#not that ppl aren’t allowed to talk abt him like I get it. I love Nico too. but come on now

[bakedbananners]

God I feel so vindicated that TSATS actually mentions Hazel’s and Reyna’s PTSD alongside Nico’s. These girls went through fucking hell and the fandom only ever talks about Nico lol .

[dykevanny]

haz i know absolutely nothign about zeno rpg but ur zeno au has intrigued me and im curious about it,,, i saw smth abt like. meomory loss and being handcuffed together and ik they eat ppl but thats it 😭 explain the au if u want ig bc im interested and i think thye look so silly. also bc u put vanny n will in my brain and they wont leave im shooing them with a boom and they are not moving

OK LET ME GET THE INFODUMP<3

So ummm Zeno au<3 I’m really normal. Allow me to give a brief explanation of what Zeno is first You see, Zeno is a fictional disease sort of thing that makes people cannibals. Specifically an oneset is caused by traumatic events/extreme cases of unrequited love(specifically mostly familial) and the only cure is eating the flesh of someone else with Zeno.(not widely known.) It’s also transmittable through biting like zombies. there’s one specific facility with scientists dedicated to getting to the bottom of how to cure zeno, also housing ‘patients’ (or, people with zeno being used as lab rats). Now onto character lore.

So william and henry were good friends right. Yeah. Considering that they even have a small diner together. Well one day will got zeno (oh no!) and started slowly picking off kids going to the diner. He even accidentally attacked Charlie, who escaped in one piece luckily. Charlie went to the afton household to see if he was doing okay (because will’s like an uncle to her and all! And also what if everyone else got hurt?) only to find will ate them all oops. And yeah same happened to her, but since he transmitted zeno to Charlie he was cured! How convenient! The people in charge of the labs ended up roping him and henry into being scientists for them through shady shady means and well the two aren’t on good terms and avoid each other like the plague. Henry’s still sore over the ‘you ate my fucking daughter’ thing. Luckily he has his assistant/the archivist (tape girl) to keep him company. So Vanessa right! Crazzy I know. Nessa as we know comes from a broken family. In this specific au I’m mixing her backstory with the character who’s place she’s taking (hi kuro) so basically her parents. Neglect her. In favor of her younger sibling because she was born from her mom’s affair and blablabla… she grows up basically taking care of herself. Eventually she develops zeno and starts you know. Killing and eating random girls as you do. When one night she comes home and is confronted by her parents about this!! And well you can guess. What happens to them lol. She gets captured and taken to the zeno facility where she’s specifically studied/talked to by William! They’re funny bc nessa hasn’t had anyone willingly spend so much time around her and be so nice to her. Will … well she’s a specimen to him lol. Since being cured himself zeno has been a subject of interest to him, he’s thrown himself completely into his work (under the guise of feeling soooo guilty for his actions which henry can see right through) and well. He’s realized the consumption of human flesh has something to do with it, since eating Charlie cured him. So he’s been …. Robbing the morgue/killing people when needed to feed vanessa every time they meet. Which, she’s more docile when she’s not hungry so it kind of works but she’s not like cured you know. It has the side affect of her being hungry when it’s time for someone to chat with her though which was funny the one time henry had to go in will’s stead cause he offered her a granola bar and she was like 😐 ew.?? Anyways will has gotten her total trust because he also plays board games with her yay!! He’s the only one not enforcing the whole straightjacket-dog muzzle combo also so she’s like woah !! He sees me as another human unlike these other guys :DD (needless to say zeno patients are not treated very humanely.lol) there was also one time tape girl had to be a substitute for william but nothing of note happened they just kinda chilled and ness threatened her in a backhanded and mildly gay sort of way.as you do.

Anyway yeah so basically Henry’s been experimenting with treatment through amnesia and totally surely unrelated note at the actual start of the story, Will and Nessa wake up in a strange room with no clue who they are or how they got here, and have to navigate the now bloody and corpse-strewn facility while handcuffed together with nothing to guide them except each other and the only clue to their pasts is tampered resumes which effectively switch their backstories!! Nessa is under the impression that she’s the scientist (the whole cannibalism part was left out) and she thinks William is the serial murderer/cannibal. Which was funny cause she read her own resume like wow… I’m kind of a big deal huh :) and then read Will’s like ERM.OKAY… Will didn’t read either of the resumes. Also tape girl gave everyone code names and said code names were swapped on the resumes also! So ‘bonnie’(nessa) and ‘vanny’(will) are just kind of cluelessly walking around like damn this place is really… corpsey:) until henry starts showing up and trying to kill them (he contracted zeno big surprise) and also tape girl (assumed dead) shows up sometimes just to see how things are going. Lots of shenanigans and also murder ensue.

The game also has multiple endings so. sometimes nessa ends up killing william lol. Intestine jumprope…. … ……… Also side note.will found out it’s specifically zeno infected humans that need to be fed to patients to cure them but kinda. Didn’t cure nessa on purpose<3 because she’s sort of entirely dependent on him in this way and she’s kind of his only friend.the same way he’s her only friend……wacky wild!

Tape girl is having a fucking.day. Because henry mentioned he was going to do something but likeee. She didn’t expect to be caught in the crossfires of a HUGE MASS MURDER CANNIBAL EVENT.AS LIKE ONE OF THE 4 PEOPLE STILL ALIVE IN HERE,.. once he chilled out henry explained himself and she agreed to help out (she also decided to distribute some of her recorded notes.just for fun…after the two get separated for the first time ‘vanny’ listens to them and is like woah… i was a patient here⁉️ And bon was my unethical doctor⁉️⁉️ which is funny) but like. She is the only one NOT infected in here and would like to keep it that way so she’s having quite the time. Seeing vanessa walking around unrestrained keeps jumpscaring her LOL. Once ness’s zeno symptoms start returning well ofc will as the only one she’d encountered here who she cares about is the first target but tape girl nearly gets chomped too lol.

Zeno has an interesting affect on the subjects mood which is funny. Basically when an oneset happens and the person with zeno is running around eating people they’re in a crazed manic state which. Is really fun.will and nessa are wandering around handcufffed and he’s like uhh bonnie you okay cause her facial expressions.well they went from the example on the left to the one on the right.

It’s funny bc. The memory erasure actually technically did work… her symptoms only started returning bc she got bit LOL

Pre-the amnesia incident the other three’s interactions with vanessa were pretty.limited. Considering she’s theeee most dangerous patient. Will talks to her for like an hour daily but Henry only really knows her as ‘william’s mutt’ (he was especially not a fan when he found out will had been FEEDING HER HUMAN FLESH.) and tape girl is afraid of her but also. Kind of endeared from their two in person interactions. The second one in which vanessa tried to convince her to let her cannibalize her but hey she was very polite about it..!! Henry and tape girl are both shocked and stunned that she’s actually pretty chill when she’s not insane and eating people.

TL;DR

^these fuckheads are almost all cannibals and beating each other up forever

[icharchivist]

gosh, mentioning your friend who got bowled over by act 2 autumn must’ve been foreshadowing, because I, who foolishly was like, oh I don’t think I’ll relate to azami that much he’s very different from me but it’ll be fun to see autumn, cried twice while going thru the back half of this story. jeez. I’ll may have to be a bit less chronological than usual for the sake of keeping all of that stuff later.

zombie run night was rly great! more like zombie fun night amirite. I’m sorry I make bad jokes. banri getting azami to be a zombie as well was so nice like. again he’s being a good leader.

tenma being scared of zombies makes sense obviously. I’m with him. not zombies but when I was staying with a relative a while back I found a lizard the length of my hand in the bathroom and then refused to use that bathroom for the rest of my stay.

I really liked the eyeball necklace detail—it made the event feel real and also considerate? the moment yuki just went … at tenma I Knew he had planted the necklace on him tho. he’s so funny for that. seeing that and being like yeah tenma you’re so right. you don’t need to participate. cant believe mankai didn’t recognize banri when he caught them. azami must have some stellar makeup skills

azami going after sakyo and haunting him abt his budget lifestyle was sooo funny. like I was bracing for something slightly charged to happen but it was just funny. and he had a good time!! I’m glad. I liked that banri was like. still encouraging to azami even tho his acting motives aren’t the purest lol. I mean to be fair he has no room to talk there but it’s also just nice to like. meet him where he’s at. like we see azami doesn’t really get The Feeling until closing night but. things take time.

azami and omis whole thing was. so good. like the way he won’t even like accept a bandaid is so. azami… I loved the way they resolved it? first seeing omi juza and tsuzuru talking in uni was cool. but then kumon approaching azami was like. so nice. again the way that they like talk and kumon’s like I miss summer! and u can Hear the smile in azamis voice when he’s like come on summer literally just ended!

but him being awkward around omi bc he’s not sure what a mother should be like… gosh. like the way he describes the whole thing as like. strange and confusing I’m going to vote the wall like. like yeah actually that’s exactly how it feels when someone is kind to you in a way you haven’t yet experienced it makes you want to throw it off immediately bc it’s like whoa whoa hold on. I’m not allowed this kind of thing. anyways just. no wonder he likes kumon so much that guy is like, effusive in his praise and azami probably likes having ppl around who are Nice like that. loved omis portrait. it was so good. and it like. absolutely sucks that he had to grow up that quick. very nice to see nachi again, though. but when kid-omi was like: one day in the future. I’ll take a break for myself :) omi. omi I’m shaking you. have you ever really done that. well ig now that he’s living in mankai he’s letting his family take care of housework and stuff? but like, still.

minor note but when they’re doing a street act it was rly cool to see juza just like seamlessly and confidently advertise the play. he’s come so far…

*cracks knuckles* alright all of that was warmup now it’s time for the BIG STUFF. azami almost got hit by a car!!!! the cg there was like. So Good. like the way sakyo is absolutely Frazzled… yeah. like god I keep thinking abt that cg. its sooo. wow!! i dont think ive seen sakyo look so distressed!!! hes not wearing glasses bc he was so shocked that he ended up breaking his glasses in the rush to get there!! its like. azami look... u have a dad that wishes for your every happiness... and azami is just Sitting There mostly unharmed and looking a little confused like huh… why’s sakyo looking so out of sorts… it’s wonderful. and the way sakyo is like even if it was just a scrape I need to find who did this and hurt them. like godddd and the way he’s like “so I don’t even have the right to worry about you anymore?” I am. Going to cry.

what rly got me tho was like the whole jin-gi-oh cards though bc like first off sakyo remembered ALL of them but also!! also just the way u can hear azami kind of mumble stutter like we-well I bet he doesn’t even remember the card stuff (why would he really care about me…) and then sakyo clearly Does. and it’s just like.

it’s so clear that while sakyo is convinced that he barely has the right to talk to azami bc he betrayed him by chasing after his dream… a lot of what azami is worried about is that sakyo doesn’t care about him anymore. like imagine you’re fourteen and you’ve just learned that the guy you secretly think of as your dad, who’s like the only one that’s supported your dreams, is leaving you to pursue his own. without you. and you get into a huge fight with him about it and storm off. and then a week passes and you don’t hear from him. months pass and you don’t hear from him. whenever he’s around doing ginsenkai stuff you just… don’t really talk to him. and you’re fourteen maybe fifteen so you’re too embarrassed to reach out first. besides if he left that easily maybe this whole thing was just a job to him, huh? maybe he never liked you as much as you liked him. whatever. whatever. it’s fine. like the “I bet he’s having so much fun now” line azami says… it’s so clear he believes like. oh sakyo was slumming it with me and left for greener pastures.

and of course sakyo is sitting there like oh I’ve committed the biggest betrayal ever by not supporting his dreams well enough. he probably hates me and doesn’t want to ever see my face again. and like that’s not helping.

and then you run away from your bio dad because you can’t let go of your own dreams and when you don’t have anywhere to go it turns out that you can actually run to the place sakyo went to. and strangest of all sakyo is letting you stay. like the way he just. the pause he has when sakyo says he’s basically his guardian. the feeling of. sakyo is… admitting that? does he… does he WANT to be my dad (I thought he didn’t want to—)

and now you’re here in a hospital and just saw sakyo was super worried about you and also like. maybe treasures you in the way that you thought he did. sakyo says his story of running away is about a pathetic kid but it’s also like. for azami he just learned that the card thing he did with sakyo and liked so much that he still keeps them carefully is actually a parent-child thing sakyo did with his own mom!!! it’s like. oh my god.

azami talking abt his own experience with buying cards and then his dad trashing them, though… I. hm. I am going to leave the section abt azami’s bio dad alone bc I’m tempted to get mean about it and I kind of want to leave that for later.

so, skipping forward to the actual play… it was so cool to see summer come in for support! and I always love seeing how the chapters extend what we see in the actual play. also the voice acting that’s good too. the one thing I noticed was like. “you remember the boy with brown hair you killed three years ago?” who’s going to tell them that taichis hair is as red as ever. so roy’s hair was never brown. it got kinda brown when he became undead? but before I don’t think it was.

cannot believe those asshole delinquents were the ones who almost hit azami. the title “buff high schooler” is just rly funny to me tho. sakoda chasing after azami and then calling everyone was so good of him. smart choice my guy. love how everyone in autumn (minus taichi who seems a little nervous) is like. it’s fighting time. very cool to see all of natsugumi volunteer to be opening act. was confused by the “I always repay my debts” line but I think it’s for banri acting as stand in for kumon? which is nice bc it’s like. tenma is the one saying this so it rly just gives the idea that like. natsugumi is a team yknow. and later when they do the acting it meshes so well with the actual play? bc like they had a specific point where they were like oh let’s adlib and do some comedy that’s undead related to make sure the play isn’t a bummer. and then here’s natsugumi just doing like those sorts of jokes.

anyways back to azamis kidnapping.

muku: won’t it be bad if they see ur faces?

me: …ah. I have. the faintest idea of where this is going [judo bear nozaki flashes to my head]

THE CG WAS. THE BEST POSSIBLE USE OF A CG EVER ITS SO GOOD. I LOST MY SHIT. THE HOLLOW EYES R KINDA TERRIFYING IN A REALLY FUNNY WAY. TAICHI THIS WAS AN AMAZING IDEA. the guitar / bass guitar (? idk instruments) that rolls in during this scene is amazingggg. it’s just the like instrumental break part of respawn which is. I went and listened to that after finishing boyhood collage and the song is like, sooooo good. much love to it. the rly fast vocal parts made me think of the fast parts of worlds end dancehall. which is like also apocalyptic setting so that was cool. also I love worlds end dancehall.

they were so funny during this tho. sakyo going “roooar. give us back our friend, you punkass kids.” and juza forgetting what bears sound like so he just literally goes “beaaarrrr” what are you a Pokémon?

and sakoda running towards azami!!! <3 I grew soooo much affection for sakoda in this story tbh like he takes care of azami so well!

thought it was very interesting that like. when they return, everyone in natsugumi is audibly exhausted minus tenma (he’s probably got great acting stamina) and misumi (I don’t think he says any lines here? but he’s probably just got excellent physical stamina. and he and tenma did start out with the like best acting chops of the troupe) which is a cool detail.

and then azami just carefully opening up that he was terrified. not of being hit but of disappointing them and the play. and then when he says to sakyo… “I’m only saying this once, but when I was a kid, I always thought of you as my dad. And… I still do.” IM GOING TO CRY. idk. like the way that azami just Says That and let’s it hang there and then they do the play.

izumi: wow the fight scenes r intense today! (please don’t tell me it’s bc they were just actually fighting…)

damn izumi what do u want me to tell you then. huh. they stomped in their with their animal heads and azami pirouetted back to mankai? no violence involved?

and sakoda crying at the play!! again I can hear the smile in azamis voice when sakodas like bawling in front of him. when azami was like. shift couldn’t make it…? I paused and was like. azami implied shift had an interest in theater at the end of act 2 summer… could it be… and then when azami was like “the god troupe, huh…” I was like ahhhh fuck. we shall see what goes on there later ig.

also they bring up vkei again when talking abt what they want to do next and izumi shut it down… what do u have against it! honestly eyes emoji at masumi saying he likes it, tho... mazumi expressing an opinion that doesnt align with izumi's personal tastes??? maybe I’m missing something.

but the ENDING!!!!!

citron: "I have reached my limit..." AND THEN GUYS THERE HES LITERALLY THERE!!!!! I’m assuming the <> for their dialogue means they’re speaking in their native tongue anyways im going to obsess over <Citronia.> <I've come to get you.> / <I've been wondering when you'd get here.> I knew guy was coming to get citron so I’m glad to see that’s confirmed… already gave my theories on the specifics so I’m interested to see if I’m anywhere close to the mark there.

okay and Now I can talk abt azamis bio dad. i. uh. I hate him. actually he really grinds my gears in a way I didn’t think was going to happen. so I’m worried that I’m being like somewhat unfair to him bc I’m projecting my own biases onto him. so I’m sorry if u have like good opinions of him. it’s rly so funny tho I knew azami did like makeup and stuff and I was like “oh I have. No Interest in makeup or skincare so I probably won’t relate to it too hard” and then This happened and it’s like I got hit with a bowling ball.

like goddd. the way azami is like yeah I bought some cards with my allowance, and then my dad who’s not sakyo found out and threw them out. “I learned then to never let my dad get his hands on anything I’d bought with my own money” gah… not to overshare but like, I feel azami so much there. growing up I would like. never want to tell my parents I liked Anything bc I knew they’d be like oh you’re so silly and dumb and stupid for wanting any kind of merch or collectibles! it’s such a hassle!! why do u like this stupid thing!! so. ahah. I went to a concert for the first time this year and I remember my parents thinking it was weird but then one day my dad called me and he was like oh I was talking to a colleague abt the concert you’re going too and he says that band you like is like, super cool and popular. so it’s like ah. ig now that an Adult has approved it I’m a cool kid now. the same way my writing was worth shit and was totally useless until a family friend kept gushing about the way I’d helped their daughter. anyways what I’m saying it is azami I get it.

and his dad then trashed his makeup, too… like the way sakyos defense for the handmade cards were that they were like “yakuza” cards so he couldn’t complain like it’s a flimsy defense but the fact that he even had to like, make a Justification about these cards when it’s like. these handmade cards aren’t going to help azami fit in or make friends at all so like they’re not accomplishing what the store bought ones were for. but like you still need to defend against it.

but yeah the way it’s like. wow at a pretty young age azami was like oh okay. so if I like ANYTHING I can’t tell my dad about it or he might ruin it. do I feel that this is perhaps part of why he seems so cautionary abt romance yeah sure.

the first time I actually teared up during this whole thing was actually sakyo in the hospital telling azami not to give up. that he can do it even in defiance of his parents. and it’s so meaningful bc sakyos like his DAD. and he’s telling him he’ll support him… like idk. something so heartwarming abt a parental figure being like, hey, you need to prize yourself to the point that if needs must, you can even rebel against me.

the conversation sakyo and izumi have after that, too… “after seeing my boss, I get the feeling there’s no dad out there who doesn’t care about his kids.” this line makes me feel. So Complicated. like I won’t deny the fact that I think azamis dad cares for him on…. Some level…. but it’s like homares grandmother. im glad she loved him but it doesn’t erase the ways that she hurt him, yknow?

also sakyo. you live with misumi tenma and masumi. masumi you can maybe argue his dad caring abt him and same with tenma (but. I mean I’m not HAPPY abt arguing that bc they r rly under baseline care.) but anyways are u gonna do that with misumi’s dad. then again probably only summer troupe knows about the situation there… honestly sakyo probably knows nothing abt the tenma situation too. so he’d only know about masumi and masumis dad seemed like fairly reasonable and nice at the end.

sakoda was so cool here tho. first off having the nerve to even try to still lie about the tickets to protect azami. and then when azami got dragged to his bio dad the fact that sakoda just. started yelling at him? amazing. this made me cry again. like yeah sakodas been watching him… what azamis doing isn’t child’s play! he’s right! and sakoda knows all of this bc he’s been caring abt that kid for forever!! to the point that he’ll yell at the yakuza head like this bc he cares that much!!!

and azami is like. god. I rly love the way he was like. so openly resentful. “Since when have you ever been a father to me?! Dont pull that shit on me now!” ouch. so true though.

and the. the way that uh. “Wh-what are you bowing for? This asshole doesn’t deserve—“ you can HEAR the trembling in his voice. he’s holding back tears. sakyo bowing FOR azami is so good. like I think this scene hit me so hard bc like both sakoda and sakyo who have the lives they do now mostly in thanks to the ginsenkai, are like… sticking up for azami. who is fifteen and thus hasn’t really Given them anything but like his presence. and they care enough about him to stick up for him anyways.

anyways I hadn’t thought abt this until now but it’s like huh… yeah no wonder azami made something up. he wouldn’t want to talk abt sakyo in front of sakyo bc that would be like admitting he still cared abt him. and he didn’t want to talk abt his parents in front of sakyo bc uh. it would be complicated ofc. like in his boyhood collage he was like oh I don’t even remember why I ran away, but shift was probably frustrated and stuff. but like clearly azamis mom had just recently died at that point. he probably just didn’t want to talk about that.

the reveal that the magic brush he uses on kumon was his mothers makeup brush, though… like the way it was her cheek blush to make herself look less sick. and he does the same thing for kumon years later. it just makes it… so much more affectionate. ”I wanted to use its magic to make someone happy like that again. I wanted to do for someone else what I could no longer do for my mom.” and YOU DID!!!

and then his bio dad’s response to all of this. “well, aren’t you all just making me out to be some evil villain. you think there’s a parent out there who doesn’t want to support his child’s dreams?” yes. yes absolutely.

and the way his reasoning is just like. he just thought azami was making up excuses to run away from the family. that uh. that’s not. true… ugh this part is what made me so frustrated. like azami, after his portrait, so very specifically asserts that’s he’s his son and because of that he’ll do anything for him and ginsenkai family. and it’s like. Yeah. I know what it’s like to be so aware of your position as someone’s child and know that even as you hate them you will also do anything for them even if they won’t recognize that. like… he never even asked. azami was so pissed about getting his makeup trashed that he literally ran away and didn’t come back. and you’re still assuming oh it was a little side hobby, if he REALLY cared about it he would’ve, what, psychic mind beamed the force of his feelings to you? if you had paid attention like sakyo or sakoda you would’ve clearly seen how long and how deeply he’s loved it for. even if it had been for a short time how would you know it wouldn’t grow into something else, anyways. like acting.

also his “study your ass off and aim for the top.” line about makeup and then when he gifts him the makeup set later… good on him for personally buying that stuff. but that line left such a sour taste for me bc it’s like. ugh… honestly it just hit a sore spot bc I remember my parents being like. hi child. you can do like, anything you want supposedly but if you want to do like Anything in the humanities field or arts field you’ll have to be the top 1% of it otherwise you’ll die alone. so like if you’re not good enough to do that just quit (I am implying you’re not good enough). and it’s just like. idk. the sort of implications that if azamis not like the best at makeup ever and also that if he hadn’t chosen to do it bc of his mother and it was just something he Liked, then that reason wouldn’t be enough…? that’s just the vibe I get.

also azamis bio dad being like sigh I’ll tell sayuri you’ve become a strong independent man instead of the family head. it just rly irks me like. even now it felt like hey old man. are you looking more at your dead wife than you’re looking at your actual child. because that’s what it feels like.

anyways idk. I hope azami has more space later in life to be a bit more resentful bc I think he deserves it, yknow? I think the way the whole thing went down like, Made Sense bc why would that guy like admit he had hurt his son… that’s like. unrealistic. so I don’t think the story was written badly or anything. it just made me like. really sad. azami didn’t end up loudly crying (im not counting the wailing he has to do in the play for his dead dad.) and like that makes sense to me. actually I think it was very Cool Of Him to never lose his composure That Badly. uh and he’s going to do great considering he as a middle schooler is like rolling normally with college students. but I just want him to be like. feel safe even when he’s not excelling, yknow?

I fear I lost the plot or rambled a bit too hard there at the end, so sorry if it’s incoherent!! I rly like azami!! this was a very good story. im also ridiculously excited for winter.

HUH OH. SORRY ABOUT THAT LMAO. a3 relatability strikes again?

let's go into it!

dFKJDFKLFDJ zombie fun night is perfect. Banri is really being a good leader and figuring out how to have Azami engage with what they're going to do it's just. god Banri is good.

HELPP. Tenma scaredycat, but also for the lizard thing, so valid, i would do the same. AND HELP for the necklace. This is so funny. and yeah Azami's makeup skills truly are shining there! DLKFJDKLFJD being so used to a3 dropping emotional bombs that this just ended up being funny makes it even softer. But yeah agreed on the way Banri coaches him and still encourages him even though it's obvious Azami doesn't feel the same way about theater yet. For Banri who went from uninterested to "this is my whole life actually", it must be jarring to look at this past mirror, but even more reasons to take it easy.

God the Omi and Azami scene was so good. (friend was staring into oblivion during this whole scene and then cursed me. I would love to be all awww but i couldn't stop laughing.)

But yeah it was so nice that like, so many of them worked together in trying to help out? like it really shows that they're really all a family and a community now, and they'll try to help with their newest members as well. AND AWW. yeah Summer is happiness itself. always missing them. even Azami cannot resist them.

BUT YEAH Azami's awkwardness aroound Omi is just. man. Exactly as you say, it's just, difficult to approach right. but yeah it does serve to justify why it goes smoothly with Kumon on the other hand. Omimi's portrait… just, absolutely heartbreaking again as always. I wonder if Omi did take a break when he was being a delinquant and therefore is doubling down on being of service because he still feels guilty for this time. or if him joining the theater troupe is his vision of taking a break since it means his family has to handle things on their own. Or maybe like Juza and Taichi he's just being too hard on himself.

JUZA SO GOOD. ALWAYS.

and here's the meat of it! yes that CGI was so good man. You really feel just how important Azami is to Sakyo in that image. Also if i recall correctly, Kumon panicked over the phone so they really all expected it to be bad while it was just, Kumon panicking, which somewhat makes it even funnier to me. Anyway. Sakyo good dad. that's all i'd say. god this scene is so emo. AND YESS SOBS THE CARDS STUFF. IT'S GENUINELY SO EMO. Azami not able to believe Sakyo would care this much while of course Sakyo does, come on and it's just. god this arc. God the whole way you describe Azami's thoughtprocess is bringing me to tears. I feel like this is exactly how he felt it yeah. Sakyo is worrying about how he "betrayed" Azami by leaving while Azami would have been just fine with it if it didn't feel like Sakyo was abandonning him and only thinking of him as a duty, and it's just. godd. and goddd the way you describe the rest i'm just. soso emo. They really have a neat relationship, a hurt neither of them were able to explain to the other and therefore they hurt one another like that, but they genuinely care so much and want to be part of each other's lives and and y'know what Azami maybe Sakyo is the only dad you need.

SUMMER SO COOL YEAH!! And yeah the play is pretty nice, though yeah. I guess with Azami at makeup they tried new hair things but Taichi's hair stayed too red for it all smh! but i guess in a huge theater it might not matter so much.

SAKODA IS SOOOO GOOD, UNSUNG MVP OF THIS EPISODE. yeah for Tenma's "i always repay my debts" it's about how Autumn helped Kumon out, so Summer is going to help Autumn and Azami out as well basically. And yeah Tenma definitely see them as a team, he's Natsugumi's leader and therefore he speaks for and takes debts for all of Natsugumi. What a lad. But Natsugumi did such a good job and i love how hard they helped on this one. truly MVPs.

Also yes i love how all of Autumn was ready to fight except Taichi who was nervous, but i love even more that it's Taichi who comes up with the plan on how to infiltrate the base. Really reminding us that he was with the "Bad Boys" because of spy related crimes by how he can come up with plans to infiltrate stuff, but also i love this so much. It's kinda where i started to have my headcanon of "Taichi is scaryingly smart when it comes to illegal stuff". Like the idea of Taichi messing up say, simple math, but coming up with an infiltration plan that would even have Chikage pause is one of my favorit headcanons ever, and it all started because of this.

BUT YES THE CG WAS SO GODDAMN PERFECT. IT'S ONE OF MY FAV CG EVER IT'S SO FUNNY. And with the song in the back, it was GLORIOUS. i'm glad you liked Respawn!!!! it's such a neat song! Also i need to share this stage video: https://www.tumblr.com/icharchivist/708632707674079232?source=share

BUT YEAH it was so funny and i lOVE that they were dedicated in like, actually playing their animals like. dguys you didn't HAVE to. you're just so funny. AND JUZA'S "BEAAAR", it's so good. I love them so much.

Sakoda MPV <33333 he really does take care of Azami so well it's really soft.

And yeah Summer's exhaustion is a nice detail. god it makes me wonder for how long they went on, a wonder the public didn't get weirded out by it.

AND SOBS YEAH AZAMI'S SPEECH. YEAH. And also the "maybe it's because i have two assholes dad that i turned into such an asshole" with a bright smile on his face. god he's so good.

And eheheh for Shift, but, yeah. yeah…. AND SAKODA REALLY GOOD. and please just let them having some vkei related play it's all good!! it's worth it!! maybe this time none of you would oppose Juza wearing a dress if the whole thing is about being scared he wouldn't look feminine enough smh!! AND LDKJFKLDFJD MASUMI'S RARE INDIVIDUALISTIC MOMENT.

AND THAT ENDING!!! yeah < > are for foreign languages in general, and in their case it's their native one. But finally. Guy teasing just to build up to it now!!!

Ok so, now, Azami's dad.

"my dad who's not Sakyo" i love that we're carrying it on on "Real Dad Sakyo" and "Not Sakyo Dad", it says everything.

And i'm all good with the oversharing as long as you're comfortable with it, and man. Yeah i feel you on that, my family is pretty much the same. I've also had my family like, throw out or destroy my stuff, important stuff, either without my knowledge or in front of me, so to say i felt Azami really hard would be an understatement. It's a whole level of violation that is just, really hard to swallow and forgive. Impossible even.

Honestly the whole writings over the problematic dads of Mankai, in the whole story, is so conflicting to me in general. I feel like. The issue is that most of the bad parents we meet don't have anything else going for them, the only thing we know about them per se is their function in society, and that they're bad with their kids. They're tools for their kids's backstory more than actual people. And i feel like Azami's dad actually sounds like a real person. A conflicting, messed up person with his own issues, and that ends up hurting Azami as a result. There's a difficulty to reconcile how the dad took good care of Sakyo as a kid for instance, to how he behaved with Azami, and it's really unnerving in general. And as such it puts Sakyo in a position of wanting to defend the man because he owes him so much, and it's difficult to blame him for that, but as a result Azami loses one of his major support.

Honestly my feelings about Azami's dad are complicated. I believe he's the one father of Mankai who can actually realistically work on his issues and improves his relationship with Azami. I believe he cares for Azami on some level more than just material (in opposition to how i'd consider Tenma's, who cared for his carreer more, and Masumi's, who only cared when he needed to fill his divorce's loneliness, and well, Misumi's don't care.). So i end up believing there is a possibility still for this relationship to improve in a realistic way that doesn't feel just like a deus ex machina like the others dads have been. but god, this particular brand of neglect and mistreatment truly also struck a core with me and therefore i can't totally go unbiased about it and ends up just, uncomfortable and unsure. It's so complicated.

Mostly i'd say my different approach is that, even if Tenma, Masumi or Misumi wants to work things out with their dad, i would be completely opposed to it. Purely "why the fuck, no, that's not worth it" at them. But if Azami wants to work it out it's like. "Fine. just stay safe, know you can remove yourself from it whenever you feel like it, and remember to be yourself, and bail out anytime something would go out of hands". yaknow?

But yeah i agree i feel like it really puts Azami in a position of hypervigilence. Everything had to always be a secret, calculated, you only show to your father what you're ready to defend, and it would make some stuff like romance or passions in general, stuff that leaves you emotionally vulnerable, as something that's just too much risk for very little reward. So you just closes in completely.

so Sakyo being there and actually showing him that he can just be himself and he doesn't have to worry more ahead of it is meaningful because yeah, like you say, it gives him a parental figure who is actually willing to let him experiment and be free without having to always be prepared to defend why you want to do something.

“after seeing my boss, I get the feeling there’s no dad out there who doesn’t care about his kids.” i actually really hate this line in a sense, i know Sakyo is mostly just, extrapolating to what he's seeing now, but i hate it on a personal level. I do think Azami's dad cares for Azami, but yeah exactly like you said, like Homare's grandma, his own issues means he hurt Azami in ways that are ways too deep for love to just be enough. Sometimes parents love you and hurt you more than a parent who would merely tolerate you. Because they love you so much they want to make sure you're well fitted to the world and ends up messing you up as a result.

But yeah god, i'm glad we're on the same page, you can't say "all dads care for their kids" when you're living with those kids, and Misumi's in particular. This makes me see so red. I get Sakyo has a personal bias here but giod. but yeah Sakyo probably only knows about Masumi's and yeah, Masumi's dad was reasonable at the end that he might work it out. but also like, didn't Sakyo's dad abandon hm and his mom?! that the whole reason his mom had a hard time in life was because of that? bc i don't remember if Sakyo's absent dad is due to abandon or death. Bc if it's abandon, i feel like Sakyo shouldn't be the one saying all dad cares yaknow? I still think that, the Wastonian reasons of it all, is because Sakyo owes so much to the Boss that he tries to rationalize things in his favor yaknow? But the Doylist reason, i think, is mostly that the one weakness of a3's writing is truly with how they manage to create realistic scenarios of abuses and the way it affects the kids, but then they want to solve it with the parents going "my bad", and the problem is that it's not how coping with abuse works yaknow.

SAKODA IS SOOO COOL HERE YEAH. Like man, the glow up Sakoda got in this arc with how much he would go to hell for this kid and fight the devil himself if he had to. god. unsung mvp.

Azami is totally entitled to throw that at his father's face, go Azami go.

" sakyo bowing FOR azami is so good. like I think this scene hit me so hard bc like both sakoda and sakyo who have the lives they do now mostly in thanks to the ginsenkai, are like… sticking up for azami. who is fifteen and thus hasn’t really Given them anything but like his presence. and they care enough about him to stick up for him anyways. " OGHHH SO TRUE. THIS IS REALLY SO. SO GOOD.

and you're right about Azami's collage being the way it was. It makes sense Azami just didn't want to share this vulnerability, especially with Sakyo, at a point where he still believed Sakyo didn't care for him on top of that. It's really just. man.

SOBS AND YEAH FOR THE MAGIC BRUSH….

"and then his bio dad’s response to all of this. “well, aren’t you all just making me out to be some evil villain. you think there’s a parent out there who doesn’t want to support his child’s dreams?” yes. yes absolutely. " DJFHDL LEGIT. GOD.

But yeah i feel you on everything else you mention about Azami's dad it's just. Acting like Azami was at fault for not making it clear he was serious, while also making the environment too hostile for Azami to even come out and say that. He's responsible for how Azami couldn't trust him and then he blames Azami for not trusting him in a sense. It's really frustrating, and it feels like he's deflecting the blame, while also kinda taking the blame itself. I'm glad he's trying to fix things, and i do think he feels guilty, but it's still so sour.

and i'm so sorry your parents made you feel all those things :( but yeah i totally get what you mean on how it relates to Azami. It's just so unfair to put on him the pressure to be the best of the best.

In a sense i feel it fits a lot of the thematic of Autumn of like… The reasons they have Regrets to start with is because of the expectations people have put on them, whenever it is over their abilities (Banri) or their appearance (Juza) or their age (Sakyo) ect. And i feel like Azami is in this situation where he's about to regret it if he doesn't take his own life in between his hands. He has to break free from those expectations and fights for what he wants. but god. He shouldn't have to fight for it. ig you can't expect Yakuza to do things the easy way, but god he really shouldn't have to fight for it it makes me so sad.

"are you looking more at your dead wife than you’re looking at your actual child" so true unfortunately hhhh.

But yeah i hope Azami gets more ways to process everything later on :/

I do think that, out of all the bad fathers' plotline, like i said, this is the most realistic one in a sense, and i do think it's well written in general. And i do think that when it comes to abused/neglected kids and their parents, there is also just… i know online the consensus is "children should just cut ties with their toxic parents" and i get how it's the easiest way to see it, to free yourself for good for the influence, but it comes with its own type of downsides that are rarely discussed and is also a lot of pressure to put on a kid. Obviously, if it's too toxic it SHOULD be the case, like i said, chara like Misumi in particular are better off moving past it, but i feel like, in Azami's situation, where despite all the hurt and all the pain, Azami still definitely see his father as a human whom he wants to work things out with… It's just really complicated. I have really messy feelings about all of this.

I do hope Azami would manage to be more resentful and end up being able to actually discuss with his dad and challenge him like, no, YOUR behavior was truly fucked up, it's not fair to ask of ME to communicate my feelings better when you never tried to listen, yaknow?

Anyway i do feel like this sort of… complicated messy conflicting feelings of resentment and yet wanting to work it out that is in Azami and his father's storyline, for how fucked up his father is, actually works very well and is very realistic, even if there would be wishes for Azami not to bother at all for it. I feel like it allows Azami the grace of having really mixed feelings about all of this without going to one extreme or the next about how to be with his father, and it's something i really personally connected with, as someone with a very difficult relationship with my family, who thought cutting ties was my best solution at some point, and now as an adult, have to deal with how while i could never ever forgive them, the other extreme isn't satisfying to me, on multiple levels. I don't like his father, but i want Azami to be able to work it out in the way he would consider satisfying, and i think that the story is written in a way that leaves this approach possible and addresses it as such, in a way i think the others bad dads of Mankai get too much of a free pass. but man. messy. And with the patern of bad dads getting off too easily this can come up as much more sour than the conflicting feelings it could have actually worked on if the others dads were treated accordingly imo.

Azami's storyarc genuinely did hit hard for me as well because of that. He's not a chara i particularly relate to outside of this specific plotline but this plotline hits not only very deep, but on mixed feelings that are hard for me to face in fiction, so it's always hard to look at.

On the light hearted side, my friend we talked about was cursing me the whole storyarc bc of how he related to Azami and then Azami's portrait happened and he genuinely just went "okay you know what fuck you" and was so emotionally damaged by the mirror that i could forget for a bit my own pain by letting him suffer a bit. Terrible friend moment.

Anyway!!! it's all good, i'm glad you did ramble, it was really nice to read and well, it's interesting things to think about, even if the conclusion isn't easily clear cut.

I'm really glad you liked Azami and his story!!!

And ehehe Winter soon <3333

And "Conquering Misoshiosa Island!" first!

Take care and always feel free to ramble <333

[pumpkinnning]

this is such an interesting question ! i find him fascinating now but i didn't like Nico at all when i got into f1 - bc i got in via an extremely pro-Lewis part of the fandom. but also tbh i just found his vibes really offputting. thinking about why has been really interesting

i think class is a big reason why. as a French person he really reminds me of a specific type of Southern European ultra-rich douchebag, the smooth elegant tanned and botoxed to hell who winters in Ibiza kind. when i was a kid my dad's job included shmoozing a lot of these guys so we went on vacation with them and their families sometimes (which was nice, not complaining, but also really weird, gave me a crash course in my god really rich ppl can be a special kind of pathetic) and Nico fits the vibe to a T. these are the guys that non-Europeans might see as a bit gay or effeminate. but the thing is, masculinity is a construct, and a very culture/class specific one. this type of guy can wear fine italian leather shoes, fancy colorful shirts, be very charming and affectionate w his family, has his pet charity projects, loves wellness hippie shit. but he's almost always gonna have conservative opinions and wow can he say rancid shit abt women/gay ppl/immigrants when pressed. he's not being gnc. at all.

in these circles open displays of macho aggression and physical strength and showboating ala American masculinity are considered vulgar and working class. high class dominant masculinity is first and foremost demonstrated by culture there. intellect, refinement, a certain kind of genteel affect and of course, being from the right kind of background that allows you to feel entitled and look down on others. that's what i saw first when i saw Nico, even though clearly that's not actually him. i can imagine that's also valid for some EU f1 fans/media that aren’t ultra rich. 

and ofc i know f1 is full of rich people. but tbh as a French person American style billionaires and their over the top antics don't feel real to me. and that is an ideal of being rich that generally presents itself as more attainable, meritocratic. everyone can do it, we're just regular guys who got started in a garage vibe. false, but it makes them more relatable, and 'average' people a lot less angry. (useful!) old money Western/Southern European vibes that show status through culture, though ? you will never be one of them. and generally you won't even know why but they will, and they will make you feel vulgar and worthless and ashamed about it. it gets under ppl's skin like nothing else. 

of course probably a lot of non EU fans can see Nico as typical coastal/city elite liberal disconnected from "real" masculinity/life/etc too it's not exclusive i think he has the kind of vibe that is hateable by a lot of different people for different reasons

that said Nico’s family is not exactly old money, right - at least his dad, who also seems like a very down to earth guy. idk about his mom. if he grew up btw Monaco/Ibiza/a fancy international school he was probably surrounded by ppl who were a lot more old money than him growing up, though. the kind that think getting your money and prestige through sports is fun and exciting like a circus attraction but you know, at the end of the day, tacky. and hearing him talk more, he does give a bit of a social climber trying too hard vibe. which, again, this is complete speculation, but could add to the impostor complex doesn't fit anywhere vibes. and now tbh Nico seems to me more like the type who just wants to fit in and prove himself rather than the type who wants to assert status superiority (aside from on the track). 

never been but i can imagine the world of f1 is excessively full of all sorts of status posturing. lots of boring privileged types from all over the world that want to buy into the thrill and macho, risky allure of sports, the meritocratic "i earned all of this through my own sweat tears and aggressive daredevil behavior" vibes. investing in drivers and mechanics like others invest in horses. at the same time the prestige, technological advancement aspect and insane amounts of money involved in f1 keeps it classy. i also think a lot of (male, older) f1 fans have similar fantasies when they watch, getting a bit of that prestige by proxy.

and when you have someone like Nico who is trying too hard (and not in the right way) and is awkward and a bit too earnest and overthinks things and doesn't easily fit in a clear cut category...i think it kind of exposes that the whole thing is a farce, actually, and i think that's (part of) why he is so hated

bottaslicious:

what is it about nico rosberg that irks people (men, mostly) so much

overall he’s intelligent, a good driver, good-looking, considerate of fans, generally manages to avoid saying shitty things

like i could see some people hating him over the fact he’s a second generation driver and had a foot between the door automatically (which is bullshit tho, a good name gets you only so far before it works against you since you have to prove you’re worth more than your legacy) and comes from a privileged background. still, it’s not like keke would’ve been easy on him, we’re talking about a man who had to pave his own way into f1 (there was a point pre-f1 when he was both the driver and press and wrote the articles of his races himself so yeah keke literally built the road he was walking) and got shit from every possible source - a man who taught mika häkkinen the value of money by giving him allowance so there was this f1 star at the beginning of his career living in monaco in an apartment furnished with one table, one chair and a bed - a man who very clearly said he wouldn’t want baby nico to become a racing driver. so yeah, keke has definitely been supportive of nico always but there is no way he’s let him just have what he’s asked for.

obviously there’s a lot of hating him bc he’s a threat to a driver they support because what better way to love your fave than to shit on their obstacles but it’s not like it explains it all; there’s just something about nico that rubs people the wrong way, especially men.

idk how much of it is linked to nationality - it’s always easy to support your country and nico’s just not your simple bratwurst. lewis’ fave thing in the world is to say nico’s not german, lewis’ fans with tinfoil hats love to scream “NAZI” every time nico does as much as sneeze at his direction, in finland nico’s nationality is basically a question of personal preference. he’s from everywhere until someone says he really isn’t.

if you take away his nationality and the fact he’s a second generation driver he’s just like any other chump from the grid yet he seems to arouse more intense opinions, everything from total hate to very aggressive “meh i don’t feel one way or another”. so. idk. maybe it was just a really bad timing for him.

I think about this a lot tbh.

I’ve probably only talked to a handful of people in real life about F1 and whenever the subject of drivers came up they were all completely baffled when I said I liked Nico. Even the ones who didn’t care much for Lewis didn’t really understand it. It’s funny because of all the drivers I support he’s probably also the one who I find it the hardest to articulate my support for, so whenever it comes up in conversations I find myself saying things like:

- He had to overcome all these expectations growing up because he was Keke’s son and the only thing you can say in terms of preferential treatment is that he was exposed to racing at a very early age and had a dad who understood the business but that will only get you into a kart when you’re a kid, it won’t keep you in F1 for so many years and with such great results. Nico earned his stripes and he did it with humility and grace. 

- He’s very intelligent and probably even a bit too smart for his own good. Like Daniil (also a real polyglot) who sometimes seems to overthink things and drive from the head instead of the heart - which can be great in some respects but more often than not it simply isn’t enough, especially in those oh so very crucial make-or-break moments. 

- I love the idea of him working so fucking hard to get to where he is despite not being as naturally gifted as Lewis. And he isn’t. He knows he isn’t. But he has oodles of talent and even more determination and drive and I respect that and admire it so fucking much. I stopped doing so many things because I wasn’t the most gifted kid doing that particular thing at that time and it was sort of like - well, what’s the point then? This is the point, you only need enough talent to build on and idk, I think that’s so awesome. 

BUT

All the while in the back of my head I know exactly why all those points won’t convince anyone. 

Yes, he’s intelligent but he isn’t particularly funny (actually that’s the most authentically German thing about him). He’s so literal sometimes it’s off-putting. He handles everything with grace but sometimes it’s way too much grace. Interviewers do all but spit in his face and he’s still playing at being a regal diplomat - but then every so often he drops the diplomacy, like he did in the interview this last weekend when he called Martin out for saying he’s too nice when before the problem was that he’s too mean, and it’s such a fucking delight to watch. You can see it in the comments that people make about him on twitter or in forums, suddenly they love him for a brief moment. Or when he let people hear the emotion in his voice when he said he wanted to go to the end in Abu Dhabi in 2014. Whenever he lets himself be genuine people find it so easy to love him - but he just does it so rarely. 

Yes there were expectations because of Keke but when people get to know him he’s so unlike his father that even if he became champion there would still be some disappointment in him for not having Keke’s personality and panache. 

And ultimately… yeah, the nationality thing matters. It matters because it makes him seem disingenuous. 

If Nico had raced under the Monegasque flag I think people would find it easier to understand him. 

It isn’t just that he very clearly isn’t German but that he tries so hard to be. All those posts during the World Cup/Euro just felt so staged, even if they probably weren’t. He wore a black armband after the Germanwings tragedy and while I’m sure he genuinely felt for what happened there was something… idk, it didn’t seem right somehow. It felt like a conscious move and there’s something about national grief that’s like familial grief, like the grief of the nuclear family. You can feel terrible for your friend’s family, or even, say, your cousin’s nuclear family, if they’re going through a tragedy but you can’t sit shiva with them. 

Nico’s Germanness feels like it was constructed by someone who read a Wikipedia page on how to be German. Like an undercover spy trained from infancy, all to prepare him to one day assimilate into the target culture. I bet if you asked Nico about German history or politics he would know more than Hulkie or Vettel (well, possibly) but their knowledge is probably a lot more personal than simply factual, it’s based on memories and feelings and the history of their own families and towns and their friends’ families and so on. 

One of our most powerful evolutionary traits is to be able to spot those situations where something just isn’t quite right, even if we can’t put our finger on it. That’s why we have such varied accents and dialects, so you can immediately tell if someone is a stranger. It’s probably why you can pick out tourists in a crowd in your hometown even if they’re dressed the same as everyone else. And Nico… idk, it’s almost like he triggers some sort of uncanny valley response in people. 

And yes, I agree, men seem to respond to him very strongly and not in a good way. I would think that some of that is probably the lack of bravado and his body language with other men. Like the way he shows affection by tucking his head into the other person’s chest and folding his body into theirs, he’s comfortable choosing to take a submissive position and some guys see that as a sign of weakness. He “lets” people get away with calling him Britney, with saying that he’s pretty… even though you can see it annoys him. He’s still so openly affectionate with his father, he embraces his legacy instead of running away from it. It goes against the whole “every son must kill his father” thing.  

Idk, why is it that with Nico I find myself rambling on for hours but I never feel like I explained myself at all? 

[driedupeyeballs]

I don't remember if you talked abt the hunting thing but tell me abt it !!! Even if you did already bcuz I'm forgetful:^

OK So Skye’s hunting method is a lil different from most other sea krait mers/nagas.

Most nagas don’t have the snakes in their hair, but bcuz Skye is part Gorgon they do, which changes their hunting method and venom a bit.

The snakes bite prey first, and their venom is very fast acting, and it’s usually both snakes delivering venom at the same time. Their venom isn’t super strong, but it causes disorientation and dizzying, which confuses the prey and gives Skye a window of opportunity to bite it themself. Their venom isn’t as fast acting but it’s way more powerful, it generally causes paralysis and convulsions which is always fun 👍

If they bite something or someone without the snakes biting first that almost always means it’s dry bite, but if u get bit by the snakes you’re boutta be in for a RIDE

(Jamil thought he was free from poison control now he gotta be on venom watch 😭)

They were not allowed near any of the eel kids in their merforms for most of their childhood, and the only person they actually almost envenomated funnily enough was Floyd in his human form- they just kinda chose violence (the snakes bit him and Floyd didn’t care bcuz he didn’t know abt the venom so as soon as he made a comment about feeling dizzy Jamil and Azul both whipped around at the speed of light and pried Skye off him)

But yea some other stuff abt my sea krait mers!

So terrestrial nagas do exist, like python and viper nagas, but they aren’t considered mers. Sea snake and sea krait nagas are considered both mers and nagas so it’s kinda confusing

Afab nagas are generally larger than amab nagas, for the sea krait ones in particular the afab ones range 25-30ft an the amab ones range like 19-23ft (Skye is 27ft :3)

Certain terrestrial nagas like pythons are MUCH larger but nagas in general are few and far between in twisted wonderland, esp bigger ones. (Hence why Skye has multiple missing scales from ppl in elementary/middle school ripping them out cuz they didn’t know what a naga was-)

Also Skye and the hair snakes will get very angry at you if you mix them up so. Hopefully this helps!

As for a bit more stuff on the hair snakes: they are still technically there in their human form, just not visibly. They come alive when Skye uses their signature spell. The blue parts of their hair in front cannot be braided, cut, or anything of the sort bcuz it would in turn kill the snakes. The blue parts grew as the snakes grew when they were a kid but now that the snakes are full length the blue parts of their hair won’t grow anymore.

Fun fact they rarely cut any of their hair at all even tho they don’t exactly love having long hair cuz they’re just nervous smth will happen to the snakes if they mess smth up

[baeshijima]

𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫!𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫!𝐲/𝐧

MASTERLIST

now, childe as a general streamer,,, he’s a whale in every sense of the word 

…

poggers—

so childe as a streamer in general would be one word ;

✨chaotic✨

he would definitely be a variety streamer, but more so for games !!

especially pvp and/or pve games

competitive meta mf—

probably plays LoL, overwatch, apex legends, valorant and minecraft

don’t question the minecraft 

he likes mining but has a personal vendetta against the creepers bc once they blew up his mansion 

yes, a mansion

ask any of his community and they’ll tell u he spent a full-blown month and a half playing just minecraft to build it, only for it to go down just like that ;-; 

his chat loved it tho <//3

he’s played honkai too !! mainly for the pve and grinding bc he’s a whale but uh,,, shhh

his community,,, his community are just a bunch of trolls at this point i cant even lie

they just KEKW, SADGE & COPIUM spam everything and the newer viewers get intimidated until they realise he deserves them all HJGKJHF

especially when he starts getting annoyed by the game,,, his reactions are too good to pass up on gn

typically when he does mario kart streams 👩‍🦯 that shit’s wild when it happens oh my

when he falls in rainbow road 🤡 

and especially bc he has his webcam on, his viewers just see him internally dying or wanting to scream

also gets passive aggressive 

shit talks everything and everyone when in that mood <//3

for what’s left of his dignity i won’t disclose what happens

definitely gets jebaited a lot too <//3 unfortunately he’s too easy for his chat ;-;

another mf with a massive community except he has a lot of friends (sorry not sorry albedo)

ppl have a love-hate relationship with him tbh; u either love him or hate him

no inbetween

unless u show ur love through bullying him then go off ig

his discord server, twt + yt are also really big too !! also verified on insta 

also !!

he has lots of plushies :(( esp whale plushies from his community bc he’s the biggest whale they know <//3

but if u look at his setup, there’s a mini whale plushie on the top of his main monitor (he has 3), one big one (like,,, up to his chin) behind him, a smol on the top of his chair so u can see it above his head, and just more off screen HKJSDHL

they asked for a room tour once and half of it was just whale plushies

the rest were LED lights + shelves of merch & gifts from his community !!

he even has some fanmail (actual wholesome ones that aren’t cursed) pinned on a board too 🥺

also has an ensuite—

when he was eating on stream one time, his chat was sent into an absolute outrage

u know why?

bc he was eating noodles with a fork

bby ;-;

so sometimes he’ll get sent those beginner chopsticks with the finger guides to help him 👩‍🦯

he’s actually made sure to eat with them on stream tho bc he was sent one with a narwhal on top and he thinks it’s cute JHGJKH

nOW ONTO THIS MAN BEING WHIPPED FOR U AS A GENSHIN STREAMER !!!!

herkekle

now, his (also) AR56 ass has been playing since genshin first came out

an og if u will

this man,,, he’s been in love with u even before the game’s official release 🐥

not only were u in the promotional art and trailers, but he was also one of the beta testers so he got to try out ur character first hand in the early stages !!

and when i say he fell hard for u,

i mean it 

when the game wasn’t released publicly yet, he wasn’t allowed to disclose any information and ngl, it killed him that he couldn’t talk abt u :((

so all he could do was say this upcoming was really nice so far and subtly brag abt u to everyone JHGKJSDFHLK

when the official ads & promotional art were finally released 🥺🥺 when i tell u he immediately went live talking abt the game and u HKGJHFDK

he didn’t care that he streamed at an ungodly hour bc he’s been waiting for the reveal for so long he needs to let everyone know </3

he retweeted everything from their official twt straightaway, made a yt video based off his spontaneous stream promoting the game + pinged his entire server abt it

yes

his nearly 200k server all got pinged abt this one game bc he’s in love with a character from it

and he has no regrets abt it <33

the day the game was available for download, he stREAMED THE ENTIRE DOWNLOAD PROCESS

while he and his chat were waiting, they decided to watch the trailers and character showcases to get a feel for the game, and played some mario kart to pass the time !!

as soon as the game loaded, he threw mario kart behind him and went on 🐥

he typed his name (ajax) for the when he chose aether and literally everyone was appreciating the aesthetics HKJFS

but childe,,, he was waiting for it to be over so he could see u ;-;

he appreciated the aesthetics, fighting mechanics & voice acting a lot tho !!

now he had gotten through all the tutorials, got all the chests he could he was finally in mond

and there u were 🥺 after the dvalin encounter u arrived before kaeya did

and boy did he show u off sm to his viewers HKJHKLF

they knew he was down bad before but now?? they know it’s hopeless to save him and if he ever falls out of love that’s when the world ends

luckily that’ll never happen tho <33

but he took !! so many !! screenshots !!

oh, and did i mention he changed his wallpapers to u? and his twt + discord pfps are also some very aesthetic screenshots of u from that first scene ;-;

he just appreciates u sm okay 🥺

he even clutched his chest where his heart is and sunk down his chair when he heard u speak 😩

his chat just spammed his downbad + y/nlove + SHRIMP emotes and he accepted them all with grace <33

now when he unlocks the wishing feature,,, u already know he’s wishing for u as soon as possible

ur in the standard banner so ur always there which he appreciates but he would’ve wanted u to be limited so he can rub it in ppl’s faces ;-;

and since it was the first release rewards, he had tons of wishes right off the bat !!

he was gonna roll for venti after he gets u bc,,, well does he need a reason??

also he doesn’t do well with archer characters in general ;;; but if ur an archer then ur obv an exception sooo

bUT he got a 5 star in his first 20 pulls !!

tho it was diluc 👩‍🦯

while he was happy bc he got an incredibly meta character right off the bat,

he wasn’t interested in diluc,,, (even now his diluc is barely looked after, and only used for spiral abyss, *sweats*)

the next 5 star he got was around the 60 mark, and he got a weapon,,,

i mean,,, he got the weapon that was most suited for u so that’s smth at least (ˉ▽ˉ；)

after he used all his remaining primos and fates, he finally got u 🥺

he just went “fuck the storyline” and immediately put u in his party and just

admired u as a whole 

went through all the voice lines available, ur character story, ur idle animations (he had a heart attack from u and his chat clipped it) and took many, many screenshots 

his favourite voice lines would have to be the night + about us + (y/n)’s hobbies

and then he equipped u with ur weapon and damnnn did u look so good with it 😩

he changed u to be his avatar, with his signature as :

“(y/n)’s whale <3”

and now the whaling process begins 👩‍🦯

after at least £2k, he got u to c6, along with at least 1 copy of all the standard 5 stars,,

then he went for venti’s banner—

his chat were just too focused on how he’s gonna play u to even think of anything else tbh HKJAH

with ur kit, u were honestly seen to be a dps or even a sub dps if ppl don’t want u on the field all the time

so definitely a perfect character for mr meta strimmer tartaglia (his twitch name btw ;;; childe is just smth he prefers his community to call him as but they also call him ajax too HKJSD) here

so he went through the archon quests with u as his carry and i won’t lie, ur name card is smth he has printed and framed behind him after he got it 🥺

he later finds out ur part of the fatui in the liyue archon quest tho and has to fight u with,,,

well, u ;;;

he finds it hot tho so it’s okay—

i won’t lie tho, his zhongli after he got him is his second strongest after u

he just builds all his characters in the most broken way he can so he can show his viewers that everyone can be a dps in their own right, not just the ones meant to be since there’s no right or wrong in this game !!

but now ur weapon is r5, ur lvl 90 and u have lvl 20 5 star artifacts that make u the most broken (y/n) seen

ppl who co op with him are honestly baffled,,, especially when the feature of them being able to view other players’ character stats become available,,,

u with ur nearly 3k atk,,,

he’s hit over 600k with u tho and he’ll always flex that

no one can top him as a (y/n) main and that’s honestly just a fact at this point 😩

when he saw that the dating sim hangouts was official, his immediate and iconic response was simply ;

“so when will (y/n) become a dateable, huh 🤨”

to this day he’s still waiting to be able to date u in-game <//3

[boom-boom-boyx2]

headcanons for HQ rare ships bc i have issues :)

prt 1; Suga x Tsukki || Yamaguchi x kageyama || Kanoka x yachi

SugaTsukki:

- They got together after suga rn yams were talking abt tsukki and suga said “yk he’s probably a good bc tho right yamaguchi?” and yams was like “bro he likes u we aren’t dating lol” and then they got together.

- Sugawara actually loves hard rock music and tsukki only listens to like lofi playlist and just random music in gen.

- Suga gave tsukishima a plush dino holding a tiny plushy volleyball and bs cherishes it.

- Yams likes hanging out with tsukki and suga bc they never make him feel like a third wheel, actually yams and suga make tsukki the third wheel-

- sugawara has a collection of chapstick and tsukki has the worst dry lips ever.

- they both have good grades and when they first started dating they never really hung out unless @ practice bc yk they busy boys. but then they realized that study dates where the best.

- they facetime to study once suga graduated.

- Sugawara made tsukki a shirt for their anniversary (1year and suga was in collage) it says “you can’t have this beanpole, im taken.” and a picture of suga, yes it can be taken as a dick joke or whatever but suga thought it was fking hilarious.

- suga has a dino plush with little glasses he keeps on his desk in the dorm.

- whenever they meet up they get coffee then go to the arcade bc suga loves video games and tsukki likes watching suga have fun then rage.

- tsukki describes suga as a female & never explains so whenever anyone actually meets suga they are always like “oh! uh- hi…”

- yamaguchi loves picking on tsukki via suga bc tsukishima will never say anything just get annoyed.

YamaYama:

- kageyama always looses any board game he plays with yamaguchi.

- yamaguchi is the one who told kageyama that he could pin his bangs back when he plays.

- they 100% have matching pajamas, and it was totally on accident.

- yamaguchi has oatmeal 4 breakfast & kageyama always rags on him bc he refuses to eat cereal like “a normal person.”

- they wear they same size but kageyama’s sister labels all of his sweatshirts on the tag, tsukki always checks and makes fun of both of them for it.

- hinata and yamaguchi are the only people kags sister approves of, she hates tsukishima, it’s hilarious.

- yamaguchi’s mom loves kags sister and thinks that kags is very odd like she disrcibes work for word as “he’s a very odd boy, i love his sister tho!”

- she approves of her son and kags relationship but bc she likes his sister better everyone makes jokes about yams and kags sister .

- they r both really good at making people listen to Ennoshita when Enno gets tired of everyone’s bs-

- kageyama will get stressed out after a class and just hug yams and yams has an unspoken rule that if anyone disturbs them during this time he will attack.

- yamaguchi will forever and always refuse to help his bf study bc he knows he’s a lost cause.

- yaichi and kageyama are the ones that just stare at yamaguchi when he does something dumb.

kanoyachi:

- Kanoka & yacht didn’t get together towards the end 3rd year of highschool!

- They met bc kiyoko & tanaka got together and had announced to their friends and family what had happened, kanoka was invited bc after she came out as lesbian her and tanaka got really close.

- they became good friends and then once kanoka was abt to graduate they decided to start dating!

- yachi loves to give her flowers

- kanoka and yachi both love the beach and both took surfing lessons together

- kanoka will suprise yachi at work for lunch and they both love hugs.

- also yachi i’d the only one who can cook, kanoka is not allowed in the kitchen, ever.

A bnha rare pair: 🔽

KamiMomo:

- momo reads to kami when they study n stuff

- kaminari loves momo hugs he calls them ‘his battery recharge’

- momo will throw books at people when they anger her and bc kaminari loves to annoy ppl he’s really good at dodging them

- kamimomo have the cutest dates, this is a lie.

- their dates are always a mess bc they both want it to go amazingly that they r both to tense to have fun

- momo can kick ass at any video game once she’s played it once, but kaminari will beat anyone in mariocart.

- kaminari loves to play games with momo bc he knows that they way she grew up she didn’t have a lot of breaks, no time to have fun and hang out.

- momo loves to do relaxation nights with kaminari bc he always falls alsleep on her lap

- Jirou loves their relationship bc she’s bestfriends with both of them and their both to awkward to be couple all the time so she never feels like a third wheel

- jirou will use her friendship to mess with them like, taking kaminari for a bit to do his makeup and then taking momo for a bit to make her look like an emo she says it’s to “spice” up their relationship

- momo only uses old memes, and denki is so proud of her that he won’t even say anything

- once kami told mineta that he liked momo for real mineta back off, momo was so confused but now that she’s with him more, bc of denki, she understands a bit more about him.

- momo’s a minimalist and denki is a maximalist.

- they sy are just so precious 😭

- go check out this one for momo Kamimomo stuff :)

[papers4me]

Fruits Basket Manga Review , ch 110

The writer doesn’t need to rush to akito (antagonist) & give us quick background exposition & escalate her mentality to the exploding moment, simply cuz tohru (the protagonist) isn’t emotionally in her most vulnerable moment yet. Tohru’s issues will be presented deeper  with each pov chapter she’ll have. So what should the writer do now?

This is a connected plot, meaning the emotions belonging to the previous chapter are still lingering & needs to be dealt with. There is no stupid laughing & cooking or even dumber momentarily amnesia. Nope! There is this:

-The Art of Writing Slow-Burns: (Lingering Emotions:)

Last time kyo hugged tohru thro the sheets. sth he wouldn’t do if it weren’t for the heartbreaking moment of tohru’s tears & the reason behind them. Why wouldn he do it? cuz he believes he’s the reason of her pain & is setting his mind on leaving her & being imprisoned as a punishment. He  wouldn’t do it cuz he loves her but he did it cuz he loves her. why? cuz love is illogical. Kyo’s heart moved him effortlessly to embrace her & “ his tenderness covered her pain” as the writer put it at the end of ch109.

Last time tohru hugged kyo thro the sheets, sth she wouldn’t do if it weren’t for the comfort of his warmth enveloping her loneliness & providing safety & a home. A home can a person. Why wouldn she do it? cuz Tohru is someone who hides pain behind a smile, someone who thinks she’s ugly & unlovable cuz she’s grieving still after all this time. She’s thinks she’s a burden. But here she confessed to kyo unprompted or advised by anybody. He only asked a fleeting question. but tohru cant hide who she is friom him anymore. Still, he accepted her & tenderly held her thro the sheets & she threw her body at him, she initiated the hug.

The sheet hig is the biggest emotional moment between kyo/tohru yet. It altered how they feel for each other cuz in that moment tohru’s mask fell & kyo was the most honest with himself emotionally. That’s not sth you move from with the stupid ED song. They both try to carry out normally afterwards cuz they live together after all. The slightest touch brings..... sexual tension!!!  it was so bad poor yuki left the house running!!!!!!!!

The writer cleverly escalates the sexual tension as they awkwardly try to find a talking topic, then dissolves it a bit when kto asks if tohru wants to go out together & where, then escalates it when tohru suggests buying eggs cuz she’s awkward, then dissolves it when kyo grumpily agrees but this is just grocery shopping” not a fun going out”, the escalates it when tohru said she’s happy for just bring together with him regardless of the location & kyo looses it! sexual tension explodes!

The target of the slow-burn isn’t the characters... the target is the audience! the writer plays with their emotions & cleverly puts the audience in a place where they desperately want these two idiots together but still remember why they aren’t! that’s very important. Having the readers cheer for a romantic relationship includes the readers understanding the obstacles ahead & how big they are & still cheer. If the obstacles are meh~ the readers will find the couple unrealistic, if the obstacles are so big & the couples emotions aren't buildup properly, then the couple themselves will feel meh~. Glad kyoru survived such writing mistakes both manga & anime ( anime hurt their characters more than their relationship).

-Yuki wants to move on from the unofficial son third wheeling his mom & her man:

The writer jokes abt yuki admitting he felt as a son watching his mon & her bf. I love tha this joke becuz it cleverly addresses the following points:

it is cleverly weaved in with the kyoru incident from last chapter. Sth happen & yuki doesn't know what is & doesn't want to! Yuki represents the audience I talked abt in the slow-burn point above. He is us. He’ll cheer for them to be together & will be so frustrated when they can’t. It adds to yuki confronting kyo at the climax!!! You see in the anime kyo/yuki stopped interacting much in se03. Then tada~~ big fight when it’s a must! & can’t be escaped... Here we still have kyo/yuki moments despite each boy moving away from his issues being the fault of the other. Basically better writing.....

The writer cleverly used this to address that yuki still feels like tohru’s son sometimes despite being more independent now, which is natural as you cant switch ur feelings with a button. But also the writer doesnt stay in this moment long & use it to build the next moment.. yuki/Aya , yuki/machi & aya/mine.... sadly all there dynamics are shortened in the anime like kyoru’s.

-I don’t think yuki/Aya  moment suffered much from the cuts, the entire school parents meeting ep us enough to reconcile the brothers. Aya defended yuki that day & so did yuki. He completely accepted him & stood up to him in front of the mom.

- More aya/mine would’ve been good to see & I would’ve preferred it to yuki/motoko moments in the anime that served nothing. but aya/mine too are stand alone story. They’re the most alike couple in a healthy way. Aya is the guy who protected his woman the most. simply cuz he’s the snake. snakes are secretive. he kept her to himself, even from yuki!!! impressive.

- What I lament from the cut of this mini yuki adventure?

1- This: ( yuki’s facial expressions) This is sth the anime fears, either cuz (a) pretty yuki is 100% pretty all the time, so no expressiveness cuz it leads to showing eyebrows & hiding them under layers of hair is the A.B.C of pretty characters... (b) Yuki in the anime is a prince 98% of the time, except with kyo (they got rid of this in se03 & give them one honest/ugly moment together) & with kakeru (one tiny moment in se03 in match’’s focus ep & then quickly back to prince yuki!)..., ugh!!!!!! I hate how yuki is prince thro & thro in the anime!!that’s why they couldn’t get rid of any motoko content!!! he’s a prince there... heck! school girls float after him the graduation ceremony... what’s up with that!! lol.

2-. This: ( machi with the toy that tohru/kisa/kagura/momiji & kiro like! so cute!!! also, foreshadowing yuki’s future chosen extended family! (his bro & his wife), (yuki & his wife) & best friend/his brother in law! Also, yuki is so himself! no glitters, no bubbles & no pretending anger! <3

Side Notes:

The lovely @mizzraynelly​ made notice kto’s speech in ch109 abt not vising his mom’s grave! Even tho it’s such a minor line, it’s one of the biggest cuts that foreshadow the accumulation of kyo’s guilt towards his mom. Kyo’s thing is guilt towards ppl he loves & fear of hurting them, by keeping this feeling alive in readers’ minds, the writer is making sure that the climax will hurt like sharp knives cuz the readers are on the same wave liength as kyo!!! epic buildup consists of tiny subtle pieces!

 Luckily, kyoru as a ship felt so strong in both manga & anime despite the later cutting half of their moments. Why? cuz the chosen cuts didnt affects the romantic relationship...no... the cuts affects the characters’ own personal struggle... most precisely tohru. Kyo’s own character struggles had better luck in the anime despite the cuts, simply cuz (a) was drawn with very expressive emotions & the anime team lingered on them in his scenes. (b) His character design as a whole was very expressive, the anime team didnt give him constant wide eyes like tohru & didn’t fear expr4essivness will affect for his “beauty “ like yuki. (c) kyo was given one ep per season for his issues which altho not much but way better than tohru (d) most important: kyo’s issues are very universal & very relatable” feeling guilt, mistakes & choosing wrong. That’s sth we all do!!! Tohru’s thing is grieve: this is very personal & most ppl experience it differently. 

I love kyo’s oufit!!! we have a hint of this moment in se03, ep 10 when yuki was fighting kyo... but they made yuki see them shopping as opposed of him seeing them being sexually charged!

I’m so mad this kyoru moment is cut!!!!!! tohru as a woman with pending sexual emotions is so refreshing & underrated in the trope of “ girl saves guys”. Also, it contradicts the pure mom image that’s been suffocating her since se01 ep 1!!!!! oh now i know why it’s cut... That’s why! momma tohru is so pure for such things & only when it’s the last two eps, then will allow her to be a woman choosing to live away with her man by her own desire! Why the anime only allow things ti happen when there’s no escape!!! I’ve always felt tohru/kyo is the type of couple to be expressive emotionally & sexually with each other based on seeing that ALL of their romantic interaction involves body language & I’m so happy there’s a canon proof so early before the future glimpse in finale!!!!!! 

I liked the aya-story, but it felt like the typical “ lesson of the day” formula, so I didnt analyze it much, but I enjoyed the brotherly interaction so much!! It had a gold mine of yuki being himself & so nit a prince! Im so happy I saw it! <3.

Every time yuki looked expressive is a happy moment for me!

[lunartearrose]

I CAN TELL YOU ANOTHER SILLY HC THO I love the hc that the S4 do have like. Fans. Skull is not very responsive with them.

Can you imagine like. Coroika universe fancams. skull voice: aloha whos making these videos of us on tiktok

God thats hilarious. Tbh i feel like team fans just have the oddest interactions

Like skull fans? Everyone knows he doesn't get it. A small subset protec him from the weirder fans because he would just not get it. He gets chocolate and he's like "oh cool a normal gift. I guess maybe I'll swallow the box whole later" he thinks its all just generosity with nothing behind it. "Why make videos? Why theorize about my movements? Why even give me things or waste a crush, I'm just some guy. But also please keep giving me chocolate."

Aloha: Skull!!!! Those fans are crushing on you!!!

Skull: but i don't know them? And they don't really know me...? Why would they

Aloha: I- well-

ANYWAYS i just have such ideas for how the s4 and some others interract w their fans

Aloha? He interracts w his fans a whole bunch on social medias n crap and by manga look is a highly obvious flirt sometimes (just to keep the fans guessing??) but if you go to a party with he downloads your exact adress to his brain off your vibes alone and this kind of intimidates ppl! Nobody gets close enough to catch his secret vibes but he has them and none of his fans are sure they WANT a peek behind the veil behind what he puts out (but his friends do! They care him and he cares them)

For army tho? His fans are a bit invasive bc hes easy to fluster and has a tough time balancing being polite with assertiveness towards ppl that find him just so cool! This leads to aloha intersections (that just confuse and fluster army more before he gets vanished for his own good by a caring? friend), mask and rider getting agressive with fans and skull. Asking the questions that kind of bring ppl back to the reality that Army Is Just Some Guy. But blue team is the best at getting ppl to leave army alone

Mask? He has strict ground rules with his due to a cyan teammate getting hurt by one once. Nobody is allowed to know where he or his teammates live, nobody is allowed to know anything deeply personal. He has dupes of clothes specifically to annoy the press, and especially is nobody allowed to see him maskless. If he could he'd get rid of info abt his team on the net at all (and the urban legend team doesn't sound all that bad to him) but its a nigh impossible task so he just keeps a careful eye on accounts to make sure that they for certain aren't being creeps.

Rider of course just intimidates, he's cool and his fans respect this, but as where skull 100% not get fans and their interactions and movements, rider is a good 50%. He was a fan once himself, he understands being casual and how cool it is to get autographs. But something like stan twitter makes him so absolutely baffled. What the hell are fancams? Why is there an imagines? Why is any of this necessary, just admit you think someone's cool and move on?!?!?!

Oh also Xbloods are rude to their fanbase on purpose the fans just like enjoy this bc its part of what they do. Nothing wrong here, Vintage just isn't sure if he likes or dislikes the attention, so do what you want But He Will Be Mean and Scary. And maybe occasionally post pictures of the food he ate today. After he ate it-

Team emperor (both iterations) are kind to their fans! But where army lacks the assertiveness to shut down invasive questions if you say something weird Emperor will personally (and perhaps politely depending on how bad it is) tell you it's highly unbecoming of a fan to ask or do such things. And if there is one thing emperor teaches prince it's to not let fans overstep simple boundaries no matter the tone they have.

Blue team has contracted some fans but their flavor of weird is a bit intimidating but nobody will rlly approach for an autograph or anything. Weird teams weird and specs would be shocked to learn they have fancams

Team hachi is similar to the blue team situation (specs would be shocked to find they have fan cams. But also hachi made a fancam of goggles???)

The guardians? They just got here from the mountains maybe some people know hive but otherwise in universe everyone's like WHO THE HECK ARE THESE???

Anyways Ty for allowing me the time to rant! And don't worry abt asks or dms its all cool uwu i like to talk either way

[charmspoint]

what i know abt qifrey from u talking abt him uhh ok so he's genuinely just a nice guy but also he's evil and irredeemable but also he's literally just a pleasant gentleman

I know ur not asking for a rant about this but by god ur gonna get it.

So the thing is, I don't think Qifrey is evil or irredeemable at all. We joke around the fandom (at least i hope its mostly jokes) that he's evil and crazy but he's really not. If id have to pin Qifrey on a morality spectrum I'd say morally gray but leaning towards the good.

Did Qifrey do some messed up stuff? Yes, fo sure. But I've always gotten more of an impression that he's teetering towards the edge and not completely over it. He does do damage but so far he's mostly made sure that damage was extremely localized and not actually harming other people (I talked about before how Qifrey's own memory erasing spell seems weirdly specialized compared to what we were brought to believe memory erasing spell actually does when used by anyone else).

But now comes the question

Do I think Qifrey will get worse?

Yes, 100% I believe this is where we are going towards, I said before that I'm p convinced he will become some kind of obstacle for Coco down the line.

Qifrey is going through a LOT rn. He's already got ptsd from, you know being stripped of his identity, buried alive, almost drowned and then remembering he was experimented on like a lab rat, but now it's getting worse. Before he could at least relay on the fact that even though his past was horrible, his future was bright. He genuinely loves his job, he loves his girls, he loves teaching. This monolog gets me every single time

Now he's losing his future, he's losing not only his eye, but the whole identity he built out of nothing, he's losing his teaching position, he's losing his kids, he's losing Everything he gained after he had already lost Everything.

It leaves him rushing against an uncertain time limit, desperate, stumbling, sloppy. I don't think he's thinking straight anymore, not really. I think he's convinced he is being methodical and calculating but in actuality he's stumbling forward, grasping at straws, unable to hold on to anything but his need for revenge and the empty words that his actions aren't only for his own sake.

It's all very striking, in his relationship with Olruggio in particular. Olruggio is very clearly supposed to be the guiding light for Qifrey, the one who pulls him back when he goes too far, the one who helps him resist the growing darkness. It's very meaningful how as Qifrey continues on his path he makes sure Olruggio doesn't even know about it. He said it himself, if Olruggio knew, he'd try to save him. He'd try to bring Olruggio to light again and Qifrey doesn't WANT to be saved, he has decided on a road he wants to take and he won't allow anyone to change his course. Not even Olruggio.

So do I think Qifrey is evil?

No

Do I think he'll get worse?

Yes

Do I think he'll become evil?

Not really

See here's the thing. Qifrey's desperation, how quickly he's trying to work through this, how determined he is to throw everything else under the bus if he could just achieve his goals? All of that is dictated by the fact he's running out of time, the fact that once he loses his eyesight he can no longer be a witch. Eyesight is VERY important to witches since magic is a very visual art. We've seen with Tartar how something as seemingly miniscule as color blindness can basically doom someone, causing everyone around them to say they can't become a witch without good eyesight. So complete blindness is a death sentence to a witches career. Now, it's funny how a lot of the Coustas and Tartars arc has to do with adjusting the world to disability and not the person to the world. How it's made pointed, over and over again, that people with disabilities shouldn't be written off but given proper tools that will help them function, how the world should adjust to be a more comfortable place for all kinds of people and not just those who are already adjusted to it. Without the threat of his eyesight going out and cutting his whole identity into bits, Qifrey wouldn't have to act like this, he would be able to sit and think and not rush and if he still wants to pursue brimhats he could do it more safely for himself and everyone else because the desperation factor would be gone.

So what I think is going to happen is that Qifrey will lose his eyesight but won't lose his standing as a witch because he, Olruggio and the kids will figure out how to make magic accessible to him.

Now there's of course a bunch more unaccounted for variables which I'll probably have a better grasp on after the current arc is done being translated. Ininia and Lord Restis represent a very interesting development because they are brimhats introduced specifically via healing injuries. The rule of 'medicine magic isn't allowed cuz it's a slippery slope' has been there since the beginning of the series and a big thorn in the 'yeah the witch world rules are good and fair' side cuz of course, everyone thinks healing people should be allowed. Now the brimhats we've had so far were fully ready to attack and experiment on children's bodies in order to further their own goals so of course that immediately leaves you disliking them and not putting much account into their rhetoric even though it does make sense at times, but ur not gonna listen to ppl experimenting on kids. That's why I think Ininia and Lord Restis are interesting, cuz if they aren't literally attacking children they might get a good case in about medicine magic being allowed. I think we are going towards at least some sort of medicine magic becoming acceptable considering Tartar's arc. But then the question is, if some sort of medicine magic is approved, will it be used to heal disabilities cuz like...that would kinda suck. I would much rather have a 'world should be adjusted so disabled people can participate in it equally' narrative rather than the 'just heal the disability with magic lol' narrative. But honestly this whole paragraph is pure speculation because the arc isn't fully translated or even fully out yet but I sure af am LOOKING at it. I think it will be v important in understanding where the story is going to go. I just hope Shirahama does a good job with it, but honestly she never once let me down up until now so I'm feelin positive.

Circling back to Qifrey, I do think he's one of the kindest, most understanding, most lovable characters I've had a joy of reading and studying. But he does have a black hole in him that is pulling apart all that kindness, leaving him a shattering shell. I don't think he's evil, I don't think he'll ever become truly evil and despite what he's done I don't think any of what he did is irredeemable, especially with how careful he tends to be not to take away from people more than he has to to further his own goals. But I do think that hole will eat at him more and more and that before he can get better somebody will have to notice it and help him plug it up. Olruggio noticed and Qifrey refused the help, convinced that he can't be helped, not in the way he needs. He will need proof that he can keep his future before he can ease up on the frantic hunt after his past

[crossdressingdeath]

I know you'll probably disagree with me, but i rlly hate the Cloud recessess ending. It's just....

Those elders killed wwx. The Lans were 100% ready to murder both at Qiongqi path but also at the siege. They see him as the guy who corrupted their precious jade. They all preach righteousness, but the whole madam Lan thing is iffy at best and i do not believe that everyone there fully believes the rules. Hell, i have a special bone to pick with the " do not gossip" rule, seeing as gossip had been the main info route for women in patriarchal societies.

I just don't think that after wwx killed Lans in the siege they'd be all that willing to forgive him and take him in w open arms. The juniors and kids love him, yes, but people who saw the war....

Not to mention the whole " do not speak to WWX " rule. I've seen ppl say it's a joke but it's On The Wall. It's supposed to be followed. Even if it was intended as a joke - which i don't believe - it's very cruel for someone w rejection and trust issues.

I also hate it from a very personal perspective. I see Wwx as ND, and, as an ND myself, all those rules terrify me. From the no running and the proper posture ones, i can pretty well imagine they forbid stimming. The Lan curfew would fuck anyone with insomnia and there's smth deeply ucked up abt the " do not grieve in excess". I get that they're supossed to be a paragon of the best things at all time, and that LJY is very UnLan like, but for someone w anxiety who CAN'T follow those rules, it would be a nightmare.

...Some points:

First, the Lan elders did not kill WWX, nor did they attack him unfairly. They weren’t looking at him as the man who corrupted LWJ, either, or at least that wasn’t their primary concern (I will never forgive CQL for suggesting they were or it was); they were looking at him as a traitor to the sects who was raising an army to destroy them. Remember, that is the information the Lans had. Every source they had except for LWJ (who the people he would have gone to would have known was biased and who presumably everyone knew had recently been in close contact with WWX where he could have been manipulated or enchanted in some way), sources which included multiple sect leaders (one of whom was WWX’s brother) and LXC’s dear friend, swore up and down that WWX was a major threat, and let’s face it, WWX didn’t do much to dissuade people from thinking that! Acting like the Lans were maliciously targeting WWX is doing them something of a disservice, I’d say. They acted based on the knowledge they had available; note how the Lans are the first to offer WWX their help once they’re given reason to believe he may not be a villain! And even aside from that, saying they killed WWX (and not JGS and JGY’s manipulation or JC’s army) feels a bit like scapegoating, honestly. Of the four sects, the Lans are quite possibly the least responsible for WWX’s death. If it would hurt him to live with or around anyone who held any responsibility for his death his only option would be to live as a hermit, which would be far worse for him. And yeah, the Lans aren’t perfectly righteous all the time and some morally dubious things have been done by Lan sect members; they’re human, after all! Some of them will only be as moral as their sect leader demands they be! That doesn’t mean the sect as a whole is bad, especially with LXC, LQR and LWJ in charge. Certainly I’d say they’re still better than the other sects, all things considered. One ambiguous situation that may or may not have involved some members of the previous generation doing some fucked up shit doesn’t mean WWX would for sure be mistreated! 

As for gossip... there’s a difference between sharing information and gossiping. There’s no evidence that the Lan women are blocked from... y’know, freely communicating and sharing information between themselves. We have no reason to believe they are reliant on gossip. Also they presumably go out night hunting just like the men? Men and women are kept separate in the Cloud Recesses, but I get the sense that that’s more like... school stuff than anything else. The women aren’t exactly locked up, they can be cultivators! The society is still sexist, but that doesn’t mean they’re kept from going out and doing things. And I need to make this clear: there is a fair chance that the rule against gossip saved LWJ’s life, because it kept word of him defending WWX from the sects from spreading to people who would not be willing to let bygones be bygones. Gossip sucks! It hurts people! A lot of this story (and more to the point the suffering of the characters within the story) happens because of gossip! The Lans banning gossip is pretty clearly supposed to be a good thing, I’d say.

And yeah, maybe after WWX killed a bunch of their sect the Lans wouldn’t accept him with open arms as if nothing ever happened! And that’s fair! I can’t imagine where WWX could go where that wouldn’t be the case, unless he and LWJ chose to abandon the cultivation world forever. But you know what else the Lans won’t do? Try to execute him. Or from what we see in the extras even dwell on the past that much. No, the Lans aren’t going to immediately forgive WWX and bring him into the fold without a moment’s hesitation, but you know what? They accept his marriage to LWJ! They let him supervise the juniors on night hunts! They consider him part of their sect! Honestly, that is all WWX can really ask and far more than he’d get from any other sect. There are consequences for what WWX did, even though he wasn’t the villain or necessarily trying to hurt anyone, and frankly people not being entirely comfortable with his presence is very much reasonable.

The “do not speak to WWX” rule may not be a joke, but it’s also pretty clearly not a serious rule. No one takes it seriously. The juniors (the only people WWX really talks to anyway aside from LXC and LWJ) only pay it the minimum lip service of talking to him off the path. WWX himself sure as hell doesn’t care! He clearly finds it pretty damn funny. And I don’t think a guy who has never liked him once again proving he does not like him (in a way that is clearly temporary given how later LQR invites WWX to the Lan family banquet with... reasonable amounts of grace, thereby implicitly accepting him as LWJ’s husband and therefore his own family by marriage) counts as a rejection or a breach of WWX’s trust? Like, LQR has literally always hated WWX. He isn’t preventing WWX and LWJ from spending time together or shutting WWX out of the Cloud Recesses or even making a concentrated effort to keep people from talking to him; he’s venting his frustrations, but if he really intended to block WWX from taking part in life in the Cloud Recesses he would’ve done a hell of a lot more than just make a rule who no one WWX likes follows anyway. It’s a temper tantrum, that’s all, and clearly that’s what WWX takes it as. I mean, if nothing else you can’t ban people from talking to the sect heir’s spouse indefinitely. That’s just not sustainable.

As for the rules... banning people from running in the Cloud Recesses and demanding proper posture during lessons doesn’t suggest to me that they wouldn’t allow stimming? ‘No running’ at least is a common rule... most places. It’s distracting, and can be dangerous. And the rule about sitting properly doesn’t mean “Don’t move at all ever”; it means... well, “sit properly”. Don’t slouch or sprawl across the floor. I see no reason why that wouldn’t preclude means of stimming that wouldn’t be disruptive (and given this is in a classroom environment “not disruptive” is kind of important). I mean, those rules certainly don’t suggest that they’re any worse than other sects, and given this is the sect that has magic music for calming people’s minds if any sect would give allowances for neurodivergence it would be this one. Also I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a song to put people to sleep, or medication that can help; this is a world with magic, after all, and if there’s a song that can put spirits to rest there are probably songs for human medicine and care. And of course there’s an element of conflicting needs; maybe the rules would screw you over, but frankly firmly enforced rules keeping people from running around or sprawling out of their seats would’ve been a godsend for me in school, given how much trouble I had focusing with people making noise around me. At the end of the day, is it guaranteed that the Lans would make allowances for people with needs that conflict with the Lan rules? No. But I’d argue it’s more likely that they would than any other sect. This is ahistorical fantasy ancient China, too; you can only expect so much in the mental health department. Still, a sect that literally invented magic music for calming the mind actually seems like the best choice for people with anxiety and such. There’s a reason why there are multiple fics that essentially set the Lans up as mental health experts in the setting!

Basically, a lot of your arguments seem to be issues that WWX would have in any sect. Unless he wanted to give up on the support of a sect altogether, they’re all things that he would have to work through or come to terms with. And of course... the most important point is that WWX is happy in the Lan sect. The extras make that clear. He has a home, duties that he enjoys performing, the love of his family and the support of his sect. He’s happy. I just... I do not understand why people keep feeling the need to try to make it angsty when the novel makes it clear that he genuinely enjoys his life in Gusu, and more than that that if he ever decided he didn’t enjoy it he could leave at any time. You have to remember that: if WWX wanted to leave... he would. He and LWJ would just go, and only come back occasionally so that LWJ could visit his home. Hell, LWJ would insist on leaving for WWX’s sake. So like... the Lan sect wouldn’t suit everyone, but WWX is quite content there and doesn’t want to leave. He’s happy and free to come and go as he wishes; there really isn’t anything to be concerned about there.

[halfhappyhooligan]

a voltron au? in 2020? it’s more likely than you think

look. LOOK. i know that voltron is stupid and we hate it but lets be honest: everything up until season 3 was pretty good and had lots of potential !!

today i was rewatching voltron and a thought struck me: what if, instead of shiro being cloned, he was chipped and turned to the side of the galra?

so here it is, i did not blink since i thought of this

(warning, i have not seen voltron in a while and this is just knowledge i have stored in my moss brain and stuff i know from rewatching the first season)

au where shiro goes evil bc of what happens @ end of season one instead of the clone thing bc 1) haggar rly could not have made thousands of shiros after bumping into team voltron like what twice? its hella improbable and 2) just… weird

so instead they insert a chip in him that helps them spy and control him just like kuron (the clone) did minus the unlikely storytelling

eventually after the convo with sendak when he was in the pod trying to temp shirp, he does have thoughts about helping zarkon

(“im already infiltrated with the arm, i could just speed up the process by leaving now. save the team the trouble of investing in a leader that’s doomed to fail from the strart.”)

shiro ends up leaving team voltron in season 2 after zarkon goes crazy w the black lion n stuff

^^ this adds to Keith’s reasoning of joining the Blade of Marmora (shiro is his main stability and one of the main reasons he even stuck around with team voltron, so with shiro gone and keith questioning his place as the leader and paladin of the black lion, he decides the BoM is just.. what’s best for him) 

obviously lance isn’t happy with this (“you just told me that i’m a valuable member, now you don’t think YOU are? what logic is that?”)

ofc keith goes anyways

lance becomes paladin of the black lion

allura takes on the red lion

who has blue lion? ...idk this isn’t that thought out (maybe matt after pidge finds her family) (which will happen earlier in the plot since we can forget about the miniplot of black no longer responding to shiro)

enter lotor only this time he has a sidekick and what omg its shiro wow

shiro has that bigger version of his arm that was once offered to him

he’s stronger and scary, but his eyes aren’t the same, he has the strength of a galra but lacks the passion 

in the fight between lotor and zarkon, (and after, of course lots of self doubt and questioning) shiro comes between them and convinces lotor NOT to kill zarkon

then zarkon kills lotor

everyones like oh shit bc surely someone who’s life was just spared wouldn’t kill the person who seems to have the most power

but he did. bc he’s zarkon. and he’s fckn crazy.

shiro doesn’t go back to team voltron bc its too much too easily

instead he takes the place of lotor in the group of gals 

he convinces them all to rebel against the galra

eventually they teach him all about quintessence and all the shit lotor had planned that they can’t do anymore

(lotor wasn’t harvesting alteans in this universe bc what the heck even was that subplot that had little to no relevance to the main storyline?

instead he was trying to find a way to technologically bring back alteans (kinda like how allure’s dad was originally preserved in s1)

i know nothing about How Stuff Works and i dont remember much about quintessence n shit but the basic idea is that when tying in some of a persons artifacts with technology stuff and some quintessence then boom. a weird route from astral projection land to the team is created and ppl can come back or smth idfk

but lotor was never able to get the comet so shiro decides he and the gals will get that comet and try to bring back as many alteans as they can

^ all this while infiltrating as many galra fleets as possible + saving planets under galra empire

they personally visit every planet that lotor was in charge of and release them from galra control

they are able to bring back an altean (its romelle) and she talks abt her friend who lives on the balmera and they go to the balmera and its revealed that it was shay’s great grandmother so romelle asks where shay is and shay’s family is like with team voltron of course

so

they take her

obviously team voltron, the BoM and the Rebels r very hesitant to make contact but they decide to try it out

keith refuses to meet, instead he’s on the team that stands guard

reunions !! 

romelle and shay hit it off and hunk makes a dinner much like roselle’s past (allura and coran also hang out and they all vibe)

lance talks to shiro abt everything to do with keith and shiro is like dude do u??? like him?

and lance is like what? no ofc not—oh shit.

and keith ✨overhears ✨

pidge matt and shiro catch up n shit

meanwhile keith is like Hey Lance Uhhhhhh What The Fuck

they end up being like hey since we’re all here and we hate zarkon what if we make a plan to end the galra’s reign Right Now

so they do

and y’all.. it’s hella baller plan

except something is going wrong and in the middle of an attack zarkon is able to get the upper hand 

due to haggar’s magic and lance’s mental and emotional instability, zarkon is able to get in his head

everyone is trying to talk him down but they’re all under a lot of pressure

allura is also conflicted bc she wanted to be black lion bc she wanted to rub it in to zarkon’s face that she was stronger than he and that she could beat him at his own game

but the negativity and instability feeds into zarkon’s power and makes him and haggar stronger as they pull in voltron to finally take over the team and regain their status as the most powerful alien race

hunk realizes this and is like okay can y’all stop being negative? its clearly affecting them in a good way and it makes us an easier target

and pidge is like im literally a child pls i don’t wanna die i just got my family back it can’t end like this

shiro realizes what’s going on and he goes to save them

he uses all his energy, pulling in the positive memories (everything: first learning about space, becoming a teacher, meeting adam, meeting keith, first making team voltron, his friends and family--all of it) to push back zarkon and haggar’s powers and battle once more in the astral realm 

in defeating zarkon, shiro loses his life

afterwards keith enters the ship in a hurry and is like where the fuck is shiro where’s my brother what did you do what happened

and team voltron is like hey man.. we are so so sorry

and keith cries because the last thing he ever said to shiro was mean

lance feels like its all his fault since he was supposed to be a good leader

they talk about separately while hunk pidge and allura discuss

krolia is like keith we, ur family, are here for u

and axca is there and shes like um?? hey?? sry for trying to kill u bro

and he’s like i absolutely do not wanna talk i just lost my closest friend

they talk about it later

axca tells keith abt shiro finishing lotor’s work and abt bringing people back and well.. 

they use the methods to help keith visit shiro in the astral realm

shiro is like oh uh hey i was just having a drink w adam we r happy

and keith is like shiro u fuckhead why would u sacrifice urself

shiro sighs bc cmon keith you KNOW why “remember what i always said? we can’t focus on what went wrong..”

“we’ve got to figure out how to make it right” keith finishes

keith breaks tf down crying and screams apologizing

“i love u shiro. ur a like a big brother to me.”

and shiro is like yeah i know and ilyt but hey. everyone’s safe and happy. im safe and happy. & you deserve to be too. you don’t need me anymore.

so the galra rule is over and everyone goes to their respected planets

romelle and the other alteans as well as some galra babes hang in earth

romelle and shay r in an apartment together and have a garden

allura realizes she may not have been the strongest leader for voltron, and  couldn’t stop zarkon on her own but that physical strength doesn’t define her as a whole

her heart is strong enough to care for everyone, so thats what she does

allura starts running an inn for alteans filled with painted sceneries like altea in case anyone ever needs a reminder of home

when lance reunites with his family its a real tearjerker

rachel finally gets her jacket back and veronica is like So.. Axca 👀

the McClain’s host a huge party for everyone and it’s filled with lots of hugs and loud music and even tho lance was way too tired, he danced all night

he wouldn’t trade his family for the world—genetic and chosen

when hunk reunites with his parents they don’t let him out the house for hours, he tells them all about his new best friend shay as well as hundreds of his favorites stories from space

they are so, so proud of him

hunk spends the next days playing minecraft and animal crossing with pidge, giving their brains a rest from being on hyperdrive for 3 yrs straight

when pidge gets home she finally gets grounded by her mom, only being allowed to leave the house to see her old teammates

(same for matt and her dad)

(her mother cries so hard when they opened the door to the home)

the holt family holds movie nights filled with popcorn, cuddles, and tears

keith moves in with the holt family, and finally accepts that he has a home as well as a family

he often goes on trips with the BoM but mostly just stays on earth

after a Team Voltron sleepover in the altea inn keith and lance decide to get an apartment together and live their lives in love and in peace

everyone gets together once a year in celebration of shiro and the sacrifice he made for them

they use the ship to visit Astral Shiro and once they even met adam

everyone laughs and catches up and just... live their lives

everyone is happy

pls ignore any and all errors lmao

again, just a thought !! maybe i’ll write a fic abt it idk for sure but yeah

feel free to add anything <3

[angelmichelangelo]

1/2 nah foh with the homophobia argument thats such an odd and sad cop-out when it comes to someone having a different opinion to you... i also would hardly call myself a phanti at this point i just get so??? when ppl post abt dnp being 100% in love and blah blah like. alright! im of the opinion that i wont post any of that shit until they want us to fully know theyre together which they clearly dont. like yes ppl can read between lines i know but they still .. havent said it and dont start

right off the bat, i really don’t like the tone of this ask but yknow i’m gonna give you the satisfaction of me answering this so we can have a... somewhat civilised conversation about this, since i did invite anyone with their own “phanti” opinions to come give me their reasonings.

the homophobia explanation is definitely not a cop-out for someone having a different opinion to me. like i said, i really do not care in what you believe when it comes down to dan and phil. it just truly baffles me as to why phantis wanna come onto our side and get flustered when we start talking about it, like? do you not have your own fandom spaces to make those kinds of posts? you clearly know that a majority of us here are not gonna agree with you. but, i digress.

dan and phil, a long time before coming out, lived in, what a lot of people called; a glass closet. so, obviously they weren’t actually out out, but they insinuated. they got comfy with us. they let us, the viewers know, and that’s why we have a somewhat.. relaxed relationship with them. they consider us more than just “fans” (a word they don’t even like to use) because yet. the whole “they know we know” DOES matter. dan’s mentioned it countless times before, that his audience helped him overcome certain things in regards to his sexuality. he’s said that because of his support and of our understanding, it helped him come out.

anon, if you don’t want to believe it. i really am fine with that. it’s not my job to change your mind. for whatever reason you’re so against it, then... idk. i hope you figure that out. dan and phil aren’t gonna scold you for thinking “hey! they’re cute together!”

the most interesting thing to me is, how a lot of people like yourself always try to... i guess, defend? dan and phil? and. yknow. i guess your heart is in the right place! you don’t want them to get hurt or upset and i get that. but dan and phil are quite literally grown men.

it kinda links into the argument of “why do you write fanfiction about real people thats so gross!” and when it applies to real people who have opposed of having fanfiction written about them, then sure i guess. but dan and phil have mentioned a bunch of times that they’re fine with us writing smut and drawing them in any which way. and that ties in with discussion their relationship. they’ve liked fanart before that has them being “couple-y.” phil’s read out comments before that joke about relationships. dan’s been VERY open on stereo lately (see, story about phil’s bare ass) and from what i can gather, they really don’t have a problem with that. the things dan mentioned in BIG about people prying, is in reference to things like people stalking his brother for information, or when people found phil’s private facebook and starting sharing his personal things around. THAT, yes is too far. but from what i’ve seen since i’ve been here? none of that. we just have a good time and get to look up to two queer icons and celebrate their love! why not be on that side!! it’s so much more fun, i promise!

i can assure you anon, if we’ve stepped anywhere we haven’t been allowed, dan and phil are very capable of telling us. there’s a trust between them, and their audience. that’s why they’re finding it easier and more enjoyable to be more open with us. that’s why they’re celebrating their forever home with us. so if that’s what you’re worried about, you really don’t have to. dan and phil are dumb but they’re not idiots.

[thetriggeredhappy]

currently reading persistence for the fourth (fifth??) time and like, no joke I could write an essay on it but I'm not here to do that in your askbox because that'd be weird but I just wanna say I fucking love this fic so much. scout has a very Bad Romance by lady gaga vibe and I appreciate his and sniper's dynamic so much. for like the first half of the fic it's teetering between FWB and something that could end up being seriously unhealthy/toxic for scout if sniper were a less caring/in-tune partner. he's put in a difficult position where he could very easily take advantage of scout even by accident and scout would let it happen for the sake of not being alone. same anon that sees bpd symptoms in your interp of scout and it's most prominent in this storyline. and then sniper? gosh, get you a guy like that if you can because even though I think his handling of scout's issues early on could have been better, sniper is pretty out of touch emotionally and he really did try his damnedest when he started to realize just how bad scout was doing. love it love it love it. as much as a I wish there was more content for that storyline, I think where you left it off really was just *chef kiss* and some stories are better off if you leave them on a note like that. aight gonna stop word vomiting all over your inbox now have a good one

i can’t stress enough anon that you’re literally not being weird and i appreciate the hell out of you dude

and yeah persistence as a fic is very much just like. living in the weird grey area of boundaries that happens with just, having trauma or baggage in casual relationships. like, being from sniper’s point of view the whole time especially, the majority of the fic revolves around this question of whether it’s scout’s responsibility to communicate even if it’s difficult or almost impossible to do, or sniper’s responsibility to push him to open up about his boundaries even if that risks hurting scout in the process. like, how do you express that it’s hard to be vulnerable without vulnerability? doesn’t refusing to talk about something speak for itself? saying what is and isn’t okay with you is already a really personal experience, and telling someone what makes you uncomfortable is, in a sense, giving them a playbook of ways you’ve been hurt and how they could hurt you if they really wanted to. mortifying ordeal of being known and all that.

and beyond that there’s this recurring situation in the fic of both of them trying to figure out how much they’re supposed to care. to scout, sniper caring so much about not hurting him and crossing his boundaries is a pretty meaningful thing, but to sniper, it’s not even a question, it’s what he would want to do for anyone. and to sniper, this recurring thing of scout wanting to spend time with him outside of just sleeping together starts to tread into relationship territory, but to scout it’s just the most obvious next step after a while—how could he do anything else? why wouldn’t he want to get to know sniper better the longer he knew sniper, and why wouldn’t he want to spend time with the guy? so over the course of the fic, sniper and scout both have to acclimate to the basic standard the other one wants—communicating boundaries and hanging out together, respectively—while also dealing with the weird vibes they’re getting from each other and trying to figure out how it’s *supposed* to work. hell, it takes them a chapter and a half to even ask the other one if they’re exclusive.

one thing in the fic that i needed to stress was that while sniper didn’t always know where specifically scout’s boundaries were with things, he would never even dream of crossing one on purpose. over and over, scout puts himself in situations where he’s extremely vulnerable, and anyone who didn’t care about him could easily take advantage of him and hurt him pretty badly in the process. and sniper never does—and more than that, he very much notices that this is a recurring thing, even if it’s obvious to him that scout doesn’t. and he keeps trying to watch scout’s back when it’s increasingly clear that scout doesn’t always have his own best interests in mind.

like, it’s just a fic about grey areas. because sniper doesn’t want to hurt scout, and scout doesn’t know that he doesn’t need to get hurt, and sniper tries to give him opportunities to back out of stuff and scout doesn’t always take them when he should. neither of them is necessarily in the right or in the wrong, and maybe sniper should be more patient but at the same time he deserves to stand up for himself when scout starts pushing his buttons for the sake of pushing them, and scout is allowed to be hurt and have his emotions but that doesn’t give him a free pass to do and say whatever he feels like. neither of them is perfect, or even necessarily good, but they aren’t hurting each other on purpose and they wanna stop hurting each other and they wanna get on the same page, even if they both kinda suck at it.

anyways yeah i have a lot of feelings abt the fic overall and could probably keep rambling abt it, i promise i’ll write the essay if you don’t anon

for ppl who haven’t read it yet it’s over here, i should note that it’s got a lot of adult content and that most chapters have trigger warnings attached to them after the first two, keep yourselves safe it’s important

[jilyandbambi]

auuuurrrghhhhhhh

but GERALT of RIVIA really is Peak Soft™.

battle-scarred, world weary monster slayer whose first instinct is ALWAYS to spare the monsters he's sent to slay so as to show the humans in power how and why the fanged scaly beasties Aren't So Bad. like some kind of Medieval Crocodile Hunter but Buff and Depressed. Because maybe if he can convince non-supernatural people to react with empathy when they encounter what they can't understand or overpower then hopefully, in time, that kindness and compassion might be directed back to him.

if he can help other monsters be accepted. the same will be true for him, one day

and this just has me like--?? this is really the 'Laconic Tortured Soul Who Believes He's Unworthy of Love' trope done right

normally, these types of male protags (written by male writers) are 'lovable scamps' who take all of their issues w/ society & their sad backstory out on their love interests and/or the members of their 'found family' in ways that come off as self-centered and downright mean-spirited. and the narrative just excuses it bc meEN aRe NoT ALlOwEd tO FEeL eMoTioNs dontcha know? so here's our attempt at deconstructing that by giving u a protag who uses the ppl in his life like burnt out receptacles in his trashfire of toxic masculinity and repression.

and Geralt is such a great counter argument to that trope. here we have this certified fresh ass badass Your Dad Calls Me Daddy superpowered monster killer, but whose first instinct is, paradoxically, empathy, compassion, and conciliation. why? because he’s been there, Is There, constantly being spat at, mistrusted, betrayed, and shunned. He’s so fucking lonely and starved of person-to-person connections he talks to his horse, and when he has actual people to talk to, people who want to get to know him and be around him when he’s so used to being shot down and turned away, that it’s all so out of his norm it’s all he can do to respond with grunts and monosyllables and bland matter of factness BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT HE KNOWS. But it’s not to be cruel, he’s just not used to people liking him enough to engage him in friendly conversation.  

and like, yeah, it’s funny to joke abt Geralt’s memetic laconicism but this is one of my other favorite things about him: that he IS so quiet and humble about his work that his whole I’m Here to Redeem schtick flies under the radar for most characters in universe and many audience members as well. And that’s just?? I feel like in a different show this type of character would have a bunch of award-baity monologues about the world being rotten and cruel to make it even easier to buy into the narrative’s obfuscation of this character’s heart of gold, or they’d play the trope dead straight + have Geralt’s story be one abt redemption vis a vis his love interest and child mcguffin. Or, script would go another route and  play the Messianic Monster here to teach white peop--I mean, humans--not to be racist anymore so that the audience couldn’t possibly miss his heart of gold and pacifistic message.

instead, we get Geralt, neither sinner nor saint but doing his best to do the most amount of good he can wherever his travels take him to make the world a little less awful and a little more compassionate. he asks for little, takes even less (seriously, do any of the villages he save actually pay him?), and barely talks. He’s bad with people but doesn’t want to be. His sharpness, when it comes out, isn’t meant to drive others away; it comes as a result of chronic insomnia and social isolation, not from a need to hurt others the way he’s been hurt. he’s not here to lash out at the world for throwing him away. He’s a bit cynical and bitter, as battle scarred social outcasts are wont to be, but his actions belying the stalwart hope for a better, kinder world outshine all that. And it’s done quietly.    

people might roll their eyes at this but I really don’t think Geralt gets enough credit for the amount of depth there is to him, the very specific way he defies so many fantasy protag tropes.

[elliium]

the way i see buildmart is that. dream has a valid point abt how its like pkw but to a lesser extent. like idk. ive seen a lot of people attack dream for his hatred of buildmart but like. hes allowed to feel that way! its obviously a game that stresses him out bc of factors he cant control, and ppl going out of their way to defend it and call dream a loser for it are just as annoying as stans who attack buildmart and those who like it, like scott

yep i know i look like i’m saying STOP COMPLAINING!!!! which like . now i realise it i am which i don’t mean to because mans allowed his opinions. but it’s more like i’m saying . perhaps don’t say it in a space where you know your fans will go Hard to attack people (in “defence”) to try to get your way . if that makes sense. i hope i’m not sounding like i hate him for voicing his opinion because that’s entirely the opposite

i love that he loves mcc and i accept that people don’t enjoy some games but i feel like when you’re sat there on a stream talking about how you would rather die than play it but then talk so highly about another game that the same amount of people who like bm, dislike that game, it feels a bit like . eeeeehhhh. like i love that he’s into stats and the scoring but a lot of his critiques are worded in a way that might admittedly put him in a better position but would sometimes hurt other peoples scores. and then naturally people grab what he says and when things aren’t changed to how he suggests it’s automatically “biased against dream” . what i’m saying is i love that he’s so into it but i wish he sort of . worded it a bit friendlier ? so that his fanbase (so realistically it’s more of a problem i have w the twitterarians than Him) wouldn’t go stress out the noxcrew over a game . does that makes sense i feel like it doesn’t but i’m not good at thoughts