#my one thing that's Essential is: being the like 1 person on the planet out here at 4am getting a serotonin punch as im getting better at

[cosmerelists]

What Radiant Order Non-Stormlight Characters Would Belong To

As requested by anon. :)

If non-Stormlight Archive characters had the opportunity to bond spren, what orders would each of them belong to?

(I’m a Edgedancer, by the way, per the quiz!)

1. Vin: Windrunner

As pointed out by @itmakesssenseincontext (here), Vin literally thinks The Words that make someone a Windrunner, as she vows to only use her power to protect those unable to defend themselves. So. Like. If there had been an Honorspren around, she’d be a Windrunner already.

2. Steris: Elsecaller

The Elsecaller order is about self-improvement, and it attracts people who are quote "less flamboyant" and more serious, like scholars. Their spren are logicspren. I think this order would suit Steris very well!

3. Wayne: Edgedancer

This is per WOB! I mean, I do see it. Wayne’s power is essentially Super Empathy, as he can make himself understand other people’s perspective in order to pretend that he is one of them. Plus, he literally cannot forget the man he killed, creating elaborate and unhealthy rituals to remember him forever. I guess he does have healing powers too; I dunno if that’s part of the reasoning. Per Brandon, the other Edgedancers would find Wayne “strange,” but come on. Wayne & Lift would get on like a house on fire and would possibly literally cause that.

4. Sazed: Bondsmith

This is one of those that just felt right to me immediately, and then I just had to sit and try to figure out why. I think partly it's because Sazed literally bonded two very disparate Shards together into one, which feels very Bondsmith of him. But Sazed also cared a lot about connecting people and helping people understand other cultures, so there's that as well. I suppose the other one I could see for Sazed would be Edgedancer, given that he makes it his mission to save all otherwise forgotten religions. But I'm going Bondsmith as my number one choice.

5. Shai: Lightweaver

WOB has Shai as an Edgedancer, which I found shocking. I mean...the artistry? The literally becoming other people in order to be ready for various situations? The one last-ditch personality whose entire purpose is to craft an intricate lie to hide Shai from herself??? To me, Shai is a Lightweaver through and through. But per Brandon, Shai is an Edgedancer. So I guess it depends on who knows this character better. A random person who blogs or the literal author.

6. Wax: Skybreaker

As a lawman, basically. Plus, there's the whole conversation between Miles and Wax where Miles tries to convince Wax that if the law is unjust, you have a duty to oppose the law and Wax is like, "Nuh-uh shut up." (Since that so mirrors Kal and Moash, I can understand teh Wax as Windrunner argument, but we can't have ALL the protagonists be Windrunners!)

7. Marasi: Truthwatcher

This is almost certainly just me--I so strongly headcanon Marasi as an investigative reporter that I can't even remember the truth anymore. Ironic, I guess, given the subject of this entry... If I wanted to try to justify this, I guess I'd say Marasi does have a canonical interest in discovering the truth...but yeah, I don't expect many to agree with this one!

8. Rashek: Skybreaker

Had to include this one, as it's a WOB. Not a very good one, per Sanderson, but a Skybreaker nonetheless. Let's all imagine Nale having to deal with Rashek, shall we?

9. Vivenna: Stoneward

Vivinna does feel very Windrunner to me, given her bro chemistry with Kaladin. But the Stonewards are about being where they're needed, about being dependable and good team players, about making the best of a bad situation. I think of Vivenna showing up on a whole new planet, seeing a city without leadership, and being like, "Sure, I'll take over the city guard and forge a team of incredibly loyal guards until it's time for me to move on and go to the next place I'm needed."

10. Ranette: Dustbringer

Mostly because of the tinkerer angle--dustbringers are interested in knowing how things work, plus their power is inherently destructive and so requires careful control. And Ranette, you know, makes guns 'n' stuff.

11. Bleeder: Willshaper

The Willshapers are about freedom--for themselves, and for others. They want to free those who have been unjustly imprisoned. And oh man. What Bleeder wanted was to free herself and others from Harmony's influence, from the way he could literally take her and others over. So she wanted freedom for everyone and would do anything to obtain it.

12. Kelsier: Edgedancer, Dustbringer, or Willshaper

Sorry to end on a WOB, but I'm fascinated that Sanderson can see so many possibilities for Kelsier. An Edgedancer in his desire to change the world back into a green paradise for Mare. A Dustbringer or Willshaper for self-mastery and determination. Honestly, I'm most fascinated by Willshaper, due to the comment that they believe any law is a form of oppression. That extreme form of freedom really feels like it suits Kelsier, to me.

[p-receh]

AMAZING EPISODE EPISODNYA BEST BANGET DKJDOFJOFJFODNKFKFKFI

I am not ok, BELIUNGGGGGG

What was your fav part? Mine? ALL OF IT

3 things.

1. ALL SEVEN ELEMENTALS BEIBEEEEEEEEH!!!!!

Not one by one like the comic counterpart, but literally Boboiboy used a freaking Hepta Split!

Tbh my expectations were low cause I was skeptical that Monsta not want to bring them after that last ep (link). But HOLY SHIT WTF???!!!!

I am absolutely jumping in my seat like a football supporter, I can't--

They got short screen time--I DON'T CARE. They still got a chance to team up once again after a whole 8 years since the first movie! Besides, that movie also shortened their screen time.

Whoever decided to make Oboi's armor resemble an ant needs a raise. That's freaking clever.

Btw it seemed their hats were locked with Oboi's position. Also, Hali, and Duri were the only elements that used their sword? Interesting...

"Kembali Beraksi" rearrangge version in the background during the whole scene?? Yes please!!!

Even though it is just short, their portrayal somehow solidified my deduction about the elementals.

Anywho I am still in tears that they finally showed up on screen again. That is my personal wishlist ever since when they announced the show. I am already satisfied with that alone tbh (like really, why should Monsta need to cut that part where they were essentially the big part of the promotion during the Windara comic arc??)

2. Finally Monsta went bold.

Oh, I looooooove that moment. Monsta started to not hold back and I am captivated by every single one of it. The dying scene was well executed, all voice actors were perfect, and this scene reminds me of this.

In my opinion, this scene was also a test for their next project which honestly more dark and horror(the most horror arc throughout the galaxy series for me)

3. IT IS TIME FOR BELIUUUUUNG!!!!

Can I say Nurfathiah Diaz as Beliung here was downright phenomenal? Like holy shit, this is by far her best performance imo, yet.

Her voice acting was blown me away and I could see her improvement from Taufan's first debut to Beliung's was....I'm-I'm lost for words right now.

Look at this line delivery! (Her laugh felt diabolical and I love it.)

"Tuanku yang seksa penduduk planet ni, paksa orang tua dan budak-budak kerja di lombong, tapi saye yang biadab?!"

Edit: Turns out she was pregnant when recording Beliung??

My Respect to her went rocket. Wow.

As a person who watch her performance since the very first season of Upin&Ipin until Boboiboy... I couldn't be more proud :')

And the animation team seriously packed the action right to the tea! Reramos was absolutely blasted the whole way by Beliung. He's as ruthless as Taufan's OG era!

See? See??? Being patient is worth it guys. Therefore I was easily enjoyed the design choice of Beliung's TV ver without seeing leaks.

Taufan's upgraded board also acted as weapons and wings? Genius. And also directly parallel to the first fight with Maripos. He even said this:

The way Beliung flies on his board almost looks like this.

Now I am 100% ready for other 3rd tier designs if this is what Monsta decides to continue on.

(oh I will draw this with the cyber Sonic for sure.)

To end this, Monsta decided to some sort of "invite" Oboi and Kuputeri into a small dark room, purposely to give a more in-depth conversation between the two, linked by Kuputeri's telepath power.

In my opinion, I prefer this strategy rather than the comic counterpart. Cause in a way, Monsta wants to show the bond between Kuputeri and Oboi as same as how Tok Kasa did with him in movie 2. Symbolize by placing the hat as they entrusted their power to the very same boy.

It might be exaggerating but that jumbled corrupted effect when Beliung's struggled? Impressive. Even more impressive that Monsta knowingly used the same effect when "finally" showcasing Beliung's card.

Speaking of ads, now they released the merchandise after the debut.

Talk about self-aware :/

Everything's not perfect and I do have slight issues, but honestly? I'm pretty satisfied with this episode! They ended it nicely done!

Lastly—

Are they not use DWIFUSION as their next title? If so, Gentar arc and Baraju arc are separated! Thank god! My biggest worry apparently will not come true! Alhamdulillah!!

PS: Oh wow, would you look at those numbers! 2 million within 3 hours when I screenshot this. What an impressive improvements.

[bladekindeyewear]

HS^2 bloggin’ mainline 2024-08-01 continued #1

(Previous post - current page 409)

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What the fuck, are those the trees from the new planet? Is Terezi dreaming or high?

HER HONORABLE TEREZI: P3RM1SS1ON GR4NT3D, PROC33D

No comment I can make other than how fun this already is.

Legislacerator: Proceed.

TEREZI: TH3 N1GHT OF TH3 CR1M3, YOU W3R3 1N MY C4V3 W3R3 YOU NOT?

Huh?

Accused: Dodge the question.

I saw the mustache before, but with this whinging expression... why does she look like she's trying to look like Jake? I mean she's a Mind player, so façades, but then using OTHERS' unique characteristics is a Heart thing-- no I should stop reading too much into this yet.

HHT: Grow tired of these SH3N4N1G4NS.

HER HONORABLE TEREZI: 4NSW3R TH3 QU3ST1ON!

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TEREZI THE ACCUSED: SO WH4T 1F 1 W4S? 1 H4D 3V3RY R1GHT TO B3 TH3R3

Well, yeah. Right?

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OH YOU GOOFY FUCKING GOOBER SO THAT'S WHAT'S GOING ON

I have always loved Terezi so much you folks, you have no goddamn idea, I am SO loving her being done with her Act 6 slump and back in peak Terezi form

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TEREZI: ON3 COULD H4RDLY BL4M3 YOU 1F YOU W3R3 F33L1NG 4 L1TTL3 P3CK1SH, 4 SM1DG3 F4M1SH3D, JUST 4 T1NY B1T R4V3NOUS

She ate another weird thing, sure-- why does she care enough this time to put on a play for herself about it?

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TEREZI: HOW HUNGRY WOULD YOU S4Y YOU W3R3? TEREZI THE ACCUSED: 1 DON'T KNOW, PR3TTY HUNGR- TEREZI: HUNGRY 3NOUGH...

Legislacerator: ACCUSE.

TEREZI: TO 34T 4 HORS3?

what the fuck is even going on here

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TH1S 1S STUP1D. L3T'S TRY SOM3TH1NG 3LS3.

Hahahahahahaha :D

Damn she looks really disappointed though, those natural troll bags under her eyes really overemphasize the sadness.

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omfg she's going noir the stupidity is INCREASING

TEREZI: TH3 D3LTR1TUS N1GHTS 4R3 4N UNFORG1V1NG M1STR3SS TEREZI: 4ND TH3 D4YS 4R3N'T MUCH B3TT3R TEREZI: W1TH 4NY LUCK YOU'D F1ND YOURS3LF ON TH3 BLUNT 3ND OF 4 SH4RP C4N3 TEREZI: BUT L4DY LUCK H4S L3FT TH3 BU1LD1NG 4FT3R RUNN1NG UP 4 T4B SH3 COULDN'T P4Y

They're really having fun with this aren't they, I love that

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TEREZI: 4ND BROTH3R,

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noiry coin flip sn4tch

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TEREZI: 1'M H3R3 TO COLL3CT

Hehehehe

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Aw fuck, wait, she's doing a running diary for her friends and/or Vriska of what's been going on. That's sad. :( (And slipping in meta commentary appreciated, don't think I didn't notice.)

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TEREZI: 1 KNOW HOW 1T LOOKS TEREZI: YOU'D B3 4 L1TTL3 ST1R CR4ZY TOO 1F TH3 ONLY P3OPL3 4ROUND W3R3 TH3 TWO MOST 1NSUFF3R4BL3 P3OPL3 1N TH3 UN1V3RS3 TEREZI: 1 THOUGHT 1 WAS H4VING FUN 4T F1RST TEREZI: 1T W4S K1ND OF 1NT3R3ST1NG B31NG 4 P4RT OF SOM3TH1NG B1GG3R TH4N MYS3LF

Yeah, she ran away from everyone and everything just to try and get a change of pace for endlessly hoping for a life together with Vriska, or to get away from everyone else's weird troubles, or to run away from herself even further. But that rarely gets you anywhere constructive, and she chose some batshit crazy bedfellows in Dirk and his creepily-incestuously-hypnotized ecto-daughter.

TEREZI: OR M4YBE TH4T'S SOM3TH1NG 1 S41D TO D1STR4CT MYS3LF FROM WH4T 1 H4D TO DO TEREZI: WH1CH 1S ST1LL UNCL34R TO M3 4T TH1S PO1NT TEREZI: SOM3 S33R I TURN3D OUT TO B3 TEREZI: 1 CAN T3LL WH4T I N33D TO B3 DO1NG, BUT NOT 3X4CTLY WH3R3 1T'S L34D1NG

Wait, this is implying that she really DID have a purpose here, somewhere. That there's something her Seer of Mind senses told her that she had to be here to get accomplished for some broader purpose she can't exactly put her finger on, much like a Seer of Light might.

And honestly, that tracks! Especially given she's a Seer of MIND, and possibly one of the only ones around who's still under Dirk's storywriting sway who might be able to subtly break Rose out from under the forced-reassurance hypnosis Dirk keeps using his storywriting, Prince of Heart powers to suppress her doubts and personality with, forcing Rose to essentially overembrace her role in guiding creation instead of balancing it with morality or love for her friends, convincing her that this is all important enough to ignore all of those things... On some level Terezi knows that's happening, so why IS she here? To wait for the right moment to strike? Or is she here because Dirk is manipulating her through the narrative into THINKING she has to be here in order to fulfill some later purpose that HE has in mind...?

TEREZI: 1 US3D TO LOV3 1NV3ST1G4T1NG TH1S SORT OF TH1NG, N4V1G4TING TH3 L1M1T4T1ONS OF MY POW3RS TEREZI: NOT TH4T 1T 1SN'T FUN 4NYMOR3, 1 JUST... TEREZI: 1 JUST TH1NK 1'M 1N 4 RUT

Yes, we know you're in a rut... but investigating WHAT with your powers?

Whose mind(s) are you trying to figure out? Which future consequences of decisions are you attempting to anticipate??

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TEREZI: 1'M SUPPOS3D TO B3 4N 1MP4RT14L JUDG3 FOR TH1S 1NS4N3LY UN3TH1C4L CONT3ST OF TH31RS TEREZI: 4 ROL3 1 PROB4BLY WOULD H4V3 B33N STOK3D 4BOUT B3FOR3 3V3RYTH1NG W3NT WRONG TEREZI: M4YB3 WRONG 1SN'T TH3 R1GHT WORD TEREZI: 3V3RYTH1NG H4S JUST SP1R4L3D COMPL3T3LY OUT OF CONTROL! TH3Y W4NT TO P1T TH31R SP3C13S 4G41NST 34CH OTH3R 1N 4 N3W S3SS1ON OF SGRUB TEREZI: OR SBURB, WH4T3V3R TEREZI: ...

You never had a hope of controlling, judging or moderating them in the first place. Because from the very start, Dirk has been unyielding in refusing to RELINQUISH control, in refusing to allow anyone to doubt his plans or things not to go his way. Didn't Andrew (or Terezi or someone) point out in a conversation with Dirk that he had hoped Rose would serve as a moderating influence to his natural destructiveness, but BECAUSE he was using that same destructiveness to manipulate Rose and smooth out all her doubts and apprehensions, making her completely okay with playing God here without questioning the ethics of their actions, SHE'S the one going even more out of control than him? There's no way that he'd let Terezi interfere with his overall goal either... that goal is controlling HIM, rather than the other way around. As Ultimate Dirk, Dirk has YOKED himself to his worst nature, and any doubts he has as an individual are being overridden by his broader consciousness's insistence on being important and doing the most important things. On being a Storywriter and a Prince of Heart, even when it hurts people.

Also, pitting their species against each other serves very well as a way for them to have started/created the contest of Sburb and the original shape of the game in the first place, as I've said before, creating the originating session that formed the propagation method that seeded all of Paradox Space--

G'LUYRB, OF PORTENTS MOST GRIM: glurb

--Oh, well here we go. Rose's "species" is just the origin of the fucking Horrorterrors isn't it. Is Dirk going to make the Carapacians? I'm getting ahead of myself, let's have a look at the little guy Rose gave this cute Gl'bgolyb-like nickname.

Aw fuck I just saw the Vriska-x-Terezi childhood kismesis photo background on Terezi's phone before I clicked the next link, that's depressing.

==>

YUUUUUP. ROSE LALONDE IS STRAIGHT UP MAKING THE FIRST HORRORTERRORS that will eventually become the REST of the Horrorterrors.

Woohoo! The seed session of all Sburb sessions that ever existed in Paradox Space is almost off to the races!

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Terezi doesn't seem to think she's done a good job of keeping these two crazy assholes under control. XD

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K1CK!

TEREZI: D1SGUST1NG!!

Hehehehe

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TEREZI: 4HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH TEREZI: 1 H4V3 H4D 1T W1TH 4LL TH3S3 WR3TCH3D L1TTL3 CR34TUR3S TEREZI: L4LOND3 JUST L34V3S TH3M WH3R3V3R WH3N SH3'S DON3 W1TH TH3M TEREZI: YOU WOULD NOT B3L13V3 TH3 NONS3NS3 1 H4V3 TO 3NDUR3 ON TH3 D41LY! TEREZI: 1 US3D TO LOV3 NONS3NS3! TEREZI: 1 US3D TO LOV3-

Yeah this is nonsense with serious potential consequences beyond even the level YOU'RE used to. And when you enjoyed this sort of thing more it was before you'd understood consequences better and developed a better conscience from the lessons you learned around the end of Act 5.

Oh, Dirk is bypassing her ignoring his pesterchum messages with a narrative link override, makes ominous enough sense (and/or he's using the Command Console from the ship to command-talk to her since she's good at parsing that) :

I'm going to need to interrupt you for a moment.

TT: You're laying in the dirt again. After all that time we spent alchemizing all of those fun little costumes for you.

The idea that they're spending some of their free time alchemizing Terezi some roleplaying outfits is a little cute.

TT: Looks like you aren't answering me, which I'm fine with. TT: This is only a formality. TT: I'm gonna send you the finalized version of my species. As the impartial judge, it's only fair that you're afforded a preview of the winning team. TT: I could easily forgo the permission settings of your device but as a token of good faith I've decided not to.

Dirk Strider dipping in to his Doc Scratch offshoot personality's mannerisms more than ever, lately, which only makes sense.

-- timaeusTestified [TT] sent a file SATYR_final2.bro -- GC: WH4T THE FUCK 1S 4 DOT BRO F1L3

Ooh, a Satyr race, that sounds like it's going to be fitting for him (and has hooves). But that also doesn't fit the pattern (YET) of the origin of all Sburb sessions like I theorized... we just heard about Rose "leaving her junk everywhere" when creating all that experimental life, so is it possible that the Horrorterrors weren't born from her chosen race for this contest, whatever it ends up being, but rather from the FAILED experiments she left everywhere that ended up making their way out from the session into the Furthest Ring and multiplying?? :O

TT: I've already installed the appropriate observation app onto your device to save us both some time. I've also set you up with admin access to the session's terminal. You're welcome for that, by the way. GC: 1 S33 TT: Do you?

Pff, more blind jokes.

Alright I ought to have lunch now, but I should at least try to get to the end of the pages that were released on 10/08/23 before the end of the day before I leave things for another day to pace myself, so expect another post later today. We're leaving my first glimpse at Dirk's new Satyr race until after I've had lunch and a break, then!

[paikothecateater]

lmao I love the fact that despite them having just been at denmark fighting all the time, Iceland still chooses to stay with norway, even though he can go home (back to Iceland) anytime he wants, just shows how much he loves Norway in you headcanon🤍

Iceland could technically live alone in Iceland, but there are so many reasons that won't happen.

1) there is no way Norway will allow anything like that to happen. Iceland is only 16. It's not like Norway doesn't trust him. Iceland did live alone for a while and his house was always pristine. The issue was that Iceland himself was doing a lot worse back when he lived alone. He generally had a lot less energy, he had zero social skills whatsoever. Norway made it a habit to visit Iceland a bunch as soon as both of them were free to do so. Iceland was very different back then than he is now. He barely spoke. It wasn't like he was too meek or shy. He just had no idea how to communicate to another living, breathing human. He didn't have resting bitch face. He had resting bitch everything. He essentially acted like a grumpy old man. That's all to say, Norway was incredibly worried that Iceland had forgotten him or worse that he no longer wanted anything to do with him. That obviously was the furthest thing from the truth. Iceland was sick with relief whenever Norway came to visit. He had missed Norway so much, and he was happiest when Norway was there. Norway essentially freaked himself out into yoinking Iceland and having him live in his house. Iceland didn't really protest (not that he really could.) and Iceland quickly started getting better. At first, he was pretty uneasy because he was really unfamiliar with everything, but Norway gave him space to explore his new environment at whichever pace he felt comfortable with.

2) on top of being the most socially inept person on the planet, Iceland had no clue what was going on with any of the other Nordics. Usually, Norway's visits were just a huge recap of a bunch of pretty major events, but Iceland never really retained much of it, and he hardly remembered Sweden and Finland at that point, so he didn't really care either. When he started living with Norway, the others got to see him a lot more, and he actually got close with Finland and Sweden. He was already close with Denmark, so that was an added plus.

3) contrary to popular belief, Iceland actually needs quite a bit of care and attention. The kid can't go a week without getting an injury either through his extreme sports or his general clumsiness. Someone needs to be there to 1) make sure he doesn't make whatever injury he got worse and 2) help him deal with it because Iceland refuses to admit when he's in pain and will just operate like nothing is wrong.

4) Iceland is literally a child. It doesn't matter that he's very well adjusted and can manage his own house just fine. He still needs guardianship.

5) they'd miz each other.

Yeah, in my AU, Norway and Iceland are literally inseparable. Yeah, they fight literally every second of their lives, but they also literally can't survive without each other for more than like five minutes. Even when Iceland has to go back to Iceland for work, they're on the phone literally all the time.

No one understands Iceland better than Norway and no one understands Norway better than Iceland.

I know a lot of my headcanons might make it seem like Iceland cares a lot more for Norway than vise-versa, but Norway would literally rip out his own heart if Iceland ever needed it. He is literally always there for Iceland if he needs anything at all even if they're in a fight.

They're literally the best brothers ever.

[eyesmadeofpearls]

#1 PINK/ROSE QUARTZ DEFENDER

she wasn't actually a terrible person!! literally nobody gets her it seems 👎 she only "bought" earth out because all of the other diamonds had their own planets and were the most respected out of the four of them. Pink being smaller in stature meant that she was often overlooked, and as we all know, even treated like a regular gem. They'd physically and verbally abuse her, with white calling all of the shots. After getting her own planet, she realized that she resonated more with the regular gems treatment and that "getting your own planet" involved much more than just owning one. She left spinel behind because she had to, there was LITERALLY a war going on. She also didn't hate spinel, its just that spinel was a constant reminder of how the diamonds really saw her - childish. She would get locked in her room, and because the diamonds were always busy, spinel was given to her to keep her company. It's like giving a 5 year old an ipad instead of bothering to play with them essentially. And she DIDNT EVEN CRACK PINK PEARL!! It makes no sense canonically. My personal theory? White diamond did it! Pink diamond/Rose has been know to be against any form of hurt, remember the whole bismuth thing?? Sorry but i just cant believe the same giant lady known for her "kill them with kindness"-esque bubbly personality would randomly attack anyone without a reason especially if volley ball is the only person she's supposedly ever cracked. And speaking of her personality, her pebbles were able to identify steven through basic manners and came out of hiding. And because pinks room is probably older than herself, it means she's the only one out of all four of them to have ever thanked the gems for their cooperation. Does that not say anything about who she is as a person at all?

As for the whole "tantrums" thing, it's pretty well known that abusers will call reactive abuse 'tantrums' to make themselves look victim. Pink pearl probably learnt that word from white diamond anyway. And besides, if she was acting so mature when she took on the rose quartz form, why wouldn't she have been just as mature as pink diamond too? It's not like when she was pink she was a young child, she's literally thousands of years old. I doubt she made decisions impulsively either because she was always held to high standards as a diamond!! Her ass would literally get beat for standing out of line. Your environment does in fact affect the way you grow up i fear 🤦‍♀️

And for the whole "leaving steven behind" thing she thought the war had ended, and that was her "retirement" plan if you will. I mean think about it, she's a pretty level-headed person and she absolutely LOVES her team! Why would she leave them behind? Garnet wouldve told her first and foremost if the war wasnt over yet and rose wouldn't have gone through with having steven. We know garnet cant predict the future, but her pattern recognition skills can do something similar to it, so everyone wouldve know. And i know she's not going to just leave the people she loves behind randomly without a reason because the only reason she bubbled bismuth was when she mentioned shattering gems. Pink knows how it feels to be apart of something you didnt even ask to be apart of. All of the gems followed the rest of the diamonds because thats what they were "made" to do, they had no idea it was wrong because they just knew that the diamonds were stronger and that mustve made them reliable which is why pink didnt want to resort to shattering. Look, if pink wanted to seriously hurt people, she wouldve done so!!! PS: I hate how people hate her and villainize her for lying about being rose quartz.. even in the show they have a go at her for it which caused garnet to unfuse.. She literally had to lie!! if she didn't, the diamonds would have locked her up again and then she'd never save earth in time and the crystal gems would never have become a thing. guys please think logically!!! it wasn't that serious. if anything doesn't it make it more interesting, surprising, grand, and telling that a literal diamond was so fed up from being not told about everything that was happening, the way the other diamonds belittled her, and how because she wasn't told that there was life on earth she had no idea she was killing it?! if it happened to you, you'd be devastated too for getting crossed by your own family, lets be serious!! garnet unfusing was so unbelievably non-canonish too.. why would their perspective change on rose so quickly? quartzes are still held to higher regards than rubies, and sapphires are even higher than quartzes so it makes no sense for them to be mad that a gem of higher status was happy they found themselves!? and its not like rose forced them to be together either, she expressed how she didn't care literally IN the meeting episode so i have no idea where they got the whole "we only got together because she said we should!!" nuh uh u did not!! >:( P.P.S I also ALSO dont like the part where amethysts all like "we shouldnt have to deal with her war" WDYM HER WAR??? you signed up to be a crystal gem because the people of earth would have literally died if not for them! why would you regret saving an entire species from being wiped out? and i understand that their friends were killed in the war yes, its sentimental, but newsflash: people die in war no matter what! they were really going to throw away THE crystal gems because of something they literally did in fact sign up for? if they genuinely dropped the crystal gems in that episode and broke apart, the bad diamonds would have never stopped their tyrannical ways.

[emilieautumnarchives]

Enchanted Living Interview

Original Link Last Accessed: 1/12/2025

Gather Ye Rosebuds Day with Pre-Raphaelite Sisters Emilie Autumn and Veronica Varlow By Carolyn Turgeon

Photography: Steve Parke Photography Assistant: Tedd Henn Location: Cloisters Castle in Baltimore, Maryland Hair: Nikki Verdecchia of NV Salon Collective MUA: Autumn Shae of NV Salon Collective Clothing: Edye Sanford; Bullseye Clothiers; Emily Kramer Designs; Angela Gavin from Milk & Ice Vintage; Trinket’s Costume and Sundry; personal items from Emilie Autumn, Veronica Varlow, and Kim Cross Instruments: loaned by John DuRant Box on cover: Sue Rawley

I wish all of you could have been there last summer in Baltimore, when I whisked BFFs Emilie Autumn and Veronica Varlow in all their glittering fabulousness from their hotel to NV Salon in the neighborhood of Hampden, where they got glammed up thoroughly enough to embody the spirits of Victorian supermodels Elizabeth Siddal and Jane Morris in our sumptuous cover shoot. As said glamming took place, Emilie gave us all the “trashy beauty parlor gossip,” as she calls it now, about Lizzie and Jane, “which is, I’m sure, what it was at the time they were living.” She told us about the “open affairs”—that is, the “loads of drug use, burned suicide notes, exhumed poetry (and wives), and glorified overactive thyroid glands.” What better way to spend an August morning?

Of course, Emilie knows plenty about these ladies and their time period, which fuels so much of her own art. And by her art I mean her writing, including her novel, The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls, and of course her virtuoso violin playing, and the subjects she chooses to sing about—she has released four studio albums, including Opheliac (2006) and Fight Like a Girl (2012), and her worldwide concert tours have featured handmade Victorian-influenced costumes and elaborate, over-the-top stage shows including a troupe of corseted dancing girls, of which Varlow was one of the main attractions.

The shoot took place at Baltimore’s Cloisters Castle, where we lugged pots of roses, racks of clothing culled from various designers and vintage dealers, a few historical instruments, and a stack of inspiration photos I’d printed out the night before. While Emilie wasn’t Lizzie in every shot, and Veronica wasn’t only Jane Morris, they channeled those two superpowers while we scrambled to do as many shots as possible within a few hours, racing up and down those spiral stairs with pomegranates and apples, silver mirrors, old books of poetry, and an endless supply of scarves and dresses slung over our arms. The result is on these pages.

Below, we talk to Emilie more about all the above.

Enchanted Living: Can you tell us about your relationship with the 19th century? Why does this period resonate with you so much? Emilie Autumn: I’ve always felt that the 1800s are around Elizabethan or even 18th century portraits and think, This can’t possibly have been real—it’s like a fantasy world, or an alternate universe. But we can see ourselves in the Victorians. Certainly the fact that photography came into being during that time doesn’t hurt. But I think we can relate to that time of incredible social and political upheaval, technological invention, and, of course, industrial revolution, because it hasn’t stopped—we’re still in it, racing forward, hurtling onward and wondering what is going to become of it all. Essentially, the Western world became recognizable as the one we now inhabit, complete with the daring idea that we didn’t just hatch on the planet 6,000 years ago as fully developed humans.

So, if you’re a lover of history and a seeker of your roots, the 19th century is where you go to find yourself. If you’re an out-of-the-closet Anglophile like me—I’m full-blown British in my mind—who sincerely doesn’t understand why cravats can’t be an everyday thing, then it is Victorian England specifically. It’s close enough to identify with but far enough away to fantasize about. And that, I think, is precisely why it’s such a great world to tell stories in.

In my novel that really started the association between myself and  the Victorian era, the protagonist manifests an alter ego that lives in the Victorian world as a way to process what is going on in her own reality—a sort of therapy through escapism, something I’ve done since I was a child but taken to a literally psychotic extreme. And finally, I should say that it’s a fun world to play in if you have a wicked sensibility because there is a very dark underbelly to the corsets-and-tea-parties culture, as the novel illustrates—London was filthy, diseases were rampant, and women were considered subhuman and treated accordingly. There is little to glamorize, but that won’t stop us from trying and enjoying every minute of it.

EL: Why is this period relevant today? What overlaps do you see? EA: I suppose all periods are relevant if there is something still to be learned from them, and I do think there is much to learn, particularly from the areas in which we have not progressed nearly as far as we should have. My iPhone camera is amazing, but we are still a global patriarchy.

EL: Can you talk about this shoot? What did it mean to you? EA: I was truly honored to be asked to represent these iconic paintings. I have loved each of these works since childhood and modeled myself after them to a conspicuous degree for most of my teens and into my twenties. Lizzie Siddal is the reason I originally dyed my blonde hair red at sixteen, parted it in the middle, and proceeded to grow it down to my knees. I don’t believe that anyone who might know of me now is aware of that, so it’s fun to say out loud! This shoot was more than a fantasy come true, it was also a return to a more innocent version of myself, before the corsets and striped stockings and asylums, even if just for a day. It was good to see her again, and I think that a bit of her came back home with me. I am very grateful to Enchanted Living for that.

EL: Do you relate to the women of the Pre-Raphaelite movement? EA: What is so wild is that when I developed my Pre-Raphaelite obsession as a child, I had no inkling of the truly astonishing stories of these very real women—the world’s first supermodels, some have said—and what their particular kind of beauty meant. I didn’t know that they were very largely ill, extremely poor, and, in Lizzie’s case, fatally depressed. Having learned so much more about Lizzie since, I feel an overwhelming compassion for her. An artist and poet herself, she suffered horribly from mental illness, and it was either ignored or misunderstood to the point where she ended her earthly life at thirty-two. As the subject of mental health is such a dominating theme of most of my music and writing, the connection would be impossible to ignore, and I definitely tried to commune with her the day of our shoot. Not all of the paintings I was a part of re-creating were originally modeled by Lizzie, but she is the one I was channeling.

EL: You’ve written about poetic figures like the Lady of Shalott and Ophelia. What do they mean to you? EA: Well, the funny thing is that, in my song “Shalott” as well as “The Art of Suicide,” which of course alludes to Ophelia, though not by name, I was writing about Arthurian and Shakespearian characters respectively but was referencing the Victorian painted versions of them in particular. When I was much younger, my passions were medieval history and Shakespeare, and those are actually what drew me to the  Pre-Raphaelites in the first place—these Victorian men were painting the women I already loved. Isn’t that bizarre? I hadn’t even really put that all together until just now. I think that I was always drawn to the tragic stories when I was young because they reflected my own melancholy and mental issues but with flowery language and better hair. I saw myself in these characters—they were my pain beautified, and they gave me a gift, inspiring me to intentionally beautify what adversities would come to me as the years went on and life was lived. That is what I still do—it is the basis of my whole career, and it is also the best advice I can share with anyone struggling with anything. Find a way to turn this into art of any kind, because then it is transformed and nothing is wasted.

EL: Can you describe your relationship with Veronica and how you two worked together on your stage show? EA: The first time I met Veronica, I ran into her arms. We shared a Kit Kat bar and had a mutual vision of our past life where we had been married. (She was my husband and I was burned in a theatre fire, but that is another interview.) Veevers has taught me so much on stage and off, saved my life a few times, and has been a massive part of the best experiences of my entire recorded memory: singing and dancing together for thousands and thousands of beautiful people all over the world. I don’t even know where to go from there. There is love and then there is love. When I learned that we would be working on this ere both powerful muses and in the same tiny artistic circle but not exactly friends—for those who don’t know, Jane always had a thing for Lizzie’s husband, Rossetti, and after Lizzie killed herself, Jane finally got her man—I had this idea: What if some universal consciousness energy engineered this opportunity for these women to reconcile and to even become friends, knowing that they really were all in the same boat, in a really screwed up era, being told how to look and what to do (Get in this freezing bathtub, Lizzie!) just to eat. What if Veronica and I could offer these poor girls a little of our sisterhood? I hope they felt it. And I hope they’re friends. I bet they are.

EL: What does sisterhood mean to you? EA: Everything.

EL: What inspires you? EA: Theater. Watching people do things live and making an audience cry and plotting all the wicked ways in which I could do it. Sondheim lyrics. Watching people dance and thinking of how I could transform that movement into a sound and what instrument would it be. Backstage at Phantom of the Opera on Broadway. Sequins. The squirrels in Central Park. Untold stories.

EL: How do you stay enchanted in your everyday life? EA: I do my very best to exist in the present moment, knowing that the present moment is all there is and all there will ever be. When you begin to grasp this truly, every moment becomes precious and valuable and has potential for magic, because you become very, very grateful. And when you become grateful for life, life becomes grateful for you. If you take in the truth that every moment you experience took 13.8 billion years to create, it’s almost impossible not to feel the magic in that. Also, I don’t go on social media unless I’m posting something positive and then I get right the hell off again, and I don’t use my cell phone as an excuse to not look around at the world I am actually in. Oh, and I promise myself to never fall into the trap of believing that what is on the news represents what is important in the world. It almost never does.

EL: Can you tell us what you’re working on now? EA: Yes! First, I’ve just gotten in the second printing of my oracle deck called The Asylum Oracle. It is a truly magical spiritual tool that I created to help people (and myself) connect with their own internal wisdom to gain truth and insight,  with an emphasis on healing and transformation. What I love most is that each of the fifty cards has a sort of meditation that goes with it, an invitation to really enter another world to bring back the wisdom you need in this one. The Oracle can be found at asylumemporium.com. And second, I am in New York developing the epic musical production of The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls. I’m in the midst of orchestrations, and I’m about to go write some oboe parts. The show will be glorious and terrifying and magical, and anyone who wants to follow along with the process and peek behind the scenes is invited to join me on Instagram, where I post loads of the music as it comes together and so much more! (@emilieautumnofficial) This musical is the culmination of everything I’ve done or created up to this point, and I am so excited to share it. It will also be a gift to all the Plague Rats and Inmates who have been with me for so many years and have known and loved the story of the Asylum and made it their own. This show is for them.

[davekat-sucks]

"OH my god, Anon! [Feferi]'s PETA!"

spot on on, because if meenah is more like caliborn, feferi is more like calliope. and thats how you get beforus, a nanny state planet that pretends to be an utopia. tumblr. speaking of which.

I'm cool with whatever people do in their spare time, you know, you do you. But what ticks me off is when they start acting all authoritarian with their headcanons, insisting they are canon and claiming others are clueless, ignorant, illiterate, tone-deaf, every internalized or externalized -ist and -phobic under the sun etc for not seeing it that way. Treating fictional characters with more decency than they do with real people essentially. So because I dont give a single iota of a fuck anymore, let me call out this retarded fandom that butterfly effected all western fandoms turning into warzones and hussies lazy hack ass really quick.

Here's the deal: Some people really just wanna show off how "woke" they are to others, so they slap labels like they're trendy accessories and project onto characters without giving a damn about their background or personality. That usually backfires and ends up with pretty darn terrible results. We all know this, we've heard the HS2 horror stories. And that's exactly what went down here again.

Because, lately, there's this, as I said let's call it headcanon, floating around insisting that the Vantases, Kankri in particular, are canonically aromantic asexual (aroace). The Vantases are the worst possible candidates in the whole webcomic for this. Why?

1: celibacy ≠ aroace. first one is not an orientation, but a choice to abstain from acting on attraction. and the other IS a orientation, not a choice, where you feel little to no romantic or sexual attraction. so much for respecting some people's identities and values. If the vantases HAVE to be assigned a human label despite being fucking aliens, why not demisexual???? kankri even asks karkat if he might be "panquadrantic demiromantic", doesnt that fit how the signless took time to open his heart to the disciple and had a love that went beyond all quadrants with her?

they are both HORNY and THIRSTY as hell for the pyropes, the captors, the leijons, john egbert, i dont fucking know, take your pick. make them fuck a clown. That's why Karkat is obsessed with romance and Kankri panders so hard, they are both that pathetically desperate for someone to connect and care for them back as obsessively intense as they are with everything.

3: Some previous anon pointed out how HIC, besides being an authoritarian tyrant that wanted galaxy-wide conquest, is an eugenicist fascist. Yes. She genocided limebloods. So did Beforan Feferi actually. And you know Karkat's handle? carcinogeneticist? How he inherited the Signless's burden? These things are all related, and let me use a comparison to explain how or why. Imposing this label onto them would be as perplexing as suggesting that Aang from THE LAST AIRBENDER, being a monk, should also be aroace. Right after all the airbenders were wiped out by firebenders, also authoritarian tyrants that wanted world conquest. Do you see the parallels? Karkat and Kankri have significant self-esteem issues, stemming from their mutant blood, from which bloodcaste they mutated from? Limebloods. The caste that has faced intense persecution, to the extent of genocide, on BOTH planets, resulting in their GENETIC LINEAGE being wiped out from the troll GENE POOL. Limebloods are EXTINCT. That's why their mutancy is their burden, it saved them from being killed, but condemned both to a lifetime of suffering and hiding under the same culling regime that killed their kin. And that's why the burden is the responsibility of revitalizing their bloodcaste BY PROCREATING. ADDING THEIR GENES TO THE TROLL GENE POOL. But because both Karkat and Kankri are fucking idiots with crippling self-esteem issues and Hussie wrote with his asscheeks, what did these two chucklefucks do instead? One praised the Empress that wanted to kill him and wanted to become her thresecutioner, and out of desperation did the devil's tango with the worst and most disgusting vile living being available, a hussie self-insert. And the other became fucking CELIBATE to focus on what was truly important to oppose the regime he disagreed with… performative bullshit that nobody asked him to care about, overcorrecting to the point of being even more offensive than the start, and not actually solving any problems but creating more. To make "progress as a civilization" with trigger warnings, HE DIDN'T PRESERVE THE FUTURE OF HIS OWN BLOODCASTE. NEITHER DID KARKAT WHO WAS TOO BUSY WATCHING MOVIES. And that was actually clever writing, because if you are a fandom activist who hates kankri, and also think hes unironically aroace because he's celibate, congratulations! You fell for the trap, youre exactly the kind of person Kankri is satirizing, he also missed the point by hyperfocusing on labels and hating himself, and like a self fulfilling prophecy, became the same thing that he was fighting against without realizing because he unwittingly ended up aiding troll eugenics by doing the hard work and taking himself out of the dating pool!

So next time you see a pretentious writer vagueposting about you or your interpretation of a character or guilt tripping you because you dont adhere to their offensive stereotypes, check if they headcanon Kankri as aroace, and if they do, you can simply smile and rest assured knowing that nothing you do will ever be as disconnected from reality or as far off the mark regarding character interpretation as that. Why would you listen to these evil people? Are you like Hussie?

That is truly why Davekat really fucking sucks and always fucking will,

Because not only did it ruin everything with their nonexistant chemistry-less relationship but because thanks to it and pandering to its stans, Sea Hitler won and both muties are out of the gene pool and limebloods remain extinct. That IS actually canon.

And while Johnkat and Jadekat are excellent, Karkat and Kankri's harem of trolls is better than davekat. Suck my dick.

PD: What's that? Baby HIC married Karkat? Doesn't surprise me. Grooming kids is her whole thing. There really was no excuse for not making Karkat fuck Sollux or Terezi instead.

Karkat and Kankri's Harem are better than Davekat. Meenah, Porrim, and Aranea sprites from @befriendus Damara sprite by @magua-vida

Condesce, Disciple, Redglare Neophyte, and the Dolorosa by elanor-pam

[twistedastrology]

- Saturn & Shores in Human Design -

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

im listening to headlock by imogen heap on repeat rn so im sorry if i miss words or anything bc im dyslexic and have adhd 😵‍💫 BUT i just had a fucking huge realization and i need to get it out immediately

so im a manifestor in human design right, my environment is also shores- my mom is a generator and her environment is also shores-

i did some vague research into shores a while ago and we both had trouble figuring out how it made sense for us- that is, until i just dove into it and it all clicked.

so shores isn't necessarily you're meant to be by a body of water, but it absolutely can be- shores as an environment in human design actually means you thrive in the spaces between.

common examples of these spaces include the porch of your house, it's inbetween your home and the outside world, allowing you a view of both at the same time. windows are a boundary between your home and the outside world as well, and also supply you a view.

the view is imperative here- you thrive in the spaces inbetween where you can see everything going on.

a personal example I can give for this, i always love standing in the hallway between my room and the kitchen- whenever there's commotion going on, I'll observe from the hallway because I'm out of the way and can see everything going on- i am quite literally standing in the space between my room and the kitchen.

i have a theory that people who are very observant have a strong connection to shores in one way or another- my mom and i are the kinds of people that barely let ANYTHING go unnoticed- most people mind their own business in a waiting room, me and my mom are watching everyone around us because we're just built like that.

the point of the shores environment is a Boundary, you thrive on the boundary line drawn between two spaces.

the planet of boundaries in astrology is Saturn- Saturn is NOT the planet of limitation or restriction in any way, like ive said 100000 times before, it's the planet that dissolves our ego.

except it doesn't dissolve our ego, it dissolves the LIMITS of our ego- Our ego is the storyteller of our life, and saturn wants us to dissolve its limits so we can live a fuller, more fulfilled life and learn even more in this lifetime.

regardless, saturn still represents boundaries and BALANCE, it wants us to balance all things in our life while maintaining growth.

environments in human design are also known as colors, and shores is the 6th color. Saturn is the 6th planet from the sun.

there's several incredibly important boundaries in life that people with the shores environment may feel more inclined to explore and tread along.

1. the boundary between our planet and space- if you're like me and you love nothing more than the stars in the sky and seeing any cool visible space events, that's a boundary.

2. the boundary between the ocean and land, and water as a whole. Bodies of water are like their own little pockets of life separate from ours, even light travels differently if you go deep enough (colors shift until it's pitch black and abyssal)

3. the boundary and balance between ego and soul, aka saturn's playground

4. the boundary between our reality and the spirit realm, aka the veil. The thinner this boundary gets around halloween, the more it moves from being like a porch-sized boundary, to being like a window.

saturn can be associated with just about any of these boundaries, since it in itself is a boundary- its rings are a constant balancing act, so if you also had a fascination with saturn, just as a planet or astrologically, you might have a shores environment.

i also read an article that said video games or books, i would say even music, qualify as part of these boundaries because they're essentially different realities- and that is FASCINATING to me because I've always LOVED music and video games- I get lost in games super easily too because i literally feel like im IN that reality-

i have a feeling that's why i get lost in any creative pursuit i do too- ive always considered all my edits to be tiny fragments of my soul because im literally building a mini-reality from the ground up and then whenever i go back to watch them, I remember the feeling i put in them as if i made them 3 minutes ago.

to make matters worse, i also have saturn in leo in my 1st house, and my 5th house is in scorpio with my jupiter in it 🫡

so if you're also a shores environment in human design or have a strong saturn placement, id be interested to know if you're as inclined to these boundaries im talking abt- I think the connection between saturn and shores is REALLY interesting and now i know why saturn seems to have so much power in my chart for no reason 🤔

[that-one-i-think]

MCD Scifi AU Game Quests! (Part 1)

Given how my scifi au is partially based on video games such as Mass Effect and Starbound (my beloved), I feel that it is only right to add quests and side quests. A way for me to write out the plot in a fun ways. (PLEASE LET ME KNOW YOUR OPINIONS AND IF YOU LIKE I'LL MAKE MORE!)

Main Quest - Molded to Perfection

The S.S. Phoenix Drop are now transporting top researchers of THE RED (otherwise known as the Shadow Knight infection) to what is believed to be its origin planet. Or, they thought they were escorting living researchers when in reality they are escorting the robot drones of Kenmur and Emmalyn, who are piloting them a galaxy away.

They have to protect these million of drones as they navigate the thick red mushroom jungle of planet NETH-35, also known as the Nether planet. This quest will feature the group killing mass amounts of Shadow Knights (The pitch black and blood red zombies) and mold chimeras (the hobbled together pieces of organisms) with few rests in ruins where it will reveal the history of the planet and the start of the infection. It will end with a boss fight of a SHADOW LORD aka a mega chimera. Classic alien boss battle.

Optional Side Quest - May Sparks Fly

After this quest, Kenmur and Emmalyn become semi permanent on the ship and their bots are now possible companions when needing to research. That being said, the crew finds out that they are rather smitten with each other and try to set up a virtual date between the two. it will also provide an exploration of Laurance's past as he and Kenmur grew up together.

Main Quest - Bionic Where Arth Thou

This is an overarching story plot that gets picked up throughout the story. Essentially, the S.S. Phoenix Drop is going to have constant back an forth between Zane and Garroth where Zane sends men to apprehend Garroth and is thus defeated. This will range from traps set by Zane under the pretense of delivery missions, false distress signals, and Zane's personal favorite, kidnapping random crew members.

In retaliation, the S.S. Pohenix Drop will also have plenty of missions involving breaking into various labs associatted with Shield Foundation (it will probably be renamed ngl) to halt Zanes plans of creating Shadow Husks (Zombie-Cyborg Mutants) and various acts of sabotage. This will have plenty of boss battles ranging from battles against Super Cyborg Husks, entire spaceships, members of Zanes special task force The Jury, and even Zane himself in super bionic suits and amped up holograms.

Mandatory Side Quest - Painful Jury Duty

The group receives a plea message coming from Jeffory the Golden Heart, a title he received due to his species golden blood. He requests the aid of Katelyn as his daughter has been kidnapped and he cannot help due to being under Zanes control. The team exports a rescue mission as we find out what its like to be under Zanes thumb from Katelyn. Who was literally mind controlled by Zane via cybernetic chips.

The team does manage to rescue Abby, only to find out that the entire thing is a trap laid by Zane and the Abby that they saved is actually a robot copy. Only to find out that Abby is safely somewhere else but Zane had broken down Jeffory and manipulated him into beliving his daughter is in danger and the only way to ensure her safety is to kill the S.S. Phoenix Drop crew and capture Garroth. Boss music plays and Katelyn manages to get through to Jeffory but its too late as the cybernetic corruption has destroyed his body and she has to mercy kill him through his golden heart. Well, mostly kill as he is revived and put into stasis.

Side Quest - The Golden Rules

After breaking a Zane lab and sifting through information, Zoey finds a way to heal Jeffory and reunite him with his daughter. The crew has to break into one of Zanes cloning labs and steal even more files and then restore one of his old labs (that they cleared out earlier) and use the available technology to heal Jeffory. He will be permanently missing his left arm and eye and no longer be able to have cybernetic implants due to the high increased chance of rejection, but he will be reunited with his daughter, Abby who thanks her Aunt Katelyn.

I needed to balance it out y'all.

[relatableblorbopoll]

Round 1 of preliminaries, group 5

The first two places get a place on the bracket

Little reminder: there will be 2 more rounds of preliminaries, the losing blorbos of this poll still have 2 chances of getting in the official bracket

Propaganda under the cut

Melissa Chase (Milo Murphy’s Law)

"Her self worth is entirely based on her grade point average and getting straight As. She can’t remember anything, ever (specific examples include forgetting her maths book regularly, her student pass for the subway, and how many days are in February). However, she CAN remember the blood type of every president. She is terrible at throwing She gets visually upset when she realises that a plan was changed last minute, and that an academic event she expected to do well in was combined with a sporting event, giving no time to prepare for the new event She freaks OUT when she thinks she’s going to disappoint her headteacher- she doesn’t seem to expect to be given any actual punishment, just that the headteacher will be disappointed and think that she’s irresponsible She has a whole conspiracy room in her house dedicated to researching her best friend’s medical condition- Murphy’s Law being an interest that she is clearly very passionate about and interested in. she does all of that and still can’t remember her maths book. relatable queen her ambition in life is to be a “journalist, and queen of the universe” "

Candace Flynn (Phineas and Ferb)

"A ball of stress and anxiety. She's always angry because nobody listens to her, cares about her feelings, or believes her about anything, which tbh is like the quintessential teenage girl experience. Secretly just wants her parents to recognise and appreciate her."

V-Flower (Vocaloid)

"they believe that people only care about them when they are in pain"

Ciaphas Cain (Warhammer 40k)

"Don't let the sharp jawline and the mutton-chops fool you: Ciaphas Cain has no idea what he's fucking doing and would very much like to not be here right now. He is a high-ranking Commissar, essentially a walking morale boost for Imperial Guard soldiers and one of the only symbols of hope in the grimdark Warhammer 40k universe. He also has no idea how he got the job or how to get the hell out. Commissar Cain spends all his time accidentally doing magnificent bastard things while trying to run away from danger and dying inside. Over the course of his books, he's named Hero of the Imperium, has a hot mommy inquisitor fall in love with him, and saves hundreds of planets per panic attack he has. His cowardice and impostor syndrome are second only to my own, and that's why he's just like me fr."

Percy Jackson (Percy Jackson series)

"he's got big no thoughts head empty energy! he loves his friends and girlfriends SO much (more most YA characters, i think; he would have no qualms about sacrificing the world to save the people he loves, which goes against the typical hero). he is almost always ready to fight a bitch. he has adhd and accidentally says things he shouldnt all the time (but this has made him good at problem-solving, bc he creates a LOT of problems for himself)"

MK (Lego Monkie Kid)

"Oooooh boy where do I begin. MK the Monkie Kid is the protagonist of the story but he has *so many issues*. He wants to be a good person but has a whole lot of impostor syndrome and is convinced he will only hurt people the more he tries to save them. He is convinced that every major villain in the show is his fault, even as far as misremembering/changing up some events to put blame onto himself He also has an absent mentor figure that was supposed to help him but guess what he had to figure out all his powers on his own so abandonment issues go brrrr. He has so much anger toward his mentor Wukong but he just *bottles it all up* (common theme) Also he is so trans and adhd coded. First, MK is a nickname. We don’t know his real name, but it is v much implied he used to go by something else. He and his friends also puts a lot of emphasis on manly stuff like ‘I’m a big boy!’/‘he’s a Monkie *Man*!!!’/‘im the smartie boy, the plan man!’ He also has trouble focusing and listening to other people, is sometimes blunt and he is VERY interested in Sun Wukong and the journey to the west (Chinese classical novel that the show is based on) and just in general always needs constant reassurance and support from his friends. He is often compartmentalizing his feelings and internalizes a lot of fear and blame is also suppressing a part of himself that scares him. (Which, same) He loves his friends so much and tries so hard to keep them all safe, even hiding his own problems and worries from them as an attempt to protect them. He wants to go back to season 1, back when each episode was a villain-of-the-week kinda story, with no world-destroying threats. But nope, he saw the horrors, and he can never go back to the bubbly Monkie Kid from the beginning. Also he is terrified of spiders :>"

[2treez]

ADVICE FROM OLD PEOPLE

1 The most important person in your life is the person who agreed to share their life with you. Treat them as such.

2 You might live a long life, or you might live a short one — who knows. But either way, trust me when I say that you’re going to wish you took better care of yourself in your youth.

3 Stuff is just stuff. Don’t hold onto material objects, hold onto time and experiences instead.

4 Jealousy destroys relationships. Trust your significant other, because who else are you supposed to trust?

5 People always say, “Make sure you get a job doing what you love!” But that isn’t the best advice. The right job is the job you love some days, can tolerate most days, and still pays the bills. Almost nobody has a job they love every day.

6 If you’re getting overwhelmed by life, just return to the immediate present moment and savour all that is beautiful and comforting. Take a deep breath, relax.

7 Years go by in the blink of an eye. Don’t marry young. Live your life. Go places. Do things. If you have the means or not. Pack a bag and go wherever you can afford to go. While you have no dependents, don’t buy stuff. Any stuff. See the world. Look through travel magazines and pick a spot. GO!

8 Don’t take life so seriously. Even if things seem dark and hopeless, try to laugh at how ridiculous life is.

9 A true friend will come running if you call them at 2am. Everyone else is just an acquaintance.

10 Children grow up way too fast. Make the most of the time you have with them.

11 Nobody ever dies wishing they had worked more. Work hard, but don’t prioritize work over family, friends, or even yourself.

12 Eat and exercise like you’re a diabetic heart patient with a stroke — so you never actually become one.

13. Maybe this one isn’t as profound as the others, but I think it’s important… Floss regularly, dental problems are awful.

14. Don’t take anyone else’s advice as gospel. You can ask for advice from someone you respect, then take your situation into consideration and make your own decision. Essentially, take your own advice is my advice…

15. The joints you damage today will get their revenge later. Even if you think they’ve recovered completely. TRUST ME!

16. We have one time on this earth. Don’t wake up and realize that you are 60 years old and haven’t done the things you dreamed about.

17. Appreciate the small things and to be present in the moment. What do I mean? Well, it seems today like younger people are all about immediate gratification. Instead, why not appreciate every small moment? We don’t get to stay on this crazy/wonderful planet forever and the greatest pleasure can be found in the most mundane of activities. Instead of sending a text, pick up the phone and call someone. Call your mother, have a conversation about nothing in particular. Those are the moments to hold onto.

18. Pay your bills and stay the hell out of debt. If I could have paid myself all the money I’ve paid out in interest over the years, I’d be retired already.

19. If you have a dream of being or doing something that seems impossible, try for it anyway. It will only become more impossible as you age and become responsible for other people.

And finally, the last piece of advice:

20. When you meet someone for the first time, stop and realize that you really know nothing about them. You see race, gender, age, clothes. Forget it all. You know nothing. Those biased assumptions that pop into your head because of the way your brain likes categories, are limiting your life, and other people’s lives.

🌳🫶🏼🌳

-CTTO

[bravernificationbeam]

I've never watched Supernatural so this ship ask game feels like a great opportunity to get you to explain Midam to me

LOLLLLL that makes 1 and 1/3 of us! (i've only seen s1-s10)

obviously i ship midam lol! so midam is like

adam milligan, rando nobody younger half brother of the winchester bros who's the result of a one night stand their dad had after their mom died. they don't know about him until a. he's like 19 b. after he and his mom have died actually (the first episode they 'appear' in, it's as the ghouls who have eaten them and taken on their appearances)

michael, oldest baddest bitch archangel. spn was originally supposed to be 5 seasons (and should have been imo!) and the culminating Thing of seasons 4 and 5 basically is that sam and dean are supposed to be vessels of the apocalypse, so that michael and lucifer can have their big rematch and destroy half the planet in the process probably. dean is meant to be michael's vessel and sam is meant to be lucifer's. dean and sam are like WTF???? NO???? the angels try to do everything in their power to get them to say yes and cas, angel who rescued dean from hell and has a crush on him, is caught in the middle of it all

one of the things the angels do in this whole thing is bring adam back from the dead so they can essentially use adam as a bargaining piece, since he comes from the same bloodline as sam and dean--sort of--and thereby could probably handle being michael's vessel

point a to point b is not that important but michael in his true form comes down and gets adam to say yes to being his vessel. meanwhile adam is staring at this BIBLICAL MONSTER like 😯 just a very genuine awe, in contrast to the winchester bros' terror, that we in the midam fandom like to say is his monsterfucker face LOL

so michael has adam be his vessel--close enough to dean, michael decides--to this big battle with lucifer, cas and dean manage to seal all four of them--michael, adam, lucifer, and sam (who's accepted being lucifer's vessel)--in 'the cage' in hell, where lucifer's been since he was cast out of heaven or whatever

we learn from sam who comes back that cage years are like 100x earth years.

GUESS WHO THE SHOW FORGOT ABT???? OOOOOPPPPPPPSSSSS.......

SO they bring these two characters, still sharing the same body, back in s15. 10 whole fucking years later, or 1000 cage years if we take sam's word for it. what's happened to them?

DEVOTION.

michael just sits there contentedly as adam gets diner food, is the FIRST person to bring adam up when tfw capture them, freely lets adam come and go to consciousness as he pleases, seems perfectly content to just let adam determine their life from now on, whateverrrr. and adam's perfectly happy like this! "it's not like i can go back to college, what with an archangel inside of me" said it before and i'll say it again. why did he. say it. like that.....

they commiserate over how much their families suck, michael says "you and I have been together for years, my father [god] and I have been together for eternity"--this little rando human becomes the most important thing in his life. 🥺 just through kindness. seeing each other as people. knowing each other inside and out.

godddddddd. it's choosing love. it's learning a gentle alternative. it's not forgiveness but an internal peace. it's "it didn't have to be you but I'm glad it was." it's "we only had each other" (LINE ADAM SAYS) !!!!!! it's making each other better people!!!! it's MAYBE THIS WORLD IS ANOTHER PLANET'S HELL. it's KESHA RAINBOW!!!!!!

[beesmygod]

JJBA PART 5, VENTO AUREO IS THE UNDERBAKED MESS I CAN'T STOP THINKING ABOUT FIXING...PART 2

FIX 1: MORE KOICHI FOR THE MASSES

koichi! we love koichi, don't we folks? i know i do.

who's koichi? oh shit, that might be hard to explain.

pictured: koichi, in his dormant, yet most powerful, form.

if you DON'T recognize this little gremlin above, his appeal might be totally lost on you, and his appeal is necessary to understand if i'm going to convince you of what a fucking missed opportunity his narrative purpose could have been.

that's koichi hirose, the short king of morioh. i didnt think i would like him at all after realizing he was being set up as the deuteragonist and companion to the titular jojo of part 4, josuke. like, who the fuck was this little dork? get outta here! im here to see the joestars kidnap children and have homoerotic adventures. i am not here to be subjected to the trials and tribulations of a friendless, spineless, standless dipshit. i assumed he was going to be the designated joestar hypeman for the chapter, a role usually carved out for precocious children.

wrong! koichi gets hit with the stand arrow (the arrow the gives you stands, remember this) early on and gets dragged into a frightening battle of good versus evil right in his own backyard. the arrow and the responsibility that comes with it acts as the main catalyst for his transformation from nottie to hottie. in contrast to the bastardly joestars and their ilk, koichi is a genuinely kind, empathetic, and honest person; he's intended as a foil to the mischievous josuke. he brings to the table the platonic ideal of an every-man who rises gallantly to the challenges thrown at him because its the right thing to do. the series folds koichi as a main cast member to the point where he is one of the very few people on planet earth to draw a smile and praise out of jotaro kujo.

who's jotaro kujo? uhhh.

hmm. i'm getting to my point. but it might require a chart:

POINT: jotaro kujo, the man who probably has with the strongest stand in universe, who appears in 4 chapters out of a total of 9, and who is probably one of the most recognizable and beloved characters in manga history, trusts literally one person on the entire planet: koichi hirose.

SO:

when koichi shows up in part 5 right from the jump to act as the part 4 connective tissue, there is absolutely no reason why he can't stick around for longer than he does canonically so that he can satisfyingly fulfill his role as official vibe checker. let him be important!

---

oh my god, i can hear jojo fans groaning as they scroll through all that shit. so what?! did you make me read all that just to say "there should have been more koichi?!"

look, i need to make sure "we're" all on the same page and understand the perspective i'm coming from. "we", in this case, being the audience of both jojo fans this is primarily aimed at and fandom rubberneckers (greetings friends) who shouldn't have to comb a wiki exhaustively to decode my unhinged ramblings. it's essential background info that koichi is a fan favorite both in canon and in fandom. we gotta understand the role he wound up playing in the overarching struggle of good versus evil in his hometown to understand his narrative role in part 5.

YES. there SHOULD have been more koichi! but not just because we like to see him! he provides an established, trusted moral backbone for the audience. his reputation as a reliable guy is such that jotaro sends him on his own to investigate a young man who may be related to the dreaded bisexual nemesis of the joestar bloodline, dio brando. this is a big fucking deal. if dio has a kid that's really bad. how many backup plans did this guy have (answer: dude you have no idea).

---

ugh! part 5 koichi! if you really want to scream look up how he looks in the rohan spin off series.

in ep 1 of the "golden wind", koichi arrives in italy looking for our new jojo, giorno giovanna (who sucks, but that's a whole kettle of fish we can only barely touch on now). koichi, who has the street sense of one of those dogs that gets carried around in a luxury purse, instantly gets robbed by petty street criminal giorno in a rare burst of personality never seen again after this initial story-line.

okay whatever. after skipping a few eps, giorno and koichi team up to defeat the first stand together after drawing its ire during giorno's weird mafia test. the stand, black sabbath, stabs its victims with a stand arrow (the arrow that gives stands), causing them to either die or gain powers. this might be controversial, but its my personal opinion that its probably not good for a mafia to have a factory that creates jerks with super powers and its right to try to shut that down. after the fight, giorno reveals his dream to koichi of joining the mafia with the explicit purpose of reforming it from within. koichi promises not to report to jotaro about the fact that there's ANOTHER STAND ARROW until after giorno is initiated into the gang. god. jesus christ.

first of all, this GANG-STAR thing is the silliest shit anyone has ever heard. this is literally his for real goal throughout the entire story-line. which could have been great! but people within the fiction should react to this like hes telling them he's going to invent the first bicycle for fish instead of looking at him with the kind of wonder and glory you reserve for jesus christ himself. this train of thought leads to too many thoughts about giorno's lack of personality, so let's set it aside for now. i think giorno should maintain this insane goal, but he should actively have to convince people that he is capable of doing something that fucking nuts.

second, no way would koichi agrees to this absolutely braindead truce lol. koichi doesn't know giorno from adam; the sense we're supposed to get is that koichi innately senses that he's a good guy from his little speech and we, the audience, are supposed to take his word for it. but there is nothing convincing or authentic in how the situation plays out. there's a level of naivety/stupidity applied to the characters involved for this situation to work at all: i dont know why telling jotaro in florida that there's a stand arrow in italy would impact giorno's mafia standing at all. especially considering the arrow breaks and no longer functions shortly after giorno's initiation. koichi should find giorno's dreams and desires spurious and continue his investigation for jotaro, both to impress him and because its the right thing to do. he should also be like "heh, i took care of a stand arrow for you mister kujo". let him have another win. fuck it. why not.

third, koichi doesn't know that the stand arrow is destroyed and i have a hard time believing that he, a victim of said arrow, would do anything other than raise serious alarms over the proliferation of objectively evil stand users in italy where dio's son coincidentally happens to live. the following arc in which giorno and his new team mates go on a hunt for a hidden treasure should have been a series of demonstrations to koichi that italy was being cleaned up by a joestar (as opposed to the danger of being exploited by a brando) and was ultimately in good hands. this would require giorno to get some wins in during this time so he would actually have to do something for a change.

keeping koichi around long past where he does in canon could and should have given giorno a chance to demonstrate a different form of heroism to contrast the pure-hearted pursuit of justice championed by koichi. in eventually winning over a familiar and trustworthy character, giorno would have proved himself to be more than just "dio's son", a fact which should have hung over this part like a dark cloud.

but that's. that's next time.

[kikiofthevast]

So on rewatching That Scene in Episode 6 something stood out to me because I was watching it while thinking about the Coffee Theory.

I don’t really subscribe to the Coffee Theory and I think it robs Aziraphale of a lot of his agency and complexity in this portion of the show.

I DO think the coffee is important however and it’s present mostly as a manipulation tactic.

A metaphor, if you will.

Similar to how there are no literal nightingales in Soho, the coffee is just a coffee.

However, the nightingales are a metaphor for Crowley and Aziraphale’s relationship. At the end of Season 1 they reach an understanding that leads to that dinner at the Ritz and therefore the nightingales sing. They love each other and they’ve never said it but they don’t have to because they’re operating on the understanding that they simply want to be together.

But that leads me to a follow-up point.

Crowley’s relationship with Hell and Aziraphale’s relationship with Heaven have always been different.

Crowley, being a fallen angel and not a very good demon, has resigned himself to the fact that Heaven and Hell both suck massively. Heaven is controlling and manipulative and Hell is just awful and cruel, so Crowley is pretty content to just present as human and hang out on Earth.

He’s attached to his flat, his plants, his car, and the planet he’s living on. He does concern himself with the affairs of humans sometimes though he mostly keeps to himself. He has seen the best and worst humanity has to offer and he’s just kinda vibing yk.

Aziraphale, however, does not have the lived experience that Crowley does to recognize Heaven’s manipulation. He can’t recognize it because he’s still entrenched in it. He knows that the Archangels aren’t the best at their jobs and that Heaven is a little bit of a mess but surely it can’t be that bad!

Hell is still evil in his eyes, and by extension, so is Crowley. Several people have put it more eloquently than I have but essentially Aziraphale thinks Crowley must want to be an angel again because he’s Good and only Angels can be Truly Good. Etc etc.

There are better posts about that element out there though.

What I’m here to Focus on is the coffee.

First of all the Metatron speaks to Nina about giving people a choice but them only choosing the one (coffee over death) because it seems obvious that they should pick it over the other. The alternative doesn’t even really occur to them.

cough Aziraphale’s choice

Secondly, he comes in and after sending the angels away he addresses Aziraphale directly. He ignores the fact that Crowley and Muriel are still in the room and claims that it’s “just us” which struck me as odd.

Though, if you consider that he likely holds a lot of disdain for Crowley and that he doesn’t really see Muriel as a person, it makes a bit more sense.

Nevertheless he confronts Aziraphale head-on, doesn’t give him a chance to speak to Crowley, and immediately offers him something human.

Like I said before, I believe that the coffee is a metaphor, in this case it’s the Metatron making an effort to seem like he’s putting himself on Aziraphale’s level. He’s convincing Aziraphale that they’re speaking as equals.

His line “I’ve consumed a few things in my time” feels like he’s trying to coax Aziraphale into believing that the Metatron is on his level, that he understands Aziraphale in a way that other angels can’t. This opens up Aziraphale to what the Metatron has to say, and it makes him more likely to agree to his proposal.

TLDR There’s nothing in the coffee other than the coffee, and it’s a manipulation tactic instead of a magic drug. The Metatron is putting him at ease before manipulating him into coming back to Heaven. That’s my unsolicited opinion on the matter.

Thanks for reading and see ya next time hopefully with a Gepard Landau character analysis

[pixies-and-poets]

peeks in

I feel a lil embarrassed coming here to dump these thoughts bc they're not related to one AU in particular but more a concept a friend and I came up with? and it's Woodrow related and you are kind of the ultimate Woodrow person /pos

I had the idea of all the wardens having gone through some kind of ceremony in the past for each of them when they began their wardenry. and bc I'm a sucker for this trope, I like to think that through some old magic they were each given one (1) special power in order to keep their planet safe, unique to each of them. Of course by the time we see them in SOH, their planets were still overrun bc Cursa was just too powerful.

But it got me thinking (of course) about what Woodrow's power could be. And my friend and I started thinking about things like controlling storms, shadows, stuff like that...

But me being me(tm) and loving monsters and characters transforming into monsters, I settled on: giant crow beast Woodrow.

This is sorta something I talked abt in a post of mine under different contexts but I LOVE the idea of Woodrow's name being short for Woodland Crow, referring to this monstrous form he can take when necessary. I imagine he's at least three times his height like this, winged and all, but still awkward and gangly, just even more unsettling.

I think it would be cool if he had storms somewhat under his command like this - somewhat because Woodrow being Woodrow, his luck would probably not always have it work out.

Also uhhh final thought is. I imagine him being even bigger than Phantom in this form so! for the first time ever Phantom gets cuddles from someone bigger than him :]

TDLR: Woodrow has a special warden power and it's turning into a giant storm crow

Aww that's very sweet of you!! I never think of myself as the ultimate anything, haha. I'm always happy to hear people's Woodrow ideas :3 I've said this before, but I love how he resonates with people. Not just me. I don't think I've ever seen the idea of an artist/writer who struggles with acceptance, both of themselves and their work (because for many of us those two are essentially the same thing), and yet KEEPS GOING despite all setbacks, portrayed in such a powerful way that is equally blunt and whimsical.

This is a super cool idea about the wardens. And for Allegra it happened in reverse: they KNEW she should be the warden/melodist becuase she could do the rituals on her own. I'd love to hear ideas you have about the other wardens!

Picturing him as a giant crow is so cool, and YES... he can bring Phantom under his wing... or sit on him like a big egg sadjfl;kaj. And yeah, maybe due to his bad luck, the transformation would not fully work sometimes, and he'd end up as some kind of rabbid harpy thing with talons and wings but the rest of his body being normal...

Y'know, it would be fun to imagine SoH characters as other animals than rabbi(d/t)s... Woodrow would be a crow, no doubt about it! I think Phantom could be a very fancy pampered cat or something, lol... but I'm going off on too many tangents now!!

Thank you for sharing your idea, I love it :D

[mdhwrites]

Are Belle and Wise Special? HSR vs ZZZ's Main Characters

TL:DR: I think people have had the buzzword of "Chosen One" and the like hammered into their brains so often that it's bad without anyone explaining that the trope itself isn't bad. It's the lazy expediting and simplification of the work that comes with lazy use of the trope that people actually have a problem with. In this regard... Belle and Wise are WAY worse than Stelle and Caelus ever were and are about as special as the people with literal god blessed bombs in their chests, just on a scale that is more appropriate for their setting.

This is kind of in response to someone telling me that they adored Belle and Wise for being normal people who ran a Blockbusters. That they weren't chosen ones, super special, etc. like that but is bluntly not true... But I also don't care. I think WAY too many people are aggro about chosen one tropes because they have been told it's a trope to hate on sight. The thing is that chosen ones aren't bad for being chosen, they're bad for being given preferential treatment by the narrative and its characters above and beyond what would be expected of a main character. These elements rob complexity and satisfying storytelling from the narrative and so cheapen all elements that require this effort to be enjoyable.

In this regard... No, Belle and Wise are WAY more treated like chosen ones than Stelle and Caelus are. I'm going to go by a couple metrics for trying to showcase this rather than try to start by describing one duo in its entirety before then going to the other. Here are the normal axis that I narrative preference is given:

1: Do characters show them kindness above and beyond what is earned?

2: Do they have powers and abilities that are above and beyond what is earned?

3: Are they given clout and access beyond what is earned?

A running theme of all three is essentially just the normal sorts of axis that any normal person has to be challenged on in normal society. Do you make proper connections with other people? Do you earn your talents? And do you earn access to spaces that normally only the privileged are allowed into?

1: Kindness

It's really telling that the second my brother heard Wise speak, he immediately went "I've heard this guy as like a half a dozen isekai protagonists." People flirt with Wise. It's one of Ellen's worst traits because this closed off girl IMMEDIATELY is into you and most of her trust events are about being into you.

Now admittedly, this is not entirely a character thing but part of ZZZ's tonal priorities. It wants everyone to be your partner/best friend and so EVERYONE comes onto you to some extent. There is no one who is just casual buddies with you... But also why isn't there anyone like that? Why does Soldier 11 call you out for wanting to know her relationship status when she seems like someone who probably never even thinks of romance? Phaethon, either one, are much closer to being treated as general gacha protagonists in this way in that everyone who meets you who isn't a grade A douchebag is immediately real into you.

For HSR, this isn't true and I think it's most indicative of their version of trust events: People showing up on the train. They talk about their lives, their ambitions or about other members of the train. Very few are there for you. They are living their lives and the same goes for meeting them on their individual planets. You're a friend but you're not really more than that. Of course, plenty of people do still do the "Something makes me trust you," sort of stuff that's ALWAYS awkward in stuff like this but it feels more like it's so during their companion quests they can properly portray all sides of themselves rather than it being "Man, I took one look at you and DAMN!"

The closest to an argument against this is Firefly. One might argue us being given a place on the Express but it's explicitly what the Nameless do. They accept anyone who wants to come on board and yeah, Himeko likes the cut of your jib. Firefly genuinely has a severe interest in you from go... Except also no. Our backstory includes having been, in some way, a part of the same organization as Firefly. Of being a Stellaron Hunter. This is why both her and Kafka give us preferential treatment because, as Blade said, we are one of the longest running coworkers of Kafka's which inherently makes us one of the people who has spent the most time with Firefly and we don't know what our relationship with her before our amnesia was. It's one of those tricks that HSR pulls with us being special, having our amnesia, that deepens the narrative.

2: Powers

Caelus is actually really fucking weak. Like amongst the express, he MAYBE beats March or Dan Heng once he has more forms but until then? All he is is a good swing. There's a reason we've lost the vast majority of our fights and have to get bailed out during a cutscene. When we do get wins that no one steals, it's a group effort and takes EVERYTHING we have, like with Cocolia and Sunday. In both of them, it takes everyone doing everything they can just to eek out a win.

Now whether our powers are earned or not is more questionable but it works thematically so far. We get our Harmony powers from harmonizing with an old trailblazer and standing up against that which would destroy the Harmony. We get our Preservation powers as a last stand from a world always guarded by Qlipoth against a force that wants to erase all there was before for the sake of their new world order. Not only that but we get the power because we are willing to fight to our last breath trying to preserve the fire that is within Belobog. We earn that transformation not when we take the spike to the chest but when we stand tall against Cocolia at all, despite the fact that the Engine of Creation is still on her side at that time and we are several magnitudes of fucked royal.

The HDD is a cheat. Phaethon doesn't seem actually that impressive as far as actual abilities go. I mean, one of the first things to happen to them is getting hacked. Good job guys. Tech is the one thing you all have and you're maybe not the best at it and that'd be okay if the game wasn't constantly telling us we'd been the absolute best of the best of the proxies for years? Not a short amount to put it bare minimum. We have had hints that we had a mentor who probably made the HDD and taught us to some extent but that they've also been gone for a long while. So... We're just good. The best by what everyone but not because of Wise or Belle's ingenuity. They don't really have much in the way of answers or plans, especially ones that are theirs. They're just good at executing other people's, and especially Fairy's, plans.

Playing as Wise, I never feel like Phaethon because I know it's not me who is the key to all of this. Meanwhile, when I play as Caelus, I 100% believe I am the nutjob who claims to be the Galactic Baseballer and can back that up, even if it ends up with me getting my ass kicked.

3: Clout and Access

We can't prove we're Phaethon but are given the level of respect that we had back when we still had that account. Meanwhile, we ARE a member of the Astral Express and Himeko backs that claim up with proper legitimacy. One feels like the mechanical requirement of having a proxy level to grind up, in universe, is purely mechanical while the trailblazing level in HSR is purely mechanical but also is never referenced in universe so it doesn't matter that it's only mechanical. That's kind of the long and short of it.

Why can Trailblazer meet with the heads of the Loufu? Well, because we are part of an organization that is deeply respected across the cosmos and just by being a member, we gain that credibility. Why can Phaethon name drop who he is and people believe him? *shrug* Your guess is as good as mine. It's not the biggest deal currently in ZZZ, a lot of people work with us even before knowing our name because of common goals, but like... Why does Belobog believe Nicole when she claims to know Phaethon and then not bother asking us for any sort of proof to that claim despite Phaethon being a big deal and we don't even have that name on Inter-Knot? It's expedient storytelling to make them not care but it also just raises the question of why.

And that base question is at the root for why people dislike chosen ones. So many of them evoke this question of why. What does the story gain by making this person special? Making them more than just an average joe? And a lot of lazy storytelling won't provide answers, or at least interesting answers, to that question. A LOOOOOOOOOT of isekai have the main character be Super Awesome McGee because holy decree is a lot easier to write than actual relationships. Actual politics. Stuff like that. Even something like Shield Hero is actually using it for the sake of expediting why everyone hates him. It's a shortcut and not much else.

HSR meanwhile shows the strength of that decision. Our backstory allows so much room for speculation that it lights the fandom on fire every time someone from our past interacts with us. Us having a Stellaron, something that is theoretically connected directly to an Aeon, explains why we have this deeper connection to the Paths that then lets us shift what path we're on and commune with the aeons themselves, even if briefly in those small interactions. It is subtle but on the flipside, we're not so special that it can't be subtle. Most people treat us like a normal person because we're not actually that special. There are special questions about us but the game never tries to sell us as more than we are and that actually lets us be far more human than I would argue Phaethon gets to.

Admittedly... Part of this comes down to preference. I think the Trailblazer has way more personality than Belle and Wise put together. We're a deranged lunatic, slightly more as Stelle. Belle is a nominally silly girl who's only real flaw is letting her room get dirty while Wise is an asexual robot made of cardboard and programmed and a light touch of snark. These are two of the most boring, normal, plain ass protagonists you can ever get and so them being Phaethon is kind of required to explain why anyone gives them the time of day because not their winning personalities.

But I think even if you find Belle and Wise attempting to be grounded more than "THE GALACTIC BASEBALLER!" that doesn't change that the narrative treats them as the main character more than HSR does. That they are special and not just regular people who happen to be good at a dangerous job. That describes a LOT of ZZZ's cast... But not the main characters. There's a reason why Random Play stands alone. No one is joining our faction anytime soon but the Express keeps its doors open to everyone, regular or not. See you next tale.

======+++++======

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.