#love hearing others interpretation of there dynamics and etc so <3< /div> Explore tagged Tumblr posts

[agarthanguide]

Very much love your take on the new looks for Orym and Ashton! I saw a bit of your post about how Liam and Tal give feedback... would you be willing to share any information about how the back-and-forth process works between you and the actors as you work on their stuff? (I just love hearing HOW the awesome happens, not just the end results.)

Yeah okay. Lemme think, here. Alright let's so this as a numbered list-

1- Actor sends description of character. This is pretty broadly interpreted, in my experience. It's something between a brief paragraph, an annotated pdf, and multiple pinterest boards.

2- I send back a Pitch. This has taken multiple forms in the past, but it's generally settled into a few pages, that kinda go- a- Poses and Vibe Sketches- This includes little portraits, attitude poses, a couple sketches showing extreme dynamism or movement. I try to suggest outfits and weapons or accessories, here, but I don't spend a lot of time fleshing it out. b- Outfit Poses- usually on a turnaround or one fairly lowkey pose. I try to include 3 or 4 serious attempts at outfits and maybe a couple of backs, if it's important. c- Color- I usually just pick an outfit at random and try to give it a few different palettes. If the actor is absolutely sure what the palette is, or if it's a character I've worked with before, I might just make one palette and briefly color each of the outfit sketches from b in that palette d- Accessories, Weapons, Other Important Stuff- if the character is carrying around like a book or a bird or a really specific weapon, I try to address that in its own space, though sketches for all of those things may exist on other pages. This has been known to be very pretty or a bit boring.

3- There is some form of back and forth between me and the actors (and a producer, who are all lovely and don't step in on creative things but are always working against a schedule and need to know how things are going. I just want to be clear that every producer at CR is a secret angel who eats deadlines and shits magic and every one of them totally Gets It. They are all One Of Us). The back and forth is always individual and based on the actor but it can be- a- Actor picks from menu, usually via complex "circling" system (also all sketches are numbered, so they can just ref numbers). b- Actor sort of picks from menu, while moderating and adding further references. c- Actor just sends a bunch more shit and I narrow stuff down based upon what they seem to be getting at.

4- There's this bit of finding what the pose is gonna be, marking in all the necessary accessories, getting that last email about adding a scar, can we add a necklace? etc. What you are left with is something that the Producers call "pre-final." If it hasn't already been with the modelers and painters this whole time, this is when the modelers and painters get the design and start their magic.

5- I go away into a cave for a time period of quiet reflection with my Gods. I refer to this period as "rendering." I cannot be reached by the reason of man and spend a lot of time bitching to my friends while I try to figure out why shading a cape is suddenly the most difficult thing I've ever dealt with in my life.

6- Done!

[dvasva]

Tbh? I think the radiant emperor duology deserves more critique than it gets in its tag, so after stewing it over for a couple weeks and also discussing it with my friend, I have decided to do it myself.

So. Spoilers for She Who Became the Sun and He Who Drowned The World ahead.

First off, so nobody accuses me of hating the series, I liked the series. I'd say I'd give the first book a 4.5/5, I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I like both books. I truthfully skipped the fisting scene, it triggered some dysphoria that I wasn't comfortable with personally but I don't have problem with it existing in the book, it's good where it is, no changes.

No, my critiques come mostly from the second book, hwdts. Which sucks because I absolutely loved Baoxiang in it, it's a well known fact that my ideal type is pretty, really mean, characters. ('What about Madam Zhang?!!!???!? Shes mean and pretty!!' I hear you ask. Give it a second cause i will get to my beloved madam zhang) So, my critiques are mostly organized as 'The first part I didn't like in Hwdtw that signals the thing that became my biggest issue, the bits in the middle that i did like along with the bits that I felt didn't really work well, and Act 3 which is where my issues really were exacerbated.'

By the end of book one, I had a general annoyance but acceptance that Ma Xiuying was a bit of a weak character, and not weak as in 'dang shes a woman and cant fight' or any other sexist way you may interpret that, but weak as in structurally, she didn't really have as much depth as other characters. I thought she didn't have as much time put into her character as others. And yeah you could have a million character analysis essays over Ma and her place in the story and etc, but for me, her setup for the next book as potentially having conflict with Zhu or her own morals was the most interesting part of Ma. In general I think a lot of people tend to overlook this flaw partly because Ma is a cis lesbian character and the main 'love interest' in a book that is usually marketed to people as sapphic, which yeah there is certainly a sapphic relationship in the book but I think saying it's a major part of the book is really giving the relationship a load bearing wall ot isn't strong enough to carry. The Radiant Emperor Duology is not a romance, first and foremost. To describe it as a wlw romance is gonna leave people who read ot specifically for that reason kinda dissappointed by the end of book 2.

My big critiques didn't start until book two, and a particular scene, though. Ma, at the start of book two, was generally filling the niche of 'nagging wife' to zhu, which yknow, is a fine place to start from. I was a little disappointed there was no further discussion of Ma's disapproval of the morality of Zhu's actions, and in fact the dead child was pretty much entirely forgotten by Ma in favor of being Zhu's wife. Which, yknow, sure.

The Scene I had issue with happened (Spoilers once again) after Zhu finally captures Ouyang and imprisons him at her base of operations. Ma, dressed in her empressly regalia enters his room with the intention of being the bigger person. She walks in, looks at the stripped down and humiliated general who killed her father and famously is also really a women hater, and tells him she forgives him for killing her father. And then she gets upset and cries when the prideful general who hates women gives her a dressing down and taunts her and is like 'I'm glad I killed your father'? She nearly cries because Ouyang was mean to her (notably only cause he was mean to her and didn't gracefully accept her forgiveness, not because he killed ehr father) and runs off to Zhu. And Zhu responds with 'Wow, he's just a weirdo, everyone likes you and everyone in existance immediately knows you're a good person and you change people.' Which, my friend suggested before she finished the book, was a case of Zhu placating Ma and dismissing her feelings which would be an interesting dynamic.

Really my hangups with this scene come from multiple parts.

1. Ma' few character traits including being observant and reading people really well (a thing she's praised for in book 1) and having good social intuition are completely thrown out by her thinking being alone with ouyang and forgiving him would be a good idea and then her being shocked and upset when he spat on her forgiveness. And

2. Zhu's response is never once treated by the text as her dismissing Ma and placating her, and Zhu's statement despite never being shown to be true before and that moment being the first time it's ever mentioned, ends up becoming Chekov's moral purity by the end of the book, where the plot hinges on Ma being able to magically heal a damaged character's mind enough for Zhu to win in the end. Which I will get back to. There's a lot of other stuff happening between here and the end.

So, before I get back to Ma and her role in the story, I'll address some other bits from after this scene. Both problems and things I enjoyed generally.

Madam Zhang and her parallels to Baoxiang and her being the absolute queen of dissociating really was interesting (before act 3). She was a very compelling character who I completely understood and felt positively about. She had a way more interesting relationship with gender imo than Ma did, especially in book 2. I didn't really like that she was overwhelmingly shown having sexual villence done to her, that felt weirdly like a punishment. But, I did like her a whole bunch, and I liked the look we got into her head. She was probably my second, maybe third, favorite character in the whole book until Act 3.

I really, really liked Ouyangs dynamic and relationship with Zhu. The weird sexual tension between them, their weird kinda nonsexual but also kinda very sexual S&M relationship. It was somehow the most sensual, sexual part of a book that featured Madam Zhang having sex with multiple people, and Zhu going down on Ma, and a lot of other mentions of sex or scenes involving sex. Tbh I feel like, in a way, Ma was left to the sidelines for most of the book because Ouyang became the primary 'love' interest for a hot second there and the only reason Ma could get her spot back was Ouyang and Zbu's separation. Also, from what I've seen when people talk about this book, they always kinda try to express Zhu and Ouyang's dynamic as very nonsexual and nonromantic, as platonic mostly. And there is no inherent superiority of romantic over platonic, but I think to insist that it is only platonic, and not a strange swirl of romantic, platonic, sexual, frustration and relief, and a swirl of familiarity and vulnerability all wrapped into one, is doing the dynamic a bit of a disservice. And ther is, imo, very clearly a subtle hint of romantic intent and interest on Ouyang's part before he realizes Zhu has a body he hates.

Which is also another point I didn't like. Ouyang and Zhu's relationship end felt off. The entire bit with the pirates felt off, but especially how Ouyang found out about Zbu's body, and how Zhu reacted. I think Ouyang finding out second hand, from a combination of being suspicious and from Jiang saying it, was a poor way for that to be revealed. I think there was a better way for that to happen that woyld have felt more like a betrayl to zhu than this did. The fact that Zhu and Ouyang were so in tune and could see each other perfectly, but this one thing was a blind spot for both of them because of how unaffected by gender Zhu was compared to how overaffected by gender Ouyang was is a really interesting thing to explore, an interesting disconnect between two character's whose entire basis for their relationship is 'like recognizes like'. I think Zhu seeing it as a betrayl would have been more impactful if she had presented this informatuon to Ouyang herself and been rejected than how it went down. And, I think her not realizing Ouyang would be disgusted that he felt connected and felt a sameness to someone with a body he found grotesque and that he feared would have been more interesting for zhu, who views herself outside of womanhood and didnt really think that other people would not see her outside of womanhood, if she was the one who told ouyang herself.

Also, less importantly, think going into Ouyangs annoyance that zhu kept moving his target further away was a good move but it wasn't expanded on as much for my taste. I also really liked it when (spoiler) Xu Da dies, and that entire part despite some minir bits, was extremely good in that Zhu finally has tasted loss. She had, up until that point, been riding a wave of positivity, she was the underdog who won over and over again despite all the odds and despite her own reckless choices. So I did appreciate that everything went wrong for her at least once. that would have been, imo if other things were changed, a good place to end a book two in a three book series. Which will make sense as to why I mention it im a bit.

I also didn't like how Ma was nonexistant unless the plot was like 'ok we need to remind people that Ma exists.'

And there's of course other stuff but those are the main points of acts 1 and 2 that i wasn't fond of or that i liked.

Act 3 is a wholely different behemoth which can be encapsulated with 'I wish it was longer but also different' (courtesy of the convo my friend and I had).

My friend and I both agreed that we liked this kind of courtly drama game it was playing. My friend doesn't tend to like the structure or writing style of a lot of the chinese wuxia, danmei, or courtly drama translated books i read, so it was nice to know that the genre content isn't the issue for her there.

The biggest problems I had with the ending though was 1. I think Baoxiang and Ma had an interesting dynamic despite it being really rushed and how distasteful I found the entire concept of Ma being such a good wholesome goody good good person that she could change Baoxiang, quiet his demons and fix him in some way. That was annoying in an otherwise interesting dynamic. And 2. I think Madam Zhang's character traits and cleverness and all that were wiped away to make her inexplicably jealous of Ma in a way that I don't think fit her character and just served to fit a trope of jealous empress who hates the favored concubine.

So, here's my major proposed changes.

1. Ma gets sent to Khanbaliq extremely early on. Like, act one maybe after ouyang is captured early. This serves three purposes. A. Ma has something to do and is more present in the story. this could be a good xhance to let her actually feel frustrated or upset at Zhu in some tangible way that needs to be resolved or talked thru eventually. B. she gets more time to build a relationship with Baoxiang, whose entire defeat hinges on him having a strong connection with her. and C. Her absence in the other parts of the book feel less like she's being ignored or forgotten. It makes Zhu's lack of haste more than just a way to annoy Ouyang, and turns it into an interesting moral choice. Should she rush to Khanbaliq to save Ma or trust that Ma will be ok in favor of gaining power? Her lack of haste means Ouyang leaves, depressed, and she loses Xu Da, all while she doesn't even have the assurance that Ma is ok, she is truly at her lowest point with nobody with her. If Ma is in Khanbaliq and that's explored, then Zhu and Ouyang can also explore their dynamic without Ma feeling a bit like she is battling for Zhu's attention.

2. Madam Zhang is suspicious of Ma, or feels actually tangibly threatened by Ma. In act 3, Madam Zhang's anger towards Ma feels really out of place. She got exactly what she wants, she is empress, her emperor isn't interested in removing her from her position and her position isn't threatened by anyone. Baoxiang won't get rid of her, he won't demote her, he has shown zero sign of ever even considering it. So, why is Madam Zhang jealous of Ma? Imo, especially since she very clearly has dissociated into oblivion and has no love or affection for anyone anymore, and no real desire or motivation to secure her position further aside from maybe producing an heir to make sure shes taken care of after Baoxiang dies, there's no reason for her to be inextricably jealous of Ma. It kinda just erases all of Madam Zhang's political savvy and cunning into jealous, petty woman, and that sucks. If she was suspicious of Ma's intention, or Baoxiang genuinely expressed spmething that actively threatened her position, her hatred of Ma would make sense, but instead she hates Ma cause Ma is ugly and spends every night with Baoxiang. She hated rice buckets concubine cause that concubine used a lot of funds and competition genuinely made her position less stable. She needs better motivation for hating Ma.

3. As I mentioned earlier, Zhu needs to be the one to tell Ouyang that she does not have a dick. That's just all around better, it feels more like a betrayl to bare your secrets and be rejected, etc etc.

4. The duology should have been a trilogy, with book 3 starting when Zhu is at her lowest, ouyang is dead, ma is in khanbaliq, Xu Da is dead, a new guy is the emperor. This is where a book three should have started. in a series that has so many important characters, i feel like it needs more space. she's in a 10 gallon tank when really she needs a 30 gallon tank. Lots of it, especially towards the end of book 2, felt rushed and the extra book will absolutely push that back a bit and make it less rushed.

Anyways that's my critique of The Radiant emperor duology. Once Again, I liked the series, its one of my favorites i've read all year. I don't dislike it, and having a critique or opinion about something doesnt mean I didn't like the book or understand the book (because obviously if i understood it i would understand why its flawless). I liked it, there are things I wish were different, that's it.

[vacancy-virtues]

I have an idea! I’m always a total suck for hero x villain stuff, and power dynamics.

So how about this: hero and villain have regularly been fighting each other, and it’s always either ended up in a tie, or with the hero winning and arresting the villain, who escaped soon after.

Lots of banter, etc.

Now, for the first time ever, villain managed to defeat hero, taking them prisoner. They enjoy this immensely, making hero kneel for them, etc. To them it’s just a continuation of their usual dynamic and banter. A bit of payback (and also enjoying the view).

Hero however, is genuinely scared about being at villains mercy, because that never happened before and they don’t know what to expect. Villain enjoys the whole thing right up until they realise hero is genuinely afraid of them, thinking the might hurt or kill them.

(I’m sorry if that is too detailed, I’ve never done this before XD. Feel free to leave out or add whatever you want)

Greetings!

There is no such thing as "too detailed" on this page regarding asks! The more material I have to work with, the more I'll be able to write. 'Twas a brilliant idea, and I hope you enjoy the interpretation I have of it.

Your dutiful writer,

Enjoy <3

XXX

#5- "A Change of Pace

Battles shared semblance to a waltz in which Hero was always the lead. Villain either made it out by the skin on their teeth or had to pitifully look up from their cell at Hero to watch them gloat. They knew it never lasted for long. No matter the cell Hero confined Villain in, they and their crew always found a way to bypass security to scheme another day.

The two had been at one others heels for years, and today seemed just like any other day. Intel was able to intercept a delivery authorization by one of Villains' crew members for a hefty amount of radioactive material. It would be likely Villain would be stationed not too far from the drop zone. It seemed too easy, but it was routine after all.

Hero wasted no time in setting up their stake-out by the time the trucks were arriving at the drop point. They remained tucked atop a rooftop behind a vent exhaust. Through their binoculars, they scanned the various windows among the city buildings. Some aglow with warm lights contrasting the cool luminescence of the street lights below. The radio communications of their ear piece were distorted, but their radiation detector hadn't been going off from their position.

"Isn't it just a lovely view?"

As Hero twisted their body to meet the source of the voice, they stopped upon hearing the sound of a rotating chamber and the sight of Villain holding a gun towards them. Their composure was collected and calm, which wasn't much different than their usual cockiness. It was a surprise, sure, but it didn't matter they were up there. It wasn't like they hadn't given each other a few black eyes and split lips, so if Hero needed to fight this one out, they could manage until back-up came.

"Well, a second ago yes, but now I'm not so sure." Hero said, raising their hands up slowly.

"Oh, surely you don't mean that Hero," Villain jutted their gun up briefly, gesturing Hero to stand, which they did. "Deep down you know you love our little ren-dez-vous~"

Hero glanced behind them, hearing the sound of barreling trucks down the alleyways. The familiar smug grin which quirked the corner of Villains' lips, caught Heros eye and they shrugged their shoulders a little, returning a grin.

"Look, I get that you're toxic, but this is taking it a little too far, Villain."

"Well, thats rude," Villain took a step forward, gun still locked on the other just as their eyes were. "But I have no idea what you're talking about. Turn around, take a look."

Villains tone made Heros stomach twitch in discomfort. It didn't help how intently they held their gun either, but at least after all these years they picked up a thing or two from Hero; one being the proper way to hold a gun so someone can't kick it from your grasp.

The other being Villain finally learned was to have the upper hand. With visible hesitance, Hero picked up their binoculars to better see the drop sight. It was to their horror to see Villains crew pulling tarps off the covered back, revealing no cargo in any of the vehicles. No crates. No sacks or odd-glowing tubes. When they looked to Villain again, several red dots littered Hero's body, and the panic started to sink in a bit.

"But, Intel-"

"Discovered plans of a radium delivery?" Villain sighed, feigning a heartbroken look. "Hero, I thought you surely knew by now after how long its been,"

From within the scarf Villain wore around their neck, they pulled up a respirator. Heros mind was racing. What was it they could have missed? The exact location, parameter setting, time, and plate numbers were all there. Their eyes fell, and Villain paused for a moment to sigh before nudging the gun just below their chin to raise their head.

"I don't do business on my birthday."

Villain lifted their mask, and Hero heard something click onto the pavement. A purple plume of smoke enveloped the two. Their mind was grew hazy, and their limbs got heavy. Hero blinked, and next they realized it, they were on the ground.

"It doesn't make any sense.." Hero managed out, pulling themselves back towards the ledge the best they could.

"One of your little bugs missed the cancellation call I put in. None of you realized it, and I saw... an opportunity." Villain knelt down in front of them, a hand snaking through Heros locks only to pull it sharply upwards.

"If you don't work..." Hero hissed out, trying to intake some of untainted air. "Then what is this?"

Villain could only smile as they leaned in, tapping the end of the gun against Heros chin. They moved in slowly, or that is what they assumed. Everything moved a half-second behind and was only increasing in increments as Hero was exposed to the smoke bomb.

"Pleasure." Villain all but purred near their ear.

With a sharp yank, Hero went hurdling into the wafts of smoke. It scorched their throat before it burned their lungs. One ear, they could hear the hiss of the static from the earbud. In the other, the hiss of the spraying smoke bomb. Hero could hardly make out what went wrong, especially in the state they were in now. They at least knew there was no Intel to call out to, and no back-up coming for them.

As Heros vision faded, the last thing they saw was Villain kneeling atop of them with a satisfied smile behind the respirator. For the first time in however long Villain and Hero had been at it, Hero was bested. Despite the incapacitated state, there was a growing fear of what Villain had in store after all these years.

+++

When Hero awoke, it took a while to absorb their surroundings. The windows were bright but not because of light but because of the heavy fall of snow outside. Hero laid atop a deep red, ornate rug set in front of the large fireplace with stone inlays of various colors. The hearth was aglow with a roaring fire which lit up the inside of the cabin.

As their eyes focused on the walls, it was a nauseating realization that there were no portraits on the wall but various mounted animals. All walks of the food chain, from wolves and hawks to sheep and deer, decorated the walls.

In attempts to sit up, Hero realized they were bound. While yes, it wasn't like they would be free range at all, but Hero thought it excessive to bind not only their ankles to their wrists, but to bind both to a rope around their neck to prevent further struggle. Hero waited a moment to let their senses come back to them and not be embarrassed over being hog-tied on a cabin floor surrounded by dead animals.

It didn't take long to hear the thud of boots crossing the wood and softening on the carpet in front of them. As slow as they were, it didn't compare to the steady rise in heart rate Hero felt. Just because Villain had been caught in the past or had plans interrupted didn't mean they couldn't have still worked on something Hero missed somehow. Obviously, a cabin in the middle of nowhere was one of those plans.

"Oh, look at you, a bow and everything..." Villain cooed, slipping three fingers under the rope around their neck to hoist them up on their knees. They adjusted the ropes behind Hero, which loosened the pressure on their neck only slightly.

A dark apron covered Villains shirt, and their hands were poorly washed of blood from whatever it was they were doing in the kitchen. The side-effects from the smoke bomb kept their limbs weighed down like lead, and their head pounded with questions. Luckily, Villain was prompt to handle the latter.

"Do you like it? The cabin?"

"This all seems a bit.. primitive." Hero drowsily responded.

"Call me old-fashioned, I suppose. The snowstorm outside makes it impossible for your team to scope out in terrain recon or aerial surveillance, and you'll surely die out there if you try to escape."

There was a brief moment Hero felt the urge to try at an escape, yet with the upward motion, strain was put on their throat. With a strangled gasp, Hero was forced to settle back on their knees. All the while, Villain circled their victim like a shark in water, footfalls slow and deliberate before they knelt in front of Hero, their lips curled into that damned dastardly smile.

"And far away from anyone who may hear you scream. Unlike my crew, no one is coming for you, Hero."

From Villains hip, a long blade with a pronounced gut hook at the end and a dark leather handle came into view. They've had their shoot-outs, but they knew the two missed each other on purpose (most times). They've had their brawls but still left the other standing to fight another day. However, this was a new leverage Villain had, and it wasn't the heat of the fireplace making Hero perspire. It was pure fear, and it reflected back to them in the blade of the knife.

"Do you know how long I've waited for this?" Villain began, bringing the edge of the blade dangerously close to their throat. "To have you humiliated before me? I've spent years dreaming of how I'd have you at my feet, begging for your life to an unanswering god."

The spark behind Villains eyes made Heros blood run cold. They'd never seen Villain like this before. The bindings around their wrists and ankles offered no give, and any shift of their current position threatened to weigh on their windpipe. The blade edge was sharp enough to cause a paper cut-like string on their neck. So many things went wrong that Hero felt out of depth with what to do and what to expect from Villain.

"P-please.." Was all Hero managed, their voice raspy from the smoke and barely a whisper.

"Please?" Villain echoed in daunting amusement. "Oh, Hero, how the mighty do fall!"

The laugh that echoed in the room felt closer to derangement, and Hero visibly flinched at the volume. Before they knew it, a burn stung their eyes, and their vision blurred and skewed the sight of Villain with fat, hot tears.

Something about the reaction shot down Villain from their victory high. Here, they thought they'd be able to rub their success in their face, to finally show Hero what it was like to seep in their own failures. They thought the victory would be sweet, yet the sight of the true fear Hero held in their eyes left a bitter taste in Villains' mouth. Even with how long they'd been doing this, Villain never truly feared Hero.

Villain had never seen this side of Hero before.

The hook of the blade near Heros throat snugged itself under the rope before it was severed completely. Hero let go of a breath they didn't realize they were holding. After a moment, Hero watched as Villain stood and took off their apron, revealing a crisp white button up and fine dress pants.

"Get up."

"W... what?" They stammered out. With the rope now cut, the restraints seemingly fell apart as Hero moved their wrists.

"Dinner is going to be ready soon, and I figure you'd want to change." Villain said as they casually rolled their sleeves up.

As if they weren't confused before, they just stared at the other in awe and disbelief at the sudden change of heart to cut Hero loose.

"What.. You're not going to kill me..?"

"Not yet, no. I told you I don't do business on my birthday." There was a pause. "Even a belated one. It did take a couple days to get out here."

"Then.." Hero looked about the cabin, the attire, the undeniable smell of something cooking in the kitchen. "You kidnapped me to have dinner?"

There was a flash of that damned grin and an innocent shrug of the shoulders.

"Ah, a birthday dinner, and it's not like you would have made reservations. I mean, you hardly remembered! And you never have a day off, so I simply took matters into my own hands when the opportunity saw fit." Villain held a hand out to Hero, which they hesitantly took.

Hero still hadn't quite moved past the concept they thought they'd be gutted and stuffed a moment ago. The hand which took Heros pulled them close, another arm wrapping about their waist. The cologne Villain wore was subtle, but enough to bring a bit of ease in their shoulders.

"It's quiet here, and warm and away from everything and everyone.. no cameras or recorders, just us.." Villain said, their voice gentle. "Tomorrow you can stumble upon the ski mobile in the garage and be gone before the suns up, and that'd be fine just.. can we have tonight?"

Hero pulled back a bit to look up at Villain with surprise and perplexity. Yet, the look Villain wore resembled closer to remorse than anything. Villains hand gingerly cupped their jaw, a thumb caressing over their cheek. They'd been doing this for years after all, perhaps they did need a change of pace.

"Okay, Villain.." Hero said before the relief allowed a smile of their own to cross their lips. "It's only fair for forgetting such an important holiday."

"I'm glad you can see reason," Villain teased before their expression softened and pulled Hero back into their arms. "And.. I'm sorry for scaring you for you to see that."

The words held Hero like Villains arms did. With a soft sigh, Hero shook their head against their shoulder. At least now, there would be no way to underestimate Villain.

"Maybe I needed my life threatened to convince me that a break won't be what kills me." Hero quipped.

The air had lightened, and the dinner Villain carefully prepared for them was decadent and filling. The drink warmed them from the inside, and when they went to bed, their bodies did an even better job at fighting the cold off together. When the morning came and the light streamed in through the window, Villain was surprised to feel the weight of Hero still on their bare chest.

"You're still here.." Villain said, not quite as a question but more in surprise.

"Mm... it's too cold to go out..." Hero muttered, still not quite awake.

Villain smiled and pulled the blankets over them more, nuzzling contently into Heros hair. The snowfall had long since stopped, leaving glistening icicles to catch the sunlight outside the window.

"I know.." A soft kiss fell on Heros head.

Hero looked up at them with bleary eyes, barely able to process the fact Villain even planned that, before they gave a defeated smile and rested back on Villains chest.

"Happy birthday, Villain."

With a gentle kiss, the two shared the quiet morning together, wrapped up in one another until Villain found themselves lulled back to sleep by Heros calm breathing.

[shit-taster-connoisseur]

fav ship / character and least fav ship / character? 🙏🙏🙏

favorite ship:

who couldve seen this coming?/j

read more as it's just me taking any excuse to yap BDJD

honestly, how talk abt them to friends sometimes arent my actual characterizations of their dynamic/relationship. But really they're spinning in my head like a microwave everyday, so my interpretation of them of them generally change depending on settings, aus, or just my mood.

The thing that draws me to them is the fact that Fanny seems like a loyal solider(quite literally), but to where she'd definitely throw herself off a cliff for her leader/command(for rachel only really.) Meanwhile Rachel is pretty oblivious to the length Fanny would go for her – and visa versa. They're devoted to each other, yet are scared to repair their fractured friendship at the same time(mostly on fanny's side).

Honestly idk how to explain it xjsb

also the fact Fanny was Rachel's runner up for her GOT fuels me everyday, cause besides this moment, we don't really get too many moments where rachel isn't pissed at fanny for reasons.

could just be her being harsh as it comes with a leader, cause welp, fanny does fuck up a lot. But with these interactions you'd think Rachel wouldve considered ANYBODY else – besides nigel – for her second choice. so 1000000000% rachel had to have ALOT of trust in Fanny to place her as a second in command of an entire global organization, despite her trackrecord of botched missions(which, honestly i believe is why Nigel had been Rachel's first choice, because while nigel had seen mostly sucess in his teams' mission, fanny had gotten the short end of the stick and just faces failure after failure from what we've seen.)

uhhh anyways!! Fanny fell first(unknowingly) amd by the time they become teenagers, Rachel ends up falling harder and depressingly misses her GOT while she's suffering in TND orientation.

TLDR: a shitty anaylsis(barely) on how loyal moonbabes are to one another and they have trust!! I'm not normal about them

If ur curious abt my ranking for ships than here ya go:

1. Moonbabes

2. Lizzie/10

3. Wally/Kuki

4. Kuki/Fanny(or alternatively; Fanny/Kuki/Rachel)

Favorite character?

It's technically split down the middle between Rachel and Fanny, but my focus usually flipflops. So this week we got:

1. Rachel

2. Fanny

3. Chad

4. Cree

5. Negative 362 and Negative 86

Rachel: for reasons, honestly, I loved her since i was a kid. There's a lot to disect about her, and i love that, love her position, her personality, the kind of the role she plays, etc etc idk how to explain any of jt, or the specfics so you get this short ass summary instead

-also headcanon: her relationship with Harvey is rather strained, so Rachel tries to make it up to him by favoring him when it comes to mission assignments when he joined the KND, he also struggles to get her approval by completing them

Fanny: ashamed to admit, i cannot sit through a fanny episode withoht needing to pause and pace around – but like rachel, i like pretty much everything about her, she's interesing to disect as so much of her background is left up for interpretation. Like why did ahe join ths decommissioning squad? Why is she the way she is? Because of the decom squad or her time as a nurse, or just life in general bxns?

-headcanon: Her real name is Francine, and Fanny's a nickname because she thought it sounded less mature and didnt put too much thought in it's meaning in Ireland cuz she didnt live there that long (also her mother didnt have the heart to sit her down and explain it to her at her young age)

other global ops dont bat an eye to it, unfortunately Irish operatives cringe everytime they hear her name.

3. Chad is a loser. A failure. And i love him for that/j but actually, his entire character is interesting, and so much is left in the air for me to dig my teeth into and make up shit for him. One major headcanon i've convinced myself of for him is that he's related to rachel/harvey (cousins???)

-another hc: he's on the aromatic spectrum(shout to friend Amber for the idea cmdb)

4. Cree love her. I can forgive a woman of her crimes always xmsn one reason she's high up on the my list this week is she's interesting(duh), but like all the others she has so much character/info on her but little bits not filled to where i can just make up shit- canonically, i love her role, hsr character, she's an amazing villian/antagonist steals the show everytime - i'd pay warburton with my own money to write what she was like as a KND operative, she is quite skilled from the bits we've witnessed in flashbacks and in the present. One thing that runs through my mind is that Warburton in a Q&A, hinted that Cree probably wouldnt have scouted by the TND, that she was already trekking on a dark path while in the KND. BSJDB

-Headcanon: her and chad and steve have nights where they just hangs out and they watch stuff on Adult Swim. She probably likes South park

5. -362 and -86, got nothing to abt thene beyond they're silly(and possibly evil)

Least favorite Character/Ship

To be honest, i got no hate towards any of the characters in KND, they're all really interesting in their own way.

If i had make a tier list tho-

He'd be at the bottom. Only because he'd definitely call me a slur/j

And for ships, i'm not a multi shipper but i'm neutral to most.

tho fanny x a man will kill me, Cuz man, idk how you can look me straight in the eyes and tell me she's not lesbian,

Just LOOK AT HER

-

Thank you for the ask!!

[asukiess]

do you take song recs for characters?

cause this song "Devil Herself" by Ashe gave me so many emmy and nathalie feelings.........

thought i might share it cause it's really goodd, and im desperate to know what you think dwjgdjhsdjs

HELP THIS WAS SO FUNNY ILYSM ANON!!!! firstly, YES I absolutely adore music recs!!!!! anytime!! I also lovelovelove seeing how others interpret characters and dynamics!! <3

(also, I was doing laundry when I got this ask, so I listened to it with the first question in mind, and then after I finished, saw the follow up kajdbjkabd. also, I've not heard of this artist before, and she's got a great voice, I'm gonna check her out more!)

OKAY BUT YES. Ohhhh the stanzas are SO nathalie that it's unreal!! she will do anything, she's the world's bestworst guard dog!! she's so happy to ascribe herself to someone else's dreams/fantasies/lifestyle. she'll lay her life down for you and her body until it's ashes as long as you sweet talk her the right way. she's smart enough to formulate her own plans, to research and decipher and hunt and kill--all to be someone else's knife or pawn. whatever, as long as you sometimes remember to tell her she's needed.

("And if I was a pyromaniac, you would've fetched the gasoline/Handed me the matchsticks to burn down everything")

("Told the cops that I was sick in our bedroom the whole time/Moved us out of state and started a brand-new life." getting major fic potential for them disposing of Gabriel and moving away... hm!)

the following lines are so emilie to me: "I knew what I was doing/Gave you something to believe." (because, as stated, nathalie needs to ascribe herself to something. girl!!! what happened in your life where you feared being alone!! to do all this for the agrestes!!) "I was feeding you the apple/You were swallowing the seeds." is actually insane since apple imagery has come up TWICE--in the Senti!Emilie au and the first eminath fic I wrote:

so yeah. it's got my seal of approval.

(another side note. "You were Adam in the garden/But your ribs were made of me" can definitely be Emmy and Nathalie <3)

and the whole chorus personally reminds me of the eminath I think about when listening to, say, my kink is karma. I always envision a ghost emilie looking at s5 Nathalie's actions and enjoying that she's fucking everything up, she's reaping the consequences of going against her wishes, etc etc. of course, there's love there, but maybe the love of a god for a pathetic little disciple, yknow.

if you have thoughts OR more music, please send them my way, I'd love to hear both!!

[entertainmates]

Might pretty this up in the future, but I figure I should finally make a pinned post haha _(:3」∠)_

Hello, I’m Kaleido! I go by Kal for short. I doodle in my free time and really like cute animals and games!

Main interest I’d say I have right now is Hatoful Boyfriend. A certain trio really took my last braincell, but I do like the rest of the cast as well. OTZ [A tad obvious, but Tohri is my favorite!]

Beyond that, I enjoy Monster Hunter, YGO, and Megaten! There are plenty of other series I like that I don’t mention much (Megaman, older anime, Hoyoverse, etc) so you may hear about it here and there.

[Rest under Read More since I'm yappin' ]

I’m also a multi-shipper (includes OCxCanon) so I’m fairly open to hearing about other people’s ships (within reason). Definitely a fan of hearing how different people interpret a character and their dynamics with other characters (including headcanons and AUs)!

Did I mention I also like OCs? I’ll post about mine sporadically, but I’d love to hear about yours! (Just hope you’re okay with fanart lol)

I miss roleplaying so I may be open to that. I am trying to get out of my shell to improve even if my writing is stiff :’]

I don’t really have a DNI but I prefer if my art gets credited if used. Feel free to ask any questions, and nice to meet y'all!

[I'll fix my blog eventually]

[your-friendly-neighbourh00d-fag]

(hi I'm thickskulldotmp3!)

talk funkobra to me (if you want) 👀... I don't necessarily ship them (I don't really ship anyone here atp I'm more interested in the ambiguities and complexities of non-romantic interpretations tbh) but I would love to hear any miscellaneous headcanons or Thoughts you might have on them. I think they're crazy about each other in every sense of the phrase and that's beautiful

you're actually so real for being more interested in platonic 'joy stuff, there's soooo many cool dynamics to explore.

however i am also funkobra trash, so lets goo!!

totally agree, even if im not writing them as In Love, they have to be at least a little obsessed with each other. something about them being the only ones to understand the intricacies of eachother's brains. the shared madness of two.

they both get really destructive i think, only ghoul gets really self destructive and kobra gets outwardly destructive. they're the only ones who will indulge each other. like poison will tell kobra it isn't healthy, and fighting random 'joys in bars is bad, and he should talk about it instead, etc. etc. but ghoul will just get on the back of kobra's bike and go with him. yeah, it isn't healthy, but sometimes you need to do dumb shit.

kobra's a really good artist, so he's designed a few of ghoul's tattoos. ghoul's DONE some on himself, but kobra's always drawn the stencil.

ghoul always spends ages in the workshop making bombs, and kobra always spends ages in the workshop making bike mods and stuff, and sometimes they don't talk for hours, just feel comfort in the fact that the other is there.

but, what they do do, is make little trinkets for each other and pass them wordlessly across the bench. ghoul's favourite is soldering tiny flowers for kobra. one time kobra made a flower crown but out of wires for ghoul. he'd worn that one for days before kobra made him take it off.

they're SOOOOOO physically clingy. like, they can't have a rational conversation without ghoul's arm around kobra's shoulder, their legs tangled, heads knocking against each other, just something. they're always touching in some way, and it pisses poison and jet the fuck off.

^ for a bonus, poison and jet are rarely physically affectionate, their main love language is words of affirmation. every sentence has honey or sweetheart or babe tacked on the end, and they say i love you like every five minutes.

^ also, kobra has a lot of issues verbalizing big important things like 'i love you,' so usually when ghoul says it, he'll give it back in morse code. however he can. squeezing ghoul's hand, tapping the small of his back, clicking a pen. ghoul always understands.

a lot of the time, both of them have trouble sleeping. that's why they always sleep so tucked together, pressed so close that you can't tell who's arm is who's. BUT, when that doesn't work for one or both of them, they go out for a mid night joyride. anywhere. sometimes it's just aimlessly around the desert, sometimes they want the thrill of a clap, it doesn't really matter. kobra just drives off, presses his back into ghoul's chest to remind himself that he's still there.

kobra's a really good singer!! i say this specifically because i just wrote a band au, and people always go, oh, killjoys = mcr, so if they're in a band, kobra's the bassist, pois is the singer, jet and ghoul on guitars, but i DISAGREE. to me: kobra would sing, jet would play bass, poison would play guitar, and ghoul would play drums. fight with the wall <3

kobra teaches ghoul to read, because he couldn't for ages, and as much as he likes kobra reading to him, it pisses ghoul the hell off when everyone but him can do stuff.

ghoul is a Hoarder. like, it's bad. kobra has opened their wardrobe multiple times to find old keepsakes stashed away, and whenever they try to go through them, ghoul finds a way to convince kobra they're important.

thanks for the ask! i love speaking funkobra :))

[crescencestudio]

Hello there! It is me, again. I never really know how to start asks, aha.

During my first play through, I at first got attached to Fenir and Kuna’a(surprise surprise, the two probably most popular characters), but during my other ones where I unlocked all but the two Faes’ dates, I actually found myself really liking Kayn? Which really surprised me for some reason. Usually, I don’t get attached to the flirtier LIs, but I have apparently gotten attached to Kayn.

What also helped me get attached to Kayn was your tumblr! One, was when an anon asked what the LI’s mbti would be, and you said Kayn would be an ENFP, which surprised me a little at first, but then it made a lot more sense. The other was the LI’s reaction to puns and how Kayn would make even worse ones back.

For the MBTI, I’m actually an INFP, so we’re rather similar in that aspect. For puns, ooooh boy. I freaking love puns. And I feel like we’d both just fuel each other’s fire in making the cringiest puns making everyone around us suffer while we’re both probably on the floor laughing.

My favorite thing about the potential dynamic though is just how oblivious I am. You see an oblivious character and think “There is no way anyone is that oblivious.” It’s me. I’m that character. But only towards how others perceive me. I’m quite perceptive of all but that.

Kayn frequently using pet names(darling, dear, love), reminds me so much of this one time a friend who had a crush on me started calling me them and I still didn’t get the hint(I did think it was kinda weird that they started out of nowhere though). I just think that that is so funny.

Also, I’m glad you liked my rambling and thoughts on how I interpreted the characters with the VA’s voices! I’m rather nervous when I send long/longer asks cause of that not so little thing called anxiety. I also don’t frequently send things off of anon because of anxiety, but I wanted to get an notif for when you decide to reply/answer

Ah, anyways. I think that’s all for this ask? You’re doing amazing, and I hope to see Alaris grow! Remember to hydrate and what not!

Hi again!

I’m laughing because Fenir and Kuna’a indeed are the two most popular LMAO. BUT I’m glad to hear about the Kayn love!!!!! I actually thought Kayn would be more popular going into the game’s release, so I was surprised Kuna’a was the most popular with Fenir and not Kayn.

Kayn is a really fun and playful partner, which I think gets overshadowed by their flirtiness. But I’m glad to hear even tho they’re not typically your type, you are still attached to them! Flirty types can be hard to write, I think—I’ve noticed they’re a hit or miss in the VN community. Some people love the trope and some ppl hate it.

I personally think flirting can be fun (not that I’m a very flirty person myself lmao)!! It doesn’t have to be a bunch of sexual jokes/innuendos; it can also be cheesy pick up lines, witty banter, corny compliments, etc., and I hope that comes through with Kayn <3

Also, fun fact but your inner two MBTI letters (e.g., NF) are basically very core to you and how you process the world. The outer two (e.g., IJ) are more behavioral. But basically, if your two inner MBTI letters are the same as someone else’s, you will probably get along well! For legal purposes, this is not professional counseling advice.

Thank you again for the ask and sweet message! I have my water next to me as I answer this hehe.

[thesilverlady]

hi! love your blog ♥ it's really cool to finally see someone who posts pre-asoiaf content without anti stark rivalry I see so often from targ accounts.

A question I have (and you can ignore it if you're uncomfortable) is I've noticed you had older posts shipping rhaegon, lucaemond etc and you seem to love book canon so I was wondering do you ships these pairs in the books or its something you saw from the show and just kept it?

again, absolutely no hate that you ship them I'm just curious 🙈 hope you don't mind

hi anon! First of all I'm happy to hear you enjoy my content 🥰 it can be a bit lonely here because I don't interact with anyone but I love all houses & characters from asoiaf. So while the targaryens are my favorite I don't dislike anyone else and I don't mind answering anything as long as ppl aren't hostile or aggressive.

As for your question, I tried to like hotd and see it as a separate version but... so many things I've enjoyed from f&b got butchered, so it's hard. I've tried to make gifs and focused on something positive but I think I'll try to ignore the show for now.

As for the ships, I don't feel uncomfy with answering no worries. Yes, I do ship rhaegon, lucemond and many other rare pairs but no they didn't come from the show lol.

I know some ppl started seeing something for various of reasons (like dynamic, potential, chemistry, actors being pretty etc) but I sadly report I was one of the few losers who see even the tiniest of chance of hate/rivalry on a page and my mind goes 👀 etl??? 👀

So yeah, reading f&b many ships crossed my mind, lucemond & rhaegon being among them. And while I enjoy canon (and I know Daemon would probably plot a secret murder before he allowed Aegon 3 feet away from his niece) it's nice to bend canon and toy around with ideas y'know?

Of course I always do it based on the interpretation I have of these characters from the book, not from the show. But if there's one good thing the show did, was encouraging content creators to not be afraid of talking about non-canon pairs and I'm glad

[sillysadduck]

Welp this will give away who I am but screw it I'm anonymous to everyone else so it doesn't matter too much.

I accidentally unfollowed thinking I was clicking on the ask button so apologies for that ^^"

Anyways now for the reason why I wanted to send something anonymously in the first place;

I see Red as a father figure.

And I kinda see your interpretation of Duck as a fatherly figure as well, but that's a bit... complicated.

I kinda dislike Duck, but that's because his behaviors, reactions, opinions, etc, match my own fathers.

TBH, Red reminds me of my mother as well, which isn't good.

I'm not sure why I want to put all of this out there, probably out of tiredness, but I'm so afraid of losing this comfort show, these comfort characters... this comfort family... I long for their positive traits, I long to just... idk... hug them? Cuddle platonically?

I have so much more to say, but now I'm just venting to you, so I'm really sorry. You don't need to respond to this or share it.

I hope that you get to experience that sort of family when you get out of your situation. Cause you will get out of there.

Just... enjoy it for me, will you?

Aww I'm sorry to hear that. I get you, I like to draw these characters as a family because I didn't have a family when I was younger.

But I found my own family, in the two people I love, we're not a conventional family but we love each other, which is why I enjoy the main trio so much too. I hope you can look at them from another perspective, and enjoy this dynamic as well <3

[menodoramoon]

Caiette’s Swynwrimo 2024: Task #30 — SWYNRP Character Wishlist

A list of 10+ characters you’d like to see in the RP (for you to play or someone else!)��

Divided into wants for others and wants for me!!

WANTS FOR OTHERS

LENA de SPELL

** previously mislabeled an FC suggestion don't mind me lol

Hear me out! Play my niece! I just love familiar relationships and I would love to create a dynamic with a Lena! I don't have good face-claim recommendations, but I think it would be cool to explore the de Spell's Jewish side? Not a pre-req though, just something my version of Magica has thoughts about!

NORMA GOTHEL

Someone pick this woman up before I do <3 I mean, I'm hitting a lot of the same beats with Magica, and AS SUCH, I need someone else to take this woman away from me, pls and thanks.

MING LEE

Take her. Away from me. Thank you. Another mom that I should not have. I love Ming Lee, but I'm trying to branch out! Make waves! Be different! Also, I just love the idea of having more Moms to talk to? That would be fun. Especially those with difficult relationships with their kids, isn't that fun?

ANY OF THE W.I.T.C.H. GALS!

Listen, I would fill in the gaps but I'd love some guardians to pal around with! I'd even take on Elyon if ya needed but YEA! I just think they're neat, I LOVE W.I.T.C.H. !!!

TURNING RED GIRLS

Listen, I love that quartet so much and I'd love to pal around with them if I ever pick up Vee or an Amphibia girl! I'm so sorry this is not more specific, I just love them and would love to see any interpretation of them!

4-TOWN

Listen, I love that quartet quintet so much and I think it'd be awesome to see them around! The bios are fun and leave a lot of room for play and I think it'd be fun to have some pop guys around!

Flower Holloway

I just think having Flower around would be neat and fun! I know this list is mostly vibes but it's about the energy the characters would bring to Swynlake and I think I'd love getting to know a Flower Holloway! Same with a Pascal, etc. Also getting more canonical Business owners!

WANTS FOR ME

VEE!!!

Pictured: Kathryn Bernardo

I want this girlypop (genderneutral) back! I love her! I miss her! But I'd want to do a revamp or two and get my activity in order before I picked them back up.

FAIRY GODMOTHER

Pictured: Kathryn Hahn

"But Caiette, wasn't Kathryn Hahn on your list last y--" Shut up! <3 The vision has shifted but listen, I think she could play Fairy Godmother with a devil-may-care, "I know best" attitude! Plus!! I want to get into the fairies, so!!

SASHA WAYBRIGHT

Pictured: Renee Rapp (idk, I'll figure it out)

"Whoa Caiette, this is way off brand!!!" Yes, you're right!! This is very off-brand! But I still think it'd be interesting as a challenge! Sasha has a level of authority that I don't think I have in real life and I think it would be interesting to play with that on a character level!

LIZZIE T. FORD

Pictured: Lily Tomlin, bc why not! Also Bebe Neuwirth, bc why not x2!

A town eccentric that's passionate about history? Yes, please~! I think I looked at Lizzie's bio a few times and thought that it hit a lot of the notes I'd love, but I wasn't as versed in Swynlake History at the time. Still have some research to do, but I think it'd be neat!

CHANCELLOR RHIANNON DEARG CROI

I love playing Red Queens/Queen of Hearts. Hear me out -- I just think playing a vampire CHANCELLOR would be cool af. Not as high on my list, but listen. I think it'd be a ball. No FC inspo right now, but that doesn't mean I won't have any!

URANIA/LINUS OF HESIOD

I actually have an app somewhere for this lovely person. I love space, stars, epiphanies, the idea of the muses.... I think it would be very interesting to be part of an order like that.

DAWN BELLWETHER

Listen, I don't have a FC in mind, pure vibes if I ever write the app will lead to inspiration.

I just think she's neat! And also, it breaks my magicks only streak! I need to get some Mundus in here, tbh. I think having someone who is subtle about their prejudices is.... interesting. It's sort of Moon about Monsters, but Dawn about magicks! Which, not great!!! But interesting on a character level!

---

Caiette's Swynwrimo 2024 Tracklist.

[i1lya]

I made a little collaborative Gapollya/character playlist on Spotify if anyone else wants to add some songs feel free 

[dogsliampaynedoesntinstagram]

Hi, Ralph! What are your favorites 3 moments that made you think "wow, HL are really in love" and why? (btw I love your blog and just wanted to hear more of your thoughts)

Thanks anon!

I'm not very good at this, because I'm always it's the culmulative picture and the power dynamic that persuaded me. Not just that they were expressing their feelings for each other, mock-mock flirting, taking such joy in each other, choosing to live together, sneaking touches, really loving and supportive, etc. etc. etc. - but they were all those things and then there was this very sudden change in how their relationship was shown. (Although the other option is just to say that knee thing when Harry is wearing a brown plaid shirt in the Irish interview doesn't have a platonic explanation).

So instead I'll say these are the four reasons (and one bonus) why I actively think they were together relatively recently, rather than just thinking that there's no evidence that they split up.

Fine Line is a summer album, Harry had a some high profile events booked for May 2019, but he didn't end up releasing it till December. I think he postponed the album and took some time off after Fizzy's death. I've always been surprised by the way people have interpreted the meeting between Rob Stringer and Harry in March 2019, because to me everything about it - including Stringer coming to Harry, suggested how serious the situation was for Harry. Harry House's release has only confirmed my view of this. Both because he's returned to a May release schedule and because we've seen again and again how averse he is to down time, making the gaps in Harry's schedule until the preparation for Fine Line release began in earnest in August 2019 even more noticeable. (I do think he was pushing to finish Fine Line at that time, and was probably already late, or on the verge of being late).

Louis bringing up a fight he'd had with Nick, where Nick would have been understood as much more obviously in the wrong now than he was at the time, in September 2019. It surprised me at the time, because last we'd seen them they seemed to get on great. Then a few weeks later we learned how not good things were between Harry and Nick.

The fact that Louis didn't exist in time or space from 11 March 2020 to 7 June 2020. The evening after the Madrid gig Louis' band (and I think Oli) were still travelling as if they were going to play the next gig (there was this gap where Milan would have been) and they went bowling that night. Louis didn't seem to be there (and we could see the scores and know how many people were playing). I thought at that point that Louis might have flown to the Carribean (where Harry was) with a plan to fly back if he was going to keep touring, (which he obviously didn't). Certainly that's fully compatible with everything we didn't see.

The Umbro shirt - which I think was entirely an accident and a very charming one.

(The bonus is that Keep Driving could have been pulled directly from both the images and timeline I have of Louis and Harry and their relationship)

[takohebi]

jade/jamil, jade/kalim, jade/riddle ok wait these are all jade ships i wanna hear ur thoughts on idikei & rukutore?/cloverhunt if that isnt too many sdfdfh

Jade/Jamil

Whether I ship it or not: YES!!!!

Why I ship it or not: Firstly both of them are so similar!! I wanna see them try to get under each other's skin. I want jaejami banter!!

My opinion on their canon potential: SO MUCH POTENTIAL! Jade is incredibly honest, I want to see him interpret Jamil's actions (Jamil would hate how easily Jade reads him, similar to what he feels with Azul lmao) Please twst gimme jade/jamil interactions in canon, can't you see how fun it could be???

My opinion on fanon interpretations/fandom around it: I have not seen any jaejami stuff, if there is PLEASE SEND IT MY WAY, i am desperately looking for it.

Jade/Kalim

Whether I ship it or not: YESS!!

Why I ship it or not: the contrast between Kalim's sweetness and Jade's sneakiness is SO GOOD

My opinion on their canon potential: While this ship doesn't have as much canon content as flokali, I think their dynamic made enough of an impression even with the limited screentime. Kalim would surprise Jade in unexpected ways and Kalim need someone honest like Jade around.

My opinion on fanon interpretations/fandom around it: I see really little of it but every fanwork fills me with joy!!

Jade/Riddle

Whether I ship it or not: I like it but don't actively seek it out

Why I ship it or not: Jade would be a very interesting classmate and Riddle doesn't seem to mind his company. Tbh it is surprising they dont have all that many canon interactions! :0

My opinion on their canon potential: I wish the game gave us more but I do like their friendship quite a lot! Idm if it were romantic as well.

My opinion on fanon interpretations/fandom around it: I feel because florid is so popular, people are sleeping on the potential of this ship. (imo jade/riddle is better xD)

IdiKei

Whether I ship it or not: I do!

Why I ship it or not: i think the trope is cute, popular guy with the asocial nerd. that's all. that's my shallow reason for liking the ship lol

My opinion on their canon potential: THEY'RE CLASSMATES!! i just like the idea of them hanging out together (despite idia's initial protests) and them just... opening up a little y'know? cater's mask slipping, idia's unique perspective helping cater out, etc!! ;;A;;

My opinion on fanon interpretations/fandom around it: tbf i haven't seen much of it but whatever i see is always very cute!!

CloverHunt

Whether I ship it or not: I prefer them as friends but idm the ship

Why I ship it or not: I don't dislike the ship, just that I didn't see much going on between them romantically??

My opinion on their canon potential: I love how trey is like the most normal nrc student and rook is.......rook lmao. And they're together for club activities! I enjoy seeing them together, like during beans day, halloween etc.

My opinion on fanon interpretations/fandom around it: so idk if it's because of the people i follow but i see VERY horny cloverhunt stuff lmao. it's amusing.

thanks for asking! Which of these do you ship? :3

[cynicalmusings]

ok ok so…

the first thing that struck me about this rewrite which i really want to do is to be stronger on the parallels and dynamic between xiao and aphros. both of those elements are already present in the fic, but i want to take it further.

(for the record, everything you’re about to hear is what i cooked up at 11:30 last night while talking to myself. be warned.)

so, on the parallels: i started thinking about the xiaophros dynamic, particularly with how they complete each other, and i came up with these ideas i want to incorporate more clearly into the fic:

aphros as the mental; xiao as the physical.

— by which i mean aphros focuses more on retrospect and contemplation, while xiao is very aware of the world around him at any given moment. particularly i want to get this across through the narration, and give both characters a stronger narrative voice of their own, where aphros’ will be more focused on this pondering and consideration of ideas (i really want to bring out their philosophical side more) and xiao’s will be more descriptive and focused on his surroundings. even the ways they both express their creativity is a reflection of this mental/physical preference — aphros paints and writes poetry, which comes from observation (note that word — i’ll come back to it) and thought, and xiao dances, which is a much more physical activity and requires one to be in tune with their own body as well as their surroundings. as their relationship develops, xiao provides a grounding presence for aphros, who runs a risk of losing themselves in their own head (particularly following the archon war — more on that later), which they can anchor themselves to, while aphros helps xiao reconnect with his more contemplative and creative side which he has been forced to suppress

2. aphros as the civilian; xiao as the soldier.

especially with regards to the archon war, i want to make a clearer comparison/ contrast with their experiences. xiao’s trauma very much arises from being on the front lines of battle, whereas aphros’ comes from the side-effects of war as one who has no personal involvement. however, both experiences are incredibly gruelling, albeit in different ways. regarding aphros, i think i’m going to change their experiences with trauma as well. as things currently stand, they get assaulted. if sexual trauma/ assault was a central theme of the fic, then i would feel comfortable keeping it in, but it isn’t, and that makes it feel kind of like having assault there for the sake of assault, which i don’t want to do. there are other ways which i think are more in line with their character arc which achieve the same end goal (again, i’ll elaborate on these in a moment—essentially, aphros losing hope for the world and closing themselves off from everybody else—without including a sa scene.

3. aphros as the (silent) observer; xiao as the doer.

again, i’ll elaborate on aphros’ part in this in a moment (basically i’m going to delve a lot further into their character lmao), but this is the gist: aphros watches events unfold, most of the time as a bystander, and interprets them mentally—a very receptive figure, basically—while xiao has a very tangible physical presence in the world, and his actions are very much a part of his character, whether that be his unwilling slaughtering of innocents, or his initiative to do things for others, etc. kind of likes yin and yang thing with the passive/active stuff, heh. in all of these parallels i’ve mentioned, i just want to clarify that both characters obviously have elements of both, as i’m sure you can tell, and it’s not like aphros is 100% passive and xiao is incapable of overlooking events, or aphros is totally on another planet and disconnected to their surroundings while xiao can’t muster up a philosophical thought to save his life. it’s merely outlining which side they’re naturally inclined towards.

and some more general notes for things i want to do with aphros because i love (making) them (suffer):

add one or two more scenes from aphros pov (and xiao’s!) before the archon war to establish their character more firmly before they’re plunged into mental anguish. one of the characteristics i want to establish early on is their love for humans and human ingenuity — more on that later (yet again. sorry!), because it’s relevant again later on.

i’ve mentioned this a few times now, but the idea of aphros as this silent witness of history; rarely getting directly involved, but remembering everything that’s happened. symbolically i plan to place them physically on higher ground when they’re wandering about to reflect that ‘overseeing’ aspect of their character. the cave is already a good example of this, because it’s high up and provides a viewpoint where one can overlook practically the whole of liyue, but also more generally, e.g. they take mountain paths, or are simply standing somewhere physically higher up compared to most people around them.

this idea of witnessing history also got me thinking about zhongli and ‘erosion’, and i wondered why aphros strikes me as somebody who remembers and sees more of history than zhongli does despite his longer lifespan, which leads me to my next point — aphros as symbolised by water. it doesn’t sound impressive whatsoever (they’re literally a god of sea foam — association with water? impossible!) but hear me out: water is ever-changing, yes, but it can never be whittled down to nothingness as a rock can. the water may change state, but it’s always there, and can be changed back to its previous state, whereas a rock, once worn and its particles are scattered on the wind, can’t be reassembled. taking this analogy, it represents aphros’ experiences as a wanderer with no strong attachment to physical things, unlike zhongli, who apart from being the literal god of rock also has (or had) a nation to take care of which required him to stand firm in one place. water will always find a way to continue flowing—continue carrying those memories—where rock can only slowly be worn to dust. or, water is the passage of time, and the foam is the memories carried with it.

back to the ‘silent’ aspect of their observations — aphros is unable to verbally express what they’ve witnessed to others, and this becomes very relevant during the archon war, where they witness countless devastating events, caused by environmental factors such as famine and drought as well as other, human matters like stealing, riots, poisoning rivers (water!), etc., using that human ingenuity of theirs and twisting it to do abhorrent things to each other. even simply watching the futile struggle for survival is difficult to watch.

and, the thing about aphros is that, despite all this, they do still love humanity. pair this with being a naturally empathetic person, and seeing how the side-effects and peripheral damage of this war hurts others and uproots their lives devastates them as much as any personal experience could — they don’t need to be directly involved in what’s happening to be crushed by it. sorry not sorry, aphros. es ergo patimini.

(i do think they experience some first-hand suffering—their attempts to help others being taken advantage of, for example—but it’s mostly this inability to do anything of consequence which really weighs on them: they try to offer their help to people in need, but everyone is too concerned with their own problems to trust some random stranger trying to do things for them, and that results in lots of suffering, loss of life etc., for those people, leaving aphros devastated because i can help you but why won’t you listen?)

due to all this and their silence by nature, aphros has to carry these events with them for centuries, unable to share the information with others (any any survivors, already few and far between, are long dead by the time aphros opens up about what they’ve seen) — even though they can communicate somewhat with xiao through expressions, nods, etc., this is before they have their water bowl, so they can’t articulate specific ideas. they’re like this sole testament to what the world has left behind and forgotten. so when, at long last, they can finally tell somebody else about all these forgotten scars, it comes as a huge burden being lifted from their shoulders: they don’t have to bear all this knowledge alone anymore, and that’s what allows them to finally start letting the world back in again — a world which is no longer consumed by their memories of past suffering.

regarding what happens in the place of their assault, i have something like this in mind so far: while wandering (already pretty traumatised), aphros catches news that there’s some conflict in the area where havria’s domain is situated. worried for her safety (as well as seeing her as a sort of beacon of kindness and goodness in a world which has strayed so far away from either of those things which they can turn to to restore their faith in… life, basically — she is somebody they could confide their experiences to), they head towards her. they have a bad feeling about this, but still hope against all odds that they’ll get there in time to help her out. of course, by the time they arrive, all that’s left of her is a pile of salt and a kingdom frozen in the moment of its collapse. not happy days for aphros, i’m afraid.

(back to the concept of using aphros’ physical location to reflect their observing of the world — it makes sense that, after havria’s murder being the last straw to their desensitisation, they reside somewhere underground: they’re so overloaded that they can’t see anything in a metaphorical sense which then bleeds into their reality.)

another thing which has been sitting slightly off with me is the structure of the story, especially in the latter half of the archon war and post-archon war. i’m not going the change the actual structure from its current scene-by-scene composition, e.g. by adding external stakes or a clear plot, because i realised that one of the reasons i love their dynamic so much is because their relationship develops at its own pace. of course, both characters have internal stakes to grapple with, and occasionally external, but there’s no external factor pushing them together or forcing the romance to develop more quickly: both characters take little steps forwards as they’re comfortable to do so, in their own time, and it makes the relationship’s development feel a lot more organic and heartfelt compared to if i wrote in an overarching plot. tdaasof is a very personal story to the characters, and i intend to keep it that way.

however, speaking of feeling organic, there are some times where i feel like they don’t have the time to breathe and properly develop. i know that contradicts everything i just said, but i’m referring mostly to the hurt/comfort scenes which populate the middle of the fic quite heavily—it feels like there’s a lot of batting back and forth between the comforting/comforted role, and although they definitely do help each other through their respective traumas, these occasions are too condensed at some points to feel like it’s something the characters are doing out of care for each other rather than obligation. they need more ‘breather’ moments in between the angst, where they’re both on equal footing and just being themselves and falling for each other as themselves. there are already some of these moments in the fic, e.g. aphros and xiao painting together, but overall they need a couple more in some parts of the fic to make the relationship feel like it exists beyond merely ‘oh no, this person i like is sad, so i must help them.’

and finally, the other main thing i want to tweak/ clarify is symbolism and themes! i’m almost done here, i promise.

clear up the gong’s narrative significance — make it more important? what does its presence represent?

what do aphros’ acoustics represent? currently i’m thinking that all the bells, chimes, etc. are in place of their lack of a voice; they speak through the ambience, in a way. possibly i can write in a few instances of the bells’ twinkling reflecting the kinds of emotions aphros is feeling — e.g. when xiao first finds them in the underground cave, it’s dissonant, but becomes more peaceful and bright later on.

water, the elements, and aphros’ art: the inkstone must be mixed with water to produce ink they can paint with, the paper they make has to be blended with water before it can take its shape and dry for usage, etc.

the crystalfly is fine — i’m happy with that.

possibly some greater importance placed on xiao’s mask, too?

on a thematic note, possibly incorporate some overall message of the impermanence of (even immortal) life, and the importance of little, lasting moments which are some of the things people remember most vividly — xiao and aphros’ whole relationship is essentially built from such ‘little moments’, so that’s a nice way to explore the message.

okay. i’m done, for now. to anybody who reads this whole thing… thank you. you are very kind and patient for listening to me ramble insufferably about aphros.

somebody please ask me about what i plan to do with the tdaasof rewrite before i implode

[wickedpact]

A ranking of all the TTT stories in order of how much I liked them.

(Oh god this is so long)

1 My Mother's Axe

BABY ANDYYYYYYYYYYYY. Honestly this one had the trifecta of developing a character's motivations, developing a character's backstory, & developing their personality. The story starting out with Andy teaching Nile to use the axe was so charming and fun, and you could feel that chemistry they had in Opening Fire, the way they teased and bickered with each other so naturally. I loved the wedge between them on the subject of the axe, how Nile was perhaps a little too young to understand Andy's feelings about whether or not its the 'same' axe. I also love how the axe is obviously the symbol of the franchise and hugely important, but you never get a sense of exactly how important it is to Andy until you read the story.

I love the entire Ship of Theseus theme, and how it feels so natural that for Andy she has to get attached to the idea of things rather than the things themselves because she'll always outlive the things themselves-- the axe is symbolically her mom's axe, even if physically it isn't. And I love how she clearly clings to that concept so tightly. "This is the labrys she held in her hands...." IT GETS ME.

And the fact that this sense of BELONGING, of FAMILY, of CULTURE is so important to Andy that she clings to it (figuratively and literally) with both hands. And of course it's important to her, she spent so long alone that the woman doesn't even remember her birth name. That axe (or the idea of that axe) is all she has left of her mother and that family/culture she was born into.

PLUS on that note I love how Andy doesn't remember if her mom was her actual biological mother, but it doesn't matter to her. This woman was her mother in all the ways that counted. And how her mom BETRAYED AND KILLED Andy but Andy loved her so much that she avenged her and carried her axe for thousands of years. THOUSANDS OF YEARS!!!!!!

I also loved how the story transcends the timeline of the whole franchise and seeing Andy through the years. Loved seeing her with the varying squads and with varying axes. Also baby Andy was so cute. It was cool seeing her so young. like holy fuck. Andromache The Scythian, Immortal Warrior (but smol). Love that.

Also I think this one is one of the few ttt stories that doesn't suffer from length problems.

tldr: goddammit greg you've done it again.

2 Zanzibar and Other Harbors

Zanzibar my beloved. I've said before, but it's downright comedic how little regard there was for Joe and Nicky's character designs in this story. The same person who does the colors for the regular comic did the colors for this one too, and you can tell, every panel of this story was Beautiful.

Ik there was A Lot of criticism of this one (lmao @ how the fandom had no idea what was to come) but I thought a lot of The Discourse was a bit dramatic. I did think Nicky came off as a little oblivious to Joe's feelings in this story, but I've said before, I honestly think that was a 'tone not translating' thing. It felt like Nicky was nagging Joe for [checks notes] saving innocent people, but Joe was so amused by Nicky's complaints I really do think it was supposed to come off as teasing.

Plus I know the 'Joe running off into danger and Nicky reluctantly following' dynamic wasn't popular (I'm a pretty meh on it meself) but I did love how Joe's impulsiveness (if you want to call it that) was interpreted as heroism and not hot-hotheadedness. All of the examples Nicky and Joe talked about included Joe explicitly saving people. (and it also took A Lot for the nazi to actually provoke Joe).

I also feel like their characterization here was closest to the movie canon-- the bit where they hear the woman scream and Joe goes running in to save her while Nicky swoops in on Joe's heels to comfort her while Joe and the nazi were fighting reminds me of the train car scene. Joe had suggested First that they go find Nile because she needed to be protected, and Nicky later added that Nile probably also needed emotional support. Similar reactions.

But it was So Good, the themes of queer community and the enduring nature of queer culture are Not themes you see in media that often and it was such a delight how it was done. Also it's one of the few more modern TTT stories that has a completely valid excuse for taking place when it did. Chef's kiss.

3 Passchendaele

I love the Duality between seeing baby Andy and then seeing Mama Andy in the very next issue. This story doesn't have a ton of meat to it, but the entire concept of Andy adopting a war orphan straight off the battlefield PLUCKS MY TENDER LITTLE HEARTSTRINGS, and I think it's especially poignant for comic!Andy. I think most people wouldn't think twice about movie!Andy doing something like that but comic Andy is so hardened and almost cruel sometimes, and seeing that even for her the world hasn't beaten all of the compassion from her yet is SO!!!!!!! this woman contains MULTITUDES okay, she's violent and angry and tired and Done but she's also so kind and compassionate and THE STRENGTH OF HER!!!!! Also the idea of her and Yitzhak co-raising a kid together is so damn cute. It was #mysterious pre-Yitzhak-story but now it's cute. holy fuck. It's cute.

& the headbonk panel of her and Zeus lives in my heart. anyways.

4 Many Happy Returns

I Know people weren't thrilled about Booker being in this one, but I've developed a pet-peeve about that: this story was *not* booker-centric. Booker only exists in this story to the extent required to explain the importance of the gesture Nile makes towards him. If there was a story about Booker making some grand gesture of kindness to Nile no one would be saying it was Nile-centric. bc it wouldn't be! Booker exists in this story to explore Nile's kindness, its not about him. I saw that a couple times and it bothered me. anyways.

AAAAAAAAAA I loved this one, the art was beautiful, I loved how Andy Nile and Booker were drawn (like their comic selves but.. more looking like actual people). I loved Andy and Nile's Bants, how Andy wanted to jump right in and Do Violence but Nile was basically telling her to hold her horses.

I feel like I'm just repeating the post I made on this story a few days ago, but I LOVED how Nile's plan revolves not around violence or Cool Mercenary Skills but on Nile's own life skills (as she canonly did a lot of minimum wage job-hopping before the marines in comics canon). Her plan used her skills, not the skills of an immortal warrior, and HER SKILLS were in fact more useful for the situation! lov to see Nile's resourcefulness and planning skills.

AND HOW NILE WAS PROBABLY WATCHING BOOKER??? it's so Much bc 1.) nile knew booker A SINGLE DAY and yet he made such an impression on her emotionally that she had to keep an eye on him and 2.) she said in the movie she wanted Booker to get off free with an apology. Yes she's a member of the team but that doesn't mean she's necessarily going to follow orders like a good little soldier. I also love how she convinced Andy to go along with it. her HEART, her KINDNESS, her THOUGHTFULNESS, UGH.

5 The Bear

Honestly I have like no negative things to say about this one other than a.) character design issues which is less about the story itself and is more of a 'tog comic in general' criticism and b.) too short, but it was supposed to be a tease, so.

But I loved Yitzhak, I wasn't expecting to really like him at all but like I said in my other post, he tickled me. I love characters who are Kind™, especially if they have little reason to be so given their backgrounds. Chef's kiss. Lov him.

6 Bonsai Shokunin

I know this one was a little controversial bc of the outsider POV but whenever I see people upset about that they never point out that the Outsider Guy (the samurai) existed as a reflection on Noriko. His ideas are explained in the text to develop hers. The whole story follows how she gave mercy to a scared young man and in response he murdered Noriko, repeatedly! Who gave him the right to inflict such pain and suffering on the world? In his opinion, the lack of response from the gods was his permission. And for Noriko-- over and over again she dies and suffers because she gave mercy, which lines up with her ideas in FM about how it's their fate to rule mortals and if they don't align with that plan/fate/whatever then they suffer. It shows some background to those ideas and how they developed in her mind outside of Ocean Madness™. Additionally, his idea of 'the Gods have done nothing to strike me down so it's fine if I do these things' kind of explains how Noriko may justify her own morally corrupt actions-- she's died so many times and it's never stuck. Maybe if she did die any of those times, or while she was in the water, maybe that would've been a sign she was doing something right, or at least doing something normal. But she hasn't died. Fate isn't done with Noriko yet. And maybe there's a reason for that. In her mind, it's just not a very pleasant reason, is all.

There were things I was kind of meh about tho. I did kind of wish we saw something of Noriko and the team, or smth explaining the way she was before her dip in the pool-- personality, likes dislikes, etc. but it wasn't bad or anything. It was super vague tho, I had to read it a few times before I got what it was going for. Liked the art. Liked the bonsai metaphor. And of course I Respect the decision to use the 1300s (1200s? I don't remember off the top of my head) rather than using the last 200 years.

7 Strong Medicine

Honestly looking back, this one made me kind of sad because both this one and Bonsai Shokunin explored character's ideas on Fate and The Divine and how that intersects with immortality and I totally thought that theme would be continued, especially with Love Letters. But Then It Wasn't™.

Admittedly.... I had to re-read this one to remember most of it. I liked Booker's ideas on God, 'The conductor of the symphony just may not be very good at his trade' but the plot itself was kind of forgettable. Some fuckin cowboys try to kill a doctor (their second) because he couldn't save their sickly brother. Book tries to stop them, gets killed, and then comes back and kills them all before they get the doctor. Alright. I liked the artstyle because the characters were ugly in a similar way that leandro's are, but way more bearable.

I love the Irony of Booker concluding that there is no such thing as fate or destiny and nothing has meaning, AS HE UNKNOWINGLY SAVES MERRICK'S GRANDFATHER FROM BEING KILLED. Booker getting fucked over by life/god/destiny yet again. It also kind of explains about where the fuck hell Merrick's interest in immortal mercenaries even came from.

I originally had this one a lot higher and then I thought about it and moved it down like two spots.

8 Never Gets Old

I liked seeing Booker interact with his kid. And we got a name for the kid! Philippe was a little bitch though, he was a little obnoxious. I liked how Booker was so thrilled to experience a restaurant with his kid (and since we know he was there before, it can be assumed he went with all of his kids and yet he was so charmed each time). It fits with his line to Nicky in the moon landing story about how you don't appreciate beautiful things 'unless you have someone to share them with'. It was charming to see Booker interact with his kid, and to see him so happy. Also lmao @ Booker's big fat Ye Olde Crush on Andy.

However at the same time it was like.. of all the things to write about,,, I guess? Booker's Night Out...... alright. Especially since Book had so many stories.

I don't know, it was alright. The old man killing him really came out of nowhere, (but the 'Salut, asshole!' panel was funny tho).

9 How To Make a Ghost Town

I've hit a point where talking about these stories has gotten less fun. I liked this one but I felt like Achilles getting lynched was not really necessary for a story that was already tragic (a story that already involved Achilles doing a lot of suffering at the hand of bigots). When we first got the blurb for this story I thought it would be about Andy returning to the squad and making friends with Booker after losing Achilles and them butting heads on the idea of family and when to cut off ties. So a little bit of my underwhelmedness about this one might be just my expectations being different.

Honestly I was pretty interested in Andy and Achilles' relationship and I would've liked to see more of them-- like, what was their dynamic like? What did they love about each other?

But anyways Andy leaving and Achilles getting killed anyways feels so pointlessly tragic (which I suppose is the point..... I don't like tragedies) she left to save him and yet people killed him anyway. Meh.

I did love the bits about Andy wanting to have a domestic life (Andy and her multitudes again) and the little detail about how she buried her axe near the road but he buried his guns under his bed-- he was an escaped slave, he never had the luxury of assuredness like Andy did. It was a sad story.

10 Lacus Solitudinis

'You put this one above love letters crim??? how could you???' easy, lmao.

There was stuff in this one I liked. But to talk about stuff I didn't like: (I'll keep it brief, I know ragging on this story has been done time and time again)

UH, setting aside the 6 year cold shoulder between Joe and Nicky, I thought their chosen method of conflict resolution was... bad at best. Nicky's inability to talk about his feelings was also annoying, especially since the entire point of this story is a fight Joe and Nicky had, and yet we don't get both sides to the story, which is...... important? That fact is especially annoying bc in the absence of Nicky explaining his side of the story, it's absolutely a possible (and admittedly probably unintentional) interpretation of the text that we do get that Joe routinely resolves conflict between him and Nicky by simply cutting Nicky out of his life entirely until Nicky just. caves? Even if it takes years?

WHICH i could get into that interpretation and how fucked up i find it. but im not going to. out of restraint.

I don't know, I think there are a lot of interesting ways to go about this conflict but 'Nicky wants to kill a guy and Joe refuses to acknowledge his existence until he stops because he thinks Nicky is too much of a Good Boy to get his hands dirty like that' ('I wont watch as the world turns his (...) compassion into something ugly'. ) wasn't.. how I would've done it. (I mean you know Joe doesn't give a shit about what Nicky is doing in a moral way, because Joe doesn't even care or mention that Booker is killing those cops too. Joe only cares because he doesn't like the idea of Nicky changing in a way he finds undesirable.)

admittedly I've said before, I do like the emphasis Joe's reaction puts on Nicky's kindness. Joe has a complete inability to cope with Nicky simply Not Being Kind. It speaks to the steadiness of Nicky's compassion all those years. but still that fact doesn't make it the conflict feel worth it

hm. I said I would be brief and I wasn't.

oh well. basically I thought there was interesting conflict potential there but it wasn't done the way I would've liked, and the way it was done leaves a lot of disturbing (and again probably unintended) interpretations to lie.

What I did like? Andy and Joe having that pessimist/optimist dynamic. Joe nerding out about science. Andy not being impressed by The Achievements Of Man. I loved Booker needling at Nicky about his outdated slang and also trying to give him Older Brother advice practically in the same breath. I loved Booker giving The Worst relationship advice ever and Nicky being like 'I Will Not Do That, Ever, Thanks.' the family vibes were so good. The Joenicky vibes left a lot to be desired tho.

11 Love Letters

I talked about my problems with Nicky in this story (and Lacus Solitudinis). I don't know, the story isn't bad but I do hold a little bit of a grudge towards it because its very existence begs the existence of a solo Joe story and we didn't get one. If we never got this story, then we could happily count Lacus Solitudinis and Zanzibar as The Joenicky Stories™ and move on with our lives. sigh.

I remember when we first got the blurb for this story I was really curious about why Nicky specifically + the setting, and the answer kind of feels like 'the author had an idea for a story like this and saw ttt as a good enough place to utilize that idea'. Plus I was really underwhelmed by the Romantic Sentiment in the letter. If you look at it line-by-line, the majority of the letter is actually Nicky talking about how lonely and disturbed he is, rather than actual,, yknow,,, Romantic Sentiment. I mean, compare the van speech and this letter and this letter is just kind of meh in comparison. I liked nicky calling joe wise! and I liked the brief sun/moon metaphor! and otherwise it was eh. It didn't even have cute squad banter, which is why Lacus Solitudinis is above this one.

12 An Old Soul

Nun orgy. Nun orgy?????? Nun orgy.......

The whole story felt like a setup to have a nun orgy. Why did Booker have abs? Why did they do that to Andy's nose? ?????? the art was good at least.

nun orgy.