#sailing queues

[sailing-through-hawkins]

✧ 1 ✧ 2 ✧

When Eddie sees her, sitting on the picnic table, her feet shuffling back and forth on the bench like that one dancing scene from The Breakfast Club (so what if he went to go see it? It's a good flick!), he almost runs back the way he came.

Because here's the thing about Robin Buckley.

While Eddie's status at the bottom of the social ladder is guaranteed, what with his hobbies and his music and his ability to irritate even the most patient of individuals (bar Uncle Wayne, blessed be the man), he doesn't fuck with Robin Buckley.

She was never anything to write home or gossip over coffee about, not when Eddie started his first senior year or even before that, when he was just starting up Hellfire and went to band to see if he could recruit any lonesome souls. Robin wasn't interested then, more keen to avoid his eye and fumble with her uniform, so he chalked her up as another lost to the masses.

Then all the shit with the Zombie Boy (a killer moniker, wouldn't that make for an awesome song title?! But he doesn't know if it'd be like, copyright infringement or whatever) went down and he got a little more protective of his circle, cloaking them from the unmerciful eyes of the Hawkins mob, pushing back when shit hit the fan and that mob tried impeding on his people.

And it worked! Nobody messed with him or his, not enough to be met with more than a snort - hell, even that asshole Hargrove stayed away after Eddie pulled a knife on him in the school parking lot. He wonders if all that wild anger the dick had to choke down went into the fight he had with -

Anyways.

Point is that Eddie knows his place, and thanks to a little intimidation and a lot of false-turned-true-confidence, nobody messes with him.

The thing is - he still doesn't mess with Robin Buckley.

Like he said, she was always another one of the masses to him, and he never expected any different.

But then something happened to her.

Some people say that she got trapped in the mall fire and it burned half her face off, she's just wearing enough makeup to cover it up, but it messed with her head.

Other people say she was always a little - uh, airheaded, he'll say, to be polite - and the Starcourt fire just made it more obvious, burned through the façade she'd wear in public.

One or two voices whisper that she's being haunted, that when she laughs to herself in the silence of the classroom, it's because of the spirits of Starcourt's casualties that lurk in her shadow.

(That last one was Jeff actually, and Eddie has to hand it to him for the poetic imagery.)

Any way he hears it, Eddie's instincts go red alert, telling him to give Robin a wide berth in the hallways, to avoid eye contact for longer than a single moment, to ignore her quiet snickers every time he ties his hair up.

So yeah, when he's about to head to his favourite picnic table and finds wacky Robin Buckley laughing to herself as the leaves around the table kick up without a hint of wind in the air, he almost turns around and shoves himself back into his van. Eddie Munson may be a freak but he's no -

"Oh, you're here."

He freezes in his steps, glancing back to see Robin smiling thinly at him, one legged crossed over the other as she leans back. Her eyes glaze over for a second before she barks out a laugh, making Eddie jump in place.

"Didn't expect you, to be honest." She tilts her head.

Eddie's throat is too dry. He starts a sentence, backtracking when the leaves stop kicking up and it's just his shaky voice in the silence between the trees. "Well, it is my spot, Buckley."

Her eyes glint and she uncrosses her legs just to spread them, leaning in and staring at Eddie with an untethered expression stretching across her face. "Is it?" Her raspy voice asks.

Blood roars in Eddie's ears. His fingers twitch, and he's ready to run.

"Don't." She orders and he freezes. "We need to talk."

He hates it when people say that. It's always, always bad news and it's just too cliché.

"And what, pray tell," he says, raising his arms out with a confidence he doesn't feel. "Is it that you could ask of me?"

The leaves kick up behind him. He resolutely ignores it.

Sighing, Robin crosses her legs, shuffling back on the table (and they call Eddie a heathen, jeez). She looks to the right, where the leaves are swirling in a mini tornado. Her smile is small, and a little sad.

"We need your help."

Eddie gasps as the leaves kick up ferociously, the wind bites at his fingertips and Robin glares at him, at the chaos around them with eyes like nothing he's ever seen.

"Stop it."

"Wh -"

"I said stop," She glares at him and his jaw clicks shut. "We agreed - yeah, yeah, we did! Stop it, you're scaring him!"

"I -"

"I'd say the grown-ups are talking," Robin cuts him off with an eye-roll. "But someone's being a big baby."

"Look, Buckley -"

"I swear to god," Robin waves a hand towards Eddie. "Either you play nice, or we're never figuring this out! Do you wanna be invisible to everyone forever?!"

There's a heavy silence at that.

No leaves rustling, no wind, no nothing.

It's like the entire forest just went...dead.

Then Eddie feels a brush of something down his hand and he screams.

"Awesome!" Eddie jumps when Robin grabs his arm (when did she leave the table?!), staring at her smile as foul terror quakes his bones. "Don't be afraid, Eddie. We won't hurt you."

A rustle of leaves smack his shin and he shrieks, unable to jump (or run) thanks to Robin's steel grip.

"Well, not physically."

"Buckley, I have never messed with you before," Eddie whispers as the something trails down his hand, shoulders and face. He's frozen in the wake of the touch. "Fellow freaks of Hawkins and all, but -"

Whatever it is, it grips Eddie by the shoulders and his jaw clicks shut. Robin's grasp on his arm tightens and she nods, staring into space.

"Okay, so could you do it?"

Silence. Eddie's heartbeat races.

"Like what?"

The something ghosts over his fingers and he almost whimpers.

"Oh, like this!"

With that, Robin grabs Eddie's hand and takes off one of his rings. Before he can sputter or shout or cry, she replaces it with one of her own.

And then, like he was always there, Steve Harrington appears before his eyes.

A bloodied, ghastly Steve Harrington who's staring right into him.

"Holy shit," Eddie whispers and the spectre grins a sharp, toothy grin.

"Hey Munson," Steve croons. "Miss me?"

[bluespiritshonour]

Maiko Week Day 2: separation

Edit: forgot I had it queued 'cause my exams are going on rn and I have to keep reminding myself the gap days in between aren't vacations. Anyways, I live in the east hence everything comes early to me :3

[spockvarietyhour]

Colony Ship Covenant, sails unfurled, Alien: Covenant (2017)

[jaynovz]

"kill them with kindness" wrong, crush skull with 18th century prosthetic

[not-poignant]

Hi!

Just wanted to thank you for sharing your work with everyone. UTB is my favorite piece of literature, and I’ve read a lot. A LOT. I’m a 33 year old ex-English major.

Can we look forward to any more major arcs in UTB? If so, can we maybe get a hint?

Life is hard, but your work really helps me cope. So, thank you, again. Best wishes!

Hi anon!

Oh my goodness, thank you so much!! I'm so glad you're enjoying the writing so far.

There are definitely some big / major arcs coming. We've got the Henton arc and the Crielle arc coming, I just had to move Gary and Efnisien's character growth and relationship growth into a position for both to take place.

I'm actually just about to write the chapter on my end where Crielle officially comes back into the story.

And tbh, the hints have been there! Henton's foreshadowing about him not really having good motivations (anyone who has read Falling Falling Stars will know more about that, but I also like that some folks won't, but he's still very 'off' as a character), as well as Efnisien's certainty that Crielle will eventually kill him.

So yeah I would say actually the most action-packed arcs are still coming!

[scrunglepaws]

Tried to fit all my fic ideas on one page, but I still forgot some because they're like... scrawled on random pieces of paper all over my house/in different notebooks/ect. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I tried!

The little branchy-offy things are prequels/sequels of that particular series. Bleeped out things I thought might be spoiler-y to ongoing series. Things with * are super WIP-y titles because I dunno what to call them.

More ramblings under the cut! (Nothing spoilery for the ongoing series; just vague things!)

No Heroes Zone // - I have a lot more generalized worldbuilding, character notes, ect than actual stories. The story ideas are mostly vague/short... Though, I suppose I could stand to write some super short fics. - The exception is an angsty sonighty fic that's basically done, but I just have to fill in all the inbetween, connecty bits. And decide how sonighty-y I really want to go with it. That ship came outta nowhere, I tell ya. - NHZ is really mostly Tails (and Metal) angst, tho. The other day I was thinking about how he tries to latch onto Shadow and even Metal in the absence of having Sonic and was like "Wow, Tails, clingy much? What are you, Nine???" then I felt really bad. T-T; He just misses his brother...!

Kaleidoscope // - The name of this fic is based on an art piece I've been wanting to do for forever: A kaleidoscope of Tails/Nine/Mangey, looking at each other and seeing them each from their own perspective. Because that's the theme of the whole story, funky scifi weirdness aside. But uh, 1) didn't have a decent digital art program for a bit and 2) I'm not good enough at drawing the subtle differences in their appearances to really make it hit how I wanted. Also 3) Tails looks basically the same to all three of them, lmao. - "Mangey Remembers" is Mangey's backstory and "Loneliness*" is... Less of a backstory for Nine, more of a brief showcase of his character in general. Because we already know Nine's whole deal from canon. Same reason Tails doesn't have a backstory- he's supposed to be canon Tails. - "Starless Sky" and "Ruination*" are both poteeeential sequels, but I'm not set on doing them. Ruination would just be a short, noncanon "what if?" bad ending for the heck of it.

Someplace AU (Aquarius) // - Also halfway calling it Aquarius for now because I ended up continuing the first part of the story under that fic name.

- It was originally more focused on Sails, hence Someplace being a play on No Place. But now it's about equally Kit and Sails. I ended up getting SO MANY effing ideas for these dudes, man. ;w;

- "Hollow Existence*" isn't a specific story, but just a sprinkling of scenes/backstory bits that detail why Kit is the way he is. Mostly his relationship with Surge growing up.

- "Sails' Tales" is likewise a collection of random Sails backstory bits. I have a lot more specific/fleshed out things for him, though. BUDDY, did I have fun with the No Place lore. Also, his relationships with Catfish and Black Rose are so cute... ;A;

- The bits to the right are basically going to be chapters in Aquarius. They're vague enough not to be spoilery (other than the blipped ones...)

- "=D?" is a sequel that I'm very excited about. Probably shouldn't say much beyond that.

Everything Else // - CaveTails is a Journey to the Center of the Earth-esque silly, silly thing. That could maybe become a bit more serious? BAsically, I was thinking "Huh, kind of weird that my main kittails fic is with Sails. That'd be funny if I did ones with Nine and Mangey, too. Just for the lulz. Especially the Mangey one." This is the Mangey one. xD Except he's sort of like... Tails AND Mangey at the same time, character-wise? So? :? Also, potentially some wholesome Sonic+Tails moments because I weirdly haven't written any of those yet.

- "Kids" is just a continuation of that goofy Tails Doll+Cream oneshot. Just small ideas for another chapter or two. Cute friendship, fluff, and lots of comfort to make up for the hurt in the first chapter. :3;;

- "Alien*" is what it says on the tin. I have a couple different ideas for how it could go. One of them boots out Silver entirely and had Metal in his place. xD But I might have enough material to write an alien Silver AND alien Metal fic. We'll see whenever I get around to it. :3

- "Nine's Shadow*" is something I've wanted to write ever since I made that joke oc, Stales the Fox aka Zombie Tails variant from the Grim. Probably just a oneshot (or a few short chapters) fic that mostly focuses on Nine being "all alone" after the ending of Sonic Prime.

- "Why is Babies?*" is the second idea I had for a fic. It's just Shadow being awkward and not knowing how to look after a chunk of the main cast that are suddenly tots for unknown reasons. It's very lighthearted, comedic, and cute. Originally a Shadow+Metal fic until I learned more about Eclipse and just HAD to include him. Dude is literally a struggling single parent in canon, how could I not include him in a story about his brother going through something similar? xD Also, I might call this fic "Rascals" as a reference to that one Star Trek episode with a similar premise. Because! Star Trek. 8D

- "The Fifth Element" ... I have put off posting anything about this fic idea for so long because I'm EMBARRASSED IT'S SO STUPID AND CORNY DON'T LOOK AT ME,,, In case you're totally lost, the 1997 film of the same name is my. Favorite movie. So naturally, this was my first idea for a fic. It's so all-over-the-place tonally, though. Obviously, got a LOT of silly, especially the parts that follow the movie almost exactly. But I also added a lot of original bits that help flesh out the characters' relationships. The protag is Shadow, who is very, very soft and introspective in it. Which, like, how did that happen??? But I love it. Metal is his co-lead and is mostly goofy because he's a fish out of water. Sonic is VERY, VERY goofy like goddamn (he's Ruby Rod- if you know, you know). Then there's just the silliest shit ever like Silver. Silver is Shadow's cat. It's stupid, but it's also fun, and maybe even matters to the plot. You don't know. Blaze is the president. Dr. Starline, Surge, Eggman, and The End are in it. Tails has the smallest part of any of my fics, but I think I cast him well. I need to stop now or I never will. Don't look at me. xDD

~

But yeah, as I said, I forgot a lot of other ideas. A few more (still forgetting some, I'm sure): - "Creature from the Black Lagoon" ft. kittails - Steam Powered Giraffe-vibes 50's thing w/ Tails, Cream, and automatons of Kit, Surge, Metal, Belle, Gemerl, ect - Tails Doll trying to be a Real Boy(tm) - Kittails-focused folklore AU with Kit as a kelpie and Tails as a normal mobian. Bunch of other people as fae creatures and villagers, including Starline as the main villain. - Maybe a whispangle oneshot from the above au (Tangle is a mobian, Whisper is. basically a magic wolf? xD) - Knuckles/Tails role-swap

[leztit]

you're telling me people are out here having watched black sails (2014-2017) and are still functioning in the real world?

[foundfamilyhq]

[sailing-through-hawkins]

dance with me

✧ written for 'hole' ✧ word count: 404 ✧ rated: T ✧ cw: none ✧ tags: masquerade ball, slightly other!steve ✧ @steddiemicrofic o(〃＾▽＾〃)o✧

Sneaking into the mansion was far easier than it should have been, especially for a once-in-a-lifetime kind of ball that most nobles would kill to be invited to.

Unease creeps up Eddie's spine, but he shoves it back down and continues surveying the desserts. Truly, the only good part of these inane pastimes will always be the food.

"Excuse me."

Eddie stiffens, only for a moment, and slowly turns around to find a man smiling at him. The smile is nearly hidden by his deep blue mask, golden embellishments concentrated on the left side, where even golden feathers swoop out into his lustrous brown hair.

With a cough, Eddie gives a polite, but shallow, bow. "Good evening," he greets, and hopes the man will feel satisfied enough to leave him alone.

Alas, fortune is not in his favour.

"And a good day as well," the man bows in return, far deeper than Eddie had, and straightens up with another glowing smile. His eyes are barely visible through the holes of his mask, but somehow, Eddie feels as though they're staring right through his skin. "I am Stephen, of the House Buckley. Might I ask your name, stranger?"

"You might ask, but expect no answer, Stephen of House Buckley," Eddie smiles at him spitefully, spinning around to continue picking out a dessert.

The man behind him laughs, and before Eddie knows it, his hand is caught in a cold grasp and he's whirled around to face Stephen once more, almost nose-to-nose. "You're funny," Stephen grins at him as the unease crawls back up Eddie's spine. "Won't you come dance with me?"

He can barely breathe, the smell of shadows and smoke drifting off Stephen like a plague. "My apologies, sire," Eddie breathes out, unable to look away from the bright shine in the man's dark eyes. The ballroom itself, with all its candlelight, seems so dim in comparison. "I'm afraid I'm no good at dancing."

"That's alright," Stephen murmurs, one of his gloved hands coming up to chase the creeping tingles sparking up Eddie's back. The other delicately lifts Eddie's hand in the space between their breaths, Stephen's lips ghosting over the skin as he stares up at him with an affectionate smirk. "I can be good enough for the both of us."

"Well then," Eddie stammers out as Stephen pulls him in even closer. "You'll have to lead."

Stephen smiles again, and Eddie dances.

[lehdenlaulu]

Extra masts in my neighborhood again!

This is the Ecuadorian three masted barque BAE Guayas, she'll soon be joined by a couple of other A class tall ships when they stop by.

[burningvelvet]

analysis on the character of billy bones as depicted in treasure island and black sails, particularly his dynamics with flint & silver:

billy bones is such a tragic character and i think he may be overshadowed by the larger personalities of silver and flint, who we see much more of and are led to sympathize more with. but from billy's perspective he really is a tragic character who initially had a strong sense for right and wrong which was later corrupted as he subconsciously/unwillingly "inherited" flint's worse characteristics. in billy's story, flint

billy is a skeptic and a dissenter, just like his political protester parents were according to his black sails backstory. he believes he is opposed to tyranny and injustice. he is therefore opposed to flint, who he has caught lying and acting unjust, and later on he is opposed to silver, who he sees as having echoed those same qualities.

yet, we learn in treasure island (and see somewhat in black sails toward the end) that billy inherits flint's obsessive tunnel vision, and he is driven to a mad sort of existence because of it, which sometimes leads him to align with those tyrannical qualities he detested from his youth. in black sails we learn he was forcefully conscripted to the navy, and was tortured by them after his disappearance in black sails. for a while he's still willing to align with flint because of how much he hates the english.

yet he ultimately ends up aligning himself once again with the english because of his hatred for flint ultimately wins out; he becomes a totally different person after this, toward the end of black sails we see him shooting his former men in revenge. just like flint, billy has become overwhelmed by his desire for revenge, to the point that it drives him to do immoral things he would have previously shunned.

his friendship with silver doesn't work out because silver is more aligned with his own interests and therefore with flint's interests, knowing that flint is the stronger personality over billy. i think billy and silver possibly could have taken flint down together if they were both truly in it, but silver didn't want to risk that chance because he knew the power of having flint's name. in the beginning of treasure island we see that 20ish year after flint's "retirement" his name is still feared even in england. bones was well-respected as a youth, even by vane in black sails, and had a good trajectory - but ultimately his sense of justice, an initially good characteristic, quickly became his downfall on the walrus as he became obsessed with the injustices of flint, to the point where his own potential for greatness was shattered in trying to overcorrect "the sins of the father." that concept, "the sins of the father," really applies to flint/billy overall.

in contrast, i see silver as flint's "true heir" or "chosen heir," and the better half of his son-duo in this interpretation. where billy inherited the revenge theme, silver has inherited more of the cunning. although as we see from his account books in treasure island, and from his command in black sails, billy is also known for being extremely intelligent, he is not as intelligent in the ways of manipulation/cunning as silver is, precisely because of his sense for justice which later becomes his achilles heel as it morphs into a sense of revenge. billy's attempt at righting flint's wrongs, & ultimately overcorrecting, is also a common type of error for children of neglectful parents irl.

(Below is taken from an earlier draft of this post & is possibly repetitive but not enough to not include it)

the decisions of the black sails creators to adapt billy for us billy as an adorable aspiring youth and show us their interpretation of how he was slowly driven mad from flint because of the trauma induced from the moral dilemma that flint put on his shoulders (the murder of singleton & the blank page, gates, etc. from the beginning), the injustice and guilt of which slowly sucked all the innocence out of him and turned him into (as we're told from others) a bitter captain who has essentially inherited a lot of flint's worse traits, like being hard on his men, being obsessive to the point of delusion about injustice and about the gold, and being a drunk like we're told flint ends up as in treasure island.

billy inherits so much from flint and it's tragic. i love flint in black sails, but in billy's story in the series, flint is his villain. to him, flint is an imposing, king lear esque fucked up father figure (as he told billy "i am your king" after billy said they had no kings).

also marvelling at the black sails creators decisions to make both flint/billy tied to the navy, and to make billy's parents progressives who protested forced conscription - the fact that billy was forcefully conscripted considering his background is just so similar to the injustices faced by flint(mcgraw) and the hamiltons imo.

i think billy coming back into the story after being kidnapped by the royal navy was sort of a wasted opportunity to explore his character & how he became further embittered/mad/disenchanted with life. i also think flint was sort of haunted by billy a little in black sails the way billy is haunted by flint in treasure island.

i also find it so interesting that billy and the other pirates visited flint before he died - i quote-searched the book to re-read passages mentioning flint but whenever the other pirates talk about his death, even when silver is present, i don't think it's ever made explicitly clear if silver was there at flint's death or not, but i think we can possibly assume so from the way he's otherwise certain that flint is dead, and talks about his blue face, referencing how the other pirates who were there said flint's face turned blue before/after he died. but what's really interesting is that above anyone else it was billy that acquired the map and not silver...

so in a way billy is his actual heir in the end and not silver... maybe because billy never went looking for it unlike silver, who he feared til he died? did flint tell billy not to let silver have it, and if so, why? in the end of treasure island silver takes only part of it and disappears, as jim says, presumably to live a quiet life with his wife and parrot, a life all the pirates wanted, whereas billy died alone and more miserable than flint (aside from jim, the closest thing he had to a friend).

i just love thinking of billy and flint's dynamic through billy's eyes. him becoming totally obsessed with this tyrannical captain and then sort of inadvertently becoming like him. god.

but at the same time i marvel at how billy still retains a lot of his fire to the end, like his singing (which we dont see in black sails lol) and his insistence on doing whatever he wants (like drinking himself to death, or in black sails, not giving in to silver's plans/refusing to ever trust flint or align with him). and all this sort of applies to silver and flint too but silver inherited more of flint's entertaining, less tragic aspects like his leadership skills, manipulative skills, charm, etc.

flint brings out different qualities in people. does he make silver stronger and billy weaker - or were they both going those routes anyway? does flint actually lead to various characters to doom or would they have gone that route without him? how much of billy's story is he responsible for and how much is flint responsible for? these are really philosophical questions about free will and what we can and cannot control. billy's story is all about moral dilemma and how sometimes in life there will be difficult questions that have no easy answers, or that we are never capable of answering.

[liodain]

Visited Galeón Andalucía @ Spillers Quay yesterday 🥰

[gmanmedias]

WE’RE ALL JUST FLOATING IN A SHALLOW GRAVE, BUOYED BY THE BLOOD OF THE MASSES

🦈 🦈 🦈

🛟 🛟 🛟

🪝 🪝 🪝

silver scream 7/13

[spockvarietyhour]

Neutrino Burst and Solar Sail repair, Alien: Covenant (2017)

[that-spider-fan-over-there]

BNHA 429: It's not really a win when the only comfort is that Izuku/Ochako didn't became canon during a breakdown.

Honestly I think this is the most confused I've been with this story, so this might be the most openly critical I've been. (I've rewritten this five times already, so if it looks all over the place, I apologize).

"Joki Joki" being Tenko was debunked, which. You know what. Fair. Creating a character that looks like him only for be someone else with a tragic backstory five chapters before the finale? That's kinda cruel.

Harsh backstory for a small-role guy, by the way. A mutant Quirk (that we'll probably know only from supplemental material, if at all) his family didn't have, mouth sewn shut, locked in a basement for years, family leaves him and (probably) a Decay Wave was his only escape? And they say the world of BNHA isn't a harsh one /hj

I'm glad they didn't pull a Teen Wolf (iykyk). Ochako thinks Himiko is dead, Izuku's a shoulder to cry on. For... *counting* 4 pages of holding it in, 2 of actually talking about it, all of the 8 being about Izuku being nice but hypocritical (emotional suppression my dear beloathed Ch. 430 I fear you-).

Izuku says she's "his hero"- it's true, he thinks all his friends are his heroes. But we're shown 2/4 times (Blackwhip and the mob, but not Tenko cornering him in the mall, or their first meeting?) which made me realize he's the only named character/hero she "saved". The "who saves the heroes" thing? Not like she helped other heroes, that plot went to- oh.

Also, the whole "putting others before yourself", the only example listed that comes close to this is her giving some of her Entrance Exam points to him. The others are just her being nice to him, repressing her feelings, Blackwhip was the only other moment that kinda counted. The only "other person" she put before herself? Himiko.

I'll believe Himiko's dead when I see it; blood transfusions don't kill the donator. They take a minimum of 4hrs max. They sent Spinner and Touya to a hospital, but not Himiko, who was unconsicous, winging a transfusion out? Yeah, that's bullshit, "hope for a sequel" is becoming more and more of a plea.

I wish I could say I liked the breakdown, but all I think is "Ochako's a character development tool, with redundant, pointless arcs, and all she got is doomed yuri, trauma and reassuring words from a LI".

I didn't see Izuku crying at first; removing "Joki Joki's" 2 pages, the "talk" took 8/15 pages, I kept wondering when did he ever relied on "her strength", it's not like he trusted her enough to talk about his feelings, secrets or anything.

Class A interrupting was funny, I'm with Katsuki: Does Izuku still have embers (he does). I'm sorry to Ochako, I just didn't care anymore. I knew he didn't tell anyone else, lol (<- I'm shaking him into opening up-). But if he wasn't willing to open up about that I wonder what else doesn't Class A know. Does Inko know her son's dreams are over again or…?

Uh. One For All, crystalization of power from everyone's hopes, LFtR vestige scene, remaining embers looking a bit stronger, "Control Your Heart" is still a thing, "holding someone's hand makes me feel at peace", we have that talk with Katsuki, rule of narrative means if he opens up there's a chance this story can end on a hopeful note, Izuku fans here's how we can still win- (I'm inhaling hopium, I know)

I'm confused Hawks isn't getting ditching the Hero Billboards, just expanding it for "ordinary people". Isn't that continuing part of the problem? Part of why Dabi was created, why many heroes don't care about being a hero? I get it's to inspire others to be everyday heroes, but this if backfires in-universe...

Aoyama's farewell party with Eri singing was as sidelined as the 3Baka (… actually no, 3Baka is still more sidelined sob) and it hurts, but hey. Monoma got a statue before Katsuki, I just know if he isn't traumatized about his corpse he will brag. (I'm trying to find positives in this chapter)

The last pages. I know it's symbolic. Society extending a hand, Izuku "inspired" them to move. It's what Izuku was talking about in Ch. 1, "saving people is the coolest thing a hero can do". It's even from his poem inspiration "Called useless by all/Neither praised/Nor a bother/Such is the person/I wish to be".

But it doesn't come just from Izuku fighting giving up OFA, but from him still failing Tenko, who was doomed from the start, the LoV never knew who he was before "Tomura" (so. Spinner how's the book working out-). And no one else wants to, look at Ch. 427.

If it was still an ambiguous "AFO searched for Tenko", fine Ig, but since Ch. 419, it's half "No one helped Tenko except AFO" and half "Tenko never had a chance to live". I'm not saying them hating Tenko isn't justified. Look at what they have to rebuild. But ditching the "Tenko's whole life was planned" part, they still don't know the LoV came to be because they thought a child looked scary. Jeez, no one knows they were victims of ostracism, abuse, manipulation. Why they turned out the way they did.

And it ends on Izuku and Ochako smiling with the "future where heroes can relax" line. It's adorable, but they're still dealing with the guilt of Tenko and Himiko being gone. But I guess it's fine because they're smiling now? Because people are now doing something? So the reward from almost dying is: Bystander syndrome is chipping away?

*sigh* I guess the TL;DR for my opinions are:

Joki Joki isn't Tenko but damn if he isn't a woobie,

If I don't see the corpse Himiko isn't dead, I refuse,

Somehow Ochako's breakdown was more about Izuku, and we still didn't get introspection, just because it's comforting words doesn't mean they don't feel hollow,

It sounds like I hate her: I don't hate Ochako, I just hate the way she's written in "Tell, Don't Show" for Izuku, even my opinions about the breakdown are more about "dude what are you talking about" rather than it being about her and her alone, so I can't take her as seriously,

I think I just became Katsuki ATP: yeah yeah she's crying but what about Izuku and OFA- oh it's mostly fine.

The fun bits were relegated to two pages and small panels but I like to think Monoma goes to Katsuki's room to brag about the statue, Eri deserved to have a full page to sing

Hawks, I fail to see the point of switching Hero Billboards to "Everyday Ladybug" Billboards,

Bystander Syndrome is one thing, how are they gonna prevent another instance of the LoV if they don't know it was discrimination that started it all or that Tenko was a walking Greek Tragedy?

Izuku and Ochako's smiles give "Aw, it's adorable. Oh it's traumatized" vibes.

Yeah no, I'm not buying it. If Edgeshot can still live, why can't Himiko or Tenko? Why does Izuku still have embers, if we have one chapter left? What is the reasoning for "twisting fate", "saving and winning", "perfect victory with zero casualties", "I wanna save that little boy" if it ends on standard shonen ending?

Hell, OFA had dead people communicating with our protagonist and antagonist, and is connected to the deuteragonist, and you're telling me it doesn't mean something good can happen to Tenko?

... God now I just hope the next one isn't a timeskip, just Izuku and Katsuki holding hands, talking and being honest to each other (especially Izuku because oh boi I have seen some Writing Critics and I can't say I disagree) (maybe we'll confirmation on what actually happened to Himiko and Tenko, what about OFA, but that only depends on the page count of the next one).

Once again, sorry if it's all over the place, this chapter just. It wasn't great, in my (overthinking) opinion. I'm still unconvinced Himiko and Tenko are dead dead, until the last page of BNHA, we now have BKDK talking left, so let's see what the next one will bring. And I'm not rewritting all of this, I'm tired XD

So, yeah, that's my thoughts! Thank you for reading!

[autumnwoodsdreamer]

WiP Wednesday 03/07/24

A snippet of Unsinkable’s up-and-coming chapter three (where I totally fix things)

“Easy, brother,” Ezra told him, forcing calm in his voice when he did not feel the least bit calm himself. He brought his wrist up and opened a channel on the comm-link. “This is Spectre 6, requesting med-evac—”

Din grabbed his wrist, cutting off his call. “TIE,” he finger-spelled, frantically.

Ezra glanced up at the sky.

In all the panic, he had forgotten about the other TIE, yet Din, despite drowning, had not.

It was still in the air but it looked as if it had taken a detour, likely to get out of the way of the crazy Mandalorian with the lazer-sword. However, it had recovered from the fright and the loss of its twin and was now heading their way as its previous target of the fighters on the bridge had all scattered to safety.

It was heading in their direction but it wasn’t aiming for them; rather, it had its sights set on the worker transports making a break for it.

Ezra was torn.

He didn’t want to leave his brother but he was the only one who stood a chance at taking out the TIE.

He unhitched his lightsaber.

But just as he got ready to stand, something new came careening onto the scene.

The neat, fast hum of a starship’s engines shoved past the TIE’s whining screech. Ezra traced the sound to a bird-like silhouette swooping through the dark sky.

No sooner was it heard and glimpsed than it spat a hail of blazing red bolts.

The shots split the night like lightning and wounded the TIE, obliterating its wings and sending its body hurtling into the water.

It wasn’t one of their ships.

Ezra knew every make and modification of every craft assisting them on this mission and none had lazer canons of that calibre, nor had anyone in the meagre fleet they had cobbled together shown such speed and precision.

(Sabine could’ve pulled that off, but Ezra knew it wasn’t her. She was in charge of the shuttle and there was no way she could have made it all the way to the camp, offloaded the workers, switched crafts and made it back here in such a short frame of time.)

In a surge of protectiveness, Ezra lit his lightsaber, the bright amethyst glow enhanced by Din’s armour as he stood over him.

The ship banked sharply as the TIE plummeted. Then, like a toy model on a string, it turned 180 degrees and came swooping down in a tight, intent line, heading straight for Din and Ezra.

Ezra readied his stance as the ship twisted around again, baring its port side straight on as it came down and hung over the water, hovering precisely, steadily.

The hatch opened and the ramp extended, nearly but not quite touching the shore.

“You boys need a ride?” a voice from within called.