#i hope it is at least somewhat coherent

[scribefindegil]

Unlike a lot of stories about people with superpowers, MP100 doesn’t do civilian collateral damage. Koyama threatens all the delinquents in the alley, but leaves without touching them. Minori’s father gets impaled but the show takes pains to establish that he survives. all the big architecture-destroying fights either happen in isolated locations with only espers (and Reigen, lol) in attendance, or in the case of the world domination arc in buildings that have already been evacuated.

Teru, specifically, is used to going up against other espers. And maybe there’s a couple of non-powered Claw lackies thrown in there, but they chose to work for an organization of kidnappers with delusions of world domination; he’s not gonna lose any sleep over it.

And it’s fun. It’s like a game or a puzzle--figuring out how to replicate people’s moves, how to find their weaknesses, how to use them against them. Even when he loses to Shimazaki it just makes him more excited for the rematch. Don’t point knives at people--but when people keep coming to you looking for a knife fight, what are you supposed to do? If his powers are a tool, Teru thinks he’s found the perfect use for them: taking down any esper with less savory motives than his own.

And that’s why the scene where ???% levels the apartments around him hits so damn hard. Suddenly it doesn’t matter how well Teru can fight. Suddenly he--and we, the audience--are confronted with just how destructive psychic powers can be. And it’s terrifying. (And it’s heart-wrenching, because we know how much Mob hates the thought of hurting people, and Teru knows too). This isn’t a battle between espers, this is a natural disaster with dozens of civilians caught up in it.

It’s scary in a way that none of the other confrontations have been. It’s not a puzzle to solve. It’s not a solution that can be fixed by fighting. But Teru’s powers aren’t just a tool for fighting, and he realizes that.

Teru can’t beat Mob. Teru can’t save Mob.

But he can save everyone else.

[giildedgold]

promised an ashtech post so i tried to make sense of my thoughts

I think what originally got me hooked on them is when Ash admitted that he would always choose evil if the choice was given to him, but Minute proved that he could be a good person too. that makes him want to be a good person for once. and Minute is the only person he can think of to help him with that

Ash isn't really a good person and he has no issue with this, but Minute has him wanting to be good despite that. the peace that Minute speaks of makes him want to achieve the same thing. even though he never quite meant to join the foundation and be 'good', now it is something he pursues

then there's the the ousting. Minute is voted out of the presidency without Ash present, the PMC betrays him and he has a moment where he entirely breaks by killing Zam. he's never been so close to giving up on the peaceful ending

however, the next day, Ash is back and Minute goes through everything that happened, bringing him up to date. Ash says that, despite everything, they'll figure it out. they'll get their peaceful ending. it's them versus everyone, he says.

Ash is the one that allows Minute to have hope again. Ash's confidence and his own hope overshadows all of the despair. and Ash is confident because if anyone were to bring peace, it'd be Minute in his eyes. because Minute even made him want to be good.

and while, in a way, Minute managed to make Ash better by making him pursue peace for once. Ash makes Minute worse. Ash says that Minute being a killing machine is in favour of their team and not the players, even though that would literally be proving Zam right.

Ash is very blinded by the thought of a peaceful ending to the point that he doesn't consider the fact that a peaceful ending built on top of a hill of corpses isn't peaceful at all. he actively pushes for Minute to kill those that are in their way. because that's how Lifesteal is and that's how they've always done things. you kill to get things done, why would this be different?

except it is different this time. because a peaceful ending is the opposite of what it has always been, it completely goes against what Lifesteal is. so even when he voices his worries about it, Minute trusts Ash, because Ash gives him the hope he needs. without him, the world feels grey

and during all of this it is Minute who Ash allows himself to be, I suppose, vulnerable to. Ash tells Minute "I love you," and "I'm scared," and that he feels safer with Minute around. he says that while it would be embarrassing to ask anyone else for things, he knows he can rely on Minute

then, once Minute is gone, he's dead, Ash feels a sense of despair at that. Minute was his hope as well, in a sense. he pushes through anyway, he's still going to achieve it for him. and then once all of them are banned, they meet up in a sort of 'afterlife' where Ash claims they've won. Minute tells him that they didn't and that's fine.

Ash still keeps clinging to it though. even now he says they were happy and they won, because that's what he wanted them to achieve. but at least they were together, and maybe that was enough.

[coquelicoq]

justice of toren collecting songs and one esk/breq constantly humming/singing them is such a good detail and ann leckie does so much with it. an incomplete list:

justice of toren's eager collection of songs is part and parcel of its violent destruction of cultures: these songs are cultural artifacts that it only learns because of its presence on those worlds during their conquest, and in many cases breq is the only one to remember them because their people have died out due to that violence. JoT preserves cultural artifacts for its own use at the same time it directly contributes to the need for that preservation in the first place.

the matter-of-fact way in which this is narrated to us gives us information about JoT's stance on respect and imperialism - that is, contrasted with other characters who look down on the conquered cultures, JoT does actually seem to appreciate their value. and yet it communicates to us no sense of remorse over its role in their genocide.

singing can be a communal activity. this allows us to feel the difference between one esk's multiple bodies singing together in harmony/in a round vs. breq singing alone. this has emotional weight, is an evocative image, and illustrates quite nicely some of the logistic considerations of having one vs. multiple bodies.

the constant humming/singing is extremely notable and idiosyncratic according to other characters, which is a dangerous combination for someone who's supposed to be undercover, so it adds a lil bit of fun suspense for us.

the fact that no one ever figures out breq's identity despite this giveaway tells us something about the other characters' attitudes towards artificial intelligences (though see below about seivarden).

the fact that it's so idiosyncratic also tells us something about the ability of individual AIs to have personalities that distinguish them from other AIs, and the fact that one esk sings constantly but two esk doesn't tells us something about the ability of different ancillary decades that are all part of the same AI to have distinguishing characteristics. this is very relevant to, and illustrative of, the series' thematic throughlines around identity, personality, continuity, etc.

the fact that breq personally has a bad voice also serves multiple purposes. because breq and seivarden both believe that the medic could have chosen a body with a good voice if she had wanted to, we can infer something about how ancillary bodies work, how much the AI (and, by extension, its medics) knows about the individual capabilities of those bodies while they're in suspension, and what kinds of things the AI can and can't control once it has unfrozen and taken over a body.

we can also draw conclusions about the medic that chose that body and about intracrew relations on that ship.

breq's bad voice creates moments of humor and irony in the narrative, such as when breq's constant singing - aka the most obvious clue that she is one esk - is precisely what makes seivarden so sure that breq can't be one esk, because no esk medic would use a body with a bad voice for an ancillary.

constant singing/humming imposes itself on the shared soundscape, meaning other people can't easily avoid it and it has the potential to annoy them, especially if the voice itself has annoying qualities. the reactions of other characters to the frequency and/or quality of this verbal tic tells us something about the level of affection those characters have for one esk or breq.

because singing involves words, the meaning of the lyrics being sung can be used to advance the plot, communicate things about specific characters, create irony in juxtaposition with what's happening on the page, etc.

i especially like what's done with the lyric "it all goes around". it's woven throughout the story in such a way as to manifest its own meaning (the repetition of "it all goes around" is, itself, an example of something going around). by repeating the lyric, breq is the one making it true, and i would argue that her repetition of this particular lyric about things orbiting other things contributes to, and/or is a sign of, her growing understanding of the necessity/reality of interdependence and her place in that framework/her role in constructing it, or in other words, the extent of her own agency and the rights and obligations it confers upon her.

because the singing/humming is a constant, background, automatic action, it only ceases when breq is experiencing a strong emotion. from this we are able to infer things about the emotional state of our famously-omits-details-about-her-emotional-state narrator based on other characters' comments about whether or not she is currently doing this thing.

we also aren't even aware that breq is doing it constantly until another character says so. on a narrative level, this serves the dual purpose of making sure we know about how much she hums AND of reminding us that she's not telling us everything.

the humming is not mentioned constantly even though it is happening constantly - this helps us forget in between mentions that it's going on while also simultaneously reinforcing just how constant it must be, so constant that to mention it every time it happens would be like narrating every time she breathes in or out. whenever someone brings it up, we are reminded anew that something has been happening all along that we forgot about. this means that ann leckie is able, by leaving information out, to hammer home to us how much we are not being told.

through this one character trait, ann leckie efficiently and elegantly communicates not just aspects of character but also of setting, plot, tone, theme, and narrative. there's no extraneous exposition just to tell us about the song collection or singing; everything that tells us about it is serving other functions in the narrative as well. the ways in which she manifests this one character trait in the universe and in the narrative contribute to and exemplify both the story itself and the method of its telling.

[captainlexapro]

*As of 23-24 season*

hope this is at least fun for some other word nerds out there 💚 Notes below the cut!

my brain would not let me rest until i made this! (did it need to be this detailed? no. did i still agonize over the labels? yes. am i doing okay mentally rn? survey says no.💀) where's that post about needing to make a list or perhaps organize things into categories...

ANOTHER DISCLAIMER: a lot of the stories/articles i read about the names were essentially "well, we *think* this is what happened but we don't really have any proof or hard evidence." 😐 so take these all with a grain of salt. i did make a judgment call and note those i considered to be the most "uhhh i really don't know if this is accurate but this placement seems the most logical given the information i have atm."

rip to the coyotes 😪 i'm curious where the utah team will fit in here. if utah hc wins (it won't) then i would need to create a BORING category.

[jazzically]

i love the fear domains dont get me wrong but when i first heard about "bringing the world closer to all the fears" i kinda imagined it would be like... experiencing every single fear at once. staring at the unimaginably endless sky filling all of your corners while poised, frozen, clamped to the infinite earth by knives and guns and chains and silk and roots, feeding upon nothing but memories of raw and impure butchery, praying for your body to decay, dreading those who overcome you no matter what remains, who make your blood into their home, your soul and skin inseparable; and all the while your eyes can see nothing and nothing but black like smoke and yet you feel your own gaze spread among every particle of the universe; watch as you wonder whether it is real (whether you are real; what is a you? maybe everything and nothing were you all along) and lose every one of those wanderings of your mind to taut strings which steal your breath and open your mouth and force you to speak their mind, meaningless words resonating for nobody; the only occupant of an unforgiving planet, levelled smooth by loss, every inch of it covered with absence, wishing with all your heart that your release never appears to assert its final and complete conclusion... yknow?

[harukaboo]

*Penacony Spoilers, Self indulgent, selfship coded if you squint maybe? Also probably doesn’t make sense I can’t think*

I feel like Sunday with a s/o with chronic pain would be such a interesting dynamic. Doesn’t even necessarily have to be yandere Sunday cause he’s already got the savior complex-

iirc Sundays whole thing is feeling like people should abandon reality and live in the dreamscape because there’s no suffering, I think having an s/o that has chronic pain would really feed his his delusions that they’d be better off forever in the dreamscape

For yan Sunday, if his darling actively disagreed and told him he was wrong for wanting to keep them in a dream *chefs kiss* I love this delusional ass man

[lilalilan]

Finally got done watching the new Quinton Reviews video and have some thoughts. If you're not familiar with the video in question just know that I will be talking about child abuse so be prepared.

Something he did a really good job navigating is talking about behavior that was clearly abusive, but that doesn't neatly fall into the main categories of abuse we use, those being Physical, Emotional, and Sexual.

People really don't know how to handle things that clearly weren't okay but that don't fall neatly into those categories. I've even struggled with trying to understand my own experiences, which I'm going to use as an example. One of the things I experienced growing up was one of my parents asking me for massages and not being allowed to say no. Physical contact like that leads people towards wanting to categorize it as sexual abuse, but it wasn't sexual. And so people, with hesitation, refer to it as physical abuse. But our general cultural conception of physical abuse is physical violence, so I've never felt comfortable calling it physical abuse because I don't want it to come off as though I'm claiming I experienced something that I didn't. So I've generally had to go with explaining the specifics, and I hate that because I don't want to have to get into the specifics with everyone who I needs to understand what I've been through.

And I think that same line of thinking is why people to try and accuse Dan Schneider of child sex abuse even though (from my understanding) there is no evidence for that. They understand his behavior to be bad, and want to call it out, but our current understanding of abuse and abusive behavior doesn't really have a way of categorizing "inappropriate physical contact with a child that is not sexual". If it was child sex abuse that is a clear cut bad thing that culturally we already understand as a bad thing and have ways of talking about. So people lean towards trying to categorize it as child sex abuse even though the things we know about don't really fall into that category, because otherwise we don't really have a way to talk about it and understand it.

So I guess part of what I want to say here is thank you to Quinton Reviews for giving us the phrase "inappropriate boundaries" to refer to these types of things. Because I think we have words to describe certain types of inappropriate boundaries (sexual abuse for if it's sexual, parentification if it's about treating the kid like a fellow parent, etc.) but I've never really seen a term describing the overarching idea of just "adult behaving inappropriately with a child".

For me personally it gives me a better way of understanding and describing my own experiences. It's taken me from "there were a lot of different upsetting yet hard to describe things that happened that I don't know how to categorize or really explain" to "along with the neglect and the emotional abuse my parents did not maintain appropriate physical and emotional boundaries which messed me up in the long run". Clearly and succinctly describes what happened without getting into detail or forcing me to provide personal information.

And I think culturally having a way to talk about this type of abuse is useful. I'm hoping that enough people see the video that I can start talking about my experiences and be understood by others.

Also just like. Not being sexual abuse doesn't mean that it's not bad or messed up or worthy of attention and discussion and support. I feel like sometimes people think you're trying to downplay what happened but like. I say that being forced to provide massages was not sexual because I know for a fact it wasn't sexual. That doesn't mean that my being forced to provide an adult with physical contact was okay, it doesn't mean it didn't mess me up, it just means it messed me up differently than how it probably would have if it was sexual.

[scarlet-witchery]

Omg, I’d love to hear more about the galladads/starr verse universe!!! ❤️ what would mick and ian be like at the first school event they go to with starr? A little outta place over protective dads?! ❤️❤️

Oh man, I feel like they'd feel so out of place because they're so obviously not her parents, but her bio parents disowned her and so somehow through the magic of fanfic they're able to at least become her legal guardians. (it probably takes a LOT of paperwork considering prison time and all that but this is fiction I do what I want!)

So Ian is insistent that they dress nice to make a good impression and Mickey doesn't see why his regular clothes are a problem but he puts on a nice button up anyway (and Ian ties a tie for him <3) and Starr is so chill okay—fuck you guys she's not nervous or anything—and they go to her school, talk to her teachers and everything

They are glad to see a couple of other kids that say hi to her in the hallway and everything, and she's all quiet and a little bit shy (aka the exact opposite of her regular personality—she first showed up all anxious and angry when the guys took her in, but she's gotten to be pretty bubbly and boisterous and really come out of her shell lately) and Ian tries to give Mickey a Look™ about it but Mickey is just worried about the kid

And thankfully Starr enrolled at school after she's started taking blockers and such, and she's socially presenting as a girl, so she doesn't have a lot of people misgendering her like they did at her old school, although anyone who does will be very quickly corrected—it'd probably be teachers since they'd be more aware of the situation? But most of her teachers are pretty chill and call her Starr and use she and all that

But yeah anyone steps a toe outta line and the guys have got her back. Like I said before Mickey would walk into this knowing nothing about trans stuff, but same as with Ian's bipolar he would do his research because it's important to the people he considers family, and they've very quickly accepted her into their family

But I do think that there's probably some stupid assholes who give Starr a hard time at school (as there always is) and Mickey gets super protective of her—he's there to pick her up and makes sure the bullies get a good look at him, knuckle tats and all, so they know exactly what they've got coming if they mess with his kid (not that Ian is above giving asshole bullies a good punch in the face, but "they're teenagers, Mick, you can't hit them!" "you think they know that? fuck no")

Also he tells Starr that if she's gotta then she can tell people she lives with ex-cons so that the bullies get scared away (she tells him that no, she'll fight her battles, and Mickey's like "okay then I'm at least gonna teach you how to throw a punch" and poor Ian gets to be the punching bag 😂)

I feel like they'd try to help build up her confidence and give her the tools to protect herself, you know? Especially because they want her to feel like she's safe in a world that's not always kind to people like her, and she deserves a chance at a good life. Ian also gets her signed up for like, boxing classes or something after school when she talked about being interested in doing something like that. But she also loves doing girly things like shopping, and Mickey endures the mall now and again for her sake (lbr he grumbles the whole time but he's there okay) and Ian always asks her to show them what she got since she clearly comes home all excited about it

I just love them letting her have the chance to be a kid and a teenager and give her a sense of autonomy while still trying to make sure she stays safe. They remember their own lives growing up and want her to have the best of everything that she can, especially with what she's already gone through. And yeah, she'd be a stubborn bratty kid sometimes but Ian had to deal with all his siblings, he's used to it :p he'd read parenting books for foster parents and figure out the best way to meet her where she's at, that sort of thing

okay I think that's all for now because this reply went on a lot longer than I expected but! I hope you enjoyed some more Starr verse ramblings! I love talking about her she's my new favorite OC tbh

[raiiny-bay]

finished dhes & kel's character pages so here are the lil edits i made for both of em :-)

[cannibalhellhound]

heyhey! this is about the testimony segment of my Venom paper! can you tell me why the ship appeals to you? I know many enjoy the body horror, but not all, so I'd like to get your perspective! thanks for reaching out!

Hi!

I have always empathized with non-human and monstrous characters.

It's partially because of being the weird neurodivergent queer kid. People think they're weird, their relationship is wrong, or something like that. Kinda hits a little too close to home.

Besides all that kinda sad part in which a lot of queer people relate to monsters

There is just. The trust. The knowledge of each other. The closeness.

I am seriously trying to explain it but I don't think I have words to express the yearning of a relationship like theirs causes.

Because they're different but they're the same. Two beings in one with separate thoughts but with knowledge of what each other is thinking.

The movies are more sarcastic in their relationship but if you look into the comics they call each other pet names all the time.

They LOVE each other

They have gone through trauma together and separately and work through it because they are partners.

They're endgame.

They are each other's souls in a world that didn't want them.

-

As for the physical part it's not even about the body horror and kinky stuff (which yes it has it's appeal)

It's about being able to rely on another being to take care of you in ways that only yourself would be able to

Comforting each other in secret because no one can see it but Eddie feels hugged because they share a body and Venom is just surrounding him enough to be felt but not noticed.

The compromise of eating only bad guys when necessary because tater tots and chocolate are good but brains

It's a relationship filled with love, with the bonus of being a badass vigilante.

___

[serenpedac]

I've been thinking about M and astronomy a lot this past week because of @serial-chillr's HC of them being an amateur astronomer (love that so much!), so here are some of my thoughts

My first thought went to the Pleiades, because of the Greek myth that gave them their name. Now, I don't know if M would have known this story back when they were human, but because of how striking they are, they must have noticed them at night for sure. Six of these stars can be easily seen with the naked eye, but in the myth, there are seven sisters. The brightness of one of the stars is variable, so models suggest it was brighter many centuries ago, only to then "disappear", giving rise to this legend (side note: see here for an interesting article about how the similar legends re the Pleiades in different cultures may have a shared origin). Although it's not hard to spot several more than 6, some time to adjust your eyes is needed. Now, I can imagine that after their turning, M might have looked up at the sky and maybe they never had all that much interest in the stars as a human, maybe they never thought much about the legend and barely recalled it, but now---being outside in the quiet of night, one of the few moments they have when they are not overwhelmed by their senses---they suddenly see that seventh star so very brightly! And the longer they look, the more they see and they remember that story from back then.

I have some vague HC thoughts about how this moment may have happened before they were found by the Agency, but after their turning. A moment of peace during an otherwise terrible time. A callback to happier times, perhaps. This may not fit at all with what happened, but we'll have to wait and see about that!

Then, after the Agency finds them and their memory gets wiped, they won't remember this, but we see how their past does leave an imprint on them. So some subconscious part of them might remember that moment and try to find that feeling of peace again, leading to them going out night after night, learning the constellations and stars.

Regarding the imprint of the past on the present: it's often talked about how looking at the stars is looking into the past, but what isn't talked about is how the universe we see reflects its history. In the very early universe, there were small fluctuations in density, called primordial density fluctuations. These increased in size because of the inflation of the universe, and under the influence of gravity, dark matter accumulated into them These dark matter "wells" also drew in "regular" (baryonic) matter that condensed into galaxies and stars. The structures we see on large scales, of galaxies being clustered together and being spread across filaments, is all the result of these initial density perturbations leaving their imprint.

The dark matter that can't be detected directly, but underlies the structure we see in visible matter, creates a neat parallel to how M doesn't remember their past, but it did leave its mark on them. It's still visible in them in some way.

[lycorid]

Sometimes venturing onto the For You side of Twitter sparks joy.

Based take. Shoujo and Josei are fucking top notch, both in characters and art style (how can you not think they’re beautiful?)

��Ruined the JJK and MHA fandoms” is WILD. I avoid fandoms for the most part (except perusing tumblr for the occasional fucking thesis women write about character motivations i love you women <3) because they usually suck. Seriously, I kept up with OPM for a bit because it was entertaining but holy shit the subreddit (very much full of men) is literally just… sexy woman. More sexy woman. Memes about artist constantly drawing sexy woman. Memes. Occasional power scaling arguments. Low quality page colorings of the exact same page. There is NOTHING. How the hell can women ruin the fandom when the fandom IS the women?!

It’s the women creating in depth analyses on characters; it’s the women writing fanfiction, creating doujinshis; it’s the women creating fandom centered accounts; it’s the women buying every new merch piece that comes out AND giving free advertising by posting about it online. And then men will go on and rag on women for doing all these things. It’s infuriating.

Longevity of a series is also something these idiots ignore. Seriously, look at Katekyo Hitman Reborn. The manga ended in 2012 and the creator is working on a different series. Katekyo Hitman Reborn still gets regular merch releases. This is a series that ended over a decade ago and still has an incredibly dedicated fanbase of, I wonder who, that regularly spends enough money to keep it consistent. You cannot look me in the eyes and tell me that series is supported mainly by men. I do not care how hard Amano Akira tried to alienate her female fans with her treatment of the female characters you know exactly whos spending the money based on who is constantly getting merch (minus the titular character, because of course he has to be there.)

Honestly I don’t give a damn that fandom can often be absolute insanity; you get a group of people together and it’s always going to be a shitshow, that isn’t unique to fandom, people just like to pretend it is because as always, there’s an undercurrent of misogyny because people know women carry that shit but they only want to acknowledge it when they can use it to criticize them.

I love that she came for the JJK fandom as well. I’ve been following the series because honestly it is really fucking funny because it is the epitome of shounen tropes. The author literally baked them into the world. Explaining your abilities to the opponent makes them stronger. So this entire series you get giant pages of just white with text explaining every little fucking thing like theres a narrator standing over your shoulder making sure you can’t possibly miss anything on the first read. Fuck dude, I don’t mind exorbitant amounts of text in my manga, but you cannot be serious in pretending that is good writing. There’s a deus ex machina that every character can pull out of their ass called a binding vow. Black flash also falls into this category.

Hell, the latest arc has literally just been flashback after flashback playing during the battle of the characters forming a bunch of plans in preparation for the fight we currently are following. This is genuinely one of my most hated tropes. The characters just get off screen power ups that then get handwaved as “well we showed you the flashback right?” there is NO anticipation, any excitement you feel for the battle is purely manufactured rather than genuine. It’s not “I can’t wait to see how the growth I followed of these characters affects the battle” it’s “wow, what cool ability will they pull out of their ass next?” I hate it I loathe it and it’s even worse with emotional moments. Why couldn’t you write this into the story in the first place? Why are you giving it to me in a shitty flashback?

Maybe I didn’t explain it well enough because I launched into a rant. The reason I hated it so much is because it forced the reader to be an observer rather than an active participant in the manga. Everything is spoonfed to you. You don’t need to reread the chapters over and over to put together the pieces on how, where, and why each action took place, the author does that for you. You don’t see everything from a new perspective when you read it a second time, catching lots of things you may have missed because you’re not allowed to miss anything the author deems important.

I enjoy this manga. There is good things about it. But it is nowhere near the god manga (“kamige” would be the term if it was a visual novel; I don’t know a manga equivalent) men like to pretend it is. It genuinely seems like they think everything being explained every page is good writing.

Based and succinct.

Anyway, you shouldn’t restrict yourself from experiencing specific genres because they’re for “the lessers” because that’s actually fucking cringe and maybe you should touch a Josei manga, or even a Shoujo manga. Maybe it’ll open your eyes and you’ll realize, hey, women’s media is actually- oh who the fuck am I kidding just pull the trigger.

[inkblackorchid]

Can I ask you something? Have you considered doing a fanfic of Aki facing odd against her hold black rose witch persona which I'm surprised wasn't a episode to begin with I mean the idea is too good to waste

The ask box is always open for a reason, my friend!

But to answer your question: Yes, I absolutely have considered the idea of Aki coming face to face with the Black Rose Witch and being forced to confront her own past in a very literal way. The problem with this scenario is mainly one: Logistics. Seeing as Aki can hardly physically split herself in two, making this possible would require supernatural shenanigans of some kind, if you ask me. And sure, 5Ds has plenty of those, but what to use? Time travel? (High potential to shoot yourself in the foot.) A sort of supernatural test of willpower? (Okay, sure, but where, why, and how?) Try to keep it simple, say it's just a nightmare and all in Aki's head? (Possible, but pretty basic.) Say Iliaster creates another signer double, and Aki has to take it down same as Jack took down his? (Runs the risk of being a rehash of the fake Jack episodes, unfortunately.)

Depending on how they're written, I don't necessarily think any of these options are better or worse than the other, and I agree, the opportunity to have Aki literally confront herself would have been great. As far as my own writing is concerned, my main issue, personally, would be where the hell to slot this into canon. Because writing it just as-is, with zero context and no place on the canon timeline, isn't my style. Therefore, I'd have to find a spot for this, and ideally give it some kind of nice payoff, too. And the way my Aki stuff is going right now, especially with the next, big fic I'm currently working on, I'm not sure I could fit this in anywhere. (At least not without making things seem really, really bloated in terms of plot threads and tension.)

That said, I have thought about it before, and may yet think more about it in the future. So I'm not categorically denying I'll ever write this. I'd just love to place it somewhere where it makes sense and haven't found that spot (nor the best way to execute this scenario) just yet.

[sailing-forth]

your turn!!! what do you think about the astral express crew? (they're such a found family to me)

to me, the thing that stands out the most about the astral express crew is. how there's love without obligation. how there's care in the form of a warm place to land, a helping hand when they need it. not like a traditional family structure -- there's no expectation of being repaid, just a quiet trust for the others to have your back. no one pushed dan heng to reveal anything about his past that he wasn't ready for. they took march 7th in without hesitation. they didn't handle stelle with kid gloves or with an excess of caution. there's love, yes, and care, but there's also respect and a confidence in the others' abilites -- which i really appreciate. i really like that there's no obvious "mother/father + children" roles, though it can definitely be read that way -- makes the relationships within more interesting, imo. every member of the crew is capable by themselves, but they have incredible synergy within their team!

dan heng still had his role in the penacony storyline for when things got rough. welt and himeko still helped the three younger nameless out in belobog. they're in this journey together. their groupchat is literally called "the astral express family". they love each other.... and care for each other......... without judgement or expectation or pushing boundaries..... im emotional

[daybreakrising]

HEADCANONS - M.ENOGIAS & MOUNTAIN SHAPER

okay i said it was coming, and here it is. get ready to dive into the chaos that is my meno brain- also, for reference, i have a deep hatred for the npc treatment both mountain shaper & moon carver received in game, so my visual for a humanoid mountain shaper is more along the lines of this artwork. (source - includes moon carver!)

i've already touched on this a little in this hc post, but i believe m.enogias & mountain shaper are connected, beyond that of allies and friends. we know from this year's lantern rite that he and moon carver knew m.enogias well, with hints that they were close as old friends, both of them reminiscing about his craftsmanship skills. (i also have some theories about the unknown third adeptus who helped to seal a.zhdaha alongside mountain shaper and moon carver, which i may touch on in another post one day-)

but then why specifically mountain shaper, lauri? well, as briefly touched upon in that other hc post, there are elements of mountain shaper that lean more towards an affinity with geo - his colour scheme is common amongst other geo characters (also pyro, i recognise, but let me cook), and his use of amber rock, which is considered a geo construct.

of course, my brain has taken these things and run with them - thus it is my opinion that m.enogias & mountain shaper had a closer bond through their affinity with geo. it's already a hc of mine that m.enogias felt drawn to z.hongli for the same reason (which is partly why he was the recipient of a lot of m.enogias' designs - the man has bias, what can i say?), so why not be drawn to other geo-aligned adepti, too?

MT. HULAO

m.enogias chose mountain shaper's domain to act as his "home" because of this close bond. he could often be found within the vicinity of the mountain when not with his yaksha siblings and his favoured spot for meditation was at the mountain's peak, above the entrance to mountain shaper's abode (he had a secondary meditation spot, too, overlooking the water outside the entrance - pictures of exact locations found at the end of this meta, under a cut bc Big).

due to their bond, mountain shaper even permitted m.enogias to live within his abode whenever he wished, and accommodated him well - there was even a chamber dedicated to his craft where m.enogias was free to work in his preferred solitude, as few were (and are) permitted within the adeptus' abode.

despite this internal space, m.enogias also had an outdoor workspace that he would use frequently - though he claimed it was entirely because of the natural light it offered, this was in fact only part of the reasoning for his use of an outdoor space: another was simply that he wished to allow mountain shaper his own privacy given that it is his home. it was out of respect for his fellow adeptus that he did not 'overstay his welcome' inside the abode.

this outdoor workspace was situated atop an elevated area at the peak of the mountain, overlooking qingyun peak and beyond (where the teleport waypoint is now located) - this was a favoured view of m.enogias'. he constructed a vast stone table upon which to work, carved with geometric shapes and lines, amongst which could be found symbols that represented his siblings, r.ex l.apis, g.uizhong, and the three adepti of the peaks: mountain shaper, moon carver, and cloud retainer. the table was a work of art in itself - and sadly is no longer there, as when m.enogias fell, the great table cracked into pieces.

it is rumoured amongst the adepti, however, that mountain shaper kept the pieces - they sit on display within the chamber he gave to m.enogias, surrounded by sketched designs and half-finished garments, it is said.

because this was m.enogias' favourite place in l.iyue, and because of mountain shaper's importance to him, m.orax buried the crystal heart left behind after his death deep beneath mt. hulao, to act as his final resting place (in his resurrected au verse, this is also where m.enogias reawakens).

A DEEP CONNECTION

listen... if you didn't expect this, you clearly don't know me well enough yet-

though it was never named or really addressed formally, there was a romantic element to the bond shared between m.enogias & mountain shaper - at least, from m.enogias' side. whether it was reciprocated or not i am deliberately leaving vague (on the rare chance a ms muse will pop up, please i am begging you-), likewise whether or not it was acted upon is... also vague.

i will say, however, that m.enogias' views on romance and relationships are... fairly open. he is content both with fleeting and committed bonds, and he is happy to be involved in poly relationships as well as monogamous ones. the connection he had with mountain shaper was enough for him, regardless of what form it took.

VISUAL REFERENCES

i just wanted to include some images to show the exact locations mentioned to add some context - these will all be under a cut bc i don't want people to have to scroll past a series of huge screenshots adfkjgnlfkh

first, his favourite spot for meditation, atop the peak above mountain shaper's abode:

second, his other preferred spot to meditate, overlooking the water at the entrance to the abode:

third, the spot where his stone table used to sit - the view it overlooked (left) & its location in relation to mountain shaper's abode (right):

and fourth, the spot at the base of mt. hulao where he reawakens in his resurrected verse:

behind this waterfall is a concealed entrance that m.orax used when he first buried m.enogias' crystal heart beneath the mountain - use of the geo element is required to open it.

[synthetic-rust]

Kinda sad to think about, but I wonder if I’d have been more likely to get into engineering type stuff if sexism wasn’t a thing…

Like no one’s ever stopped me from doing things like that, but I’d still say to myself in my head that I would be out of place for doing it for whatever reason :[

It’s weird tho, cause in most other areas of life I don’t usually give a damn about gender expectations and all that, but in the subject of technology I still ended up feeling like It’s not something I should pursue.

Been trying to remove that kind of thinking from my head, but it’s hard sometimes. It gets a bit lonely feeling like an exception to things rather than being welcomed.

—

As a sort of extension to what I’m talking about, I’ve noticed that people like to say things that are progressive in one way or another, but then will still silently operate on principles that reflect the opposite (because of societal influence).

This isn’t something I’m exempt from, and no one truly is because of how social we are as a species, but I do wish more people were able to let themselves do without it and stop limiting themselves and others more often.

In that regard I still often feel lonely existing as a girl that doesn’t buy into the things we’re so often silently and not so silently pushed into doing. There are a lot of things that I feel some kind of pressure to participate in despite my disinterest. Mostly because I feel like I become more of an outsider within my gender for not doing them.

(Btw, I’m not exactly the most cis girl, but what I’m talking about here notably calls upon that kind of experience 👍)