#now I hate that name and I've come to dislike the character more

[pickletrip]

Love in Translation

Episode 3

[pacing-er]

I've seen ppl talking about how Cherik may get a different name if it becomes more widely known that comic Magnetos birth name was Max Eisenhardt, but am I the only person who thinks that really won't need to happen? In the comic timeline(s) where he was called Max as a child, he still chooses to be called Erik Magnus Lehnsherr in adulthood. That is a name he chose for himself, not one imposed on him, which means he wants to use that name. Given that "Max Eisenhardt" would be very dear to him since his family would have known him by that name, I see the change of name as more of a "Max died"/loss of innocence symbology. He cannot become the boy that he was before Auschwitz, it has changed him in a way he can't come back from, just like he can never get his family back. He is a different person now, so he chose a new name for himself. Not that he would hate being called Max, I just think that he would feel more disconnected from it or not want it to be used by people he dislikes or doesn't care about. It would be something very personal with a lot of baggage.

Additionally, if the Magneto: Testament comics can be seen as applicable to the rest of the Marvel canon, he chose "Erik" because it was his uncle's name. Erich Eisenhardt was someone who Max had looked up to and seen as a courageous and strong person, so an adult Erik would want to wear that name to carry on his legacy. I think that is a beautiful name choice and I don't feel it's necessary to erase it by calling him Max.

(DISCLAIMER: of course I know the whole name debate originated from inconsistencies in the early comics, and that the movie-verse erased that particular origin anyways, but I think it is a beautiful part of his characters history and should stay)

[wishful-thinking64]

One Hell of an Unpopular Opinion #03

Characters like Barbie Wire, Chaz, Crimson, Octavia, and Stella only exist as plot devices to garner sympathy for other characters. _______ I knew fully well that Chaz and Crimson were going to merely be plot devices for Moxxie the more I watched Exes & Oohs. And sure enough, Chaz was killed at the end of that very episode and Crimson is yet another wacky cartoon villain that the narrative expects for you to take seriously. Both of these characters existed so that the audience could gain sympathy (or at least pity) for Moxxie being raised in a Mafia family and having been abused as a child along with being betrayed by his ex-boyfriend (who also happened to be Millie's ex-boyfriend for some reason.) Other than Moxxie's Mafia family upbringing making zero sense the more you think about it, Viv has basically done this exact backstory before in the form of Angel Dust (with the whole mobster backstory who was also abused by his father.) However, the Exes & Oohs episode and title actually stems from one of the HH mockup episodes that was originally about Charlie and Vaggie coming across Charlie's ex, Seviathan (yes, that's what Viv named him), and his sister, Helsa, while they were at a dinner party.

Now, do I think Chaz and Crimson could've had the potential to be good characters? In all honesty, no. Especially not Chaz. The guy is a harmful stereotype of pansexual people and how, "They'll sleep with anyone," which no, they won't. I'm not pansexual myself but that thought process is as gross as it is fucking stupid. The only person who I've seen even re-writing Chaz has been Loves Art23 (I mainly know her for YouTube videos being critical on Hazbin Hotel + Helluva Boss along with other shows like the disaster known as High Guardian Spice) and I think she's done a fairly good job so kudos to her for making him work. Personally, though I'm scrapping him as that gives me one less character to worry about when re-writing HB. Crimson would have to be heavily and I mean HEAVILY reworked/re-written in order for him to make any actual sense. That and I'm tired of every character having some variation of the same daddy issues in the Hellaverse. Which means he's also gonna get axed from me. Moving onto the ladies I mentioned, let's start off with Barbie Wire.

Having been foreshadowed since the pilot of I.M.P. (as seen when Tilla was still Barb's and Blitzo's older sister rather than their mother) Barbie Wire was an anticipated character by fans for years! And then her actual appearance finally happened in Unhappy Campers, an episode hated by practically everyone who saw it, and no one really cared about her showing up, other than the fact that the writers thought that having her seduce a BARELY legal adult would make for a good joke, when in reality, it only made everybody uncomfortable and several people dislike Barbie because of it. Sure, near the end of the episode she had that "emotional" scene with Blitzo that wants the viewers to feel bad for him and Barbie before she left but in the long run it didn't matter as fans barely even talk about it because of how uneventful it truly was. So, with that out of the way, would I keep Barbie Wire around for a rewrite of HB? To that I say, yes! There are several paths Barbie Wire's overall character could go in. If you're mainly sticking to canon, then what you have to work with is a former circus performer who lost her mother in a fire caused by her twin brother that left his own best friend to rot and be disabled for the rest of his life. It's very likely that this very fire, caused her to be out of a job and probably even homeless for a bit which could explain why she ended up becoming both a drug attic and a drug dealer. Homelessness is one of the few things that nobody wants to experience. It causes people to be filled with a sense of overwhelming loneliness and desperation as many of them either believe that there's nothing they can do or they do anything and everything that they can to get out of it even if that means resorting to crime. If you wanted to have her be loosely based on canon instead, you could make it to where she never learned about who started the fire and actually stuck with Blitzo well into adulthood. Have her become one of the members of I.M.P. and later down the line have her learn through someone like Fizz or maybe Cash (her and Blitzo's father) what actually went down that day. Have her be rightfully pissed off at Blitzo for screwing over multiple people along with being the one responsible for killing their mom. Anyway, let's proceed onto Stella and her daughter Octavia.

As much as the narrative wants me to hate Stella with a burning passion cause she hurts Stolas, I can't do it for multiple reasons but I'll list my top three. #01.) Stella's just as (if not even more so) stuck in this arranged loveless marriage as Stolas is. #02.) If the man I had no choice in marrying not only cheated on me with a man from one of the lowest classes in all of Hell but IN OUR OWN HOME & SHARED BEDROOM NO LESS? OH, FUCK NO!

#03.) This woman had to spend 9 months having to nourish and care for a baby inside her stomach that she had with a man that didn't even want to sleep with her. On top of that, she had to have become pregnant with Octavia when she was a young adult since current day Stolas and Stella are only in their mid 30s. I need you to let that information sink in.

In short, I can't hate Stella for loathing Viv's pathetic self insert bird twink with every fiber of her being.

Having said that, would I have Stella in my HB rewrite? Well, considering that I plan on keeping the war that happened in the bible that caused Lucifer and several angels to fall from grace, one of which being Stolas. Kind of. Allow me to elaborate, I would keep Stella as Octavia's mother but I wouldn't have her marry Stolas. I'd have her be a surrogate mother that way Stolas still gets an heir and Octavia could still exist. Speaking of Octavia...

We all know that she exists to make Stolas look like a better person as several stans of this show love to say how much of a good dad Stolas is when he isn't. He neglects Octavia frequently in favor of Blitzo and only pays attention to her when she's gone although EVEN THAT doesn't last long as shown in Seeing Stars where HE KNEW Octavia was missing on Earth but rather than ACTIVELY look for his daughter, what does he do? HE SITS THROUGH A STUPID LIVE COMEDY SHOW CAUSE BLITZO IS PERFORMING! HE COMPLETELY SIDELINES HIS OWN DAUGHTER IN FAVOR OF A LIVE COMEDY SHOW!

God, Octavia deserves so much better than to have a dad like him. I'm keeping Octavia for my HB rewrite so that this poor girl not only realizes how much of a bastard her dad is but eventually gets the found family she deserves. I don't plan for it to be through I.M.P. though. In closing, the characters of this show deserve to be better developed but especially the women in them.

_______

That was a long one to get through cause it's been on my mind for a while. Thank you all for reading through it and bye for now everybody!

[lionheartedmusings]

i've seen a lot of people talk about pomme being mischaracterised by the fandom, especially when it comes to her design (this one particularly was on the subreddit) and how she's usually depicted as this sweet little girl, which doesn't match up with her warrior side.

i actually… hate this take? now, i totally get that pomme does get mischaracterised by people who aren't usually privy to her for long periods of time, but why is her femininity out of character? how is portraying her as girly and sweet and kind somehow in detriment of her personality in any way?

pomme is kind. she's kind to an extreme, she's communicative and loving, and deeply emotionally intelligent. she's by far one of the genuinely kindest eggs, and deeply understanding of other people and their actions. she's sweet, and caring, and careful of the people around her — she feels horrible about killing foolish, and dislikes being teased about it because it was an accident and she didn't mean it. she'll take other people into account every time, and try her best to have healthy communication at every turn (i.e. her letter to tallulah yesterday).

she's also a warrior, one with the best pvp and pve skills of the eggs, well trained and deadly if need be. i don't think i've ever seen her be downed under any circumstance other than the code, and let me tell you girlie's been in some tough positions where being downed would've been normal. she's loving, but she's not an idiot and she's certainly going to kill instead of being killed.

she's also deeply wounded and paranoid, with her potions and quick switch armor, and reflexes that are frankly only rivalled by bad's. when richas went down, it took bad around 20 seconds to get to him (yes, felps was there but bad didn't know and better safe than sorry) but it wasn't bad who got him up — when pomme realised what was happening, she instantly went to his room. by the time bad arrived, richas was one second from being up. when she needs to tp the eggs, pomme is almost always faster than the parents, because she knows being fast is the difference between a scare and a dead sibling.

she wants elquackity dead. she named her scythe "revenge" because she wants him to pay for what he did to dapper. she's not scared of elquackity for herself, she's pissed the fuck off because no one touches her brother and lives. and this isn't bad's influence on her, mind you, this is pomme being pomme. the only thing that's more important than kindness and survivability is revenge when people harm those she loves — richas canonically had to hold her down in ninho the day dapper was kidnapped, because she wanted to go help the adults.

yes, pomme's the baby, but she's by far one of the most capable eggs in just about any regard. she's traumatised and wounded, but she knows when to put her own emotions aside and focus on the task at hand. she'll dig holes to whine about being called the french assassin, but she wants elquackity's head on a spike. she's gentle and caring and not afraid to talk about her emotions, but she's also cold as ice when need be.

my point being, pomme is a well developed character with a lot of nuance but that doesn't mean portraying her as a sweet little girl is wrong — that's still who she is. there's just layers to her, and i kind of feel iffy on the idea that portraying her in a very feminine way is somehow wrong or betraying who she is. she's the epitome of "don't mistake my kindness for weakness", all in a cute beret and pigtails.

[peachglazewrites]

𝚖𝚎𝚕 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚌𝚊𝚗𝚘𝚗𝚜 𖧧 𝚝𝚕𝚘𝚞

a/n: I got requested for some Mel stuff and I cannot express to you how excited I am to be writing more about her!!! Mel has quickly taken over my life, and I find myself thinking of her often. she plays a really big part of my longfic, dream of us in a year, so I've already had to spend a lot of time expanding on her character.

but here you go! a proper list of all my little Mel headcanons. we don't have a lot to work on, so a lot of this comes from my own analysis of the game and other characters, plus some things i think would be fun.

please be respectful and lovely when interacting! Mel isn't everyone's favourite, but she's one of mine, and I'd love to share with you what makes her special to me.

thank you!! ♡︎

word count: 1.5k (i like to yap about her leave me alone!!!)

𖧧 Her full name is Melanie Jacobs ♡︎ She never EVER goes by her full name unless she has to, to the point where people have forgotten that her name isn't just Mel.

𖧧 Mel is just as stubborn as Abby. When she gets her mind set on something, that’s it—there’s no talking her out of it. Well, there is, but you’ll have to deal with her letting you know how displeased she is, how she would much rather be doing XYZ than whatever she’s doing now.

𖧧 Mel and Abby are actually similar in a lot of ways, more than anyone thinks. They used to be a lot closer when they were younger, and for good reasons. They had similar ideals and goals, but also humour. Mel can be just as sarcastic and dry as Abby, which is one of the things that drew Abby to her in the first place.

𖧧 Mel has a rebellious streak that she’s managed to tame in her adulthood, but she still likes to indulge. It’s part of the reason why she likes going to the aquarium so much. Yes, she thinks it’s beautiful and she loves spending the time with Owen, but it reminds her of when she was with the Fireflies—how she used to sneak off base to explore the city surrounds, or tiptoe out of the barracks to attend late-night get togethers with a bunch of the other teens.

𖧧 Alice and Mel bonding so deeply wasn’t actually meant to happen. Mel is a medic, so while she does go out on patrol and has use for the dogs, she’s not out there as often as the other soldiers. But after getting ambushed on a patrol and forced to hide out in a gas station, she spent the time waiting for backup to arrive tending to Alice who had been shot. It wasn’t fatal, and she might have been fine without intervention, but Mel helped anyways.

Since then, Alice has always been much more receptive to Mel than anyone else. Not that she wouldn’t listen to commands, or that she wasn’t brilliantly trained—but the way those two work together is unlike anything else.

𖧧 Mel’s been pulled up once or twice for treating Alice too much like a pet, that she needs to remember the balance between work and play when it comes to these dogs. But they’re quickly silenced when Mel runs through a series of commands with Alice, all silent and based on the smallest of hand gestures.

𖧧 Mel refuses to let anyone do her laundry for her. She knows there are people whose entire jobs are to do the base’s laundry, but she says it makes her feel bad. She also just prefers the routine, the mundanity of going down and doing it herself. And if her clothes come out smelling nicer than everyone else’s, almost like they’ve been washed with a hint of lavender, that’s her business and not theirs.

𖧧 Mel’s actually a pretty picky eater! She hates when her foods are too liquidy, so she refuses to eat soup and will hand her broth from her stews of noodles to other people once she’s done eating the solids out of them. She’s also not a fan of carrots, or when food has too many different textures.

She’d never allow herself to be picky like this while with the Fireflies, and definitely not while the Salt Lake Crew were marching towards Seattle, but now that she has the luxury of abundance, she lets herself have her likes and dislikes.

𖧧 Along the same vein, she’s also allergic to shellfish! She can still eat fish, but things like crabs, prawns, and octopus she cannot have.

𖧧 Mel has a really romantic heart. She will swoon over grand gestures and proclamations of love, even if PDA makes her feel embarrassed. She thinks that there’s still plenty of space in a world like this to love and be loved in return. She will make time to indulge in date nights and romantic evenings.

𖧧 Her love languages are physical touch and acts of service. She is always placing a hand on someone’s shoulder, hugging them to her chest, holding their hand, etc. She doesn’t even notice she’s doing it half the time.

She also goes out of her way to do things she knows her loved ones will enjoy or appreciate. A lot of it manifests in sewing up clothing, her medic hands steady and used to suturing.

𖧧 Mel is also a killer when it comes to gifts. Others seem to forget how connected Mel is to everyone on base, which comes with the territory of being a medic. People feel like they owe her favours, which she doesn’t use for anything except for asking them to keep an eye out for things while outside base. She still finds a way to pay them back, though.

She also gets discounts down at the markets, which once again she rarely uses unless the stallholders are especially insistent.

𖧧 Her favourite colour is purple. She has no big reason for it, she just likes it. It becomes a thing for her though, having multiple purple clothing items in her wardrobe. Someone left a purple clipboard for her to use at work one day, which soon came with a matching purple pen.

𖧧 Spit really grosses her out. She can handle blood, vomit, all sorts of other fluids that no one should have to deal with—but spit or mucus? Absolutely not. It has her holding back a gag, sometimes even having to excuse herself for a moment to dry heave in private before coming back in.

𖧧 Mel was offered a promotion of sorts, something higher up in the chain that would give her a lot more responsibility, but she declined. She was grateful and very honoured, but she didn’t want the extra responsibility if it meant she wouldn’t be on the floor as much. Her priority here is to help people, to tend to the wounded and care for the sick. She appreciates the offer, but she’d much rather be doing long hard shifts like this than anything else.

𖧧 Mel says she doesn’t care what the baby is, but she secretly hopes that it’s a girl. She couldn’t tell you why, she has no actual reason, and when the baby comes and it turns out to be a boy, she will forget she ever had a preference. But she always defaults to calling the baby she, even when she doesn’t realise it.

���𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚜𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚕𝚢 𝚜𝚊𝚍𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚜 :')

𖧧 Her and Nora were together when the attack on the hospital happened. They were hiding out in one of the doctor's offices, huddled under a desk together. They could hear everything as Joel passed through, and stayed hiding there for hours afterwards. They’ve been especially close since then, a bond tying them together.

𖧧 Nora was slightly more trained than Mel by the time the attack happened, so there were still some things that Jerry had yet to, and would never end up teaching Mel. Nora sat with Mel after everything, during their trip to Seattle, and taught Mel everything that she hadn’t known. It was a way to remember and honour the doctor, but also try and distract from the shock and trauma of it all.

𖧧 Mel and Owen grew close because they were both ‘mourning’ Abby. They both tried to help Abby move on, but she was most definitely not receptive to it, and ended up pushing them away (whether she meant to or not). They had this in common, and spent a lot of nights just talking, expressing frustrations and trying to work through their own feelings. Things naturally progressed from there.

𖧧 Jackson freaked her out, made her uncomfortable, but not in the way everyone thinks. Obviously seeing Joel tortured like that, seeing him laying there on that tile with his head cracked open didn’t sit right with her, but it wasn’t that.

People just assume that because Mel doesn’t see death like this happen in front of her, that she should obviously be messed up by it. But she’s a medic. She sees stuff like that all of the time.

She’s had people she knows die under her hands, seen the aftermath of senseless brutality, had to try and desperately fix things that shouldn’t need to be fixed in the first place.

It was Ellie that got her. The girl being held to the floor as she watched her father die, sobbing and pleading for them to let him go, screaming for him to get up. That’s what made her sick to her stomach, had her heart racing and her head spinning.

And yeah, she was one of the few to advocate that they kill her, that they take her out because she’d seen too much. But it’s because she’d seen first hand what this does to someone, what this kind of traumatic grief turns into.

And she’d been right. She’d known all the way in that moment in Jackson, looking between the sobbing girl on the floor and the one wielding the club across the room—two different girls, but two sides of the same coin.

(sorry that last one was so long I just think she's really interesting and think the way Joel's death impacted everyone differently is really compelling.)

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁ request your own here! . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁

[thecoolerliauditore]

sorry for the meta fandom discourse post but is it just me or does it sometimes feel like alot of people in the fandom really, really hate everyone else in the fandom. maybe I'm just more observant now but it feels like a relatively recent thing.

I don't like naming names in these but it's really hard to not to so forgive me but it seems like it started when people got more comfortable publicly saying they didnt like the art1mator smp people, then more and more anons on confession blogs would start very unsubtly complaining about specific fan artists they dislike (a little before this point there was a lot of general complaining about twinks or anime styles or whatever but never targetted). There's something here about the dehumanization of "big artists" too but I'm probably not eloquent enough to put it into words.

I'm a bit of a hypocrite when it comes to this because I do this too (although I do try to clarify each time I do that I respect the alternative as well) but I've seen so many posts in the scott tag specifically that are framed around proving other interpretations "wrong" than sharing your own. It used to be "scott is loyal and kind" and now it's "despite what People say, scott is loyal and kind". I don't check other tags closely enough to judge whether this is just the obligatory scott having more discourse than everyone else effect or if this is a wider spread thing but it's definitely something I've noticed. There's also the occasional post in there that's just like "some people are SO WRONG about scott" with no elaboration whatsoever?

And now with the Pearl Discourse TM it feels as though there's a lot of assuming the worst. This is what I was alluding to with the Gem SL discourse thing FYI like Gem disabled comments and all of a sudden everyone was preaching to the choir about being nicer to Gem, despite the fact that people on here LOVED Gem. There were big ass posts that told off people who called her character evil or for mentioning the Grian 1v3 instead of idk. The people in her comments section who were directly attacking her and made her disable them in the first place. It's so fucking wild to me still how many of my followers are Gem fans since I was piss scared to talk about her at all when SL ended.

Like I've seen people claim the fandom is awful and doesn't deserve this series which is like??? No?????? The start of WL brought about a shit ton of awesome fanart/fic??? All of the people I know are excited and chatting about it?????

Like don't get me wrong there are people in the fandom I personally dislike (and people who I've gotten the impression in the past who dislike me) but that's like. 1 or 2 guys compared to a shit ton of people who are awesome.

Maybe if we just idk. Talked to eachother more like people do instead of assuming someone is the worst because they shared an opinion you don't like or draw in a specific art style the fandom wouldn't seem So Bad.

[capricorncorvette]

DREW BLADE RANGER AS A HORSE ^^

I've been asked multiple times if i can draw the characters from Planes as horses ever since i started doing the characters from Cars as horses, so i'm starting off with Blade :D

Blades actual name is Ranger, it was the name given by his human caretakers at the time. He has done a lot in his life: police work, acting on a show, and now he's a firefighter hore. I couldnt decide whether he should be a Thoroughbred or a Hannoverian, so i just made him a cross.

My designs so far:

Need to personalize him a bit more

Heres his character sheet for now

I thought it wouldnt be a good idea to make the helicopter that died on set another horse, because animals are easier to replace them humans when it comes to television productions most of the time, so i decided his rider died in an accident while he was riding Blade, because he did all his stunts by himself (mostly because Blade liked him the most out of all the actors) Blade really liked his rider and when he died on set he was Blades first concern. Blade was actually injured himself too and was rushed to the vet for a checkup, but had no bones broken and got out alive with some bleeding wounds. His rider died on the way to the hospital because of fatal injuries.

Blade was later bought by a firefighting team, where he works together with multiple other animals, mostly Windlifter, a big working horse, and Dipper, a Thoroughbred mare, who used to be a police horse just like him. Blade in an incredibly determined horse and easy to work and ride,

Headcanons ofc:

1. He doesnt really like working with different people, he would rather have a few people in his team and some other animals he knows well and trusts.

2. Blade finds riding and being ridden perfectly fine, he doesnt necessarily love it but he doesnt hate it or dislike it either.

3. Blade actually really enjoys to be ridden without a saddle - wich was done with him quite a few times back in his acting days - but with his job, he needs a lot of tack and he carries his water with him on his back.

4. If there is 1 things Blade absolutely hates it would be ignorant people. Blade hates ignorant people that don't listen to professionals and bring themselves and other people in danger. But those people on his back or on his friends' backs, thats the biggest no no you can give Blade. Blade will tolerate small mistakes like accidental kicks or pulls, but if someone is purposely trying to control him or pulling on his bit up there, he will not hesitate to throw them off. Blade knows when someone is pulling or kicking on purpose, but he's only ridden by a parcticular team of people anyway, so throwing people off is barely necessary.

[artisticwizard]

General Grevious

Sleeper agent phrase activated.

Favorite thing about them

Fucking. Everything? I adore robots and he's a cyborg. I adore aliens and he's an alien. I love characters with four arms and guess what. On aesthetics alone he's gorgeous to me. He's been my fav character in star wars ever since I saw him in the movies, and He's been probably one of my top favorite character since then as well. Disclaimer, but I like the Legends backstory for him so much more so I usually default to that when talking about him. His backstory??? MWAH. MAGNIFICENT. STUNNING. POETIC. LIED TO AND USED ALL OF HIS LIFE? He thinks always that he is doing what is best for his people. He lost his literal other half in the war, his true soulmate to slavers of his people, swept into the sea. He changed his name to grievous to let his grief be known to all of his enemies??? My fucking GOD. He was a demigod among his people. He is a canon polyamourous king who has several wives and sired many children. He was a strategic mastermind and sought out by the sith for his genius. His hatred of the jedi was falsely implanted in him by sith interference. He thinks that the jedi are to blame for his cyborg body when it was the sith all along. Fuck man. I couldn't write a better character if I tried, and I have. Literally a character so doomed by the narrative that he is the epitome of tragedy to me.

Least favorite thing about them

I understand why he has to lose a lot, because the primary message of star wars is that good always triumphs over evil. The light will always beat the dark. I get that. I just dislike how he seems to lose in ways that are embarrassing? Anytime he loses it seems to be in an almost childish way that's unbecoming of him. It's why my favorite rivals for him are Obi Wan or Kit Fisto. Both of them are incredibly intelligent jedi masters that use strategy and his own ego against him, which make the times he is defeated against them more satisfying than other times.

Favorite line

Jedi. You are surrounded. Your army is decimated. Make peace with the force, now. For this is your final hour. But know that I, General Grievous, am not completely without mercy. I will grant you a warrior's death. Prepare! (followed by one of the sickest fucking lightsaber fights ever)

brOTP

Hard to answer. He doesn't have many friends. I wouldn't consider them friends exactly but his bickering with Asajj Ventress is always a treat.

OTP

I've dabbled in almost every grievous ship I can think of. I can't say I prefer one more than the others enough to make it an OTP. Some of my favs are obigrievous, asajj x grievous, Ronderu x Grievous, and dooku x grievous. TECHNICALLY one of my favorite ships features an original character from a fic I've read. Fanfic writers who make compelling and engaging OCs for their fics are amazing *wink wink nudge nudge at the person who sent this.*

nOTP

None I can think of.

Random headcanon

The Kaleesh are a reptilian species in general, that will not stop me from giving him some cat-isms. What if he purrs. What if his eyes get big when he sees something he likes. What if he likes scenting things. What if he bellows like a crocodile. What if he chuffs like a tiger. Shut up.

unpopular opinion

I already stated this, but I prefer his Legends backstory over his canon one. I've come around to not hating his canon one as much as I used to, but I still prefer the other.

song i associate with them

Literally I cannot think of one. I am a failure. A sham. A facsimile of my former self.

favorite picture of them

All of them, but this has been my discord icon forever. I have no clue who drew it but it was part of a doodle page here on tumblr and for the life of me I cannot find the original artist.

[ambrosiagourmet]

Not to absolve Toshiro of anything, but I wish Izutsumi could know about that little moment

Maizuru: Asebi is missing! Toshiro: She'll find us if she wants to Maizuru: But she hates us! I made sure of that! Toshiro: She'll Find Us. If She Wants To.

It's not a big courageous gesture, but. Izutsumi, it's another someone who saw you and cared about you.

Okay, I've seen this version of the dialogue around a bit and I've been so confused where it comes from? Apparently it's in the anime dub, specifically. Both translations of the manga use pretty similar language, as does the original sub of the anime:

It is in an official source now, so I don't think it's exactly wrong to treat it as canon, but... even then, I dunno. I'm not sure I view the interaction as Shuro being supportive of Izutsumi there, and Maizuru as being the bad guy.

I understand that a lot of people really dislike Maizuru, some to the point of discomfort, and that's fine - I have similar character types that can make me too uncomfortable to like/engage with, so I do understand the negative feelings around her.

But I like her! I think she's an intriguing, messy character. I think she's someone further along in the path of compliance with a toxic system, who has settled into her role as both perpetrator and victim within it, and I think that's interesting.

Maizuru acted as she thought she was supposed to, and it hurt Izutsumi, but I don't necessarily think she singles her out or treats her particularly different from the others in her care... I mean, the hag spell is something she used on Shuro too, when he was younger. She fucking SUCKS at childcare, and she treats people like the are sure to eventually fall into their roles. But she also didn't choose to "purchase" Izutsumi, or to be put in charge of her.

She's only 15 years older than Shuro. At what age was she put in charge of caring for him? Did anyone help show her how to do that? Toshitsugu certainly didn't, and his wife resents Maizuru. Also, for that matter, how old was Maizuru when her affair with Toshitsugu started... and how old was he?

She didn't choose the role of childcare at all, as far as I can tell. She was a ninja, before that, and she tried to use that training to raise kids, and it went uhhhh badly! Shocking! But I don't honestly know that like Hien or Benichidori would do that much better, if they had to make that transition.

I think it's interesting Maizuru's hag is specifically pointed out as using its weapon incorrectly. I feel like that's not just meaningful as a lesson for Izutsumi... I think it says something about its creator, as well.

Anyway, uhhhh, what was I talking about?

Oh yeah, Izutsumi leaving.

I don't personally think Maizuru asking after her was a matter of control rather than concern (it's probably both, really), and don't think Shuro's response is a matter of concern rather than disinterest (maybe that is both too, though).

Even if it was, though, I actually like that Izutsumi isn't there to see it. Shuro should respect her when she's not around just as much (if not more) than when she is. I think it's valuable for people to do well by someone they've hurt (or who has been hurt in the name of the system they benefit from) without that person's gratitude even being an option.

Maybe this is just my personal experience, but I sure know that there are people no longer in my life from whom a choice to respect my boundaries, that I never learn of, would make a positive impact on me. A more positive impact, specifically, than if they made the exact same choice in a way where I'm aware of it.

Sometimes the wounds need time, and sometimes they will never fully heal at all. Sometimes distance is a kindness. Sometimes "she'll make her way back if she wants to," means she'll never make her way back, you know?

Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but that's my wish for Izutsumi, honestly. May she never be asked to grapple with feelings of the people who enslaved her, good or bad. May she never have to think of them again, if she so chooses.

[scribbing]

Veilguard Review and Final Thoughts

All in all, I enjoyed myself well enough while playing this game and I've replayed it a few times all the way through and haven't had a drop in enjoyment while playing. Its a fun little popcorn playthrough.

I will say I think that a lot of balls were dropped. There were choices made that absolutely were at odds with previous games (ie: Crows are just fun and family led freedom fighters) and the absolute lack of the right tone or atmosphere for a Dragon Age game.

I also have a major issue with Rook. Namely that Rook is not the main character of their own story. They're the water guy on the sidelines of the team just there to shout praises and prop up the actual players. This was something that did irritate me early on, that lack of being anything but The Nice Guy with no real ability to push back/challenge/disagree or do anything really. You are just...a nice guy (or gal). But Rook to me had zero substance and never rose up out of that situation. Why is Rook in charge? Why isn't Harding? What about Rook is special enough to make everyone divert to their leadership? In my opinion, absolutely nothing. Rook has no real meat to them at any point in the game. Rook is overshadowed in their own faction by whatever companion comes from it. Rook has nothing special other than I guess Solas being trapped in their head which is absolutely not enough to hold a game's main character. Not to mention, I have no ability to make Rook stand for anything, make a statement on anything or various other options.

Now that's not to say that I don't enjoy more solid 'this is who they are' RPG characters because Commander Shepard of Mass Effect absolutely is Shepard, regardless of what I do. But even in that I feel more in control and more like this character has a viewpoint, has beliefs and has the ability to not be liked by everyone and make bad choices and refuse to be sorry for them.

Not to mention the companions....were not it. All of this 'they're going to be the most flushed out companions! It's all about the companions!'....no? Baldur's Gate did it a thousand times better. I was allowed to disagree with my companions, dislike them, hate them even, argue with them, have them 1000% disagree with me and hate me. Veilguard? If you talk to them they like you at the end of the conversation. If you bring them with you, they like you more regardless of what you're doing. To do a side quest is to make them love you. It's not good and it absolutely is not great character writing.

Also some choices were just....why? Why is Bellara falling over herself every other conversation to be depressed and sad and feel guilt for everything? In my mind I'm guessing that its meant to be sort of unresolved trauma from blaming herself for her brother but I'm not going to lie it started to get too much too quickly. Her needing to 'feel guilty over the gods, over the elves, over Solas and the Titans, etc.' was just more than I could take at certain points. Taash? Taash was not well handled in my opinion and there was SUCH a story to be had there. So much opportunity for nuance and raw emotion. As a mixed child of two completely different cultures? Heck yes I can identify and understand the story of struggling with the parent figure and learning to find yourself in a world that demands you pick one or the other and doesn't allow anything else. That was an AMAZING opportunity even without all of the extra options Taash had going for her and yet...it falls so flat. We don't get to tell her who she is...but actually no we will tell her who she is...multiple times.

Neve? Holy shit Neve had so much POTENTIAL!!! I'm literally foaming at the mouth at all the things she could have been!?! A literal Sherlock Holmes/Noir Detective going around and solving cases? I love mysteries and I loved Neve's baseline character design...in honest playing though it just...was meh. And at times almost...stupid? Which should never be something attributed to a character design like Neve's? (Her pretending to be a venatori will forever be the most eye rolling and pathetic dialogue scene ever). But also Minrathous? So many opportunities?!? Slavery, mages abusing power, politics, etc - and instead we get...none of that? No issues with elves or QUNARI?!?

Don't even get me started about the lack of Andraste and all that? We get a scene 'did we just disprove all of Andrastrianism?' and then immediately get 'oh but we should keep this to ourselves because you know they might hate on elves' like what the actual hell?

Davrin and Emmerich were perfect. No comments there. Just kidding, would have loved to delve more into their own situations and belief systems and just more? Emmerich's fears regarding death, Davrin's belief system and his need to have a cause and his connection and distance from his own roots. So many options!!!

And Lucanis...Lucanis. The guy I thought I'd love the most and I really can't tell him apart from a piece of soggy bread. His romance option was so painful, you're throwing everything at him and he's just ignoring you. Past that he's just...silly? Even not as a romance option he's a CROW, he's THE CROW...but oh its more important to know how he loves coffee...and how he cooks I guess? And Spite....WHY DID THEY MAKE SPITE THAT WAY?!!?? Spite had so much potential to be a threat, to be dangerous, to be something. Instead he's a joke. Lucanis is a joke. The whole thing with his pathway is an obvious joke. I'm still salty.

Also, I would have loved more Solas. More interactions with Solas. More engagement with Solas. And I might be a minority but less 'Solavellan' because there's something that irritates me that a strong, powerful, secure woman like the Inquisitor spent what ten years moping about a crush? They were never in a real relationship, he cut it off before that. TEN YEARS?!?! And she's still simping after this guy and willing to give up her own world to help hold his hand and pat him on the head? No. That needed to have been handled so much better. Plus Mythal. You tell me Mythal is this wise, ultimate judge and then you give me....none of that. Why was Solas so loyal to her? We needed more, we needed SO MUCH MORE to make it work.

And Harding? It's hard for me to say something bad about Harding but also hard to say something good. Harding is just...there? I don't know why she fell so flat for me when back in Inquisition I literally looked forward to seeing her at the opening of each new area and even had my Inquisitor romance her a time or two? But DATV Harding is just...meh?

So for a game so concerned with the companions and so hyped up about them - absolutely none of them really held up to the hype? Is there plenty of space for fanfiction? Yes. Is there any real volume to it without it? Not really.

Also, Elgar'nan and Ghil? The most bland bad guys to bad guy. That Solas spends so long warning you about them, Elgar'nan in particular, and then that's the final battle - that's the dude...I'm staring into the distance with an absolutely unimpressed look.

[alieinthemorning]

Warmth That Cannot Be Frozen Over [Zayne]

Content: Established Relationship, Fluff, Myths: Tower of Secrets Spoilers, POV Second Person, Reader-Insert

Pronouns: None

Reblogs: Let me know that you enjoy my work and want to see more, so don’t forget to like and reblog (and comment in the tags. I love seeing people’s rambles in the tags)!

This work’s concepts, plot and original characters are my own which means I do not allow any sort of creative theft nor do I allow my work to be entered into any sort of A.I. bots. Thank you for respecting my space and boundaries.

Winter was your least favorite season. Despite how beautiful and whimsical things looked in your eyes, your body heavily disagreed with the world’s drastic change in temperature. You needed to be wrapped up, but you hated it because you would very quickly become uncomfortable. Even locking yourself indoors didn’t fully stave off the chill.

However, there was one good thing to come from the cold. 

“Zayne.” Your voice was soft, fingers brushing along his fringe.

He didn’t open his eyes, but you could see the small threatening to dance across his lips. “What is it?”

You sniffled, already feeling your nose begin it’s dripping song and dance. “Nothing. I just like saying your name.”

The ends of his mouth lifted more on one side. “Oh, I know.”

Before, when this relationship was new, you would have flushed at his words, shy to the implications, but now you didn’t feel the need to. After all, “It’s true. I love saying your name, Zayne.”

His eyes slid up open, “Is that why you dislike calling me by any nicknames?”

You shook your head, sitting up, and reaching for the box of tissue on the bedside table.

“No,” You answered after handling your runny nose. “It just…something about your name is special, and oddly nostalgic?” You smiled at him. “I don’t know, I’m sure this just sounds like odd rambling to you.”

“No, I understand fully.”

Although his expression gave nothing away, you could see the icy crystallization of his Evol creeping across his neck. 

“You shouldn’t be close to me right now.” He sighed, moving to get up. 

Although he was right, you pulled him back down with you. The shiver that wracked your body’s weak constitution was rough, but you refused to move. 

“My Evol is usually really helpful, but right now it can’t do anything.” You sniffed, “It can’t warm me up, it can’t calm down your Evol. It’s just…there.”

“Well, wouldn’t you rather it just be there than for it to be all over, and everywhere.”

You chuckled, sniffing again. “I’m sorry for all the snot, I’m about to get on you.”

He simply reached over and grabbed the box of tissues, then returned to relaxing in comfortable silence with you. 

Just as you were dozing off, you figured it out. A solution to your problems—something for the both of you to hold on to while you dreamed.

“It may be cold, but I have your love to keep me warm, Zayne.” You whispered into his chest, knowing that you reached his heart. “And you have mine.”

He closed his eyes…and reminisced in a dream that would not be remembered. How many times had you told him those words. How many more times must he hear it? Until he could truly break free from this curse, and save you.

Honestly, it doesn’t matter. No matter how long it takes, he will save you.

He will not forsake the vow he made to you on that icy throne.

Astra be damned.

Decided that this needed a rework, and yeah, I was right about how this went down. Man, these guys have it hard when it comes to loving you.

Anyway, I'm gonna work on the nsfw Zayne piece now because my god I was working under "I've hype people up, now I have to deliver", and I don't have to do that anymore lol

Y'all know where to find it.

Ko-Fi | Commission | Masterlist

[fabseg-creator]

My review about Miraculous World: Paris, Tales of Shadybug and Claw Noir

This is a (first) review about a Miraculous element (especially an episode form Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir).

This post contains spoilers.

Today, I've watched the Special Episode. I am prepared for the watching. I will reveal my aggregation in the end of the post.

And now, time to read:

Plot:

This happens in the same moment (at the night) as the episode Destruction (5.03). After Monarch has been cataclysmed at the left arm and before he configurates the stolen Miraculouses.

In a parallel world, a Butterfly superhero named Hesperia (Gabriel Agreste/Gabi Grassette) who is helped by Alya, Nino, Max and Markov, leaves his homeworld universe for escape from Shadybug (Toxinelle) and Claw Noire (Griffe Noire), two evil versions of Ladybug and Cat Noir. When the three characters come to the Ladybug and Cat Noir main universe, Hesperia teams up with the two titular heroes for make the ShadyClaw duo into good people. At the other side, the evil counterparts try to steal the Butterfly miraculous to Hesperia (and later to try to combine the Ladybug and Cat powers for make their wishes).

I've learned about news elements in the Miraculous lore by watching the Special:

They exist some billions an infinity of Parallel Worlds in the lore.

Each Parallel World is home to one Tikki and one Plagg (so One Ladybug holder and one Cat holder).

The inconvenients from the Ladybug's and Cat's powers (secondary effects)due to their excessive using. Shadybug and Claw Noire cause their own deterioration in their bodies by using their power for the evil.

The morale about the hope in dark and sad moments (Thanks, Hesperia.)

The parallel world (ShadyClaw/Hesperia's world) is a dystopian world ruled by the Supreme

Hesperia's, Shadybug's and Claw Noir's backstories

What I liked:

The Hesperia opening in the intro (that was WTF but that was fun)

The coming of Shadybug and Claw Noire, their odd relationships

The Claw Noir's lines and moments

The Kamiko (good alternate name to Akuma)

The akumatization forms: Chat Céleste (Cat Noir) and Ubiquity (first Alya and later Ladybug)

Ladyfly (Marinette with Ladybug + Butterfly unification)

The travels across multiple parallel worlds (Hi, Scarabella and Kitty Noire. Hi, Mister Bug and Ladynoire.)

The concept of Re-Verse (the idea of what would Marinette and Adrien have looked like if theirs lives had been different from the Canon)

The thing how Monarch has failed (again) to take the Ladybug and Cat Miraculouses when he travelled across parallel worlds.

What I disliked:

The lack of end post-credits scene: I would like to see what happens in the Hesperia's world after the battle (interractions between the reformed Shabybug and Claw Noire, Hesperia, Alya ans Nino about reconciliation ans reorganisation of the Resistance against the Supreme).

The absence of other Miraclass counterparts, Luka, Kagami, Félix, Zoé, Chloé and Lila/Cerise (Only Alya, Nino, Max and Markov from the class appear in the episode as parallel counterparts)

The missing full appearance of the Supreme (his/her appearance from the shadow for reveal himself/herself/themself to spectators could make the cliffhanger effect for a sequel).

What I want to know for the future:

The most intriguing point, for me, is: The Supreme (This hidden character I have just mentioned in this post)

Who is the Supreme ? Human or Deity ? Big Brother (1984, George Orwell) ? How do s/he looks like ?

All I've learned about him/her/them is:

The Supreme is an entity/being who rules the Hesperia's homeworld (possibly the Hesperia's entire universe).

S/He is a tyrant, a dictator (worst than Chloé, possibly more machiavelic and charismatic than Cerise, more dangerous than Monarch) on this Earth (or simply Paris).

S/He hates the Love, the Freedom/Liberty, the Justice, the Happiness, positive emotions and particularly the superheroes.

It's him/her/they who is THE overarching antagonist of the Paris Special (even if s/he is only mentioned many times). S/He's so more antagonistical than Monarch.

S/He makes Hesperia and the Resistance from this world (and by extension Ladybug 2 (former Shadybug) and Cat Noir 2/Paw Noir (former Claw Noir)) as Outlaws.

It's him/her/them who given the Ladybug and Cat miraculous to Emo Marinette and Emo Adrien. Ironical and Ridiculous from the Supreme !

S/He is too powerful, too surnatural and too overcheated: s/he has a great control on the Miraculous Ultimate Absolute Power. S/He has implanted a blockage spell on Tikki and Plagg for prevent anyone to summon Gimmi.

ML theory: I'm thinking the Supreme is probably a evil type of Guardian of Miraculouses. A Fallen Guardian (NOT Master Fu NOR Su-Han). S/He has many knowledges about Miraculouses and their using + the Absolute Power.

My personal aggregation on the Paris Special:

I've enjoyed to see the episode. The narrative is excellent. The idea of Multiverse in the Miraculous lore is well found. The various animations from the episode are fun. Miraculous World: Paris, Tales of Shadybug and Claw Noire is a wonderful episode.

Result: 10/10

[spacerockfloater]

Hi.

It's so disheartening to see how a big chunk of TG turned on Aemond and Alicent and only support Aegon now. I deeply dislike most of the writing decisions this season, but people seem to forget that these decisions didn't harm only Aegon's character, but also Aemond, Alicent and Criston's, I would say even more than Aegon's. Nevertheless, after the last week episode I've seen a lot of TG hate directed towards Alicent and Aemond that reminded me of TB discourse and it's just sad.

I would love to hear your opinion on this. Thanks in advance.

Hello there friend! Thank you so much for sending me this ask!

Sigh. This is such a complicated issue. As a fellow TG supporter said recently in one of my posts, us turning against the Targtowers and hating them was exactly what Ryan Condal wanted.

They accidentally made them too sympathetic and righteous in the first season, so they had to ruin them to remind the public of whom they are supposed to hate. It’s sickening.

Alicent’s whole journey was about understanding that she needs to be more fierce and demanding to help her family survive. The first season ended with her being ruthless and ready to sacrifice everything for her children. But now she has regressed back to herself from the first half of S1, a scared little girl that doesn’t have the guts to do what must be done and loses all hope the moment the first tragedy comes her way.

Aegon’s whole journey was him overcoming his bullying tendencies and genuinely supporting his brother and his family. He may have initiated the pink dread incident but when his mother told him to cut the bullshit and stop acting like his nephews are his friends, he had no problem knocking Jace to the floor during practice. He stood tall when his brother was disabled and refused to name his mother as the one who spread the rumour(!) of Nyra’s children being bastards. He spoke his truth with his whole chest. Years later, the moment Aemond rose to answer to Lucerys’s mockery, he was right beside him, toasting with him and smashing Luc’s head on the table. And finally, when everyone turned on Aemond for taking his revenge, it was Aegon who demanded Aemond remain in his council, because that was his brother, his best sword and he wanted him there, even if their mother could not bare to look at him. Aegon rose to the occasion and was ready to become a better person, he seemed to genuinely want to serve his subjects. He loved nothing more in the world than his son and his death tore him apart. But suddenly, next episode he has forgotten all about it and is back at bullying Aemond again? That’s just none-sense. All that character development for nothing.

I did feel like Aemond burning his brother alive went from 0 to 100 real quick. He already got his lick back when he made a fool of Aegon in front of his own council. Aemond is a calculating person. He would know that talking Aegon out of the way would cause more harm than good.

Their relationship has been destroyed. Every TG member hates the others. Ultimately, I think we just have to accept this is bad writing and let go of the show because yikes.

However, if we want to discuss show canon, we should keep the characters accountable for their actions and unfortunately, I am displeased with all of them except from Criston. I’ll keep supporting Aegon, Aemond and Alicent but I must also criticise them for the things that they do if I want to be fair.

That being said, I can see why Alicent is horrified by Aemond’s actions. I can see why people think Aemond went too damn far. At the same time, I can see that Aemond would never just sit down and accept being abused. Add to that his not so secret desire to be king, and you can see why he wouldn’t think twice about turning his brother to ashes.

All in all, I think that every opinion is justified and that we must wait for the new episode to air (Aemond’s interactions with Aegon and Alicent are essential) for some additional insight on the incident of Rook’s Rest.

[cerastes]

i have not gone through the stream vod of arknights, but did you enjoy eblana and her not-quite-that-much-fucked-up-evilitude?

We didn't read that in the stream but I did read that after the stream by myself and I Liked The Event quite a bit!

It goes without saying that I went into it with a lot of enthusiasm because I've loved Reed as a character since her release, and I really wanted to know What Was Her Deal. We get some of it in the main story, since she's tied to the Victoria arc, but her getting an event specifically as a new character in another class is fascinating because it would, logically speaking, serve as a character piece more so than a big stakes event. This is what was delivered, so I couldn't be happier.

It's not that I dislike big stakes or grander scale stories in Arknights -- the Abyssal Hunters arc and the Sui arc are my favorites! -- it's just, sometimes, I really want to know more about the characters more so than everything that surrounds them. Character pieces help understand the grander scale with a lot more emotional weight, because if done right, I'm now emotionally invested in the character and their overarching goal, not just the goal as the framework for the story. For example, 'Maria Nearl' was first and foremost a character piece, which then informs the overarching Kazimierz arc, so by the time Near Light rolls in, not only do I know what we're fighting for, I know who we're fighting for and why we are doing so, I know Maria's motivations, efforts, struggles, and trials, and so, I am invested in wanting to see her succeed. 'Maria Nearl' being a character piece doesn't mean it ONLY centered on Maria and nothing else, it sets up the scene and the cast, but through the lens of someone in the story as opposed to through the effects of events in the story.

What The Firelight Casts does a little inversion in the overall structure compared to 'Maria Nearl': It's a character piece after the bigger scale narrative. We know what the bigger picture is... But what about this key character in the whole story? And will knowing about this character recontextualize or add even more meat to what we already know? With this in mind, let's talk about it:

Reed detests her circumstances, because Reed had very simple, domestic desires: She wanted a simple, quiet life reading and writing poetry, immersing herself in words and stories. She didn't have any grander aspirations, experiences, or desires beyond "loving poetry" because she was a simple child when she got her head pushed under an ocean of conspiracies and was drowned in them. Since she didn't have the strength of character to really do anything in such a horrifying world, her sister, Eblana, endowed with far stronger character, made her her body double. Reed never questioned it, because she had nothing else going on for her, but the more atrocities she was forced to commit as "The Leader", the more she hated it, and herself for not having it in her to stand up to Dublinn.

Hence why she attempted suicide via standing in an open field that was currently being bombarded. In a turn of events she couldn't have predicted, she was saved by Outcast, and was sent to Rhodes for recovery. She then spent some time in Rhodes Island, recovering, but also, learning. It's noted in her Files that she'd spend a significant amount of time pestering the medical teams in RI for knowledge in the clinical fields. She also requested a new weapon to her specifications, because she hates her spear. This may seem a matter of preference, until you realize that the spear is just Eblana's old weapon, just furthering exactly how much of an un-person she was. She'd use her sister's name, her sister's title, her sister's reputation, her sister's authority, even her sister's damn weapon.

Her chosen codename, "Reed", comes as no surprise: She explicitly says it's because that's how she is: Bland, an accessory, unremarkable, insignificant, like reeds by the river. In this event, we also learn another reason why "Reed" is apt for Loughshinny: Uncontrollably flammable if set ablaze.

Reed was terrified of her own powers. She is a direct descendant of the Red Dragon of Tara, and has insane innate power, namely, power over life itself: The way her flames work is explicitly not fire-aspected Arts: Her Arts allow her to inject pure life into objects and creatures, and the consequence of overcharging skin, muscle tissue, etc with so much life energy so fast and strongly is that it becomes unstable and explodes into raw energy, generating fire as a consequence. It's also why parts of her body, like her tail and her chest, seem to be constantly "ablaze": She is literally overflowing with the essence of life at all times, to the point it hurts her, and coming into contact with her means exploding. She is an almost perfect weapon. She hates it. Even her Rhodes Island evaluation files basically describe her as a stupidly powerful individual.

There's only one thing she doesn't regret about her time in Eblana's Dublinn: She really does care for Tarans, and wants to do anything in her power to help them. The reason she put up with being used and abused in Dublinn (about the only person that showed Reed any kindness in Dublinn was Harmonie, and even then she claims it's because she's interested in Reed and that she may have use for her) was because, Reed told herself, "at least it's for the Tarans". But Reed is not stupid, and over the time, realized that Eblana doesn't mind sacrificing countless Tarans that trust her if it means securing an advantage. That's when Reed decided she'd rather get blown to pieces by artillery rather than continue doing horrible things for someone that doesn't even care about the people that she claims to fight for.

Reed in the event is trying to help this very "little guy", this very scorned Taran, find a foothold. Her story here is, by all means, low stakes for the most part, but it's important in understanding who Reed has finally resolved to become: Her time in Rhodes Island and her new Arts unit allows her to far, far more precisely control her Arts, and now she can use VERY controlled bursts of her Arts to inject life into others without sending their living tissue into disarray, effectively becoming a potent healer. The wounded Tarans even remark that while she didn't give them the most involved treatment for their wounds, they still felt as good as new: It's because Reed isn't doing more than basic first aid, and using this as a disguise to her carefully injecting their wounds with life energy. For Reed, this is massive: She's finally able to like her innate Arts, an intrinsic part of herself, for the first time, because she's finally not using it to turn people to ashes or make them violently explode. She can finally do things differently, and without Eblana pulling her strings, she's finally able to do as she wishes. She ends up creating her very own "Dublinn", with a few Tarans, and looks to the future to do what she never thought she could do, and that's what I really loved: It's a small scale event, but it makes it very clear that from here on, Reed not only has a purpose, she has agency over herself, and finally, finally, she is her own person.

The final "map" of the event was fantastic, narratively speaking: It's a fight with Eblana entirely within her mind, with Eblana wearing a mask in the first phase. Eblana's mechanics involve killing her own units to empower herself, representative of how she's completely willing to kill Tarans for the purposes of Dublinn without any regret, then, in the second phase, she discards her mask and sets every reed in the map ablaze: No matter how much Eblana speaks of loving her and saying she's important to her, Reed has finally come to terms that Eblana WILL simply sacrifice even her when the moment comes, just as she has no issue setting the world on flames if it furthers her desires. The entirety of the map is just Reed finally coming to terms that if she wants to help the Tarans, in her way, she inevitably will come to blows with Eblana at some point, and that there's no space for hesitation, because Eblana sure as hell won't hesitate.

What The Firelight Casts is ultimately a high-impact bildungsroman in which our protagonist finally finds herself, perhaps for the first time ever since she was a toddler, and finally has agency over what she does and why she does it.

There's other parts to the event that I'm not covering that I think were great as well, such as Bagpipe's characterization being pretty damn good and once more winning me over (I started not really caring for her in any way, but her writing is something I like a lot) with how she's clearly not book smart, but is sharp as all hell, and most would call her "naive", when in reality, it's that she has a rock-hard moral compass and will NEVER stop going where it tells her to go, as well as the Taran survivors having plenty of nice scenes, including the incredibly chilling scene where the older lady that can't see in the dark is holding onto Selmon's hand and suddenly she can feel Selmon's blood all over her arm... We just never know what actually it is that killed her in that night skirmish. Fionn's characterization as this cowardly but good chum that will take responsibility no matter what is... Honestly, man, if you hang around sectors with low education and wealth, you know a Fionn or two. Especially when it comes to oppressed and displaced peoples... And the way the narrative portrays the opportunistic and almost callous nature of a bunch of the Taran runaways at times without vilifying it? It's great, the narrative immediately points out, through Reed and Fionn, that yeah, it's just natural because of how awful they've been treated their entire life, there's always people like that in such groups, doing it not out of cruelty, but simply because, damn, they have to survive, and nothing guarantees to them that this stranger with good intentions actually had good intentions. Trying to survive does things to people. This all becomes water under the bridge after Reed properly bonds with them.

I focused on Reed with this post because she's a favorite of mine and I'm happy to see her growth and where she's aiming for, and how she's grown narratively through her experiences and how that reflects on her Arts: True, Arts are a cool power in the narrative, but for Reed, it's more about how her Arts are intrinsically to her self-loathing in the past, and how they reflect her growth as a person: She went from a reluctant walking nuke who could only destroy and justified this by simply saying "it's because my sister knows better and she's doing it for the end goal of the well-being of Tarans... The end justifies the means" to someone who uses her almost unique powers to soothe others after learning some control over them, control that causes physical pain to her, as controlling her immense power feels as if she's searing from the inside, as if her organs were on fire, and comes to believe that, no, the means do in fact matter a whole damn lot, and that she'll one way or another achieve the end while being mindful of the means, even if it means suffering, if it's for her people. Eblana, who also can control life, uses her powers to 'resurrect' and control the dead like puppets, whereas Reed now sears herself from within in order to precisely control this power in order to help those she wants to protect, and drive away those who would hurt her or her friends. In what's a bit of a segregation of narrative and gameplay, whereas she's known for Explosions in gameplay, in the event, Reed exclusively fights with martial arts. In fact, the only time when she actually uses her Arts, she has to suppress them instantly or she was going to just completely incinerate everyone around her. She turns her surroundings to ashes so quickly that Ch'en can only just stare, wide-eyed, at how she completely incinerated a complete installation of military tents in less than a second, with just a small release of her power.

It's great! I love Reed! I wanted to see her growth, a piece focused on her, and it's what I got. I want to know more about the most loving and caring walking nuclear missile in the world with the most hypnotic tail swishes.

[nanasparadise]

A Visit

☆彡 Yan! Zeke x fem reader (Modern AU)

☆彡 Part 1

☆彡 Word count: 1039

☆彡 I do not condone any 'yandere' behaviour in real life.

☆彡 A/N: I was kinda hesitant to post this because it's super self-indulgent and I feel like many people hate Zeke (which is totally fine, you can like/dislike any fictional character, I just don't want anyone to judge me for writing this), but maybe someone else might enjoy this as well!

! TW: yandere behaviour, noncon touching, implied age gap (since reader and Eren are around the same age and Zeke is ten years older than him), just Zeke being a weirdo, MATURE AUDIENCE ONLY/MINORS DNI !

Summary: You want to visit your friend Eren. Instead, you end up being alone with his brother Zeke.

You really hoped Zeke wouldn't be there this time.

He wasn't mean or rude to you. On the contrary, every time you went to visit Eren, his brother was accomodating to you and played the perfect host.

Maybe a little bit too much.

Eren was always annoyed by his behaviour and grumbled to turn it down. You, on the other hand, didn't want to be a bad guest, so you just chuckled awkwardly and kept quiet. You'd always wondered how the two brothers could live together, since they couldn't be any more different. Eren had once mentioned that his father wanted them to get along better, but this topic seemed to be a sore spot, so you let it drop.

Right now, you were in front of their shared apartment, waiting for someone to let you in. Eren had spontaneously texted you to come over and play video games. Not one to turn down a chance to finally beat him at Mario Kart, you quickly accepted. Though your excitement was quickly squashed when you saw Zeke open the door.

"Ah, Y/N", he spoke your name with such familiarity. "To what do I owe this pleasure?" He shot you a warm smile.

You gave him a nervous smile in return. "Hey Zeke, I'm actually here for Eren. He asked me to drop by."

"Oh, did he?" His head tilted slightly to the side. "Are you sure he asked you to come now? He's currently not home, he should be still at the gym as far as I'm aware."

You furrowed your eyebrows. He wasn't home? Why would he say to come over then? You took out your phone and checked the chat, just to make sure you didn't misunderstand anything.

No, he clearly wrote two p.m.

Not wanting to bother Zeke, you played dumb. "Oh yeah, you're right, he did say to meet later. I must have confused something." You let out a quiet chuckle, trying to cover up for the unease you felt. "I'll come back later, sorry for bothering you." You turned away from the entrance door, angling your body towards the stairs. Giving Zeke one last smile, you bid goodbye. "See you around, Zeke."

A hand shot around wrist and stopped you from moving any further. "Wait, Y/N!" Zeke gave you an intense look. Your heart started beating faster, startled by the sudden touch, and you pulled your wrist out of his grip. Noticing your discomfort, he schooled his expression into his typical calm smile again. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you. But how about you wait here? I've got an hour left before I need to go to work, so I can keep you company. That way, you don't need to come back later."

You didn't like the way he seemingly stared into your soul, trying to get an answer from you. Would he be upset if you refused? In the end, it'd be easier to stay, wouldn't it? "If that's okay for you, I don't want to impose", you hesitantly replied.

His smile reached his eyes now. "You wouldn't impose at all! In fact, I'm glad I don't have to be alone now." Zeke put his hand on the small of your back and gently guided you inside the apartment. You took off your shoes and were about to do the same with your coat, but Zeke was faster. Quickly, he grabbed the fabric and forced you to wiggle out of it.

"You didn't have to…", you uttered, embarrassed by his action.

He, on the other hand, gave you a chuckle in return and winked. "Only the best for my guest."

The two of you ended up playing Mario Kart instead. When you admitted that you didn't think he'd be so good at the game, Zeke answered he 'was talented with his fingers'.

You prayed he was only referring to his job as a surgeon.

Luckily, that one hour passed quickly. Zeke stood up from the couch and made himself ready for work.

Before you could realise his intention, Zeke had already bent down in front of your seated form and pressed a kiss on your head. His right hand gripped the back of your neck, making an escape attempt difficult. "I'm looking forward to doing this again with you", he whispered close to your ear, causing a shiver to run down your spine. The smell of nicotine and expensive cologne permeated the air and clouded your senses as you were fixated on his longing gaze. What the hell was going on?

Wordlessly, he got up again and offered you a small wave and innocent smile, as if the whole interaction hadn't happened.

You were about to say something — anything, to make clear that you were definitely not happy with this —, but Zeke had already turned around and left the room.

Still too perplexed by the situation, you stared at the TV in front of you, hoping the device would miraculously give you an answer on what to do. Of course, such thing didn't occur, so you grabbed your phone instead and sent Eren a message, telling him to get his ass home now.

A few moments later, the front door's lock clicked open and a sweaty Eren came to the living room. Relieved by his appearance, you got up from the couch and went to greet him.

"You could have told me the correct time instead of making me wait here with your weird brother for an hour!" You playfully boxed his shoulder, yet your words were genuine.

Eren shot you a puzzled look. "As much as I'm happy to see you, I have no clue why you're here." Now it was your turn to be confused. "I didn't ask you to come over today. In fact, I forgot my phone, so I couldn't have texted you."

„This can't be, look, I've got a text from you that clearly said-" as you showed him the chat, a sense of dread began forming in your stomach, heavy like a stone.

Realisation hit you hard. Eren couldn't have written that message, but someone else, who had been home the whole time, definitely could.

You wouldn't come back to Eren's place again.

[bluespiritshonour]

One thing about ATLA I love is... Things start making sense once you think about them...

Like, maybe I watched it when I was too young to catch on to a lot of nuances and my rewatches have been sparse and inconsistent but like...

While watching the show I didn't like Maiko—something seemed to be missing. At the same time I really wanted them to be endgame and resented the fact that they weren't better written. I still ship them to this day because—HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A COUPLE LIKE THAT ON SCREEN THOUGH?—I like every slightly unconventional thing and Maiko is unconventional and unique.

Last time I was thinking about how I didn't like that no big deal™ was made out of Mai sacrificing herself at Boiling Rock and I was just entertaining fix-it scenarios in the empty echo chamber called my head where it goes something like:

Zuko: Does that mean you don't hate me anymore?

And instead of Mai putting a full-stop after “I actually kinda like you” she continues to tell him that he'd have to win her back though. Like, in a friendly way—“I want to be in a relationship, sure, but I want to be wooed” way—because, well, she was in prison and now she has a better understanding of why he did what he did—

Oh wait! Is that why she forgives him so easily? Because she was in prison—probably with the Kyoshi Warriors because that's where Ty Lee was too (honestly I've begun to appreciate MaiLee more as time passes)—and while saving Zuko was a leap of faith and she didn't understand him then, but now she does? She knows what he did was right and she's glad to have been able to help him with it?

So...yeah. Her forgiving him makes total sense now. If Zuko had tried to explain it to her instead of breaking up in a letter I don't think she'd have understood (I understand why Zuko left her with a letter, I really do; but I'm still going to trash him for it: [cue exasperated tone] “Zuko!”)

But she does now...

What I don't like however is the “They let you out of prison?”

You're the fucking Fire Lord now, aren't you supposed to have pardoned all PoWs? Which includes Mai and Ty Lee. Who ended up their trying to save your arse?

[cue exasperated tone, second time] “Zuko!”

It could have been something like “Did you get out of prison alright? There wasn't any problem right? I'm sorry I couldn't come to get you personally—” or any variation of that!!!

How difficult could it have been?

But yeah. The point remains. I'm no longer bitter about Mai forgiving Zuko so quickly this time around.

Another thing I disliked is how in The Beach Zuko kept coming back to Mai expecting a warm welcome after every little friction. It was a classic man move where they upset you and try to act caring immediately afterwards and expect you to be responsive to it.

I loved Mai slapping his hand away when he tried to put his arm around her and yelling that she's still mad at him.

At least Zuko knows when to back off: he did everytime Mai told him to. And he didn't call her names for not being forgiving (which is what you expect men to do honestly).

Bar so low it's in hell, I know.

I hated that about him, that he thought he's owed forgiveness (with Mai here, never properly having apologised and trying to act as if nothing wrong happened) and later with Katara...

So... What I'm trying to say is... I love that in that last scene when Maiko is reunited... He isn't expecting her to forget everything and forgive him like a good little girlfriend. The fact that she does has a lot of reasons (she understands his motives now) but the fact that he goes, very timidly “You don't hate me anymore?” is actually very cute.

Add one more to the pile of “Zuko's character development.”

Like, yeah. What he did was necessary. But she also does have a right to be mad at him.

I'll just... Take it as a by-product of The Beach... He has bettered himself. Okay? I'll take it as that.

So. I've come from when I absolutely hated the Maiko post war reunion scene to a point where I only dislike the “they let you out of prison?” part. Also, it was cute the dopey way he smiles around her and she helped him dress, okay?