#i think any interaction between these two would be a very cool and important thing to have

[peaceoutofthepieces]

Uh hi! So I know you usually do ship stuff, but I am desperate for some Isaac Henderson angst content. I’ve found a few here and there but most of them aren’t actually super angsty and a lot somehow feel more about the other characters even if they’re meant to be about Isaac. They’re good but nothings really scratched that itch so far. Could you write something using #12 from the angsty dialogue prompts? Or honestly if you’d rather not do that one, any one of the prompts would be great. I’ll leave it up to you what exactly it’s about and who the line is directed at, I just wanna see my fave go through it.

hello!! i'm sorry this took so long! i would like to clarify that i started it ages ago, but it was at less than 1000 words yesterday evening, and then it was finished at 2am last night. (i got so into it i'm currently in the mindset of "that's it, i'm going to try and post at least a fic a week now 😤", but we will see if that actually happens.) so, i hope if nothing else it's sufficiently angsty and not too ooc. you did give me quite a bit of freedom, and it remains unclear if that was a good choice or not 😅 anyway, enjoy!!

12. "Help me."

Post-prom, Isaac felt out of sorts. 

His situation with James and his odd encounter at Elle’s exhibition had been eye-opening, to say the least. Angela Chen’s Ace still resided on his nightstand, though he’d finished reading it two days after lifting it from the library. He couldn’t bring himself to return it just yet; he found himself going back to it at night, rereading sections over again as if they would tell him something new, feeling he was still missing something. And anyway, they were still on summer holidays. The school wouldn’t miss it for now. 

No one seemed to be missing him much, either.

It was becoming more noticeable, this summer break, how he was the odd one out. He’d been aware his friends were essentially coupled off for months now, and Paris had cemented it, but Paris had also kept them stuck together as a group. 

(Plus, most of the Paris trip had been before things had become royally awkward with James, but he was mostly avoiding thinking about all that.)

The situation with Darcy had understandably taken a bit of a priority in the past couple of weeks, but it didn’t explain the shift that had seemed to happen within all his friends since prom. Isaac had figured for a while that Elle would be leaving, and he assumed it was why she and Tao had been attached at the hip. He didn’t begrudge them it, really. He had watched them pine over each other long enough that leaving them this time together felt warranted. Besides, it wasn’t like they were asking Charlie to movie nights recently, either. 

But it also wasn’t likely Charlie was waiting to be asked, these days. He and Nick had seemingly re-entered their honeymoon phase, which was fair given that they finally could be as coupley as they wanted wherever and whenever they wanted. Isaac just found it odd that it seemed to be more since prom than Nick’s coming out, but he was not going to ask about that. It made sense he didn’t want to think about. The intense, somewhat dark cloud that seemed to still hang over Nick around Charlie was more worth questioning, but it was also part of what kept Isaac from encroaching on them recently. 

Everyone seemed to have something going on. His going-ons felt a little unworthy, in comparison. He wasn’t sure if he was feeling shit about himself because he didn’t want to put an extra burden on his friends and it was a bit sad he considered his feelings a burden, or if that was an excuse for not having to talk about it because he didn’t really know how and it was making him feel shit. 

So, yes. Out of sorts. 

Out of sorts and alone, most of the time. 

He was not in the habit of pitying himself, however, and he was not about to start now. So what if he was having some life-defining realisations about himself and he had no one to share them with? He’d coped with life mostly on his own so far and he’d continue to do so. 

And he was coping. Perfectly. 

Kind of. 

Sitting in one of his best friend’s houses, surrounded by their other friends and staring into a book was how he always coped, so this was perfectly normal. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t absorbing the words and everyone seemed louder than usual. He hadn’t been sleeping well. He was tired. That’s all he was feeling. 

Tara tugged at his foot from where she and Darcy were perched on the floor by his armchair. “Isaac, we're gonna play a boardgame. Put the book down and come join us!”

Isaac looked, but Tao and Elle were still wrapped up in each other in the corner and Nick and Charlie were nowhere in sight. He raised an eyebrow at Tara. “We are?”

“Yes! Nick and Charlie are away to get them right now, so come get comfy.”

Darcy snorted. “Good idea, because we could be waiting for a bit.”

Tara slugged her shoulder and Darcy only giggled again. 

“Shouldn't they have passed the honeymoon phase by now?” Isaac asked, lowering his book slightly but not yet closing it. 

“Nick and Charlie?” Tara grinned. “I'm not sure those two will ever come out of it.”

“Well, I can't say I don't understand,” Darcy quipped, leaning in to Tara with a grin. Tara turned towards her, and their smiles melded as they kissed.

Isaac snapped his book closed. “Actually, I think I'll go to the loo while we're waiting.”

No one gave any sign of hearing him, so Isaac slipped quietly out of the room and up to the bathroom. He rolled his eyes at the giggles coming from Charlie's room and didn't pause. Closing the bathroom door behind him, he finally released a sharp breath. He perched himself on the edge of the bath and pulled out his phone.

Instagram was a distraction he did not often indulge in. His follow count was small—only his friends and favourite authors alongside a small cluster of bookstagrammers he'd found to have good taste. He saved a couple of recommendation posts, then began clicking through stories, pausing when he reached James's. 

The story was almost timed out, all of it from last night, seemingly at a party. Isaac had stopped on a video where James appeared to be singing along to the song playing with another boy. In the middle of it, the boy had swooped forward to kiss James on the cheek. 

Isaac stared at James’s delighted expression and something complicated clenched in his chest. He quickly locked the phone and set it beside him, directing his focus to the wall. 

It was good, he rationalised. James was wonderful; he deserved to be going out and having fun, and he deserved, without question, to have a handsome boy having fun with him. Whether they were friends or something more didn't matter, but the something more definitely seemed possible, if not likely. And James deserved someone who could give him that. 

Isaac had not been able to give him that—did not want to give anyone that, could not derive any joy from it, even from the chance of it giving joy to someone else. 

He was not incapable of love. He knew that. When he looked at his family, when he looked at Charlie and Tao and Elle, he was always so full of love he felt he might explode from it. It wasn't romantic, and it wasn't physical, but it was love, in its purest form it seemed, to him, given he did not want anything in return for it but their happiness and their continued place in his life. 

It was love, uncomplicated, unconditional love, and why wouldn't that be enough? 

He never seemed to be enough. 

He always did what he could to be a good son and a good friend, and he had never doubted it until recently. James had been one of those good friends. He still was, as far as Isaac was concerned, but their relationship had undeniably changed. Maybe it was simply in an awkward phase that would pass, but Isaac, at the moment, could not believe it would ever be the same. For a time, James had been something of his best friend—not because Isaac liked him more than Charlie or Tao or Elle, or because he really spent more time with him, but because James was Isaac’s friend in a way they were not. They spent time together, the two of them, and shared interests the two of them, and when they had been together they had not felt the need for any company outside of the two of them. 

But that had not meant the same to James as it had to Isaac, and Isaac could not give him anything more. He understood that his rejection would not be taken without consequence, but he hadn't been prepared to be, in a way, rejected in return. 

Was this all he would ever achieve? Having friends who would always be somewhat distant—who would always have someone closer, someone better—or having someone close who would eventually want that closeness in a way he did not. Before, he'd worried he was not worthy of that want to begin with. Never had he thought it would be his inability to return it that would be the issue. Could he be upset, that it was his not wanting to be too close that lost him all closeness as a result? 

He was alone on an island of his own making. He couldn't blame anyone for leaving him there if he wasn't going to invite them in, could he? 

Was this, then—alone in the bathroom of his best friend's house with his phone locked beside him and tears in his throat—all he was destined for? 

Isaac Island, party of one. 

A knock on the door startled him, and he swore quietly as he knocked his phone onto the tiles. As he picked it up, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and blanched. There were no tears, but his eyes were red and his face was blotchy and the tears were waiting in his throat, they surely would be there if he went back downstairs to—

Another knock.

“One—one minute,” he tried, clearing his throat when his voice cracked. He quickly turned on the tap and ran his hands and wrists under the cool water, but it did nothing to steady his breathing. The thought of his aloneness had choked him, but the thought of returning into company strangled him. It was not his friends’ fault—he refused to make it his friends’ fault—but at the moment, he couldn't bear them all the same. 

He cupped more cold water in his hands and scrubbed it over his face, but it did not shock him out of the spiral of his thoughts. The third knock barely registered over the growing ringing in his ears. 

“Isaac?” Not Charlie, like Isaac had thought. Not Nick either, or Tara, or any of them. “Are you okay? I'd really like to use the loo.”

His island, he thought deliriously, was sinking; he was drowning, and still, he could do nothing but soak his hands under the tap and soak his face in turn and suck in breaths that did not hold enough oxygen. He was drowning, he was sinking, he could not see it but his body felt it and his lungs were going to seize, he was dying—

He cut the knocking off by throwing open the door and gasping, “Help me.”

Isaac had one second to appreciate Tori’s bewildered expression before it turned serious and she took to action. “Isaac? Hey. Look at me.” She set her hands on his shoulders as he wrapped his arms around his middle, still heaving. “I'm assuming you didn't just get diagnosed with asthma,” Tori said, still impossibly calm—perhaps he was actually the sea, he thought, undefinable and raving, and she the island, unravagable. Isaac shook his head. “Alright. I think, then, this is likely a panic attack. Would it help if I get Charlie?”

Isaac shook his head more vigorously. 

To her credit, Tori only considered him for a few seconds, and didn't argue. She guided him back into the bathroom and gently kicked the door closed. “Sit,” she told him. He did, and she crouched in front of him. Immediately, with his knees pulled to his chest and the bath supporting his back, it was better. He was not so adrift. “You're alright. It will pass. I know it's stupid, but you really do just have to focus on breathing.”

She started counting. It was only when she'd repeated the numbers four times that he understood she was telling him how long to breathe in and out for. Then he tried to follow it, and slowly, air felt like it was moving through him regularly again. 

Isaac wiped at his cheek. To his embarrassment, his fingers came away damp. He didn't look at Tori, but he said, “Thank you.” Then, “Sorry.”

She didn't brush off his apology, or tell him to get out now so she could actually use the loo—both of which would have been fair and not unexpected responses. Instead, she turned and sat next to him. She leaned against the bath to his left, a few inches between their shoulders, and stared at the wall quietly with him. 

When his skin stopped vibrating, he tucked his arms around his middle again and breathed out. “How did you know what to do?” he asked. 

She glanced at him and shrugged. “I didn't, really.”

It was all she offered, but it seemed honest. Isaac decided not to push. He was too grateful to care much. 

“Do you want to tell me what it was about?” she asked, softly. 

Isaac looked over at her. She was looking back, unsmiling but not unhappy. She reminded him a lot of Charlie, Isaac had always thought. They seemed similar in ways they likely weren't even aware of. It was both comforting and unnerving. “Do you really want me to?”

Tori shrugged again. “I'd prefer it if you told Charlie or your other friends, because I think that would be more helpful. But I don't think you want to. So you can tell me, if you need to tell someone.”

That was—exactly what Isaac needed, really. He didn't exactly think it should be Tori. They'd known each other a while, and they liked each other well enough, but they weren't friends. Plus, Isaac knew she and Charlie were actually close; it felt weird and unfair to tell her something and then ask her to keep it from him. 

But in this moment, he could not think of a better option, and the mere thought of getting the weight off his chest was a relief. 

“I think I'm going to end up alone,” he said, blunt and ridiculous. Tori, completely fairly, raised a disbelieving eyebrow. “Not because I think I'm unlovable or something like that.” Although that was part of it. “But because—” Could he say the actual words? “—I think I'm asexual, and aromantic, so I don't think I'll ever love love anyone, and I think that means I'll always be a bit alone.”

He could. 

It still seemed sad and pathetic when he said it out loud, maybe even more so, but the act of it—the unretractable reality of it—settled something in him. 

Tori's expression, a little confused but free of judgement, only added to that feeling. “So, you don't feel romantic or sexual attraction,” she said slowly. “At all. Is that what you mean?”

Isaac was vaguely impressed. He nodded. 

“When did you figure this out?”

Isaac took a long, heavy breath. “I think, properly, I started to figure it out in Paris, when I realised this guy liked me and I was trying to figure out if I liked him back? But I think I'd been starting to realise it long before then. I just…hadn't known what to call it, or what it meant.”

Tori, he noticed gratefully, took time to process this before nodding. “And now?”

Isaac blinked. “Now?”

“What do you think it means now?”

Oh. Isaac hadn't expected the question, and he found himself unsure of how to answer. “I think it means I'm always going to be lonely.”

Tori tilted her head. “But you didn't think that before.”

“What?”

“You said you don't think you're unlovable. And I agree. I think Charlie loves you a lot. I think most people would, because you are a very nice person. You didn't think of that as less important because it wasn't romantic before. What changed?”

Changed? Nothing. Everything. They were growing up, and love had more meanings when you grew up, and some of those meanings became less important. He looked at the wall again. “They have other people they love more,” he said softly. 

“And you won't ever have that,” Tori returned, equally soft. Not a barb, not a rebuke, nothing negative at all. Just realising; working through it alongside him. “So you think you won't ever be the most important person to someone.”

Isaac swallowed, unable to answer. Not because he didn't know the answer—because it was yes, it was true, she was right, of course she was—but because it was impossible to admit. 

“I think that's the case for most people,” Tori said, at once blunt and thoughtful. Isaac looked back at her, awaiting an explanation. “Think about it. Even the most in love people usually have children, and then their children are the most important people, or at least equally important. And if they have more than one child, no one of them is the most important, and neither of the parents are the most important to the other. I think, instead of having one supremely important person, most people have a group of important people in their life.”

She looked over at him and continued. “There probably are different levels and different kinds of importance, but I don't think that necessarily means one is worth less than the other.”

Isaac sat, for a moment, and absorbed that. Could it be true? He thought of his family. He was lucky, in that scenario. His parents were kind, were wonderful, and he knew without question that they loved him, and he loved them. Neither one of them, he realised, was more important to him than the other. He had different relationships with them both, but each of their losses would leave an equally sized hole in his heart. 

He knew that probably wasn't the same for most people, but if he could find that one example in his own life so easily, he couldn't deny it was possible in others. 

“I suppose,” Isaac said. “I think I know what you mean. I don't think it's the same, but—I know what you mean.”

Tori did smile, now. A barely there thing, but warm and kind, all the same. “It probably isn't the same. I know me saying I love my brothers equally and neither of them are less important doesn't mean anything for your friends treating you the same as their partners, or even other friends. But I think—every relationship is as important as you make it. And sometimes, people might not know they aren't making it important, if they don't know what's important about it to you.”

“Has important stopped sounding like a real word to you, too?” Isaac asked. 

“About six ‘important’s ago,” Tori agreed. 

Isaac laughed, and his relief grew. Tori's smile also grew, just a tick. 

“You're saying I should just talk to my friends,” Isaac noted, eventually, and Tori's smile grew wry. 

“I did say that at the very beginning, yes.” Isaac laughed again, and she shook her head. “But I am saying you should explain to them. I can't promise you're wrong, or tell you everything will be fine,” she said truthfully. “But I don't think you can assume people can't give you what you need, if you don't tell them what that is and let them try.”

Isaac’s chest tightened again, but it was different to the breathless feeling from before. Instead of hopelessness, it was an anticipatory sort of buzz. There was a sureness that hadn't been there before. 

There was a clatter from outside, and this time it was Charlie's voice that called out. “Isaac! Are you still up here? We have the game set up.”

Isaac looked from the door back to Tori. She gave him another smile and nodded. “Go on. I have really needed to pee for about ten minutes now.”

Isaac laughed, again, and got to his feet. Tori passed his phone up to him, and he thanked her once more. He knew she could tell he meant for everything, and she wouldn't appreciate him making more of it, so he took his leave without another word, leaving her to pee in peace. 

Charlie was hovering at the top of the stairs. His face broke into a smile at Isaac’s appearance. “There you are. You've been up here ages.” His smile drooped slightly as Isaac came closer. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” Isaac nodded. “Sorry, I got caught talking to Tori.”

“In the bathroom?” Charlie huffed, bewildered but amused. For a moment Isaac pictured Tori's expression when he'd opened the door to her, and he smiled. 

He only hesitated for a second before saying, “I wanted to talk to all of you about something, actually.”

Immediately, Charlie's expression softened. “Yeah?” When Isaac nodded, Charlie smiled and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, tugging him towards the staircase. “Come on, then. The game can wait.”

[a-twistedheartslonging]

The recent Book 7 release has put Vil and Rook on the mind, so do you have any particularly interesting courtship or relationship headcanons for your nonhuman AU? Thank you :)

My god Rook would rizz you so hard, we already know how he is as a human, though I've seen headcanons that he might have some beastmen in his blood it just isn't obvious/is distant or something like that.

Anyway...

He's enigmatic with a passion for all things beautiful, something Rook very much views you as regardless of what you think of yourself. He's very enthusiastic about supporting those that he admires so be ready for him to be supportive and encouraging as fuck. Yeah, he's gonna be weird about a lot of stuff but Rook is almost always genuine in his intentions.

Expect poetry and love letters to hit your door by arrow every morning.

Ah...Birb Boi Love.

When the night sky envelops the world in its cool embrace, a ballet takes place on treetops and secluded clearings— the dance of owl courtship. 

Serenading the night. Rook is already a great singer and loves to do it, with owls the males often initiate the mating process with a series of hoots. Though with him I'm pretty sure it would be actually singing that he graces you with...but still...it's kind of funny to think about...heh horny hoots.

He might be hoping for you to join him since female owls might answer back, leading to a duet. This vocal interaction strengthens the bond between the two owls and sets the stage for their partnership.

Gift giving, males often present food gifts. This act not only proves the male’s hunting prowess but also his ability to provide for offspring. He knows he can't just leave his fresh kills at your doorstep. Instead, he will use his cooking skills and bring very yummy meals cooked and caught by him. Will give a few happy hoots if you agree to letting him feed you.

He's going to bring you a lot of stuff, not just food though. Keep in mind the guy is well off and for a lot of creatures it's important to keep your mate well groomed, and he gets the good shit from Vil so expect to be gifted the best, lotions, shampoos, and skincare stuff. Along with clothes that seem to fit you perfectly...hmm how did he get your size?

Once a bond begins to form, owls might engage in mutual grooming, a sign of affection and trust. Please let him do your hair and nails he will be so happy. He gets to help you be even more pretty, gets to touch the person he likes, examine your interesting human features. He's actually someone you can trust to bathe with/wash your hair for you without trying anything regardless of his romantic feelings, even if you're nakey.

Nuzzling and nibbling will also happen, he knows you're a fan of his soft feathers and floof and will puff up to lure you in for cuddles...and then he'll get you with those gentle nibbles and nuzzle against you. At least with him, you won't have to worry about getting covered in fur after like with the others, but you might end up with a feather in your hair and will diffidently smell like Rook

Territory plays a vital role in owl mating behaviors. Male owls fiercely defend their territories from rival males, ensuring they have exclusive access to potential mates and sufficient resources for nesting and rearing young. Territory disputes often involve vocal and physical displays, including wing-spreading, aggressive posturing, and occasional physical combat.

As a result, any of the other guys should be wary of arrows flying their way when they get near Ramshackle once Rook gets to that stage in courting. The tree near your window was already one of his favorite spots before this started. I don't think he would start any fights though, not that he would need to, people tried to keep their distance from him before already.

The mental image of him doing the aggressive postering is funny though.

Hmm...wait...no...

...yeah, I can see how that would be scary if it's a man-sized owl creature doing it at night with glowing eyes and he's probably doing a weird honhonhonhon French laugh thing. He's going to scare the shit out of someone.

Some owl species, like the barn owl, engage in dramatic flight displays, which can include dives, spirals, and impressive swoops to impress a potential mate. He would definitely show off and even offer to carry you so you can enjoy a nice flight with him...you might see him divebomb someone, he doesn't actually touch them but gets pretty close.

The man loves his privacy so will likely pick a spot in Ramshackle away from everyone else to make into your love nest, only the finest blankets and pillows will be used, that fancy silk stuff you know?

Hmmm Vil.

I've thought about him ether being a Peacock-

Or a secretary bird.

I'm not sure what suits him best but I'm sure regardless his courtship will be flashy. You'll probably end up with a tail feather smacking you in the face at some point.

I might be able to think up something if you guys send in some ideas.

[the-final-sif]

Honestly, rules about what I can interact with as a minor are kind of strange to me. I've been allowed to have sex for years (and not from Romeo and Juliet laws) but I can't read a fanfiction where two consenting adults do it??? This isn't about specific authors being uncomfortable with it btw, moreso the culture and rules about it.

I mean, so reading fanfiction is whatever as far as I'm concerned. Go nuts, read the tags, you're gonna make your own choices about it. Law is gonna say one thing but that's largely a matter of old people clutching pearls over kids seeing boobs or whatever.

The difference for me on a cultural level and what I will push back on is interaction. When it comes to stuff like 18+ spaces, nsfw commissions, sexual roleplays, and commenting on 18+ fic, it's about the consent of the other person involved. And I do think maintaining rules/general culture of those spaces being 18+ is important.

Like, you can go have sex in real life, sure, but that real life person is going to visually see you and have a sense of your age. You might be able to lie to them about it, but it's gonna be a lot harder. Ideally, any partner you have would be fully aware of your age and both of you would be comfortable with your age and their age.

Online, that becomes much harder. People are putting out content and sometimes interacting with strangers. The general assumption adults are making is that in an 18+ space, they are only interacting with other adults. Everyone has passed a baseline threshold. When they find out someone is 16 or 13 or a 12 year old in an 18+ space, that feels super creepy, gross, violating and can stick with a person for life. They didn't consent to that interaction, they didn't want it, they didn't have any say in it. They never wanted to be interacting with someone at that age in that way.

The difference is in knowledge and consent. In real life, you going and fucking an 18 year old when you're 16 is between the two of you and as long as both of you know what's up, have fun and remember safe sex practices.

On the internet, if you at 16 and and 18 year old want to sext (but seriously do not send photos if you're underage, it's still very illegal even if that seems dumb), maybe doing a nsfw roleplay or whatever, cool. Again, remember safe sex practices and have fun. Not my business.

But going into an 18+ space which is clearly marked 18+ where everyone there is under the assumption that they are interacting with other adults isn't cool. They didn't consent to that, they aren't aware you're 16, and you have no idea how old they are or if they're cool with interacting with a 16 year old in that manner. It's a violation of consent, and that isn't okay.

[eruscreaminginthedistance]

Finally got around to watching some post-embargo vids and I have some now updated Veilguard thoughts.

Stuff I liked:

Character creator is a standout as always. This has consistently been the strong point of Bioware's games in the last 10 years so no surprises there. The pronoun and other gender-related options are a welcome addition.

Companions all seem great. I'm sad we haven't got more Davrin or Bellara content yet, since those are the two I'm most interested in learning about. Their initial introduction in that terrible cinematic trailer didn't do these guys any favours, but seeing them in gameplay footage gives a much better impression of them. It's also exciting to see more companion-on-companion interactions and relationships.

I was put off by the voice acting in the 10 minute gameplay reveal months ago, but what I've heard so far has been much better.

Main menu looks pretty.

As an ME fan, I'm pro dialogue wheel; it's unfortunate that Inquisition turned that whole mechanic into a massive drip. This is less a thing I notice but something I hope, that this game's dialogue wheel will have a more DA2 or ME1 vibe.

Hngnggn vfjddjgfnbhn oooowowo o cloaks.

Stuff I didn't like:

The art style is not redeeming itself. Wolfheart made a very insightful point that it might be a holdover from when Veilguard was going to be a live service multiplayer game, and it definitely does give that impression. Everything is still incredibly smooth and it's clear there was a lot of effort put into making things "nice" looking. It's giving very "everyone's beautiful but no one is horny" to me. I'm on the haters' side with the Qunari; where are their textures?

On that note, oh my god. The UI and the VFX. This must have also been a result of live service elements. As someone who hates playing late-game mages in Origins because all of the VFX gives me a headache this game looks actively hostile. Does literally every single ability require flashing neon lights? Why does the UI look like a World of Warcraft meme? Why does every single interactive object glow? Wolfheart noted that even after turning everything off, a bunch of VFX elements were still present, which is tremendously disappointing. Bioware can miss me with this cocomelon for adults visual style; I just do not need all of these annoying tricks to try and keep my attention.

Also on the UI - idk man. Remember when fantasy games weren't embarrassed about looking fantasy? Remember when all of Origins menus opened up in a little book with parchment pages? Character selection took place in a little castle? I just don't get this Thing Bioware has had since 2 to make DA's game UI look cool and slick by taking all the fun out of its visual elements. I've heard it before but I've got to agree, Veilguard's UI looks like a mobile game. And again, it's so busy it's 100% gonna give me headaches.

The combat is.... I won't call it "bad". I just hate it. See above for one of the reasons why. I think I could write a whole essay on how discomfiting it is. The very very clear push (likely from EA) to have the game resemble big name titles like Breath of the Wild and God of War has taken the game in the direction of just kind of a generic hack and slash; at least DA2 married its action elements with its party mechanics and has its own unique voice. There's something in particular that sets my teeth on edge tbh. I'm watching gameplay of warriors and rogues in combat and they're pretty much indistinguishable from mages. Teleporting, fire and lightning flying about in basic attacks, just a ton of stuff that makes me cringe to look at. There's a complete lack of class fantasy there for me - why would I want to play a warrior that isn't just a big guy with a big sword? Is this a result of story elements? Why is my low level rogue demolishing entire groups of enemies ala Dynasty Warriors? In a world where the distinction between a magic person and a non-magic person is incredibly important, could cost you your life, watching a rogue shoot lightning out of their knives makes me groan. Are Bioware's efforts to make the player feel like the coolest specialist person that ever lived going to be addressed in-game? We'll have to see.

Lack of control over your own companions ala Mass Effect. I don't wanna talk about it it's too depressing.

I've noted this in the past but obviously the tonal departure from low/dark fantasy to classic high fantasy. The character backgrounds for the Rooks pretty much lock you into playing a good guy, which is a huge shame. Even if you want to pick a faction that is canonically shady or morally neutral AT BEST like the Crows, they make sure to tell you that the other Crows don't like you because you're just that good-hearted. In a faction like the Grey Wardens, notorious for taking in criminals of all stripes, you spend your background saving helpless villagers. What are the options going to be like for people who want to play morally grey or potentially evil Rooks? It's starting to look like Bioware isn't going to give you a much wiggle room to define your character out of what they need you to be.

Lip flap looks like a very mixed bag. Maybe it's just the footage but voices and mouths look out of sync.

Can't make a post without reminding everyone that Bioware isn't our friend; they've fired half the people who worked on this game and greedy producers like EA don't deserve our money.

Update: Only just came across this but phasing out inventory management? Yeah welcome back Mass Effect trilogy :/

Neutral opinions:

Other shit like the Darkspawn and overall mob designs have been a problem since DA2 so I don't see the point in rehashing it here, other than to say that I can't wait for the "DLC with the good Darkspawn designs in it" this time around.

Opening scene gives me huge Mass Effect vibes; the bar fight and the music in that scene felt very "Lair of the Shadow Broker", which I guess is a compliment.

Varric still not dead yet. Kill that old man!

Ultimately, I'm putting in prediction now that Veilguard is going to go the DA2 route of having a decent and well-loved story, but with massive issues regarding its gameplay and aesthetic that players will just have to get over in order to enjoy the game.

I'm not gonna be buying on release - first time that's been the case for a Dragon Age game since Origins; the current plan is to wait until the Christmas sales, which gives plenty of time for the fandom to either assuage my fears or implode cos the game is shit. Either that or the Solavellan content is so crisp and juicy I'll have to learn to pirate.

[butchfortress]

realized i havent posted here much so, umm,

who wants to hear about my blu team headcanons ^__^ this is just my rundown of how they work, what they're like, and even weapon loadouts

ok so im going to roll with the teams being clones, but i dont want to make any sort of drama to be just about that, like that whole existential dread of being a clone thing. its been done to death and i have nothing new to say for it (besides, i'd assume the inital cloning process was years ago when they just got hired, by now the novelty would of worn off and weirder stuff would of happened for them to even care or worry about that.) so what i'm thinking is that there's no way everyone would have the exact same experiences after they get cloned, so everyone just splits off into their own paths and they become their own individuals almost. and interacting with themselves from the other teams isnt "oh thats literally me :(" but more so "oh thats literally me and i need to be better than him >:(" so theres always this bit of competition between everyone; an infinite loop of anything you can do i can do better.

as for everyone individually...... (i'll also throw in a ⭐ for whoever is the "master copy" of themselves)

blu scout: short stop / mad milk / stock bat

accidental honorary delivery boy. when miss pauling is busy with the actually important work, admin sends this scout around the teufort area to send out weapons and other mann co. products. red scout sees him as a bit of a poser poster child and they butt heads often, especially when red scout is off-shift while blu is making deliveries.

blu soldier: rocket jumper / b.a.s.e. jumper / market gardener

if not maybe a bit more of a conspiracy nut and more compliant to the company, i guess the most similar to his original version? can't beat perfection i guess, not a lot of notes here but they probably bite each other for fun.

blu pyro: decreaser / shotgun / neon annihilator

not visually different or note worthy either, but whatever she and red pyro have is unspoken, vicious, and brutal. they will tear each other limb by limb anytime they're in proximity. definitely another reason that fuels most of the team's fear towards them.

blu demo ⭐: iron bomber / scottish resistance/ nessie's nine iron

strategic, cool, and a bit of a schemer. a real master at his craft with sticky bombs and planning traps. red demo actually likes him but blu HATES him since he (red) got the eyelander and he (himself) didn't, so he's very bitter towards him (wow this is confusing.)

blu heavy: tomslav / family business / eviction notice

goes missing from base a lot, no one knows why. he seems to be doing illegal assassin work both inside and out of company payroll. both heavies actually are in contact often and blu gives a good chunk, if not all, of what he makes to him. i'd assume any of the clones visiting anywhere outside of the immediate tuefort area would be problematic and would have restrictions to prevent two of the exact same person from walking around in the world at once, so blu heavy lets his other self take it so long as it goes directly to his mom and sisters. if he can't visit them personally, at least him knowing they're stable financially and doing well is more than enough for him.

blu engineer ⭐: rescue ranger / wrangler / wrench

the dell conagher, enough said. he's the most in contact with admin behind miss pauling for her own purposes. he'd rather not think about his red counterpart, but i will say that this version does not have the gunslinger. that was all red engineer post-cloning. but he does have the only australiam tool between both teams so it balances out maybe.

blu medic ⭐: overdose / vaccinator / solemn vow

he thinks hes dr fritz ludwig from emesis blue 🤣🤣🤣 tries VERY hard to be a cold collected scientist but ends up being more neurotic and jumpy. screams a lot. actually maybe dislikes his team? and loathes his own red copy for actually trying (who btw (red) is having a great time knowing his existence is an abomination to god, its even an affirmation he tells himself in a mirror.)

blu sniper: huntsman / razorback / kukri

ironically one of the few blu team members that actually stay put in the base. he doesnt call his folks as per aforementioned restrictions, but he has no beef with his red counterpart for that. the worst they do is get extremely competitive; theyre at the top of their game and even have stand offs of just aiming for hours until someone flinches.

blu spy ⭐: revolver / black rose / dead ringer / red-tape recorder

the man, the myth, the legend. more carefree and unserious than red spy, thats partially because he doesn't know about scout's relation to him. red spy found that out post-cloning, he's missing that one bit or character development that makes him a more mature and cold mercenary, but at this moment he's none the wiser. so aside from expected spy vs. spy shenanigans, their conflict is a bit more deeply rooted. he actually visits the red base a LOT, to only a few people's knowledge. makes a lot of long tangents.

[tonydaddingham]

what the hell is going on in hell

this is essentially a braindump of ramble-y thoughts because the situation going on in hell is currently my new sub-fixation. a couple of things mentioned/shown in s2 would indicate the position that hell is currently in, and i dont think it's inaccurate to say that they appear somewhat stretched.

first up, we meet shax in ep1; she and crowley appear to have some kind of arrangement (ha) going in, where they are exchanging information - shax keeping crowley abreast of the goings on in hell, presumably so he can monitor his (and by extension - aziraphale's) safety being now an exiled retired demon... and crowley seems to be helping shax to assimilate to life topside, by means of teaching her behaviour that will mean she blends in more with humanity in her new role.

i did a post on bits of this scene, and on shax in general, that looked at how shax appears to be working somewhat with the favour of the higher-ups, possibly to the point of an unofficial informant, that would help her climb the career ladder. but i do wonder how far her allegiance lies, and actually how much she seems to know. in any case, a couple of things about this scene:

hell either doesn't know, or refuses to change, crowley's address for his post - they're still being sent to the flat in his name, and not his new abode, the bentley. furthermore, it's possibly even the case that hell hasn't even acknowledged that crowley has been replaced - they won't accept/recognise shax's signature.

however, shax appears to be very firmly in position as his replacement, and presumably has been for at least a little while. there's been a gap of 3/4 years between s1 and s2, so allowing for hell to be slow on the uptake in replacing crowley (as well as being initially shit-scared of him re: the holy water bath), plus shax is still learning things/remarking on how easy the job is, let's be really generous and say she's had the position, and the flat, for around six months. realistically though, estimating from her question about the boiler which, from crowley's tone, seems to be something that happens periodically, id say it's likely more around 1-3 months.

in any case, that's plenty of time for hell to update the records, right?*

same as crowley remarked in s1, it seems to be universally understood in hell that the ends justify the means; doesn't matter how things are done, just that they are. if shax echoes this sentiment, it supports that it must be true; hell doesn't give one shit about her interacting with crowley. this is supported by 1827; whether you look at it that crowley didn't secure elspeth's soul for hell through suicide, or that crowley was caught being good/nice in the general sense, either way it's strongly suggested that there is a consequence for him not doing the job. doesn't matter how it's done, only that it is.

ergo, hell doesn't care that shax is interacting with crowley, nor that she appears to be recruiting him as an intelligence source (despite his lackadaisical branding of 'traitor'), only that she does what she's ordered to. the issue is though, what are shax's orders at the moment? which leads me to the next one:

she lists three things, two of which don't appear to hold much importance to crowley, or at least he's not surprised by them. the first - he's still in hell's bad books: cool, not a surprise. the second, however, is the 'half rations' reveal. this brilliant post talks about this, because... well, what would demons feed on? or be interested in having, that holds any kind of importance to them? more on this later*. regardless though, crowley seems... to halfheartedly mull over the information? like its interesting, but not a major surprise? maybe it is, maybe it isn't.

the third thing though is the one that crowley perks up at: that something has happened in heaven. shax appears to admit that she doesn't know the details, and needs intelligence, which crowley brushes off. now, the thing that perplexes me is that - well, the conversation between michael and beelzebub hasn't happened yet, right?

could be that there has actually been a previous conversation between michael and beelzebub, where the news that gabriel has disappeared was revealed - and what we see above is a second conversation about the matter, now that it's gotten a little more urgent (hence the BOL threat)

or, that the two different scenes are out of chronological order... which honestly would be just plain weird.

the first option is possible, that beelzebub found out about gabriel from michael in a previous conversation (and told shax), and the one we see above is a follow-up.

but, in the crowley/shax conversation, shax doesn't actually seem to know that it's anything about gabriel, just that something's going on. so presumably, beelzebub doesn't know at that point either - not until the interaction above with michael. at which point, where did shax get her information from? how would shax have known shit was going on in heaven - even without the specifics - before it seems that even beelzebub knew? does shax have a different in-road with heaven?

(at which point, the only ones that appear to know about gabriel going missing, when it happens, is the metatron, michael, uriel, and saraqael - unless there's been a containment breach/someone else accessed the file? make of that what you will.)

*coming back to this point, on why hell hasn't gotten round to, or been bothered to, update the record that crowley is no longer an employee/in his flat, i think this is directly related simply to hell being short-staffed. i think it was mentioned in a BTS video somewhere, but the set design in hell purposefully included lots of files and folders to directly suggest that there is a huge backlog; whilst the higher-ups may be aware of shax replacing crowley, it doesn't appear to have reached the administrative offices:

as for why hell is short-staffed, ive toyed with it in previous posts/rbs but it would suggest that:

demons are disappearing - im thinking along the lines of the book of life, or just straight up being killed

demons are leaving - perhaps another mass rebellion?

demons aren't leaving but the numbers of the damned keep increasing - this, i think, is the most likely.

we don't know what the deal is with heaven, but presumably there is a separate facility for heavenly souls, and all we see in the show are the offices. in any case, it would kind of make sense that, if heaven is in fact taking its fair share of souls, even if lower-choir angels are attending to them... well, it's unlikely to extremely hands-on, is it; souls can be left to their eternal rest with minimal angelic involvement.

demons, however, are actively torturing their share of souls, such as is the purpose of hell, and this is definitely more hands-on; at which point, demons are going to be overworked/understaffed as the soul population increases. demons are only made from fallen angels, so the staffing situation is only going to get worse - hence why in s1, it was revealed not only that an estimate of 10 million demons exist, but that they would be pretty pissed about being told to go back to work. armageddon was meant to wipe out humans altogether (putting a stop to the ever increasing human population and therefore number of deaths), and bring about an eternal victory for one side or the other.

this, however, assumes that heaven is taking their fair share. i don't think it's necessarily the case that they're not (as i said, we haven't actually seen any areas where human souls exist in heaven - only the higher offices), but it's certainly possible that they're not, and they're all going to hell. at which point, why wouldn't heaven want more souls? isn't that ultimately the point of aziraphale and other earth-stationed angels? to bring about god's plan, but also sway humanity to the good? or is that the point - that human souls going to heaven or hell is inconsequential, and all that matters is the complete annihilation of one by the other?

1941 shows a bit more context for hell, in that we have what appears to be the main lobby, with multiple admissions demons (including shax and furfur) and there are chutes for transport into the lower floors/departments.

one thing i did notice as a small difference between 1941 and 2023, is the lights; this could be purely ambience/a single set design choice, but compare the scene where furfur has an audience with dagon, and the crowley/beelzebub chat - the lights in latter start flickering, like they are faulty or there is a power supply issue. this not appearing to happen in 1941 would suggest that the situation has gotten worse between these two points in time. it could just be for the ambience as i said, absolutely, but i think the line re: rations* could potentially be linked here.

another thing that interested me in 1941 is this:

pretty intriguing that the camera deliberately focuses on this, right? instead of continuing to track behind furfur? if it is Of Interest, what is the hourglass keeping time in, or counting down to? it could be the apocalypse, but if you consider the proportionality of sand in the top to the bottom, vs. the time that has passed since the Beginning vs. the next 78 years until armageddon, that seems... well, disproportionate? so could it be ticking down to something else, or does the hourglass time something, and it's just been recently flipped? at which point, why is it framed as so significant?

*returning to the "half-rations" point, there has to be due credit to this post by @that-ineffable-devil, it's such a good point; what do demons care about - is integral to their existence, and is essentially in short supply - that rationing would be necessary? crowley doesn't seem overly intrigued by the notion, but shax idly considers it important enough to share when prompted. op suggested that it's power; that there isn't enough (given that miracles appear to be drawn down from heaven/up from hell) to go around. op gave the great example of the ceiling leak in s1, but if the flickering lights, the broken lift mentioned by eric in ep5, and the excess backlog of filing in s2 is also anything to go by - yeah, these things could be solved with a demonic miracle or 'magical' intervention... so why aren't they?

gabriel cautions (putting it politely) aziraphale at some point around 1793 around using up 'frivolous miracles', which suggests that heaven was/is having a similar issue (or, alternatively, it was simply a power flex; to keep aziraphale in his place, so to speak). however, when we look at the archangels' reactions to the 25-lazarii miracle, their main concern understandably, given the plot, is what it signifies (ie. it's too coincidental to have occurred at the same time as gabriel going AWOL)... but not so much that there isn't enough power to allow a 25-lazarii miracle to go unchecked. instead, it seems like the sheer scale of it is just completely written off, that heaven doesn't actually care too much about how much power it seems to have partially drawn from heaven (ie. if it's a 50/50 split, 12.5 lz), and they seem to write it off like petty cash.

so tl;dr, hell might be having a power issue, but heaven doesn't appear to be sharing in it. i don't think it's anything to do with human souls fuelling miracles, because by the same logic (which i accept may be completely flawed. in fact id stake my life it is) the pool of power should be increasing, rather than decreasing - if more and more souls are being funnelled into hell and heaven respectively. so what if instead there's a leak somewhere - what if heaven is syphoning off power from hell? and when did the power leak start happening - was it to do with the failed apocalypse? is it actually nothing to do with heaven, but instead that because the soul population keeps going up and up, the power they actually have to contain and maintain them is stretched really thin? power can't be spared for lower-priority shit like filing and maintenance? why isn't heaven having the same issue? why is power seemingly finite, and where does it come from? does power actually come from god? or does it directly parallel to humanity's faith (and, presumably, the dwindling amount of it) in god? but heaven is closer to god, so they haven't yet been hit with the shortage?

this is still flummoxing me slightly - if there even is any answer to be had/if there's anything deeper to be read here - but the post is already long enough that it's probably best to leave it there... ideas very much welcome!!!✨

[your-favourite-plague]

Before Hunter X Hunter will return — my predictions about the Spiders deaths

From the furthest to the closest to their untimely demise

(that's loose musings, please don't treat it too seriously.)

Manga spoilers ahead

1. Kalluto – Togashi is known for unexpected story resolutions, but would he really kill one of the main character's siblings without ANY interaction between them? And with so little information revealed about Kalluto? Moreover, despite the brutality of some of hxh scenes, I can't recall any child killed on screen, and killing a Zoldyck off screen would be, in my opinion, too "anticlimactic" even for Togashi.

2. Chrollo — ok, this one I'm not so sure. I have two possible scenarios in my head. a) Chrollo sees all his friends dying or b) Troupe's reaction to his death. Both could be interesting, but I'm suspecting the first one a little bit more. In the second case his place would be much much lower, of course.

3. Nobunaga — His abilities are basically an enigma, yet he played a role in most of Troupe's moments. He already wanted to fight Hisoka in Yorknew City and I feel the build up to that confrontation may put him on the "more important Spiders" list. On the other hand, he was getting a worrying amount of screentime lately...

4. Feitan — he already had his "big scene" so maybe I'm lying to myself, but I think there's still something about his character to reveal. The hinting at his abilities, the focus he received... I don't know, I feel he still has some role to play.

5. Machi — I feel that her anger at Hisoka hints at a more complex character arc. But, unfortunately, anger is not very helpful for staying cool headed and not dying. I can't wait for the next time we'll see Machi, because something will definitely happen.

6. Phinks— he has a tendency to take a lead, which may not be the safest, in combination with his slowly charging ability... uh oh, I think he's in danger. Adding to this, he was often put in more comedic roles, I think his death would emphasize that things are serious, even more than they are now.

7. Bonolenov — he's never got much attention, so I think his death would have the "omg, the Spiders are dying" effect, without a need for scenes having great emotional impact. Still, his abilities are not fully explained, so he may have a great fight before that. Not necessarily with Hisoka.

8. Franklin — he's alone, maybe his tactic of waiting for Hisoka will pay off at first, but end tragically. Presumably, shooting from his fingers is his only/main ability; seemingly easy to counter by Hisoka's very versatile style.

9. Shizuku — her abilities are pretty straightforward, and not that useful on the Black Whale, so plot-wise there's not much to be done with her character. Also, she's currently in a team with Chrollo, and I'm thinking — killing Chrollo's companions (maybe fishing them out one by one) when they are sort of "under his care" would be a very cruel thing. Hisoka would do that.

🕸

I skipped Illumi because I don't trust him. Kalluto at least fought with Ants on the Troupe's side and should ditch Zoldycks anyway, but Illumi? It's obvious he doesn't care about the Phantom Troupe, but what is he really thinking? What is his real goal? He has to come clean before I'd even consider him a Spider.

[goodluckclove]

An Open Letter to a Professional Author

I came across a writer here who I imagine will probably never see this, but their presence was enough to make me pretty mad for two days now. I've decided to pen a little statement to this Long-Term, Professional, Full-Time, Published Author who makes a habit out of being deeply unpleasant in a way that apparently has only attracted an audience of other deeply unpleasant people.

People here seem to like it when I get mad. So, uh, enjoy?

Dear Professional Author,

I came across a post of yours on some feed here the other day and enjoyed your commentary. It was one of those writing memes that sort of called attention to actually writing as opposed to just thinking about your project - the kind that people usually respond to with some sort of joke expressing their repulsion at the concept.

You responded with distaste and I generally agreed. The tone was a little aggressive for me, but that kind of humor also leaves me generally confused. I personally ended up concluding that the self-deprecating humor was a coping mechanism for a larger issue that keeps these people from writing - intimidation, lack of confidence, physical or mental pain, things like that. You seemed to think it was a matter of will, which I found to be an approach that at the very least was well-intentioned.

Turns out it wasn't.

First off, I should say that this isn't about your political beliefs. Your political beliefs that are really more like general human beliefs. I don't want to get into that. Instead, I just want to talk about your writing. You are a full-time, published author, as you say in nearly post where you talk about writing. A major point of pride to you seems to be the fact that you are traditionally published. Any other method doesn't seem to be as legitimate to you. That's interesting to me.

You also don't seem to have much of an audience outside of people who mainly come to agree with your politics. I didn't really see a single positive interaction between you and another writer on here for as much as I was willing to scroll through your blog. That's also interesting to me.

I didn't spent too much time on your blog once I realized that you were definitely not the kind of person I would ever want any interaction with. What I did want to do is use your presence indirectly to prove a point that I've been wanting to get into for some time now.

To put it simply, I'll say this: a career in professional writing is not actually as cool or important as you might think it is.

Now I'll be direct and say that I've never been traditionally published for anything longer than a short story or long-term, unpaid column. You don't give any details on any of your writing, as far as I've seen (Once again - interesting!), so there's a chance you've made more in contracts and royalties than I have. But I'm a working writer. I've had a career in ghostwriting and technical writing. I've written and produced plays that have been featured in festivals in multiple states. I'm not speaking from a place of no experience, is what I mean to say.

What I also mean to say is that - while I view writing in many ways as a spiritual and healing act that I couldn't live without - it's also a job. It's not always exciting, and even when it is exciting it's only exciting to me. I consider the best date night to be when my wife works on video game development while I write my draft. I leave the house on a regular basis, but it's mainly to go to different places to write.

In short - I love to write, but I don't think it makes me cool. Or interesting. Or valuable. Or intelligent. Or just generally fun to be around and talk to. These are things I strive to cultivate in other aspects of the way I live and grow as a human being on this planet.

Being a Professional Author in one particular genre doesn't give you authority over the craft as a whole. You can't just throw yourself into conversations and start with I'm a published writer and assume that means you have the final say on any discussion. Believe it or not, in many cases it does not matter.

Lots of people are published traditionally, and it does prove some level of validity in their line of work. But there are a huge variety of people in the world of trad pub. There are people who write books in genres that don't apply to writers here. There are people who write books that aren't very good. There are even people who write trad pub books that are very good, but their careers are sullied by the fact that the authors themselves are not good people.

Being a successful writer does not mean you're a good person. Being a writer at all does not mean you are a good person. I believe in Death of the Author to an extent, but when that author insists on making a presence on a public website and doling out advice and opinions to other writers the lines start to blur considerably.

Writing is a job. You work it over a period of time and learn skills and strategies that work for you. The same applies to virtually every other job, including ones that society views as less romantic as something in the arts. Can you imagine me breaking into your home while you're making lunch and telling you how to arrange your cheese slices based on what I know as a full-time, professional sandwich artist at Subway? You might be interested based on leaning something you didn't know about a place you might've eaten at before. But that does not entitle me to your respect on its own.

I am not entitled to your respect based on how well I learned how to make a sandwich based on my hypothetical career at Subway. Just as I don't deserve it solely because I know two card tricks, can get out a variety of stains, read most of the works of the major beatniks, can make a really good carbonara, or any other specific about my life that ultimately does not play a huge part in who I am as a person.

When I am on my death bed, I hope to god the core of my character was not the fact that I typed stories from my brain until I got carpal tunnel. If my obituary begins and ends at "writer", no matter how positive the qualifier is before that, it will be the greatest failure of my life.

Because I am a writer. But that does not matter. It does not matter if you're a writer. It can be fun and enjoyable if you are, even better if you make a living at it, but it doesn't mean you'll be happy. It doesn't mean people will like you or perceive you to be the leader and teacher you might think you are. It certainly doesn't give you a free pass to throw cruelty at strangers for truly no real reason.

Professional Author, you had a chance to raise up the next generation of an industry I assume you must value. You're choosing not to, and that's fine. You don't have the obligation to. You do have the choice to not get involved and pretend to give advice that ranges from vague to untrue. You seem to be taking that responsibility very seriously.

It's like some twist on crab mentality, where instead of dragging crabs trying to escape the bucket you're swiping at anyone who tries to crawl in with you. Then, as they struggle, you're looking down at them and making comments on how easy it is to get in the bucket, if you only just do it and maybe read some books.

To all of us, I say this: question authority, even in the arts. Especially in the arts. Nobody knows as much as they say. That includes me, but I do know this - any branch of publishing feels really good. It's scary but it's fun. If you're traditional published or indie published or self published, it says nothing about how good your book is or how good you are as a writer or how valuable you are as a human being.

Don't be this lonely bucket crab. They seem mean and I'm tired of talking about them.

Best Regards,

Clove

[frogtender]

HI I WATCHED S2 ACT ONE

and i'm going to be rewatching it multiple times before the next arc comes out bc omg mama we have been fed so fucking good i am REELING I LOVE THIS SHOW SO MUCH

i want to interact with the arcane fandom on here more!!! but please keep in mind my takes are silly and surface-level bc my knowledge of lore is not that good and i'm not that smart <3

my thoughts and feelings below the cut. 100% spoilers livetweeted to my girlfriend so it speaks to her directly in some places but i'm not about to type out any other thinkpiece about this omg

- vi come to our reality bc u would love King for a Day by Pierce the Veil and Kellin Quinn (2012)

- jayce was saying to mel "how is viktor like basically fucking Dead and i wasn't hurt at all??? it should be ME in there (the hex core bacta tank)" and mel was like "there's no sense in things like this it's pointless to speculate" which would be a true and meaningful statement EXCEPT FOR THE FACT THAT people speculate her shining gold metal back and arm appliqués stuff is a Solarian shield (idk jack shit about Solaris but it's a thing i guess idk) so there is SUCH a chance that jayce was shielded by it but not viktor... which like... would be a dramatic reveal if mel was like "yeah i actually didn't want him to survive so i chose to only shield you" but why the fuck would she do that??? but in the very first shot which is of jayce coming back to awareness he is already Standing Up and mel is standing right next to him while everyone else has been blown tf around so. i am pretty confident that she shielded just the two of them... i hope jayce finds out and resents mel for it while still resenting viktor's machine herald shit omfg what if he blames mel for viktor becoming robot king... like viktor told jayce "i was supposed to die u promised to destroy the hex core" so viktor blames jayce but what if jayce blames mel WHY CANT EVERYONE KISS AND MAKE UP COME TF ON....TOXIC THROUPLE TOXIC THROUPLE

- the important character development of s2e1 was cait being really scared and intimidated about filling her mom's shoes but then by the end she is Girlbossified and has a hextech rifle... with three sights on it??? like regular glass sights but there are three of them? i have no idea how that would be more effective than just a single sight with a really clear lens but i also don't know shit about guns LOL. anyway she marched into the council meeting at the end like "YES I AM A GIRLBOSS AND HERE IS MY PLAN" and ambessa was looking at her a bit concerned... if there ends up being a power showdown between ambessa and cait it will be so fucking wild bc tbh cait is NOT very scary lololol like she's angry and she's got a gun but imo she's still the kind of person who would hesitate before kicking someones teeth in

- ok episode 2 zaun is going full mad max AND steampunk w half people wearing bondage gear and the other half being top hat bespectacled steampunk gentlemen.. its like a chem baron fight for power thing except they all fucking suck and i'm excited for jinx to kill them all (she kills 1/3 of the remaining ones in s2e2)

- VIKTOR IS MACHINE BOYYYYYYYYYYYYY "WHAT AM I" YOU ARE MY PERFECT BEAUTIFUL BOY SON!!!!

- i am so sorry and so delighted to announce that viktor in this form has somehow reached PEAK PATHETIC WET MEOW MEOW HE LOOKS SO GOOD

- i can't believe VIKTOR is being the lead toxic in the yaoi WHAT DO U MEAN U HAVE TO GO... THE ONLY THING KEEPING U TOGETHER WAS AFFECTION.... BRO MARCH UR NEWLY METAL ASS BACK IN THERE AND SMOOCH UR BOYFRIEND HE SAVED YOUR LIFE‼️‼️ augh okay i guess viktor will be an emo cult leader now

- sevika is TOTALLY becoming a new champion she HAS to jinx gave her a really cool new arm... its very silly but very cool i think u will like its concept.. but sevika and jinx team-up goes crazy actually i am a Big Fan‼️‼️

- VIKTOR IS MAKING ALL THE SHIMMER ADDICTS INTO MACHINE PEOPLE..... and it completely heals them and makes them young??????? broski WHAT like that is cool as hell!!! they look super badass after The Transformation even if i wasnt a shimmer addict i'd want him to do that shit to me... no wonder he becomes a cult leader he's earned it

- another episode ending with a vander werewolf tease SHOW ME THE WOLF ‼️‼️‼️ SHOW ME THE WOLFFFF i know at the end of episode 3 these bitches are gonna release da vander and then i will have to wait a week to see him forreal augh

- okay its 1:52pm im terrified to watch this tbh but this is the last minute i can start before hockey game

- EXTREMELY COOL ANIMATIC OMFG AND THE SONG RULES HELLO.... babe u HAVE to see this you'd LOVE IT OMFGGGG ITS SO GOOD

- ooh the dead son is a real dead son and also that old lady with the too young voice (amara i guess) was in fact related to the scary goddess thingy people were hypothesizing??? i think??? but thats who the medarda family has blood feud with ig we don't know much else yet

- YURI KISS OMG CAITVI KISS YURI CONFIRMED YAAAAY THEY GOT THEIR LITTLE DRAMATIC FIRST KISS SCENE WOOOOOO YEAH i was worried they were gonna make us wait for that but hell ya

- omfg there is a CRAAAAZY furry design in this bitch hello... who is she and why is she such a queen

- okay maybe ur right jayce does look unnervingly human LOL there was a scene between him and ekko where he looked WAY too good

- TOXIC YURI TOXIC YURI vi stopped cait from shooting jinx and also btw cait has been on a Being A Bitch arc omfg they were making out 10 minutes ago now they are BROKEN UPPP!!! because a random child has trauma-bonded to jinx as an older sister figure HOW THE TURN TABLES and she shielded jinx w herself and seeing that a child cared that much for jinx made vi falter about killing jinx. who is reckless to an apathetically suicidal degree now

- also um. jayce and da scientists seem to have touched the arcane a little too close bc?? they got transported into a Nothing Dimension and then the very nature of reality started glitching in a CRAZY acid trip sequence while jinx vs vi and cait vs sevika fight was happening... it seemed very much like an Into the Spiderverse kind of thing... very interested to see how this will continue to manifest in the remaining two arcs

- mel was just kidnapped by the black rose (??? cult???) which are the ones ambessa is beefing with.. they better not kill her i love mel i want her back safe she's too beautiful to die

- ambessa is in War Mode and she looks extremely badass even if i think she's at least 70% evil

- also cait shot off jinx's middle finger

- in an EXTREMELY bold move, ambessa appointed CAIT AS GENERAL IN PILTOVER WHICH IS NOW UNDER MARTIAL LAW????? bruh cait is getting an insane arc this season.. she went from naive to vengeance-driven and impulsively violent in 3 episodes

- oh my christ cait is fucking queen of cops now... this is so unfortunate for her character arc and so unfortunate for lesbianism

- ANOTHER VANDER TEASE ARE U FUCKING KIDDING MEEEEEEEE I SAID SHOW ME THE GODDAMN WOLF BRO

- okay so it seems like ambessa has realized that she can use cait as a militant pawn using her grief over her mother's death, bc she sees a ruthless quality in her... srsly cait's arc is insane rn

[mofffun]

AnimateTimes movie interviews [❤💙💛]

Rita x Kaguragi x Jeramie (July 30)

highlights of the movie + guest cast

Change in Taisei

Rita's burden and with Morfonia / ep10, 16

Kaguragi with Racules and Suzume

Your character in summer

individual pics + translation under cut

Adventure Heaven is finally opening on July 28!

Hirakawa: In this movie you will meet a new side of Rita never before seen. Filming the movie is a fresh experience for me from start to finish.

Kaku: We will touch on Kaguragi's past in the movie. It will be very important for him in the future.

Ikeda: The coronation scene we shot with a crowd of extras. It is our biggest and grandest scene yet.

The guest cast including Ms. Sakura Ayane as Debonica is impressive too.

Ikeda: Ms. Sakura has a distinctive method of vocalization. When the two of us talked in private and she said "Royal Arms", I was stunned.

Is Ms. Sakura's "Royal Arms" cool?

Ikeda: It's very powerful, very cool indeed.

Kaku: As a king, you have to be cool.

Hirakawa: I didn’t get to meet all of the guest cast in person, but Mr. Nakamura Shido (Rainoir) has a solemn and powerful presence just from being. He brought on set a positive tension that alerted everybody "the movie is about to start!".

In the movie, Gira finally becomes King of Shugoddom. Has the star behind Gira, Mr. Sakai Taisei changed in any way?

Kaku: He's getting less nervous in public appearances. He'll still say "I'm so nervous!" even now, but he's getting better at relaxing into the role and just enjoy the show.

Hirakawa: The Taisei I saw is the one who's super nervous during filming.

Kaku: In the scene with Rainoir? 

Hirakawa: Yes! His lips turned purple (laughs). "It's method acting for the Land of Death!" he said, but I think he's just nervous. Recently, he seems to have accepted his role as the cute mascot.

Ikeda: Since I only joined the cast later as the sixth ranger, I haven’t seen his nervous era. But I see where you're coming from about him turning cute.

Hirakawa: When we used to call him cute, he'd say "There's no such thing!", now he just nods, "Um..."  (laughs)

Everyone: (laughs)

Ikeda: He might be somewhat happy to hear that.

Please tell us more about the main series as well. In Episode 16, Rita's past is revealed.

Hirakawa: I think through Episode 16, the audience can now feel Rita’s burden. Revisiting the past, we reaffirm Rita's resolve and sense of responsibility, as well as pushing forward in the mystery that is Fury of the Gods. This development will impact the TV series going forward.

How do you see the relationship between Rita and Morfonia?

In Episode 10, we saw a change in the relationship between each king and their aide. Rita also got somewhat closer emotionally with Morfonia. I believe the guard around Rita’s strained psyche has lowered a little. They won't have a heart-to-heart conversation just yet, but the distance between them has been shortening since. In real life, we are becoming closer friends as well, that will sure be a positive influence to our interaction in the story.

On the other hand, Kaguragi has a lot of mature bargaining that hide his true intentions with characters like Racules and his younger sister Suzume.

Kaku: It is fun to bargain with Racules. Yano-chan put his predictions of the future in his performance, I too kept that in mind and considered many aspects in my own. Suzume is both cute and a strategist, I find her duality interesting.

What if your character goes on a summer break?

Ikeda: Jeramie would sleep through it, wouldn't he? "What I thought was an afternoon nap, took a whole year. Happens to anybody." He did say that once... When he wakes up, it'd probably be winter. (laughs)

Everyone: (laughs)

Kaku: Kaguragi is a festival man. He'd for sure host a big summer festival in Toufu.

Hirakawa: Rita would just marathon "Together with Moffun", wouldn't they?

Kaku: Absolutely! Rita would rewatch every episode up to now.

Hirakawa: There are 4000 episodes, it'd be a miracle to finish it before the end of summer (laughs).

(laughs) Moffun is not slowing down with his merchandise release either.

Hirakawa: It's amazing, isn't it! Without a word you grew interested in its shape and voice. It's just that Rita's imitation is a little different though...

I think Rita's imitation of Moffun is adorable! At the end, please tell our readers the highlights of the movie.

Hirakawa: Surely it's being able to see a new side of Rita different from the one we know so far. Even the details in the background carries meaning, I would love for you to see it on the big screen, and two or three times if you can!

Kaku: The movie is presenting a whole new world, with imagery much grander than the ones in the TV series. The characters will face their pasts, and the audience can learn more about them as people. This is the part I find myself enjoying.

Ikeda: In a trip to the Land of Death, there is much to think about on each of the king's attitude and way of life. It adds another layer to the world of King-Ohger too. Please look forward to the movie.

Thank you very much!

映画『王様戦隊キングオージャー アドベンチャー・ヘブン』 平川結月さん×佳久創さん×池田匡志さんインタビュー｜リタの新たな一面とカグラギの過去――死の国で王たちが向き合う因縁とは？

2023年7月28日より公開中の映画『王様戦隊キングオージャー アドベンチャー・ヘブン』（映画『仮面ライダーギーツ 4人のエースと黒狐』と同時上映）。

シュゴッダムで始まろうとしていたギラの戴冠式。ヤンマ、ヒメノ、リタ、カグラギら各国の王が一堂に会し、新国王誕生の瞬間を迎えようとしたとき、“死の国=ハーカバーカ”の案内人・デボニカが現れ……。ジェラミーも加わり、ギラたち6人が未知の世界で大冒険を繰り広げます！　

アニメイトタイムズでは、シュゴッダム新国王の即位と映画公開を記念して、キャスト6人へのインタビューを2回にわたってお届け！　

本稿では、リタ・カニスカ／パピヨンオージャー役の平川結月さん、カグラギ・ディボウスキ／ハチオージャー役の佳久創さん、ジェラミー・ブラシエリ／スパイダークモノス役の池田匡志さんにお話を伺いました。

中村獅童さんから威厳と強さを感じた

――映画『王様戦隊キングオージャー アドベンチャー・ヘブン』がいよいよ7月28日から公開されます。

リタ・カニスカ／パピヨンオージャー役 平川結月さん（以下、平川）：今回のリタは今までにない新たな一面を見せるので、映画の撮影は最初から最後まで新鮮でした。

カグラギ・ディボウスキ／ハチオージャー役 佳久創さん（以下、佳久）：映画では、カグラギの過去に触れるシーンもあります。今後の彼にとっても重要な話になりそうです。

ジェラミー・ブラシエリ／スパイダークモノス役 池田匡志さん（以下、池田）：エキストラの方々と一緒に撮影した戴冠式は、これまで以上に華やかで壮大なシーンになりました。

――デボニカ役・佐倉綾音さんをはじめとしたゲストキャストの方々も非常に豪華です。

池田：佐倉さんは、声の響き方が全然違いました。2人でお話したとき「王鎧武装」を実際に言っていただいて痺れました。

――佐倉さんの「王鎧武装」は格好良い雰囲気なんですか？

池田：迫力がすごくて、とても格好良かったです。

佳久：王様たちはクールに決めるからね。

平川：私は直接お会いしていない方もいるのですが、ライニオール役の中村獅童さんからは、そこにいるだけで威厳と強さが感じられました。現場が引き締まり「映画が始まるぞ！」という良い意味での緊張感が生まれていたと思います。

――映画ではついにギラがシュゴッダムの王になります。撮影開始からギラを演じる酒井大成さんの変化や成長を感じることはありますか？

佳久：公の場で緊張しなくなってきていますね。本人は今でも「緊張する」と言っていますけど、徐々に楽しめる余裕が出てきたんじゃないでしょうか。

平川：私は映画の撮影でド緊張している大成を見ちゃったけど（笑）。

佳久：ライニオールとのシーン？　　

平川：そう！　唇が紫だった（笑）。「死の国だから役づくり！」と言っていたけど、普通に緊張していたと思います。彼は最近、可愛いキャラを受け入れてきているんですよ。

池田：僕は追加戦士で途中から参加したので緊張している時期を見たことがないんですけど、可愛くなったのはとてもわかります。

平川：以前は可愛いと言うと「そんなことないよ！」と言っていたけど、今は「うーん……」って（笑）。

一同：（笑）

池田：どこか嬉しそうだよね。

P2

夏休み中のリタは「もっふんといっしょ」を一気見する!?

――TVシリーズについても聞かせてください。第16話「10才の裁判長」では、リタの過去が明かされました。

平川：リタが抱えているものを、観ている方にも感じていただける内容だったと思います。過去を通じてリタの覚悟や責任感を再確認しましたし、大きな謎である「神の怒り」についても進展があったので、今後のTVシリーズに影響していきそうだなと思います。

――リタと側近であるモルフォーニャの関係性についてはどう見ていますか？

平川：第10話「伝説の守護神」で、各国の王と側近の関係性が変化するシーンがありました。モルフォーニャとも心の距離が若干縮まり、リタが張っていた心のバリアが少し減ったんじゃないでしょうか。話し合ったわけではないのですが、自然に距離感が近づいていると思います。リアルでも仲が深まっているので、作中の掛け合いにも良い影響が出ているはずです。　　

―― 一方でカグラギは、ラクレスや妹のスズメと本音を隠した大人な駆け引きが多いですね。

佳久：ラクレスとのやり取りは楽しいです。矢野ちゃん（ラクレス・ハスティー役・矢野聖人さん）も今後の展開を予想しながら演じていて、僕もそれを受けて色々考えながら演じています。スズメは可愛らしさと策略家の顔があって、その二面性がとても面白いと思っています。

――TVシリーズの今後も非常に楽しみです！　ちなみに、もし自身が演じるキャラクターに夏休みがあったらどのように過ごしていると思いますか？

池田：ジェラミーは寝ているのではないでしょうか。「昼寝のつもりが1年経ってたなんて、ザラさ」と言っていたので……。多分起きる頃には、冬になっていると思います（笑）

一同：（笑）

佳久：カグラギはお祭り男だと思うので、トウフで盛大な祭りを開催しそうです。

平川：リタは「もっふんといっしょ」を一気見するのではないでしょうか。

佳久：確かに！　これまでの話をおさらいしてそうだね。

平川：4000話もあるから、夏休みで観終わるかは怪しいですが（笑）。

――（笑）。もっふんはアニメやグッズの展開も盛り上がっています。

平川：すごいですよね！　何とも言えないフォルムと声がお気に入りです。リタが真似しているのは少し違うのですが……。

――リタが真似するもっふんも可愛いと思います！　最後に公開を楽しみにしている読者に向けて、映画の見どころを教えてください。

平川：やはりこれまで見せていなかったリタの新たな側面を楽しみにしていただきたいです。背景の細かい部分まで意味が込められていて、大きなスクリーンで観たら、吸い込まれそうになるくらい物語に入り込めると思います。時間に余裕があれば、2回、3回と観てほしいです！

佳久：映画では全く新しい世界が登場して、TVシリーズ以上の壮大な映像が見られます。キャラクターが過去の因縁に向き合うシーンは、それぞれの深掘りにもなっているので、個人的にも観るのが楽しみです。

池田：死の国へ行くことで王様たちの在り方や生きる意味など、色々考えさせられることがあると思います。『王様戦隊キングオージャー』の世界をより一層楽しめるので、ぜひご覧ください！

――ありがとうございました！

[stranger-theory]

Song & Scene Analysis: Lumax vs Byler

I've also posted this on the Byler Subreddit so if you see it there, hi, that's me!

I’m sure you’re aware of song importance in Stranger Things with the Duffer Brothers saying sometimes it takes weeks to pick a song that conveys the exact message they’re trying to portray. I’ve seen quite a bit of theories around what songs mean what, but there’s one specific song that caught my attention.

There’s a scene in season two, episode six where Lucas and Max speak on top of a bus in the junkyard. It’s a lovely scene in which Max explains her behavior to Lucas, and apologizes for some stuff she wasn’t proud of. She says she’s sorry for acting like a jerk, and doesn’t ever want to be like that, but she feels overwhelmed with her home life and takes it out on people she doesn’t mean to. She then expresses that she likes California, and sometimes wants to go home, but having Lucas there with her for comfort makes her feel better. Max makes a call back to their “Stalker” joke, with a shared laugh. This emotional scene is then cut off by the sighting of a demodog, and a tense scene plays.

Now you know the base of the conversation, let me tell you about a similar scene I see as a parallel. Season four, episode four bedroom talk. This scene is between Mike and Will, where Mike apologizes to Will. In his apology he says he’s sorry for acting like a jerk, but everything with El was just really overwhelming and he doesn’t want Will to feel like their argument was personal. Mike explains to Will that he really appreciates Hawkins, but, since Will moved to California, it feels different. He misses Will. They share a “Cool” with each other and sit in silence while smiling, but are cut off by the doorbell as Jack’s men come searching for El.

These scenes may not feel as similar as I'm insisting with just this information, but there’s a very key portion to this parallel: Music.

I’m going to go through these scenes at the same time to help you understand where I’m coming from. At the current moments in time for these scenes, Lucas/Will have a like Max/Mike, but don’t know how to confront them about it. Max/Mike both apologize to Lucas/Will for hurting them when they didn’t mean to. Max/Mike say the reason they acted like this was because they felt overwhelmed with their lives at the moment. Max/Mike say that they like California/Hawkins but without Lucas/Will, it wouldn’t be/isn't the same. Max/Mike make a callback to “Stalker/Cool”. Almost directly after these heartfelt talks, they’re interrupted with the intense Demodog/Goverment scenes. The same song plays in these scenes to further imply that we’re supposed to view them the same way. The camera slowly zooms closer on their reactions to help the audience grasp these scenes better, and help it feel more intimate.

These are things you basically can’t deny, as I’m just stating the facts of these scenes. From all of these similarities and comparisons, we can also further suspect other aspects of these scenes. Something we’re allowed to assume is that, like Max, Mike also has feelings for Will. If the original scene including this song is meant to be interpreted as romantic, then why would the second be any different? If the original scene is meant to be read as a “romantic” and “intimate” apology, then why would the second scene suddenly be a purely platonic interaction? If they’d wanted us as an audience to think otherwise, then they would have chosen a different way to portray this scene.

I thank you greatly for listening to me rant about why this scene drove me crazy. I’ve been looking forward to posting this for a while, but with my very on fire Spongebob looking brain, I never remembered. I’d love love looooove to hear your thoughts and add ons to this, ESPECIALLY corrections if i’ve somehow misinterpreted something. I wouldn't want to spread misinformation. Have a good morning, afternoon, or night, folks.

[oldtvandcomics]

Pulptober 2024: 26 - Not Like We Remember

"It's inevitable that, through the adaptation process and the passage of time, people's ideas of what a character is changes. This is for characters where this is...particularly drastic such that the way people envision them is often radically different from how they were originally." - Original prompt by @krinsbez

I have A LOT of thoughts about this, so I'm going to change my usual pattern of going for a character and write an essay instead.

TL;DR: In my experience, one could argue that this is true for all stories that have gone through some adaptations. At least it is in the minds of the general population. Fans who are invested enough to watch/read the original might be a little different, depending on which character you're talking about.

Many fans have pointed out fandoms' bad tendency to simplify and occasionally twist characters in order to fit them into neat narrative boxes, and the way that this hurts fanworks, because they now fail to interact with any of the things that made said character unique to begin with. What I would like to propose:

Mainstream adaptations and popular perception of a story do this too.

Trends that I have observed to happen during adaptations:

All clever characters -> insufferable genius who is full of themselves and keeps rubbing this into everyone's face (Sherlock Holmes; the Doctor, occasionally)

The one woman important for the story -> the hero's love interest, if he didn't originally have one (Irene Adler; Lenore "Casey" Case; Lieutenant Uhura*; Dan Reid Sr.'s wife (who also appears to have changed her first name from Linda to Rebecca in the process? *The 2008 Star Trek movie is ALSO guilty of erasing two out of the three important female officers, leaving only Uhura. If you were to give Spock a love interest, why didn't you stick with Nurse Chapel?! But those movies are a rant for another time.)

"Cool" male hero -> Insufferable asshole who thinks that he is cooler and better than anyone else and treats women like assets to get across how cool he is (Captain Kirk; Han Solo too, at least I personally would argue so)

White hero + partner who is a person of color, both more or less equally competent -> White guy is a complete idiot who wouldn't be able to keep himself alive + partner is insanely competent and does the work for both of them without receiving any thanks (The Lone Ranger + Tonto; The Green Hornet + Kato)

Any period typical prejudices that might have been present in the original get amplified by ten (The Green Hornet; The Lone Ranger; Sherlock Holmes; the First Doctor)

Two very close male friends -> They hate / barely tolerate each other (The Lone Ranger + Tonto; The Green Hornet + Kato; Kirk and Spock (!!); Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson)

Any woman in a leading position -> Girl with a sword and very 21st century attitude (Nimue that one time; Not sure how much Enola Holmes counts because she is an original character, but....)

Woman who is NOT in a leading position but doing her thing -> Screaming damsel in distress (Susan Foreman; Lois Lane in the minds of those who don't actually consume these stories)

There are absolutely more, these are just the most obvious ones that are bothering me. My general attitude towards older stories is to approach them with the best possible intention, and try to read past any outdated language and tropes. There is SO MUCH beauty and diversity there if you do that! But I really have the impression that the people making these adaptations don't always approach the original with the same good faith, if they really read/watch/listen to these stories at all. And then there is of course the inevitable game of telephone between people who know the original and understand the cultural context it was made in, people who know the original but don't understand the context, and people who only know the original through pop culture osmosis.

IDK, the only solution I see is to drastically shorten copyright, so that the people who get to retell these stories are the ones who actually love them, and of course to give Hollywood writers the time and resources to actually do their research. None of which I see happening.

[nothoughts-onlywomen]

random duos wishlist for s5

obvs elmax, rovickie, stobin, and lumax go without saying. those are REQUIREMENTS for s5

madwheeler - truthfully it would be cool to see their friendship kind of come full circle. or at the very least mike should do/say something that signifies that he truly cares for her now.

madwise - honestly the most underutilized dynamic. both targeted by vecna, both the quieter ones of the group, both sensitive (though i think max refuses to admit this about herself).

el/lucas - by some of the leaks' accounts (taken with a grain of salt), el and lucas should have some good scenes together this season. and that would be a poetic full circle moment since he started off hating her and thinking she was a freak, to her then becoming one of the most important people in his life. and they bond over almost losing max, and fighting to get her back.

nancy/lucas - i think this has been underexplored. they could relate over having a loved one who's been attacked by vecna.

robin/will - i mean they're the only two gay characters. there has to be at least ONE scene between them (though if the leaks i've read are right it looks like that may happen).

steve/jonathan - by all accounts it looks like we might be getting some of this duo in s5. i'll be very interested to see how they handle it, especially since both of them love nancy.

ronance - OBVS. don't know if the duffers will go there but i'd love at least a spontaneous kiss in a death scene or something. if not that then there should be SOMETHING that signifies that their friendship has grown.

erica/lucas - now that erica is a bigger player in this game, i would love to see some sibling bonding. it would be cool if it was over max, especially. like erica says something snippy to comfort lucas over max being in her coma.

dustin/lucas - i know we're going to get scenes of the OG four boys but i think this would be a nice callback to s1/s2.

nancy/mike - another nice callback to s1. she mentioned that her vecna visions involved mike getting hurt and she was understandably distressed by this. it would be lovely to develop their sibling relationship to something more mature.

karen/literally any of the kids - i'm thrilled to hear karen wheeler is getting a bigger role this season. i've always really liked her, so i hope whatever they do with her gives her an opportunity to interact with some of our faves.

hopper/el - another obvious one, but i think their found father/daughter relationship is one of the sweetest things in the show and i don't want it to get lost amid all the chaos.

joyce/jonathan - another essential callback to s1. their dynamic's been shelved for a minute so it would be great to bring it back.

dustin/steve - we have ALWAYS got to have this duo in some capacity, it's too damn fun. bonus if we get a scoops troop callback.

also max/consciousness would be nice too

[kyuummie]

I am absolutely insane abt c!TNT duo, and don’t have anyone irl talk to abt them :[. Pls info dump to me abt c!TNT duo and pls bestow upon me any and all c!TNT duo headcanons that u have. It’d absolutely make my day (also, ur pretty cool and I like ur Tumblr)

i am SO mad i had entire PARAGRAPHS OF AN ANSWER to this but it didnt save as a draft. TWICE. Anyways i finally decided to check my inbox..!!!!!!!!!!

And thank you! im not creative when it comes to hcs so heres ramble about metaphors and comparisons that are canonical/headcanon for ctntduo. Would base this on canon divergent interpretations but Nah

1- yin/yang

very obvious. “he is my yang”. recognizable and iconic. Two opposites which bring harmony. self perpetuating cycle of two interconnected sides.

the self perpetuating part is very important. it has always been established that they have a push and pull for everything, because they relish in the other’s reactions and its almost instinct. it all started this way too, their upbringing puts them in a very strange position slash relationship. they “balance” each other out — rather,, they teeter on a tightrope keeping them entertained and enabled . they are sides of the same coin, and complement the other. they always have a quick witty quip ready for the other’s petty insults, so so predictable. they dont keep harmony and peace between them, more so a light to keep them going similar to a smoker lighting cigarettes over and over again (insert the 10000 arts of wil lighting his cig with Qs light and vice versa. my fave ever) its close to an addiction, they need each other to keep running and flowing in the most unconventional ways they can find. if you look carefully, they are always circling enabling balancing each other

2- fire/light/burning

i like the metaphor of cwil being under the spotlight of people's perception .. sure, its cool to finally be able to see and interact with people but Q is different. he isnt and never will be afraid of wil. he is only "unpredictable" to him. freakishly enough this is also entertaining to Q. what will he destroy next? graffiti next? say next? do next? he cant help himself but to react. wil on the other hand will do anything to get a petty reaction from Q, to get his precious eyes on him that makes him burn in the light. tearing each other apart then rebuilding each other is an important component of their relationship me thinks

3- president/vice president

usually, i tjink this is a concept used to try and dethrone the other of their humongous egos and get that feeling of a win lol its all about reaction

their relationship is so interesting and weird because of the fact they wanted to over throw the other in politics — i dont think you see two POLITICAL rivals have that homoerotic tension often … anywhere! but i think its so funny that they became a version of the other further down the line (menace -> president, president -> menace) and it also goes back to the yinyang, over time and under certain conditions one can become the other because the other will always be present in the other. (like yin contains yang vice versa)

4- cannibalism Sorry /j

ok this is Strictly fanon. does this count as a headcanon i dont know.

if anyone remmeberes there was a certain point over on ctnttwt a handful of people were crazy for cannibalism ctnt go read whispers of blood and love. recently its become a not too uncommon/pretty popular characteristic for oc ships etc. of course its usually metaphorical in (ctnt) art and sometimes written but the act of giving yourself up completely to another to become a part of them goes pretty well with the psychology of ctnt/the game they play so i very much see the vision when people use this concept to depict Wil’s “devotion” (i guess? idk Refer back to ‘I am your servant’) to stay w Q in order to keep feeling that feeling of being “alive”.

it also goes hand in hand with quackitys want for power over people/things from beinng deprived of it in his earlier days. biggest stretch ever but also his capitalistic ideals to consume consume consume. and wil is willing to give him that opportunity because it is beneficial to him as well. horrible mutualism psa guys dont eat your boyfriend

these r mostly cwilbur centric mb. i also hate being wrong Which is why i hate having HCs. but why should i when theyre practically my ocs and the whole point of hcs is that theyre YOUR canon but oh well

anyone and everyone add on if u Like. Humble me if im wrong idc

[trooperwrites]

Solo Leveling

Enjoyment: 8/10

Quality: 4/10

Link

Genre: Action

Synopsis

Sung Jin-Woo is an weak E rank hunter barely making it in low rank dungeons when he faces a bizarre dungeon which leaves his party mostly dead and him as the only survivor. However, as the old saying goes, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Sung Jin-Woo has now acquired the ability to level up and he is on his grind to become the strongest hero of all time.

Review

I think this is probably the biggest gap I've given between the enjoyment of something and the quality. Firstly, lets talk about the positives. Solo Leveling has really nice looking art and panel composition. The fights are well framed and executed and everything looks very cool. Secondly, Solo Leveling is a very effective power fantasy. There is just something deeply satisfying about watching this guy level up and seeing the tides of battle immediately be reversed upon his arrival. In a world where good does not always prevail, it is satisfying to read Sung Jin-Woo triumph against what look to be hopeless odds. However, I think in terms of writing on a technical level that make the text worse even when considering genre and the tfact that it is suppose to be a power fantasy.

First, I want to talk about the fact that the text spends time foreshadowing things that are never developed. There are two cases that I think best exemplify this. The less egregious one was with the case of the Chinese hunter Liu Zhigang. His abilities where shown multiple times and there were numerous instances where it seemed like it he would become important in the later story. However, ultimately literally nothing happens with his character and he just gets dropped as the later arcs focus entirely on Sung Jin-Woo.

Secondly, in this case of Sung Jin-Woo's romantic interest of Cha Hae-In. Following the Jeju Island Arc, there is significant development of the relationship between the two. It appeared that she was going to his guild and maybe we would get a story arc between the two. However, some other random character ends up joining the guild and no arc happens. What makes this particularly egregious is that the new character that ends up joining the guild ends up being unimportant to the story and she doesn't actually do anything. What is the point of introducing this new characters to the guild if they aren't going to contribute meaningfully to the story. Not only is nothing done with the new character that has been introduced but also this ends Cha Hae-In being meaningful to the story. After this moment, she also disappears from the story and basically nothing happens between the two of them until shortly before the final arc where they go on a date and the epilogue where they are married. Ignoring the rest ending and epilogue for a moment, I'll get back to that at some point, there isn't enough development done between Jin-Woo and Hae-In for me to care about their relationship. They are basically strangers who haven't talked to each other in months by the time of their date. By not having Hae-In join Jin-Woo's guild, what was the point of them getting closer during the Jeju Island arc. She could basically be cut from the story and nothing would change. We lose out on having two characters interacting and developing as characters. Her character just feels like a prop to indulge in the power fantasy of the strong conventionally attractive woman falling for the main character.

This brings me to my other major critique in that Sung Jin-Woo morphs into a story warping character. This isn't true at the start, early on there are a lot of compelling supporting characters with their own struggles and goals but as the story progresses they become less and less important. Eventually, Jin-Woo is the only character that actually matters and the only character with any meaningful development. Hae-In's fate is the same as every other supporting character as they no longer become relevant nor are their arcs developed or focused on; it becomes, in essence, a one man show. This leads into the ending where Jin-Woo resets the world and everyone forgets about the hunters.

This ending is really bad; I really hate the ending. The story basically ends by wiping out every character arc other than Jin-Woo's and resets the world to what it was before the story began. To highlight why I think this story is bad, lets again focus on the epilogue where Jin-Woo gets married to Hae-In. The reason why these two characters had a connection as hunters because they were both absurdly powerful and they were both isolated. They both have dealt with the struggle of being a hunter and the isolation that comes with said power. But this Hae-In is the not same Hae-In that he marries; the Hae-In that he marries is essentially a stranger with no connection to him. However, the failure of Solo Levelling to actually develop any of its side characters means that this is failure becomes blunted. Very few characters are actually different than when we first met them so nothing much is actually reset as all the character development that actually happens is about Jin-Woo.

All in all, Solo Leveling is a very power fantasy to read but it doesn't actually do anything substantive or interesting with its characters.

[kyouka-supremacy]

sigma for the ask game?

Sigma!!!!

Favorite thing about them: The same thing as the bsd author: I really like how “normal” Sigma is!!! It makes him very sympathetic. The way he fought with everything he had during the Sky Casino arc to protect what was most important to him made me emotional.

Least favorite thing about them: Nothing I can think of? I guess his outfit could use some improvement but I'm starting to think I'm very nitpicky with this kind of stuff lol.

Favorite line:

I feel like I'm always going for the most predictable lines but like. I really like this one. I wish nothing more for my life than to do what I can as an ordinary man.

brOTP: Everything I ship with him romantically I think would work really well platonically too!! Not much more I can't think of since he hasn't interacted with a lot of characters, but I have a hunch that him and Kunikida would get along well lol.

OTP: I really like sigzai, it's my personal “liked it before it got popular” pffttt. I do understand the criticism in saying that Dazai was mostly manipulating him, but I think that's the cool part? Like them starting out with Dazai manipulating him and Sigma being mostly aware of it but unable to impede it, yet Dazai gradually growing in love of Sigma's resilience and will to live. I think they're very nice even if they didn't start out healthy, but like, why would you be looking for healthy relationships in the toxic yaoi franchise? I also throughout enjoy siglai. It's like, the cooler funnier version of kuniki/dazai for me lmao. I find the “I have literally NO CLUE why I love you and will keep loving you despite wishing I didn't” and “if I don't spend 25/7 annoying you I will explode” vibes really compelling.

nOTP: Nothing. Look, unless it's something that actively bothers me, I hardly have any notps in general, I'm a multishipper at heart.

Random headcanon: I really like the concept of transfem Sigma within canon who's like. “I haven't gotten the chance to transition because I was born like two years ago and my life has been a mess, but AS SOON AS THINGS CALM DOWN— ”

Unpopular opinion: ... I don't like the idea of him joining the ada? I mean, I don't hate it, but I would have rather had it where he didn't, even though it's evident that the plot is going in that direction. I just wish he could keep working as casino manager because he looked so at home at the Sky Casino, it makes me wish he would go back. And the odd thing is that I acknowledge that it's been established in the manga itself that that was not the right place for him (Dostoyevsky in chapter 107: “[You realized that] a lonely ‘home’ isn't enough. What you need isn't a place, but trust.”) and that he should join the ada; I just feel like they made his love and attachment to the Sky Casino so strong and moving in its respective arc, the idea of him having a life outside of it just feels wrong. I think he's really good at manager jobs in general, I'd even be happier with him like. Opening a hat shop or something.

Song i associate with them: -ERROR by niki, also the Namine Ritsu cover by cillia. The illustration of Ritsu in the cover even seems to resemble Sigma a lot for me eheh. I feel like the lyrics fit Sigma's inner conflict between feeling like he isn't supposed to exist and still wanting so deeply to live a lot!!!

Favourite picture of them:

Favourite panel from the manga:

Favourite illustration:

Favourite illustration in the anime art style:

Send me a character?