#not expecting OP to have an answer to this and I largely agree with them

[vivwritesfics]

Mini Me

With how shitty my life is rn, I keep having these depressive episodes. Turns out my depressive episodes breed fluff

Max's six year old son has just started karting and his wife has to take him. Boy oh boy, does he miss his wife and son.

"So, Max, can we expect to see your little one around the paddock today?"

Ever since the day he was born, Fabian Verstappen had been seen with his parents around the Formula One paddock. He was always smiling and waving at those he knew and those he didn't. Fabian Verstappen was the happiest boy around.

Max was very proud of his boy. He showed him off to whoever he could. When he was young, he sat on Max's hip while he completed interviews and such.

Fabian was Max's number one supporter (Tied only by Max's wife and Fabians mother, Y/N. She followed him around the world three times before agreeing to marry him. It was a year long engagement, and in that time Y/N found out she was pregnant. They managed to keep it hidden until after their wedding, although Y/N did have to get a dress that better fit her bump).

There was a year between Fabian being born and him being able to attend his first race. Christian was happy to get him fitted out in Red bull Racing merchandise. He got his own little hat and a too large Red bull shirt with a thirty three on it (Max had lost that years championship. Red bull had won the constructors but Max had just missed out on the WDC. Red bull had worked out the kinks in the car and Max was bound to win this year, just as he had the previous year).

This year was the first year Fabian and Y/N weren't there to cheer Max on. And interviewers certainly picked up on it.

"Uh, no," Max answered when they asked about Fabian. "He and my wife are at a karting event right now."

The interviewer gave him a nod. "Following in your footsteps perhaps?"

Letting out a laugh, Max nodded his head. "We can only hope," he said.

"Do you think we'll be seeing him in a Red bull Racing suit in the next fifteen years?"

Again, Max nodded his head. "If he's anything like his dad, he'll be in a Red bull Racing suit before that," he said and adjusted the cap on his head.

Max left the interview and checked his phone. As much as he wanted Fabian and Y/N at his race, he knew how important karting was to his son.

Max has always been Fabian's hero. His first full sentence was 'I wanna be like daddy'. Max and Y/N did whatever they could to make Fabian's dream come true.

The one thing Fabian wanted but he couldn't have was to have his daddy at his karting races, watching him. There had been a lot of screaming and crying while Max and Y/N tried to explain to him why his father couldn't be there.

But Fabian had made friends at his Karting matches. He and the other kids he had raced against got along like peas in a pod. Fabian's first ever play date was with his karting friends. Some of them had been sat with their eyes and mouths wide open while Max brought them juice. They couldn't believe he, their hero and favourite driver, was Fabian's dad.

Max pulled out his phone and checked his messages. Nothing from his wife yet, but Fabian's race should have been done, he realised when he checked the time.

Dialling her number, Max pressed his phone to his ear.

It took Y/N a moment to pick up. "Hey handsome," she said in a chipper voice when she picked up the phone. Her voice was distant and slightly distorted, and Max realised she was in the car.

"Hello, Liefje. How's our little racer?" He asked her.

"Daddy! Daddy!" Came Fabian's voice. "I won! I won! I won!" He shouted.

Well, that answered Max's question. His cheeks were warm as he smiled, listening to his son. "Ik ben zo trots op je, mijn jongen. Ik kan niet wachten om jullie twee weer te zien!" (I'm so proud of you, my boy. I can't wait to see you too again!)

There was a moment before Fabian responded. He was fluent in English and French, but he was only good at Dutch. It still took him some time before he could work out what Max was saying and respond.

"Papa, ik... heb een... trofee." (Daddy, I got a trophy.)

There was a certain sense of joy that filled Max whenever Fabian answered him in Dutch. "Fabi, make sure mommy sends me a picture of your trophy," he said.

"I will do, Maxy," Y/N responded for the little boy. "Fabi, what do we say to papa?"

Again, Fabian was quiet for a moment. "Oh!" He suddenly cried from the back of the car. "Good luck with your race, Papa! Maybe you can win like me!"

The Verstappens laughed.

"Good luck, Max. Call me after you've won."

"I will, Liefje. I love you."

"I love you too."

Max hung up the phone after that. He his qualifying to get ready for. As he got ready, though, he spent the entire time thinking about his wife and son. He checked his phone constantly, waiting for Y/N to send over the picture of Fabian and his trophy.

No father had ever been prouder of his little boy than Max. Fabian was his everything and he couldn't wait to see him in the big leagues. Who knows, maybe Max would still be racing alongside him. Maybe he'd have Horner's job, team principle of Red bull Racing while his son raced as their number one driver.

No matter what, Max would always be Fabian's number one supporter.

[russenoire]

in response to this post:

ONE-sensei is a bit of a troll, not gonna lie.

but... i actually like this ending, at least for comedy's sake. the stark juxtaposition of

'boy gets hit by a truck and his unexamined jungian shadow self flattens a city before he finally makes peace with it'

with

'and everything was just fine six months later'

is funnier than spelling out exactly how we get from point A to point B, because we KNOW — as the audience — that it wasn't 'just fine'. after everything we saw, how could it be?

subverted expectations underpin a lot of comedy, even dark comedy, especially absurdist comedy. MP100 is practically built on both. this story wrings a lot of humor out of sad, if not tragic, situations: witness shigeo's 'who told you you could pass out?!' after his home has been reduced to kindling. or ritsu's admission that he only recently stopped crying himself to sleep at night over his inability to bend spoons like his big brother. while he's letting shigeo know just how much he supposedly hates him in that alley.

not expanding upon the real-life consequences of said city-flattening is funny precisely because dropping 'i wrecked my hometown after nearly dying in a car accident on the way to ask out my crush when i was a teenager' in a conversation and just... leaving it there? would be fucking horrifying in real life. here, in the elastic magical-realist context of MP100, it's more darkly absurd than anything else...

more to your point, OP: in this particular series, ONE-sensei tells so much of this story by implication. the answers to some of your questions are in the text, only... alluded to.

this might get long. bear with me:

the fact that joseph from the government exists? and that he's an esper working in secret? implies that the knowledge of destructive espers might need to be concealed from the public at large, perhaps to prevent wide-scale panic or ostracism of espers themselves. i doubt the government was forthright with its citizens about the confession arc disaster or the actual cause, for the same reasons.

that suzuki's broadcast-hijacking world domination announcement is met with public disdain and ridicule, especially over social media? outside of our cast, no one actually takes his threat seriously until it happens. reigen's trash-talking claw's seventh division down to earth also shows how little respect espers who don't make themselves useful to society actually get here. he is, after all, just another member of the public.

that reigen agrees to take on haruaki amakusa as a client after the world domination arc in part because he's worried about losing business? people have begun to move away from seasoning city in the aftermath; whatever the threat amakusa's hyakki present, neutralizing them as soon as possible is best for reigen's continued financial health. i can see even more residents deciding they've had enough and leaving after shigeo's last brush with death. would you stay?

how many people know shigeo is connected to reigen, apart from the people they both know? out of his own inflated and fragile ego, reigen presents himself as a sole proprietor on his website; it doesn't seem his business or its reputation would be directly affected at all.

and the injuries caused? possible deaths? we get a taste: early on in chapter 100, several people are trapped and unable to move in a 地盤沈下 (jibánchinka, literally: 'land subsidence', which can apply to a sinkhole, a landslide...) shigeo has left in his wake. we only find out because a cop is being briefed on this and its cause while trying to detain the suspect for questioning.

but like all other bodily harm caused in this story, we aren't treated to the fallout. did the elderly ishiguro survive shou plowing him into the earth? did miyagawa die after teruki flipped his barrier onto him and broiled him in his own flames? did those high school bully boys live after shigeo cracked their heads open on the pavement like eggs? like, these are good questions. (i'm inclined to believe that all these people died, but many would call me harsh for saying that about an otherwise kind story. we never see them again, either way.)

shigeo actually has a healing factor of sorts; his jungian shadow self keeps plucking him from death's arms. we have no way of knowing if this is true for anyone else, because that isn't the story ONE wanted to tell. if nothing else, the mangaka's lack of desire to engage with this question of lethal consequences is at least consistent across MP100.

any questions that aren't answered either directly or that can't be answered by easy extrapolation can foster continued engagement with the material.

for example: we don't know what shigeo's parents think about much of anything in this story, besides how little they expect from him and how ritsu sets a standard they feel shigeo should live up to. this boy goes through hell multiple times and is never shown to confide in either of his parents about it, instead suffering in silence for some time until he finds someone he feels safe enough to talk to. all this gives me the distinct impression that shigeo just isn't that close to his mother or his father. i can understand why. it's actually kind of sad, even as readers' frustrated expectations of real-life parental involvement with — and confusion over — his and his brother's shenanigans also generate some dark humor.

this also establishes a precedent: since we never check in with them, by the time the confession arc rolls around, their opinion hardly matters. (but i'm sure someone has written a fic fleshing that out! i'm somewhat curious myself.)

[blacklegsanjiii]

OP Rarepair Week

Day Four Alternate Universe / Clothing Swap

Mihawk was fourteen the first time he climbed into her window.

Not much has changed the last twenty years as he climbed into the window of his and Sora’s room on Kuriagana to avoid waking the children who were sleeping in the sitting room near the entrance. Possibility to entrap him in their fort he saw through a window as he walked up. He would not be the rainbow haired children who knew how to use their begging eyes against him more than he would like and he was weak to them.

It’s his own damn fault for constantly giving in but then again there would be nothing else he would love to do than spoil his family. Alas he would like to spend time with the songbird who was in their bed, awake and interested in something according to his haki. He tapped lightly on the window and the former queen looked over in shock only to rush over and unlock the window pushing one pane open for him to climb through. Her soulmark bared on her forearm as she helped him into the room, Kotagana opposite of Yoru, blades he had not even had at that point and confused them endlessly in their teens.

“The hell are you doing?” Sora asks as he straightens and smiles at her.

“Our lovely rainbow of children are downstairs waiting to ensnare me, they’re asleep but you know them.” Mihawk chuckles as he pulls her close, her face level with the bird and sky emblazoned on his chest, bright and colorful like the kids downstairs.

“Oh, what a horrible fate to succumb to for a man with a literal death wish.” Sora rolled her eyes at him as she wrapped her arms around him and he rested his hands on her waist. They kissed slow and languid as Mihawk relished in the fact he had his soulmate, they had children and all of them had emotions, even if it was a bit of a trial to ensure that. The smattering of footsteps up the stairs ended things before Mihawk could get reacquainted properly with his destined though. Sure enough, the door flung open and Reiju pointed at them.

“He’s back! I knew it!” She yelled with a large toothy grin as the quadruplets rushed past her and towards the soulmates by the window. They were circled by children immediately as Reiju looked awfully pleased with herself as Sora laughs at him and he groans.

“You lot were supposed to be asleep.” Mihawk sighs.

“And you were supposed to be home hours ago!” Yonji chastises back in all his ten year old glory.

“Yeah, it’s not our fault you’re late.” Sanji helps his little brother.

“I do not control the wind.” Mihawk argues with bafflement at the two as Niji, the little bastard, starts climbing him as Sora laughs harder. “What on earth are you doing?”

“Claiming the high ground, to the bed!” Niji answers and then orders his father pointing erratically at the bed as he continues to climb the man.

“And you best not fall young man, come on, bed, everyone!” Sora claims captain of the house immediately as the four children with their feet planted firmly on the floor bolt to the large bed they have and the parents and Niji follow slower much to the blue haired child’s dismay.

Mihawk pulls him off and sits on the bed with Niji on his lap as Sora sits and pulls Sanji into hers, stroking the blond hair of their son as the kids get next to them. Sanji laughs at his siblings who claim it’s unfair that their siblings are being held and thusly the parents are pulled further into the bed and then have children pile on them more.

“And what happened while I was away?” Mihawk chuckles as he pushes Reiju’s bangs from her face, entrusting her answer the most.

“Mm, not a lot. Yonji riled up the human drills and then set them after the others. Mama stopped that real quick. Then Sanji kicked Niji and that went as well as expected-” Reiju says.

“I didn’t break anything!” Sanji interrupts.

“Yeah, we’re fine!” Niji agrees.

“Then Ichiji decided he was going to be dumb and try to convince the other three to all set sail and Mama and Sanji and I baked a lot.” Reiju finishes with a nod and Mihawk lets out a soft laugh at the shenanigans his boys pulled while he was away, thankful Sanji was fine after trying to kick his brother. Sanji was the only true human of their children, all five of them modified by Sora’s former husband but the poison she drank undid Sanji’s mutations and some of the other quads.

When Mihawk had found out his soulmate had drank poison to save her children, which became his during the escape and probably always were his children, he had almost derailed the escape to kill the King of Germa. Sora had talked him out of it and Mihawk would listen to his soulmate over his own need to kill most of the time. Sora would always have his respect and as his soulmate she would have his heart and he took her opinion on matters seriously. Still he wished his songbird would let him go kill the man that had kept them apart longer than he had liked and hurt her and their kids. Sanji was also the only one to have a soulmark like he and Sora did, further solidifying his humanity over his siblings.

The pattern like a snake skin on the boy’s shoulder and up barely touching his neck. Mihawk hums as he runs a hand through Reiju’s hair, catching a couple small knots in her he works easily with his fingers. Reiju leans into the touch and he welcomes her easily, he loves her so of course it’s easy.

“I hope I love my soulmate as much you guys love each other.” Sanji says with a smile.

“Your soulmate isn’t going to love you as much as we do!” Ichiji points at the blond as he claims this, like it’s a challenge and they’ve already won.

“We’ll just have to see about that.” Sora says as she pulls Ichiji to lay down on them. They all fall asleep rather quickly, tired after all was said and done. Mihawk hums and gives Sora one last kiss to the temple before he succumbs to the weight of bodies on him and falls asleep.

[thornswoggled]

you know what it is. 106 stream of consciousness. lets go

WOW ok just by the thumbnail alone im surprised. i did NOT think we were gonna get to see the rest of hildas scene with lindel so soon. like i had no earthly clue where this chapter was going to start up

chapter title lindel feels very reminiscent of ch1 "future chise" illus

"misery makes strange bedfellows." hmmmm. all small caps too for some reason

yamazaki prepping us to view lindel as a secondary antagonist by drawing his face in shadow like every other frame

ARE THOOOOOOSE FUCKIIIIING DWAAAAARRVES????????? HELLOOOOOOO???????

why did we not meet these thangs the first two times they went to iceland. maybe she decided to add a little spice

oh my god missing subtitles. literal empty bubbles. comicgrowl needs to be dealt with. severely

more talk of eggs and chicks. which could mean nothing

looking at the slider.... this is another slightly longer chapter. huge for a guy like me

OMG we get to see what happened that time rahab summoned them oooooooooo

lindels shirt in this scene is really cunty. sorry. who said that

"this is the 2000s era" ok so we are still playing coy with what year it is. probably a good idea

"my first time meeting the current you." so yamazaki is weaving in the concept that rahab can meet people on different parts of their timeline. which feels a little op and a good deus ex for conflict resolution but thats my own personal beef with timeline fuckery as a plot device

wadda hell. this dragon hatched fully fledged like a damn bulnosaur

ohhhh this dragon is the one flying behind lindel in that one color spread for arc 3. the one i captioned with "whatever. go my dragon"

adolfs protestation about magic is like. yes. i agree. because tamb does not have a robust magic system and its attempts to form a solid action-based plot are largely impotent, which is FINE, we are here for character development anyway. i once made a webcomic with the same problems so i dont mean to throw stones in glass houses but like. yeah the distinction between mages and alchemists and how magic works is not something i have ever been sold on

great callback to chise summoning those wasps in arc 1. i enjoy seeing a scene from the early chapters reimagined in the modern art style. tangent, but in the supplements the note for that scene was something like "chise has never seen this kind of bug in real life so she probably remembered it from a nature documentary"

pokemon-ass messaging here. fucking catch em all

just now noticing the twins got their hair swoop from hilda

"i managed to avoid lying." i was about to ask how exactly he lied but then skipped ahead and read the answer whoops

lindel hurrying hilda out the door but he doesnt even know what she came here for yet. like she didnt get to tell him about the red dragon yet LOL

im also just now realizing that the dragon we saw at the end of 105 was the dragon adolf hatched and not the dragon that cursed chise. ok 🧍‍♂️

"they even forbade me from speaking my language" so i think lindel is implying here that hes part of the sámi people which tracks. i wonder if they were speaking one these languages when he met elias? i still dont know why lindel bothered to ask where elias came from when he could have inferred it from whatever language he spoke

adolf explicitly states that he left germany before ww2 which i think was very funny on yamazakis part (DO NOT GET IT TWISTED, she said, HE IS NOT A NAZI) but at the same time. why was he fleeing british soldiers. maybe they just assumed he was a nazi cuz of his name and accent. idk

ok so its time to go back to school already. silky being convinced that theyll be stuck there for months again is. so funny

"do you think we can ask the college to send letters for us" what do you mean by that. does the college not give you the means to send mail. are you expected to just use the royal mail. why arent you using royal mail anyway. hello

ok so she stomps on the floor and a new door springs up. it looks like an exterior door based on the lock. is this a sort of uhhhh howls moving castle/witch hat atelier windowway sort of situation. is silky going to break into the college so she doesnt have to miss her kid. she looks so stupidly nefarious i know the reason she looks so creepy is going to be funny as fuck

so overall i cant say that lindel and adolf are my fav characters or that i am terribly invested in them so i dont feel i got a TON out of this chapter but i am excited with the last page we got. happy for the lindel enjoyers and the lore dump yall got. i guess im not sure what purpose this new dragon is serving either because its (probably) not related to red vs white dragon conflict. i guess you could say that its a third dragon that emphasizes the importance of choosing your own path rather than being locked in this fated cyclical battle the way the red and white dragons are, which would be in line with tambs greater themes. like a third choice, i guess. adolf is also shaping up to be in a similar position to chise - that is, he has a unique relationship with magic, and his master has to lie for him so he wont be unduly researched lol. i am interested to see how much time we will see chise actually studying or being in class considering all the other things shes now expected to be responsible for. her ass is not studying 💯💯💯

[rwac96]

x-over AU Winter Reaper. Winter and Ragna are training together and Rachel has shown up and is doing her usual “mock and insult Ragna for the lolz” routine and Winter, to the surprise of everyone, stands up for Ragna and rips into Rachel.

Aramasa sliced through the ice flesh of the Beowulf summons created by Winter Schnee. The silver-haired man takes a deep breath, beads of sweat rolling down his flesh. Ragna the Bloodedge stands up straight, standing in front of the Ace Ops Specialist; who's own hair had some locks out of place. Training between the pair was beneficial, as it was to see how each of them progressed in skills and abilities. The oldest Schnee child smiles, pointing one of her swords at the Grim Reaper, and her summons charged toward the man in red & black.

"Look at 'em go!!" Nora exclaims, watching Ragna cut down the Summons with each swing of Aramasa. "Those two certainly learned a thing a two!"

"Admittedly," Weiss said, shrugging her shoulders, "there's certainly an improvement. I had difficulty fighting her Summons."

"It seems someone taught the mongrel new tricks," another feminine, well-mannered, yet arrogant voice said.

A young, blonde girl with two tied pigtails stood in between Ragna and Winter. Dressed in Gothic Lolita fashion, she appeared to be a girl 12 years old, but her demeanor gives off an aura of someone far older than she looks. Rachel Alucard didn't mind the confused exclamations and questioning, her focus on Ragna and Winter. The wielder of Aramasa and the Azure Grimoire lets a small groan escape his lips, annoyed at the vampire's sudden appearance. The older Schnee girl stared in confusion, as she knew of the peculiar being thanks to Ragna and Team RWBY.

"Rabbit," Ragna said bluntly, giving her an annoyed glare.

"Of course, you would address me as such, you uncouth cur," the red-eyed girl replied with a sneer, "it seems your new paramour didn't change that attitude of yours."

"Did you seriously come here to shit-talk me?" The swordsman said with a light groan.

"Maybe I have," her lips curl into a small, coy smile. "Maybe I have not? Perhaps you're too focused on your own carnal desires to properly answer that question."

"That is enough!!" Winter Schnee shouts at the vampire, causing the girl in question to turn to the porcelain-skinned woman. Her black 'umbrella', transforms into a large cat.

"Oh, my," Nago said with raised brows, "and to think only the brute spoke to her majesty that way."

"Yeah," the small, round bat known as Gii agreed in acknowledgment. "maybe he's a bad influence on her."

"Shut up," Winter snapped to Rachel's pets, "you damned stuffed toys."

"Why I never," Rachel marched towards the white-haired woman, pouting toward her. "you have some nerve to talk to me in such a manner--."

"Because someone should," Winter replied, which made the vampire raise her brows in surprise. "you are nothing but a snobbish, self-interested, spoiled little girl. Interfering in the affairs of humanity out of self-satisfaction. Ragna did everything in his strength to get where he is now!" Her blue eyes glared daggers toward the shocked vampire, as was everyone in the training area.

"Holy shit," Yang mouthed, "she's givin' her the business."

"The only time Winter did this," Weiss spoke, "was the day she left home, her argument with father." She runs her gloved fingers through her white locks of hair, recalling that fateful day from years ago.

"All you've done is berate him as you made him do your dirty work," Winter continued on, "The only reason he hasn't washed his hands of you is that he has empathy for you, for Brothers' reason is beyond me."

"My, oh my," Nago tilts his head at the exchange, expecting to hear a snippy, snobbish reply from their master. But, there was stunned silence on Rachel's face. "this is a rare occurrence."

"Wow," Gii blinks, "it seems she made the princess speechless--GAH!!" The red bat was smacked down onto the floor, courtesy of a fuming Rachel.

"Is that what you see of me," the blonde vampire said, transforming Nago back into an umbrella with a snap of her fingers, "then I shall take my leave." Then, a black portal appears, though Rachel gazed at Ragna. "Very well then, Ragna, I shall leave you and Specialist Schnee to your...tryst/relationship."

[aeternallis]

This is a post I definitely vibe with, and I definitely agree, but if it’s okay with OP, I’d like to add on a bit more to it, at least—my own opinions on it!

I don’t necessarily think fanon is inherently the problem; on its own, fanon is just neutral ideas that exist within a community. I feel like with any franchise, once a fandom is built around it, fanon ideas and headcanons are inevitable and truth be told, an aspect of the glue that binds that community, yknow? Framed that way, fanon can/is/has been a good thing and can make a fandom feel even more close-knit.

It’s not hard to see why many people, especially the ones on this site, have come to rely on fandom online as safe spaces.

Having said that, a key problem that arises is when fanon becomes a toxic hive mentality, and certain people begin to feel they’re no longer allowed to speak out against the status quo—which, mind you, fanon is, at the end of the day, merely a set of opinions. It doesn’t have the inherent protection of canon (as in, established fact) and people are allowed to disagree with it (politely, enthusiastically, and within the garden of their blog). Other reblogs have already mentioned this too, regardless of the fact that many may disagree and say, “well, we’re just having fun, you can say whatever you want!”

But the reality is—are you really only just having fun? If one were to test themselves and try to see if they can emotionally tolerate seeing differing opinions in all kinds of manner regarding how said differing opinions are presented, can they positively say that it wouldn’t affect them one bit? Or, alternatively—can they positively say that they can interact with those differing opinions in a healthy manner, without letting themselves fall into malicious habits such as vague-posting, gas lighting, harassing other members of the fandom, gossiping about certain members behind their back, etc?

Because if one is unable to answer that they can, then at that point, it’s no longer just about having fun, is it? At that point, they’ve taken fanon to such an extent that there may often than not be a subconscious desire to control the narrative, regardless of how said fanon is deeply important and personal to someone. Controlling the narrative may be the most extreme reason I can give, but I’m sure many peeps in the reblogs have probably felt this at one point or another.

(Side note: this is especially true when it comes to Asian media fandoms, and tumblr’s notorious habit at large of westernizing Asian characters, as well as their laziness when it comes to understanding the cultural context of said piece of media. more often than not, they choose to silence those who can provide said context, for the sake of their own emotional comfort, but I digress)

This is why I personally will always be a faithful advocate of the monicker “no gods in fandom,” since I’d personally rather have chaos where I can say whatever the hell I want in regards to fanon and not get persecuted for it, rather than an orderly fandom in which people feel the need to walk on eggshells with each other and sweep the problems under the rug.

Becsuse at the end of the day, harsh as it may sound, a random person online is not responsible for another stranger’s personal issues and their feelings regarding certain fanon and headcanons. Regardless of how important certain fanon may be to someone, one cannot expect everyone else to follow suit in order to accommodate them, that’s just not reasonable.

It’s the reason why the fandom experience can be curated on here, but also the same reason as to why curating only exacerbates the problem, imo. Because we have the ability to cut each other off, it effectively also cuts off meaningful conversation.

Fandoms as of late, I feel like—have definitely lost the grounds of neutrality. Which, ngl…for a mostly individualistic-mindset leaning website like Tumblr, is really not that big of a surprise, lol

Nowadays, people on here are more keen to jump to the worst conclusions about another person due to their disagreement (and very low emotional tolerance, just sayin’), rather than giving them the benefit of the doubt. I myself am guilty of this, I admit it—certain experiences in the past have taught me to be very wary of who I choose to talk to in fandom, and who I choose to be friends with. It may sound arrogant, yes, but this sort of behavior in my defense is more about protecting myself, rather than some pedestal people may or may not think I’m on.

To conclude this frankly long rant, all I can say is: be kind to one another. Be kind and have fun. Be kind and be creative with like-minded people. Be kind and make friends from the community of this wonderful piece of story that enabled you to meet in the first place.

Be kind, and genuinely mean it.

tfw "popular" fanon becomes so embedded in a fandom & discussions within fandom spaces that people just start treating it as the default and all interactions with others are coloured by this interpretation. have you considered that I actually don't subscribe to this take, which is nowhere in the source material? wait nvm, clearly not.

[remix-of-your-guts]

insisting that you're 'literally trans' over and over sounds kind of like the terf line about how everyone's non binary, so given that and your post history it looks really suspicious

okay i legit can't tell if this is bait or something because?? what???? i said i was "literally trans" one time because someone asked if radfems reblogging my post meant i agreed with their beliefs and i chose to interpret their question in good faith so i gave a legit answer. i haven't bothered to respond to a single comment from obvious terfs because im not into giving them the time of day.

i'm not sure how me simply existing as a trans individual is agreeing with the argument that terfs make to try and erase the existence of us that "everyone is basically nonbinary because gender isn't psychological at all it's just what's in your pants" (im assuming that's the line you're talking abt and if not then idk what that is) and that's frankly a bizarre leap to make. especially because i don't even call myself nonbinary, im just a genderqueer (as in my gender is inseparable from my queerness) transsexual man.

and just what the hell is suspicious about my post history? i've been posting about trans rights and trans-inclusive feminism since i started this blog, though i can't guarantee every hot take i've had on incredibly niche intra-community discourse aligns with my current beliefs (which mostly boils down to "internet discourse is stupid" and idc)

i don't understand the phrasing here as though i'm fighting widespread accusations of transphobia or transmisogyny when this is literally the first comment i've ever gotten insinuating something like that??? of course that's not including the terfs saying "so close bestie" right before calling me a "retarded tra" but since when do we base our claims of who is and is not a terf on what the terfs themself say, instead of what the person in question has actually said/done? plus making fun of how im "close but missing the point" because i said that a trans woman may have a bit of internalized misogyny is hardly saying i clearly agree with everything they stand for (in fact it's fundamentally about the fact that i dont). if thats what you consider being claimed by terfs, and if being claimed by terfs is what you consider the deciding factor in whether or not someone is one, then basically every blogger who's ever mentioned general feminism, periods, or being a woman on this website would be a terf (even trans femmes cuz ive seen posts from them accidentally get passed around terf circles without them knowing who op is). especially every transmasc on this website would be a terf then considering that they're so bizarrely determined to get us to join them while being violently bigoted against us and dehumanizing us (obv not to the extent of trans women but still it's hardly an effective recruitment tactic) and allying with the people that explicitly want our extermination.

i'd once again like to remind everyone that all i did was point out a woman who happens to be trans accidentally veering into perpetuating misogynistic stereotypes (something that i will call out even quicker when cis women do it, which they do all the fucking time) in a way that made it clear it wasn't a big deal and expecting no one except my followers (which i'm pretty confident in saying none of whom are at least obvious terfs) to see. hopefully we can all agree that trans women are not immune to accidentally perpetuating misogynistic stereotypes- not because of their gender but in spite of it because all women can be misogynistic because MISOGYNY 👏 IS 👏 NOT 👏 STORED 👏 IN 👏 THE 👏 GENDER

and for the record even in the tags of the og post i was saying that it's really sucky that people totally are going to overreact to this and give dylan disproportionate hate because there 100% is a double standard in how society at large responds to these things, and that terfs are going to use it as "proof." but i don't think that just because accusations of misogyny are often weaponized against trans women we can never engage in good faith criticism of them??? in fact i think that makes it very important to help each other make sure there isn't any grain of truth terfs can latch onto (by which i mean being conscious of misogynistic patterns for everyone in our community, including anyone who considers themself an ally to trans people, not unfairly policing just trans women).

however obviously i regret making the post now since it clearly just encouraged the transmisogyny hate-train. and has caused my asks and notes to be flooded with transphobic bullshit directed at dylan, obviously, but also at myself. seriously, i've been deleting all the anons that are from terfs (like ive always done cuz they've targeted me before) but it's been some nasty shit. and it's really fucking annoying having to block every one that crawls over here to tell me why i'm apparently retarded for being trans and supporting my trans sisters. (sorry about the r slur- their words not mine)

okay done talking abt this forever now

[catgirlxox]

A Deconstruction of The Flame Keeper’s Circle & The Audience’s Common Complaints | Catgirl

As the title states, I’ve been reminded of a couple complaints made about this episode that stem from a large portion of the audience’s general disliking of the way both Ben and Julie were handled during the run of Ultimate Alien. In fact, I recently read a "review" of “The Flame Keeper's Circle,” or, more of a parody, actually, since a review would actually have some kind of substance to it and not just...a slew of insults thrown at a show you claim to like. It's almost like you're looking for something to be mad at, but anyway.

One of those was the OP actually asking someone to (probably joking, but anyway) explain "how Ben's mind works" to them.

And I was like, gladly!

According to the comments under the review, it seems like the general audience didn't really like this episode all that much when it first aired. Which, I bring up because, I on the other hand, actually did. And for a reason: because it proves my previous defence points right.

There's a lot of talk about Ben coming off as a “jerk” or a “douchebag”...but, in a situation such as the one presented within “The Flame Keeper’s Circle,” I would argue he did exactly what he should have done. So that's where I beg to differ.

This episode puts Ben in a position where he, once again, needs to deal with the overlap of a romantic relationship and his priorities as a superhero. The only reason there is conflict here is because they are both important to him.

A bad boyfriend would only care about himself, but Ben clearly cares about not only the safety of his (clearly, quite naive) girlfriend, but also the safety of the rest of the earth. Which, as I’m going to be stating several times, should be something expected of him considering everything else within the series that establishes who he is as a character.

So, on the topic of things that are important, ask yourselves, why would Ben prioritize going along with Julie's idea of joining a cult more than keeping her, and the rest of the world, safe when he realizes the trouble she could potentially be getting herself into?

Throughout the episode, and the fandom’s discussions from what I’ve seen, there is so much focus on "oh, he laughed at her idea so he's a douchebag and therefore a bad boyfriend" and not enough focus on the fact that he's not blindly following an alleged “good cause” because he isn't naive and that's in character based on everything we know about him as a character.

Context matters. And this kind of thing only further makes me question the people who want to cry "inconsistent" writing or characterization because he's acting the way he's been conditioned to.

Arguably from the age of ten, Ben's been dealing with situations where he needed to fight to survive and decide who to trust. Sometimes he trusted the wrong person, which wasn't done out of any other reason besides wanting to help and do the "right thing."

For example, Michael Morningstar in the episode “All That Glitters,” who fooled Ben and his team into thinking he was innocent all while abusing school girls for their life energy and almost killing Ben's cousin.

Or, Simian in “Birds of a Feather," who fooled Ben into thinking he was royalty and into helping him steal something that would aid the Highbreed in their mass murder plot.

In that way, Ben and Julie could have related in this situation because they were both trusting people in the interest of doing something “good.” Both Michael and Simian made Ben believe that they had something in common, or a common goal they could work together to reach. But, he trusted them blinded by his ambition and drive to save the world. Much like Julie is blinded by the promise of being a part of a group trying to make the world a better place.

As such, Ben has made the mistake before, so he's extra weary of how things could go very wrong. He's not against his girlfriend just to be a “jerk” - he's been through things like this before, and we’ve seen him go through those things.

Furthermore, the situation in which Julie is trusting The Flame Keeper’s Circle involves her indirectly agreeing to work with Vilgax. Who, as anyone familiar with Ben should know, is one of if not Ben’s biggest, and more importantly, most dangerous enemy.

Again, she, at the beginning didn’t know that he was involved, or what Ben had gone through already to make him act the way he does in this situation, but she does know what his job entails at this point in the series. She should probably infer that he’s suspicious for a good reason, as should the audience.

Not trusting people blindly is something he learned from being the leader of his team, while trying to protect the earth, namely from the Highbreed invasion back in Alien Force when he was putting together a stronger team. It would only make sense for him to then apply that to a situation in which his significant other gets roped into that which he fights against.

Speaking of fighting against, that brings me to another odd criticism of the writing of this episode. It’s no surprise that the flawed belief of Ben coming off as an alleged “sociopath” is brought up again, considering this episode takes place after The Ultimate Kevin arc. And yes, I realize the problematic connotations of using that term as a borderline insult as part of the issue here. But that aside, in this episode, the fact that he begins to fight Vilgax in his apparent “weakened” state is what is being attributed to that description.

Besides the fact that defending Vilgax is questionable in itself, he’s never needed water to survive for the many times he actually tried to kill Ben. I can’t find a solid answer from a writer that knows for certain if his need for water is genuine except for one who is only assuming that is the case when he’s in this state.

But regardless, (since he clearly survived long enough to morph with Dagon and become a bigger threat to the earth later on) we are still defending Vilgax the LITERAL INTERGALACTIC WARLORD.

Y’know, the guy who’s only in this position because of his own immoral actions? Who absolutely would not hesitate to take advantage of his opponent's weakened state in order to further get away with his immoral actions? Such as he is in this very episode, taking advantage of the people wrongfully worshiping him?

If we are trying to imply that Ben is “just as bad as Vilgax,” then I would assume you’d easily find the flaw in that being Ben’s motivation for incapacitating a dangerous offender who is, at the moment, manipulating naive humans to work for him and help him continue get away with his immoral actions. Which is, needless to say, not the same as Vilgax, at all.

Again, you’d think that’d be obvious.

The Flame Keeper’s Circle’s mission is to end human suffering and find a solution to certain issues happening across the globe with the help of alien technology that is much more advanced than what everyday people are used to. And, while the end goal seems like a good cause, even something Ben as a superhero would be all for, the means through which they attempt to get there aren’t a good idea, at all.

A lot of people find it hard to navigate the use of technology considered advanced by human standards in the real world, so you can only imagine the various things that could go wrong if those kinds of people were suddenly exposed to something much more powerful. In short, a lot could go wrong.

Again, Ben has been in that exact position as soon as he was armed with the Omnitrix. Which is exactly why he’d see the flaw in what these people are trying to do, and therefore not be convinced that it’s such a good idea to allow them to continue, much less endorse it.

This is why I love when the writers actually allow Ben to speak for himself instead of cutting him off for drama or plot. Once he actually gets a word in, or more accurately, has his moment of heroic monologue, he makes himself very clear and, I think, only further proves what I’m trying to say about him.

Here he is, explaining exactly what I’ve been trying to highlight throughout this body of work:

Ben: “Even if Dagon was real, using alien technology to accelerate a planet’s natural development won’t bring utopia, it’ll bring disaster. It’s happened before. Why do you think the Plumbers have those laws? But even that’s not the point, because that isn’t Dagon! His name is Vilgax. He’s not a hero, he’s a selfish, evil warlord who’s using you. And if you let him get in his ship, he’s going to fly off and start an interstellar civil war.”

It’s not that only he can use alien technology to save the world, it’s that his status as a hero proves that he knows what he’s doing, unlike these businessmen in fancy robes leading a cult for profit.

That is not what I would have assumed reasonable people would consider “douchebag behaviour.” That’s actually smart, and going back to my first point, exactly what he should be doing in a situation like this.

The actual episode does end off on a positive note for both Ben and Julie, which is omitted from the review and most of the comments I have read from others on the topic. And, I bring it up because it’s actually vital to wrap up everything brought up within this episode that I have just expanded on. Not only because they make up and seem to understand each other’s perspective after all is said and done, but because they both agree to be open to further discussion on the topic, as Ben offers to go out for dinner.

Which, needless to point out I hope, but once again, is not “douchebag behaviour.”

[gaming-universe]

Who We Are || Russell Adler

Call of Duty Black Ops: Cold War

-PART THREE-

Warnings: SPOILERS FOR CALL OF DUTY BLACK OPS: COLD WAR! IF YOU HAVEN’T PLAYED/FINISHED THE CAMPAIGN THEN PLEASE DONT READ! Gore, violence, course language, mature content.

Summary: Betrayed and alone after surviving the events that took place on the Solovetsky Islands, Y/n ‘Bell’ L/n faces new and more dangerous threats when she learns that Perseus has other plans for his failed nuclear detonation of Europe. It was only a matter of time before Y/n came face to face with her old team. There is unfinished business between Y/n and Adler, as this operation proves to be more deadly than originally thought.

Author’s Note: So, after finishing the campaign, I needed to do Bell/Player and Adler justice. I loved this game so much, and chosing to play as the female character, I felt like there was a genuine connection between Bell and Adler throughout the game. There is a tag list open for anyone that wishes to stay up to date with the series. Simply comment below. Gif by @travelllar​

|PART ONE| |PART TWO|

A low whistle came from Woods as Adler stumbled backward, groaning in pain as he clutched his jaw with a deep chuckle.

Mason winced at the sound, his eyes flickering between both you and Adler with a worried gleam. Adler huffed, standing tall and giving you a deadly glare. “It’s nice to see you too-”

You surged forward, ready to attack the fucking prick and release all of the rage you had built up over the last four months, but Mason was quicker. Faster than you thought humanly possible, he appeared by your side and wrapped his arms around your waist, hauling you away from the scene whilst Woods apprehended Adler. Once you were a safe distance away, Mason released you only to spin you around and place his hands on your shoulders. “Hey, hey calm down...” He soothed, smiling softly as your wild and furious eyes met his own. They shone with unshed tears as he pulled you into a tight embrace, burying his face into the crook of your neck.

You didn’t know how to react, taken aback by his sudden display of affection. Despite the fact that he knew what had been done to you all those months ago, and even though he looked at you with sadness and pity, he still treated you like you were one of their own. The fact that you had once worked for Perseus didn’t matter. Everyone had their reasons, he didn’t agree with brainwashing you, that was something he absolutely hated. He hated lying to people he cared about. You returned Mason’s embrace, sighing into his shoulder as a way to relieve your anger.

“We all thought you were dead...” He whispered, tightening his hold around you “when Woods and I found out that Adler had shot you, we left the team”.

You pulled away from him, stepping back to look him up and down with an expression of confusion. “If you left, then why did you come back?” You asked quietly, tilting your head to the side in wait for his answer. Mason grinned, “Because we wanted to do you justice. You got us to Perseus the first time, and you helped us even though the CIA took away who you were, and you helped us even though we all lied to you. So we both thought we owed it to you to put a stop to Perseus once and for all”.

You felt your heart swell with mixed emotions, feelings you hadn’t felt in a long time. Your gaze fell to the floor as you released a long sigh, before lifting your gaze to stare across the room. Adler was already looking at you when you turned, there was something dark hidden behind his blank expression, something sombre yet guilty. You hoped he felt guilty at least.

Woods began to approach, a happy skip in his step as he left Adler to his own devices. “Holy shit, Bell. I’ll make a mental note that you can survive literally anything that is thrown at you” He teased, wrapping you in a warm embrace of his own. You returned the gesture, chuckling lightly before pulling away with a warm smile. He held you at arms length, looking you up and down with a fond expression. He patted your shoulder “It’s good to have you back” He spoke lowly, to which you nodded slightly in response.

Looking over Wood’s shoulder, your eyes met Adler’s once again. In fact, you didn’t think his eyes ever left your form. Carefully, you moved around Woods, half expecting the man to wrap his arm around you and stop you mid stride. But when he didn’t, you approached the man across the room with heavy and reluctant steps. When you stood before him, you had to force yourself to look up at him, through those aviators he wore and into his eyes. Even in the small time you had known him, Adler had always been a mystery. He was the type of leader that always kept to himself, never shared his thoughts with anyone. Until now.

You could see through his facade, through those sunglasses he used as a front to hide what was going on beneath. Though he tried to appear stern and authorative, deep down, there was something he wasn’t saying. Something that made you want to ask him-

A loud alarm blared through the bunker, red flashing lights gleaming brightly throughout various locations of the room. Adler huffed, shaking his head angrily. “Fuck, we need to go. Now” He ordered, giving you a small nod before moving towards Woods and Mason. You followed a short distance behind, the four of you now ascending the stairs leading out of the bunker. It was no easy task, trying to sneak out of the base while everyone was on high alert. But it wasn’t impossible.

The four of you made it out of the base relatively unscathed, making it to the jeep you had hidden atop one of the ridges without further hassel. With Adler in the passenger seat and Woods and Mason in the back, it made for a very awkward drive back into town. The cut on your arm stung painfully, you winced at the smallest movements. And of course, the man beside you just had to notice. “You’re hurt” Adler spoke lowly, his tone somewhat concerned, but more stating the obvious. You pursed your lips, wanting nothing more than to reach the safety of Viktor’s house faster. “I’m fine...” You replied shortly, turning left and taking the dirt path up to the house “it’s just a flesh wound”.

“It doesn’t look like one-”

“Did I ask for your opinion?” You quipped, harshly bringing the car to a stop. Ignoring Woods and Mason groaning in annoyance in the background, you turned to glare at Adler, your eyes narrowing dangerously. Adler held your glare, his chest rising and falling as his annoyance no doubt grew. With a long roll of your eyes, you removed the keys from the ignition and quickly jumped out of the car, slamming the door closed behind you with a violent ‘thud’. The others followed suit, closing theur doors a little more gently before joining you at the top of the stairs on the small wooden terrace.

Viktor had left the door unlocked, in the hopes of your eventual return. You smiled faintly at his kindness. Walking into the house, you were immediately met with the concerned expression of the old man, his mood quickly changing when he spied the three men standing in the threshold. “Friends of yours?” He questioned, his eyes now examining your form with a somewhat judgemental look on his features. You turned around to face the three men, finding Mason waving awkwardly in Viktor’s direction with a light chuckle.

Nevertheless, he old man beckoned them inside. Mason entered first, followed by Woods, who mumbled a complimentary ‘nice place’ as he walked past you into the living room. And last, of course, was Adler. After closing the door behind him, Adler let his gaze wander around the interior of the house, studying the off-white walls and the wooden furniture, before returning his attention to your form. His eyes remained focused on the large bloodstain on your chest, the whole in the fabric a reminder to him of the damage he had done.

After an extensive silence, Adler cleared his throat “We should talk, about what happened tonight-”

“No, not now...” Viktor suddenly interrupted, moving to stand beside you in a supportive manner. When Adler opened his mouthto protest, Viktor stopped him once again. “You are all exhausted, and injured. Some more than others...” He gave you a pointed look, one which you responded by poking out your tongue childishly “...there will also no doubt be soldiers looking for you. You will not talk tonight, but tomorrow, when all is safe”.

Begrudgingly, Adler agreed, his shoulders sagging heavily with exhaustion. Viktor clapped victoriously, before offering to show the three men to a room they could use for the night. As Woods and Mason followed Viktor upstairs, you disappeared into the kitchen to retrieve the medical supplies that were kept in the cupboard above the stove. Managing to retrieve a spare bandage, medical tape and disinfectant, you trudged over to the table and collapsed into one of the chairs with a loud sigh. Carefully removing your long-sleeved shirt and tossing it to the side, you figured that perhaps it was time to throw the torn and bloody piece of clothing away. There was no way the blood would was from it now.

After cleaning the wound and stitching it with small strips of medical tape, you wrapped you arm with the bandage, grimacing as a blinding pain shot through your veins. Pinching the bridge of your nose, you allowed your eyes to close briefly. The memory from the bunker kept playing over and over again, Perseus’ voice echoing from somewhere within your subconscence.

Operation Hydra, you are my most valuable asset.

You were brought back to reality by the clinking of glasses, and the chair beside you scraping against the floor as someone sat down with a light groan. Opening your eyes slowly, you were surprised to see Adler sitting there, pouring two glasses of what appeared to be whiskey. “Now this, is the last thing you expect to find in an old Russian man’s cupboard” He spoke lowly, extending one of the glasses toward you with a raised eyebrow.

Despite the mood you were in, you couldn’t belp but laugh softly, taking the glass from his grasp with a small nod of thanks. As if in unison, both you and Adler downed the contents of your glasses, causing you to sigh at the pleasant burning sensation. Your eyes met, and Adler shook his head. “How the fuck did you survive?” “Why? Have you come back to finish the job?” You asked quickly, watching with observant eyes as Adler’s hand tightened around his glass, his knuckles turning white as his shoulders tensed. “We came back to Solovetsky, because we picked up some Russian chatter about our old friend Perseus. He was planning to rebuild that base up there...” He breathed, his scarred features forming a scowl “we didn’t expect to find you”.

You laughed bitterly, leaning back into your seat and folding your arms over your chest “I bet that was a surprise for you-”

“Do you realise how hard it was for me to come back here Bell?-”

“That’s not my name”.

Adler paused at your threatening tone, huffing loudly as you glared daggers. If only looks could kill. You sat up straighter in your seat, jaw clenching as you spoke “My name is Y/n, but I assume you already knew that”. When the man before you said nothing, and instead found the surface of the table more interesting, you stood up abruptly.

“Did you regret it?” You dared ask, your voice becoming soft, grabbing Adler’s attention. When his gaze met yours, his lips parted in response “Regret what?-” “Don’t fuck me around, Adler...” You snapped, violently slamming your hands down atop the table “you’ve screwed me over enough. I don’t think you understand how hard this is for me. The man I trusted with my life, the man who fucked up my mind and shot me because he considered me a loose end, is sitting right in front of me. No more lies. No more bullshit. Tomorrow, you will tell me everything you know, and I will tell you everything I know, which admittedly isn’t much. But if your plan is to just fuck me over again, then I’m already out”.

When Adler didn’t respond, you took that as your sign to leave. You ignored Woods and Mason, who watched you storm past them up the staircase to the second floor of the house. You were beyond tired, overwhelmed by the days events. 

Viktor brought you tea later that night, offering his company should you need it.

Tag List: @pookolokon @travelllar @basicwhiteasian @shellshockedbell @inteligentecat @staryozora @lovinggooppalacebanana​ @ktdragonborn @quietblogs-2-rd​ @cerezi​

[shakespearean-snape]

Hope it's fine to reply. I saw another post by the OP saying they were a minor and not interested in discourse but this seems like an asking post directed at all Snape fans in general so ...like? If not then just ignore my response I'm only answering because I'm taking OP's question as sincere interest in getting honest responses from the fandom.

Anyway I think it's pretty important to remember that Snape fans are not a monolith anymore than fans of anything are. Marauder fans run the gamut too I expect. It's the same for us. So not every fan of Snape will be a fan because of attraction. I've seen a few ace Snape fans who don't really have any attraction and like him for other reasons. And even non ace fans who feel that way.

One thing a lot of us all seem to agree on though is Snape in the books is described by Harry (and James and Sirius since Remus never to my recollection took any direct shots at Snape for his appearance) as ugly and especially at the points he most hates him but Harry isn't always so reliable and he's kind of a judgy kid who has some nitpick or criticism even when describing people he likes at times so he's got some high standards of beauty lol!

That doesn't mean Snape can't be ugly but that we also know Harry's a fan of hyperbole and just really unkind in most of his descriptions of people but especially if he hates them. So there's that and I've seen people talk about it in posts and whether Snape was truly ugly or homely which are different things.

More than that though most Snape bloggers I've seen seem to picture Snape not as Alan Rickman but as a more "ugly" version of himself they imagined before the movies when they first read the books. There are Rickman!Snape fans plenty but it does seem many Snape bloggers are particularly fond of an "uglier" version of Snape and the evidence is there in a lot of the fanart you can find of Snape where he looks more gaunt and his nose is in more stark contrast.

The thing though is JKR didn't just write Snape using anti-Semitic stereotypes. She wanted to confuse her readers on whether Snape was the villain Harry thought so she basically used every villain trope she could to blur the lines and do that and along with anti-Semitic tropes there are queer villain tropes and even more racial and ethnic tropes I grew up with which is why you'll find more than a few bipoc Snape fans in the fandom that love him and are maybe also attracted to him because sallow skin isn't ugly to us (it's a term used to describe a few racial and ethnic group's skin including Asian people like my mom who also had to deal with "yellow skin" stereotypes) and neither is hair described as thin or fine or stringy (again I think of Asian) or a prominent nose (which can be Jewish but Black noses like my dad's nose are also mocked by white beauty standards for being large so it is easy to relate even if you're not Jewish but Black to having your nose insulted).

Although all these stereotypes that have been around in popular fiction since before JKR are damaging and harmful to the communities they target one really great consequence of JKR just uncritically throwing so many of them at this one character and then revealing he was the good, heroic guy Harry ends the book praising for being the bravest man he knew is, that it does make Snape very subversive and as much as I say fuck JKR for her bigotry at least in Snape I have a character that feels a bit like an unintended victory and there's something so satisfying in that for me.

So to answer for myself at least I do find Severus Snape attractive for all the reasons the tropes JKR threw at him would tell us we shouldn't because by white beauty standards I'm either typically hypersexualized or viewed as inferior and less attractive too as a bipoc person but more than that I find Severus Snape a deeply cathartic and important character for being so subversive and making JKR so uncomfortable because people loved him more than she wanted them to.

guys i've been wondering since i know almost nothing about the snape fandom (i'm not in it, and have no interest in being in it) but do his fans acknowledge the whole 'greasy hair', 'ugly', 'big nose' thing?? i know that snape fans find him hot and stuff, but do you leave those features out of his fanon character? because i think it's common knowledge that those things are massive jewish stereotypes and pretty antisemitic on jkr's part, however then would it also be offensive to ignore those features because they're inherently unconventionally attractive, and by trying to make him more attractive, you're saying that a character has to be pretty to be liked??

[glenncoco4]

You Can Count On Me

A/N: Chapter 8

••••

Marty Deeks has been patient his entire life, whether that be waiting until Christmas morning to open presents or until a new Donnie & Marie album was released, but when it comes to one Kensi Marie Blye becoming his fiancé, he’s anything but. So he’s not at all deterred when he steps into the small antique shop in search of a ring. Her ring, without getting a yes first.

No, she hasn’t said yes to his proposal yet, but she did confess that she wanted everything with him. So even if it’s not a yes right now, it will be eventually and he wants to be ready. 

Now here he is at the fourth store today, considering how large Los Angeles is and the amount of people, he thought it’d be easier than this. As he examines the display of unique and elegant jewelry, he begins to lose hope once again, nothing catching his eye. 

The shaggy blonde’s attention is suddenly pulled away from his perusal when he looks over to the man behind the counter and the older lady that’s holding out something to him. He’s only a few feet away but the delicate features of the solitaire diamond ring scream out to him. 

The older black woman feels the shaggy blonde’s stare, she turns, studying his face as his focus continues to stay on the ring in her hand. There’s one thing she’s learned in her 70 years of life and that’s the look of a man in love, but not just any love, a love that’s all consuming. 

He’s pulled out of his trance, realizing that the two have stopped their conversation completely and the woman’s gaze is now on him. “I don’t mean to stare its just...”

“No need to apologize, I recognize that look on your face. Reminds me of my Henry.”

He flashes her sad smile, knowing just by the reverence in her voice that she’s talking about him in the past tense. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. He was my first love...my only love. Some people don’t get that in life, we were lucky.”

“I know what you mean.”

Something in the way he drifts off for a minute with a dreamy gaze makes her consider her ring and the love she hopes it will be a part of again. “Tell me your story.”

Never missing the chance to talk about his girl, Deeks feels his lips pull into an automatic smile. “I met Kensi when I was 11 years old. My mom and I were in a bad situation at home and her family took us in. That first night we were there I had a flashback of sorts, as I was sitting there paralyzed in fear, she wrapped her arms around me and some part of me knew that I was finally home.” Shaking his head, he thinks about how easy it is for him to tell this woman with deep brown eyes full of understanding how much his best friend means to him. “I know its crazy, she was 8 years old, I was 11, but it made sense in my mind. Growing up we were inseparable, still are. We experienced so many life changing moments together and apart, but no matter what we were there for the other. She’s my person...the person I go to for everything, no matter how big or small it may be. I’ve always felt like I’m my most true and authentic self around her and she around me. We’re just synced. A few weeks ago we finally realized what everyone else around us saw from the start, we’re in love. It’s been 20 years and she still makes me feel like that safe little 11 year old boy. I didn’t see any point in waiting any longer, so I proposed to her a few days ago.”

The older woman takes a look around the store, expecting to see the young woman since he’s already proposed, she’d imagine they’d want to pick out the ring together. “Where is she?”

He feels the heat rise to his cheeks, a little embarrassed. “Well, she hasn’t said yes yet. My Kensi’s a thinker, she likes to look at a situation from all views.”

“But you’re still looking for a ring?”

“Yeah, because I know that she’ll be ready one day and when that day comes I want to give her something special with meaning behind it. I’ve been looking everywhere for the perfect ring and I was losing all hope until-“

“You saw mine.”

He smiles hopefully as she finishes his sentence. “Yes, ma’am.”

Without hesitation, she extends the delicate piece of jewelry towards him.

He hesitantly reaches for it, looking to her for confirmation. “Are you sure?”

“Absolutely. This ring deserves to continue being a representation of our kind of love. It represented mine and Henry’s for 50 years and now its for you and Kensi.”

“It’s so beautiful, I’m sure you could get so much more for it than what I have.”

“How much do you have, son?”

“Four thousand.”

It’s not about the money for her really and that’s when the idea strikes her. “I think we can make that work, but on one condition.”

It takes everything in him not to wrap the woman up in a bear hug. “Anything.”

“You let me meet this woman of yours.”

Nodding his head, he can’t agree fast enough. He thinks about his love and how sentimental she is, especially when it comes to their relationship. She’ll definitely want to meet that’s given them something so special. “I’d like that...we both would.”

••••

The next day at work its as if the universe is helping him out when the death of a marine who had suddenly come into a lot of money lands on their front door step. Of course its tragic but the shaggy blonde can’t help smile at the opportunity this case is bringing him. 

Once the two pair of partners return from their respective assignments they gather in the bullpen, trying to figure out the different angels that could’ve resulted in the marine’s untimely demise. 

“Maybe he was here to spend it.” Kensi speaks up, snowballing off of Callen’s statement about leaving behind a paper trail. 

Sam’s eyebrows raise, nodding his head at the strong possibility that she may be right. “Corporal Peterson said he was thinking about getting married.”

“An engagement ring from Tiffany’s?” Deeks questions, knowing Corporal Porter had a serious girlfriend and it would be logical he’d be hunting for a spectacular ring now that money wasn’t really an issue. 

The brunette locks eyes with her partner, flashing him a small grin. “You have no idea what that little blue box means to a girl.”

He smirks, thinking about the small delicate ring that’s in the black satin bag tucked in his wallet between a photo of them and Marg’s information. One of the main reasons he went in search at an antique shop is because he remembers the gaudy diamond ring Jack had proposed to her with and how it screamed the opposite of what his best friend was. That should’ve set off warning bells from the get go, because if there’s one thing Kensi Blye is not, its flashy. His girl isn’t one for bling and he knows the story behind the ring he bought will mean more to her than any content of a little blue box could. “Oh, but I do.”

••••

She’s been feeling him stare at her on and off all day...well more than usual. It’s when they’re walking towards the home goods store to question Porter’s girlfriend that she’s finally it. “Why do you keep looking at me like that?”

His brow furrows at her accusatory tone, shrugging his shoulders. “What, a guy can’t look at his fiancée?”

“I didn’t say yes.”

“Didn’t you?” He smirks, knowing good and well that they’re as good as engaged. 

She shakes her head. He’s right, but there’s no reason for her to voice that, not that there’s really time to before they’re already at the front of the store.

As her partner goes off to distract Diane’s manager, Kensi’s able to question the blonde without interruption. It’s when the young woman talks about she and Porter picking out rings that she suddenly feels a strange kinship with her. 

When Jack had proposed to her all those years ago she hadn’t really thought about how gaudy and so unlike her that the ring truly was. It wasn’t until he was off in Afghanistan that she would catch herself staring at the large diamond thinking that it didn’t belong there. Everything was different with him, she realizes that now that her rose colored glasses are off. 

She’s been having these moments ever since Marty proposed, finding herself imagining what kind of ring he’d give her. He loves her like no other, he knows she’s not into blingy things. It makes her smile when she remembers all the times he’s seen women with large diamond rings and spouting off something about someone overcompensating. She’d laugh and that would make him laugh, and in turn they’d get stares from strangers making them laugh even harder. Never in her life has someone made her laugh the way Marty Deeks has. 

Kensi’s focus goes back to the woman standing in front of her, against her own will the image of their roles reversed comes to the forefront of her mind. What if it was Marty that had been killed? The answer brings a gut wrenching ache over her. 

••••

The jewelry store op had been a bust. As soon as the man behind the counter got a glimpse of Kensi’s bracelet the air shifted and they were immediately asked to leave. It may have not turned out like they planned but Deeks can’t help but love the fact he and his partner got to deceive their coworkers once again by “posing” as a couple. Kensi didn’t seem too keen on showing affection however, especially when Sam and Callen were just outside. He wasn’t the least bit surprised when the sharp point of her heel lands directly into the top of his foot.

So now here they sit in the bullpen, in silence, trying to figure out the team’s next move. He took over Callen’s chair so they could work more closely but neither have come up with any links to their victim in the myriad of old case files piled on each desk. 

The shaggy blonde takes a look next to him, smiling at the pout that’s displayed on his girlfriend’s face. She hasn’t spoken a word in the past 30 minutes which is kind of worrisome. Afraid that he pushed to far by calling her his fiancée, he speaks up in hopes that she’ll respond. “Are you mad at me?”

“Dogs go mad. People...people get angry.”

The spark in her mismatched orbs makes him want to forget this nonsense and kiss her right then and there, but he quickly remembers the terms of their bet and knowing Callen isn’t anywhere around, he continues this little charade...for now. “Is this about the jewelry store? Listen, I was just trying to sell the fact that we were a couple.”

“Yeah, whatever. Like anybody would believe that we’re a couple.”

He has to hold back a laugh at her words because ever since middle school that’s all people thought they were. “You’re right. You are so not my type.”

••••

It takes longer than any of them anticipated but eventually Porter’s killer is caught. As Hetty congratulates them on a job well done, she hands Kensi a small ring box. The contents of said box are a delicate simple ring much like Diane had described. 

She thinks back to the woman and her heart aches for the loss that she’ll never get over. The life that she’ll never get to experience with the man who she loved. She’s drawn out of her thoughts at the distinct laughter of her love filling the room. Looking across to Hetty’s office she watches as he exchanges some verbiage with Sam making Callen laugh and she could swear there’s a hint of a smile on the Operation Manager’s face. It’s then she realizes that she wants to accept Marty’s proposal. Who the hell cares that they’ve only been dating for a few weeks. They’ve known each other their whole lives and she doesn’t ever want to live without him. There’s just one thing she has to do first.

Taking out her phone, she presses call on the newly added number “Diane, hey, Special Agent Kensi Blye, NCIS. I was wondering if I could drop by. I have something that Tom left for you.”

••••

Deeks watched from the passenger seat of the SRX as his partner handed over the small box to Diane. As she pried it open, tears immediately sprang to the woman’s eyes and before either knew it her arms were wrapped around the junior agent in a giant bear hug. It suddenly made him think about what if he were the one that died, leaving Kensi all alone. The thought alone breaks his heart in two.

A few minutes later the pair bid their farewells and part ways. He’s surprised a little at the look in her eyes, its not one of sadness but there’s something else, something he’s not sure how to describe. 

The shaggy blonde is so focused on his girlfriend that he doesn’t realize she misses the turn towards his apartment, instead she keeps going for a few minutes until she hits the Santa Monica exit. A few minutes later they’re back in the same spot at the overlook where they were just a week ago. 

“What are we doing here?”

She turns towards him, that unrecognizable look still swirling in her mismatched eyes. “Well, I’ve been thinking.”

[winterrose527]

and ok hmm on her morning run Ella finds that a dog (ahem matchmaker greywind) has followed her home

omg of course this has to be the first one I wrote! also I am sorry because this turned out longer than expected?

***

It had started as she’d taken the exit at the reservoir. That feeling of being followed. She had just kept running, because she had a far better chance of outrunning someone than she did fighting them off. She didn’t bother looking back, not wanting to risk stumbling, and she extended her legs further.

Usually she ran so that she didn’t have to feel guilty for eating ice cream every so often, or to clear her head, but her legs reminded her that they were good for this, too. Getting away.

It was foolish to run this early in the morning in the park. Even though there were all those op-eds about how it had been so gentrified with outdoor yoga classes and early morning kids play groups, she’d grown up knowing that you never went into the park at night. And a self-defense class she’d taken in college had told her that most assaults actually happened in the early morning.

So she was an idiot for doing it, but it had been such a beautiful morning and she’d woken with so much energy that she hadn’t been able to stop her feet from bringing her towards the green lushness. By nine o’clock it would have been too hot to run, so she’d set out at six.

She felt better as she exited the park. Shops were opening up, people were out walking their dogs. She could still feel it though, that sensation of being followed.

She turned her head quickly but didn’t see anyone so she kept running, turning right off of 5th avenue and heading east.

It was still there though. She reached into her armband and pulled out her keys, sticking them between her knuckles.

As the dark green awning of her apartment building came into view, Sid standing outside, she got the nerve and stopped running and turned around.

“Hey!” she shouted.

An old man across the street didn’t even look at her. It would take more than that to shock a long term New York City resident. Even if there was no one standing there for her to yell at.

Except, that wasn’t exactly true.

“Hey,” she said more softly, bending down.

A big grey dog, some sort of Husky mix maybe, approached her, his amber eyes looking into hers. She held her hand out and he sniffed it before his eyes closed and he rubbed his face against it.

“Hey,” she all but cooed now, crouching down and drawing him towards her, stroking his soft fur and ears, “Are you my stalker?” He made some sort of grunt in response and she felt around his neck for his tags. It was a grey tag darker than his fur and on one side it said Grey Wind. “Hello Grey Wind, I’m Myrcella.”

She turned the tag around and saw an address and a telephone number.

Grey Wind wasn’t wearing a leash and though he’d followed her long enough that she didn’t imagine he’d run away from her, she didn’t want to risk losing him either.

“Alright, come on you, let’s get inside and call your human,” she suggested.

As though that made very good sense he let her lead him by the collar towards her apartment building.

“They must be so worried about you,” she told him, unsure of why she was talking so much to this dog.

“New friend?” Sid greeted her.

“He followed me home,” she explained, “I’m just going to bring him upstairs while I call his owner.”

She had never looked into what her buildings rule was about pets, though she imagined that if there was a weight capacity Grey Wind far exceeded it.

“I saw nothing,” Sid smiled at her.

She smiled back, “Thanks Sid. Come on Grey Wind.”

Grey Wind looked at Sid who held open the door for him and then looked at her so she went inside and he followed. They went over to the elevator and she pressed the button for the eighth floor, grateful that no one else got in with them.

She led him to her apartment and brought him into the kitchen and filled a bowl of water and put it on the floor for him.

Once he’d had some to drink she looked at his tag again and dialed the number.

“Hello?” someone answered on the first ring.

“Hi, you don’t know me, but I’m Myrcella Baratheon and I think I have your dog?” she offered stupidly.

“Oh thank god,” the man said, “He just took off like nothing I’ve ever seen before, I’ve been all over the neighborhood. Is he alright?”

Myrcella glanced at Grey Wind who had rolled over onto his side and lifted his front paw to give her access to his belly.

“Um,” she couldn’t help but laugh, “Don’t be offended but he doesn’t seem as shaken up as you are.”

The man chuckled, “Of course not. I can come get him, where are you?”

In addition to being warned from going into the park at night, she’d also understood from a young age that you never gave your address to a stranger. There was something about Grey Wind’s amber eyes though and the concern in this guy’s voice that made it seem somehow less stupid.

“168 East 94th Street,” she said, “Just call this number when you get here and I’ll bring him down.”

“That’s funny,” he said, “I’m 168 West 94th Street.”

“Only in New York…,” she said that phrase that encompassed everything from a random party taking place at a taco truck or someone peeing right next to you as you ate outside at a five star restaurant.

“I’ll be right over,” he told her, “And I’m Robb Stark, by the way, and… thank you.”

“See you soon,” she said.

She hung up and poured herself a glass of water, sipping it as she sat on the floor with Grey Wind. He laid his head in her lap and let her scratch behind his ears.

“I should have kept you a little longer,” she told him and then thought about the panic in Robb’s voice, “But then your Daddy might have really lost it. What were you doing, running away from him?”

Grey Wind looked up at her, almost like he was trying to tell her something and though she didn’t know what it was, she scratched underneath his chin.

In what had to be record time, her phone buzzed.

“Hi, Robb, are you here? I’ll be right down,” she said.

“Um, actually, your doorman sent me up,” he told her, “But uh, I totally get it if that’s weird, I mean I’ve basically warned my sisters never to open their doors to a strange man and actually maybe your doorman shouldn’t be doing this job but uhmm… I am outside your apartment.”

There was no way that Sid had let him up, it had to have been one of the other guys. Sid didn’t even let her grandfather up without her express permission.

“Oh, that’s um.. okay I’ll be right there,” she said.

She hung up and got off of her floor and Grey Wind followed her. Stangely, even though he was Robb’s dog and therefore his loyalty would be to him, she felt better about opening the door with him at her side.

When she did, her first thought stupidly, was that she wished that she’d showered. Her second thought was that whichever doorman had let him up was getting a huge Christmas bonus.

She took advantage of his attention being on his dog and checked her appearance in the mirror above the little table in her foyer. She brushed a few strands of hair off of her forehead and was glad that she’d chosen her light blue exercise shorts and matching tank top for her run.

“What were you thinking, buddy?” Robb asked as Grey Wind threaded through his legs, his tail smacking against the doorframe he was so excited to see him. Robb finally looked at her and then something passed over his gorgeous blue eyes and he nodded down at Grey Wind, “Okay, I get it now.”

“Hi,” she greeted him.

“Hi,” he smiled at her. “I’m so sorry about all of this.”

“That’s alright,” she waved him off, “He’s a sweetie pie.”

“I’m glad he was a good boy,” Robb said and then held out his hand, “I’m Robb Stark, which you knew already.”

“Myrcella Baratheon,” she shook his large one, feeling her fingertips tingling.

He looked down at where their hands met and released hers, his fingers trailing over her palm as he did.

“Um, so, since you already gave him a run, I have a bit of time before work,” Robb joked and she smiled. His eyes wandered over her face and he gestured behind him, “Can I buy you a coffee… as a thank you?”

“Oh I’m sort of a mess,” she demurred.

His eyes looked over her, “This is you as a mess?”

She blushed, “Not a stage five or anything,” he smiled and she felt something in her stomach, “But I can make us coffee here… if you want to come in.”

“Yeah?” he asked hopefully.

She nodded, “You’re not like a murderer or anything are you?”

“I am not a murderer,” he agreed, “But I’m a little torn here.”

“Oh…” she nodded.

He shook his head, “No, no it’s just that one part of my brain is like this gorgeous girl just offered you coffee, you take it. If she offers you horse manure, you take it. And then the other part of me, the part that has two younger sisters is wanting me to tell you not to invite me in.”

She nodded, “It’s the second one,” his eyebrows raised, “The second voice in your head? He’s the one I’m inviting in.”

He grinned, “Well, both of them would be delighted.”

“Come on in,” she said, opening her door wider to accommodate his broad shoulders, “Grey Wind can lead the way.”

His dog did just that and she followed them into her kitchen, which gave her a great view of Robb’s butt in his shorts and his muscular back in his t-shirt.

“This is a great place,” he told her.

“Thank you,” she smiled, “I’ve lived in the city my whole life but I’ve been here about a year, have you been in the city long?”

“Just about six months,” he answered.

She went over to her counter and nodded, “That makes sense.” He looked at her questioningly and she explained, “You’re still nice.”

“What’s your excuse?” he asked.

She shrugged, “Haven’t figured it out yet.” Then she gestured to her counter, “So I can make us French Press or if you prefer a cappuccino or latte…”

“I’d like to say I’m easy, but I’d really love a cappuccino if it’s not too much trouble,” he admitted.

“It’s no trouble at all, please sit,” she suggested and went about making their coffees.

She made his cappuccino first and then made herself a vanilla latte and brought them over to the table and handed him his.

They heard sirens go by as they sipped their coffee, but it was New York City so neither them nor Grey Wind thought much of it.

She learned that he was from Vermont, the oldest of five. That his sister Sansa was working at a fancy boutique in Soho and that he worked as a VC, but focused on giving opportunities to entrepreneurs from more marginalized groups.

She told him that she’d been raised a couple blocks west and fifteen blocks south, that her bedroom growing up had a view of the Met and that when she was six she’d decided she was going to run away there and live in one of the historical rooms. She told him that she had two brothers but that neither of them lived in the city anymore and that she worked for a publishing house and had just taken on her own authors for the first time.

When he finished his cappuccino she offered him another which he accepted but didn’t drink.

“I try not to drink more than one cup in a morning,” he told her when he noticed her looking.

“Oh,” she said, “Then…”

“I wasn’t ready to go,” he admitted.

She felt a blush rise on her cheeks but found the gumption to ask, “Will you think I’m terribly forward if I told you that you don’t need to make up an excuse to be here?”

“No,” he said, “But it’ll make it a lot easier to ask you to have dinner with me tonight.”

“Robb,” she smiled, “You don’t need to make up an excuse to be here.”

“Myrcella,” he grinned, “Will you have dinner with me tonight?”

She was about to answer when both of their phones flashed. They both picked them up off the table and she saw that it was just a Neighborhood Watch notification.

Robb was reading his and she saw the color drain from his face, so she looked down.

Attack in Central Park at 6:45 AM, victim is female, age 26 and has been taken to the hospital to address her injuries.

“Were you…” he started.

“Yeah…” she agreed.

They both looked down at Grey Wind who was sprawled underneath the table, touching each of their feet.

“Maybe somewhere outside?” she asked, “That allows dogs.”

Robb nodded, “I know a place. We’ll come pick you up at 7.”

She smiled, trying to get her heart rate to return to normal, and said, “I have lived in this city my whole life. I don’t need an escort, I just won’t run in the park in the morning anymore.”

He looked at her like he wanted to say something, and then his blue eyes softened, “Just looking for an excuse to get more time with you.”

And just like that, her heart steadied.

“You don’t need an excuse.”

[sustraiii]

TEAM ZRCN ARC 4 - CHAPTER 7

ZRCN’S back baby and so is our favourite purple haired villain! 😎

ZELDE

It had been a week since the explosions at the university, and Highpoint was falling back into a sense of normality again. The hole in the wall had been patched up, and work was now beginning on repairing the other parts of the university that had been damaged.

Among other things that had been picked up again was the situation with how to deal with the Rossi family. Although the threat with them was still present, it had been pushed to the side momentarily to secure the town, but now it was once again in full focus.

One of the first tasks that was being put forward was to talk with Wisteria. After Belleza had mocked them all for not speaking to Wisteria prior to the proposed meeting, it had since been addressed by the Mob Ops as something which needed to happen as soon as they were able. It had been something which Wren had wanted to do herself, but it was at Zelde's request that she allowed Zelde and the rest of her teammates to speak with her first. Team ZRCN had something of a complicated relationship with Wisteria, none more so than Cordovan, and admittedly Zelde was wary of how he would respond to her, especially following his explosive rant.

The team hadn't really spoken of Cordovan's outburst after it had happened; they had more or less pushed it to one side whilst they dealt with securing the town. Zelde knew they would all need to speak about it soon, but for now they all seemed content to leave things as they were for now. The only one who seemed finicky on the subject was Xanthos, who had been on the receiving end of Cordovan's rage.

With the meeting set to go ahead, the team found themselves ushered into an interview room, ready for Wisteria to be brought in by Cherry. 

"Do you know what you will ask her?" Wren inquired, as she paced around the room.

"We'd like to see how much she knew about Belleza's plans," Cordovan explained. "Hopefully she might give us an idea of what to expect moving forward."

"Provided she actually responds," Wren pointed out, as she ceased walking. "As you know, she hasn't exactly been forthcoming in any of the previous interviews we've conducted."

Zelde nodded her head softly, knowing that Wren was correct when she said this. In all the time she had known Wisteria, she had never been the sort to give a straight answer, so it didn't surprise her in the slightest that she wasn't going to make it easy for the Mob Ops. However, Zelde knew from Cordovan, that there was something off about the woman compared to the previous times they had interacted with her. Zelde had heard the story of how she had willingly given herself up to Cordovan and Parson after their clash at the Porfirio's warehouse.

"She's here."

At Wren's words, the team quickly straightened in their streets. A sharp knock at the door confirmed her arrival moments later. As she was led in, Zelde noticed Wisteria glance over in their direction, clearly surprised to see ZRCN sat there. Her eyes never left them as Cherry forced her into the seat opposite and Wren cuffed her to the table.

"We'll be right outside listening in," Wren said, as she and Cherry moved towards the door. "If anything untoward happens, I warn you, I will cut this interview immediately." Zelde noted that she seemed to be directing this more at Wisteria.

Wren and Cherry left the room, leaving the five of them alone. A long, awkward silence took hold for a few seconds, with neither party saying anything, merely staring at one another, as though sizing each other up.

As the leader, Zelde knew it fell to her to start the conversation, but before she could she was interrupted by Wisteria trying to reach across to pour herself a cup of water. Unfortunately, her cuffs prevented her from getting too far, so the water remained out of her grasp.

"Water." Wisteria said simply, looking at the group as she spoke. When nobody responded to her request, she rolled her eyes. "Water, please.”

It was Cordovan who answered her request, quietly pouring out a half-cup of water, before sliding it towards Wisteria. She swiftly grabbed it in both her hands, raised it to her lips, and took a few large gulps before setting it down.

"You know," Wisteria began, "I must say I'm surprised to see you all here. To what, do I owe such a pleasure?"

"We need to ask you some questions," Zelde responded.

"Everyone wants to ask me a question lately," Wisteria mused. "I hope yours is something worth answering."

"Did you know about Belleza's plans to attack Highpoint?"

Wisteria sat back in her chair. "Well, for starters, I have no idea what 'attack' you're talking about. And second of all, it's bold of you to assume Belleza actually trusted me enough to let her in on her plans."

"You seem more like yourself," Cordovan observed, eyeing Wisteria from across the table. "The last time I saw you, you were moping around and barely said a word."

"I could say the same about you," Wisteria quipped. "You caught me at a weak point back then. And whilst I am still grieving now, I refuse to let it hold me back from what I need to do."

"What would someone like you have to grieve for?" Xanthos asked.

Wisteria shot him a glare, and Zelde could see genuine anger flashing in her green eyes. "This may surprise you, but unlike a certain someone we've mentioned today, I actually care about people," She responded sharply. Wisteria continued glaring at Xanthos for a moment, before turning her head towards Zelde. "Tell me exactly what Belleza did."

At her request, Zelde launched into explaining what had happened. As things had taken a turn after Wisteria had been captured - or rather surrendered - at the warehouse, Zelde started from there. She spoke at length about how Belleza and Miho had managed to sneak into the ball and capture Rosie, Callaway, and Mira. How they had planned for Calantha to give herself up in exchange for them, only for Belleza to go back on the deal, and attack the school. And last of all she spoke about how Belleza had implied that they should have spoken to Wisteria about the code Ulysses had worked on. For her part, Wisteria listened to all of this silently, occasionally nodding her head to show she was following along with what she was being told. It was only at the mention of Ulysses that she had a strong reaction.

"Convenient to blame a dead man," Wisteria mused. “Whilst I know it's wrong to speak ill of the dead you should know that Ulysses was good but he wasn’t that good. They had Lunick modify his code to better suit their needs.”

“I’m not familiar with that name,” Zelde said, after taking a moment to try and recall if she had heard that name before. “Who is he?”

“Remember dear old Farron Hargrave? He used to work for him. And unlike Ulysses he actually did hack into the Atlas Military. Twice if I recall correctly. Which is how Farron came to recruit him in the first place,” Wisteria explained. “Belleza snatched him up from Mantle after Ulysses died on Shizukana. Neither of her sisters are particularly gifted in coding and hacking computer systems, so she needed someone who could match Ulysses’s skill, and possibly improve on it. They already had some contact details for Lunick from back when they first implanted me within Farron’s group. They just needed me for his actual address, and they did the rest.”

“The rest?” Neela pressed.

“Oh you know - a little bit of kidnap and murder.”

The mood in the room suddenly changed. Xanthos shook his head in disbelief. “She killed someone else?”

“Wasn’t the first time and certainly won’t be the last,” Wisteria said in a grim tone.

Zelde frowned a little at that, but knew deep down that Wisteria was right. They had already lost a lot to the Rossi's and it stood to reason there would be more suffering yet to come.

"So what do you plan to do about her?"

Wisteria's words stirred her from her thoughts and Zelde saw her giving her an expectant look. "Well?" She pressed.

"There is no plan," Zelde told her. "Not yet anyway."

"Well, I wouldn't hold off for much longer," Wisteria advised. "Take it from me, Belleza isn't just a problem you can ignore and hope she'll go away."

"We're aware of that," Cordovan grunted.

"Are you?" Wisteria made a scoffing sound. She turned her head towards the window. "I know you're out there listening, Wren," She said. "Don't wait for your general's permission, you need to be the decisive one here. If you don't deal with Belleza she'll just come for you."

"She said as much herself," Zelde admitted, thinking back to what Belleza had said before she blew up part of the university. An invitation to fight her on home territory. 

"Let me help you," Wisteria offered. Zelde got the impression she had more to say at that moment, but a sharp intake of breath from Cordovan interrupted her.

"Absolutely not."

“You haven’t heard me out yet,” Wisteria countered.

"To be honest I don't really want to hear what you have to say."

"Cor." Zelde rested a hand softly on his arm. She kept it there until his posture relaxed. "It can't hurt to hear what she has to say. Your mother is unlikely to change her stance on what to do with her so I doubt anything she has to say would do her any good anyway."

"Go on," Cordovan conceded, giving Wisteria a nod to continue.

"As I said, I want to help you," Wisteria said, continuing from where she left off. "I'd like to accompany you to Olympia and help take them out. Of course, you'd be free to do most of - if not all - the hard work. My only request is that you let me have Miho. After that you can do whatever you'd like with me. Imprison me, kill me-"

"We're not killers," Xanthos butted in.

"Everyone says that until their hand is forced."

"You're a fool if you think we'd agree to such a plan," Cordovan said. "For starters, I doubt we would even be going to Olympia at all. Matters regarding what to do with the Rossis and their allies have been left to the military following the attack on the university. Ultimately, it will be up to them to decide how they’re dealt with, not us.”

"Well now they know where I stand," Wisteria said. Zelde noted that as she said this, she was looking at the window, and although Wisteria could not see her Zelde knew she was addressing Wren now. "You've heard what I have to say now, Major, you've heard my offer. The question is are you actually going to do anything with that knowledge or are you going to wait for your orders like an obedient little soldier?"

Zelde looked around at the rest of her teammates, each of them had the same surprised expression as her, taken aback by Wisteria’s brazen offer.

“Is that all we have to say to each other?” Wisteria asked, turning her attention back to ZRCN. “If so I would very much like to return to me cell and let you all mull over what I’ve said.” 

[firetrucks-fastcars]

Hi, I’m glad you’re back. Can you do a tarlos prompt where it’s Noah’s birthday, and TK and Carlos booked a superhero to appear at his party but instead one of his dads has to dress up as the superhero? Thank you! P.S. This actually happened to my uncle at my cousin’s birthday party.

I see your Tarlos dressing up to save the day and raise you, Uncle Judd, dressing up to save the day

Read on ao3 here

TK was used to handling unexpected situations. It was a given of his job and usually, he thrived under pressure. Stressful situations were what he lived for; unless those stressful situations involved his son. 

Noah’s fifth birthday had been all the boy could talk about since the beginning of the month. He’d begged his dads for a superhero party, so TK and Carlos had done their best to give it to him. They’d even hired someone to dress up as Captain America, Noah’s current favorite. 

However, on the day of the party, TK had gotten a call from the company saying that the Captain America actor had gotten sick and wouldn’t be able to make it. 

“Houston we have a problem,” TK said as he hung up the phone.

“What’s going on?”

“The guy we hired to play Captain America is sick and won’t be able to make it.”

“Shit, Noah’s gonna be disappointed.”

“Nope. It’s not happening, I’m not disappointing my kid on his birthday.”

TK picked up his phone and began dialing.

“What are you doing?”

“Calling in backup.”

There were a lot of things Judd wanted to be doing on his Saturday off. Like tending to his horses, going to the shooting range, or spending the day at home with Grace.

Squeezing himself into red, white, and blue spandex was nowhere on that list.

He’d accepted when the invite to Noah’s fifth birthday showed up at their house. Avery had been beyond excited, but Grace had to work so it was left up to Judd to take her. Not that he minded, he loved the little guy and he would have been there regardless of if Avery was going. But when he agreed to go to the party, he’d expected to just be a guest.

He knew when TK started calling him at 8 am on a Saturday, it wasn’t good.

“What’s up TK?” he answered, tucking his phone between his chin and his shoulder as he got Avery settled with her breakfast.

“Please don’t laugh at me.”

“I would never.”

“We hired someone to play Captain America at Noah’s birthday party but the guy got sick and can’t show. So I have a huge favor to ask.”

“No way.”

“Judd please. I’ll owe you big time.”

“You’re taking my chores at the station for a month.”

“Deal, whatever you want. Just get your ass in that costume and get over here.”

“Yes sir.”

“You’re a lifesaver, Judd.”

“Don’t you forget it.”

*****

Most of the guests had arrived by the time Owen showed up with Noah. TK and Carlos had sent him to spend the night with his grandfather so that he wasn’t running around the house in a frenzy while they were decorating and getting everything ready. 

Decorating without the “help” of a rambunctious five year old went much smoother and faster.

Noah was practically vibrating with excitement when Owen rounded to the back of the car and helped him unbuckle his seat belt.

Noah took off running as soon as he was free, searching for his dads.

“Daddy!” he plowed into TK’s legs, nearly knocking him over.

“Hey!” TK lifted him on his hip so that he could look him in the eye. “Happy birthday bubba. Do you like your party?”

“It’s so cool!”

“I’m glad you like it,” TK kissed his cheek and set him down. “Your friends are in the backyard. Go play for a little bit and then we’ll eat cake.”

“Okay,” Noah scampered off in search of his friends and TK turned back to his dad.

“Thanks for taking him last night.”

“It’s no problem. I’m sure getting ready was much easier without him running around.”

“It definitely was,” Carlos approached, handing Owen a cup of punch.

It was bright blue and looked slightly radioactive, but the kids loved it.

“Judd called me this morning, said you roped him into playing Captain America.”

“Yeah, the guy we hired had to cancel last minute. I didn’t want to disappoint Noah.”

Owen placed a hand on his son’s shoulder, “You’re a good dad TK.”

“I try my best.”

The adults milled around the house as they talked, occasionally peeking out the backdoor to check on the kids. They were all playing a game of soccer with the nets that Carlos had set up last week as an early present for Noah. Carlos wasn’t sure if the kids knew who was on what team but they were having fun so he wasn’t concerned.

A few minutes later TK leaned out the door, calling the kids to come inside and wash up for cake and presents. 

He sat Noah at the head of the table, in front of the cake decorated as Captain America’s shield. He lit the blue candle shaped like a five and they all sang happy birthday to him.

“Make a wish bubba,” Carlos prompted from where he was crouched next to his son’s chair.

Noah closed his eyes and thought for a minute before blowing the candle out.

When all of the kids’ mouths were stained blue from frosting and they were guaranteed to go home with a sugar rush, Carlos began handing Noah his presents.

He’d gotten a few early presents from his parents and Owen but he still had a pretty decent stack. His final two presents from TK and Carlos included a new glove for his little league baseball team and tickets to the next Rangers game.

“Awesome!” he cheered. “Thanks, Daddy, thanks, Papa.”

“You’re welcome, buddy.”

He received an array of toys and games from his friends and he held each box up dutifully so everyone could see before saying thank up and setting the toy aside to open the next present.

Carlos went about his fatherly duties of stuffing all of the wrapping paper into a large trash bag and TK leaned over to Noah.

“We have one more surprise for you kiddo.”

“What is it?” Noah looked around the room as if his last present was hidden in plain sight.

Then the front door opened and in walked Judd in his Captain America costume. 

All of the kids cheered as they cleared a path for him to get to Noah.

“Where’s the birthday boy?”

Noah raised his hand with a grin on his face so big TK thought it might split in half.

Judd lifted him into his arms and settled him on his hip.

“Happy birthday Noah.”

Noah leaned in close so he could whisper, “I know it’s you, Uncle Judd. This is awesome.”

TK snapped a picture of the two and the rest of the kids crowded around for their own photo ops.

*****

Owen and Michelle were cleaning up in the kitchen, putting away leftover cake and punch. 

Noah was sprawled out on the couch between his parents, almost asleep. He had crashed hard after all of the guests had left.

“Come on buddy,” Carlos lifted him into his arms and Noah pressed his cheek to his shoulder. “It’s nap time.”

Carlos carried him upstairs with TK trailing behind them. He carefully maneuvered him into a pair of pajamas and tucked him into bed, pulling the covers up to his chin.

“Did you have a good day?” TK asked, brushing a hand over his head.

“Best day ever.”

[pinkjeanist]

“atop a hill of gold” || shouta aizawa

desc.: A pro hero comes to your shop for four shots of espresso after a long night. He leaves with just that, and then some. [1.6k words]

a/n: this fic has the soft energy that this song has. i named the fic after it but the title was weird so i named it after one of the lines. it’s from one of my favorite lgbt+ movies so theres that. i also havent written for aizawa so sorry if it’s eh. [navigation]

Coffee shops were for people who woke up at five in the morning, people who depended on coffee, and people who depended on coffee because they had to get up at five in the morning. They were also for the occasional tea-drinker, though as exam season rolled around, you were seeing significantly less of those people, or you watched those people become addicted to caffeine just to keep up with their studies. 

It wasn’t often you saw heroes when you were working, though. The shop was nestled between two taller buildings, and the only people who noticed it at all without a map were the shop’s regulars. So when the pro hero Eraserhead sulked through the doors that fateful early morning, you couldn’t help but be surprised.

The sun had just peeked over the buildings across the street, the last of the storm clouds from the night before making way for its grandeur, and the morning dew still clung fresh to the window. The unfamiliar man that had walked through the doors seemed so strangely out of place. Black hair, black outfit, a white scarf wrapped loosely around his neck atop of slouched shoulders. His whole being collided with the golden glow of the morning seeping past the hanging vines outside and above the shop window, as if he were the parallel to dawn. 

You recognized him, but you hadn’t seen much of him on the news- mostly because he worked primarily at night, and because he almost always managed to hide his face from the cameras with the cover of darkness. Because of this, you weren’t expecting him to be so handsome, nor so thoroughly exhausted-looking. The fatigue rolled off him in waves and nearly put everyone else in the shop to sleep. 

Your back straightened as he approached the counter. “Can I just get a black coffee? Four shots, please.”

“Ah. The worst combination of liquids in history for the best effects. What size?” 

“Large.”

“Of course,” You smiled. You put his order into the register. “You look like you’ve had a long night. No time for rest?”

“I’ve got classes to teach,” The hero sighed. You gave him his price and he handed over his money. 

You turned and started on his drink, but spoke before he could walk away from the counter: “Is it too weird to ask what you were doing all night?” 

“Uh...a little, but I’m used to weird,” He replied, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “It was just a villain. Took all night to track him down.”

“Wait, are you talking about that ‘Shadow Dweller’ dude? The one with the weird little mask?”

“Yeah, that one. It’s kind of hard to arrest someone who can just vanish into the shadows. Took a lot longer than I’d hoped but there’s not much else I could have done, I suppose.”

“His quirk kind of makes it seem like cheating. Pretty OP if you ask me.”

“I mean, you can’t really cheat at life. That’s just his quirk.”

“Look, I’m just saying, if I were a villain, I’d be throwing my manifesto pamphlets from the rooftops instead of sneaking around at night all the time. Kind of a dick move on his part.” The hero chuckled at that. You finished his shots and poured them in before adding some coffee from the pot. You added a few drops of honey to make it a bit more bearable to drink. 

A thought suddenly popped into your head with a heavy feeling on your chest. “Oh, fuck, you get a hero discount. I completely forgot, I’m sorry-” You apologized, hurrying to the register and setting his finished coffee on the counter in front of him, but he stepped forward to stop you.

“No, no, don’t- I don’t really care for the discount. Actually…” He reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet again, taking an unknown amount of cash and sliding it into the jar by the register. “...I should probably give you more.”

“Uh-” Your eyes widened at the numbers on the bills in the jar. “-I mean- thank you so much, but why?”

He looked at you as if you should know. You gripped the edge of the counter. “It was nice to have a conversation with someone after a long night. And I had some cash to spare.”

“I don’t normally get tips for chatting with people. Usually I get some from old ladies when I put extra whipped cream on their drink.” He chuckled at that, and you smiled at the sound. “But really, it isn’t necessary. I don’t think I can accept this much money, as much as I’ve enjoyed talking to you-”

“-but you will. I’ve got no reason to take it back.” He sipped at his coffee and grimaced. You wondered how it didn’t scorch his tongue. “God, that tastes like shit…”

“I warned you,” You laughed, nearly giggling. He took another sip and seemed a bit more tolerant of it, that time. Your grip on the counter tightened as you leaned forward on it. You didn’t mean to look him up and down after that, but the side of you that was going crazy thirsting over him at the moment hoped that he noticed. “You should really try to find some time to rest. I can tell you do this often, and it’s really not healthy.” 

“I think I can go a few sleepless nights if it means keeping villains off the streets. And I’m used to it.”

“You shouldn’t have to be.” You met his eye, and he seemed intent on keeping your gaze as he took another drink. You swallowed. Yes. He was really handsome. “I mean, if it ends up getting in the way of your teaching, that could reflect back on your students. Where do you teach, anyway?” 

He leaned his side on the counter and took another sip. “Yuuei.” 

You stuttered for an answer. “Oh- like. Like the school? For heroes?”

“That’s the one. You seem surprised.” 

“Oh, it was just like, uhm...a dream of mine to go there. When I was a kid, I mean. But I never got a quirk, and I started drinking coffee when I was a teen, so...thought I’d just get a business degree and do what I love. Or what I’m addicted to, anyway.” Most people gave you a pitiful look when you told them that little story, but he gave you a look of understanding, oddly enough, though you weren’t sure what someone with a quirk could understand about someone without one. 

He looked down at his drink. “I thought you might have had some sort of manipulation quirk. Altering flavors, something like that. I can kinda taste honey in this.”

“Oh, I did that, sorry. I used to add honey to those drinks all the time when I was cramming for exams in college. Makes it a bit more tolerable. You know.” 

“I know pretty well, yeah,” He agreed. He turned around to make sure there was no one in line before asking, “What’s your name?” 

It took you a moment to register the question before you answered it and asked in return, “What about you? Or do you just go by ‘Eraserhead?’”

“‘Aizawa’ is fine,” He smiled. You weren’t gonna tell him how much that name suited him. You were still on duty, after all.

After a moment of silent decision, he asked, “Can I have my receipt?” 

Your eyes widened. “Oh! I’m so sorry I forgot to ask, I’m just-” You pulled the receipt from the register and handed it to him. “-I’m a little distracted today, is all. I’ve been forgetting everything,” You laughed with an airy nervousness.

“Can’t imagine why,” He smirked at you. He set his drink on the counter. “Can I borrow your pen?” 

“Oh, yeah, of course,” You answered, turning around to the machines behind you to start on your own coffee. You were packing another shot when you heard the pen click closed. 

“I’ll see you around. Thanks for the coffee.” 

You turned around just to watch him leave for the doors before you could say anything. You noticed the receipt still laying on the counter. “Aizawa, your receipt-!” But he was already through the doors. If he heard you, he didn’t bother. You sighed and finished making your coffee. 

Grabbing a rag, you quickly wiped down the countertops before even looking at the receipt. You thought it was kind of a dick move of him to ask for his receipt and then just leave it behind for you to pick up. But when you did pick it up, you noticed the numbers scrawled at the bottom, along with the message: “I get off work at five. Don’t forget to call me” and a little doodle of what looked like a cat next to it. You guessed that was his signature. You made it his icon in your phone contacts.

You supposed Aizawa fit somewhere outside the lines of someone who came to coffee shops because they woke up at five, or because they depended on it, or because of a mix of both. He seemed like someone who came to coffee shops for reasons beyond that of coffee itself. And he definitely wasn’t the first- you’d seen people come to your shop and leave with someone else after a long chit-chat, or leave with someone’s number. You didn’t think you’d ever become one of those people, but you couldn’t complain. Especially when the person who gave you their number signed it with a cat doodle. 

-

taglist: @keigos-dove​ @knifeewifee​ @hanniejji​ @katsukis-sad-angel​ @wesparklebitch​ @bvnnyclouds​

- dm or inbox to be added/removed from a taglist.

[murasaki-murasame]

Thoughts on Higurashi Sotsu Ep6

Let’s just file this one under “top 10 shittiest anime deaths” *badum-tish*

Thoughts under the cut.

I feel like in a lot of ways this episode kinda highlights the highs and lows of the new series, and how it feels like it’s trying to be like three different stories at the same time and usually only succeeding at being one of them.

This episode, and this arc in general, as a standalone part of the franchise was actually really good, and delivered on the promise of ‘what if Mion actually became the culprit in one arc’, but as part of the answer arcs for the new series it just continues to feel kinda pointless and predictable. I still think that a lot of this has to do with them trying to be both a sequel and a remake at the same time, but unlike with the Rena answer arc, I honestly feel like even new fans could have guessed everything that happened in this arc, since it didn’t actually go into anything that wasn’t already discussed in Gou. So even on that level it doesn’t really feel like it’s providing essential answers that couldn’t have been worked out in advance.

It’s kinda weird how little this arc actually explored anything about Mion and Shion that wasn’t already shown in Gou, considering how much stuff from the VN related to them hadn’t been covered. A lot of their backstory stuff ended up not exactly being relevant to how this arc played out, but it just feels like a weird thing to gloss over when they’ve spent so much time going over stuff from the VN as it is.

Though on that note, I’m really curious about how they’ve made absolutely zero reference to the fact that Mion and Shion swapped places as kids, or anything about Mion’s tattoo. At this point I have to wonder if maybe Ryukishi just doesn’t actually like that plot point in hindsight, and is choosing to effectively write it out of the story here. I can see why, though, since from what I remember it kinda verges into being a twist for the sake of having a twist, and doesn’t actually do much for them as characters that wouldn’t have happened otherwise.

The lack of basically anything to do with Shion’s backstory and her relationship with Satoshi still feels a lot more iffy, but at least some of this stuff feels like intentional revising on Ryukishi’s part. Which I think is a really interesting aspect of the new series as a whole. It feels like he’s taking the chance to look back on the VN and show us how he feels about it after all this time. The stuff with characters like Teppei and Rina seems to be his way of making up for them being shallow villains in the VN, and Satoko being evil here seems to be in part inspired by how little agency or control she had in the original story. I guess the big issue here is that a lot of people probably just straight up disagree with the things that Ryukishi thinks of as being problems with the VN that he’s trying to ‘fix’ here, but I think it’s really interesting to see him do this sort of thing, even if it’s messy and overly ambitious and doesn’t fully work.

For the most part I agree with all the criticisms about these arcs feeling like a bit of a waste of time as we wait for the story to eventually loop back to the Nekodamashi cliffhanger. Even from the perspective of this being mainly for the sake of new fans, it feels kinda strange to see such straightforward ‘this is what was happening behind the scenes in the question arcs’ style answers, with lots of reused footage and basically zero twists or reveals. The VN’s way of designing separate arcs that provide answers for the question arcs was more satisfying, and Umineko went even further with that by just vaguely going over the basic keys to figuring out all the how-dunnit mysteries of the question arcs, and everything else about the answer arcs there was just a continuation of the meta plot. So it feels kinda weird to see him loop back around to the opposite end of the spectrum here.

It makes me wonder if there’s some sort of larger meta mystery going on here that’ll become more apparent in the next arc, and will reveal that we didn’t actually know everything that was going on like we thought we did, but at this point I feel like it’ll probably all end up being a lot more straightforward than we predicted. But there’s still the looming specter of the meta plane stuff, the hints dropped about where this series fits into the wider WTC universe timeline, and the fact that the whole point of the new series in the first place seems to be guiding Rika and Satoko down the path toward becoming their Umineko counterparts. So all of that stuff makes me think there might be some curveball twists going in the future that expand the scope of the story, but I have no real idea what to expect from that, and if it’d even feel satisfying. As much as I’m a diehard Umineko fan who loves the idea of this being a Lambda and Bern origin story, I still worry that the execution might not work once we get to the end. I also don’t really think that anything the series does in the final arcs will completely make up for how predictable these first few answer arcs have felt on a week by week basis, lol.

In general it gets me thinking that in spite of how predictable the answers have been thus far, I’m largely clueless about how I think they’ll actually wrap up the overarching story with Satoko and Rika. It feels like there’s still a lot of different directions they could take it in, and a lot of it depends on just how far Ryukishi wants to go with tying this into other WTC works.

For one thing, I’m not even sure how to expect them to follow up on the Nekodamashi cliffhanger. It’s at least hard to imagine how they could stop Satoko from shooting Rika then and there, considering how this episode in particular went. And one way or another, we’ll have to see how Rika and Satoko handle being in a situation where they both know what’s going on with each other. I think it’ll then just depend on what Satoko’s mental state is like at that point, and also what they plan on doing with the whole looper-killing sword thing. I think Ryukishi’s implied multiple times now that the next arc will start to test Satoko’s resolve, and going by her attitude during the infamous gut-ripping scene, as well as her traumatized reaction to the punching glove box prank, I think she’ll be much less confident in her goals by that point, and probably more willing to talk about what’s going on.

I don’t think it’ll be as simple as ‘she just gives up and everyone forgives her’, or even ‘Rika beats up Satoko while everyone cheers and they all move on and abandon her’, though. I think there’ll be some kind of balancing act between redemption and punishment, but I also think that ultimately it’ll also tie into the Lambda/Bern origin story stuff they seem to be going for. I think I’ve said this before, but my best guess for how this will end is that the looper-killing sword will be used to separate their ‘meta selves’ who are aware of the loops and stuff, while leaving behind their regular physical selves who thus lose most/all of their memories of the loops. At least that way they can have their cake and eat it too by showing how Lambda and Bern became witches, while also having separate versions of them that get to stay behind and mend their relationship or something. But I’m not even confident about all of that, lol.

It’s also worth noting that the key visual for Sotsu features Satoko and Rika as teenagers, and the OP also features that pretty heavily, along with an ominous scene of the other main characters as teenagers. So that makes me think that the story will somehow get back to that whole time period, which makes me a bit more unsure how the last arc will go. One option is that the final Nekodamashi arc will just keep going until they become teenagers again, but the way those scenes are presented in the promo material makes it seem like Satoko and Rika’s relationship is still bad then. So maybe on the other hand we’ll just go back to the original Matsuribayashi timeline where Satoko first met Eua, but I feel like that’d probably be the happy ending where everything goes back to the original timeline and they all end up reconnecting again, so I’m still not sure how the ominous presentation of the teenage characters might play into that.

Either way, I think all of that stuff will probably just come up in the final arc. The next one will probably be covering Tataridamashi and Nekodamashi from Satoko’s perspective. The next arc should be where things start to shake up, but I still think they could easily cover both of those arcs in just five episodes. Nothing much seemed to be happening with Satoko until the final days of Tataridamashi, and I can’t imagine there being much to explore with how she set up the rapid-fire loops in Nekodamashi.

With what’s been hinted at about the next arc not going according to Satoko’s plans, and her resolve being tested, I think that this will probably be where things go entirely out of her control and she starts to doubt whether or not she should continue with her plans. Specifically I think that being in a new loop with Teppei being nice to her, and watching everyone else try to save her from her [perceived] abuse, will start to sway her toward thinking that maybe that sort of timeline is worth staying in, even if it means giving up on controlling Rika.

One way or another I think Ooishi went crazy all on his own. I think Ryukishi explicitly said in an interview that Ooishi went L5 naturally, and I think the manga version of Tataridamashi made it clear that Satoko was genuinely thrown off by how things went there, so she probably didn’t want Ooishi to kill anyone. I can see how he might have gone off the deep end by interrogating Teppei and realizing that there was basically a witch hunt going on against him, but I’m not sure how he would have ended up specifically blaming Rika unless Satoko pushed him into it. Either way, Teppei probably really did attack Keiichi at the end of the arc, and we know that Satoko just has one syringe to use, so at most she probably injected Teppei and then Ooishi went L5 naturally.

I’m also curious to see if/when Satoko learns about Rika being given the power to remember her deaths, since that’d also go a long way toward explaining what her intentions might have been with how that arc ended. I think Satoko is at least aware that Rika doesn’t remember how she dies, so I’m at least not sure what she’d try and accomplish by setting up a loop that only goes to shit at the very last second. It feels like it wouldn’t do a whole lot aside from making Rika confused in the next loop. But Rika only gets her ability to remember her deaths after that loop already ends, so Satoko could have only known about it if there’s some sort of conspiracy going on about Hanyuu. Which there probably is, since her whole presence in this is weird and her deciding to give Rika a new set of powers was always super suspicious, but still.

I’m also curious to see if we get any real payoff to the idea that Satoko’s looping is causing more and more people to remember past loops. Especially when it comes to the main club members, since there’s various moments in Tataridamashi and Nekodamashi, both in the anime and manga, that seem to imply that most of them are starting to remember things.

Even though the execution of this whole new series makes me a bit more wary about how any sort of new anime for Umineko along these lines might pan out, I can’t help but still really hope this is leading to something like that. For one thing I just think that if he’s going for a Lambda/Bern origin story with this, at the risk of alienating lots of existing fans, I think there should at least be a more concrete payoff to that than just ‘ok now you can go back and read the Umineko VN’. But I think there’s a lot of potential to be had with some sort of remake or sequel to Umineko where he gets a chance to revisit it after more than 10 years. One of these days I should still just make a whole post about my hopes and predictions for what could be done with any sort of new Umineko anime, lol.

Anyway, this got longer than I planned, but all in all I enjoyed this more than it probably comes across like I did, lol. Even if the plot’s been kinda boring, I think Sotsu has done a great job of elevating it with good direction and visuals. The moment to moment pacing can still be kinda choppy, and sometimes the presentation of flashback scenes is confusing and ambiguous, but in general it still feels entertaining to watch unfold, and the brutality has a lot of impact. I’m just hoping that the rest of Sotsu is more ambitious and surprising than these first two arcs have been.