#so many ways to go with it that I find equally plausible

[fullscoreshenanigans]

Cute idea:

Yuugo holds tea parties for the younger GF kids and anyone else who wants to join in

(He first did it in an attempt to distract them when Emma was still in a coma recovering and they were sad)

OUGH very cute indeed this is 100% canon in my mind.

In addition to reassurances from Anna, Don, Gilda, and Nat, Yuugo's words would keep them grounded with his steadfast conviction that Emma would pull through and Ray would return within three weeks, even with the latter happening and Emma still not having woken up yet.

(Chapter 58)

The youngest were already so keen on being around him even before his turn around that I feel like it wouldn't take much convincing to get them on board with the first one.

(TPN Light Novel 3: Records of Comrades - “Two Paths”​)

Assuming Yuugo doesn't fix the cup he was sipping air from before this a second time, I wonder if he would automatically include it among his set-up or if the kids would notice and insist on setting another place to honor Dina and the rest of the group from Glory Bell. If the latter, Yuugo would surely be touched and be one of many instances where he can't stop himself from thinking a combination of just how good these kids are and how he's grateful he's alive to participate in this.

The older Grace Field kids wouldn't take much prompting to join either, with the exception of Gilda. She was ready to follow through on her threat to blow up the shelter after seeing Ray didn't return with them and Emma was in critical condition.

(Chapter 96)

But once she understands the situation, she's quick to adapt so Emma's life can be saved.

Still, there's probably a bit of awkwardness once everything's calmed down. I love the thought of the younger kids pulling her into either the first or second one and her being a bit hesitant, but Yuugo, handling it with grace and without drawing much attention to why that might be, hands her a cup with a small but kind smile. She accepts it with a smile of her own.

Understandably, there's more focus on his relationships and dynamics with Emma and Ray, but I love whenever creators focus on his relationship with Don and Gilda considering the four of them maybe have…two or three months at the shelter with him and Lucas before they're killed compared to the rest of the kids who stay behind? Same with Zack and Violet.

(Mystic Code Book Chapter 7; the timeline's a little fuzzy on how much time they spend at the bunker between the East and West expeditions.)

Love a bunkerman getting to know and spend time with all his kids. Naturally, this extends to all of them participating in a tea party at some point. There's not enough cups from the set him and Lucas brought from Glory Bell, but if the shelter doesn't have any spare sets, they make due with what they have since it's not the type of cups that matter, but that they're all taking time to enjoy these little moments of happiness with one another in the new home and family they've made for themselves.

Other odd thoughts:

• I'm not sure whether it's funnier to have the kids teach Yuugo proper tea party etiquette or if he surprises them with his knowledge on the subject based on what he learned back at Glory Bell or what he read in some books in the bunker library. (Over the course of thirteen years, he might have come across something, but put the books down upon coming across those passages because at the time, it was too painful. Now he has a reason to go back and read them.) • Gillian would 110% be on board for pulling out all the stops for this and along with Pepe would be stepping up the dessert game. • Pepe would also have his own assortment of tea blends to share, along with Lucas and Paula. • We see Paula eating with the rest of the group in chapter 98

so the ritual of eating with Adam shown in the chapter 92 bonus sketch might have been left at Goldy Pond, but on some occasions where she seeks out a more quiet spot to enjoy her tea, Adam ends up accompanying her.

[endearing-dalliance]

Just like Piltover, Arcane's beauty hides its fundamental problems. Its ableist, antisemetic, acephobic, classist, and worst of all, it doesn't initially seem that way.

Firstly, I want to say that this post and my problem with all of this is due to the real-life references, biases, and viewpoints of the team people who created the show, made the design decisions, wrote the scripts, and continue to defend what many have pointed out are genuine problems in their stories and characters. This nothing to do with the VAs, individual animators, supporting crew, or even the characters themselves. I'm genuinely heartbroken for all those people who proudly worked on the show, did their parts beautifully, supported the viewers, and are met with a fanbase disappointed, hurt, and angry about something completely out of their control.

I wrote up a different post about Piltover vs Zaun in the original lore and how that version is such a different situation than we we got.

Despite everything they did to make the Arcane undercity/Zaun this horrible place, they keep referencing the positives of LoL Zaun (an equal and respected society) and attributing them to Arcane Zaun. All of this is straight from the AoA:

"When you look closely, Piltover and Zaun are not entirely dissimilar" (y'all literally designed them as polar opposites)

Zaun is a refuge for outcasts who don't have a home, and there is the thrilling sense that anything is possible. So pretty much the exact opposite of what Vi was trying to show Cait?

In Piltover everything is heavily regulated; Zaun is wild and more pure meritocracy. "its is not completely lawless, though there are some issues with the mob." That's certainly one way to put it.

Zaunites "make magic out of nothing. nothing is precious, everything can be recycled and be reworked to make it better" I'm sure it has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that people can't afford to replace things when they break. Nope. Completely plausible reasoning. No real life parallel at all.

One example of innovation is a jeweler from Zaun who makes unique gothic work. Not only did they never showed us this side of the undercity, I maintain NOBODY in Piltover is putting on a gas mask to go jewelry shopping in a slum.

"Even though they were oppressed, they can innovate in ways Topside can't. Like well let's take this freedom we have because they don't care about us, and use it to find beauty and innovation. That's where Ekko's little conclave came in." Did they forget the literal orphans he rescued from those "shady streets"? What were they free from, their parents? Cause Piltover's enforcers seem to kill a lot of those despite "not caring". This is straight from Ekko's LoL lore where he spent his days being a kid running around with the Lost Children and inventing for fun. Arcane Ekko got Misfit Toys as an intro song. The Firelights were called a gang. These are not happy, healthy kids enjoying their world. They're vigilantes taking care of other kids who have nobody else.

"Ekko emerged as one of the unlikely heroes of the show, rising to meet tough, sometimes heartwrenching challenges, and becoming a charismatic and beloved leader" His LoL lore is that of a self-educated genius described as "The Hero of Zaun's Youth". Beloved pretty firmly established already. Also charismatic...are we really not past the point where its not supposed to be a shock that a black guy can be articulate?

Sevika's arm is specifically described as "flamboyant", which was the same word used to describe Piltover's augments

This gave me the vibe that they were trying to glorify or romanticize Zaunites' suffering and environment, but on further reflection I think that's giving them way too much credit. Christian's reply below makes it pretty clear he doesn't understand his own story, and Alex's indicates they weren't even trying to tell it and are surprised by this interpretation. Because to them, the Zaunites were the bad guys all along.

(Cool cool name one team member who has personal experience with living in under an oppressive ruling class that is either ignores their suffering or actively worsens it. I'll wait.)

Also, I think its very telling that a cocreator admits to having difficulty distinguishing between a group of systemically abused people fighting for their right to live on their own terms and people breaking the law because want power and influence and money. I don't think Peaky Blinders and the French and American Revolution (among others) are really compatible stories.

"It was an impossible pipe dream if you ask me." Well then. All the nations that successfully rose up and freed themselves from their oppressive overlords were just flukes I guess. Also I'm not sure how they managed to figure out the alien invasion lack of relatability and not realize that's basically what they ended up with. Also, the fact that they keep framing it as a civil war rather than a revolutionary one is mindbogglingly out of touch.

So they were trying to comment on the two party system, but also the point wasn't to comment on the real world. They wanted to show the widening wealth gap in a "fun way", but also that's not what they were shooting for. Over and over we've heard about how the show is about duality, the struggle of Jinx and Vi and the struggle of the two cities. If they didn't want to comment on the real world, didn't know enough about politics to even realize what they were doing or what message they sent, DON'T MAKE A $250 MILLION STORY ABOUT IT. Thanks to their contributions, we now have a story about two girls brutally traumatized by their environment enveloped in a pro-oppressor, forgive your abusers theme. Well I aint forgiving any of this.

I get the idea of "show, not tell", but some things do need to be explicitly told. Oppression is objectively wrong no matter who the oppressed are should not be left up to interpretation. Its not the viewers' job to piece together that Zaun's problems are ultimately caused by Piltover, especially since what they are shown is that death of a child makes the world a better place. Not once in 18 episodes do they ever explicitly condemn Piltover. Not once did they validate Zaun's right to independence. We got "forgiveness" (forgiving your abusers? great message) and "finding your way back to each other" (which none of the duos actually did. They're all "dead"). And my personal favorite, the important lesson that asexual people do not have happy, healthy, nonplatonic relationships, so TAKE THAT JAYVIK SHIPPERS.

Since they ended Arcane with a reference to a Japanese proverb, in the spirit of duality I'm ending with a quote by someone who actually has personal experience on the subject:

“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor."- Desmond Tutu

[weebsinstash]

Sort of a specific idea but

Bruce Wayne returns to Gotham to become Batman in his late 20s and he doesn't retire (at least from working in the field) until I believe he's in his 60s, so

It's entirely plausible to think of a platonic yandere Batman scenario where, you were a child involved in a disaster that he rescued, and some 10, 15 years later he runs into an adult you by whatever means and he can see you're struggling to make ends meet and you're having issues that ultimately stem from the trauma caused by that incident all those years ago, and he wants to help you, save you from your current situation, and maybe even finds out you've fallen to the dark side in all this time you were out of his sight

Like, the added drama if, in a way, he feels partially responsible for your current situatuon; he was still kind of green when you went through your accident. Maybe he feels like he should've kept a closer eye on you after the fact, helped make sure you were OK; you were just a little kid clinging to him in fear, so small you fit into his arms to be picked up. Could you even imagine it's something like, you lose your parents in a villain attack and you're just this frightened little kid and some 10 years later Bruce meets you as an adult and you're either an addict, a criminal, both, and potentially even a metahuman on top of everything else so you have the capacity to be legitimately dangerous

See, a lot of the thematic elements of Batman as a franchise itself is that many of the Batman villains were sort of just, normal people that had horrible things happen to them that, while not being justified, may be understandable. A lot of Batman villains carry underlying themes of, being victims of abuse, victims of society, victims of disability or mistreatment for that disability, so, from a narrative standpoint, you then have Batman seeing you as not just someone he feels he failed to fully save, but now, you could potentially end up going down a dark path like so many others he's personally seen spiral, and he doesn't want to have to put you in Belle Rev or Arkham.

Batman loving you and wanting to protect you but for your own good he ultimately feels has no choice but to contain you until he can either convince you to control your powers or he finds a way to suppress them by force. Then, he wants to take you under his wing; you're broken and hurting, just like a part of him will always be. If you've got no one else to look after you anymore, he can be your new family.

Batman going into full helicopter Batdad mode where he's just, fully convinced that just about every negative action or choice you make is just stemming from trauma or some other problem he has to fix and basically, kind of in a way robs you of the autonomy and accountability that you have making your own choices as a whole. Oh, you haven't had mental healthcare all these years? Prepare for him forcing you to go to therapy and promising you he doesn't know what you talk about which is a lie because he has spy equipment to listen in on your sessions anyway. Hope you like being forced to take medication for conditions and disorders that you're not sure to believe you've even been credibly diagnosed with.

Then of course you have all your new "siblings" and comrades in arms watching over you, ESPECIALLY once Batman becomes convinced that fighting crime with him and the others will be the outlet you need for your anger just like it is for him and most of the others in his traumatized gaggle of adopted children. NOW you've got this entire, basically half dozen or so prodigies with their own sets of skills, traumas, obsessions. Some see you as a playful rival. Others see you as more of an equal. They ALL see you as "sweet cinnamon roll, must protect"

Batman having to keep you from becoming radicalized. Batman dealing with this super-powered angry version of you that wants to take justice into your own hands, in YOUR way, which yeah, involves a lil killing, as a treat. Bruce absolutely convinced, and perhaps being right, that he's the only one that can save you from doing something that will ruin your life forever

You'll don your new costume and you'll like it. You'll have his symbol on your chest marking you as his family and you'll like it. You'll spend basically every waking moment either in his home, with a member of his found family, or with him, and you'll like it. Hell, maybe you'll even be finding your last name was legally changed to Wayne without evem being discussed with you, and guess what? You'll have no choice but to learn to like that, too :)

[some-triangles]

I've been on tumblr since 2011, and this is technically a sideblog. My creative focus shifted over here, to - I guess what could loosely be referred to as fandom space? It was Homestuck's fault - many years ago, and I more or less consciously decided to shift the original blog's purpose from writing little bits of poetry about weird birds to finding bird videos on other platforms that I thought could go viral and reposting (stealing) them. (Always credited, of course. I'm not a monster.) This worked pretty well, and now I have 6000+ followers over there. Since I never use it to promote anything or for any purpose beyond birdposting I feel OK about this as an experiment. I mostly use it to people-watch.

The latest video I have gaining traction over there is one my friend Rat sent me (one of many friends who either found me through birds or Homestuck and each is equally plausible) in which a pelican at a petting zoo is forced to cough up the gosling it was attempting to swallow by a handler who has clearly had to deal with this many times before. She then frogmarches (birdmarches?) it away by its beak. Good stuff, and very on brand, as I've been warning people about the horrors of pelican vore for ages. (I even got my very own pervert for a while, an anon who kept badgering various bird blogs to write about what it might be like to be swallowed.) When something I post starts doing numbers I like to watch the notes and tags, because it fascinates me how people like to make the same jokes, over and over and over. Not even their own jokes. I have never fully understood this but it's undeniably foundational to the way the internet works. Like, I get dropping References in conversation - social glue and all that, fun and funny - but in a public forum? Where you could literally check and see how many people have said the same thing before you got to it? Baffling. Universal.

Anyway. We started slow with this one, and we had some discerning folks doing Democracy Manifest bits - succulent avian meal, and all that. As references go it's a pretty good one, as it has its own wikipedia page and everything, and it's timely with Jack Karlson's recent passing. There were a few I am Forcibly Escorted From tags, which is nice, since you don't hear that one much these days. A bunch of quotidian "she's so done" or "like a toddler being dragged by his ear" observations, mostly uninspiring, although the specificity of one person's "my mom dragging me into the church bathroom to whoop my ass" was worth sharing. A little bit of the classic concern trolling you get with any animal video - why indeed is this bird being kept in the same place as all these edible little guys? But, inevitably, because it is the perfect time to use it, most people went with "put baby in pelican mouth."

And the thing about this is that I know the person who wrote the original "put baby in pelican mouth" post. We met through tumblr. She was absolutely inspired by my pelican posting to write that piece, and I know that because we ended up dating. It ended badly, and I still have regrets about it, and now, every time I make a pelican post, I am treated to a choir of strangers - literally hundreds of them - repeating a joke which was written by my ex-girlfriend. It's straight from the ironic punishment division, really. But birdpost I must, and tagwatch I must.

Anyway, Nikki, if you're out there, hope you're doing well.

[vestaclinicpod]

Audio Drama Sunday - 15th December ✨

I listened to so much audio drama this week and have so many thoughts!! 🫨

🌨️ @thewhitevault (15) First off all, PSA: someone has been leaving negative comments on Spotify instead of hitting pause and moving on with their life like a normal person would. I personally love the split focus between Goshawk and Cairo and really feel like we’re getting closer to finding out what is actually happening to the sites. Sure, it’s a different kind of tension, but if the show followed the same formula every season it wouldn’t be the best in the game, would it? If everyone could show some love to TWV this week, that would be good!!

🌲 @hellofromthehallowoods (177) damn, I’m sorry but I think Mx Wellman needs to teach action-writing because these scenes are so tense but also fluid and easy to follow! I guess we finally know who the quartet are? I think I had been hoping that it wasn’t going to be the people we knew a little as kids but . . . isn’t that just the way in life that people you knew as children grow up and join a corrupt system of oppression that allows them to perpetrate harm!! Shank remains such an interesting character, of course he’s going to go for the Sheriff’s dpt now, why not! And the actual pig memories made my heart hurt a little. 

🔎 @224bbaker (13) Had a relisten this week for the general release and, my god, there are too many banger lines in this ep to list them all but no context giggles include: “Push that down, James, it’s probably nothing.” & “balancing the egos of the hogs, you get it”. ALSO thank god for the transcript because tell me why I initially re-evaluated McMurphy as a character when I thought I was referring to his ex: “Joe Caster” 😭😂 Oops. I love Madge’s arc so far this season - so interesting to have a female lead who has some growing to do in the equality department. And a great gentle reminder for us all to stop appeasing the people holding us down xo 

🦋 @remnantspod (19) Another fantastic ep! That heart sinking feeling moments into meeting the teacher! Damn, that’s good writing!! Also, if we’re weighing in on whether someone should be judged on their own terms if they make those terms clear and exacting - I don’t think it is actually possible to judge someone without your own bias affecting your judgement. Now, the current almost-clean-slate of the Apprentice makes this interesting but immediately Sir asks him to compare Adelaide to Sid. Can one judge without comparison?? I don’t think so? Maybe the poor Apprentice was just relieved to have someone finally give some guidance on how to measure a soul. I also found it veryyyy interesting that the Apprentice chose to discard this remnant. It did come across a little bit churlish to me, as though he chose to do that to piss Sir off. But it did remind me of his reaction to Jonny in ep 2. Clearly murder is a touchy subject. . . 

🎙️WTNV (258 & 259) Listening to Night Vale is always such an easy little treat for me. Sounds like Steve is about to bite off a bit more than he can chew with a car company that’s literally called detour. 

🧋 @hinaypod (25&26) Ooough spooky dolls are spooky! My heart just about tied itself in knots hearing Donner and Mari reconnect and him realise she already had a Halloween Date. Then it froze hearing Mari sob 😭 she’s MY goodly witch and you need to stop making her cry!!! 

🗺 @tales-from-the-low-city (13) Absolutely gripping!! It might just be me, but I feel like this season is much darker in tone compared to last and this tale about a Fallen assassin fits right in. I adored the music, it added so much to the tension of the writing without being distracting. Loved it. 

🍾 @ameliapodcast (38) I love the fantastical eps as much as the plausible ones!! Truth serum, eh? I can’t wait to find out how this goes wrong 😂

🧳 Travelling Light @monstrousproductions (Q+A part 1) so lovely to hear Hero AND Matt answering the questions. The chat about working to deadlines and making peace with producing lots of work that is good but, most-importantly, finished is …. Really something to think about… I also definitely noticed when Óli disappeared from the polls 😂 it was fun to make the choices more mysterious!! 

Have a good week, everyone!!

[affluent-havoc]

Post Game

Marriage

Before I go into my little blabbering session about my own junk, like, gosh! Doing this was so cool and I feel I've improved so much! Seeing all the other pieces done by others was really awesome too! The highlight in fact which is par for the course of this kinda stuff. But still! Everyone did so well and freaking amazing! So much pretty arts! So many differing interpretations and art styles. Golly! Should totally do something like this again cus this was such a nice experience :))

Post Game - This one's pretty simple. Put them in their Future Foundation suits which are just suits behind a beach that is vaugly Jabberwock. And, they blush cus gay. Had fun with the TV effect and making it somewhat old looking. That's about it. Though, the more I look at it, the more Byakuya looks like he could be snapped in half like spaghetti which I guess is something ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Marriage - This one is the one I did first and is a lot more refined. Decided to take this one in a bit of a different direction too. Instead of them actually getting married, they instead are just playing around with a fake certificate that they photoshopped and printed from online. At least for me, how I read them is that they don't actually get married. Like, they live together in the same place, sleep in the same bed even, but they don't get married. OR, if they do get married, it's small and just a legal document. No big wedding or anything as, the time they are probably at the age to marry, they're already tired of big stuff like that. It'd be a big event and they'd want something more small and quaint instead, either hanging out together or maybe it's Makoto's idea to invite their friends along for the occasion. This is just how I interpret them though. Also, I find it funnier if they just fake it or they never do but Byakuya SO put Makoto in his will and Makoto also secretly put Byakuya in his and they just never tell the other until one of them croaks first. Either that or Makoto says it openly that Byakuya's in his will and the heir just laughs it off, underestimating Makoto and his determination on the will. Also, speaking of them dying, if it's Byakuya first, old man Makoto's taking the gesture well though emotional cus the rich man dead. If it's Byakuya though, he's obviously sad but also sees the will and a part of him goes "CURSE YOU, MAKOTO!!". Not seriously but because Byakuya's thinking of how Makoto didn't need to give him stuff after his death cus I feel Makoto wouldn't skimp out. He's putting all his family and pals in his will as one final send off. He'd make sure that will was the best it could be! Also, I feel Byakuya would feel weird that he's in the same will as Makoto's family and, no matter how long they've been together, it's just so strange. Even when he's gone, he still has a way to make him feel. Gosh, this got kinda sad um... One other thing I wanna mention of this piece is that Makoto either stole Byakuya's tie or he got his own matching one. Also, Byakuya in pretty dress! I had to! Oh, and Makoto totally got help writing his name cus it's in English and Makoto's kinda ass at it. They are totally standing for a picture too. Maybe they got one of the gang to take the pic or they set it up with one of their phones. Or maybe Byakuya just got a really expensive photographer for this and also booked a painter to paint this photo into a painting to put on their bedroom wall. That is equally plausible. And to think that I contemplated and even teased the idea in my head of drawing these two getting fake married with an Elvis impersonator. That might have been a bit TOO goofy though O_O

[dilly-dahlia]

when i’m trying to use a more plausible color scheme for everyone in my MCD rewrite (since it’s going to be set in a more underdeveloped time period, a lot of colors are going to be expensive/hard to find) and can’t decide what colors to give certain people 😭

im obviously gonna keep some of the original colors in the beginning (like Lord Burt wearing red because of its significance as a powerful color), but keep everyone’s else’s mostly plain. for example Nana won’t be an explosion of pink (although it will remain her favorite color), Aphmau won’t be wearing purple as often (the most common variation of the color was tyrian purple which took a very extensive amount of labor to make even one gram of the pigment. that, as well as the color being reserved for royalty), and Laurance won’t have as many green articles of clothing in the section of my rewrite portraying season two (the emerald green pigment was made from arsenic, which made it not only extremely toxic to produce but to wear as well as the skin would absorb the poison)

(i’m still debating about Dante and Garroth with their blue tones because it was a more common color amongst the poor people and was made with cheap, low quality dye, but Louis IX and Henry VIII started wearing it with other nobles and it became a color of high standing so…)

now this is also where I also come to a standstill because of these colors and what they used to represent. each Divine Warrior will have a color associated with them, which is where part of their symbolism will come from. however, I’m stuck on what color to give Irene

there’s a very brief clip somewhere I can’t remember when it appeared, but Irene was wearing a black two piece that seemed to be torn. I imagine this being something like her “first” outfit in the world so i’m not too worried about that one, but I’m more concerned about the one she wears when she’s portrayed

we see Irene wearing two cloaks from what I remember (my memory is garbage and I have yet to reach that far in anything). one of her cloaks was royal blue and the other is a lilac purple. the lilac purple would be a more difficult hue to achieve in the time period i’m reaching for, so either way i’m going to make the purple into a deeper shade.

i’m having such a war in my head about which color to choose for her, though. because both colors could signify who she is and i’m honestly debating just having different people give her different colors but I don’t know

on one hand, tyrian purple was a color reserved for royalty. using it could be used to show the high regard in which people in Ru’aun placed her. it could be used to signify their desire to have Irene rule as queen over the region before she diminished the monarchy and developed the Lord system instead. however, this color was made from a tiring process that required extensive amount of labor for barely anything to show the effort, and I feel as though the way to obtain the color doesn’t represent Irene the Matron

on the other hand, I feel as though a deeper blue pigment would be a better match. blue was original worn by peasants but the steady popularity it gained with nobility made it a more expensive and luxurious color for people that could afford it, as I previously said. this color I feel would fit better with her character to show that Irene came from humble beginnings and was put on a pedestal after her efforts for peace and becoming Lord of Scaleswind (which would be equal to blue becoming a color of nobility). the only problem with the blue is that the dye used by the peasants was low quality made from the woad plant that (from what i’ve seen) was dyed much lighter compared to the royal blue i’m talking about. i don’t know, maybe she got an upgrade at some point…

(can you tell i love the history behind colors)

(also if anyone has any other impactful information concerning colors please let me know i also actually love learning about it)

(and greatest apologies guys this is basically a yap post it has very little significance to anything)

[avelera]

Where the heck is Satan in Good Omens S2?

And could we perhaps find evidence of him in the places where the furniture used to be?

For reference:

Hastur & Ligur, 1.1: "All Hail Satan." "All Hail Satan."

Crowley, 1.5: "I never asked to be a demon. I was just minding my own business one day and then… oh, lookie here, it's Lucifer and the guys."

Adam Young 1.6: "You're not my dad and you never were."

Satan, 1.6: "No, no, no!" (He promptly dissolves into black ash and vanishes. Immediately after, Aziraphale and Crowley look at their no-longer-flaming sword and tire iron as if not entirely sure why they're there.)

Crowley, 2.1: "Do you ever think, what's the point? ... Heaven, Hell, Demons, Angels?"

Crowley 2.2 (circa ~2000 BCE): "Satan and his diabolical ministers..."

Gabriel 2.3: "I remember when the morning stars sang together and all the angels of god shouted for joy.” (emphasis mine. Lucifer/Satan was the Morning Star. Why the heck is morning stars plural??)

Edit: Shax 2.6: “I demand that you hand over both Gabriel and Beelzebub as gifts for Satan, our master.” (Could debunk the whole theory, might not only because she seems pretty low-ranked and could be going through the motions even though he's gone, but we'll see. Including to get all the evidence down.)

... And I think there's some other S2 references to higher ups and "Our Lord" by Shax supposedly, but I'm too sleep-deprived to go combing through for them (I'd be much obliged if anyone else could grab any other exact quotes that mention Satan by name or seem to refer to him in Season 2.)

Let's first get the Doylist explanation for why Satan might not be around out of the way: Satan was the Big Bad of Season 1. He's been dispatched. Furthermore, he's played by the most likely very expensive Benedict Cumberbatch, so he's not likely to be back in a hurry if it at all can be avoided, and alluding to him at all might just create confusion with viewers who will then expect to see Satan.

(Below the cut: but what if there's more to it than that?)

But as others may have seen with the, "Metatron is actively editing the Book of Life in S2 and that's why things are weird," meta, there's quite a bit of speculation going around that something fucky is going on in S2.

However, while I agree that some points in S2 are certainly fucky I'm not convinced on all or even most of the supporting evidence. Most of the explanations have a Doylist counterpoint like "It's just bad writing," or "They just wanted to bring back some actors they enjoyed working with," or, "The film crew just made a mistake," or "They just forgot that bit of continuity." After all, half of the original writing duo is tragically no longer with us, so there's going to be some level of story drift regardless.

While in general I find the, "It's not that deep," explanation more plausible in most instances, I'd be a very poor disgruntled English Major indeed if I made sweeping claims that the wallpaper being blue is always a coincidence. It's muddier with TV because there's so many proverbial cooks in the kitchen and plenty of human error to go around, but I'd equally never claim that I think Good Omens S2 wasn't a labor of love by those who worked on it, and certainly there's evidence that care was taken in its production, so everything that's off being a mistake is also not a sweeping generalization I'd want to make either.

Which is my way of saying that I'm not convinced by the Metatron meta but I think some of the ideas there are on to something. I don't think it's plausible that a writer would in S3 reveal that in S2, the heretofore largely off-screen character of the Metatron was actively editing the story as we went with the heretofore only mentioned once, never seen, and immediately denounced as a joke Book of Life. BUT, there is some fucky stuff happening that I won't say was the result of some Genius Mastermind Writer deciding it was a good idea to actively write badly and provide stories with no payoff, but I will consider that some of the apparent continuity errors might not be so accidental as they seem, because this was a labor of love and at least on this count, I don't think that Neil was necessarily that careless. Or at least, I'm more inclined to look for clues in places where I can see logistical choices being made, rather than in more subjective claims like "This bad writing is meant to be Bad Writing and therefore a Clue." Because writing is hard even under the best of circumstances, especially in TV and having lost the aforementioned half of a beloved writing duo.

Moving on! Thing is, if we're to believe that there's some sort of mystery hidden in plain sight that was introduced in Season 2, then it did not pay off yet. This makes me a little suspicious of the overall claims that there was a hidden Season 2 mystery, because a good mystery really should pay off within the text, and expecting the reader to keep their unsatisfied suspicions in their heads for 3-4 years for a later satisfying conclusion is... optimistic at best and downright sloppy at worst.

Unless, the mystery spans the entire show. If the clues we're seeing are meant to pay off in S3, and we assume some level of competence, then more likely these are series spanning mysteries that will be satisfying when one is able to watch all three installments. And that means, if there is a mystery in S2, we should be checking back with Season 1 to look for the roots of it.

Which is what brings me to Satan.

What on Earth happened to Satan?

Is Satan still around?

Now, my theory would be much more satisfying to me, personally, if Satan's name was never spoken in S2 but alas, there is the Book of Job episode and I believe some other mentions by name, mostly by Shax? I'd love some backup on that. But I very deliberately don't count demons just saying things like, "Our lord" or making vague referrals to the powers that be to be references to Satan because if he's vanished, someone could have easily filled the power vacuum or there could be an empty throne room somewhere and everyone is just going through the motions (or he's become the Sandman Lucifer who fucked off to lie on a beach, which would be delightful. Anyway).

When Hastur and Ligure showed up in 1.1 they specifically said, "All Hail Satan," and Crowley was shown to be an outsider that he did not return this familiar call-and-response. Yet no one in Hell in S2 uses the All Hail Satan greeting. The references to Satan are few, even in Hell. There doesn't seem to be a lot of fear of Satan either, but more around other higher-ups like Beelzebub, Duke of Hell, who appears to be the highest ranking person we see in Hell?

And also interestingly, Crowley and Beelzebub are both lamenting how pointless all of this seems. Kind of interesting for two individuals who still despise Heaven too and, presumably, took Satan's side once long ago when they all Fell. The political fire has definitely gone out of them, which can be plausibly attributed to the Apocalypse failing and/or the two of them falling in love with their Angelic counterparts, but it's also just kind of weird that suddenly they both really don't see the point in any of these conflicts that once defined their existence.

Perhaps, and this is where I go out on a limb or ten, because Satan isn't around anymore?

Is there no longer a hand at the wheel in Hell, reminding everyone of their loathing of Heaven?

Is there no longer someone actively above Beelzebub, telling them what to do, such that they have the freedom to sneak away and pursue a romance with an archangel and not have their boss show up to stop them the way Gabriel's did?

Did Adam, when he made Satan not his father but more importantly that Satan never was his father, undo more than we realize?

Because that's the kind of Gaiman mystery that I can wholly believe is lurking in plain sight, because Satan was a big deal in S1, he was the Big Bad! It's in the text! The damned book series is built on the idea of a satirical Antichrist take on The Omen. All Hail Satan is one of the first spoken lines of dialogue in the book. Satan is kind of central to any story that's going to revolve around a battle between Heaven and Hell!

And yet... he's barely mentioned this season. And demons suddenly don't remember what they're fighting for. How odd.

Maggie and Nina's actresses also played nuns of the Satanic Chattering Order of St. Beryl. If there was no Antichrist, isn't it possible that neither of those women would have become Satanic nuns and might, instead, own a coffee shop and a record store somewhere?

If there was no Antichrist, isn't it possible that through some convoluted series of events, Madame Tracy, a witch, fell afoul of a demon or managed to become one herself?

Isn't it possible that once you open the door to the ripple effects of a Satan who either never existed (though the Fall still happened) or who only existed up until at least Job, but who was never Adam's father, that some other fucky things could happen too, like Aziraphale suddenly not being fond of alcohol? This continuity detail is much more of a stretch but it is such a plot point in the book that Aziraphale loves to drink and S1 that I do find that particular continuity break particularly vexing and it's one I side-eye the most in terms of "not sure if sloppiness or a Clue".

Anyway, point is:

Satan is curiously absent this season and technically, he was unmade or at least unmade as Adam's father last season. If something is fucking with the timeline, I think that on-screen, very visible event deserves some scrutiny over and beyond vaguely alluded to, off-screen fuckery by the Metatron with no in-text confirmation at all.

There's a lot of weird and bad writing in S2, sure, but some of the continuity breaks do, admittedly, feel too big to be simple oversights and I don't think it's entirely conspiratorial to think something more might be going on and if such a mystery is going to span multiple seasons, we should look back to S1 for the seeds.

It is possible that the unmaking of Satan has had ripple effects that explain some of these continuity changes and some of the cheeky casting of S1 actors in new roles as perhaps not entirely without in-story justification.

So in my mind, the question I have no answer to, but that might deserve some scrutiny going into Season 3 is:

How much did Satan never being Adam's father alter the timeline?

Edit: And here's one last spooky quote to consider: “I remember when the morning stars sang together and all the angels of god shouted for joy." - Gabriel's weird prophecy / quoting of God

Why single out the reference to morning stars plural? Lucifer is very famously the Morning Star, you can't accidentally allude to morning stars in this context without referring to him, you just can't. So what the fuck is going on with this Biblically sourced quote that sort of alludes to Satan, but not by name, and makes the reference to the Morning Star plural?? And even though it is the original text, apparently, it's still a choice by the writers to really highlight the line about morning stars and give that line to Gabriel to say in the present too. Something is sus.

[burst-of-iridescent]

What made you start shipping Taang?

i ran across this post on the taang/kummi theory on the day i finished atla, when i was trawling the depths of zutara tumblr in my "the-fuck-do-you-mean-zutara-wasn't-canon" rage, and that kind of opened my eyes to the existence of taang as ship. i didn't full on ship it then, but i did find the idea interesting and the theory fairly plausible.

then when i rewatched atla a few months later, i began to realize how many of my favourite aang moments involved toph: bitter work and the blind bandit are two of the best episodes for aang's character growth, and both heavily revolve around toph, their cute exchange where she asks if friendships can last more than one lifetime and he goes "i don't see why not" and takes her hand, the fact that he sees her in the swamp where you see people you loved and lost...

when i paid closer attention to their dynamic on rewatch, i also realized just how much the two are able to actually meet each other on an equal footing. aang respects and sees her for who she wants to be right from the very beginning, while toph is able to look past "the avatar" to the boy beneath - flaws and all. they challenge each other in a way that is necessary and beneficial to both of them, with aang encouraging toph to go after the freedom she so badly wants and toph pushing aang out of his comfort zone to try new approaches and adopt new perspectives in his bending, which is so crucial for the avatar in particular to learn. she doesn't coddle him; he doesn't view her through rose-tinted glasses. much like zutara, what i love about taang is that it's a friendship where both parties know and love each other exactly for who they are, and that's the perfect foundation for a beautiful romance to develop.

add to all that a sprinkling of elemental symbolism and reincarnation trope and well... what else could i do but ship them?

[redux-iterum]

Oh!! Maybe this is a silly question, but do you have a preference between tumblr asks and A03 comments?? Because on one hand, the tumblr asks are definitely good for the sort of casual air and call and response type deal, but A03 allows for commenting on specific chapters, which is good for organization and referencing specific scenes.

Anyway, I’m not very good at taking breaks it turns out. I wanted to say I REALLY enjoyed the choice to kill Ashpaw alongside Swifttail (and maiming Brightpaw) in this rewrite. One thing I took notice of immediately within the first book was that, while everything has been tightened up and streamlined and Just Completely Improved, the VAST majority of plot beats are the same— which means that while I know the general direction the story is going to take, there’s always that slight hope that “well, maybe this will be changed…” I held onto this, like I’m sure many people, with Tigerclaw, since he was so different and I absolutely adored his relationship with Fireheart. Keeping that plot point the same, but making it more emotionally devastating, meant that all of us in the ‘know’ of the original plot were reacting VERY similarly to Fireheart— the evidence was piling up, we knew there was no other way it could go, and yet we still didn’t want to believe it.

and, from the other direction— something happens that is different from canon and thus COMPLETELY unexpected. Like Ashpaw! I didn’t think Brightpaw would take Swifttail to do it, after he got his name and just given the age gap between them in this rewrite (making him siblings with Cinderpaw was so cool), but I assumed Brightpaw would take one of her siblings- I was predicting Brackenpaw, honestly. I was sure she would still go through with some sort of dog plan, but some apprentice was gonna have to come with the mirror canon. Thornpaw is too much of a rules follower and Snowpaw… he is too precious. I did not want it to be Snowpaw. Brackenpaw seemed plausible, he’s sort of similar to his sister in enthusiasm. ASHPAW, however, was not on the list, of course he wasn’t! So finding him torn to pieces was HARROWING. Those slight twists to canon help keep everyone guessing and also allow for some misdirection for us readers, because even when we KNOW something is coming… there’s a small chance it’ll change, allowing us to be In Denial About It. Really cool way of making the story have suspense even when we know most of the plot beats in a logical sense

Also, also, aside, sorry there is no order in my mind, if it was chapter by chapter comments I would do better I prommy, but I love how you characterize the kits on this story. From what I remember in canon, kits in the background usually act very similar (ie they are all rambunctious babies and personality develops, if at all, as apprentices) but in your rewrite you came SEE each kits personality as soon as they exit the nursery, and you can see that same personality grow over time. Cloudpaw is a wonderful example, with how he is a blunt, sort of quiet but confident kit, who doesn’t take well to being scolded, and that… follows him, to being an apprentice. He grows around it. I love the way that he responds to people being surprised by his tracking abilities with just simply ‘it’s obvious.’ It’s SO funny but it also FITS JUST RIGHT!! Because you set him up to be like that!! He has a character arc!! He’s having one right now and I get to see it!! His actions make sense and have a through line!! Erin Hunter could NEVER

First, your initial question: comments or asks are equally fine with me. AO3 comments are easier to respond to, but they don't get answered as often as asks do. So it's entirely up to you!

Secondly, these are so many nice things in a row, goodness. I'm really glad to hear all of this, thank you. I don't have much I can respond to it with except a huge "THANK YOU FOR READING AND SHARING YOUR LOVE FOR THE STORY". I have to credit Lynx, our editor, for two of the big plot points you gushed about: Tigerclaw's relationship with Fireheart and Ashpaw's death were both her idea, and they worked out wonderfully. It's as much a compliment to her as it is to me that you loved them both so much!

[baileyagreste]

Has the Miraculous Team really Forgotten About Cat Noir?

It feels like an understatement to say that the Miraculous fandom has been frustrated lately, especially when it comes to Adrien/Cat Noir’s character. Throughout seasons 4 and 5, something shifted, and many of us have noticed the glaring imbalance in how much screen time and plot relevance Ladybug has compared to Cat Noir. I mean, let’s face it. Miraculous Ladybug is a show with two main characters—Marinette and Adrien, Ladybug and Cat Noir. But recently, it feels like the writers have focused so much on Ladybug’s journey and left Adrien by the wayside. Sure, he still has his moments here and there, but they feel like token gestures rather than the central, meaningful arcs he deserves.

Now, I’m not saying that Ladybug doesn’t deserve attention—she absolutely does! Marinette’s character development has been amazing to watch, and her struggles with responsibility and leadership have made for some fantastic storytelling. But, there’s an issue when one half of the duo is barely included in the show’s most crucial plotlines. It’s almost like the writers have forgotten that Adrien is supposed to be Ladybug’s equal. He’s a main character, too. Why does it feel like the writers are pushing him out of the spotlight?

And it’s not just me noticing this—people across the fandom have been vocal about how Adrien has been sidelined. There’s been so much focus on Marinette’s choices and challenges that Adrien’s role feels like it’s shrinking more and more. Cat Noir, once portrayed as Ladybug’s inseparable partner, has been relegated to the background in a show that once thrived on their dynamic partnership.

What makes this sting even more is the way Season 5 ended. When Ladybug defeated Monarch (Gabriel Agreste), the world was led to believe that Gabriel was a hero—including Adrien. Marinette lied about Gabriel’s true identity as Monarch, hiding the fact that Adrien’s father was responsible for so much pain and destruction. And, for a lot of fans, this felt like a betrayal—not just to Adrien, but to the character’s journey that we’ve all been invested in. Gabriel Agreste got away with everything, leaving Adrien in the dark about his own father’s villainy.

So, why did the writers do this? It almost feels like they’re deliberately leaving Adrien out of the narrative. But could it be on purpose? Could this be setting up something much bigger?

Interestingly, if you look at the Season 6 promotional poster, you’ll notice something odd. Cat Noir, who is usually standing right beside Ladybug in previous posters, is positioned much farther away from her. This is a huge shift that didn’t go unnoticed by the fandom. Many fans saw this and thought, “Are they still leaving him out?” But, looking closer, it might actually be intentional. The way he’s depicted feels almost threatening. His posture is defensive, almost aggressive, and his facial expression is unsettling—he’s smirking, but not in his usual charming way. It gives off a much darker vibe.

Nothing is ever done by accident in shows like this, so it’s worth thinking about what the creators might be hinting at. Could this distance from Ladybug, both in the narrative and in the visuals, be foreshadowing something? If Adrien does eventually learn the truth about his father, it could trigger a major shift in his character, maybe even pushing him down a villainous path. This poster could be teasing that possibility, and the more you think about it, the more it seems plausible.

It doesn’t make sense for Adrien to just forgive and forget the fact that Ladybug completely lied to him about his father’s true identity as Monarch. This is huge. We’re talking about his entire worldview being shattered if he ever finds out. Ladybug keeping the truth from him, even if she thought it was for his own good, is a massive betrayal of trust. Adrien has always been portrayed as someone who values honesty and loyalty, especially when it comes to his relationships with the people he cares about most. For him to just accept that Ladybug lied about something as monumental as his father’s actions would feel out of character and undermine the weight of this reveal. It’s not something you just move on from without serious emotional fallout. This could (and should) create a major rift between them, and that’s what makes it so frustrating for fans who feel like Adrien hasn’t been given the depth or focus he deserves in this narrative. If the writers are heading toward a redemption arc or even a villain arc, this betrayal would play a key role in shaping his future decisions.

I believe the writers might have something planned—something that involves a possible redemption arc for Adrien. With how Gabriel’s story ended, there’s definitely room for Adrien to eventually learn the truth about his father, and the fallout from that could be massive. Could this lead to a villain arc for Adrien? It’s not impossible. There’s so much unresolved tension there, and if Adrien does find out the truth, it would change everything for him.

But, even if the writers have grand plans for Adrien, it doesn’t excuse the fact that they’ve almost completely sidelined him. If this is all part of some long-term character development plan, the least they could do is throw the fans a bone by giving Cat Noir the attention he deserves. We want to see him play a more active role in the show—not just be Marinette’s supportive sidekick. Cat Noir is a hero in his own right, and he deserves to be treated as such.

At this point, it feels like the fandom’s frustrations are more than justified. If the writers are setting up something big for Adrien, great. But until then, it feels like we’re being robbed of the incredible character arc he could have had across these last two seasons.

What do you guys think? Is this all part of some master plan, or have the writers genuinely forgotten what makes Adrien and Cat Noir so essential to the show? lmk!

[horizon-verizon]

Jonerys isn’t projected to be that equal ship that shippers fantasise about. Jon being the Lord Commander of an exploitative institution, and later the KITN, versus Daenerys whose power derives from risk, struggle, pain, and liberation. There’s an inherent power imbalance in their dynamic. It’s clear that their first conversation will be based on their respective roles in the Long Night and how her dragons, who were bravely born from her sacrifice and weren’t awarded to her solely based on her lineage, will be used. It’s not as if Daenerys will use Ghost as a plausible defence against the Others, right ?

Daenerys doesn’t rely on an establishment, her name, exploitation etc. to gain power, she earns it throughout her journey. Her attainment is risky and dissuaded by many people in her arc. How is this comparable to Jon, a traditional fantasy male hero ?

I heard a counterclaim that Jon also earns his position through merit or/and he also goes through some hardships. All this talk made me realize something ironic: Jon took a risk, was killed for it while Dany takes many risks and has been kinda forced out of Meereen but at no point have we seen any hint towards her death. Both are going through a sort of rebirth or restoration metaphorically, but for Dany there has been...more of that even with Jon having gone through a literal resurrection...but not by his own hands.

The last sentence about her so far is a cliff hanger but there's no indication that she is in any danger and, once again, she'sgotten out of what could have been a sticky situation by a mixture of luck-but-mostly-quick thinking...despite going gone through many hallucinations and losing a lot of water simultaneously before and during that incident. Despite the debate, I don't hate Jon, but I can't really see him as an "equal" of character or strength to Dany. And I think that's okay.

Ultimately and personally, when it comes to the appeal of Jonerys or find it viable long term in-world, the only way I can like is if:

A) it's NEVER publicly or accidentally revealed he's Rhaegar's bastard son [there's no way Rhaegar married Lyanna and even if he did, it would be an invalid marriage bc that tradition--unlike sib marriage--has long been abandoned and would need a concerted agreement b/t the Westerosi secular and religious authorities like with the Doctrine of Exceptionalism...and there is no such thing in Westerosi that would for Rhaegar's supposed second marriage...not even Dany would do that]

OR

B) Jon has to vocally, loudly, by written word, etc. give up every single position of power outside of the Lord Commander, renounce his or claim that some in-world would claim he has, execute off those who try PUBLICLY--which I don't think is likely bc he's the reason why the free folk even care to align themselves with any "southron" folk, the last could alienate a lot of groups or houses, AND there is a need for the unity even barring speculation over whether Jon himself would want to give up power.

But I shall keep an open mind for WoW...even that that shit is, atp, never going to appear.

I am not neutral, I think that so far we don't have much to go on for why this ship wouldn't be politically damaging for Dany and her cause. Neither am I going to set myself up for rage for if GRRM somehow decides to make them a thing. It's simply hard for me to imagine them--IN WORLD--making it.

[ballisticbunni]

I'd honestly kill to have a reverse au.

Maybe a tired young lawyer is hunting down a disillusioned ex doctor and bringing him tp justice while he has to work with his own fked up childhood and his constant pragmatic ways of solving issues, wanting to conform to ideals that don't really help him. While also dealing with his estranged sister om the loose running after him.

Make it worse, by having the ex doctor be the reason our hero had so much hope in goodness amd fairness. Now seeing his idol stray from his path, he doesn't know what to do with his own morality.

Maybe i just want johan to have actual human expressions

This actually sounds. So amazing. In fact, I already have so many angsty, heartbreaking, and grotesque ideas forming for this reverse au you wrote here. I can see it now.

I can imagine Dr. Tenma's downfall rooting from Eva calling off their engagement, and Udo Heinemann demoting him after rebelling his orders to not perform surgery on young Johan (instead of him running from his career in order to take down the Monster he supposedly brought back to life). It might not sound like a plausible vengeful origin story. But let's face it. In this case, when trying to grow as a person, and creating the perfect life, only to be thrown back down out of nowhere with absolutely no one to lean on—can destroy a person. Because whether we'd like to admit it or not, if it weren't for Johan granting Tenma his wish, and those doctors mysteriously dying, Tenma's life wouldn't have improved like it did (example: being promoted to Chief of Surgery.) Though, even then, his reputation was still at stake when Lunge got involved, and assumed Dr. Tenma was the culprit after witnessing how much the doctor benefited from his peers being murdered.

Moving on to Johan, now. Like he said, himself—he saw Dr. Tenma as a father figure the moment he was saved from a terrible fate that would have taken him at a young age. Which he's never had anyone go as far as to RISK themselves for him. All of the adults in both Johan's, and Anna's life have been cruel, and proved over again that no one could be trustworthy. Until Tenma refuted that idea. It left Johan wanting nothing more but to better himself, and learn from his trauma instead of using it to deceive, or harm anyone around him. As he becomes a young adult, his mind and body actually allow him to experience, and show true emotions. He no longer lets the past consume him. "Tomorrow will be a better day." He becomes a law student, is actually able to build genuine relationships and bonds, and also has the goal to reunite with both his beloved sister he was separated from after the Liebert's incident, and the doctor that he considered to be the father he never had.

Though, he's torn coming to find out that the doctor is not who he used to be. Tenma is working underground, as a black market doctor. But not like the one we saw in the manga/anime, or hear about in the sequel, Another Monster. He's one who'd conduct evil, and inhumane experiments. Because "not everyone is born equal," as Eva had once told him, and he uses that to his advantage. His healing hands are used to make everyone who will ever doubt, or walk all over him—regret. It's a power rush he gets after being wrongfully used at the Eisler Memorial Hospital.

Johan struggles. Battling his morality while now hunting down the doctor he once looked up to, and attempting to reconcile with his sister who will possibly never forget what he put her through, or ever forgive him for it, too. What will he do?

[alfgifu]

Fic analysis 16. In cahoots

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/48946120

Word count: 6,025

Chapters: 1

First posted: 29th July 2023 

Summary: 

His tone was light on the offer itself, despite the sturdiness of his declaration of identity. She could refuse him with no embarrassment to either of them, turning this into a joke that they could laugh over with Basil later in the evening - but - but - those steady brown eyes were serious.

“A marriage of convenience?” she said, equally lightly, “how gallant, sirrah.”

How and why this came about

As it became clear that the prompt challenges were going to stick around for a bit I came up with a cunning plan, which was that I would use the quite specific prompt in this one to kick off an AU which I could then populate from different perspectives in following weeks.

The fake marriage prompts were themselves inspired by discord conversations about the timelines and feasibility of Kip meeting Jullanar when visiting Basil - and of course by Kip’s acknowledged childhood ambition to marry Jullanar of the Sea. Several people were working on the idea at the time and there are multiple cakes available on this one, all of them delicious. I’m a particular fan of mantrasong’s Caught Between a Spark and Lightning which started as a flash fic for this challenge but was later revisited and rewritten into a much longer fic.

The loose end game I was working towards here was a Kip/Jullanar marriage of convenience that bloomed into a deep friendship (without sex) and a recognised Kip/Fitzroy fanoa relationship. The only plan I had beyond that was to explore different moments as they worked with the theme of the prompt challenges, and see where it took me.

What worked and what didn’t

As I was posting new stories much more frequently I was still finding tags, titles, and summaries felt like an unwelcome chore. Around this time I realised with a sigh of relief that I could use quotes from the fics themselves as summary text. That worked better in some cases than others, but here it’s fine.

‘Kip Thistlethwaite’ as a name is as fun to say as the scenario is to imagine, which was a definite plus.

The subject of Jullanar’s marriage is lightly touched on in the books but the small snapshots we get of it are ambiguously grim; she finds her husband physically attractive (but only to a point) and morally repulsive. She’s trapped into it by blackmail and makes the best of it but it is in many ways a parallel to Fitzroy’s situation - imprisoned by force and trapped in stifling conventional restrictions, unable to own herself by her true name, afraid of hurting those around her if she reveals too much of herself. It was deeply satisfying to find such a neat way of circumventing it presented by the structure of the narrative.

It was fun imagining young!Kip from an outside perspective and writing a group of friends bantering with one another. Also thinking through how Kip’s training as a tanà might make it easier for him to strike the right tone in this kind of conversation: listening without judgement, leaving space, making practical suggestions with a layer of humour and plausible deniability that offer Jullanar many different ways to back out. I wanted it to be believable that she might agree to the scheme having only just met him and I feel like that worked out well.

What I learned from writing it

One of the things I was experimenting with was writing more from different points of view. When I started Embers the only way I could feel comfortable writing Cliopher’s perspective was by adding a big chunk of backstory at the start so that I could follow the emotional thread driving him all the way through. Here the short format forced me to jump into the action with Jullanar; I didn’t manage to avoid some scene-setting entirely but I kept it minimal and was pleased with how that worked (I know on some level that people reading fanfic are for the most part unlikely to be unfamiliar with the characters, but it hasn’t really sunk in - I still feel the urge to explain context and personality and setting at the start of every story).

I worked hard at getting the emotional beats to land correctly, because I’d begun to see how much that would carry the reader into and through a scenario even when it was unfamiliar/unexpected.

I was also beginning to learn that I got better results when I followed my interest than when I planned in advance, and was adapting my strategy for that fact by making this a self-contained story that left the door open for more but didn’t require it. I’ve never quite managed to get on that footing with everything but it was a good discovery and I’ve used it several times since.

[rachelsshowerthoughts]

Aware AU thought but, https://www.tumblr.com/tumblingxelian/754631895572267008/justanotherpersonsuniverse-i-didnt-watch?source=share

This very much gives the idea that Lila's mother is the intensely absent, IE neglectful parent who compensates by saying sweet things but doesn't back it up with any action.

Which likely also made it harder for Lila to really communicate her issues because her mom says nice things, she makes sure she has food, & sometimes spends time around her.

Who would believe her mom is anything but a bit busier than Lila would like? Don't be spoiled Lila, your mother works so hard for you!

With her likely internalizing her mothers sweet nothings as lies & lying herself to trick others to get by a little easier, to get a little attention she so craves, to cover for problems or mistakes.

I think the song Our Word would sum her up very well, either just the first portion as here here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Y3DVFF0spY Or the full song here, which could also maybe represent a sort of, "This is what I could have become" angle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9RHJTpLOVk

so, first off, the first thing I thought when I heard the song in its entirety was "Musical Lila!Akuma", so that’s going to live rent free in my head all day.

yeah, I think the implication is definitely supposed to be "absent mom" (though I think this is before the "multi-mom" nonsense) and I always took it as, the one thing Lila DOES tell the truth about is her mom's job. Ambassador is up in the air, but definitely works for the Italian embassy, which would actually go a long way to explaining a lot about Lila.

If Lila's mom is an Italian ambassador, Lila probably is well travelled, and probably has met SOME important people, at least by proxy. The best lies have a kernel of truth in there somewhere, after all. It’s plausible she could have met most of these people. She's also probably never in the same place longer than a year or so. She moves to a lot of new places, many of which may or may not have a language in common with her. She probably never shows up at the start of a school year, but partway through, when everyone's already formed their friend groups. She’s always "the new girl", either seen as a weird foreigner, or a shiny new toy with fun stories of other places. But how many people stick around when the stories dry up? Better make more stories, better stories, so you aren’t alone - and then it doesn’t even matter, because you'll be gone in six months, and eventually all your "friends" have steady lives to get back to, so they stop calling, stop texting, and you're right back where you started.

Plus, how much time do you think she's actually spent in Italy, in her own house, since she was little? Does she see the rest of her family?

Also, I find it interesting we don’t see her dad. Mostly cause the other kids have either really well established home lives, or we ignore them, with the implication they are "normal". If there are single parents, we eventually do get explanations - Anarka either never told Jagged or he decided he wouldn’t be a good dad, Mylene's mom sucked, Felix's dad died (and also sucked), we won't even get into Gabriel and Emilie. I think the only other "Sir-Not-Appearing-In-This-Show" parent we get no info on is Kagami's dad. So, where's Mr. Rossi?

Sick? Died? Missing? Divorced? Was he a nice guy? Equally neglectful? Did he know about Lila's lies? Did he encourage it? Ignore it? Is Mrs. Rossi acting like this cause of something to do with her husband? Is she mourning him? Did he cheat on her? Was she even ever married? Is Lila technically a bastard baby? Or is her mom truly a single mom - wanted a kid, went through IVF?

(I mean, I have similar questions about Kagami's dad, but if we keep the Sentimonster stuff, along with everything else, then it does actually make sense that Tomoe never had a romantic partner of any kind, she just wanted a kid/heir, no partner was involved at any point)

@tumblingxelian

[h4desian]

You said you like Star Trek, so I was wondering how you see the emerald boys as Star Trek characters :3c

Anon you just opened a pandora box I hope you're ready. Before I begin tho I want to clarify that I'll use the 24th century (post- Dominion War era) as reference (hence the uniform colors.)

Ritsu: He is 100% in a command position (so he wears red). My idea for him is that he joined Starfleet because it's a family tradition, and his father is a decorated admiral. He's good at his job, and even rose to the rank of Commander in his previous starship, but those around him always diminished his accomplishments (coattails and all that). Eventually he snapped and got into a very ugly fight that took away his position and rank. He was transferred to the USS Emerald (oh wow, I am so creative with these names) with the rank of Ensign to serve under Captain Takano.

Takano: He is the captain of the USS Emerald. I don't think Takano and Ritsu would have a past in this AU, but I think it's plausible that Ritsu knew him during his time as a cadet and admired him for being top of his class. Under his command, Ritsu doesn't really like him because of his unconventional ways and doesn't mind criticizing him (which is bold because… Takano is a captain and Ritsu is an ensign). Eventually, Takano becomes fond of Ritsu and Ritsu slowly starts to gain respect for his captain (and maybe…gasp develop feelings for him???)

Hatori: Takano's Number One (Commander) and a Vulcan. Close friends (?) with the Chief Engineer Chiaki and at odds with Yuu, who is a nurse. He doesn't speak much but he quickly becomes a reliable friend to Ritsu. Everyone appreciates his devotion to logic, because he can often put the brakes on Takano when he thinks about doing something rather brash.

Mino: Chief of Security, Lieutenant Commander. Another friend of Ritsu's, he's just as smiling (and just as scary, but it works for him as a way to keep order). Other ensigns on board are afraid of him, but he's a good guy. His strength is almost equal to Hatori's.

Kisa: Science Officer and Counselor, Lieutenant. Most people are surprised to hear that he's a counselor AND the science officer, mostly because he's so baby-faced and many people who meet him for the first time come to the conclusion that he's a cadet. He teases his friends as he does in canon, but because he's a counselor, he also makes sure the crew's mental health is in check. One of the reasons he joined Starfleet is to find his older brother, who is rumored to be imprisoned on a colony in the Neutral Zone.

I know you just asked about the guys from Emerald, but I want to add a few more:

Yokozawa: Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Lieutenant, Bajoran. Most people don't like to go to Sickbay because the guy is scary (many suspect he might actually be a Klingon), but his bedside manner is actually okay. Very devoted to the Prophets (as evidenced by his earring and the fact that he prays every day). He discovered his passion for medicine during the Cardassian occupation of Bajor where he treated many wounded children (mostly orphans).

Chiaki: Chief Engineer, Lieutenant Junior Grade. Clumsy in general, but very skilled at repairing things. I can definitely see him getting the O'Brien-must-suffer treatment. The ensigns under him will break your shit if you say anything bad about him (he's a good mentor).

Kirishima: He's the captain of another ship and wants to transfer Yokozawa so badly (he's down and out when it comes to him). Unlike Takano, Kirishima is very by-the-book and prefers using safer strategies.

An: Science officer of Ritsu's former starship and childhood friend. They occasionally send each other messages to catch up on things. She worries a lot about Ritsu because everything he told her about Takano made her fear for his life (lol).