#i'm still not entirely sure how the rules work on ''actions that are Possible for the victim but they would never want to actually do''

[kiyomitakada]

if light yagami were alive in 2024 i don't think he would kill trump but i do think he would be tempted to

[immaturityofthomasastruc]

EVEN MORE SPOILERS FOR SEASON 6

I figured since I already read it, I'd give my thoughts on the recent interview Astruc and Thibaudeau took part in.

Due to incompatibility with the new animation engine, SAMG will not be working on the next seasons of ‘Miraculous’. The series is now being developed entirely in France, with the integration of Dwarf Animation.

Okay, props for no more outsourcing, even if I'm not sure what this means for the other ZAG shows.

Season 6 is considered to be “a new beginning”, aside from being a new story arc. It is sometimes referred to by the writers as Season 1.

I'm sure that isn't confusing to the executives at all. Also, maybe don't imply you're starting from scratch when you're already reusing the plot of the main villain using the Butterfly Miraculous.

The writing team already has concrete ideas for how Seasons 7, 8 and 9 will begin and end. They also have ambitions to make it to a Season 12, only if the support of viewers and executives allows them to do so. With this, they emphasize the fact that they would not continue with the show if it were no longer needed or interesting.

So basically, they're planning to keep this up for as long as they can until someone pulls the plug.

The opening of the sixth season is still undecided. They are still discussing whether they will change the musical arrangement or not. Thomas also considers the possibility of making a brand-new theme song. A song has been confirmed for S6. They have the music, the arrangement and a female singer. The character remains unknown.

Imagine how funny it would be if they brought back the woman who sang for Marinette in the movie instead of having Cristina Vee sing again.

Despite leaving Paris at the end of ‘Revolution’ (5x23), Chloé Bourgeois will return in Season 6.

Putting aside all the things I've said about her "damnation arc", what is even the point of bringing her back at this point? She has no powers, no influence, no allies, and isn't a threat of any kind. This makes her not being the next Hawkmoth make even less sense, becuse she has more of a reason to hate Ladybug than Lila does.

Also, with the news that Chloe is coming back, this means that she essentially escaped punishment or at least found a way to rebound like Lila did. So that's a grand total of ZERO villains who actually got punished for their actions after five seasons. I'm starting to think Ladybug and Cat Noir really suck at their jobs.

Sebastien Thibadeau: “[Cerise] (IOTA: I'm still calling her Lila for simplicity's sake) is a villain without costume. She is a villain all the time. There is a reason why, but this reason, neither I nor Astruc will reveal to you yet.” Interviewer: “You mean you already intend to tell it?” Thomas Astruc: “Yes. And you know what, we have already told it, but you haven’t noticed.”

Translation: Ladies and gentlemen, LET'S GET READY FOR RETCOOOOOONNNNS!

Seriously, we are approaching the sixth season of this show. It has been eight years since Lila first appeared all the way back in "Volpina", and we still know nothing about her other than the fact that she has some three moms for some reason. You can't pull the whole "This is something you need to rewatch to understand!" excuse because the last two seasons hinged on breaking the rules about Sentimonsters.

Speaking of, I love how this comment about Lila accidentally implies that Gabriel never did anything evil when he wasn't Hawkmoth/Shadowmoth/Monarch. All that emotional abuse and isolation Adrien suffered was all out of love!

Thomas Astruc on Chloe redemption arc: “We put the characters in situations, and then we say to ourselves: “what would be the logic?” How would the character logically react in “such and such” a situation? And we tried, we tried everything. But every time, we say to ourselves: “if we write this, it’ll be wrong”. There’ll be no reason, it’ll come out of nowhere, the fact that she’ll face something nice and say: “Oh, I’ve been horrible, Marinette what have I done! From now on, I’ll be...” No, nonsense. I understand people’s desire for Chloe to be nice. I’d like that too. But I’d like it if in real life, people with a lot of power suddenly started doing nice things. But Chloé has no interest in changing. She has no reason to change, unfortunately.”

Ah, yes because Gabriel (Global terrorist and abusive parent), Felix (Betrayed Ladybug and temporarily wiped out all of humanity on a whim), Nathalie (Willing accomplice to Gabriel) Andre (corrupt politician and Chloe's primary enabler), Sabrina (Willing accomplice to Chloe) all had compelling reasons to change their ways.

Also, "I've been horrible, what have I done?"

MY BROTHER IN CHRIST, THAT'S HOW VIRTUALLY EVERY REDEMPTION ON THIS SHOW IS EXECUTED.

The fact that he's seriously acting like he actually wanted to write a redemption arc is insulting. Not only does it ignore all the things he's said to fans who were upset at the turn of events, but it makes no sense for him to take this stance because he's a writer. If Chloe turning a new leaf is too strange of an idea, then write an actual character arc allowing her to progress to a state where she recognizes what she's done is wrong. You control the character for God's sake! It's not like you're training a dog to stop humping the couch. You can change things to make a redemption arc possible.

In other words, Astruc is either lying to save his ass, or THIS IS WHAT THOMAS ASTRUC ACTUALLY BELIEVES about writing characters.

Sebastien Thibadeau talks about Andre's character development: In contrast to Chloe, “Andre Bourgeois evolved as a character because we had already imagined a back story. He had the potential to change, and that’s where the beautiful scene comes from — I think it’s magnificent — between Gabriel and himself on the roof of the Grand Palace, where he says: “But Gabriel, what’s become of us? We’ve forgotten the kids we used to be”. But we [writers] know what kids they used to be, and we’d like to tell the story one day, to show what young kids they were, when they were struggling through Paris and weren’t yet what you’ve come to know in the series. He’s sad about what’s happening to his daughter [Chloe], and he’s trying to change it, but he can’t. He is proof that a character can change.”

This. This right here is what cinched it for me. I've tried for years not to say it because it's a word that has been flung around a lot over these last few years, but I feel like this little snippet is enough of a reason for me to say it.

These writers are sexist.

They may not believe it, but whether they intended for it or not, they wrote a story arc where a grown man was shown to have more sympathetic qualities than his daughter. How the hell can you defend it in a way that doesn't highlight the misogyny that this show runs on?

The fact that they gush over how much "potential" Andre had right after saying how that same kind of potential wasn't enough of a reason to attempt a redemption arc with Chloe really shows how confusing their priorities are. I'm sorry to keep saying this, but for a show that takes a heavy anti-capitalist philosophy, it seems like the members of the 1% are the characters who get the most depth and sympathy... unless you're under 18 and lack a Y chromosome, that is.

A meeting will be set up in the coming weeks to decide on whether or not to make a live-action for ‘Miraculous’, Thomas Astruc reveals.

As a former Arrowverse fan, I'm willing to see this out. Not only did the Netflix One Piece series prove you can make an animated property work in live-action, Ladybug & Cat Noir: The Movie managed to do really well even without the usual writers behind it.

Thomas when asked about Gabriel’s wish in ‘Re-Creation’ (5x26) and whether he brought Emilie back to life: “All the answers are in the episode.”

For the love of--STOP SAYING THAT!

You keep claiming that we just need to rewatch the episode to understand things, but between the continuity errors and abandoned subplots, it's hard to tell what's important and what isn't. Either say "No comment" or give us an honest answer.

If people are still confused about how the season ended after almost a year, and you keep giving answers like this:

Maybe you need to change the way you tell the story.

Astruc when asked about ‘The Supreme’: “Oh, if only you knew... Nothing we do is meaningless.”

Sebastien Thibadeau on Season 7: “Once you’ve seen the start of season 7, I can swear you’ll watch season 6 a second time. That’s all I can say.”

Because it'll make Season 6 look like a masterpiece by comparison?

Thomas Astruc on the worldbuilding: There are Kwamis and Renlings, what makes you think there aren’t others [creatures]?

I swear, by the time we get to Season 10, we're going to get stuff like aliens, demons and talking mushrooms, or at least something ludicrous like that.

Zoe had a love at first sight when she met Marinette in ‘Sole Crusher’ (4x07), they confirm.

Of course! That's why it wasn't framed any differently from something like the umbrella scene and Zoe showed absolutely no signs of attraction to Marinette! It's genius!

Executives had Thomas write several alternative concepts for ‘Miraculous’, very different from what we know today or even the early PV. Among them, “a concept where Ladybug is the head of a group of superheroines, like Sailor Moon. There was no love story.”

Can you imagine a world without the Love Square?

The script writers’ favorite episode is ‘Simpleman’ (4x19) as it represents a personal, work and family attachment. Marinette’s grandfather, Roland Dupain, is inspired by Thomas Astruc’s grandfather.

Okay, either Astruc had a complicated relationship with his grandpa or he's been dead for years. While I understand that older generations have outdated views (for example, my great-grandmother yelled at me for saying I wanted to learn Japanese because "They tried to kill us!"), the fact that a caricture of a grumpy old man was based on his grandpa is a little concerning.

Also, between this and Sabine being based off an old flame of his, this only makes the theory that Chloe is based off a real person Astruc knew more plausible.

Astruc: “This is why our work is so difficult. We have to manage to bring in this generation of younger ones, and at the same time, we have to satisfy the generation that was here before and that grows with the series.”

First, if you're trying to please older fans, maybe don't get into fights with them on Twitter.

Second, you made a thread after "Simpleman" aired where you insulted fans for not getting the "meta" element to the episode and compared them to the character you just said was based on your grandfather.

You've also been burning away a lot of the older fans' goodwill over the years. Trust me, I have a few examples.

Despite sharing a similar appearance, the symbol on Nino’s T-shirt is not related to Hack-San.

Okay, is this a fan theory I missed back when Season 4 was airing? Why would anyone draw that conclusion?

Thomas Astruc talks about Season 6: “I’ll say it sincerely, I was very doubtful at the end of Season 5. I said to myself: “if we were to continue, how would we exceed?” Well, we did. It’s been a great season. The new writers have brought us a lot of great stuff. All the episodes we’ve written in Season 6 are fabulous. Each episode is on point, there is no unnecessary lines. All the scenes are really interesting, really well-crafted.”

Translation: Tons of filler, bad comedy, reused Akumas, and more Love Square drama that we're trying to claim hasn't been done before.

Thomas when asked if Marinette will get akumatized: “We never give any information about what may or may not happen.”

JUST. SAY. NO. COMMENT.

There are many important details throughout the series that no one has noticed. Thomas says that when we see the next seasons, we’ll think, “Oh, the writers had it all planned.”

You know, like how Season 3 established that Sentimonsters can be sent out of control by Cataclysm a few episodes before Adrien, a Sentimonster, gets hit by a Cataclysm and is affected in a different way. It was all planned from the beginning.

The Ladybug PV was an animation test and was not intended to be public. Jeremy Zag decided to leak it himself.

Honestly? Dick move on Zag's part. You have to wonder how pissed off Astruc was.

According to Thomas Astruc, what the ‘Miraculous’ series is today represents only 5% of what he wrote in the original bible he presented to Jeremy Zag. “The universe has evolved a lot since. I don’t know if the ideas I put there will be reused someday. It was very extensive.”

Thomas Astruc and Sebastien Thibadeau discuss the parallels between Marinette and Gabriel: Astruc: “Gabriel’s personal back story is the cause of his misery, not his will. And above all, it creates a beautiful mirror with Marinette, which is what’s interesting. They both have a lot of love for Adrien, they’re both designers, they both have a Miraculous, but it’s other choices.” Thibadeau: “That’s what makes it a great hero-villain contrast. Even if they don’t know it from the start, they have a real point in common. As we see at the end of Season 5, they both love Adrien. Except there’s one who does it by doing the right thing, and then there’s another who does it by doing the wrong thing, hurting people, to get there.”

And the one who did the wrong thing by hurting people ended up winning. What does that say about the contrast?

------------------------------------------------------------------

And that's it for the interview. I have to say Season 6 does not look pretty so far.

[riizebabie444]

𝙟𝙪𝙥𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙟𝙪𝙣𝙘𝙩 𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙪𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 🌠

🌠 ─── the jupiter-uranus conjucntion is upon us so here is a reading to cover how the power and energy of this astrological alignment will affect you.

🌠 ─── picking your pile: take a deep breath and allow your soul to centre itself. when you feel your mind balanced and cleared, allow yourself to be drawn to an image. your eyes may gravitate to one, or you may close your eyes and feel which image is calling out.

🌠 ─── be sure to check out my other readings and don’t forget to share and give feedback. disclaimer: all readings done are for entertainment only. please do not use my tarot readings as a replacement for legitimate advice.

୨୧ ─── masterlist. paid readings. exchange rules.

donations. games/events. feedback.

pile one

how it will affect you

pile one, with the page of pentacles i'm seeing that this will affect you academically or or career wise. you will feel a spring of inspiration for learning things. if you've been procrastinating tasks or studying, you will experience a refreshing perspective on studying and completing tasks. you will identify your end goals, gain clarity on your manifestations. it could be a project also, or a hobby. something you've had in mind for a long time but just pushed the thought away. you keep saying i'll do it eventually but that hasn't happened yet. with this conjunction, you will shift from thought to action, you may even be starting something entirely new, but it does feel like learning and education is involved. you want success in the long term and you will realise the steps you need to take to achieve that. the shift the conjunction will bring you will push you towards reaching your goals through learning and motivation, and excitement about education.

messages for you

the messages are about opportunities coming your way. you may have missed some significant opportunities in the past. maybe you're missing them now. i see you are not recognising when the perfect opportunity is right in front of you. so when you do recognise an opportunity, you wish it would be better. but you already missed the better one. pay more attention to the chances coming your way, and take action to seize them. you will face a hard time filled with lack and instability if you do not focus and take the opportunities when they come.

how to benefit the most

you're hitting hard times. this might not be relevant to all but i do see loss, scarcity. this can mean something material, like money or a job. but it can also mean something more spiritual and personal, such as losing faith or trust in someone you love. it's disappointing, right? the conjunct here wants you to use this as motivation. every loss can be turned into a gain. try to see the silver linings because if you focus on the negatives, you will only get negatives. the work with the power of the conjunct, open your mind to the possibilities. find the good in the bad because it does exist. accept that it's okay to lose and feel like you have nothing. but what's not okay is to simper away in your self-pity and give up on trying to find happiness. to benefit the most from this alignment, you need to change your mindset. stop being the victim of your life and start being the hero! every hero goes through hardships, don't they? so get up, dust yourself off and keep trying.

pile two

how will it affect you

the energy of this alignment can cause you to be overwhelmed with many tasks and activities. it may make you busier than usual. you'll be rushing from one end to the other, and have very little breaks. but the thing is, you keep telling yourself it's fine. while you may have balance, it can still feel difficult to maintain. i think this conjunct will give you the spurt of energy to be able to handle it all. alternatively, it is the conjunct that is making you like this. so many things to do and not enough time to do them, but you still want to. you will feel uncomfortable sitting still, so you need something to do. you may even be torn balancing between different areas of your life, for example, your work and your relationship. however, this conjunct will prove to you just how capable and resourceful you are. that despite the overbearing nature of it, you are still adaptable and flexible to get through everything to the best of your ability. you will even surprise yourself. when everything has calmed down, you with think: i don't know how i did it but i'm proud of myself!

messages for you

you may have some unrealistic dreams. you may desire them so much. but whatever it is, you need to open up to the possibility that it is simply not meant for you. this is particularly if you are an idealistic person. you can achieve emotional fulfilment even when it is not picture perfect how you imagine it to be. don't over indulge at your own expense on things that are not feasible. you need to be more grounded and honest with what is actually possible. but don't worry, you will still find happiness even then.

how to benefit the most

get in touch with your romantic side. take yourself out on a date, or share a date with a special someone (eg partner, friend, sibling). just have a fun relaxing date spending time with someone you love. if there are new opportunities or positions coming your way, don't be afraid to jump right in. get involved with your present, appreciate what is going on around you at this very moment. stop focusing so much on what could be, and appreciate the now. the you from ten years ago probably can't imagine where you are right now. so stop worrying, because the you right now can't even fathom where you'll be in ten more years. leave it up to fate to lead you where you're meant to be and enjoy life as it is in this moment.

pile three

how it will affect you

there is so much energy here. the conjunct will open your throat chakra, you will have so much to say, to think, to express. there is just so much to be said. you might be more talkative that usual, your mind might be busy running on overdrive. you may feel inclined to express yourself more with clothes or hobbies etc. you will feel more independent and in touch with yourself. you will embody confidence and be more outgoing than usual. you may come off a bit pushy to others. but your inner instincts are telling you to be courageous. your overall approach to life will be energetic. this boost of confidence and energy from the conjunct can go both ways though, so make sure you make decisions carefully. and since you will be so bubbly, you may often crash. so better take care of yourself mentally.

messages for you

you may have regrets and disappointments. but you also have so much to look forward to! you cannot undo what has been done. but you can forgive and let go. forgive yourself, forgive others. learn that peace is incomparably better that holding onto the past. loss is painful, but it can either lead to rotted roots or a beautiful blooming flower. it is your choice to decide how you want to end up.

how to benefit the most

plan. plan, plan, plan. have your details in order. everything needs a plan and sure, not everything goes according to plan but if you have a plan, it will still work out better than if you didn't. don't get used to going with the flow. start adding some structure and order into your life. also, don't be afraid to step out of your comfort zone. this conjunct is the perfect time to embrace new change. so be open to new experiences and get out there. do things you're scared of. say yes to the thing you think you're not good at. expand your horizons and make your life all the more successful and richer.

pile four

how it will affect you

you will embody that masculine energy. you may find yourself in leadership positions, being a guide to others. people looking up to you. and you will feel quite natural in this role. even if you have not been a leader before, you may be forced into this position with no other choice and you will find that you are pretty good at being a leader. you may overall feel more ambition with life, you may strive for more leadership opportunities. you may also become someone who inspires and influences others. it could be something as simple as other people taking inspiration from your style to being the leader in a very important project. you will feel more passionate than usual, and may be pushed out of your comfort zone for whatever reason. but you will be stern and motivated. you won't step down and you will deal will face any problem head on.

message for you

you are or will be surrounded by abundance and wealth. some of your manifestations will come into your life soon. or, you may lose your need of "wanting" and simply learn to be happy with what you have. your hard work will pay off and the rewards will be reaped. everything is coming together, be proud of how hard you worked for this!

how to benefit the most

harmony is so important for you to not lose track. this conjunct will give you a boost of energy, but that doesn't mean you should overdo it and burn out on the third day of trying. take it easy and find your balance. stability is key. prioritise your health and happiness because it will keep you going. celebrate everything, big and small. every little thing that happens to you, everything you do. even celebrate others. happiness and celebration will serve you well. visit home, your family, your friends. you will feel welcomed and supported, search for those feelings because for one reason or another, it will benefit you.

[tinytalkingtina]

WIP weekend

Whew this was a heck of a week work-wise, looking forward to getting some writing done this weekend!

Updates:

Hoping to post the next chapter of my witch and dragon au next weekend, finally got over a block in some dialogue between Big Boy and Eddie! Time for these two to talk through the consequences of their actions and panic

I'm about halfway through each of the three smuttysteddie prompts I'm doing, plotted it out so they're mostly for prompts that are later in the month to give myself as much time as possible

@little-annie and I fleshed out our steddie role reversal AU a bit more this week, so I wrote out additional dialogue for my introductory Track star runner!Eddie ficlet. Poor Tommy, doomed to have homoerotic tension with his best friend in every universe.

Send me an emoji in an ask, and I'll send you 3-5 sentences from that WIP!

🐲 Witch and Dragon Steddie Chapter 5

🏃Role reversal (metalhead Steve + track star Eddie au)

🚗 Free Show and Therapy (Smutty steddie September ficlets)

Spicy excerpt from 🚗 under the cut (18+ content below, minors beware. Also contains spoilers for the first Die Hard movie)

“Can you touch me again now? Please? If I’m going to get arrested for public indecency I want at least one orgasm out of it.” Steve huffed out a laugh. “Stay still for me, and maybe I will.” He slowly undid the zipper on Eddie’s jeans and wiggled down his briefs to leave him bare-assed on the passenger seat. As asked, Eddie obediently kept the squirming to a minimum, even if he gave another whimper at the exposure. His dick on the other hand, gave an interested twitch, already half hard. Steve held out his hand. “Spit.” Even in the darkness, he could make out how red Eddie’s face was as he did so. He reached down and gave a few solid pumps while rubbing his thumb over the head, not letting up until Eddie was fully hard. “Here’s the rules for tonight. I’m going to keep doing this right up until you’re about to blow it. But you’re not going to come. Not until the credits roll. When you get close to the edge, I want you to be good and tell me, okay?” It took Eddie a few seconds but he did finally nod. Steve grinned at his wide-eyed stare. This was going to be fun. Thirty minutes later, the German terrorist leader shot someone. Steve wasn’t entirely sure they were actually terrorists, but the finer details of the plot were kind of a lost cause at this point. And Eddie definitely wasn’t in a state to concentrate on anything besides what was happening in the car.

[cairavende]

Worm Arc 19 thoughts:

Hopefully this is the only time I have more than a month wait between arc recaps. I was distracted.

Not a long arc really, but god damn did a lot happen.

My daughter is no longer eaten . . . ate . . . aten . . .

My daughter is no longer inside of a creature. That's good. Even though I was obviously 100% fine at the end of arc 18. I'm just more fine now.

Big props to Weld for just going swimming in a giant flesh pool and pulling people (and dogs!) out. He's an ok guy.

Based on the weird "dreams" Skitter was having while inside Echidna I am running on the assumption that the clones are pulled from alternate reality versions of the consumed person where said person had died. Well, not the clones themselves really, but the powers of the clones (and possibly their personalities/memories). Not sure it will end up mattering, with Echidna being dead.

But basically I think the dreams were partially visions of alternate realities.

I've been on the "alternate realities are gonna play a big role and are tied to powers and everything" boat for awhile now, but this arc finally brought that all to the forefront of everything. Just with Scapegoat and Scrub's power, clone Eidolon's powers, the door, and such. So that's cool!

Speaking of Scapegoat, I love his ridiculous little power. I saw it coming the second I saw the name and I was enjoying every second of it.

"She’s fucking blind!?" has gotta be one of the best moments in Worm so far.

Skitter finally realizes that Tattletale has been very clearly taking actions to portray her as the leader to everyone else. Cause bad ass lesbian super villain trio is everything.

Skitter hard carried the second Echidna fight. Everyone would probably be fucked if she wasn't there.

Starting off with taking out the teleporter Grue clone. My girl knows rule number 1. First, GEEK THE MAGE!

And of course she was using her bugs to monitor the entire battlefield, but then she starts giving information and direction to everyone. Kept track of clones, preventing any (hopefully) from escaping). And taking out a fair share of them herself!

Fucking just full on use swarm speech to speak to everyone across the battlefield at once! FUCK YES SHE IS BADASS!

I'm sure Shatterbird won't show up again and isn't going to be an issue at all!

And she's the one that sets up the trap to cut Echidna in half and contain clone Eidolon so Miss Militia can take him out! Clockblocker gets partial credit for helping I guess. But still, Skitter saved all their asses 10 times over.

Also Clockblocker is obsessed with my daughter. Kid has it baaaaaaaad.

I love that in the first few chapters there is some teasing of Cauldron's secrets being spilled a little bit, then Legend completely reveals that Cauldron exists but lies about details, and then suddenly clone Eidolon just dumps everything out there!

Faultline and crew - "We…worked on finding info on Cauldron for a year…and…he just…he shouted it out."

And through all of this Tattletale just out here like "I'm gonna tear a hole in reality!" God I love this reckless chaos child.

Gully deserves to punch a few Cauldron people. As a treat.

Lisa "I took one look at you and instantly knew I would take over the fucking city just to see you smile" Wilbourn over here! GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!

SERIOUSLY IT'S SO GAY!

"OH NO LOOK AT THAT POOR TRAUMATIZED CUTE GIRL, I CAN FIX HER!" IS THE MOST LESBIAN THING

Real quote: "Maybe- maybe when the interuniversal trade takes off. Can you imagine? With me and you as the top dogs? The whole world will pay attention to us." HOW CAN SHE BE THIS LESBIAN?

CHATTERBUG CHATTERBUG CHATTERBUG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (SMUGBUG SMUGBUG SMUGBUG if you prefer)

THEY CAN RULE THE WORLD TOGETHER AND I WILL FORGIVE ALL WRONGS DONE TO REACH THAT POINT CAUSE GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!! (Also obviously Rachel will be there too.)

(I'm sure Taylor crumpling the papers from Dinah in her fists at the end of the arc isn't ominous at all.)

Blasto Interlude thoughts:

Sucks to be Blasto I guess

Accord is terrible as always, glad to see more of him. Love his minions.

Colin can't do anything right. Seriously dude you cut Bonesaw in half and still lost! You have magic cut through anything and turn it to dust tech and you couldn't kill her! God.

Dragon is hard carrying this SH9 hunting team.

She got Manton! That's crazy! Good job robot daughter!

I 100% do not expect Siberian to stay gone. I mean outright Bonesaw is gonna be cloning people and she can probably get some of his DNA. But even without that, it was just too convenient, happening off screen like that. I dunno. It's not safe.

Also Blasto, I'm really sorry about what happened to you but also you tried to make a half Simmy clone! God damn that was the dumbest thing you could ever have done. You are so lucky it didn't work (probably), cause if it did it would have been because she planned it. God damn.

Time for the Slaughterhouse 99 or whatever. Gonna really suck for people.

Parahumans Online Interlude thoughts:

Timeskip!!! Shortish timeskip but still! It's been so day to day for so long so suddenly jumping ahead was surprising.

Greg from act 1 is back! And also kinda a dick. And probably has a Thinker 1 power. Tattletale light basically. Fits with what Taylor said about him in act 1 too.

GstringGirl is probably Sveta, that feels right.

Glad to see the Case 53s making their own team, that's a good start.

WagTheDog wanting to work for Bitch is super cute! I'm glad it seems like that is going to work out.

Loved seeing some of the stuff of people talking about Skitter. I've been wanting to see what the general public has been saying about her cause from an outside perspective the stuff she has done seems 10 times crazier than it is, and it is already crazy.

Emma Interlude thoughts:

Fuck this bitch

Sure she went through a really hard situation and she has terrible parents and it is easy to see how she got to where she is, but that doesn't excuse her actions. I still don't like her at all.

I don't know how much more I need to say, except that Alan shouldn't have left his traumatized daughter home alone with the instructions "If you feel like doing something bad please call the therapist who's number I put on the fridge" christ dude. You are worse every time you show up.

Like learning that Alan knows everything about Sophia as well? Just makes him even worse! Probably upgraded from a 3 fire asshole to a 4 fire asshole by now.

[paper-gold-theories]

I have a theory that the polar opposite of black hat is magician (or who I'm assuming is magician) from podimous bailar. If you compare magician's design with black hat's there seems to be a lot of similarities. Like their build and height seems to be the same. Then their clothes seem to be different with magician having his coat collar down instead of up and having his coat closed instead of open like black hat's.

Hmm...they kinda look similar, Alan mentioned in a Q and A that we won't see the character opposite of Black Hat "in the first season" that will provide him a challenge.

It could go either way as I am not sure if the orientation videos (or comics refer to when General Falchion appears in thebcomics below) are considered Season 1 or the photos of Copper and Magician without their faces showing are considered them appearing in the show.

And we might see either Copper and Magician in the future episodes...

However, Alan also mentioned that Black Hat is the embodiment of evil, so there’s an embodiment of goodness to balance him like yin and yang and we’ll hopefully get to see him someday.

The Podemos Bailar, is known for forcing members to join their group so considering that, Magician or Cooper might not be the embodiment of good.

The important P.E.A.C.E. leader that appeared at the end of The Shrunken Rescue (which I theorized to be General Falchion) might also not be the embodiment of good as P.E.A.C.E. is known to do shady things (that could possibly cause wars), have heroes which have not such a good personality like Miss Heed, as well as covering their tracks to ensure they still look like the hero in people's eyes, such as using memory erasers on nurses working in their rehab, hiding Miss Heed's actions and the reason for her arrest, betraying their allies to save their reputation and reinstating her as a hero again because she was able to buy it back because of her father's money and connections.

However Alan also mentioned that nothing’s black and white (except BH and 505), villains aren’t all that bad (like Penumbra) and that they’re all grey, as well as the heroes.

So the embodiment of good and opposite of Black Hat may not be an entirely good person.

Lawful Evil vs Lawful Good

Black Hat is a perfectionist, signs contract and has multiple rules that teaches Villains how to be good Villains.

Hence, we can categorise him as being lawful evil which means anyone that follows a strict code, hierarchy, or system for personal gain at any cost.

So I theorized that Black Hat's opposite is a lawful good which means anyone that promotes the greater good, while following established procedures or rules. (What defines as greater good in P.E.A.CE. or the Podemos Bailar might be a stretch)

____

And as mentioned above, villains and heroes are morally grey, because of this Black Hat is also is willing to make deals with people who aren't actually villains, because there is no true evil or good.

For example, in Episode 3 Black Hat made a deal with Adelita who was considered a villain by P.E.A.C.E. because of her suspicious behaviour due to the dissatisfaction of the new P.E.A.C.E. administration, to fight Pedro who is still actually a hero but is mind controlled to do villainous things, hence is considered one by P.E.A.C.E. despite still doing heroic deeds before being mind controlled.

Conclusion

Hence, I conclude because of this points that in addition to being lawful good, since there is no true evil or good, the opposite of Black Hat is also not 100% completely good and might also be helping morally grey people as well.

Thinking about it perhaps Cooper/Magician or Falchion possibly might fit the "opposite of Black Hat character" as they do work with morally grey people things for their definition "greater good" and they want to defeat the embodiment of evil.

But it feels like it's not likely as I still feel like they've done too many grey things to be considered the "embodiment of good".

Hence most likely there might be a third character not yet introduced that will provide Black Hat with a worthy challenge. ����

[koorinokujira]

hello, I can ask for headcanons about how Masamune, Yukimura, Motonari, Saika and Motochika would try to confess their feelings?

Ooooh, yes! Confession imagines were always my jam, so I'm honored to write some myself! I'll try my best, so I hope you enjoy!

♡ Confessions - SB Imagines ♡

You've been close friends for a very long time. Living your lives, fighting alongside each other, and sharing many a laugh together over a nice cup of sake. But neither of you has expressed taking it further just yet, even though the chemistry is undeniable. And so it falls to your dearest friend to make the first move...

♡ Masamune ♡

Masamune is adamant to Kojūrō that he has everything under control. Sure, he's been very distracted lately, not as good in their sparring matches, and keeps zoning out, but everyone has those days, right? Sadly, he defends his actions as of late quite weakly... and when gazing into his Second-in-Command's eyes, he's pretty sure that he wouldn't be convinced even with a strong argument. That man has known him essentially his whole life... he knows when something is up.

Eventually, he sighs and begrudgingly tells Kojūrō what's on his mind. How he's fallen madly in love with you, how his days are so dull when you're not around. And at the end, he leans in closer and whispers, so no one can hear how incompetent he feels because he has no idea how to ask you out. Frustration is writ on his face the whole time he speaks. He can lead his men to battle and turn it into a party of bloodshed... but for some reason, his mind goes blank every time he tries to figure out what to tell you.

Kojūrō is silent the entire time, and his face betrays no sign of the amusement he feels at that moment.

"Why not say the things you've just told me? A proper confession should come from the heart, I believe. This is one of the things I can't help you with, Lord Masamune, as much as it pains me. This is your war to win," is all he says, much to Masamune's disappointment.

Of course he'll leave him to his own devices. Typical Kojūrō, always making sure he is a well-adjusted leader that can take care of himself. Ugh... sometimes he wishes he was just a bit more irresponsible. But that's neither here nor there. He has a war of the heart to go through, and damn it all if he doesn't win it like everything else.

The Dragon spends most of the next day mulling over possibilities. Sure, his confession should come from the heart, but he can't just leave it at that, can he? Just confessing isn't his style. No no no... you both need to have fun. A day that will be great even if you reject him; which is an idea that terrifies him more than he would like to admit. But when he leaves his work to his subordinates for the day and takes his time, he realizes that he has quite a few ideas brewing in his head... and he can't wait for tomorrow.

The next day, everything seems to go exactly the way you want it to. It's kind of suspicious, but you can't put your finger on it. When you go meet Masamune for breakfast, you find yourself gazing at a table full of foods you love. And the Lord has the audacity to act all casual about it, telling you to eat at your heart's content. While you eat, you ask what duties you have for today- you two may be friends, but you still serve the Date clan, after all. His response?

"Don't worry about it."

You look at Kojūrō, who's guarding the room at his usual spot, but the man is as stoic as ever, revealing nothing. So you do as Masamune says... you don't worry about it, digging into your food.

But it doesn't stop there. Whatever you want to do during the day, he seems to be on board with. Sparring with ridiculous rules in place? Sure, that's fun. Riding to the markets and stuffing yourself with sweets? He'll buy you enough so that you even have some for tomorrow. Finally racing your horses against each other like you were planning when younger? Your wishes are his command... and you're 99% sure he let you win. But you're not complaining, it felt good.

And after a day filled with fun, you end up in the gardens of his castle, sitting on the grass with cups of warm sake in hand. Your eyes sparkle with joy in the moonlight, and Masamune knows that he'll remember that look forever, no matter the outcome of this day.

"So..." you finally break the silence, watching how the wind plays with his brown hair. "Want to tell me what this is about?"

"What's what about?" he gives you a cocky grin in response.

"Well... today. It's like we're celebrating something."

He lets out a bark of laughter at that, tilting his head to the side as he pretends to think of a response.

"Well... I suppose we are. Look, don't expect anything awfully sappy from me... but I'm just glad you're here. My lucky seventh claw," he says eventually, his usual mischievous glare giving to a look of sincerity.

Your eyes widen, but before you can even say anything, he speaks again.

"I was thinking a lot about us... you see? About everything we've gone through together. I mean, you've been here almost as long as Kojūrō- and that's a lot. You've seen me act like an absolute idiot, but you never left me behind, even though it probably would have been deserved. And I mean..." he cuts himself off for a moment, his expression turning almost bashful as he struggles to find his words. "Today was fun. And maybe we won't get to do things like this often, maybe not at all. But... every day's a party with you, even if we're both covered in the blood of our enemies. And I... I want it to keep going. I want to enjoy the rest of my life with you next to me, and if all these stupid wars end while we're still around... then I want to make every day that remains a thousand times better than this one."

He takes a deep, shaky breath, letting out a few quiet curses.

"What I mean by that is- do you want it? The wildest adventure we'll ever have? An adventure with... me?"

The Dragon stares at you with his single eye, his breath hitching as he knows that his heart has been laid bare, and thinking that this was probably the worst confession known to man. Your stunned silence certainly doesn't help ease his worries at all.

And then you take his hands into yours, a huge grin plastered on your face.

"Of course."

♡ Yukimura ♡

Yukimura is panicking, and not even trying to hide it by this point.

He told himself, he promised to himself that this week, he'd finally confess to you. And yet, every single day that he wakes up thinking that this is the day... he chickens out the moment he sees you. Your smile... oh, that smile. He loves it, and he's terrified he'll lose it forever if he confesses and you reject him.

That's how it often goes, no? One rejects another, and then the friendship just feels off, which results in both people slowly drifting away from each other. He's seen it before, and the idea of it scares him beyond belief. He can't lose you. But that feeling, that need to be something more than just your friend... it gnaws at his heart even stronger than his fears. He wants to be yours, to stand by your side until you both take your last breaths.

Of course, he tries to ask around about what to do. Sasuke wasn't much help at all. The shinobi simply shrugged and told him to do what feels natural. Not like he would actually know what to do, never having been in a relationship. His Lord wasn't much better. What began as a simple, vague question about how to confess love turned into Lord Shingen telling him about his many romantic escapades from when he was younger. He certainly did not need to hear all that... but it was still somehow better than the advice he got from some of his fellow warriors.

He's on his own. And maybe it's for the best, now that he thinks about it. He just has to find his courage, and it will all go smoothly, right?

...right?

Well, he certainly won't get anywhere by overthinking it and doing nothing. So, he decides to confess when he's the most in his element: during a sparring match.

It's a fight like any other between you two. You hold nothing back, knowing the other can take it. You tend to bring out the best in each other, after all. And you know each other's moves enough by now that it's very easy to prevent serious injury. It's his spears against your trusty blade, sparks flying as they clash. A grin is plastered across your face, while his expression is nothing short of determined.

You're winning.

"I must say, your form is particularly good today!" his gaze never leaves you as he dodges yet another blow from you, an excited glint in those beautiful brown eyes of his. Of course he would exchange pleasantries mid-fight. Typical Yukimura.

"It's the same as always," you quip back once you're sure it's safe for you to talk. "But you seem a bit distracted..."

That seems to give him pause. His face, which was already flush from the physical exertion, changes into a shade of crimson that rivals his clothes.

"Ah, well- um... you could say that I am!" he shakes his head, trying to focus as he attempts a counter attack. "For there is something weighing on my heart!"

His hands shake a bit with a mixture of nervousness and excitement as he seems to gain a new burst of energy. The tables are turning, both in his mind and in the sparring match. But you say nothing, looking at him expectantly as you refuse to let him regain his footing.

"It's difficult to put into words... but there has only been one thing on my mind for the longest time now. And that- that's you! Every time we spar like this, my heart burns even stronger than it used to. Every single moment I get to spend with you makes me forget to breathe because of how... happy it makes me. And every time I look into your eyes I... I get utterly lost!" his words are hesitant at first, but are quickly filled with the fiery passion you know him for. "But I know that even if I feel lost, I always find my way thanks to you! I wish to be more than just your brother in arms, more than your friend..."

Your weapons lock into one another, creating a window through which he looks at you. And you look back at him. Your hair is messy, your faces red, your breathing heavy... and the world seems to revolve around this moment.

"I wish... I wish that I could be yours! You make my heart burn with the brightest flame... and it would be my greatest honor if you decided to feed that flame, until we leave this world."

His voice is quiet by the time he finishes speaking. An innocent plea said by Yukimura himself, not the warrior and leader he tries to be. And as if connected by some invisible link, you both step back, lowering your weapons. The silence that follows is thick with anticipation, and yet... yet those words slip from your mouth as naturally as another breath.

"I want to be yours, too."

♡ Motonari ♡

Motonari is... well, he doesn't even know what he's feeling right now. It's a mix of annoyance and confusion, spiced up by something... awfully warm and fuzzy that he really doesn't want to think about. Love and affection? Pathetic, he is above such trivial notions, he's the Child of the Sun, he-

He's hopelessly in love with the only true friend he has, and has no idea what to do.

Maybe it's how talking to you never felt dull. Maybe it's how you stuck by him with no fear for all these years, not getting caught in a scheme of his even once. Or perhaps it's how... gentle you are to him. Like the time after a devastating loss, when you sat down with him and placed a hand on his shoulder, listening to his frustrations. There's just something comforting about you, something that allows him to feel the things he tends to bury deep in his mind. You make him feel... human. That's probably the best way to put it, as much as he hates that fact.

And now he's at a crossroads. Either he ignores this ever-growing passion in his heart, which would be the harder, yet more logical option for him... or he faces it head-on, and maybe, just maybe, takes things further. Logic against feeling, the comfort of things staying the same fighting the temptation of the unknown.

But in the end, the feelings he has for you win. It's simply too much. And so he decides to confess his feelings, whatever they may be.

Motonari is not a romantic person by any means, and he won't pretend to be. Still, from what he knows, it would make sense for the confession to take place in pleasant circumstances. So he makes sure everything is perfect. Meaning, he orders all his underlings to covertly prepare everything, while he doesn't have to lift a finger. Why wouldn't he take that opportunity, with so many soldiers ready to do his bidding?

Finally, the time comes. The whole day has just been... suspiciously relaxing for you. No planning of strategies, no training, nothing you were used to. You suddenly had time to do some things you were putting off for so long to help ensure the clan is doing well. And everything you wanted was taken care of with the snap of a finger.

Something is afoot.

And the hunch you had was right, which you find out in the evening. You don't eat dinner inside, but instead in the castle gardens. Plenty of comfortable cushions are laid out for you to sit on, there's a lot of good food... and a certain warlord who is attempting to steal sneaky glances at you and failing miserably.

"So... what's the occasion?" you raise an eyebrow at him after a while of silence, gently tilting the cup with your drink from side to side.

"Whatever do you mean?" he responds in that nonchalant, monotone voice of his.

It took you a long time to learn it, but even he has a tell when he lies. The pinky on his right finger tends to twitch subtly anytime something dishonest leaves his mouth. Perhaps that is why he has such long sleeves on his armor. And he's doing it right now. Not even attempting to hide it, either.

"Come on, stop pulling my leg. You don't usually have fancy dinners like this with me... or give me days off," you point out, which makes his shoulders tense up.

He's completely out of his element here, and here you go pointing out something which could be seen as a fault on his side. Well, that does decrease his chances slightly, but he has to keep a cool head if he is to win you over. Even a love confession can be strategic if he tries hard enough, right?

"Ah. I suppose that is true," he gazes off into the distance, looking at nothing in particular, "are you unsatisfied with our current arrangement?"

Your eyes narrow with suspicion at that, but his body language betrays nothing about it being a trick question, so you decide to be honest with him.

"Well... it would be nice to have days like this more often, but we are also at war, so I understand having a lot of work," you shrug. "I doubt our enemies would respect my day off."

"True enough," a ghost of a smile graces his lips, something rarely seen on his face. Is he... amused?

"You still haven't answered my question."

A pause. He looks back at you, his face going back to its stoic, unfeeling facade.

"You are correct... though I suppose I was hoping that diverting your attention to a different topic would make you forget altogether. Alas..." he hums in thought, his eyes never leaving yours. "There is something we must discuss."

Uh oh, that doesn't sound good at all. When people say things like that, it usually means something went wrong, and you know Motonari has no qualms saying what he doesn't like. In detail. So you do the smart thing and simply gesture for him to continue.

"Something has been on my mind for a while now, but it took me a a long time to sort my thoughts out in regards to it. You and me... we have known each other for a long time now. And you know me better than anyone else in my life," he begins, shifting a bit so he faces you more with his entire body. "I used to find that fact quite unnerving. After all, such knowledge can be quite dangerous. But lately, my opinion has been changing. I do not mind it as much anymore. Or you in general. I suppose I have gotten used to you by now. Enough that I find your presence... pleasant, I suppose."

You open your mouth, but no words come out as you stare at him in stunned silence. Motonari being nice? Or, as nice as Motonari can be, that is. And what's worse, his hands are completely still, and nothing else betrays any hint of dishonesty. But seeing your shock, he clears his throat and quickly clears his throat, trying to save the situation despite words of affection not being his forte.

"What I mean to say is... a long time has passed since I simply saw you as yet another valuable asset. You have become a trusted companion, as strange it is for me to say. And in the past few months, you have made me feel- different. It terrifies me, because no matter what I try, I can't seem to get these feelings under control. And yet... it's very pleasant, and I find myself giving into them more and more often," his brows suddenly furrow as he attempts to explain his feelings to you. "It's like happiness, but it goes further. It feels better than when something goes exactly as planned... or when I triumph over you in shogi. Better than- anything else I can think of, I suppose. And it only happens when I'm with you."

He gazes at the starry sky, suddenly seeming strangely vulnerable.

"To put it simply... I would like to try something new. To be... more to you, and for you to be more to me. No more schemes, no more... facades. I want us to trust each other fully. And maybe, just maybe- do more than trust. You have shown me that there is an array of emotion that I have no clue about, and I think it's time for me to... research into that. Learn. Live," he seems almost hesitant as he looks back at you for the last time. "Perhaps there is a place for the both of us under the sun's glorious rays... what do you think?"

It takes a bit for you to process everything he said. He has just confessed that he has feelings- dare you say, love - for you. In the most Motonari way possible, of course, but you can't help but find it endearing. It is true, you know him better than anyone. But that goes both ways, and despite his strange habits and almost sadistic satisfaction he seems to get when he beats you at board games... you appreciate him a lot, too. There is something exciting about the prospect of getting to know the real him and just... being close. And besides, who can say no to a mutually beneficial agreement?

"I think there is... so let's see where this path leads us. I accept."

♡ Magoichi ♡

When Magoichi realizes she's in love with you, it gives her pause. Not that such feelings are unwelcome, on the contrary; it is simply an odd feeling. She tends to keep herself detached, focused on the task ahead so she can be the best leader of the Saika Faction she can. But it seems that even someone seemingly cold like her has her own weaknesses.

And oh, does she have one for you.

How could she not? You were by her side since you were only children, and you never left her behind. Whether she was was having the best time of her life or mourning those she had lost, you were an ever-present companion that she could share her life with without being worried. And she offered the same to you, though she was never all that great at it. That kind of trust is hard to come by, especially in these dark times, and she never took it for granted.

But now, she is faced with feelings much deeper than close friendship. Love seems like a very pleasant feeling so far, and it helps that you seem like you could even be receptive to it, were she to confess. And yet...

She hesitates.

Would it be a good idea for her to do such a thing? What if she neglects her duties too much? What if the attachment to you becomes a burden instead of the pillar she leans upon when she needs companionship? What if it hinders your ability to do your job? Neither of you can afford such a thing, not when there's a war raging everywhere around you and you need to stay vigilant.

However, that's only the logical part of her mind. The part that's slowly but surely getting overshadowed by that pleasant, fuzzy feeling in her chest. The loud thumping of her heart whenever you flash that grin of yours after a job well done. When you tell her about something you love and your eyes light up than the stars she sees every night. When she returns from patrol, only to find you snoring soundly on your mat in the most adorable way possible.

She weighs down her options, and eventually figures that keeping her feelings bottled up would be much worse. She's had enough of that, and you... you've convinced her, at least partly, that even she deserves affection. Besides, she's let you this close already, it can't be much worse.

She doesn't fuss over the confession itself much; Magoichi is a straight-forward, practical woman. She knows that saying it how it is in a relaxed situation is more than enough. And she wouldn't even know how to confess in a romantic way without sounding like an idiot- or a certain poetic vagabond with more feathers in his hair than sense in his head. Ugh.

So she does exactly that. On a fairly uneventful day, she invites you to go on patrol with her, as she often does. She knows she can count on you having her back. And just like any other time, it doesn't take long for a conversation to start. It's mostly you talking and her listening, a preferred arrangement between the two of you. She watches intently as your lips curl up into an amused smile while you tell her a joke you heard from one of your fellow Crows.

Magoichi is so lost in your expression, in fact, that she almost forgets to react, resulting in a somewhat delayed snort and amused roll of the eyes.

"Of course he'd say something like that... not surprised," she shakes her head, and only a pleasant silence follows right after.

It's late in the afternoon, and the sun is just now remembering that it's supposed to set, casting everything in a warm orange hue. Dirt and grass crunches around your feet as you walk, and you can hear a few birds chirping here and there. It's wonderful, and you can't help but take sneaky glances at the gorgeous landscape around you both.

"You know, I wanted to talk to you about something," she hums after a while, and slows her steps into an eventual stop.

You stop next to her, wordlessly gesturing for her to continue. The fearless leader of the Saika Faction doesn't respond immediately, however. Instead, she takes a deep breath and looks out into the distance, suddenly feeling incredibly awkward.

"Look, I won't mince words here, or I'll probably say something ridiculous," she turns back to you, crossing her arms in a seemingly relaxed manner. "Lately, I've been thinking... and I realized that you started to mean even more to me than before. I always cared about you, even if I wasn't great at expressing it. And I know you know that. But lately... it's been different for me. You smile at me and I suddenly feel like a mess-"

She cuts herself off for a moment, shaking her head again with a tiny scoff at herself. It's clear that this is a bit new to her. A bit unnerving, even.

"I guess I just fell for you, and I don't know what to do with myself except telling you. And I'm kind of hoping you feel the same. That you want to hold my hands and... tell me that you love me, just like I want to do the same for you. Right now, there's nothing that I want more, even though part of me feels stupid for saying all that," she smiles awkwardly. "...what do you say?"

But you know you don't need to say much. All it takes is taking her hand in yours, gently intertwining your fingers... and saying what has been on your mind for the longest time as well.

"I love you too."

♡ Motochika ♡

It takes Motochika an awfully long time to realize that his feelings for you run a bit deeper than regular friendship. It has nothing to do with his intelligence, nor lack of perception. He might be an intimidating warlord and an intimidating pirate, but no one could deny the size of his heart when it comes to all those he considers friends. And his crew? His crew is family. One that you're a very important part of. So, him showering you with affection and absolutely adoring you has always been par for the course.

But lately, his own feelings have been a bit of a mystery to him. It wasn't like there was anything wrong, per se. He was content, happy, even! Sailing the seas, being a menace and searching for treasure with his crew... it's all a sea wolf like him can ask for, war be damned. And yet, there was something strange, something tugging on his heartstrings. He even thought he was sick at one point, before he realized how silly that was. And through a mixture of pondering and talking it over with some of the other crew members, he slowly realizes that the source of that odd feeling is none other than you.

And that brings us to know. The poor man is in love, and now that he knows it, it's gotten even worse. Oh, how he wishes to scoop you up into his arms and never let go, to sit with you on the deck and stargaze when everyone is asleep, fall asleep while holding you every night and wake up the same way every morning... it's driving him insane. But he wants to do this right, to earn your love.

The problem is, he has no idea where to even begin.

He absolutely refuses to court you like some stupid, snobby lord from the mainland. That would probably just scare you off, anyway. You're made of sterner stuff, just like him. Maybe he could hunt down a shark for you? Impressive, sure, but kind of weird, so no. The treasure you have is shared by all of the crew, so it's not like giving you any of that would mean much, either. But he wants to do something for you, give you something, something that comes from the heart...!

Ah. He's got it. He'll do something he's never done before.

When the ship makes small stop on land the next day, he lets everyone do as they please (like always, anyhow), and disappears without telling anyone. Even you're none the wiser about where he went, but you're not particularly worried about him. He knows how to take care of himself. Most of the time, at least.

But unbeknownst to you, he went to a somewhat secluded beach nearby. And with no one to observe and possibly spoil the surprise, he starts gathering seashells. Big ones, small ones- as long as he finds them beautiful, he takes them, and slowly builds a decent collection. He wraps it all in a cloth, tucking it into a small pouch he currently has on his hip, before he slinks back to you and the others.

Later that night, he sheepishly approaches a member of his crew; a scrawny, cheery young man named Teruo, who has a bit of a knack for everything concerning jewelry. Collecting, and even making various trinkets is his hobby, which makes him a fairly valuable member of a team when the crew needs to make a bit more money. But this time, the infamous Sea Devil approaches him for a different purpose.

He wants to make a necklace for you... using the shells he collected.

Obviously, he doesn't really know much about that sort of handiwork. His hands are great at fishing, swinging his anchor around to defeat terrified enemies... rough work, nothing as gentle as this. But he wants to learn. He wants to put an effort into making something for you. Something that you will appreciate and will hopefully look as good on you as he imagines. And when his dear aniki explains the situation, how can Teruo refuse to help?

And so begins a long, frustrating night full of cursing, some broken seashells, and unwavering effort of a pirate that's hopelessly in love. By the time he's done, he's certain it's almost morning, so he decides to at least take a short nap. He doesn't even bother to go back to his cabin. He just slumps down in the corner on the hard wooden floor, gently clutching the newly made necklace in his right palm.

He doesn't sleep for long, though. He's used to waking up around sunrise, and his biological clock doesn't disappoint this time, either. So he sleepily gets out of Teruo's tiny cabin (not without muttering an apology for bothering him the entire night, though), and walks back up on the deck. And as luck would have it...

...he spots you.

You're standing there, letting the wind caress your hair as your arms rest against the ship's railing. You seem content, just staring at the sun as it lazily rises up on the skyline. And if Motochika wasn't in love with you before, then boy is he now. You look utterly perfect to him in the warm orange glow, and like a siren, you've enthralled him yet again, heart and soul.

This is it. There will never be a moment more perfect than this.

He walks up to you casually, stopping right beside you. It takes him a while to speak, as he mentally prepares himself for what he's about to do.

"Enjoying the sunrise?" he asks as he hides the necklace behind him, his other hand moving to rest on his hip.

"Mhm."

Your response sounds a bit absent-minded, but that's mostly because you're still a bit sleepy. You're enjoying the sunrise, but paying attention to him, too.

"I get it. No better view of the sky than from the deck of a ship, with wind in your hair and the smell of the sea right at your nose..." he hums in approval, before his voice slips into a soft murmur. "Anyway... wanted to tell you something."

That tears your gaze from the gorgeous scenery, and brings it to his face. His brown eyes are filled with a strange tenderness, while the rest of his face remains somewhat stoic. You know the look... he has something important to say, but he'll probably say it with that endearing sincerity of his.

"So... we've known each other for what feels like forever, huh? Sailing the seas, having an adventure wherever the wind takes us... it's been fun. Great having you by my side through all that," he gives you a sincere, yet somewhat awkward grin. "But you know... I've been thinking a lot lately. About us, I mean. And I realized you mean a lot more to me than I thought you did. Not that you weren't one of my favorites before- you're the backbone of this crew at this point. But I guess I caught myself wanting... more."

There's a short pause, and you can clearly see the momentary realization in his eyes that he's really doing this, and there's no going back from it.

"What I want to say is... I... love you. A lot. And I want- I hope that maybe, we could be more than what we are now. More than a Captain and his right hand. I want you to be my partner in crime. Well, not just in that, but in everything," he rubs the back of his head to soothe his nervousness. "And to show you it's not just words, and I really mean it, I made something for you."

He finally reveals the necklace. It's actually pretty well made for his first try. A bit crude in some places, but clearly made with love. There's even a few silver beads dividing the various seashells to spice things up a bit.

"I know, not the best accessory in the world... but I worked hard on it. Picked out some shells I thought you'd like and put it together, even though it was kind of frustrating," he chuckles awkwardly. "...do you like it?"

You take the necklace from him, admiring it for a few more moments. Maybe it's not the most beautiful piece of jewelry, but he made it for you. Just for you. That's enough to make your heart beat like crazy. You care for him a lot too, more than you were comfortable with admitting before. And when you see the puppy eyes he's giving you now, you can't help but feel that maybe it's time to let yourself feel that love, let it out.

Without a word, you fall into his arms, and he catches you in time.

"I don't like it. I love it. But not more than you."

---

Woo! It's done! After such a long wait, I'm finally back with another finished request. This one was kind of daunting, to be honest... but I think I did okay! Despite all the obstacles, I finished these silly scenes, and I'm super proud! And that leaves only one more request in my backlog.

Thanks for your patience, and that you read my stories, it means a lot to me.

And as always...

Have an amazing day!

[stargirlie-sharon]

I RETURN WITH AN AU where broomstown, or in this case, broomscity, is ruled over by a dictator-like rescue team.

a shadow of your past self

a robocar poli au concept. (tw? dark au)

broomscity is a large city, inhabiting humans, vehicles, and robovehicles. despite its modernized look, a sense of dread can be felt when you step into it.

the rescue team, well, does rescues, but that's more of a side job rather than a main one. their main duty is to keep the city in check, and to make sure no one steps out of bounds and is put in their place should they ever disobey laws. they have the servant class citizens (mostly robovehicles) work for them personally and have them do the dirty work if needed.

poli is the tyrannical and power-hungry leader of the team, greedy for control over those who he sees as inferior to him, and won't hesitate if it means to get that control with force. the once kind and loyal leader had changed his ways for the worse, leaving only but a shadow of what he used to be.

"oh roy, you wouldn't dare to go against your own friends, would you? it'd be such a shame if you did, betraying the people you've spent nearly your entire lives with. you should know better, old friend."

roy is the reckless yet reluctant firefighter. he finds the rescue team's actions to be questionable, however, he's too attached to his beloved friends to go against them. so, he simply complies with orders and goes along with it, regardless of his skepticism. despite this, ironically, he tries not to get too attached to any workers who work under him and the team. knowing that they if end up making too many wrong moves, they might just end up being.. well, never to be seen. don't be surprised if it seems he's distancing himself from you, he just doesn't want to feel the pain of losing a close friend again. the only exception to this is helly.

this man has attachment/abandonment issues someone please give him a hug.

"i-i'm sorry, poli. how could i even begin to think of such a thing? ...this won't happen again."

"good to know you're still on our side, roy~."

sweet and sadistic amber can charm you into following orders from her or the rescue team, and if that fails, she always finds a way to make you. it'd be an understatement to call her just a medic. although she's there fix up and repair robovehicles, amber is also there when you are deserving of punishment. you'll know when you're sent to the infirmary and it's NOT for healing, and you see the array of medical tools, weapons and lethal substances, you know you're screwed.

"your screams and cries won't get you anywhere, it's simply futile. i really didn't want to do this, but i had no choice, you know~? poli's orders, not mine."

helly is the rescue team's faithful little scout. he's aware of how the team can be, so in order to not be not be rejected by poli, shunned by roy, or possibly get dissected by amber, he has to be on his best behavior. he enjoys getting praised by his peers, knowing that he will be given another day of living.

"ah, our little errand boy. he is one of our personal favorites of our servants, and knows how to act and respond to us, unlike some others. quite the attentive one, don't you think?"

☆

i'm very proud of this au ngl... also fun fact i took inspiration from shattered glass ratchet from transformers for amber's bio, haha yesss insane medics go brrrrr (in my tf era currently)

i'm not too sure where to put jin in this au, i know she's affiliated with the rescue team in some way

also, hiya i'm back from my lil break! and i cooked with this au didn't i 🔥🔥🔥🔥

if ya'll have ideas for this au then THAT'D BE AMAZING OMG??? send me your ideas i'd be so happy

[amugoffandoms]

can't tell if amane's cult hates the idea of first aid in general or exchanging

I think this was translated on Twitter (and i think this is from @/maristelina), but I'll just do a quick copy and paste here for anyone who doesn't have the app:

This letter that's attached to the door says something along the lines of:

For those who refuse: We will respond as follows: For patients who refuse to undergo: We will perform: However, if both the patient and the physician agree that: It will be carried out. Even in cases where it is not present, we will proceed with the transfusion. For your family and guardians: We will make efforts to ensure your understanding, And we strive to proceed as smoothly as possible.

And, note that the same door has a lecture notice:

in that post, I mentioned the last topic was the most interesting to me:

- Regarding the reality of normal hospital institution’s exchange/give and take situation

Regarding the reality of normal hospital institution's exchange/give and take situation.

What kind of wording is that? Like, what are you exactly trying to say?

Then, it hit me when I was reading the voice drama translation when I woke up earlier:

A: Shidou Kirisaki… His actions violate our rules. I have given him a warning. If he continues, I suppose it will be inevitable for me to intervene.

Shidou used to do organ transplants. That can be considered as a give and take situation/exchange.

Besides the fact Shidou is treating Amane like a child, she hates how he is a surgeon.

I'm not entirely sure if Amane has asked Mahiru and Fuuta to repent. I know she's said she would pray for them, but repenting? As far as I'm aware, nothing. (Edit! So, Amane has asked Fuuta to repent. Because of that, it does skew my theory a little bit, but it's alright. Either way, it does help figure out what their stance on first aid is. Please check out the reblog regarding that here!)

The only problem is that it seems oddly contradictory to another line in her voice drama:

A: Both pain and illness are trials. According to our teachings, those who run from them are the worst evil there is. That’s one of the four great principles. No matter who you are, that cannot be forgiven.

Which, would still make sense! Shidou is still a doctor and he's helping Mahiru and Fuuta heal, which is obviously not what Amane was taught.

I'm still trying to figure out how exactly the doctrine works with first aid. It doesn't seem like it accepts first aid, considering what happened to the cat. However, what's with the emphasis on blood transfusions and exchanges? You could simply just say "Regarding the reality of the world idea of first aid" and that would be enough.

So, is it first aid in general or is it the exchange?

[kaishimo]

Hi! Hope you're doing well!

I'm trying to learn how to properly draw people. I'm fairly decent at drawing objects, but people? Nope, that's out of question. So, do you have any tips for a beginner? Like what should I focus on, any YT channels, etc.?

(If you see this ask on other pages as well, it's because I'm sending this to my favorite artists on this site <3)

Hyello!

I don't know if I'm exactly the person you should asking, seeing as I'm still fairly new to art so I'll point you in the direction of a few of my personal favorite artists as well! I do have a few tips and exercises for you that I've found to be quite helpful (if not fun) that have been passed down to me by other artists and teachers, though.

1. You should really learn your anatomy before you try to find your specific style. Without knowing the basics first, you'll probably jump around and have no consistency when drawing the same character. Knowing the body is very, very important.

Exercise 1: Using reference photos (I recommend dancing and sports photos for more dynamic shapes, beauty influencers and photographery for what is typically "attractive," and lots of different body types and skin tones for a diverse and more realistic character) and trying to figure out the line of action, then make a gesture drawing to get the basic feel of the body's movements, then the shapes of the body, etc.

Exercise 2: (The fun version) Draw a random shape. Yes, a random one - it can be pointed or round or wavy. It just has to connect. Then, try to make a character that fits in the bounds of that shape. This will push you to try to figure out what is necessary to make a human look, well, human, and also limit the clutter of your characters' accessories and clothing. It also helps you create a unique silhouette (which is always great when making a good, recognizable character)

-

2. Colors! I'm sure you know basic color theory from when you learned how to draw objects, but if not, you should definitely get on that. It's best to know what colors work best with specific skin tones or whatever you're putting on your character. There are a lot of color theory videos on YT which I think you should check out!

Exercise 1: Limit yourself to 1 color - you may only use variations of that color for your entire character. Yes, this includes skintone and hair. This exercise helps you with values and gets you connected to what places need darker or lighter colors. It's also just really, really fun.

Exercise 2: (Variation of 1) Find a color pallette and stick to those colors exclusively. Try to use the 60-30-10 rule if possible (meaning 60% of the character is one color, 30% is a different color, and 10% is another color). Not everyone adheres to this rule since character design is fluid, and you can do whatever the heck you want, but I personally think that it helps to push your knowledge of color.

Exercise 3: The internet is your best friend. Find a very colorful image online of a model that you really like, or a person that's sitting in some nice lighting, or even an animated character that had some funky colors. Try to imitate the rendering. Shading is pretty important when learning how to draw because it can really change how the muscle looks without it. (Depending on your style, shading can look very, very different.)

-

3. (Extension of Color) Once again, shading is very important! Depending on the project, however, the way you should shade can be very different. For animations, shading is typically minimal so that they can focus on the movement and not slave over their computer for days on end shading and shading and shading. Keep that in mind! For cartoon or anime art styles, it's often blocky and not blended. For real-life proportions and art styles, it's often blended and rendered (and normally without line-art if that's the route you wanna go 👍).

Exercise 1: Try out and study all sorts of art styles and shading types! It's really helpful in the future if you want to know what you like best! If you want to study a specific artists' art, it's best to ask them beforehand, however. Get their OK before starting. If they say no, then don't. (By the way, no art style is original, no matter what anyone says.)

-

4. There are lots of online courses or resources you can use! Utilize them. Some of my favorites/things I've heard good things about are...

Artstation - Courses

IAMAG - Courses

Senshi stock - References

Croquis Cafe- References

Rad how to school - Courses

Life of action.com - References

Quickposes.com - References

Proko - Courses

Posemaniacs - References

Warrior Art Camp - Courses

Pexels.com - References

Marshall Vandruff - Courses

Cactus Art Academy - Courses

Sketchdaily - References

Bodyvisualizer.com - Body types

Figurosity - References

Pinterest - EVERYTHING

-

5. Youtubers and Content Creators !!! There are a lot that I watch and a lot that other artists have recommended to me, so I'll tell you them. Also, find your favorite artists on your favorite social media sites and mentally study their art when you see it! Trust, it helps. (Warning: Long List)

Drawfee Show - They're very funny + watching how they quickly build their characters and settings can really help you figure out what is most important in character design.

Hanacue - Their shading is to DIE for <3

Marikyuun - Very good with a cutsie art style!

Kooleen - Funny, sarcastic + amazing tips

Marc Brunet - Anatomy at its finest

At Lojart - I just find them really cool

Jaiden Animations - Silly + watching her animations can help with your animations

GinjaNinjaOwO - They're funny + their character design makes me want to scream /pos

LavenderTowne - Very sweet + great tips + cute art!!

Pixiv - Wondeful tutorials

TheOdd1sOut - Same as JaidenAnimations, really

Sinix Design - <333333 so many great tips for shapes and painting !!!!

Marco Bucci - Color Theory!!

Mmmmonexx - I don't know much about them but my friend swears by him

Naoki Saito illust Channel - Putting stories/feeling into your art made easier

HxxG - More attractive art <3

Coax Illust - Fun! Semi-realism (I could never)

-

6. Lastly, learning art takes a long, long time. You can't just wake up one day and know how to draw. You have to keep trying and keep learning and never, ever give up. It's all part of the journey, even the pieces that you don't like. Practice doesn't make perfect. It makes permanent. <3

My favorite artists (and my moots <3): @gl4ssfan , @aiyumiyeou , @coffeeisfortheresponsible , @foxlow , @roselock22 @alicecraftgirl @twigs-sprigs @greenflowerceo @spoopy-sloth @laziilizard @enavstars @miyuliart

Hope this long post didn't bore you! Plus, I hope this helps. Have a wonderful day <33

[elizaellwrites]

WIP Questionaire

Thank you @worldstogetlostin for tagging me here!

Rules: Answer as many (or as few) of the questions about your WIP as you can.

1. What was the first part of your wip that you created?

My ocs, but not all of them. They were part of a separate plotline that I abandoned quickly because it was terrible and cringy. Parts of them changed as they developed, but the core of their characters began here.

The originals are: Annamarie, Rachel, Jacob, Elaine, Jol (the daemon), and Natalie (Anna's mom)

2. If your story was a TV show, what would the theme song/intro be?

I imagine it would be like the soundtracks I listen to while writing. These include songs from Narnia, HTTYD, Pirates of the Carribean, etc. I'm no composer, so I'd trust the judgment of the music expert on the case.

3. Who are your favourite characters you've made? Why?

My automatic instinct is to jump to "all of them," but I'll be reasonable here and keep it brief because I could write an essay about each of them. I won't because a) that's ridiculous to do here, and b) a lot of this has to do with spoilers/stuff on the down-low. My Top 3 (these may be surprising or not) in no particular order are:

Seniar- He's more than Anna's dad, he's lived many lives and seen too much. He's a prince who stepped up to protect his people, defied expectations, and fell in love with a human, earned his place as a war hero, and did his best to protect and raise his daughter after everything he had known and cared for was destroyed in front of him. He might not be perfect, but he's dedicated his life to other people and still provides for his daughter despite carrying the burden of his past.

Roselle- The living dead, her existence shakes the very foundation of my other characters. After being introduced to the universe, nothing was the same, and it was all for the better. She also has this strange charm about her, like she demands attention. Her life and her death are quite possibly the 2nd and 3rd most influential factors in my entire plotline- only outdone by the destruction of Ariya. She's also on a team of her own with a willingness to overlook the rulebook, which makes her extremely fun to write.

Jacob- He's caring but distant at the same time, his family is a disaster, and he's a rule follower and a rule breaker all at once. He's an enigma and has been from the start. You think you know him, but do you really? He's always running from something, facing challenges like he's trying to prove something to himself. Him and his siblings are the driving force of a lot of plot lines, and for good reason. You just can't help but wonder whether he is a good person or a bad person, and maybe he's just both.

4. What other pieces of media do you think would share a fan base for your story?

I'm honestly not 100% sure. My inspiration to write this WIP truly started with Percy Jackson, so there could be some crossover there. Really anyone with an interest in fantasy and okay with dark subjects could find it interesting.

5. What has been your biggest struggle with your wip?

Writer's block. Whether it's because a character wasn't connecting with the action the way I wanted them to, or if I'm having a day that everything I write isn't something I'm proud of... I'm in college and work, so there's often a lot on my mind, and stress and creativity don't flow well together in my brain.

6. Are there animals in your story? Talk about them!

Anna(marie) has a cat named Isa(belle) who she picked up while moving around with her father. Isa is a beautiful and sweet black Turkish Angora whose personality is modeled after my childhood cat Belle. She's not a major focus, but she means a lot to Anna as one of the few beings she could connect with outside of her father.

All other animals are wildlife and have to do with worldbuilding, which could go crazy, so I'll stop it there.

7. How do your characters get around? (ex. trains, horses, cars, dragons, etc.)

While on Earth and involved in traditionally human things, they travel in cars because their goal is to blend in and hide in plain sight.

In the list of natural (magic) Hecathian abilities, one of them is Teleportation. Characters with this ability, or in proximity to someone who is, travel this way. The challenge is it takes more energy the further you are traveling and needs quite a bit of practice and discipline to do it safely and correctly. A couple examples of characters with this power are Seniar, Annamarie (duh), and Jaleya (Cameron's sister).

8. What part of your wip are you working on rn?

Chapter 16- near the middle of book 1.

Not even close to where I want to end this.

9. What aspects (tropes, maybe?) of your wip do you think will draw people in?

I suppose the variety of aspects that appear. There is action, adventure, drama, complex characters and relationship dynamics, worldbuilding aspects, and the world and timeline just keeps expanding with different stories to tell. There's a lot to choose from, and it's all interconnected in the same universe.

10. What are your hopes for your wip?

I have a whole series planned, plus spin-offs and expanded stories to supplement it. I hope I have time to get through all of it because I want my main WIP and its world to someday be a complete set and no longer stuck only in my brain and scattered through thousands of notes.

Lightly tagging @my-cursed-prince, @willtheweaver, @jacqueswriteblrlibrary, @ashen-crest and anyone else who wants to tell me about their WIP!

[checkoutmybookshelf]

How is Faerie Smut Not Its Own Genre at This Point???

Ok, I've been on a faerie kick again lately, and I have just finished reading ACOTAR with a friend because he had started it and noped out, but agreed to try it again with me because he's the best. Like Fourth Wing, this book is a white girl BookTok darling, which means that the hype around this books peaks at "THIS IS THE BEST BOOK EVER WRITTEN AAAAAAAAAAAAAA" and "THIS BOOK IS THE WORST THING EVER WRITTEN AAAAAAAAAAAAA."

Y'all...this book is fine. It's aggressively fine. I think it has pacing and plotting issues, and it is absolutely oversold in terms of spice, but I didn't hate it, and there were bits that were fun. I would not kick this book out of bed. (I might kick it out of my classroom if I was teaching, but that's a separate issue.) Let's talk A Court of Thorns and Roses.

Spoiler warning here, because this book and series has been memed to hell and back, and I do not feel like avoiding spoilers is necessary. So SPPOILERS BELOW THE BREAK. Consider yourself warned.

Ok, so first thing's first: I like a good faerie story. I like a good scary faerie. And I am a wee bit of a sucker for a sappy love story once in a while. ACOTAR has all three of those, so objectively this book was fun. It hit some good beats for me, and I was not objectively opposed to faerie smut. Faeries are very flexible, they work in a surprising number of contexts--not to mention that the jump from "my boyfriend is a monster" to "my boyfriend is a high fae lord" is less of a jump and more of a sideways step. So just on paper, ACOTAR wasn't a hard sell for me.

For those of you who have been following my reviews--specifically the Artemis Fowl ones--you'll be happy to hear that Amarantha has been added to the Hall of Unnecessarily Extra Lady Villains with Opal Koboi and Semihrage. I am HERE for Amarantha girlbossing her way to absolute power while wearing the eye and finger bone of the dude she brutally murdered on the way up. I'm also a fan of her TRULY EPIC tantrum once Feyre has murdered two faeries, attempted murdered Tamlin and solved the goddamn riddle at the LAST POSSIBLE SECOND.

(And no, I'm still not over my John Oliver pitching a fit over the solution to the Da Vinci Code being apple levels of fury about THAT...but I digress.)

Amarantha fully leans into toxic girlbossing and just has FUN with it, and I'm never not here for that.

I also appreciated the little tweak of the Aos Si tradition of fairy hills and fairy mounds and fairy barrows into being under the mountain. Like, yes, that mountain is fae as HELL and I'm here for it. That was a nice little addition to the lore, and there's something about having an entire mountain above their heads that made Amarantha's court feel even more oppressive. I'm not sure how it managed not to feel like Khazad Dum, but it didn't, which was excellent.

The other thing I really liked was that the faeries in this series had a very clear sense of danger to them. No candy floss Disney Fairies here, the high fae are DANGEROUS and you can really and truly be fucked if you aren't fully on your game and know all the rules PLUS have a doctorate in rules-lawyering immortal beings. And even then, you could miss something and end up horribly murdered. Between Amarantha, the Night Court in general, the Attor, the Suriel, and the bogge, there was plenty of ambient danger around for our little human protagonist out of her depth.

The problems with this book for me were the aforementioned pacing and plotting problems, and also the romance. Let's take these one by one.

I think it's pretty well known that the last hundred-odd pages of Sarah J Maas books are where the action is, and while that can work for books (it worked beautifully for To Shape a Dragon's Breath), I wasn't buying it for ACOTAR. Feyre's time at the Spring Court draaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagged for me, and honestly I would have been happy with about a third of that timeframe. There was also some dragginess in the pacing under the mountain between the trials. A month between trials was just too long, and the time was not well-filled. A week. Just give it a week, you get the same bits between, and I'm not over here going "Why is this taking SO LONG??"

The pacing issues are at least a little exacerbated by the plotting issues. The first like...two-thirds of this book is a weird speedrun of a slow-burn Beauty and the Beast, except that Feyre isn't actually genre-savvy enough to KNOW that's what's happening, and the curse deadline actually passes (with everyone somehow blaming Feyre for this????) before anyone fills Feyre in on the fact that there was a curse in play at all. Then the last third of the book speedruns cursebreaking. Which was actually more interesting than "Feyre just kinda hangs out in a faerie castle for a few months," but very much felt like a completely different book.

Finally, we have the romance issues. And please, as y'all go into this, remember that I have a PhD in English and Film, and I have more life experience than your average 15-year-old who is inhaling this book. I am not the target demographic. Disclaimer out of the way...WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT???? Feyre spends more time with Lucien than Tamlin at the Spring Court, Lucien is the one who checks on her in her cell in under the mountain (yes, I know they explained it in the text, but it was a weak explanation and frankly, Tamlin could have TRIED), and then she spends a weird amount of time with Rhysand under the mountain, even if she doesn't remember most of it. She didn't have TIME to fall in love with Tamlin. I kind of hate to say this, but there was a huge sense of "You love the IDEA of him, sweetie" while I was reading. Not to mention that she kept flip-flopping on Tamlin while she was under the mountain. While he was physically in her line of sight she was all "I love this fae" but the second she's not looking at him, it's like he barely exists. Was this just an object permanence problem??? Like...Feyre, sweetie. I'm happy if you're happy, but you have not spent enough time with this man. You're just horny for the idea of him.

I also want to just...morally object to everyone BLAMING FEYRE for not knowing there was a curse? Like, even Belle knew that there was a curse in play, she was not expected to just...intuit that the Beast and castle were cursed. Like ten people told her about the curse. And I don't care that part of the curse was that nobody could tell Feyre, that did NOT serve the story.

The last weird thing I want to morally object to is everyone shaming Feyre for her illiteracy. Kids not having the opportunity to pursue education is a tragedy, but WE DO NOT SHAME THEM FOR IT. Feyre gets shit from EVERYONE about this, and the second trial hinging on an assumption that she can read just really hammered the "you are bad for not being able to read" home in the weirdest way. Just...What the hell???

All of that said, I want to reiterate that I would not kick this book out of bed. It has its problems, but I was indeed entertained--at least enough to finish the book. And full disclosure, my reading buddy and I are going to start ACOMAF next, so we're apparently hooked. And yes, you will eventually get a review of that one too!

[rhythmic-idealist]

AFO and Second as foils:

This is all speculation, but keep your EYE on them, I think there's something there and I think there will be more.

In this post we're gonna tease out the difference between "using people as disposable lighters" and "killing was survival." Existing at a time where they had to come up with acceptable losses in order to survive, but Second was able to still ground what he was doing in kindness to someone, in saving someone.

Meanwhile I think everything AFO is doing is grounded in emotionally protecting himself. Like it has not actually worked, I'm sure the state of his emotional literacy is a complete garbage fire, but it's like—

"Well, nothing but me or Yoichi can matter. Yoichi's opinions on how Yoichi matters are inconvenient and hard for me, so I'm going to have to keep believing he's just foolish and mistaken until eventually I have to lean into being and enjoying being a cartoon supervillain"

His admiration of supervillains started WAY young, so obviously some of it was there from the start, but idk, I'm willing to bet what drew him to them was that they're the characters in the story who always seem unaffected, even gleeful. Especially considering the time he grew up in.

And how IS it that that's something so far distant from "killing was survival"?

Well, it's what distinguishes heroism, what ACTUALLY distinguishes it: save him first.

Now yes I could make an entire separate post about everything Stain gets wrong (he wants to die, he believes villains should die just as he believes bad heroes should die because he does not believe in people's capacity to change once they are too far gone, he does not care about people like Himiko Toga), but this thing is correct and played straight. Tenya Iida rolls it straight into his personal philosophy, and he brings it back in the JT arc with his announcement to the hero course that my priority is rescue, clearly framed as a triumph.

What makes a hero? Heroes must ground their fight in saving. It has to be about saving.

And one day, things will reach Izuku Midoriya's era. Deku will see the necessity of the hero who [tries to save] everyone, and Uravity will connect the pieces on the fact that we all need to become that hero.

It wasn't possible in Second's era, so Second chose what he could.

I think Second was deeply deeply messed up about the things he had to do in order to keep himself and other people alive. But I also think he kept asking himself why he did it, and kept investing in other people. There is a reason he understands "those who run alongside you."

And when Second introduces the notion of "those who will match your pace and run along side you," in that moment he means those who will STOP you when you need stopping.

There's a reason that that core Second belief is associated with what Iida is as a friend and a rival: Iida's entire philosophical rivalry with Midoriya is grounded in "neither one of us can make all the judgment calls alone, neither of us can make all the rules."

Sorry to bring Iida into it now, but Second sort of necessitates that for this analysis to make sense: The way Iida begins to stand back up and take heroic action is the advice "be the hero [your brother] would want you to be."

Iida was doing something for Tensei IN NAME, but it was based on Iida's own restlessness and putting his own emotions at ease. It was obviously something that it would be completely batshit to suggest Tensei wanted. The second he's confronted with that thought, instead of stuffing it into a very very distant little compartmentalized corner, Tenya knows that.

(Unlike AFO, Tenya also chooses to stand back up and do better this time. He chooses to take the critique, to understand that he was wrong despite how ridiculously harsh on himself Tenya is when he's wrong, and to dedicate himself to figuring out how to do better.)

Similarly, AFO takes actions in Yoichi's name, but they are, at every turn, entirely to soothe himself. They are never interested in what Yoichi wants from him. Investing in other people's answers when everything is already so hard is mandatory, but is difficult, and AFO chose the route that Second chose to rise above.

AFO had the opportunity to choose that too. There were people who, if he chose to do better, would have done the difficult work of running alongside him. I'm sure there was a long period of time when Yoichi would have— we watch Yoichi try to stop him with words, try to get him to do anything better, to at least stop this.

AFO was reacting to what it was to exist during his horrible, tumultuous time. And so was Second, and that's why I think foiling them is going to wind up essential to dig at the root of what makes AFO evil.

-

(Apologies that the picture wound up at no point being referenced in this post. Just to keep from confusing anyone, I'm gonna come out with it: that picture at the top is me finding the best AFO and Second panel I could to make this post look nice.)

[krinsbez]

Random Superman Thought

So, I dislike the trend in recentish years of portraying Krypton as a dystopia. There are any number of reasons for it and I'm not going into them ATM.

My general preference, in fact, is for it to be utopian. Not a utopia, that isn't really possible, but vastly better than our world is. And this is in large part because of science. Not just physical science, advanced technology and the like, although obviously they have this, but "soft science". they have advanced fields such as economics, sociology, and poli. sci. to a degree that they are as rigorous, or even more so than geology and chemistry are here on Earth. They have therefore been able to create a society that, more-or-less works, fairly and justly for almost everyone.

Because yes, while the percentage is minuscule, there are people who don't fit in. That said, as a general rule, the reason don't fit in because they want to hurt other people.

OK, so now we come to one of the parts that I know is controversial, because one of those soft science fields that they've advanced is psychology. They have the means to safely and humanely alleviate, treat, and even outright cure 99.9999% of mental illnesses. The important thing, is that this isn't coercive. If you are diagnosed with a mental illness, there is no stigma and no judgement. Up to a point (and we'll et to that in a bit) is is entirely your choice whether or not to seek treatment, and what that treatment will be. if you want to be cured outright, that's fine. But if you want to just have your symptoms alleviated, that's also fine. And if you don't want to be treated at all, that is ALSO fine. Regardless, no one will think less of you or treat you like a freak or a bad person or put pressure on you to make a different choice. Accommodations will be made for you and nobody will suggest that there's anything wrong with that.

(not...sure how they would deal with conditions that produce self-harm, but I'm just going to table that)

But like I said, up to a point. And that point is when you start hurting other people. I don't mean hurting their feelings. Nor do I mean hurting property. I mean when other people end up in the hospital and such. At that point someone from the Military Guild* shows up and politely suggest you should maybe see someone. And at first that's all they do, because again, it is your choice.

If you persist in actions that harm others, they continue to be polite, but measures taken become stricter, though as a general, it never becomes stricter than they, again very politely, keep you under surveillance and step in to stop you from hurting people.

But. If, say, you blow up a moon, or torture 23 men to death in your basement, or try to take over the world? Yeah, at that point you have lost the right to say no to treatment.

The thing is, if someone doesn't willingly participate in therapy, it isn't going to work as well. And figuring out what to do with such people is something they're still working on (again, utopian, not utopia). In the last decade or so of Krypton's existence, they began experimenting with the Phantom Zone. People sent to the Phantom Zone can't harm others, nor can they be harmed. They don't experience physical discomfort. They don't even age. They are isolated from society, but are able to see what they're missing. And just in case, Fort Rozz has facilities where they can safely return to physical form and have visitors and so forth if it becomes too stressful. And all they have to do to be released is agree to go to therapy so they can be treated from their desire to hurt people. Which they generally do after about a few months to a year, long before any serious psychological damage is done, and also they can treat that, anyways.

it is not, by any means, a perfect solution. In fact, it's fairly controversial, and they're always looking for something better. The problem is, of course, that Krypton blew up and people who were not expected to spend more than year in the Phantom Zone ended up being trapped there for decades.

Does this concept work to make the Phantom Zone compatible with a society that is not a utopia but is utopian?

*Since they haven't had a war in centuries the phrase "Military Guild" refers to peace officers. And before you comment, as a general rule, they they aren't Bastards. Mostly they direct traffic, do social work, mediate disputes, deal with wild animals that wander into residential areas, but on the exceedingly rare occasions crimes are committed, they deal with that also.

[regallibellbright]

Sometimes I think about my ideal Batman story, in which the Joker is killed by some nameless random Gothamite in the middle of a scheme with no build-up whatsoever, no mystique, just some henchman who he's turning on just saying "fuck it" and shooting him or some hostage managing to get free and then hit him repeatedly with their own chair until he doesn't get back up. It's quick. No one stops them. They're all too shocked it's working to stop them, and at the end of the day, EVERYONE wants that clown gone. That's the first action sequence and it's done by the end of issue one, preferably even at the three-quarters mark. (As far as I can tell he is considered dead at the moment, but it was climactic and showy and while he presumably exploded we all know he'll be back and probably be revealed to have never died at all somehow, and I want him dying in the most anticlimactic way possible.)

The rest of the arc's just dealing with the fallout. We see his body at the coroner's and confirm it is disposed of (thoroughly and in secret, so there's nowhere for assholes to visit or necromancers to try and resurrect.) People across Gotham throw parties. Some people OUTSIDE Gotham throw parties. Batman is in the cave making sure literally every means of resurrection is NOT available to the Joker, thank you VERY much, because he gets to be JUST shy of fourth wall-aware and therefore recognizes this is never going to stick and he'll be back as soon as the next writer comes on. No alternate universe versions are able to come through. There is no DNA from which to clone him. It wasn't a body double, a Doombot, or an elaborate illusion. He has been 100% confirmed to be 100% dead like three times in this issue alone. No time traveling Jokers to account for. Everyone else thinks Bruce is overreacting but when the Joker does inevitably come back ideally Bruce does get a scene being utterly unsurprised because on some level he understands that he is stuck with this fucking clown forever no matter what he does.

We get a mention that the random Gothamite IS put on trial for murder but it's unanimously ruled self-defense. This is the one circumstance where I'm willing to give this Gothamite a name. It is important to me they never appear again after this. They are here to kill the Joker and then recede back into the crowd.

Because the point is that the Joker dies like a fucking loser, because he's not some unkillable mastermind force of chaos, he's just a clown whose biggest win was killing a twelve-year-old, a feat he only got away with at the time because of an incredibly convoluted and even MORE incredibly racist plot point about him somehow getting named an Iranian ambassador. (No, seriously. That happened. It is every bit as terrible as you're thinking. There's a reason why adaptations cut it, but it's TELLING that the writers felt the need to come up with this contrived reason for why the Joker could kill Robin and live to tell the tale so they wouldn't have to utterly BREAK Batman as a character whether he breaks the rule or not.) Jason Todd is alive again. His second biggest win was shooting someone I'm pretty sure he didn't know was a superheroine, which was entirely incidental to his desire to torture her father which was ITSELF incidental to his desire to prove a point to Batman. And I have the DEEPLY mixed feelings of a disabled person who thinks Barbara Gordon's treatment in TKJ and especially editorial's approach to it was atrocious but who still deeply appreciates Oracle as a wheelchair user and such a nontraditional superhero, but ultimately: Yeah that's no longer a win for him, either.

So the Joker dies, it's made entirely clear that he is dead, he dies in a way that underlines how fundamentally pathetic he is and how fundamentally RIDICULOUS it is no one in Gotham did it before that point (because if you're going to die either way, why not go down swinging?), everyone celebrates, eventually even Batman's hypervigilance is appeased enough to eat some cake, and we get a good few years without that fucking clown everywhere until he inevitably returns. Hopefully by that point, everyone in reality considers how absolutely BORED they are of the Joker as some Ultimate Evil Super Successful Murder Clown of Doom, and when he does come back it's a version who's much more funny than scary.

Yes, my favorite episode of BTAS is Joker's Favor, but I don't think that changes the fact that the clown is overplayed and that having villains around who routinely kill is just narratively and objectively a bad choice to put with a character who you're defining by "does not kill". Like, you as the writer are weakening your own central thesis and then you have to come up with elaborate justifications why Batman Not Killing is right (because these comics are nominally still being sold to children, and also editorial will never let you ACTUALLY do it) when you could just solve the problem by not having the villains Batman fights routinely kill people. Knock it off. Yeah it's unrealistic but superheroes are inherently unrealistic, and yes, I'm including Batman, do you KNOW how much any given injury writers consider routine ACTUALLY fucks you up long-term?

Don't even get me started on Victor Zsasz.

Anyway I saw DC's doing a Joker Year One next year and just wanted to get that off my chest. Carry on.

[atlas-affogato]

I would like to know your Enforcers thoughts/hcs. My fave fact of the show is that Ratso is a legit genius - mans got a bachelors in theoretical physics. I feel like the other two were like his cheerleaders in college, and fully supported him when he chose not to persue a doctorate

Eeeeeeeee YES YES YES I LOVE THAT

Oh my god that's so cute, just so supportive <3

I have so many thoughts and headcanons and so many of them are making there way into my fics.

I love Ratso he's so much fun to think about and write, I definitely think he's autistic, just everything about him, things he says and how other characters interact with him I'm like 'wow, you are just. So fucking relatable' the obsession with baseball and turbo troll action figures, he's just such a geek and I love it. I definitely think he's super smart with math and science stuff, like top of his class sort of smart. I headcanon that he went to college for theoretical physics right after high school and got a job working as like security for a bar or club at night and he got recruited for The Dark Hand through that, working at a club The Dark Hand owns. In my long fic I'm working on he dropped out of college to work for The Dark Hand full time so he never finished his degree and still has major regrets about that.

I bet Ratso is wicked smart with math shit, like he'll just rattle off some insane mental math when the situation arises and everyone just stares at him like, how can you possibly know that?? But he does! Check it on a calculator and he's right! He might not be able to tell you what Valmont is thinking but he can tell you how long its going to take to fly from San Francisco to Chicago based off of flight patterns, the weight of the plane and their speed.

I think that Ratso and Finn and Chow all met working at The Dark Hand, that was their one connection and then they became best friends and ride or die. They've got this intense ride or day relationship, like, 'fuck the rest of the world, I'd sacrifice the entire city if it meant keeping you safe' sort of thing going on.

Ratso loves baseball so much, it's been his special interest since he was a kid, he's got memorabilia, he was on the baseball team in high school, he just loves baseball so much. In baseball its good to have a tall person on first base so they can reach up and catch stray high balls and throw it real fast to second base (yes I researched baseball just because Ratso likes it) so I hc that he was the first baseman when he played baseball.

Finn and Chow could definitely care less but they are supportive boyfriends so they both let Ratso just infodump and ramble for hours about baseball and anything else, just sat on the couch "uh huh, yeah sure" while Ratso rambles. They go to baseball games and Finn and Chow let Ratso explain all the rules and about each role of each team member and the history of the team and everything and they all have a great time.

Ratso's family stays pretty much the same in like everything I write, he's got his mom who is fucking amazing, I love his mom, super supportive, great mom, and he's got three sisters, two older and one younger. Ratso strikes me as a guy who grew up with sisters and a mother who never allowed any toxic masculinity to fester, so he's super secure in himself and his relationships and he was determined to be a good person and not be an asshole like all the guys his sisters would date and complain about. Ratso's got an absent father because I love angst because it just makes sense in my mind but he's got this really big Italian extended family who he knows well and grew up with and is really close with. His mom definitely taught him how to cook so he's a really good cook, making all these nice Italian American dishes which is good because Finn and Chow live off of take out, and Ratso likes cooking so he'll definitely be in the kitchen every night making something great 🤌

I hc Ratso as gay, I never write him as anything else. I think he probably dated some girls in high school before realizing that that wasn't really his thing and subsequently coming out to his family, who were all really nice and supportive about it which is great considering it was the 80s and when people at school found out he got kicked off the baseball team and lost a lot of friends he had made. But its okay, he keeps it trucking. Ratso's got this upbeat optimistic attitude, and it's not born from ignorance, its born from this attitude of "I'd rather hope for a better life and be let down then to give up on hope all together." He'd rather see the best in people. Which makes working for a crime syndicate...difficult, to say the least.

Finn is not the same. Finn is a cynic. He's happy with his own life, his personal life and his hobbies but he doesn't think people are inherently good or kind. He believes everyone is selfish, and he isn't going to go out of his way to not be selfish because that's just how the world works. People are shitty to each other and there's nothing you can do to stop it so there's not even a point in trying.

Finn strikes me as a man who is deeply insecure about himself, and he masks that by being the complete opposite. He is out going and loud and conceited and has so much confidence in his own skills and ability because if he doesn't put on his mask of over the top-ness then he'll start to sprial about how his life is going nowhere and 'oh god I'm 30 and I haven't done anything with my life'

My headcanons for Finn's background are much more fluid than for Ratso or Chow, and I think its because I like to see what you can do with his character. In some fics he's an only child, sometimes he has six siblings, sometimes he's got twin younger sisters. Sometimes he's close with his parents, sometimes his dad is nice, sometimes he's an asshole. Sometimes he's got this big extended family and sometimes he's functionally an orphan, it just depends on what I'm writing and what I'm trying to say with the story and his personal development.

I find Finn compelling, and I think that's because I view him as a person who, despite all his personal development, is not sorry for the things he's done. He sees working for The Dark Hand as a means to an end, the end being his own wealth and success. Now I don't say that to mean I think he's a greedy, obsessed person like Valmont is, but I think Finn knows as well as anyone that there is truly nothing money won't buy. He wants success, in the back of his mind he still wants his name in lights as some major musical artist, but in reality he wants stability and he wants a steady life. He doesn't want to have to work for the rest of his life at some dead end job just to make ends meet, and if working for a crime syndicate has the possibility of giving him the life he wants, then he's willing to do whatever is asked of him to get that.

Finn has morals, he has lines he won't cross, but if you wanted genuine regret for his actions, apologies for the people he's hurt, then its just never going to happen. He's not sorry.

Finn is, in my mind, a bit prickly, I think is the best word for it. He doesn't open up to people, and he'll make plenty of jokes and jabs, but genuine vulnerability is hard to get to with him, he deflects and deflects and deflects. It takes time for him to trust Chow and Ratso, it takes lots of long talks and the two of them being able to see through his facades and jokes to get to the core of what he's trying to say without saying it for them to get close. The pay off being that once Finn is close with someone he is an open book. He's very affectionate, he's very sweet, it just takes some time to get there. Finn loves at 100% and he doesn't know how to turn that down, so he keeps people at arms length so they don't hurt him.

Finn is very open about his sexuality, he doesn't try and pretend he's not gay, if you don't like the fact that's gay then you can leave, but he doesn't put that part of himself in any sort of box or try to contain who he is. He's proud of his sexuality, he's proud of who he is, and he's not going to apologize for it.

Now Chow. Chow is interesting. (I love him so much its unreal) Chow has a lot of complexities and a lot of complex feelings about things, most of which he doesn't know how to say out loud. I hc that Chow grew up in Chinatown in San Francisco and he has pretty traditional immigrant parents. And while he loves his family, he doesn't have a lot of family. Most of his extended family is back in China, and while he's visited a few times he's not super close with any of his extended family, so its mostly just him and his parents as his older brother. Chow is someone who loves his family and wants so much to be close with his family, but has always felt like an outcast.

While his brother bore the brunt of the responsibility to be the perfect oldest sibling, Chow was still constantly compared to his brother and told he needed to try harder, and while his brother could fill the role of star student their parents forced on them, Chow just couldn't keep up.

He believed himself to be stupid for so many years just because he wasn't a straight A student like his brother, and it kind of did a lot of damage to his self esteem and self image.

Chow also strikes me as someone who knew he was gay from a young age, and someone who was visibly gay all growing up, he just couldn't hide it even when he tried and he was bullied pretty viciously for that all growing up.

Chow loves his family, but he's never believed they would be accepting of his sexuality, and he didn't want to cause a stir, he didn't want to be the person causing waves or breaking their family up so he just...never told them. And he just avoids questions about his love life and if he's ever going to have kids. It weighs pretty heavy on him, this feeling that he's letting his parents down by being gay.

Chow strikes me as someone who tries to act cool and does all this posturing because he was bullied so much for being gay and being a geek. He's got the leather jacket and the cool guy sunglasses and he's trying to act tough, but in reality he's as much of a geek as Ratso is. He loves video games, he was constantly at the arcade as a kid and he's always got the newest gaming systems. Finn's not one for video games but Ratso is so they will often spend hours playing Diddy Kong racing or Doom or Resident Evil or even sitting together on their gameboys playing Pokémon or Wario or Kirby.

Chow is a romantic. He loves all the cheesy stuff, the flowers and the gifts and the Valentines Day dinners. And he gets embarrassed about liking it, but Ratso and Finn are accommodating and they do the stupidly romantic things because they love him (they love it too, but the look on Chow's face is worth it everytime)

Chow I imagine has a hard time talking about his feelings, he has a hard time talking about things that really matter to him, he just didn't grow up in a household that said in words how much they loved eachother, so when he started dating Ratso who did grow up in a house like that and is very openly affectionate it was...a culture shock, to say the least. Chow gets better at talking about his feelings, but they also work around it in a lot of ways. If Chow handing Finn a stack of his favorite magazines is a declaration of love, then that's what it is, it doesn't need to be any more complicated than that.

Okay, I have even more thoughts but I've been talking for a while now and I am getting so excited thinking about them that my hands are literally shaking right now so I am going to go ahead and post this and take a break but yes! Ask me more things! Any specifics you want! I will tell you about any and all fic ideas I have/am working on, so please just let me know what you want to hear I will talk and talk and talk about these three.