#light at the end of the tunnel tho!! or rather Not Light

[queerofthedagger]

delight of the day: it's finally starting to be notable that the days are getting shorter again mwah

delight of the day: baclava 😌

[purpleeivy]

Hey so I know I’ve been gone for… ages.

Do I have an excuse? No

Have I been doing anything in that time? Also no.

I do however want your input if you’d be so kind.

See I want to make a manga or something like that. Or at least, I have two stories ideas that I really wanna do something with, but I think would only really work in a visual medium. Plus I just wanna draw.

So, answer in the poll which one you would rather I try and work on, and if I do end up working on it, which knowing me probably won’t be the case with my executive dysfunction, I’ll post progress (Nothing too spoilery tho, so don’t worry)

I suppose I should explain the ideas before you choose them so.

1. The Light at the End of the Tunnel

This manga/webcomic would revolve around the embodiment of death guiding spirits to the afterlife, and on their way there death asks the spirits about their life, and that’s sort of what the chapters would be like, just going through the life of the person with death, with both Death and the now dead person being the narrators. I sort of imagine this Death as sort of like The Doctor, in the sense that they have endless faith in humanity despite all the bad things. They would be able to shapeshift to make the person they are guiding feel more comfortable, however they would always have certain distinctive features. I’m gonna end up talking about this way too much lmao, I think that’s a good enough summary of what I want for you to grasp how it would be.

2. Unnamed rn, probably some sort of thing about the future or smth

This one would be set in a fantasy dnd-like world, and the protagonist would be a retired adventurer who decided to open up a bar and help other adventurers, especially the newer ones.

I like it cus it could be like a slice-of-life type thing where the bartender is just doing stuff and helping some adventurers, and he’s also insanely op and has a ton of magic and stuff. I’ve got a sort of idea of his personality and appearance.

This one was totally not inspired because i binged all of one piece and think the theme of doing things to help future generations is really interesting. It’s the case with a lot of the main straw hat allies, but especially Shanks, Whitebeard, and Garp (and probably others)

As always, good morning, good afternoon or good evening. (No goodnight since it’s 8am for me and I’m writing this on the bus to college)

love you all <3 (and especially thank you if you answer the poll, but if not thank you for reading anyway)

[stfuviolet1]

15/08/2023

Today I was shocked by the news of my friend's death. we weren't close to begin with only met him once or twice for hiking but he was indeed a laidback man with goofy behaviour. its just the way he passed away which is by tragic car accident that upsets me and for some reason, it left me questioning myself, am I really ready to die yet? for someone who's been wishing for death nearly everyday for the past several months, there must be a reason why god made me sign in to my insta again and went through my friends' ig stories (I haven't logged in for weeks) and the first few stories that I saw is about my friend's death. if I didn't log in earlier, I wouldn't be aware and I wouldn't have this thoughts and maybe I wouldn't question 'my time' anymore.

It's true that some days I wish its better to die than having to endure this pain but as I wish for death, I also pray that god take me in the modest, painless way possible. Take me while I'm praying, or sleeping or anything idk as long as my body would still be in one piece I'm good. but yeah, is it permissible tho to make such pray? wouldn't you be considered as unfaithful cause you give up in life? I've been listening to a lot of podcasts lately and its life changing. sometimes all I need a hard slap in the face that everything will work out just fine for me and that I will be okay.

I noticed that I've stopped wishing for death in my prayer but rather, I wish for Allah to grant me the ultimate strength for me to get through everyday and somehow, I found the strength. May I continuously walk this tough journey with patience, calmness, faith and strength and may I found the light at the end of the tunnel. AMIN YRA.

Al- Fatihah Muhamad Akmal bin Mohd Azmi (1995-2023)

O Allah, forgive him and elevate his station among those who are guided. Send him along the path of those who came before, and forgive us and him, O Lord of the worlds. Enlarge for him his grave and shed light upon him in it.  

[dark-author]

Chapter 1 of my first book still working on some errors tho

________________________________________

The boy had always been a bright, cheerful person. But something changed Within him over the course of a few months. He

stopped enjoying the things he used to love and became withdrawn and quiet His family and friends didnt know what to do, and they were starting to worry about him.

One day, the boy's therapist asked him if he had been feeling down or sad lately. The boy hesitated for a moment before finally admitting that he had been struggling with depression he wasnt sure why it had started happening but he was grateful to have someone to talk to about it.

The therapist helped him to understand his depression and gave him some tools to deal with it. With time and patience, the boy

slowly began to feel better. He wasn't back to his old self but he was getting there

The boy was walking through the park, enjoying the fresh autumn air. He had been struggling with depression for a while, but he was determined to get better. He thought about all the things he had to be grateful for, He was grateful for his family, his friends, and his loving dog.

Suddenly, a wild rabbit hopped out of the bushes. The boy was startled, but he quickly recovered. The rabbit seemed to be dancing in the sunlight

As the boy watched the rabbit, he felt a sense of peace wash over him. He realized that he could get through this tough time. He was reminded that life is full of surprises and moments of joy. He knew that he would get better, and he was determined to enjoy life to the fullest.

One day, the boy met someone who changed his life. This person showed him that there is always hope, no matter how bleak things seem. The boy started to believe that he could recover from his depression.

He began to take small steps, and eventually, he managed to overcome his depression. He realized that he was not alone, and that there were people who loved and supported him. He was finally able to see the light at the end of the tunnel, and he was so grateful for the second chance at life

The boy was happy but still a little sad. Despite being surrounded by his family and friends, he felt like something was missing. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he knew there was something wrong

One day, the boy went for a walk in the park. As he walked, he saw a mother and her child playing together. The boy smiled as he watched them, and he suddenly realized what was missing from his life. He realized that he was missing the happiness that comes from being around family and friends

The boy was happy but still a little sad, But he knew that he  could find happiness by spending time with the people he loved.

It was always difficult for the boy to spend time with people. He was always shy and introverted, and found it hard to connect with others. He would often stay in his room, playing video games or reading books, rather than socializing with others.

One day, the boy met a girl online. She was friendly and outgoing, and the two of them quickly became friends. The boy soon found himself spending more and more time chatting with her online He loved the way she made him feel and he was happy for the first time in a long time.

Eventually, the boy decided to meet the girl in person and they had an amazing time together. They laughed and joked and shared stories, and it was clear that they would end up together.

The boy sat on the bench in the park, dejectedly looking at the ground. It had only been a few weeks since he and the girl had started dating, but it felt like a lifetime. He couldnt believe that she had dumped him, especially via text message. It wasn't like she had anything better to do. He was sure that she was just using him for his money and connections.

He sighed and looked up at the sky. The sun was starting to set, casting a beautiful orange hue over the city. He thought about

how he was going to get through the night without her. Slowly he was starting to grow depressed again.

The boy had been through depression before, but this time was different. He felt like he was stuck in a dark abyss, with no way out. He had lost all hope and motivation. Every day was a struggle, and he couldnt see any Point in going on.

He tried to keep up appearances with his family and friends, but inside he was dying, the darkness was eating away at his soul and he felt like he was losing himself. He didn't know how to ask for help, or if anyone would even be be able to help him.

One day, he decided to take his own life. He wrote a letter to his loved ones, telling them how much he loved them and how sorry he was. He then took a handful of pills and waited for the darkness to take him.

Thankfully, he was found in time and rushed to the hospital. He knew that he still had a long road ahead.

_________________________________________

Let me know what i can do to improve it

[sublimemintandmango]

I have been thinking abt nothing but possible future "Legends" series games and of course it involves train man so here's my concept for a possible feature.

My favorite part of PLA really is the fact Alpha pokemon will just chase and beat the shit out of you, encouraging the player to be tactical and hide and stuff, so if there's going to be another Legends game and a continuation to Ingo's story (idk tho cus I understand it's tragic and has happened before but his story just feels so unfinished to me) I want one that takes place in Unova around the era when the trains are still relatively new.

I want Emmet sent to the past as well with the same screwed up memories, only that Unova feels so so verry familiar to him but at the same time not. The ancestors of people he knew makes him feel like he knows them but he can't put his finger on it, the most familiar place to him are the trains and tunnels. The various twists and turns of what would soon be Unova's subway in the future is so familiar to him, but he doesn't even know why he knows so much about the place when all he remembers is his name.

The second most familiar thing to him are joltiks, also happens to be a rising issue for the people in Unova -- joltik infestations. With the creation of the rail tunnels and the engineers' decision to use electricity to power the underground carts, joltiks have begun to dwell in these tunnels, and while that seems to be more of a hazard to the safety of the joltiks and galvantulas, joltiks were beginning to appear nearly everywhere.

They feed on the electricity that runs through the underground rail lines and causes the trains to break down and people start making complaints, but people also start telling stories that there's a ghost in the tunnels causing these things to happen because some of them have begun reporting seeing a silhouette of a man while travelling underground. Rather than a the majority complaining about the joltiks, the trains breaking down has become associated with the ghost story of Gear Station's "Tunnel Man."

Emmet, being the reason for the population increase of joltiks and galvantulas, bringing the joltiks from chargestone cave to the subway to snack on the electricity as a treat, remains as a rumored ghost until some poor kids actually go down into the tunnels to look for the Tunnel Man.

Emmet, who hasn't seen another human being in these tunnels for about a year, does not remember how to human, but recalls what he's supposed to do in these tunnels. He sees the pokemon accompanying these kids and immediately the autism kicks in and he doesn't exactly remember his job but he knows he loves battling and that's what he always did so he's like "OH! I fight them!! Yes that is what I do!!" and the last thing they hear is "Aim for Victory!!" before a hoard of galvantula just sweep these poor kids.

Imagine you get sent to the past and land in Unova, you do your little tasks, find out that the land is progressing but still, many wild pokemon are out there and the safest option for travel is the underground tunnels (future subway!!) you go there and there's another power out so you gotta walk. Then somewhere in your 30 minute travel from Anville to Mistralton, there's a man in the tunnels looking like he has not seen the light of day for three years and he sees you. You think it's an npc, or even one of the important characters to encounter for the story. He makes eye contact with you and it's the same type of cut where the "eye-contact with other trainers initiates a battle" type of thing happens but instead of a battle, the game shows the player the "sprint tutorial."

In the Battle Subway, all pokemon participating get adjusted to level 50, so I like to imagine they don't have that technlogy yet because why would they, these tunnels are for travel, not battle. If you do end up fighting Emmet in a battle, it won't matter if you're level 5 or level 32 or level 60, Tunnel Man Emmet's going to be carrying 3-4 pokemon and the first thing he sends out is like a level 88 galvantula. If you beat him, he congratulates you then goes "hope to see you again!" and maybe some stuff he says in his script and the next encounter is always worse than the last. You can get away from his trainer battles if you throw a fluffy tail at him. You have a 3 second grace period to get to the light before he notices and starts chasing you. You can turn around to see he's doing the arm swing power walk but he's just getting closer while you aren't running.

If Legends Arceus was able to give us a 3-phase boss fight, then there can be a use for the run option in trainer battles.

I already can't run from Cynthia, you might as well give me a chance to run away from the "optional" boss.

[river-bottom-nightmare]

Nightwing #80 Review

woot woot i’ve kept it up for three issues lets gooo. i liked this issue more than the last one. there’s a lot of fanon dick characterization peppered in, but not so much that it puts me off entirely. also, i’m getting increasingly concerned about bitewing. but i did like tim in this one, very nice

look at all the blue and purple and pink. honestly at this point, i’m a broken record but come on come on come onnnnnnn. the blue and pink is very pretty though. this cover’s a bit offputting at first, and a bit spiraly, which i’m sure was the intended effect.

this is a genuine concern of mine. dick’s a vigilante, and he doesn’t have the same sprawling network and resources that bruce does. (even if he is a billionaire now, he hasn’t amassed the same collection of crime-fighting equipment that bruce has.) 

i’m not sure if he’ll be able to take care of bitewing. damian’s got plenty of pets, but alfred used to take care of them, and now bruce plus the rest of the batfam is taking care of them. as far as we know, babs only drops by occasionally, and the same goes for dick’s family and friends. will dick be able to give bitewing the love and time and affection that a traumatized puppy like her needs? i really hope so.

she does look adorable in this panel tho.

dick. richard. richie. baby. why are you shirtless.

you have scars upon scars. probably chemical burns. bullet wounds. weird fucking squiggly lines from knives that only psychos with blade fetishes use. no normal person has the body that you do. and you don’t think that showing up shirtless in front of the police is going to raise suspicion? you don’t think that the people accusing you of murder are going to look at someone who looks like they’re a fucking mob enforcer and go hmm that’s a bit suspicious?

put on a SHIRT jesus CHRIST it’s like you’re not even trying to hide your identity.

look at this pompous little princess demanding only the highest quality head pets i’d burn down latvia for her. (no offense latvians it was the first country that popped into my head.)

pretty boy pretty boy pretty boy pretty boy-

no seriously kudos to the artist here. his expression is so human i wanna cry. dick, right now, is sheepishly asking a question. he knows he’s not going to get into any real trouble, he knows that he’ll be able to talk his way out of or somehow maneuver his way off this mess. but he’ll play nice for the police, so he’s asking a friend for a favour, part self-condescendingly and part oh-well-what-can-you-do.

and his expression reflects that. rather than a stoic expressionless face most male comic characters have when asking someone for something (or all the time really), rather than the weird desperate supposedly “seductive” face that most female comic characters plus dick grayson have when asking someone for something (or all the time really), he’s making a face that i pulled like yesterday. or the day before that. it’s kind of silly, kind of casual, very much human. i like it.

thank god. proper (in character) acknowledgement for officer grayson. yea, fuck cops in general, but i like that they included this line.

obviously, he’s not talking about the actual criminals, he’s talking about the police force itself. the bpd was too corrupt, and dick realized that he wasn’t helping. not only does one clean cop not make a dent in an overall dirty force, but dick was putting his allies in danger too. not only that, but it wasn’t good for dick’s mental health either. he was spreading himself too thin, and surrounding himself with some of the worst of crime 24/7 did a number on him. dick’s got a history of self-sacrificing tendencies, and i’m just glad he’s not a cop anymore.

dick has a gotham rogues mug. they make gotham rogue mugs, and dick has one.

what kinda city looks at it’s frankly horrible crime history and long list of certifiably insane serial killers who are all still alive and actively committing war crimes and goes “oooooh yea imma put that on a coffee mug!” gotham, that’s who.

this isn’t important i just like how all of bitewing’s barks are blue

back straight, hand on his hip, cheerful smile on his face as he says he’s being accused for murder. love that for him.

they couldn’t have said “yea it’s complicated” in a better way even if they put the words “yea it’s complicated” right there on the page in bold red letters. literally all the love to the artists.

dick please. you’re KILLING ME what the actual fuck IS THAT???? WHY DO YOU HAVE A MUG OF THAT???

anyway nightwing collects novelty mugs confirmed.

this paneling is so beautiful. 

tim’s the focus, but he’s not the first thing you see. he’s placed in a way that forces the reader to drag their eyes all the way up the page in order to reach him. it us know just how high up tim is carelessly crouching, especially close to the ledge of the building too. i cannot think of a single better way to introduce a character, and this character in particular: you instantly know this is a version of tim with plenty of experience and training, is comfortable in his body and knows his limits, but still hangs onto that civilian awe of being in a high place and overlooking a brightly lit city.

absolute classic robin. i love it. 

this isn’t even that important but it made me happy. this is how you train surf.

you don’t crouch or bend over when you get to a tunnel, which is oddly enough what most people think (at least from my experience). you bend backward. that not only 100% ensures that you’ll make sure you’re low enough to make it through the tunnel (because you can see the top of the tunnel, unlike when you crouch or bend), but it also makes it easier to get up: all you have to do is push up with your arms into a bent stance, and you’ll be in a ready, moving position. from a bend or a crouch, getting up is more awkward and more slow.

on a meta level, i like that this creative team knows what they’re doing when it comes to the small, almost unimportant stuff like that, because it makes the action more real. (as real as you can get with a guy running around stealing hearts.)

on a in-universe level, it once again drives home both dick and tim’s experience and professional level skill.

regardless of who you side with in the “should tim drake be robin again?” debate, you gotta admit that tim’s rebirth robin suit is r a d as fuck. if i’m not mistaken, this is the same one he was wearing in 2019 young justice for a little bit? it’s cute and hella cool i like it.

remember what i said about human expressions? doesn’t happen as often to tim bc he’s a Child, but it’s still nice to note when someone humanizes him, too. (that’s why i love the duckboy panel so much lol.)

me, at first: that’s not a “good call” dick that’s just common sense

me, now: sprinkled throughout the entire comic we can see dick bending to tim’s instructions if only briefly, joking with him to keep the mood light while still maintaining a serious mood and retaining control over this particular outing. this implies that dick’s doing it intentionally, purposefully leaving places in his sentences blank and offering affirmations, in order to encourage tim and train him in things bruce might not necessarily touch on, such as social chameleoning and misdirection techniques and love/affirmation from a family member. dick is not only a loving and supportive big brother, but he never stops training his younger brother in better vigilante tecnhiques because he wants tim to be better than him. in this essay i will-

d o g g o

also bitewing is getting so many head pats today i’m living for it

look at him, standing on a telephone wire with ease. nice flex, dick.

also look at how he’s silhouetted. the moon’s full bright, bright enough that the sky around dick is light, too. (at least. i’m like 99% sure that’s the moon.) not like most batman comics, where it’s sometimes hard to distinguish bruce from the background, which is entirely on purpose.

gotham is a dark gritty city, and so is bruce. the two of them are one. bludhaven may be a bit of a mess, but it’s being portrayed in all these different shades of blue and purple and pink, that are all light enough that dick stands out from the background. he hasn’t been swallowed up by the city, and chances are that he won’t ever be. also, the colouring helps establish bludhaven as a city too. there’s still hope for it. the light colouring means that it’s not going to sink into a pit as deep as the one bruce wove gotham into. the whole point of this nightwing arc in particular is to turn bludhaven into a better place, and it’s (most likely) letting us know early on that dick is going to accomplish that. he’ll struggle, but he’ll do it.

so dick??? dick designed his escrima sticks with a situation like this in mind? he created his signature and most iconic weapon (other than his chatty mouth), with a built in feature that turns his escrima sticks into tim’s signature and most iconic weapon???? just so that if he and tim ever got into a situation where tim didn’t have his staff, dick could make sure tim had the thing that would give him an edge over anyone he was fighting??? he’s such a big brother oh my goddd.

also tim’s smirk in this is just *chef kiss.* a staff is something he can work with, a staff is something he wields like an extension of his arm, a staff is means that someone’s about to get their ass kicked because tim’s about to beat the shit outta them.

this is my new phone background.

they really made sure we remembered that hey, those first few months when bruce was grieving too much to be any sort of a mentor to tim and was still unwilling to properly train him to be robin out of fear that he would end up like jason, dick was the one who stepped up (once he got over himself and his own fears and hangups with bruce) and trained tim to be robin, trained him how to fight and flip and fuckin fly out there, all while changing his own style a bit to be the more experienced one in the partnership while still trusting said partner to hold their own, so dick and tim have a very unique and cohesive fighting style that makes it hell for anyone who fights them together, didn’t they?

[seijorhi]

hi rhi!! i don’t know if you’re still interested in doing these but would you mind giving us some director’s commentary for sink to the depths? thank you for sharing your amazing writing!!

hey nonnie, ofc!

under the cut because once again this turned into a mini essay :'))

so initially because this fic was for the Christmas bash event it was supposed to be kinda christmassy themed. i had this rough idea of the reader being stuck with bonten for a year, culminating in the death of your brother at mikey's hands as a twisted kind of christmas present.

and it'd be kind of a double blow, because not only do you watch your brother and only remaining family get shot right in front of you, but it also hits you that you've been there with them for an entire year without even realising it. very angsty and awful, but then christmas came and went and tbh i actually forgot that's what i had planned lmao.

so instead i decided to just do little vignettes with each character kind of building up to mikey. and instead of him killing your brother as the grand finale i actually had planned on having mikey get someone to tattoo the bonten hanafuda on you – the sort of final permanent nail in the coffin. you're not getting out of this, they're not going to get bored and let you go after they feel you've served your time or whatever. now this ending (or the build up to it at least) is hinted at in kakucho's part where he mentions mikey putting a leash on you.

eventually tho i decided this wasn't going to work for two reasons; one, the more i wrote the more i realised that the ending was leading more towards mikey becoming possessive of the reader and therefore having you bound to the gang rather than him specifically didn't sit right. secondly, while you can choose to imagine whatever you'd like because there's no canon indication one way or the other, i saw the tattoos as being something kind of sacred and important – a mark showing absolute loyalty to mikey and the gang as a whole, and therefore only for those who'd proven themselves. and while you might belong to bonten, you're never going to be one of them. so as sexy as forced tattooing was, it was a shelved concept.

the story was never going to have a happy ending. instead, i wanted each and every part to hammer home how hopeless your situation was, each part kind of getting progressively worse. you have koko's jealousy and that suffocating forced intimacy, then you have sanzu plying you with drugs. the mid-way point of kakucho saving you from being assaulted on the docks, but at the same time that visceral reminder that the men who all but own you are doing awful things and that in some sick way you should be thankful that you're not being subjected to the same fate. and then there's the humiliation the haitani's put you through at the bar before finally you get mikey locking you in his room and his complete loss of control.

and at the same time, you have that backstory – introducing your brother as the catalyst, and then that desperate, pleading hope that he's still coming to save you, that as bad as things are there's a light at the end of the tunnel because while he might not be perfect he's the only one you have left and you still have faith in him.

and the reveal (granted, probably not all that surprising) that he is in fact just a selfish asshole who set you up to take the fall for his actions, that all this time you've been suffering, waiting for him to come and get you out, he's all but washed his hands of you – it's a gut punch. and yes, sanzu kills him for it. and yes, he and takeomi bring you with them when they dump the body because you ask them to, but it doesn't change the fact that it's basically the point of no return.

no one is coming to save you. even if you can find a way out on your own, you have nowhere to go. the only people who care if you live or die are your captors. the only love and care that you're ever going to receive is what they give you. which in a sense sets the stage for stockholm syndrome, or at the very least an extremely toxic and forced case of dependency.

and maybe you would've found a way to live with that, live like that, if not for mikey.

bonten mikey is mikey at his darkest point. he's lost his brothers, his sister, pushed away every last one of his friends – anyone who could potentially pull him back from the brink. and then there's you, a girl who was never supposed to be anything more than a warm hole to fuck, something pretty to ruin because he can. and yet, somehow you become the only thing left he truly cares about.

is it any wonder that he'd cling to that?

and he's already almost lost you once, the incident on the dock proved just how easily it could happen. and the further he spirals into that black pit, the more it's as if he's pinned whatever's left of his own humanity onto you. we've seen that he's already a jealous and somewhat possessive person, and the worse he gets the worse those impulses get.

he's touchy enough around wintertime, particularly with the anniversary of emma's death looming. he's lost everything else he's ever loved, and he can't lose you. he won't. he's paranoid about it, obsessive even, and while it used to be enough for him to go about his day knowing you were either in the tower or out with them, suddenly it's not anymore.

the only way he can think to function without losing his goddamn mind over it is to lock you up and keep you exactly where he left you. safe and sound and untouched until he comes back. he doesn't want anyone else touching you; you're his.

he needs you. you're all he has left.

[sar-per]

Since I have 0 motivation rn to further develop the in-between plot beats, have some hc's regarding this AU that may or may not become plot relevant (aka some definitly will)

Vax

- He often visits his mothers grave

- His favorite flowers to bring her are lilies

- He coordinates the color to the season

- His favorite tattooing style really depends on the form of tattoo (aka magical vs. non-magical)

- He prefers a realistic style for magical tattoos

- He used to grafitti before tattooing

- He's wanted to work on a comic for a long while now

- Him and Gilmore met when they were younger, which is one of the reasons he now trusts him as much as he does

Vex

- She likes a more cartoonish style for her magical tattoos

- To be exact she loves New School

- Otherwise her favorite style to do it Trash Polka

- She's always loved animals and at one time considerd working with them

- She's older by a bit and Refuses to let Vax live it down

- Sometimes she tells him what she did earlier that day starting with "you know, when I was your age.."

- She's really got at darts

- She suprisingly has a huge sweet tooth

Keyleth

- Absolut stress cook and baker

- She can't use as much magic as she has potential to due to a surgery she underwent when younger

- This also made her father rather protective of her growing up

- Her favorite flowers are dandellions

- For someone who cooks/bakes as much as her, her apartments kitchen is waaay under equipped

- She has a few small notebooks for different topics

- She has no sense of orientation whatsoever

- She and Percy are childhood friends

Percy

- He got dragged to a lot of charity events as a kid

- His parents used to own a huge mining conglomerate

- His sister is still involved in it while he jumped off at a young age

- Since his boss, Viktor, rarely shows his face at the shop a lot of people think it's his

- He has a sketchbook full of ideas for near impossible things to build

- He hates working with wood and prefers metal

- He has a dislike for magic even tho he's quiet talented at it

- He's grumpy at most costumers since they disrupt his tinkering with "banal work"

Grog

- Thuesday and Sunday are his rest days

- Most other days he and Pike work out

- He's suprisingly good at navigating via stars

- His favorite form of using his magic is to imbue weapons and sum-such with it

- He hasn't seen or spoken to his birth family in a long time

- He was in foster care for a while before Pikes family adopted him

- One of his favorite things is boxing, which he's actually in a club for

- He has a bit of national notoriety for it even

Scanlan

- He taught Vax how to play the guitar when Vax was on his teens

- He's a rather good dancer, tho he rarely does it nowadays

- For a former world-wide celebrity there is little known about hia private life

- He often hosts the parties in the city and in his friend group

- There are tunnels and secret rooms in his house

- His last concert was cut short due and he still regrets that in some ways

- There are a few series and movies he has made music for, tho he uses a pen name for them

- One of his favorite things are spontanous jam sessions

Pike

- She wasn't allowed to be a nurse for Dragon Scale for a long time

- There were few who wanted to risk her getting it due to her technical talent in healing magic

- She prefers the light and is uncomfortable being alone in dark places for too long

- This leads to her falling asleep with a (now fake) candle by her bedside

- She still loves real candles and sometimes just..falls asleep to them anyway

- Scanlan once wrote a song for her for which she still has the original lyrics in his handwriting

- She and Grog are sparring partners and have been ever since they met

- Often when someone gets injured the twins go to her before they go to the hospital

Tary

- He and Percy bond over old technology

- A lot of his characters are a wild mix of people that inspire him

- At the end of a day he sits down and sorts the photos Dory took into different categories

- His debute novel, published a few years ago, was a huge hit and he's currently working on the second novel

- He tries to incorporate logic and science into his fantasy, so his notes are chaotic if nothing else

- He prefers loose paper over notebooks for writing down ideas

- He has an at-home library, complited with organisation system

- He annotates his books and dog ears them, tho he denies that in interviews

(@romeoandjulietyouwish since you asked once upon a time to be tagged in theese)

[jostenneil]

riza hawkeye or jessie chambers for the ask game?

so thank you for sending this bc i realized i haven't read a lot about jesse outside of wally's flash run and i started reading her appearances chronologically last night, she's so adorable! i'll do riza tho since i'm more familiar with her lol

from this ask meme

i feel like if people focus on marrying riza and roy off then they kinda miss the point of their characters. both of them not just going into the military but also eventually coming out of the war know that there is no forgiveness and happiness for them bc they don't deserve it. neither of them is looking for an idealized ending for themselves. their focus is solely on doing whatever it takes to atone for the atrocities they were forced to commit and, if need be, paying for those atrocities permanently with their life. there's a lot about fma's sociopolitical views that's flawed, obv, but i do think people need to understand why arakawa never made getting roy and riza into a marriage a goal. it was never supposed to be one in light of their sins

i think a part of understanding the dynamic between roy and riza is that roy's idealism gives way to riza's. like i have kinda gone over this in another post but if you really think about it riza is in a sense deluded by roy's vision. she's so desperate to atone for the horrors of what she did in ishval that she latches onto his vision and commits herself to supporting it and in the process she kinda becomes blind to the things that roy is doing in the name of that vision and how he is steadily becoming exactly what her father warned about: a man with unrestrained power and vice. so while riza certainly pledges to shoot roy if he ever strays from his path, i think you also have to account for the fact that for a long time, she's blind to the fact that he's straying from it. that scene in the tunnels is a culmination of that development rather than just a one-off

i know i keep talking about roy and riza but i feel like her character development is so tied to what she's doing with him that it's hard not to lol. but another unpopular opinion i suppose, and one that i have talked about before. while i do think riza steadily blinded herself to what roy was becoming over the course of the series, i also believe that what happened in the caves was a serious wakeup call and that arakawa only didn't have riza actually kill roy bc she needed to use him as one of the final sacrifices. but realistically i think riza would have killed roy. ig that's not necessarily a straight laced answer to this meme bc it's about how to write characters properly and this is more of a plot point thing but ig what i mean to say is i don't think riza would actually have been that soft or hesitant, and i think it's impt to establish that she does have lines in mind that shouldn't be crossed, and those are more impt than however much she believes in roy

all this being said, i do think roy is more of a stubborn idealist than riza is. and despite what we were shown of post-canon in the end, i feel like what happened with the promised day and roy and just. everything in the series would have seriously shaken her and i think she would have quit the military and sought out a more meaningful way of atonement, realistically. like roy is kinda single minded in that he thinks he can change the system but riza is only looking for a way to place her self disgust and grief and i think once she ventured outside of that scope that she would realize there are a lot more ways of atoning that reside outside of perpetuating the military rule system

[mmilkbreadd]

Request: congrats on 300!! can i req atsumu + S and kuroo + N?

Note: Hii, thanks for requesting! This is an Atsumu Miya stan account so every request involving him is more than welcome! (Kuroo too ofc)

Masterlist.

Miya Atsumu + S (Serenade)

Words: 0.4k

This man,,, is very dumb. 

He forgot, FORGOT, your fifth anniversary.

You had prepared a huge dinner with candles and flowers when he wasn’t home.

You bought balloons, put on some music, and dress very elegantly for the occasion.

And when he arrived he was so confused.

“Happy… birthday?” he said while laying his bag on the floor.

“Are you kidding ‘tsumu?” 

“I sure hope not…”

When I tell you you SCREAMED.

And Miya was still like ???

You started crying and saying gibberish, then stormed out of the house while Atsumu ran after you.

He was crying even more than you tbh.

But he didn’t even know why!!!

When he arrived home he realized there was a big balloon with a 5 shape.

And he finally realized.

God, it took him thirty minutes to know what the hell was going on.

And he cried. Like for three hours straight.

So a few days after the anniversary fiasco, you decided it was time to go back home and grab a couple of your things.

You hadn’t broken up yet.

But you were staying at your friend’s house so you needed clothes and some other stuff.

The most reasonable thing to do was go back to your house and pray for Atsumu to not be there.

You were so wrong smh.

When you opened the door of your apartment, you noticed all the lights were off.

And suddenly, a guitar started playing.

It wasn’t a very pleasing sound tho.

You quickly turned on the lights and saw Atsumu on one knee with a guitar in his hands.

He played while staring at the strings, glancing at you from time to time.

You held back a laugh. He really sucked.

But then, you had to put a hand up to your mouth to stop you from laughing:

Atsumu started singing.

“Ooooh, y/n~ I’m an idiot.”

‘Just breath, y/n, don’t laugh. DON’T LAUGH!’ you thought.

“Ooooh y/n~ I forgot our anniversary but I still love you so please don’t leave meeeeeee”

But this time you couldn't hold it as you started cracking up very loud.

So Atsumu stopped playing and singing and looked at you with a smile.

“Do you forgive me? Or do you want me to keep singing?”

You would rather die than hear him sing again so you forgive him.

But as I said, this man is dumb.

And one year later, on your sixth anniversary, he forgot once again.

So the story repeated itself, but with the whole team joining him this time.

Once again, it sucked.

But you filmed it and sent it to everyone you knew.

Happy ending, I guess…

Kuroo Tetsurō + N (Night)

Words: 0.3k

Kuroo felt like he owned the world when he was beside you.

And he was bored very easily when he was without you.

So one night he was, you know, bored while watching a rom-com.

And said, “I have nothing better to do so I’ll go to my partner’s house and annoy them.”

Imagine that but at midnight.

Just like a cliché romantic movie.

Like the one he was watching before.

At that time you were peacefully sleeping in your comfortable bed

But then you started hearing how something was hitting your window.

So now you were awake. And angry. VERY angry.

You walked towards your window and glanced to see what, or who was making that noise.

And of course, it was your annoying boyfriend.

Throwing rocks at your window.

At midnight!

You furiously opened it and stuck your head out.

Only for a rock to hit you in the head.

“Oh my god, y/n! I’m sorry” he whispered loudly enough for you to hear.

But laughed afterward.

“Kuroo, you idiot! What the hell are you doing here?!”

You then rubbed your forehead, where the rock hit you before.

“I want to do the tunnel scene.”

‘The tunnel scene…?’ you thought.

You were so confused lmao

So you just went down and met your boyfriend to see what he meant.

You got in the car and he started driving through Tokyo city.

Music was with you the entire ride.

Lights shined in the driveway, Kuroo grabbing your hand while driving.

And when you finally arrived at the infamous ‘tunnel’, Kuroo turned on the volume.

To maximum capacity.

So then, with the windows wide open, you started singing to the top of your lungs.

The music rumbled off the walls, and the cars passed by making no sound.

You stared at your companion, understanding what the ‘tunnel scene’ meant.

He just wanted a cliché movie-like night with his partner.

And he finally had one.

But he didn’t imagine the bruise on your forehead tho.

So there you were: Kuroo, you, and your bruise.

Doing the ‘tunnel scene’.

It was a very romantic night.

Until you arrived at your house and your parents wanted to kill you.

But you don’t talk about that to other people lol

[noirapocalypto]

Blush for Paola, fuchsia for Paolo, rose for Nato, coral for Embry, pastel pink for Judah, champagne for Salem, and hot pink for you? :3

Thank you! 💕💕💕 @smilepal

From this PINK themed ask game.

blush— are you single, taken, crushing, or not interested? or is it complicated?

Paola: "Having a crush at my age is embarrassing. Gonna be doodling their names in my diary? Daydreaming about them? Blushing whenever they're around? What am I? Fifteen? But that being said, she do be crushin' tho."

(A simple yes or no would have sufficed, but it's Paola 😆)

fuchsia— describe your personality in three words!

Paolo: "Fun, goofy, sexy. Sexy counts, right? Yeah, it counts."

rose—do you believe in soulmates? why or why not?

Renato: "I guess I do, yeah. It's a nice thought, isn't it? That there's people out there meant to be with you, and you with them? I like to think there's someone out there for me, gives me something to look forward to."

coral— what’s something you’re passionate about?

Embry: "My friends and my family. There's nothing I won't do for them. After everything that I've been through, I think my friends were the shining light at the end of my tunnel. They're my everything."

pastel pink— do you prefer to dress up and go out or stay in and relax?

Judah: "It depends if I have company or not. If I'm entertaining someone or various others, I'd rather take them out so they can enjoy themselves. Most usually go with that option anyways. If I'm alone, I'd rather just stay in and enjoy a moment of peace and quiet."

champagne— what’s your favorite form of physical affection, if any at all?

Salem: "I like hugs, and I like putting my arm around someone, whether it's friendly and platonic or with my partners. I like the feeling of someone up against me. It's comforting knowing that someone is there. And with the whole 'arm around someone', well...I have a bit of a possessive side. I like showing off my partner and letting others know they're with me."

---

For me.

hot pink— what’s your favorite relationship trope?

Oh my god, there's so many that I really like. But if I had to pick, I'm a huge sucker for 'enemies to lovers'. Or like 'two people who very much don't like each other are forced to work together and reluctantly grow close' type of dynamics (which is basically the premise of my fanfic). Can't go wrong with a classic 'friends to lovers' too.

[astralwaifu]

Hii congrats on 50 followers!!!! U deserve it!!!!

Also can I have a jjk male matchup???

I go by she/her pronouns, intp and infp (the first two two times I took the test I got these and the third time also said I was a good match with these 2). I'm a November Sagittarius.

I like the light and dark academia aesthetic cuz I find it very calming. I like singing (I've been told I'm a good singer) and playing the piano (still learning). I like drawing sometimes when I'm motivated to do so and I also like to write imagines with characters that I post here. I do like to think that I'm kind and caring and sweet tho sometimes I get like REALLY angry and that's a very bad habit of mine. I procrastinate a lot and I become very talkative once I get to know someone (very shy at first lololol). I can be sarcastic and sometimes curse a lot. I like cool weathers and winters (tho not when it gets very extreme). I also find it sweet when ppl share promise rings or matching necklaces and stuff like that.

I do hope that was enough and congrats again on the milestone!!!

hii! thank you so much <3 for your match-up I originally had someone else in mind, but then inspiration hit me like a train soo….

I match you up with …. (drumrolls)….

Yuta Okkotsu!

HC:

- At first he was too shy to even look you in the eyes, which left you thinking it was your fault, maybe you said something wrong that made him upset?

- Wrong. When he saw you, he was swept off his feet, he was just to timid to talk to you. His flustered face and red cheeks were, however, pretty noticeable (Panda and Inumaki caught on this cues immediately)

- Those two were the ones that set you up - training together, sending you on errands and missions…

- All of their tries to bring the two of you closer, eventually worked out, when you became more comfortable with him. From the awkward silence that settled anytime you were together, to laughing and cursing the higher ups for the latest jobs they gave you.

- However, it took time to get here.

- Yuta never thought of himself as someone worth loving, but when he saw the peaceful and adoring look glowing in your eyes, all his worries and anxiety flew away. The effect you have on him shocked everyone, including the boy himself. He used to be so unsure and shy, but now he became more confident and open.

- You gave him a reason to live again. :)

- If asked what he likes about you, Yuta wouldn’t be able to find his words, since everything you do is perfect to him.

- Maybe it’s your kind and selfless nature. Or the way you never let anyone disrespect your friends or cross the line with you. He likes every little ounce of temper you have. From the carefree, yet thoughtful and observant person, to the explosive and sarcastic sides of you - he loves them all. They were the ones that brought him out of his shell after all.

- Another thing that he loves is how creative you are. He could stay and watch you all day long writing or singing (heavens, he loves when you sing). He wouldn’t mind leaving the dorms all day long if it meant he could spend time with you, simply enjoy your passion. (And to be honest, neither do you)

- He was a little scared about how he was feeling about you. The last time he felt something this intense, Rika became a cursed spirit and that left some scars deep down. As Gojo said - “Love is the most twisted curse of them all”. He would rather die himself than let anything happen to you.

- He was also a little scared of Rika’s reaction, but she sensed through the normal jealousy that you were a good person for him

- After he lost Rika’s ring, he was of course a little stressed and depressed, but if life taught him something it is that there is alwaysa light at the end of the tunnel. It just so happened that you were that light.

- Be prepared for wearing a small golden ring (matching with him) for the rest of your lives. Even if it’s not meant for you to be more than lovers, it will always be a memory of how you saved his life from everything that happened before.

bonus: Song that reminds me of you and yuta - Looking out for you by Joy Again. Poor boy just wants to love you, but he’s too shy to admit it.

[skimblyshanks]

💖cardimi!

Cardimi my beloveds 🥺

SEND ME ♡ + A SHIP AND I’LL TELL YOU…

Who is the most affectionate?

Neither are super affectionate, and definitely not in public, but I'd say they're about equal in how far they both like to go and for how long. Carbucketty will initiate it more often, though.

Who initiates the handholding?

Carbucketty; it's a great way to defuse situations, actually.

Who worries more for the other?

Neither of them usually worry that much; both of them are capable of defending themselves, and so is Gilbert. That said, Carbucketty probably worries more for Demeter? She can be blunt to a fault, and he worries about her making the wrong enemies.

Who is more likely to ask for help?

When it comes to small, everyday things like directions, or assistance with tasks, it's Carbucketty all the way. Demeter would rather die than ask for help doing simple things.

When it comes to the bigger, deeper, more-often-than-not emotional stuff though? I think that'd be Demeter. I mean, her mom is Jennyanydots*; being open about when you need help with those kind of problems is almost bound to end up seeming easier to do than ask for help while cleaning.

Who is the one always losing the keys?

Demeter, but she will never admit this. Don't even try to get it out of her, you will fail. This is why Carbucketty holds onto the original set, and gives her duplicates as they're needed.

Who leaves little love notes for the other?

Carbucketty leaves little notes, but Demeter leaves little trinkets/knocks out a small thing or two that was on Carbucketty's to-do list.

Demeter feels that love is genuin when it's communicated outright in words. Carbucketty usually communicates through actions.

Carbucketty feels most loved when working as a team with someone. Demeter prefers working on most things by herself and leaving others to their own desires and tasks.

So they both find ways to let each other know they care in compromises between their main love languages.

Who can’t sleep unless the other is there?

Neither of them can sleep apart, I don't think. They've been together long enough, as friends and as mates, that it's p much impossible for them to feel right sleeping without that second body there.

When Gilbert was born, this light-sleeping came in handy because his absence was also one that immediately set off discomfort. As he's gotten older, he's slept by himself more often, and that "missing piece" sensation has weakened when it's just Deme and Bucky, tho the "Puzzle complete" warmth is just as strong whenever Gilbert does join his parents.

Who is more likely to propose to the other?

I'm caught between "It was Demeter" and "The proposal aspect wasn't a super huge deal for either of them" so I will go with:

Demeter came home with the various needed paperwork and said "We've been together long enough"

Who introduced the other to their family first?

Oh it was Demeter. Again, her mom is Jennyanydots*, and that mama is not going to wait to meet her kids' partners until after they're married.

Who is more likely to play with the other’s hair?

Demeter absentmindedly grooms Carbucketty for sure; it's a force of habit after living with Jerrie* and his messy messy fur.

Who makes sure the other has meals/stays hydrated?

Demeter again alsiuhf

Carbucketty and Gilbert can get tunnel-minded while training, so she will go out and drag them both home if they haven't had lunch yet, and she made Bucky set up a regular timer for water breaks.

Who is more likely to stand up to anyone for the other?

Neither of them is going to stand for disrespect towards their mate, no matter who it is doing the disrespecting. That said, Demeter has a much lower tolerance for attitude, and will lash out, though most of her punch is in her words and tone. It takes some serious, persistent insulting to really get Carbucketty worked up, but when he breaks, he gets physical.

Who is the most likely to prepare a surprise for the other?

Carbucketty! Demeter is very good at sniffing out his plans before he can execute them fully, and he loves the challenge of possibly getting to one day actually surprise her.

Who makes the other pinky promise not to do certain things?

Carbucketty. He also does it with Gilbert. Gilbert keeps far, far more of his pinky promises.

Who puts a blanket over the other when they fall asleep on the couch?

Gilbert. If one of Cardimi is asleep on the couch, both of Cardimi are asleep on the couch.

*- my family hc for Demeter. Definitely not anywhere near canon

[golbrocklovely]

omg i just realized i never finished my season one recap

so here is my final review of the final video of season one

aka 'THE STANLEY: USA's Most Haunted Hotel (Our Return)'

i'm gonna be honest, going into this final video, i didn't really have high of hopes. for one, snc hype up every video they make and at this point, most have been a let down (or not quite what i had wanted them to be) and also amanda was gonna be in this video. and we all know how i feel about her. so, heading into this, i wasn't excited as i kinda hoped to be.

but i'll be honest, i was pleasantly surprised.

i legitimately liked this video at lot. there were a lot of parts that i wholeheartedly enjoyed and borderline smiled the whole way thru.

so to start off, even tho i didn't like the last time snc went to the stanley, i just wanted to note that i actually… liked this group a lot? i know, that's a crazy thing to say. but i think weirdly it helped a lot that amanda wasn't on her usual bs sksks

but i mean that as positive as i can be.

minus a small number of times, amanda was like more an active participant rather than an all seeing eye, if that makes sense. and mackie was fun, kinda just coming along for the ride.

i will say the one thing i had down in my notes about the video was that it felt… rushed, editing wise. like you could almost feel the time crunch snc were under to get this video done in time so that they could go to coachella. bc i've picked up on the fact that when snc are short for time while editing, they tend to throw more things in that they usually wouldn't. like there are random montages and jumpscare clips that get thrown in a lot, which is funny bc that causes you to do waste more time editing. but anyway, i digress.

so… regarding the spirit possibly attached to sam…

personally, idk if they really got rid of it by the end of the video. i would hope so bc i really don't want an attachment series 2.0. honestly, i don't want to hear the word attachment ever again after this series. but realistically, i really do hope that whatever was attached to sam is gone and isn't connected to him anymore. it would have been nice if they could have just figured out whether it was good or bad or just… neutral, if that's a thing and then just let it go or tell it to go to the light or whatnot.

what matters is whether or not sam feels like it's still with him. if he doesn't, than that's good. hell, even just basing it off of amanda and mackie's video that they filmed the next day after all of this, you can tell sam was different, almost chilled and relieved so… maybe all of this wasn't in vain.

okay so onto the investigation:

i love that sam kept harping on the renovations that were happening in stephen king's room and him asking "what renovations do you have to do on a hotel room?" uh????? TONS??????????

the vortex area, at least from someone sitting at home and not in this hotel at all, doesn't look all that weird or feel creepy. i mean, it's a hotel lobby. it can't be that weird feeling.

i love that they showed us places in the stanley that they didn't go to before back in the day. ngl kinda happy they didn't take jake and corey to the tunnels. god knows they would have just ran around and made fart jokes….

also jackie is hot. he looks like he could be related to nate.

connor… fucking sick dude. i love him. his energy… unmatched. he's so awesome. seriously the whole time i was watching him talk to snc i was smiling. he's so positive and nice. and finding out that snc were kinda sorta doing the estes method wrong or not in the best way… sounds about right lol

also how many times have i said that colby is the best at doing the estes method??? and then him doing it with connor and sam???? yall, if colby doesn't look into going to psychic at some point soon i'm gonna lose it.

and as a side note, like i've said a bunch of times with colby doing the estes method, for some reason i always get so uncomfortable when he does it. even when he did it this time, while it was super calm, it still creeped me out.

the idea that lucy may not even be a real person that existed, but rather a figment that has just continued to grow and become a spirit that now exists, only bc ppl believed in her so much… fascinating. and also completely terrifying.

i will say, while i get no feeling from the vortex area, the music hall…. different story. something about that place is off for sure.

i love that every couple minutes snc would say something that's kinda scary and jackie would just go like "okay" sksksk

if you want a good chuckle, go to the part where amanda and mackie jumpscare snc with the twin dresses. colby's laugh is… unmatched haha

when they did the spirit box session outside of stephen king's room, and a voice came thru in a different language, and amanda said it was latin… no it wasn't lol let's be realistic, what radio station is talking in latin in the estes park, colorado area??? how many ppl do you think actually know enough latin to string together a sentence??????? (that aren't a priest or whatnot)

…why did sam bring a vacuum?? they used it for the butt joke and then never again lmao

can i be honest? after watching this video the first time, watching amanda and mackie's video, and then rewatching this video again, i never want to hear about the cowboy spirit again. i just… don't care lol

amanda: i want to know why he wants us to leave! um… aren't you the psychic? ASK HIM.

sam: it almost feels thick… or stuffy. colby: you chose the word thick? :) i hate him... so much lol

the flashlight stuff they got in the music hall was interesting. but if i'm honest, i don't trust the ovulus thing. i always feel like anytime they use it, it just says random ass words that they get up in arms about.

the stuff that happened in paul's room was intriguing, if you ignore the part where they freaked out over the toilet randomly flushing lol

and then in lucy's room, that stuff was interesting. but i think i just realized they must have filmed this before they filmed one of the other episodes bc they didn't know about the bear-thingy.

the ovulus saying 'jackie' like that was really weird. why is that a word programed into that thing lol

so them going to the mirror, sam was supposed to do the estes method bc he lost nose goes, but colby ended up doing it anyway???

during this estes method, everything felt a lot more intense. but i also think it's funny to remind ourselves (or maybe just me) that if you put the video back in regular lighting and not the red one it's in, take out the intense music, it's just four ppl standing in a room, one of them has headphones on and is just spitting out random words, and another person is yelling at whatever is talking to not follow them anymore. and ngl, that scenario laid out that plainly sounds funny.

but again, just gotta reiterate, i don't like when colby does the estes method, even if he is the best at it. it just freaks me out every time.

the overlays of previous videos when sam was talking to the spirit to leave him alone….. bro i had to pause to take a break lmao

alrighty… overall i would rate this episode… 4/5. i know, the second time only during this whole series i've rated something above a three. but i genuinely do think this episode was really good. i thought it was a lot of fun and there were way more positives than negatives. amanda surprisingly didn't annoy me as much, which i think was a huge benefactor is keeping this episode in a higher spot. i also think this was a great way to end the season. i can't believe the second season won't be around until may 15… that's so much time to wait. but i'm excited to see what's instore for season two. from what the boys have mentioned of it, it seems like it's gonna be crazier than this season so that's a plus.

[secondhoekage]

Ignore this long rant I’m high as shit but I... can’t take the hero commission oR HONESTLY THE HEROES THEMSELVES, seriously anymore

They’re BRAINLESS they all share one (1) brain cell and it belonged to Crust. THESE GUYS had MONTHS to strategize this attack and what did they do? They fucked it up. They want me to believe this was planned and not written on a chalk board the night before? Sent out to all heroes the next morning at 8am in a CHAIN EMAIL?

Unpopular opinion(?): they sent the worst possible, ill-suited heroes to each location for this PLF raid and I’m mad at them for it and I’m mad at Hori for making me be mad at it even tho he had to do it beCauSe oF pLot but I’m mad.

The MLA’s plans to take on The League of Villains? Spotless. Chef’s kiss. The detail. The one-on-one counters they planned out. Accounting for each enemy’s quirk. Yeah there were like 6 of them to account for but?? Heroes, yall had enough info and enough time to think of ways to go about this raid and I’m supposed to believe that you did, BUT DID YOU REALLY? MONTHS TO PLAN, and saw one electric Sir Crocodile rip-off and immediately threw Kaminari on his ass. Good move. Kinda. But the rest of the PLF? Heroes just gonna make shit up as they go I guess?? 

To make myself feel better here’s a long ass useless rant on what could’ve damn happened and which heroes should’ve gone where and to make this an epic ass rumble. ugh. Even just doing some of these things would’ve made this arc (imo) feel more... convincing and delicious

under the cut tho bc damn this is too long

In this essay I will—

Edgeshot??? EDGESHOT??    EDGESHOT?? i’M GOING TO GO OFF. 

I swear to shit Edgeshot could’ve soloed the hospital but they had him at the PLF mansion for Some Reason like... like they didn’t make him run up on the League’s bar instead of the Nomu factory bc they knew he would take care of shit immediately. Make it make sense. If he was at the hospital eye just—Nomu in the way?? Doctor running off? Say less. Electric slide all the way in there Shinya. DID NO ONE SEE HOW EASILY HE HANDLED KUROGIRI? Did everyone just forget this man can pull a K.O in .3 seconds flat? Heroes didn’t think it might be a good idea to have him there, ready to give Shigaraki the paper cut of his life the second he woke up (if he even did bc my mans likely could’ve prevented the ‘doctor getting away>high-end awaken>rush to get shiggy out of the tank>shiggy wakes up’ chain of events)? Didn’t think to send him instead of this guy X Less just sitting there with That Look on his face? 

I get they needed heroes like Edgeshot at the mansion to take out a handful of enemies in one go but COME ON NOW. There were more than enough long-range AOE heroes there. And even if you don’t wanna believe he could solo then STILL, EDGESHOT DUOING WITH MIRUKO, ANYBODY? If anyone was gonna keep up with her happy ass zooming into the lab it could’ve been him. We were robbed of an Edgeshot/Miruko teamup and I’m not okay. Could’ve had a sexy ass panel of the hospital-team hyping up Miruko and Edgeshot as they dashed to Ujiko’s lab, two fast as shit bad bitches, zooming through these Nomu, absolutely obliterating them at lightning speed, watching each other’s backs too, PROBABLY SAVING MIRUKO FROM BECOMING THE PRE-DEATH ORGAN DONOR THAT SHE IS NOW. I know it was hot watching Miruko take on these high-ends but I’d have rather Edgeshot share the spotlight if it meant Miruko was in one piece rn. Hori played her

Anyways the literal dumb bitch energy that went into not sending Edgeshot to the hospital is sending me. Could’ve at least let him just be on the team and on standby while Shigaraki was waking up. With those sharp as shit reflexes of his we’ve seen? Shigaraki would’ve been out like a fucking light the second Edgeshot saw him sit up. X-Less you had a nice thicc upper lip that lip was too shaded for you to die, but F in the chat bitch. Useless plot fodder I’m sorry X-Less. There isn’t a hero there right now (besides Aizawa but like... idk, plot is nerfing him) that could’ve incapacitated Shiggy so quickly and prevented the mess they’re in now like my guy Edgeshot could’ve. Feels like a cop out

In conclusion: Edgeshot sweety I’m sorry they did this. I’m sorry you were nerfed. I’m sorry they didn’t let you deliver Kamino Pizza to this hospital. I’m sorry they ignored you and now everyone’s gonna die bc they didn’t they respect your Ninpo rights

CEMENTOSS??? y’all sent him to fuck up the mansion FOR WHAT??? If I were the hero commission and thought :

“Dang we need to completely ass blast this huge PLF resort to make room for our heroes to run in... but it would also be good if we had someone to do that at the hospital too just in case things get tricky and we need to pave a quick way to Ujiko’s secret hideout... but I’m single-celled and can’t weigh my options logically so ok. Cementoss, to the mansion.”

...................... Ok but can I in interest you in PIXIE BOB? I get the mansion is huge but going by the shit we’ve seen her do?? I’m not about to underestimate ol’ girl. I know she could’ve fucked that place up if they let her, switched her out for Cementoss, who could’ve made THE EASIEST route for the hospital team to get into the secret lab, trapped Ujiko, also trapped a couple nomu/high-ends in cement while he was at it, rearranged some tunnels for optimal tactical movement, probably could’ve done a decent-fucking-job at slowing the onslaught of Decay too if it got to that point (AND IT MIGHT NOT HAVE BC THE WHOLE POINT OF THIS RANT IS TO INSIST THAT A BETTER SELECTION OF HEROES WOULDN’T HAVE RESULTED IN SHIGGY’S CURRENT THANOS SNAP ORdEAL)

I know Pixie’s mostly on rescue operations and that’s what she’s doing at the hospital/surrounding city but WHY?? EVEN IF THEY REALLY NEEDED CEMENTOSS AT THE MANSION—WHY NOT HAVE PIXIE BOB DOING SOMETHING IN THE ACTUAL HOSPITAL BATTLE? JUST A LITTLE? The hospital is built on uh.. oh yeah... EARTH? And considering in the Forest Training arc she was using her quirk from a remote location (to make that Earth golem, or whatever) she wouldn’t even HAVE to be IN Ujiko’s lab to be useful

Can y’all PLEASE put at least ONE of your terraforming heroes at the place where y’all REALLY need them?? And not after-the-fact like y’all just did with Pixie Bob? Because clearly she didn’t do shit this last chapter trying to stop Decay. I’m sorry girl. You may be dead. Terrible.

I would have legitimately sent Snipe to get Ujiko before I sent Miruko and that’s that on that. Where is he even? He was there during the briefing but he’s gone? MIA? Idk. No way Ujiko is getting away from those bullets. Target locked: Ujiko’s hand. Fire. High-end Nomu remote goes bye bye. Then another bullet in the leg. No need to worry about him escaping and waking up high-ends/Shiggy when he doesn’t have kneecaps. Problem solved. No way it would’ve taken that long to break Shiggy’s tank either with a few well-placed pew pews zigging around some Nomu (not that we really wanna break him outta his tank bc look what happened). Snipe’s 6/5 technique stat deserves better!!!!!

Gang Orca did not go off and give a bunch of kids brain damage during the License arc to be so thoroughly ignored here. He’s clearly about to get his shit rocked by some gauged-out ex-Hot Topic employee in the next few chapters and ugh you’re TOO GOOD FOR THAT ORCA. COULD’VE BEEN OF USE AT THE HOSPITAL. PARALYZING SONIC WAVES? WE’LL TAKE IT. Who knows if any of the high-end Nomu would’ve been affected by paralysis but the small fry? Probably. Shiggy’s little twink ass? I would bet on it. Not that it would really stop him from using Decay but still

At the risk of sounding like someone I know who endorses child labor (the hero commission) here me out: CAN I GET A UHHH JUZO HONENUKI??? AGAIN YEAH good that he was at the mansion to do some long-range AOE action but if y’all are gonna force kids to join in on this war anyways, put your strongest and most useful ones at the place you need them. Shit it would’ve been real nice if Honenuki was there to trap some Nomu—uncertain if it would work against the high-ends that show some pretty flexible quirks but who knows—and even at the risk of reaching, maybe in some universe where Shiggy and Honenuki face off, it would be interesting to see Decay against Softening, since Decay’s one big weakness is that it can only work on solid objects sooOooOo? Idk. Would’ve been a cool match up but I hate that the kids are fighting anyways so we’re gonna ignore this Juzo rant. Just know it would’ve been cool

And as for the mess that’s going to be this fucking mansion soon... .. We’re just gonna ignore a whole ass Geten, big destructive power, big fucking threat, and not gonna throw Endeavor’s ass in there? Makes sense. They’re leaving it to Shoto I guess. They said time for you to fucking shine kid. Get in there. I mean really trading Endeavor for Edgeshot would’ve been top tier strategy but...

I MEAN THEY?? Made up a whole ass plan to counter ONE greasy-looking PLF guy by throwing Kaminari in there, but they couldn’t make up a plan to counter Geten? Are they just?? Pulling names out of a hat to see who gets to fight who? Did they spin a bottle to see who it landed on? Did Mt. Lady pull the short stick? I swear on shit when Geten starts going feral soon I’m not gonna feel sorry about it. Unless heroes got a plan and someone’s gonna make a sexy ass top 10 anime entrances to counter his ice then I’m disappointed. We went ape shit over Kaminari countering one of the commanders but are we not gonna get anymore ‘I’m your perfect counter and I’m here to stop you’ moments? No? I’M PISSED. 

I would have also settled for my kween Nejire being there to blast away some ice because who tf else is gonna do it? But eh. 

Dabi will also be trouble depending on what he decides to do. He only has about 3 good ideas a month and he’s used them all up by now so he’s in dumb slut territory as we speak. But you’d think that a villain as widely recognized as Dabi with such a destructive quirk would urge the heroes to have some plan to take him on but?? So far I don’t really see anyone quick to take on the role. Not that it’d be that hard bc he’s dangerous but also dangerously dumb. Where is Inasa. Maybe he can just blast the flames back in Dabi’s face. I love him but at this point he deserves to have some of his rights taken away

Don’t even get me start on Gigantomachia. I get the heroes had little choice except to attack before Shiggy was full-power but just?? NOT having a plan in case by some little chance Gigantomachia DID wake up? You stupid bastards. You absolute fools. I guess there’s not much you CAN do but FUCK y’all just gonna let him SIT THERE? No counter measures? No ‘Let’s execute this incredibly thorough and thought-out plan we’ve spent months formulating to restrain Gigantomachia in case he does end up waking up, because better safe than sorry’? When he tramples like 50 students I bet that shit gonna hurt

I hate it all. I was really happy about seeing Shiggy go off 272 bc he’s a king but after rereading from like, 258 I feel... weird. Maybe this will be resolved with more chapters but. eh. Now that I’ve thought of this, I can’t go back. I miss the brain power that was behind the MLA fight

[deadmomjokes]

First time Stormlight Archives Read-thru: The Way of Kings Part One

Since I actually somehow made it through the library’s waitlist to get my Icarusian hands on a copy of this thing, and because I am a completionist who cannot leave character arcs unfinished, I’m dragging y’all with me on this adventure that I guarantee you doesn’t need to be this long.

Yes I’m salty about it and it’s gonna take some serious literary magic to make me NOT salty about it because trying to hold this book at a decent angle activated my carpal tunnel issues and now I can’t feel my pinky finger and my thumb is tingling. So yeah. It better be worth it.

Anyway, we just finished Part One. Wait, “we” you ask? Oh yeah, my husband loves worldbuilding and hard magic systems, so we’re taking turns reading chapters aloud so that we don’t have to hold onto the book twice as long so we can both read it, and we can keep reminding each other of what’s what.

ANYWAY, we just finished Part One, so have my thoughts, positives, negatives, and overall impressions. Then get your road trip snacks because like I said, I don’t do things halfway and I already started this journey so here we mcfreakin go I guess.

The Good Stuff

There’s some pretty good lines so far.

B. Sandy actually appears to know what he’s talking about with drawing and sewing? Wild.

I’m digging how the currency system is, like, also functional. The pieces of currency act as lights and power sources and stuff. Neat.

The two main characters from this section are: depressed mom friend and his Conscience, and a snarky nerd with delusions of criminal grandeur, and between them they have exactly 0.84 brain cells. These all belong to Jiminy Cricket the literal airhead the Conscience.

Depressed softboy who just wants to be a good big brother? Well darn it, you found my weakness. I’ll pull up my “adoption papers” folder.

Each chapter from a new POV has a unique voice. Rather hard to pull off in writing, but very clearly and expertly done here.

I have some questions moving forward, which is always a plus. However...

The Bad Stuff

I really, REALLY don’t like feeling like I’m the dumbest person in the room. While he did manage to avoid infodumping, Mr. Sanderson also managed to make me feel like I’m missing vital information at basically every turn. And not in the “ooh, what a mystery” kind of way-- in the “what the freak am looking at, I have zero idea what you’re describing because you’re using in-universe jargon.” This piecemeal revelation thing works for the characters’ stories and plots; I’m all for that! I’m intrigued at what’s up with Ms. Davar, and exactly how Kal ended up where he is, what’s up with the war, etc. The problem is with handling the worldbuilding this way when you’re trying to situate these mystery plots in said world. It is not immersive for me; it is distracting, frustrating, and makes it hard for me to focus on the story. A few points handled this way would have been fine, but I lost track of how many times I had to stop and groan because yet another new term was getting lobbed at me and my comprehension of the situation depended on having an understanding of the world which he just hadn’t given us yet. I’m really over it.

I get that we were trying to establish her character, but I could have done without these lead-up chapters with Shallan. I wasn’t at all as interested in her as I was with Kaladin. We could have learned all that we needed-- her family situation, her big plan, her big mouth, her skills, her mysterious past and the weird stuff about her father that we still haven’t learned fully yet-- in media res when she’s already Jasnah’s ward. It felt kind of tire-spinny, though I admit it was fun at times.

The sentences and wording get sticky at times. Especially with reading it out loud, there are quite a few places that make my brain stumble because the words sound wrong next to each other, or the same word appears in the sentence too many times, and so on.

There’s a lot going on that just isn’t important. This ties back in to the first point, but we’re getting so much information about this world that it becomes tiring and tiresome to keep track of all the different things we’re learning about-- cultural rules around slaves, ‘safehands’, eye color, and so on; ‘fabrials’; the currency denominations; a whole religious system, some of which appears to be important but also has a bunch of tiddly little details that don’t; a caste system; a military structure; however the freak the ecosystem works and all the different animals and plants; the weather systems; etc ad nauseum. How much of this is important to know? I don’t know! That’s what’s frustrating about it! So much of it seems like by-the-way kind of stuff, but some of it could end up being important, so here I am wondering what’s gonna be on the quiz and what’s just for fun.

Impressions and Thoughts

Why must carcinization haunt me even in escapist fantasy?

Am not a fan of the phrase “skyeels” and “poisonous skyeels.” Don’t like that one bit.

Dudes are religiously required to be himbos, and girls are religiously expected to be scholars and nerds. Am love.

I’m getting increasingly concerned by the death-blood-collection ominous mystery quotes at the beginning of each chapter.

I’ve only known Sylphrena for a day and a half but if anything happens to her I would.... Not.... Not harm anyone or myself because she would be sad. 😭

I was warned about “suicidal ideation” being a thing, but I’m going to put a little brighter of a warning label on that and say that if anyone is about to read this and gets upset or triggered by suicidal ideation, plans, and attempts, be very careful and know that’s kind of all a thing. Not sure how much a thing it’ll be moving forward, I’m hoping “not”, but, yeah. That was an attempt, not just ideation, tho I’m grateful for the person who warned me because if it had come out of nowhere instead of just being a step further than what I expected, I’d be really, really not okay.

Yalb is the real MVP.

Verdict Thus Far

On a scale of 1 to 10 where 1 is “I will actually find strength to abandon this book because I’m so done” and 10 is “I’m willing to give up sleep to read more,” I’m sitting at a 6.5 right now. Good, and I’m looking forward to continuing, but I have a little ways to go before I’m hooked. But thumbs up, thanks for convincing me! (from everyone except my tingling numb fingers, I should have tried the ebook instead -_-)