping, abduction, Stockholm syndrome, abuse, drugging, ableism

FOREWORD:

People fall in love with contrasts. We fall in love with qualities that somehow survive what seeks to destroy them. We fall in love with small creatures who somehow seem colossal in the measurements of confidence. We fall in love with hope in places where there shouldn’t be any strength left for it to be held onto. We fall in love with those who dare spare compassion for even those that might not deserve it anymore. We fall in love with those who’s curiosity seeks adventure even when the outcome might be fatal. We fall in love with those who stand their ground, refusing to budge, break or bow, despite the terror they face. We fall in love with those that stick to their ideals, morals, ethics even though the world constantly tells them to join the corruption. We fall in love with humble creatures facing worlds that have shown them nothing but cruelty. We fall in love with the survival of passion overcoming pure torture. We fall in love with contrasts. We fall in love with constant wars.

BAKUGO KATSUKI CONFIDENCE DESPITE INFERIORITY

It might sound shallow and materialistic, but what Katsuki attracts to first and foremost is femininity. He enjoys the esthetic contrast between his tall masculine rough self and someone dainty, delicate, defenseless. Something in dire need of protection. Something in dire need of him. However, that’s far away from ever being enough for the hero to fall in love. What Katsuki needs is a good challenge. He doesn’t feel fit, content with or deserving of his prize if he hasn’t worked hard to achieve them. It’s about stimulation; that feral desire to hunt and catch prey. Which means, he much rather prefers chasing above being chased. Because of this, Katsuki carries no interest in quirkless individuals. He doesn’t view them as equals, much less rivals. They are unworthy of him, in some sense. But… quirkless individuals who still have the audacity to pretend to be his equal… now that, that intrigues him.

When it comes to his darling: her quirk, or lack of one thereof, plays a large factor in why Katsuki first pays notice to her. It’s something between endearing and maddening: how she, without a quirk, can still go about with the confidence to act as though she’s unbothered by it and somehow live her life while still portraying as the sun itself. It’s infuriating to some degree: how she can make him feel like Icarus when she smiles his way. How she makes him feel inferior but somehow blessed at the same time.

As explained: despite it acting as a brief relief to satiate his ego, inferiority usually disgusts Katsuki. But, there’s something about her and her ambition, that just makes the whole display so mouthwatering to perceive. He admires her tenacity and aspiration, even though it’s futile. It’s inspirational just as much as it’s adorable. Somewhere inside him he feels the need to protect that light, meanwhile he also feels the sadistic urge to squash it, or, at the very least, prove that he has the power to. That’s were his sadistic narcissism comes to play. He has always had an odd lust for putting people in their place, their rightful place. To him: it portrays as a constant reminder that he himself is superior. This sickness only grows deeper, festering in Katsuki’s heart. Where her dependence of him, even though it’s mostly unfounded, could only be described as pure rapture. Katsuki just loves and craves feeling needed, not caring if it’s unwanted or not. In his eyes she was made to be ruled, made to be taken care of, made for him and only him. He adores how little power she possesses in the world, and the idea that he is the only person who can properly protect her from it all has become absolutely riveting.

Katsuki’s usually indifferent towards people’s attitudes, only ever judging people by their strengths and weaknesses. But, this girl, in all her inferiority has managed to create contradictions upon paradoxes within his mind. And, because of this, she poses as the ultimate challenge. Though he would never admit it, mostly chalking it down to her being whimsical and naïve, he quite admires her perseverance. How her spirit survives what her body cannot, as though she was built to break, only to come back even stronger than before; like a phoenix from the ashes and rubble of what his quirk left behind. If anything, her endurance only proves how much they truly belong together. Who, if not her, could ever handle him in his darkest hours?

KEYWORDS: feminine, vulnerable, delicate, confident, aspiring, perseverant

DABI HOPE AMONGST DEPRAVITY

Small, plump and grabbable females is what attracts Dabi, but it’s never enough to make him linger for too long. Dabi enjoys his females shy, because he knows that those are the ones that are the most sensitive; emotional, loud. Alike Katsuki, Dabi enjoys contrast. He’s scarred, he wants someone untouched. He’s the devil incarnate, he craves the embodiment of innocence. He much delights in seeing that timid type of lust in those otherwise chaste eyes. But, whence he’s destroyed that chastity, there’s not much that beckons him to stay. It takes a lot more for him to fall in real love.

What intrigued Dabi even further than her physique and innocence was his darling’s act of charity. Her need to help, her belief in the goodness in humanity as opposed to his obvious abandoned hope for the world. She looked at people with a mission, seeking the tragedy behind the wrath, the beauty behind the madness, refusing to let go of her hope as opposed to seeing the truth. Oh, how adorably naïve she was.

It was a strange type of strength he no longer possessed, no longer seeing the point in wasting his energy on, yet… seeing it displayed so easily in someone else, especially when her eyes were locked on him, was something gratifyingly pleasant and warm; a kindness he felt undeserving of, yet… not possessing the reserve to refuse, not when she was so intent of indulging him. It was a sanctuary that reminded him of a grace he was never blessed with having; something he could only describe as home.

That childlike hope and innocence, he just couldn’t leave well enough alone. He needed to hoard it all to himself. Besides, she needed him as much he needed her. As everybody knows: innocence is so fickle and easy to influence. She was deeply in need of guidance and so very eager to please. Dabi appreciates loyalty, he’s not one to enjoy struggling with his darling. And with someone as sweet, innocent and sensitive as his darling, it will be very easy to enforce. And now, with those large doe-eyes directed toward him, he could say it was worth it. He so adores the chaste disbelief displayed on her face each time he introduces her to some new type of sin. The swirling, spinning, drooling storm brewing in her eyes, all under the crushing weight of paradise. She’s too good for him. He knows that much. But… that’s what angels were made for, wasn’t it? To save damned souls like his, risking becoming damned themselves in the process? She was surely sent his way for a reason. She was made for him.

It only seems right in his eyes: that a sweet and innocent creature like her craves the corruption that only a sinful being like him can bestow upon her. She’s probably been waiting for someone like him all her life. She might not understand it yet, but Dabi can see it clear as day. She’s so wide-eyed and hopeless. Looking at him as though he were a God of some sorts. She kneels so easily and perfectly for him as well, you cannot tell him it isn’t what she was made for. To please him. To love him. Leaving her morals and ideals and firsts on floor all for his pleasure.

KEYWORDS: sensitive, emotional, shy, timid, innocent, naïve, sweet, caring, soft, loyal

SHIGARAKI TOMURA COMPASSION FOR THE WICKED

Tomura cares little for appearance. He destroys everything and anything he touches, no matter how ugly or how pretty. Esthetic has nothing to do with real life and therefore something idiotic for anyone to appeal to. Besides, for someone to draw his attention they have to be more than just pretty. For Tomura to truly notice someone, they have to be special… rare. For Tomura to give anyone a second glare he has to feel like he’s meant to, it has to feel like fate; unrivaled destiny. Otherwise he’s wasting his time. And along she came; his destiny. Looking at him with those large doe-eyes; gazing past the ugly and seeing the tragedy instead, not as though he were some monster, but as though he were nothing more than human. It’s a kindness he’s so very unused to; a memory forgotten and buried beneath the rubble of past hopes and wasted dreams. The feeling of hummingbirds in his heart was so extremely foreign and strange and scary in a way, but welcoming at the same time. And, when she bestowed this grace upon him, he couldn’t simply just let it go.

Finding out she’s equipped with a quirk that goes hand in hand with his quirk only solidifies his delusions even further. His past doesn’t help her case either; not when it aids his steadfast resolution on the fact that she’s always somehow belonged to him. Tomura was never spoiled as a child, which is why he truly feels like he deserves her, and cannot bring himself to feel guilty for hogging all her love for himself. She really doesn’t do herself any favors either, not when she comforts him in his fits. Her in her fatal compassion. How she sympathizes with his troubles; his deadly quirk, his callous life-view, his woeful past. He’s never had anyone understand him the way she does. He’s been neglected all his life. It feels so oddly deserved and heavenly to have someone express concern, affection… love… all for him. He feels as though he’s been refused the sun all his life, only now feeling the warm embrace of the light it grants without it seeking anything in return. It’s baffling. To the point where he might just argue he’s been dead all his existence, up until the point he saw her smile, heard her laugh, felt her warmth. He doesn’t ever want to feel like he’s dying again, not when she poses as life itself, not when she’s already caught firmly in his iron-grip.

Tomura’s never been thoroughly interested in anyone. He finds most people completely mediocre and boring and unworthy of his attention. Humans were, in his eyes, a wretched, greedy, despicable type of creature. But… she, despite being human, bares a heart of pure gold. That’s humanity, he came to conclude. That urge to help, to comfort, that feeling of kinship, that lack of bloodlust and cruelty. She’s so human it reminded him of what humanity really is. Humanity beforesin. Human; without sick ambitions, without twisted ideals, without demented morals. Unlike the world. Unlike him. She’s golden.

It’s no good being as caring as her in world such as this, especially not if she’s going to be as generous with her affection as she so is. Tomura becomes addicted, dependent, rather quickly. And why not? He has the means to make her stay and the means to murder anyone who dare defy those wishes. So, he’ll remain dependent on her golden touch and her golden words. It would be impossible to let her go now, when she feels like pure absolution against him.

KEYWORDS: affectionate, compassionate, caring, thoughtful, sympathetic, considerate, generous

SHINSO HITOSHI CURIOSITY DESPITE PERIL

Hitoshi cares little for pretty things. Mostly because he doesn’t like wasting his time. He’s never been one for believing in the soft pleasures of the world. Love, being one of those things, has always been a fairytale unworthy of his attention, unworthy of his words. But, of course, there are times where even he feels lonely. And, though he enjoys being alone, no one enjoys feeling lonely. But… Hitoshi’s ever the stubborn guy. He will not bend to the pathetic pulls of his heartstrings. No, if he’s ever going to fall in love, love better come to him. And, that’s exactly what happens. A magnitude of expressive emotions that demand his attention takes him by the nape of his neck, storming his heart into surrender. She’s obviously oblivious to her effects on him, but he rather prefers it that way. Studying her in her natural state.

She’s so very colorful; as in quirky, flamboyant, creative, artsy. A plethora of a thousand devastating, split-second passions. She’s everything he didn’t even know that he wanted, needed in fact. A woman of substance, a woman who breathes chaos. Both to balance out his grim resolution and sobriety, but also to… feed his insatiable gluttonous need for control, because… chaotic, brazen and wild minds are the easiest to exploit, when at the same time they never dull or tire or break. Bendable and therefore mendable.

What more humored Hitoshi, when first meeting his darling, was her fearlessness, or perhaps recklessness; that strange type of unrivaled curiosity that seemed to outweigh any viable threats of danger; gullibility. The fact that she just spoke to him so effortlessly, trusting him; carelessly, despite knowing of the nature behind his quirk. How she so blatantly became his friend, with no ill will or scrutiny in her personality or attitude toward him whatsoever. It’d been so long since he’d come across that same type of idealism and good nature; that childlike innocence. To say that it took him by surprise would be an understatement. He didn’t know what to make of it at first; if to believe it was downright foolishness or daringly haughty and playful. How she held herself so carelessly around him, coaxing him instead of walking on thin ice like everyone else did. Just… talking to him. Talking and talking about nothing and everything, as though she wasn’t in any type of danger whatsoever. Talking to him as though she had nothing to fear. Talking to him as though he weren’t a threat. Talking. Just talking.

Her compulsive behavior and knack for taking risks works so well with his desires. Where she´s incapable of controlling herself, he would love to do it for her. But… there’s more to it than just that. She’s so good at talking. So much so he hardly wants to take advantage of her answers. She’s like a treasure-trove that hands out their treasure willingly. Not just responsive, but talkative on her own and unreserved with her words as well. Even asking questions of her own; curious and invested. In him? How could he pass her up?

It’s true it didn’t pain him as much as he probably would have wanted it too when he betrayed her trust. But, despite Hitoshi not being delusional, he still manages to blame her for it. He argues she must have wanted him to take advantage of her. She knew every step of the way what could happen when she answered his questions time and time again, yet she never took any safety measures to avoid it. That carelessness. It was almost as though she was coaxing him, teasing him, begging him to take control. Why not oblige her wishes?

KEYWORDS: foolish, reckless, careless, compulsive, frivolous, colorful, creative, passionate, brazen, haughty, responsive, trusting, gullible, curious, playful, adventurous, expansive, unreserved, talkative

TAMAKI KEIGO DEFIANCE UNDER INTIMIDATION

Keigo’s a simple guy. A simple guy with simple desires. He likes pretty things, plural. He collects them. Pretty things upon pretty things upon new pretty things. And because Keigo’s popular with the public, he doesn’t exactly need to chaseanyone in order to get what he wants. People come to him. He will have someone one night and move on to someone else the next day. Which is why being pretty isn’t enough to make him thoroughly interested. For him to become invested, the pursuit has to pose as a challenge. A hunt, and not just for any pretty little thing, but for a pretty little monster.

As explained: Keigo’s a simple guy. A simple guy with simple goals. However, when one of his supposed simple goalsturns out to be a much harder goal than expected, causing a ripple in his otherwise perfect streak, it’s enough to drive the bird… let’s say… a little bit kooky. What Keigo hangs up on when meeting his soon-to-be-darling is her uniqueness, or… rather her reluctance. Her defiance. That wrinkle between her brows in her otherwise gorgeous face. Something so pretty, so petite, so small, but so very hostile and beastly at the same time. So very feisty and stubborn and defensive. Batting off his charm as though it were the plague. Protective of herself despite his reputation, in fact: seeming irreverent over his obvious status. Viewing all his efforts as though he were setting some type of trap; animalistic in her ways too, never feeling like polishing her brash attitude even when regarding him of all people, one of the top five highest ranking heroes. Looking through his seemingly harmless flirtatious nature and seeing something that alarmed her. He quite enjoyed it all.

She’s just so different from the rest of his pursuits. She’s a game he can’t seem to win. It’s frustrating, maddening even, yet somehow it is the only thing that makes him feel alive. The outright rejection should have been humbling, should at least have been accepted, but Keigo saw no reason to back down, he only saw reason to try harder. Which he did.

Life had become boring lately, being one of the top heroes. He has everything. Or… he had everything. Her defiance is refreshing. It acts as a reminder, his animalistic instincts kicking in. Finally feeling the odd yet pleasurable thirst for hunting simmering through his veins. He’s used to tapping into that raw impulse when catching villains, but he had yet to experience the carnal desire for finding a mate. It soon becomes a little overwhelming. A little domineering. Fending off his better judgement. It’s easy to forget how wrong it is to take pleasure in her tears, when the smell of fear has scented the air. It’s easy to forget how twisted it is for him to enjoy seeing her cower away from him, when it’s so easy to win the fight.

He’s a predator, she’s prey. In a way… it isn’t really wrong at all.

KEYWORDS: hostile, defensive, stubborn, feisty, reluctant, rebellious, irreverent, liberal

MIDORIYA IZUKU ALTRUISM IN THE FACE OF CORRUPTION

Izuku finds ways to appreciate every physique he comes across. It’s all in the details; minor, minuscule details. Both flaws and perfections alike interest him to a near clinical degree. However, because of this knack for observation, most people, in all their peculiarities and intricacies, still tend to blend into one. But, there are exceptions: heroes. Izuku’s been drawn to heroes all his life. Admiring their strength, their sense of justice and honor. Herodom is something he’s always aspired to become. Something he wished to achieve. Which he did. What Izuku seeks now is a partner with those same aspirations. Izuku can only find love in kinship. With a person similar to him. It’s a twisted type of narcissism he cannot bring himself to describe, one probably adopted from Katsuki, through many years of having a festering sick adoration and glorification of the childhood friend, one which ultimately resulted in Izuku mirroring more and more of Kachan’squalities, however in a much more demented fashion.

Unlike the others, Izuku’s been hellbent with the idea of sharing his life with a significant other. And he’s nothing if not a planner, he’s been searching for his perfect darling for years. And there wasn’t much, if anything, that would change his mind once he found her.

Just like he once was, his darling is quirkless, but still prop-full of that unrelenting ambition. Selflessness as well is another attribute as to why she was chosen. He is a bit of a sap for nostalgia, you see. She reminds him of his young self. That type altruistic generosity without expecting anything in return. She’s so innocently and hopelessly idealistic; dreamy… naïve. He finds it endearing in some sick sense: how the world chews her up and spits her back out again. He’ll want to deny it. But he can’t resist the sadistic enjoyment found in her struggle. He feels the need to save her from herself, because he knows better than anyone that her kind-heartedness will only get the best of her, like it did him in the end. He won’t let the same fate befall her. He’ll have to be a bit selfish with her though, despite it being the exact thing he’s trying to defeat. He needs to be selfish in order to protect her. It’s in both of their best interest really. The world won’t drink her dry, there’ll be more for Izuku to cherish and she’ll be safe and sound and perfect forever.

He can’t help his less appealing sides. Despite how much he loathes feeling those disgusting self-righteous desires, despite how unwelcome those thoughts are… he can’t seem to rid himself of them. It’s frustrating because he truly loves his darling, he wants to protect them, to cherish them, but on the lesser charming side of himself he feels superior, where instead of them belonging with each other, she belongs to him, for him, where she has no right to refuse his wishes. Because he’s achieved the title of God, and she’s still human… his human, his doll.

KEYWORDS: sense of justice, heroic, honorable, selfless, altruistic, ambitious, dreamy, idealistic, silly, awkward

CHISAKI KAI HUMILITY DESPITE HARDSHIP

Kai is corrupt, hypocritical, established, impatient, entitled and most of all white-gloved. Love seemed too hopeless a goal for a guy of his stature and perfectionism. But, alike with Hitoshi, chaos seemed to sweep him into a whirlwind of graceless, peaceful wilderness. A pull so vehement he couldn’t simply ignore it. At first, he dimmed his interest down to the simple fact that she was quirkless; clean. Quirkless people are a minority. Not only is she a treasure fit for the yakuza boss, but she’s also spared the ghastliness and depravity and corruption of carrying a quirk. But, her lack of quirk soon dimmed in the light of her other qualities. For the more he observed the more he unraveled about the chaotic nature of the beautiful creature he’d found.

Opposites attract. This is true for everyone, but not as literarily as for Kai. Not only is she clean in the sense of being quirkless, but also in the sense of being humble and sweet; lacking in sin. Her morality hits him as a surprise, it being refreshing in a sense he hadn’t ever felt before. He is so very used to taking what he wants with zero regard towards anyone or the possible consequences of his actions. What worse: never even once feeling content or satisfied with his reaping. Serving himself and himself alone has always been Kai’s mindset, where he never once expects anyone to act any differently than him. Humans are greedy creatures after all, yet… his darling seems overly at peace with her life, rather preoccupied with her surroundings to even so much as think about her own desires. He finds it enraging at first, but then peculiar, daunting even, and then endearing.

Their differences exceed his expectations time and time again. Where he is the epitome of modernity, hygiene and laundered health, she was the embodiment of wilderness. Where he was white-gloved, she was green-fingered. Unafraid of getting her hands dirty with soil; gardening. A pastime he was thoroughly disgusted with, yet she seemed to do it with such ease, such effortlessness, such peace, such happiness. He was astounded each time he saw how delicately, respectfully, she treated her surroundings, unlike him who trod as though he owns the very earth beneath his feet. Her life was messy, but she seemed to have no qualms with the fact. Quite the opposite actually; thriving in her chaos, appreciative of what little she had. He came to understand that it wasn’t so much her life that was messy but she herself. Her, in all her clumsy, forgetful and graceless peace, was in desperate need of correction, guidance, restraint, something he would eagerly fulfill her with in his determined and stoic reform. She’ll be the peak of humanity once he’s done with her. Though it proves difficult due to her forgetfulness and lack of heed, none of his lessons ever really sticking. But he comes to adore that quality as well, knowing full well her intention is not to anger him. If anything, her oblivious nature and childlike negligence only calls for his protection even further.

Kai isn’t usually a curious guy, especially when it comes to singular human beings, but he quickly discovered, or came to the conclusion, that his darling is far from being any regular human being. She is his opposite, his polar opposite. Humble, pure, passionate, everything he is in dire need of. She will complete him, she just needs to accept that.

KEYWORDS: humble, earthy, peaceful, disorderly, chaotic, messy, disorganized, graceless, grateful, appreciative, clumsy, forgetful

TODOROKI SHOTO PASSION TRANDSCENDING SORROW

Shoto had no thoughts containing that of love or attraction. Being a rather platonic guy in any relationship he ever ventured, never feeling any carnal desires or things similar to it. His appetite for such things rather quenched in light of the ruins that make up his parent’s marriage. However, once he met her, he knew instantly. Embers of a dying fire finding new life. She was perfection; messy, clumsy, zany perfection. She possessed everything he didn’t have. That type of lustfor life that always seemed to slip past him. It’s mesmerizing to behold someone so drunk on living, it distracted him from feeling so empty. Perhaps she could teach him? Perhaps she could share? Share some of that passion she possesses, that wild, vivid, fervent, unrelenting, brazen, wanton passion.

Shoto’s just so taken aback, as though swiftly swept off his feet, faceplanting into a rainbow-tinted world, a world so intense and so very loud. It was so perplexing, the amount of energy all cooped up into that small being. She reminded him of a storm, yet she was far from being violent or deadly. She was just so bubbly, so very livid, as though life were a constant parade.

He knew he loved her once their first encounter let up, feeling as though he’d been robbed of something, something he had no problems being robbed of.

He’s used to people having ulterior motives, but everything about her intense, unabashed, completely earnest dorkiness was so very honest. So candid and cheerful in her queries, jabs and jokes. And though he might not have understood half of the jests she came with, the sound of her laughter more or less made up for the fact, ever pleasant and euphoric as it was as she boldly cracked herself up with her own tales and even finding an immense form of amusement in the slight shift of his otherwise plain features. Question upon question leapt from her mouth, about his appearance, his past, his thoughts for the future. He’d half the mind to tell her she was his future, but he managed to contain himself. Seeming patient when she didn’t quite extract a response from him, happily helping with explaining anything he might have had questions about too, never once finding his curiosity odd, never once passing judgement. She droned on as though they’d been friends for a lifetime.

Now they’d be each-others for the rest of their lifetime. He’d make sure by mixing their natures, marveling at how she reacts to him and his quirks. He finds it quite educating, how her spirit never seems to break, but rather bends or resurfaces even stronger than before. It’s beautiful. She is so colorful, breathtaking, so much so it makes him appreciate breathing. Everything she does is executed with the outmost maximum effort, never doing anything half-way. He wishes he had the same drive, the same fire, but he remains so cold and lifeless compared to her. When she laughs, she cries. When she screams, she dances. When she moans, she sings. He wishes he could imitate the same spirit she carries.

He’s envious of her, but… at least she belongs to him now. All her passion being his to devour. Besides, if she shares her hearts secrets to unlocking passion, there’s no end to what he can teach her regarding what it’s like to suffer.

KEYWORDS: cheerful, optimistic, spirited, passionate, colorful, droll, comical, clumsy, silly, whimsical, zany, honest, candid, forgiving, helpful, patient

[danikindofwrites]

ROs favorite and least favorite qualities about themselves? What about your favorite and least favorite qualities about them?

Oh! I like this one! I'm assuming this means personality qualities? If not I'm sorry Anon that's just how it presented itself to me, feel free to shoot another anon ask if you meant more like physical qualities. Also this turned out super long so I'm going to put it under a bar to keep reading so it doesn't take forever to scroll down.

Enoc Castellon Male So for Enoc it's a little spoilery to say too much about what he doesn't like about himself, in a more general sense for himself however for his least favorite quality it would have to be his inability to do more. He believes that he should always be going above his current capabilities and burdens himself by taking everything on at once. His favorite quality about himself would have to be his ability to understand other people emotionally, it's a trait he has valued in making sure that he is befriending the right people in his life. My personal favorite quality about Enoc is probably their protectiveness, he is very much a character that looks out for others even when they push him away and it is very endearing to write. My least favorite for Enoc would have to be that he is way too quick to throw himself under criticism, whether its self-criticism or someone else's words about him, he takes it all to heart.

Belos Nonbinary Their favorite quality about themselves would probably have to be their quick thinking. Belos' reaction time to things is honestly extraordinary and they pick up on things faster than most people to ensure they have a plan for everything. Their least favorite quality however is most likely their poor social skills. Belos has a hard time engaging in social situations that require them to make small talk or speak up so they tend to stick to the side and let others do the talking while they observe. My favorite quality of Belos is their loyalty, its a bit of a double edged sword since they will take the fall for someone they are loyal to if they believe it is the right thing to do, but it makes them a very compelling character to write when they aren't swayed by outside influences very often as they know to stand their ground in what they believe in. My least favorite is also their loyalty? Because of pretty much the same thing I stated before, it's a double edged sword and is gonna come bite them in the ass if their not careful.

Eowulf Rit Lechlen Female She is probably the most personally driven out of the characters, meaning her favorite quality for herself is knowing what she wants and going for it. She has had plans in mind since she was very young and is not going to let them go easily. A pretty apparent quality that she dislikes about herself though is her impatience, if things aren't going how she envisioned them she has a tendency to rush things or make brash decisions that she later has to deal with and almost always regrets. My favorite quality about Eowulf is her fearlessness, she does things without hesitation and really paves the way as a potential leader figure, making sure that those following know there is nothing to truly fear by way of action. My least favorite would have to be her manipulative nature, as stated before when she knows what she wants she goes for it, but how she goes about getting it isn't always in a way that would be considered reputable.

Rowul Wayvir M/F (player's choice) Rowul's least favorite thing about themselves is that they treat people as pieces, like pawns in a game, to be moved about and put where they will benefit them the best and ends up forgetting that they are also living breathing people like themself. Their favorite however is their charisma. Naturally charming they seem like the kind of person who can get away with anything and simply chat their way out of any trouble, or eloquently insult someone without them even knowing. My favorite quality of Rowul is their generosity, they understand they are from a place of abundance and knowledge and wish to give that equally to others, if given an opportunity to enhance someone else's life they will do what they can without expecting anything back. My least favorite thing about Rowul is their overconfidence, they believe that they have most, if not all, things figured out in as many steps ahead as possible and they let that get to their head believing that they have everything where they want it.

Sigunn Mlane Genderfluid Sigunn has an innate ability to connect with people, their favorite quality about themselves, and it is something they use quiet often to keep moral high and remind others of their worth when they are feeling their lowest. Sigunn’s least favorite quality about themselves though is probably their naivety, they want to believe the best in humanity despite having seen the worst of it and they know that it makes others see them as childish or even harmfully optimistic but they would rather be seen as that then lose hope that things can change. Sigunn is heartfelt, probably my favorite quality of them. Everything they say and do has a purpose and is something they truly believe in, so if they are to encourage or praise someone for something, they really mean it no matter how dramatic they might make it out to be in the moment. Kind of the opposite of that however would be that Sigunn, when they don't deem someone as important to them or someone gets on their bad side, tends to shrug them off or ignore them.

Wilorin Whitespire M/F (Player's choice) They are probably the most straightforward out of the cast, their favorite quality about themselves is that they are a realist, they will point things out as they see it and keeps things down to earth by giving pragmatic outcomes solutions and knowing that not everything is going to go well. Their least favorite quality is knowing that they aren't a friendly person, they put up a prickly front and push people away making it very difficult for them to gain a support system that they need. My favorite quality of Wilorin is their humor. It's dry and often dark, but it is a surprising ice breaker considering they will often be sarcastic no matter who they are around. Wilorin is also stubborn though, my least favorite quality of them considering when push comes to shove they become an unmovable force if its something they don't want to do, often leaving themselves and others in a situation that is undesirable because of it.