#the connection to my family is the reason why i'm actively learning it now and am trying to improve

[scientia-rex]

Hysteria isn't a fucking thing

ok fun fact: I'm rapidly becoming a cult favorite doctor among our local privileged elderly white ladies, which I have mixed feelings about, but the #1 reason is that I just don't leap to "anxiety" as an explanation for symptoms unless the patient tells me "I am anxious, and then I feel these symptoms, and when I am not anxious, I don't feel these symptoms."

The sheer number of women I've seen who've been told for years to decades that the only thing wrong with them is anxiety is fucking staggering, in this Year Of Our Lord 2023, and I just keep digging. We checked a basic lab panel, sure. CBC. No anemia. CMP. Kidneys are fine. (Electrolytes are basically always going to be fine if someone is well enough to walk into my office under their own power to talk to me. Exception is mild chronic hyponatremia.) And we check thyroid. TSH and free T4. We check blood sugar. A1c, if the fasting is a little weird. Fasting insulin, if I'm still suspicious. We check cortisol. Inflammatory markers--ESR and CRP.

And eventually, if the symptoms support it, or right away, depending on my level of suspicion, we check rheumatological labs for abnormal autoimmune function. Anti-nuclear antibody. Rheumatoid factor. There's at least a dozen you can check, and which ones you should check is always a matter of debate and also of expertise that I 100% lack. We are out in the sticks. There are no "local" rheumatologists for me to send people to.

But a couple of weeks ago I found a woman--she has bipolar disorder and has been told for decades that's all that's wrong with her--who has an anti-centromere antibody titer that's fucking through the roof. I found an anxious 19-year-old with an ANA of 1:1380. And yesterday I found out why a sweet elderly woman I've seen for a year or two now started feeling crappy months ago: her rheumatoid factor is over 90.

Rheumatological disorders are always difficult. Our understanding of them varies from "pretty good, actually, and here are useful treatments" to "Well I Guess That Exists." Labs aren't always a slam-dunk and even labs plus symptoms can give you misleading impressions. Your immune system can decide that virtually any short chunk of protein is an enemy, and the problem with that is that your body is made up of many, many, many short chunks of proteins, so the odds that you'll develop some kind of antibody against yourself just keeps going up over your lifetime. Immune disorders tend to travel in packs; there's a clear genetic element to it, so the more first-degree relatives (parent, sibling, child) you have with any kind of autoimmune disorder (including Type 1 diabetes), the higher your risk of any kind of autoimmune disorder is, and if you already have one autoimmune disorder, you're at higher risk for developing another one.

But I think it's precisely because they're difficult that a lot of mainstream primary care prefers to pretend they don't exist, rather than try to sift through the utter fucking mess that is Mixed Connective Tissue Disorders, a title that has fallen out of favor since I learned it in my third year of med school. And women are at higher risk for autoimmune disorders than men. And older women are at higher risk than younger women.

So if I, as a family doc, just keep digging, just keep poking at the tangled knot of symptoms, there's a decent chance I will uncover something interesting. Hopefully something treatable. Sometimes we have nothing to treat with, and I just get to offer someone more understanding of their disorder, which feels pretty paltry but is better than the casual dismissal of "You're just anxious."

Never, ever, ever take anxiety as a diagnosis for a symptom other than anxiety. Not even as a rule-out. Keep those symptoms as an open question mark on the patient. Don't say "anxiety" just so you can close the door. And damn sure don't do it to women.

I'm actively working on learning more so I can be more helpful, in our Rheum-less community, so if you have good lectures or books, please drop me a lead.

[hello-nichya-here]

Hello, whats your opinion on this as a mai fan

I think this person is either misremembering the show or deliberately mischaracterizing what Mai, because what they're claiming she revealed on The Beach is the COMPLETE OPPOSITE of what she actually said.

She doesn't say "My parents used me as a pawn in their game to get close to royals" or "My parents never wanted me to learn anything about combat." She tells us that her parents will let her do whatever she likes - as long as she BEHAVES. As long as she's invisible. Out of sight, out of mind. They don't care what she does, as long as it doesn't affect them, as long as she's quiet. And that's what she says in an attempt to DOWNPLAY how bad her relationship with them actually is and how it affected her emotionally.

When Mai is complaining that she doesn't like Omashu because there's nothing for her to do, her mom doesn't try to talk to her about activities that could keep her busy/entertained, or show any concern about how she's adapting to moving to a whole new country, to a city where she doesn't know anyone. Instead, she ignores her daughter's attempts to talk about her feelings by reminding her that this is important for her father. There's no attempt to make this situation benefitial for her as well, it's all about how she needs to be grateful that someone else is happy about it.

Yes, when Tom-Tom is "kidnaped", they won't stop panicking, and are overjoyed when he's brought back safely. But there's not a word on them being concerned over Mai's well-being when she's leaving in a potentially dangerous mission. They don't show up to congratulate her at any point after she helps the Fire Nation conquer Ba Sing Se, even though that is a legendary feat. Favoritism much?

In book 3, literally the only adults we see in her home are servants, and considering one needs an airship to go to the island where the boiling rock is, it's pretty safe to say her uncle can't be dropping by too often. They let their 15-year-old daughter live in a different country, without any adult acting as her guardian - that's how much they don't care about her.

And speaking of her uncle, yes, he is doing a good job of being an attentive family member (is aware of her situation with Zuko, immediately lets her out of prison the second he knows he can get away with it) - but using that to claim "Thefore her family life is fine" is absurd because, again, that's her UNCLE, not her parents. By that logic, Zuko shouldn't be complaining about his family either, after all he has Iroh and somehow that is supposed to cancel out being raised by freaking Ozai, riiiiiiight?

And speaking of Zuko, there's a reason why, in a finale where everyone is being reunited with their family and friends, even when the travel time doesn't make any goddamn sense, Mai's happy ending involves a heartwarming reuining with him, and he's delighted to see her - but there's still nothing about her parents. Their daughter was sent to prison for life, then her boyfriend became Fire Lord giving them THE perfect chance to come rescue her, and they STILL are nowhere to be found.

For fuck's sake, AZULA showed more love for Mai than her parents did. Girl was clearly happy to see her again, and even gave her a "hug" that wasn't that touchy because Mai doesn't like it. In "The Lost Adventures" we find out that she was also the one who pushed for her and Zuko to get together (though that also ties into her knowing that was the only way to make Zuko come home despite his guilt over what he did to Iroh). Even on The Beach, she's the one who first connects the dots and realizes that Mai is always so aloof because she's used to being told to shut up when she says something inconvenient.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying her parents had no political ambitions (the Yang comics leaning into that was one of the few good things about his writting). Obviously they were happy that their daughter was best friends with the princess and dating the heir to the throne, and I'm sure Mai didn't appreciate being treated more as asset than as a daughter.

But her complaint was not about that. It was about how her parents are simply not part of her life at all. She's an outsider looking in. She can stand next to them and do as she's told, or she can leave. What she can't do is actually engage with them, mean anything to them, expect anything from them, rely on them at all.

Mai's parents are neglectful to a degree that, in the real world, could potentially have them lose custody of her because she consistently has to turn to literally anyone else instead of them whenever she needs anything.

Is it really any wonder she had a soft-spot for Zuko, aka the boy that is always disregarded by his father, to the point of literally being kicked out of his home, and is actually openly pissed off about it and will let everyone know it?

[mayzi33]

*clears throat.*

(apologize in advance for any mistakes english isn't my first language)

Alright. Here we go.

Look, I haven't watched MLP in a LONGGGG time. But recently with all the stuff I missed our and since the fandom is still pretty much alive and well I decided to take peek by peek in the seasons I haven't watched.

Until I came across, these guys

And I have so much to say.

I didn't write a script for this or anything so I don't know where this rambling is going so I just ask you to bear with me for as much as you can, okay?

Look, watching the Young Six episodes I've experienced one of the things that angers me the most. SUCH. WASTED. POTENTIAL.

You're telling me we got whatever the hell is G5 when instead we could have gotten THESE GUYS???? THESE COOL, UNIQUE CHARACTERS THAT ACTUALLY HAVE AN INTERESTING STORY THAT MAKES SENSE AND HAVE SI MUCH POTENTIAL TO BE ONE OF THE SICKEST LORE ARCS IN MLP???

I homestly don't know what Hasbro WAS THINKING in giving them so little screentime. There's so much I have to say but I'll try my best to keep my thoughts organized.

First things first, we'll need to talk a little about G5 or "Make Your Mark" series or whatever. I personally enjoyed the movie, though the story didn't make much sense (we'll get to that later) the characters were pretty nice, the songs were catchy and the animation was mwah. I didn't bother to watch all of the G5 series, because- (pardon to all who enjoy it) it's so. Freaking. Boring. Like I know there's a pony girl that's supposed to be a traitor among them but then grows onto being their actual friend and there's a villainess and that whole conflict and yada yada yada. But honestly there just isn't anything I found enganging in the entire thing. I can't explain it, it just feels- off. I know I probably don't have much right to talk, cause again, only now I'm diving into the mlp again after missing out A LOT, but I just can't bring myself to like that series.

Now, the whole School Of Friendship saga in the G4 series with our beloved Young Six, I know some people had some issues with it and it didn't please everyone, and while it does have some flaws and is certainly not perfect, you can't deny there was lots of potential. (I'll try to not overuse that word I'm sorry)

I personally, really liked the concept of different creatures from different cultures coming together and forming the perfectly diverse friend group. Episodes like The Hearth's Warming Club and What Lies Beneath were particuarly really fun, it was nice to dive into their cultures and backstories while also watching the six of them be vulnerable in front of one another and grow closer. If only they had more screentime and more deep episodes like that, they could have been in the top 10 found families in cartoons.

Now, just some other reasons as to why I think they're interesting characters and should've gotten more than what was given to them.

Because

1- Their whole deal is that they're not all ponies, that they're all different species. We get to learn lots about their different cultures and customs. It would've been such a good way to teach children about acceptance and respecting differences while also being entertaining. Especially in a school enviroment.

2- We got not one, but TWO male characters in the group. It would make little boys that are interested in mlp feel more comfortable and valid for it. AND those two males also have distinct personalities and their own active roles. Gallus being sort of the leader of the group, and Sandbar being the only pony therefore the one to stand up for his friends.

3- While they're supposed to be the new represantives of the elements of harmonies, their personalities are still interesting and different from the Mane 6.

Onto that, I really like how it's implied they could be the next helders (or whatever its called) of the elements of harmony. Given their special connection to the tree, how similiar they are to the previous groups (Mane 6 and The Pillars) and how Twilight LITERALLY LIFTED THEM UP AS WELL WHILE SHE SPOKE ABOUT HOW THE ELEMENTS WILL LIVE ON, it would've been such a cool concept.

Onto that, I wanna talk a bit about each of their characters too and how I think they could've been dealt with.

Gallus is the element of magic, but unlike Twilight who's all open and confident-spoken about friendship and all, Gallus is probably the one in the group that's the most closed-off and dislikes getting all cheesy. It would've been interesting seeing his development as the helder ot the element of magic. AND ESPECIALLY since he doesn't have magic in the first place, since Twilight and Starwirl were unicorns. So maybe he could make posions? Get powers someway else? Many posibilities

Sandbar is the element of kindness, but unlike Fluttershy he's extrovert and down to making friends. His overrall personality is that he's constantly very chill-going and nothing seems to ever upset or annoy him. So it also would've been interesting to see how that pattern would break, especially because of his element.

Yona is the element of honesty. She's probably the one that has the hardest time adapting to the Equestrians among the group, and even tried to act like a pony instead of herself one episode. It would've been interesting to see how her element of honesty reflects on how she should be true to herself, especially since her Yak culture comes a lot with honor.

Ocellus is the element of genority, yet, unlike Rarity, she's a lot more like Fluttershy, being timid and insecure, while also being smart and well-read like Twilight. It would've been nice if her development with her element would be gaining confidence in herself and being generous to others that way. Especially since she has a fear of being like the old changling queen (forgot her name) so imagine if she just turned out to be the opposite of her. Instead of selfish and cruel, being generous and kind.

Smolder is the element of loyality, but also like Gallus, she's also not into getting cheesy. But what I find imteresting about her is how she tries to keep her tough, agressive persona (since thats how dragons are) yet it is revealed she's actually interested in cute, fluffy stuff like tea parties and dresses. So it would've been cool to see her growing confident in admiting her interests, therefore being more like Rainbow Dash, who's always confident on herself

And last but not least, Silverstream is the element of laughter. But what's hooking about it is the fact that Silverstream herself probably hasn't KNOWN what laughter is for a long time, having to hide under The Storm King's rule. She's very talkctive, creative and extrovert, like Pinkie Pie, but she also has her trauma that haunts and intimidates her, unlike Pinkie who usually faces her fears headfront. Another great development story.

So just hear me out, okay. I don't care if MLP is over. I don't care if there's G5.

We. Need. A. Young. Six. Spin-off. Series.

I know it sounds crazy, but I genuely think this idea could work out if it was handled well enough, and Hasbro could make some good money out of this.

Just bear with me. A spin-off series set on the timeline between season 8-9 aka, still on the School Of Friendship, focused entirely on the Young Six. We could still get the Mane 6, of course, but mostly as support characters. It doesn't have to be a particularly long series, (though maybe that could work as well IF handled with enough care) maybe just 2 seasons or so. And I'm not thinking like a slice-of-life or fun little extra kind of thing, I'm thinking of ACTUAL lore. Just more about how the tree and the elements work, and how these six students could grow into being their new helders. In each episode it becomes more and more evident to them and the Mane 6 themselves that they're going to be the next generation of the elements. So imagine once they all fully it figure out and talk about it, the Y6 suddenly feel this pressure about how they're supposed to live up to their teachers and fear that they have to be EXACTLY like them. So we see Sandbar taking extra kindness classes with Fluttershy, Yona taking extra honesty classes with Applejack and heck even Gallus is taking studies more seriously (especially since he's supposed to be the element of magic which again I find imteresting since he doesn't really have magic at least not the way Twilight and Starwirl do. ) So we could have an entire episode about the M6 getting through to them and showing they don't have to be JUST LIKE THEM nor The Pillars. They can be their own people.

Another main-plot idea would be having more villains, probably trying to test them or tear them apart (cough cough like Swift Foot from the idw comics cough cough) or maybe you could even fit someone as intense as King Sombra, or maybe even even the return of Tirek, Cozy Glow and Chrysalis in there. (I remembered her name yay)

And, of course, more onto their characters, flaws, backstories and cultures! I would love to see more about their people and customs, just as much as I would love to explore their traumas, fears, ugly sides and how they overcome it together (cough cough found family COUGH COUGH GAGS)

And another thing, I especially would've liked to explore Yona's and Sandbar's relantioship.

I MEAN LOOK AT THEM-

Don't they give massive beauty-and-the-beast vibes? I love how their colors and body types contrast with one and another, and their personalities aswell. Yona being loud, cheerful and clumsy while Sandbar is calm, thoughtful and carefree. I just love the big girl x soooorta small guy vibes and I especially loved how gentle and reassuring Sandbar was towards her in that episode. I mean, "I don't care if you're not a pony, you're the best Yona I know." SERIOUSLY? WHO WROTE THAT LINE? I'D LIKE TO GIVE THEM A HUG. And also, onto the spin-off series matter, it would also be a cool topic to explore. Imagine if some ponies/yaks are judging them for having a relantioship while being different species and they learn to ignore them and live past that??? I usually don't care much for romance, (always prefered friendship and found families) but this would've been a nice little arc and episode theme to see.

Lastly, (I'm almost done I promise) to the more technical/economical part.

Like I said in the beggining, I genuely think Hasbro could make some good money out of this. Firstly because it will be using the G4 characters and lore and not...whatever mess of a plot G5 is.

And secondly because, if they took the time to give them some cool power-up designs like they did with the Mane 6, I'M SURE the toys would sell.

I mean- JUST LOOK AT THESE COOL DESIGNS I FOUND ON THE INTERNET?? (not mine, credits to whoever made it, you ate that)

DON'T THEY LOOK LIKE A TOY SET THAT WOULD CATCH THE CHILDREN'S EYES ON THE TOY AISLE? OH YES I THINK THEY WOULD.

And if anything, they could be as bold as to make an extra Equestria Girls (well, girls and boys) series with them. I know it sounds kinda dumb, especially given the fact that I'm not sure about how that would work given that when Spike went to the "human dimension" or whatever he turned to a dog... So Smolder would also be a dog? Sandbar would be the only actual human in the group?... BUT I'm sure they could come up with some excuse to make it work. Give them some cool, colorful outfits for different events and I'm sure it would sell. And ESPECIALLY since with Gallus and Sandbar in the group, it could get the attetion of young boys aswell.

Anyways. That was it.

Uhm. Conclusion: Hasbro should hire me. I know what I'm talking about. I think. At least a bit.

And I genuely think this could work if only SOMEONE gave it the time and care.

I don't know how to end ramblings so uhmmmm thank you all for coming to my pep talk.

They deserved better.

[jedi-enthusiast]

Ok, I know that I already reblogged @antianakin's post about why Anakin didn't need to murder an entire Tusken village because 2-3 of them killed his mom (original post here), but I just feel the need to talk about one of the most damning examples of why Anakin has no excuse for that response.

Post Order 66 Jedi/Clone interactions.

Let's just say, for the sake of the argument, that the entirety of the Tusken village--including the literal babies and children--all took part in the torture/murder of Shimi Skywalker. No exceptions.

Anakin's response to his mother's death is to murder everyone with no remorse or a second thought. Even when he confesses what he did to Padme, the RotS novel clearly shows that he doesn't actually feel bad about what he did. Most of his worry is about what others will think of him and, ironically, about how he's a "good Jedi" that should be better than this.

Now let's move on...

Every clone took part in Order 66 in some way.*

The clones murdered every single Jedi they could in cold blood (albeit without a choice), including the children, with only a miniscule few survivors. How many do we canonically have right now that didn't get captured and become Inquisitors? Obi-Wan, Quinlan, Cal, Caleb/Kanan, and Gungi are all I can think of at the moment.** That's 5 Jedi, out of thousands, that survived--and that's not even mentioning the destruction of their places of worship/cultural artifacts and the shitty propaganda spread about their culture.

* I'm not including the Bad Batch because, my own opinions about the show/characters/writing/etc. aside, we can all agree that the only reason their chips didn't activate was because they're Filoni's beloved OCs and he has a habit of trying to make his OCs "special" in some way.

** I'm not including Ahsoka in this because, like she says repeatedly as of Season 7 of TCW onward, she isn't a Jedi and doesn't see herself as such--and for the same reason I'm not including Grogu, since he's like...a Mandalorian apprentice now and not technically a Jedi. I'm also not including Luminara because she eventually gets captured and killed pretty early on and I'm trying to only include Jedi that are alive for a significant amount of time in the Imperial Era.

So, how do the Jedi treat the clones after they murder their entire family and destroy their culture? Let's look!

-----

Example One:

Obi-Wan Kenobi never learns about the inhibitor chips, as of current canon. He is 100% under the impression that Cody and the 212th (as well as all of the other clones) just up and betrayed him and the Order for no reason. He also watched the security tapes that, yes, showed Anakin killing children, but also would have shown the clones killing Jedi as well.

In the Kenobi show he runs into a clone veteran of the 501st--a veteran who, in all likelihood, probably stormed the Temple and was a part of its destruction.

Does he spit in the clone's face? Call him a murderer? Kill or harm him in any way?

Nope!

He gives the veteran some of his credits, even though it's made a point in the show that Obi-Wan is now working with limited funds and is very poor at this point in time. He doesn't have credits to spare and he is supposed to be looking for Leia, but he takes a moment to give some to someone who took part in the genocide of his people.

He also routinely thinks about Cody and the 212th in the comics! He remembers them fondly and still connects Cody to the feeling of hope, even though they tried to kill him! Even though he has no idea that they never wanted to!

-----

Example Two:

Kanan Jarrus/Caleb Dume knows about the inhibitor chips, but in Rebels it's made very clear that he thinks that it's just something the clones made up so that they didn't have to take responsibility for their actions.

In Rebels, Ahsoka makes the (objectively bad) decision to send Kanan out to find her "old friends" to help the rebellion.*** Kanan then finds out that her "old friends" are three clones, only after he gets there and sees them. He reacts in a panic and ignites his saber, clearly freaking out a bit.

*** I'll probably expand on this later, because I have a lot of opinions on this particular decision of hers, but anyway-

Does he try to hurt and/or kill them? Do they have to fight him off? Does he even lunge in their direction or deflect Wolffe's blaster bolt at him?

Again, nope!

He steps in front of Ezra in a defensive position and, when shot at by Wolffe, deflects the bolt into their ship. Then, when Ezra steps in and says that Ahsoka said to trust them, Kanan de-ignites his saber and they all have a conversation about them helping in the rebellion--even though Kanan clearly doesn't trust them at all and is dealing with his PTSD while being there. Eventually he even comes to get along with/trust Rex, albeit in later episodes.

-----

Example Three:

Gungi, in the Bad Batch, meets up with the Batch and immediately recognizes them as clones. Now, we don't know his opinion on them and their betrayal because it's never really expressed, but it's safe to assume that he has no idea about the chips (at least, until Tech tells him) and it's clear that he's very scared at that point in time.

What does he do?

He hides in the corner of the ship and is wary about the food they offer to him.

That's literally it.

And then later in the episode he works together with TBB and trusts them enough to let them help defend his village.

-----

So, even with most of the Jedi either having no idea about the chips or likely doubting that story, we're shown over and over again that the Jedi never seek revenge against the clones or try to kill them after Order 66. Even though their lives were ruined by what the clones did/took part in, they're never shown to be actively trying to cause them harm.

So there is literally no way you could possibly justify Anakin killing an entire village of Tuskens because of his mother's death, when--in arguably the same/a worse situation--the Jedi are actively shown not doing that.

[wyked-ao3]

Writerly Questionnaire

About Me

When did you first start writing?

Started shortly before my 22nd birthday I'm 23 now...I had done a few attempt's before that but never posted them.

Are the genres/themes you enjoy reading different from the ones you write?

i love a variety of genres and hope to branch into other soon..I'm working on my first original story currently

Is there an author (or just a fellow writer!) you want to emulate, or one to whom you’re often compared?

everyone has their own style no two writers are just alike. I could list dozens of author's both published and not that I look up to. I have not been compared to anyone that I'm aware of.

Can you tell me a little about your writing space(s)? (Room, coffee shop, desk, etc.)

usually the couch. With my dogs and a blanket since I'm often cold.

What’s your most effective way to muster up some muse?

play some music or read something. If that doesn't work then I go back to what I have written and go okay what you crazy character's up to now

Did the place(s) you grew up in influence the people and places you write about?

🤔🧐

Are there any recurring themes in your writing, and if so, do they surprise you at all?

i tend to give traumatic backstories to at least one character in my books but usually it's a game of find the one who doesn't. I'm also prone to writing family drama 0_o

Do they surprise me? Not particularly since they are usually the characters I like most in a tv show

My Characters

Would you please tell me about your current favorite character? (Current WIP, past WIP, never used, etc.)

Oisìn for this book. Oisìn is a kind person with a bit of a quick temper, he is sarcastic but usually level headed unless you mention his hight Jade is the MC for the second book and my current favorite it might be the kicked puppy factor 0_o

Which of your characters do you think you’d be friends with in real life?

Adoh or Jade both are quiet but in different ways...

Which of your characters would you dislike the most if you met them?

0_o that be a long list lol, without giving spoilers Kia, Rhiannon, Nereza

Tell me about the process of coming up with of one, all, or any of your characters.

I think about what the storyline needs and they start knocking on the door and more show up as I write. Only a handful were planned out in great detail in advance and they kinda blew that out of the water, which is why I had to make new charts yesterday.

Do you notice any recurring themes/traits among your characters?

tragic backstories and loyalty with found family aspects.

My Writing

What’s your reason for writing?

i started writing my first fanfiction when I had a head cold I also edited and posted it during that time...it was what built up the confidence to post something lol, I can say that the next time I posted, I about had a nervous breakdown but now I'm not so nervous when I post. I suppose the reason I write is it is a form of connecting with other people and a escape from reality in a way.

Is there a specific comment or type of comment you find particularly motivating coming from your readers?

I love all comments i get even constructive criticism, as it tells me where I need to work on improving next.

How do you want to be thought of by those who read your work? (For example: as a literary genius, or as a writer who “gets” the human condition; as a talented worldbuilder, as a role model, etc.)

😵‍💫 nope just nope, social anxiety activated by a question

What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

dialogue

What have you been frequently told your greatest writing strength is by others?

humour and dialogue

How do you feel about your own writing? (Answer in whatever way you interpret this question.)

I have improved a lot over the last few months but I still have a lot to learn :) I accept the fact that practice is required to get there, although I'm aware no one's writting is absolutely perfect although some are closer than others.

If you were the last person on earth and knew your writing would never be read by another human, would you still write?

yes. I like the stories I tell.

When you write, are you influenced by what others might enjoy reading, or do you write purely what you enjoy? If it’s a mix of the two, which holds the most influence?

its a bit of a mix but mostly what I enjoy reading but I do add way more punctuation for the readers. My writing style would probably cause people to have a breakdown, since it's mostly quotation marks for when they speak and nothing else perhaps a comma here or there if it seems to long. Then I go back through and edit it after I have finished writing the storyline.

Open tag from @the-golden-comet then tagged by @kaylinalexanderbooks adding in @ink-flavored (I'll fill out the other one soon I like the questions) @thecomfywriter

@sableglass

+open tag

[sophieinwonderland]

The Plurality of... Blue Beetle! (Movie)

Plurality: A state of multiple self-conscious agents, or "headmates," sharing a single body.

Oh, this one is going to be a little rough!

If you know the Blue Beetle, it shouldn't be surprising that they're a plural character. We've never read Blue Beetle comics, but my host was pretty familiar with Blue Beetle from Young Justice, where Jaime had a pretty big role in season 2.

I went into Blue Beetle with high hopes and, if I'm honest, ended up a little disappointed.

But before we can get into why I felt that way, let's first talk about their plurality!

Spoilers for the Blue Beetle movie ahead:

Jaime Reyes and Khaji-Da as plural characters

In the movie, Khaji-Da, often referred to as just "The Scarab," is a world-destroying weapon that found its way to Earth.

It bonds with Jaime Reyes when he touches it, fusing to his flesh and turning him into the Blue Beetle in an elaborate body horror sequence.

Khaji is established as a sentient being, and is able to communicate with Jaime mentally. Now, it's not actually clear if Jaime can communicate back mentally like many real headmates can. Every time he talks to Khaji is aloud, which I think was also how it was in Young Justice too. It's possible that while the Scarab can send messages to Jaime's mind, it can't read it. But that seems kind of a strange limitation when the movie shows it gaining access to a person's full memory after connecting with them, and is at least able to figure out Jaime's name through their connection.

It would seem weird to me if talking out loud to Khaji was necessary to be heard, but that's how the movie presents it. (This could be a comfort thing too. As part of a plural system, I'll admit we'll often talk out loud through the body when nobody is around to hear us. Words can be clearer than pure thoughts.)

A small part of the movie is dedicated to the two learning to get along, with there being some conflict around Khaji wanting to kill an enemy, and Jaime saying that they aren't killers.

This leads to an important moment later in the movie where Jaime is enraged, believing he's lost multiple family members, and is going to execute the villain.

The word "execute" is important here, because while other good characters have no problem killing (their nana took great joy in it, in fact), it's always against active combatants. Not someone who was disarmed. The movie doesn't make this distinction directly, but I think it's an important one.

It's one thing for superheroes to kill to protect themselves and others, most heroes are willing to these days, but it's another for them to kill someone who isn't actively a threat anymore.

Kahji takes just enough control to hold Jaime back from doing something he would regret, repeating back that they aren't killers, showing itself capable of learning from Jaime.

It's a cool moment, and I appreciated this little character growth.

Despite Khaji being sentient and capable of learning though...

Khaji isn't treated as a character

This was my disappointment with the movie.

Blue Beetle should have been more of a plural story, but Khaji is hardly ever treated as a character by the narrative or the other characters.

Yes, Khaji gets some funny lines here and there, ("Host overreacting" being a favorite of mine) but doesn't seem to have any real motivation, interests or really anything going for it.

And what's worse... there's not even a REAL CONVERSATION between Jaime and Khaji. Even when they really should be discussing things.

Like...

The Rooftop Scene

At one point, the bad guys have found Jaime's family. Jaime tried to activate his powers. They don't work. What's a Beetle to do?

Well, Jaime decided that since the Scarab will try to protect him, the best bet will be to JUMP OFF THE ROOF!

And while this is sorta well-reasoned, I found myself internally screaming this entire to time to just ask it to change.

Like, Khaji can talk. They literally said in the scene right before that Khaji was sentient.

And while jumping off the roof made for a dramatic scene, it eliminated what could have been a great moment with Jaime explaining the importance of his family and his need to protect them to Khaji.

It forced Khaji to help, when Kahji may have been perfectly willing to help if Jaime just talked to it, instead of trying to make Kahji to do what he wanted.

And you might wonder, does Khaji get offended at Jaime risking his life to force Khaji into doing what he wants? I wonder that too, because this moment is never mentioned again in the movie.

For a film so much about family, Khaji is never part of that

Blue Beetle is a movie centered around family.

It's about Jaime's relationship with his family who is very close, almost suffocating but in a good way. Jaime is driven to protect and fight for his family at every turn, and his family will do anything to protect him.

This is contrasted with the Kord family which is dysfunctional and broken, and Carapax who lost his family and sees familial love as a weakness.

These themes are intricately woven into the narrative.

So it is so disappointing how utterly divorced from that theme Khaji-Da ended up.

There is a great story to be told about this extraterrestrial machine that crashes to Earth, never having a family of its own or a concept of what family means, only to be bonded to Jaime and go from being treated as something to be gotten rid of to be welcomed as another member of Jaime's family.

That would be really cool. And they seemed willing to tell a similar story with Jenny Kord, being brought into the family group hug after everything was over.

But Khaji is treated less like a valued member of the family and more like an accessory. And even when Jaime fully bonds with Khaji, it's not about agreeing to integrate and share a mind so much as it's accepting his heroic destiny.

This feels like a huge missed opportunity for the type of story they were telling, and a betrayal of that story's central themes.

Jaime's Mother Addressing Khaji

This is the one exception where a character who wasn't Jaime actually treated Khaji as a person.

She first asks what Khaji's name was. Then says...

I know you can hear me, Khaji-Da. I want you both to get it together. Find your strength, mijito. Use the pain we’re feeling and turn it into power. I want you to go back in there… And kick their asses!

I love this so much. I love the mother's character for thinking to acknowledge Khaji as its own person and talk to it directly, giving her pep talk to both of them at once.

It's a fantastic scene. An incredible moment.

But it's also still treating Khaji as a weapon. The one and only time a character who isn't Jaime talks to Khaji, it's telling Khaji to go fight people.

I'm glad to have gotten this. But I feel they could have done so much more.

Khaji's feelings are never explored

We're told that the Scarab is a planet-destroying super weapon. How does Khaji feel about that?

We don't know. It never comes up.

Does Khaji have memories of worlds it's destroyed?

Does it know why it was created or who created it?

If it doesn't know those things, does the lack of awareness scare it?

Can it feel fear, and if Jaime asked if it was scared, would it understand the emotion?

The fact that these things weren't explored at all leaves me with one important and sad conclusion.

The writers weren't interested in writing a plural character

Blue Beetle's plurality is an afterthought.

The Scarab was sentient and Blue Beetle would use "we" pronouns occasionally because Khaji is sentient in the comics. But the relationship between the two wasn't a priority of the writers.

And in my opinion, the film suffered for it. Not just from a plural perspective but from a writing perspective. The film would have been so much better had Khaji been treated more like a character rather than just a weapon and plot device.

Khaji stopping Jaime from killing needed more build-up, and Khaji needed and deserved to be better integrated with the story's central themes of family.

Conclusion

All in all, I feel that Blue Beetle was a good movie. But I also feel its treatment of Khaji held it back from being a great movie.

I hope I don't come off as too hard on this particular movie. There's a lot of media that, when less explicitly plural, I might be more forgiving of. I once wrote a whole post about why I thought Kronk was plural based on his angel and demon Kronks who never get any sort of character arcs. But those aren't intended to be sentient people by the writers. Instead, they're plural by happenstance, simply by being more developed than other shoulder angels and demons in cartoons.

Meanwhile, Khaji Da is supposed to be a full character, I went in expecting a lot, and I feel Khaji just didn't live up to its potential in this movie.

I look forward to seeing what DC does with the character in the future, and if Khaji can get more development.

And I'm sad that, given the box office, it's probably not going to get a sequel of its own. I'm sure the planned Reach story would have given Khaji some much needed character development.

For more of me rambling about the plurality of DC superheroes, see: The Plurality of... Batman (Failsafe).

[bloomeng]

I don’t normally share personal projects here but I'm happy with the art so why not. Anyway these are some character concepts for a game pitch assignment I've been working on. It's still very much in its infancy but the idea is a dating sim/visual novel-style game based around the concept of a support group for the henchmen of supervillains, called "Henchman Anonymous."

You-- the player-- are the familiar to Carmilla de Villeneuve, the Vampire Princess (pictured left). No, she isn't royalty. Yes, you're pretty sure she stole her name from popular vampire media. But yes, she's actually a vampire, a vampire supervillain more specifically, and a very mediocre one at that. After years of thankless work executing her extravagantly stupid schemes (that might also just be a wee bit genius) and styling her finger waves you've about had it. That's what Henchman Anonymous is for, breaking up with your abusive boss! Only one issue you might sort of actually be a bit in love with her... Perhaps what you need is a little help getting over her.

As of right now I only have two main routes planned.

Route #1: Amélie is one of Ring Master's many henchmen and she is also her daughter. Let's just say crime runs in the family, as in they're literally a crime family. Amélie is the fourth eldest of eight, meaning her smack dab in the middle and often overlooked. Between the size of her family and her mother's controlling tendencies, Amélie feels more than a little stifled. She hopes that Henchmen Anonymous will help her break free and lead a normal life. It's too bad her boss just happens to be your boss' villain rival— not that Ring Master knows that.

Route #2: Dorian is a man of mystery, well it's more accurate to say he's a stubborn jerk who refuses to share anything, despite being in a support group. You swear he looks familiar though. Little do you know the reason Dorian won't talk is because he's not-so-secretly the sidekick to the Ebony Knight-- your city's resident vigilante-- who's undercover trying to get insider information on supervillains so that maybe his boss will fully take him under his wing. Unfortunately for you, the reason he looks so familiar is that the Ebony Knight might just be Carmilla's nemesis and absolute obsession. (Lego Batman and Lego Joker vibes)

Main Route:

Ideally, I would like to have a non-romance-based route for those who want to explore the plots of both stories. This route would allow players to learn about both Amélie and Dorian's connections to Carmilla and allow you to befriend them. There are also a couple secondary non-romanceable characters that I haven't mentioned because I don't have concepts drawn up for them that would get more emphasis. I haven't decided if it would be something activated by not scoring high enough with either of the romanceable characters or if it's something I would let players choose.

Secret Route:

In my head, I'm calling this the "I can fix her" route, because that's basically what it is. It would focus on getting to know Carmilla. In all versions of the story, there would ideally be a plot about learning to set boundaries with Carmilla, but this secret route would basically allow you to then romance her. Unlike the other routes, Carmilla wouldn't be something you could choose, you'd have to earn it through the main route.

Notes on the designs:

Carmilla died in the 50's and is old Hollywood-inspired, specifically Marilyn Monroe who I used as a clothing reference. Overall I wanted this whole series to read very campy and lean into tropes, so I tried to also capture as many vampire motifs as I could. While she loves to look glamorous she's actually not all that good at styling herself. I sort of based her on the wwdits vampire logic of them being dated but not completely tied down to whatever century they died in. Committing to the aesthetic is the most important factor.

Amélie is based on court jesters and is absolutely supposed to be a Harley Quinn knockoff. I mixed several eras for her clothing. Court jesters are associated mostly with being medieval so I pulled some references there with the headdress, which I heavily stylized to look like devil horns. The ribbons are a call back to the veils women used to wear. The collar and sleeves are more Elizabethan, while the stays are based on 18th century fashion. (I've been drawing too much ofmd fanart my bad everypony) Don't ask me where the chemise is, maybe it's cropped. For the bottom half I referenced DC comics silhouettes. It might also be worth mentioning that I was listening to Chappell Roan while drawing her initial designs, so that really carried over in the make-up, but I swear she was always going to be a redhead!

Dorian's outfit I have to be so real about, I'm not super satisfied with. I wanted to do a more modern, street-wear look. The best way to describe the vibe I wanted to go for is "if DC's Nightwing were to try to style Marvel's Prowler." I wanted this sort of uptight, hyper-serious sidekick to dress like what he thought villains dressed like. So I opted to put him in stereotypical "bad boy" clothing; leather jacket, studded belts, fingerless gloves. I looked at a lot of Shadow the Hedgehog gijinka fanart. I don't hate what I came up with, but I definitely want to push the design more next time, really amp up the emo, bad boy-ness of it all. 

some notes on the design of the game:

Because I'm still very early on in the hypothetical process I don't have backgrounds or specific graphic design elements selected. However, my initial idea would be to use the classic comic book style font with the text bar emulating speech bubbles-- well, closer to the bubbles they use for inner dialogue or establishing shots. I want to play up that comic book vibe.

And for funsies here’s a facial sprite in action:

(ingore her lack of feet it's a sprite draft)

[emperorhyperi0n]

How Did We Get Here: Keiwa

*long exasperated sigh.mp4*

So since everyone seems to be taking part in the Keiwa Morality argument. Here's my two cents, dismiss it if you want.

Like. Look. Keiwa teaming up with the DGP to exploit Tsumuri's powers is clearly a crossing of the Moral Event Horizon. That's clear, and I don't think we can dispute that. What I'm having a hard time dealing with is that most people seem to be lacking an understanding of the "why" of his plan (rather than just going to Ace in the first place) and going straight to "the writers are bad/sabotaging his character/doing all of this for no reason" argument.

So: why is Keiwa doing his plan (which is roughly "vengeance, stop for brunch/kidnapping, and then reset the world to accomplish my original goal in the first place") in this way?

See, the thing y'all haven't noticed is that, number one, Ace and Tsumuri literally cannot just fix this themselves. It's been assumed by some that because of their godly powers, the two can just fix the problem instantly by bringing Sara back. But judging by the things we've seen in the show, there are way too many holes with this idea. Remember, Ace and Tsumuri have (somewhat) limits; Ace himself lamented that he couldn't do more with his power outside of giving everyone their DGP memories back, and that was with Geats MK9, and Tsumuri just learned that she has goddess powers like. a week ago? Unless she's been training, that kind of power has been shown to very rarely activate on its own volition, instead occurring under extreme stress. While using the power itself is reliable, the two people connected to it are not.

Speaking of: Keiwa's relationship with Ace is, naturally, strained at this point. There's the opinion that because of PunkJack's Wacky Woohoo Expository Conference back in Episode 37, that Keiwa was supposed to just. magically let go of his grudge for the Goddess and be on Ace's side again. And that's kinda weird??? I'm not going to go into it (this post is long enough), but one press conference that implies that "because Ace was born, the Goddess ain't evil and is being used", without providing a concrete thing of "oh hey, she's not doing this of her own free will", really doesn't resolve things for Keiwa's low opinion of... pretty much everything at this point. And with Ace being, as usual, pretty mum about the situation, Keiwa still holding onto the grudge, especially now that Ace appears to have taken her place, and having pretty much lost everything at this point it's not entirely hard to see why he's lost faith in him.

Which makes it so that his "best option" (which is really not that but Keiwa doesn't know that) is to team up with the DGP. He clearly doesn't want to considering all the bullshit they've put him through, but he's still locked in the opinion that the wish that the DGP grants is the only way to accomplish his goals, which is a point that also wasn't resolved during the previous arc, leading to how we got to this point. So, using Tsumuri's power, with a deal from the DGP, in order to revive everything after his Vengeance Tour 2K23, is hypothetically his best shot. Is this a good way to process grief? Hell no! But as long as this path is open, and that the dueling opinions of "Ace can't help me rn, so I have to do it myself" and "the goddess still needs to pay for her sins (<- doesn't know about the whole "trapped as a statue thing)" still exist, he'll still try and do it. As long as his sister is safe, regardless of the consequences.

Lastly, going into this Keiwa doesn't have a healthy mentality. At all. Keiwa was one corn chip away from having a breakdown several times before this, and losing his only family to the same fucking guy that killed him... yeah, he's very far from mentally stable at the moment. With Kekera egging his misery on from the sidelines, like, my guy has snapped, and making impulsive, selfish, not very well thought out (remember, he's teamed up with the DGP) decisions with the "best" intentions is very in-character for him, whether we all like it or not. All of the things I've said beforehand are, in Keiwa's really fucked up mental state, valid reasons to do this.

And you know what? Probably not valid! He needs to go to therapy, or something. But he can't (and not only because describing the DGP would make you sound insane), and he won't, so he's Lazer Focused on this instead.

It's... honestly kind of depressing when you think about it. But those are my thoughts on the matter. At the very least, it looks like his wish will result in a monkey's paw effect... and maybe that will snap him out of it. Maybe then he'll just finally talk to Ace and the others, and clear up the sheer amount of miscommunication at the bottom of the issue.

...we have at least 8 episodes left though. So I might not count on it though.

[bookish-bogwitch]

Trope Grading Game aka Grope Trading Game

Thanks for the tags @artsyunderstudy, @you-remind-me-of-the-babe, and @aristocratic-otter! This seems like a lot of fun.

@ileadacharmedlife @moodandmist @facewithoutheart @skee3000 @ivelovedhimthroughworse @cutestkilla @thewholelemon @raenestee, and everyone whose fic is mentioned below and everyone reading this, consider yourself tagged if you haven't gone!

Rules: How much do these tropes affect your decision to click on a fic?

-10 -> very dissuaded

0 - don’t care either way

+10 -> very enticed

nope -> if it’s a hard no and you’d never click on a fic with that tag or or you even have the tag blocked or you’d insta click out of the fic if it wasn’t tagged

Bonus points for explaining the rating and whether it’s conditional.

Age gap: -2

Not into it at all for younger characters, but I don't mind for older ones. I haven't read a lot of couples with bigger age gaps but I wouldn't rule out enjoying it in the right context--though I can't see being into it for the sake of the trope itself. (I love you for you, Malcolm Grimm.) Codependency: Interdependency: +7

The template asks about codependency but I finally looked up what codependency means and it's about an uneven relationship where a partner, friend, or family member subsumes their own needs in the course of accommodating / enabling another person's destructive behavior. Is that anyone's jam? There's a reason Rainbow skipped the 12 months between the CO epilogue and the start of WS...

But if we're talking interdependency, then I'm super into it. Octavia Butler was right: "dependency is sexy if it's chosen and not coercive. Symbiosis is a kind of dependency. A dependency of equals is best." Snowbaz symbolizes this with the whole hot/cold body temp thing, which is #sharingabedgoals, and there's lots of great fic in this fandom exploring it, my all-time fave being @fatalfangirl's stunning Bound and Determined.

Obsession/Possessiveness, jealousy: +2

Obsession, sure, sign me up. What is Simon at all those football practices if not obsession?

And I can get behind jealousy as a device for revealing the depth of otherwise hidden or even denied feelings. But active, power-and-control-wheel possessiveness? Gross.

Opposites (grumpy/sunshine etc): +5

Yeah! I love watching the grump's walls come down. But with the caveat that the sunshine can't be a one-dimensional, manic pixie dream character, because the that's just boring and I don't care about them.

Enemies to lovers, Enemies with benefits: +5

What snowbaz fan isn't into this? But a key element for me is that there has to be some reason behind the initial enemies dynamic besides one or both of them just being an asshole. Maybe they think that's what's up at first and then learn otherwise, but if their enemy status is based on something real, like they genuinely hate each other based on accurate knowledge about each other, I find it implausible and probably also difficult to like one or both of them.

That's part of why Snowbaz works for me: Baz and Simon's enemy status was imposed on them by a fucked up political system and abusive caretakers. Left to their own devices they'd probably never have been enemies. The reason for their animosity is not the core of who they are.

Friends with benefits: +2

Ehhh is it benefits to full on love? I don't really connect with allo perspectives on sexual relationships, like I get them intellectually but I don't jive with them on an emotional level, so there has to be that emotional draw for me, that underlying romance. I mean tho, @fatalfangirl stacy is writing an excellent fic on this premise right now that I absolutely love because there are clearly feelings involved. But it also might fall more into the realm of the next trope on this list ... which is ...

What Ashton said 😂 also props to fandom for teaching me that I am demisexual, and that this is not a default mode of existence.

Sex to feelings: +100000000

It's the fucking BEST. You get to read all the smut and then the climax ISN'T "and then we did it," it's "and then we were emotionally intimate." You get to be horny and a sap.

I also think this trope inherently pushes writers' creativity because the relationship's progression can't follow standard mainstream romance beats. And the sex scenes usually have narrative significance by showing how the relationship is changing, which produces great writing.

Fake dating/relationship: +5

Yes, especially if there's lots of pining along the way! @captain-aralias's Unintended is a great example.

Friends to lovers: +3

I wouldn't say I seek this out specifically but there are so many great fics with this tag. Here are a few (but not all) of my favorites: I'd Gladly Eat You for Breakfast by @whogaveyoupermission What Remains After the Storm by @hushed-chorus Sixty Seconds by @artsyunderstudy Petrichor by @martsonmars And again Unintended by @captain-aralias

Found Family: +1

It's fine? I love moving proofs of love and affection outside of romance, but whether it's in something that fits the label "found family" or not is important to me.

Hurt/Comfort: +10

PUT IT DIRECTLY. INTO MY MOUTH. I am a fucking sap for hurt/comfort. It gives me the swoops. There is fucking nothing I like better than lovers (or almost lovers) comforting each other and taking care of each other, emotionally, physically, spiritually, whatever. It's sexy to me. It affects me deeply.

#WhatAshtonSaid. I literally have a WIP going where someone says "who did this to you??" just because I love it so much. I'm pretty sure Nightmares and Excuses was the first fic that made me cry. (It's not hard to do.)

Love Triangle: -8

Not my thing if there's genuine heartbreak / unrequited love floating around. That just bums me out. I get a kick out of the Agatha-Simon-Baz's confusion in CO, but only Penny thinks that's actually a love triangle. I think the only book I've ever loved with a "real" love triangle is Emma and even [SPOILER FOR 208-YEAR-OLD-BOOK] Harriet's not actually in love with Mr. Knightley, she just thinks she is.

Poly, open relationships: -4

Only if it's porn without plot and even then it's pretty rare that I'm into it. I'm not usually interested in sex scenes without a romantic/love element (even if that element is deeply repressed) and am personally very monogamous and have a hard time connecting with poly relationship themes. Which obviously does not mean that poly =/= emotional or romantic connection, not at all, it's just a tough one to wrap my head around.

@skee3000 nailed this for me in Minos, by having Simon and Baz connect with each other even as they have three-way with Mr. Minos, but now I'm conflating a threesome with poly/open relationships. Go read it anyway.

Mistaken/hidden identity: +2

Not sure I can think of a Snowbaz fic that focuses on this, although I'm sure there are some. I do like it when characters meet for the first time and are drawn to each other, only to learn that each other's larger identities make that complicated. And the trust issues that brings up. There are a couple of KJ Charles novels that deal with this really beautifully.

Monsterfucking: +5

I really love when monsterfucking is used as a way to celebrate difference and work through a character's feelings about their own body or its changes. This fandom does a great job with that. Otherwise I'm not drawn to any particular monsters for their monstery sake (but see: Minos's horns).

Pregnancy: -2

+8 for mpreg, -10 for other pregnancy.

I stalled out for two weeks on this post, wondering how to explain this without getting darker and more personal than I'd like. And then realized I don't have to explain 😃.

Second Chance: +7

Love it! I don't always have the heart to read the actual breakup, or falling out, or lost opportunity etc., but I love fics where that has already happened and we're seeing them put themselves back together. Some examples, that may or may not have this tag but definitely have this theme:

What's Left by @cutestkilla This Will All Go Down in Flames by @facewithoutheart There's Be Peace When You Are Done by somekindofpath Once More, with Feeling by fox_pitch

And probably countless others I'm forgetting.

Slowburn: +10

Yeah! I know I said I love sex before feelings but I love this too. (And I think they can be successfully combined into slow-feelings-burn.) There's nothing like a satisfying, well-earned payoff. I also admire well-executed slowburns because whenever I write a get-together fic I have to actively resist mashing their faces together in the first 100 words.

Soulmates: -1

In theory I don't love these. The red string, etc. It can just feel played out, and also the emotional logic of it is kind of alienating. I have a hard time putting my head into a world where people have these predestined connections and are trying to find each other because it's just so not how I see relationships. BUT when an author critically and playfully messes with the trope, it can be lots of fun. All This Soulmate Shit by half_witch mashes up a dozen different soulmate tropes to make something that's brilliant, funny, sexy, and feels like they are actively choosing each other rather than obeying destiny. I also adore Bound and Determined by @fatalfangirl for how it plays with the idea of free will and consent, which feel like soulmate-related theme. But it's probably not a coincidence that this fic doesn't have the "soulmates" tag.

That's a lot of me me me and what I think. What do YOU think, friends?

[multeasers]

“plots please” (@ Estellise!!)

⤏ send me “plots please”

… and I’ll respond with  3  (or more)  interesting  plots / relationships / connections  I can think of for our muses!   There is  no pressure  for us to write any of them,   but it’s a great starting point for you to get a sense of how I think our muses might interact and what sorts of plots I’m most interested in happening between them  -so don’t be shy! ◾ for multimuse blogs make sure to specify who you’re looking to plot with

zag won't lie, he does adore estelle

first and foremost, the connection / relationship i want the most for estelle is friends ! also, no matter the verse, she's still relatively new to learning about the world around her, and that includes everyone in it, so friendships are such an interesting territory for her to be in, izo* ? of course, i promise you that she is just as interested in people for who they themselves are, just as much as she is interested in them for being so different from herself !

also, i think something of a fantasy modern verse ( on estelle's end ) would work well with a couple of nova's verses ? not that i'm not down for a crossover, but trying to mold her canonical abilities to one that could better mesh with another is never off the table, either ( especially because the mentions of nova's abilities in your book verse have intrigued me ) ! it's fun to brainstorm :0 though a no-powers modern verse, too, would be fun !! university student estelle has been my bread and butter to think about for a little while now hehe

i kinda can't think up a Specific Plot because she's 1) still a relatively newer muse, and 2) we just started following each other and i'm still learning about who you and nova are ( i don't mean this meanly ; also i just don't know Anything about any of the series nova has verses for that got mentioned in the google doc, either 😭😭 ), so lemme just harp on another potential connection / relationship : found family . i'm not talking the nuclear family unit or anything like that, just something different than pure friendship ! being that estelle's only living family member within the game is her cousin, ioder ( who was also pit against her in the two sides battling for the throne, even though the two of them did not have any active animosity for each other themselves ), this is just one of those things that she's looking for without actively realizing that she is . while i haven't been able to reliably find good translations for any of the tov light novels, what i have seen, and do actively use as a portrayal with her, is that estelle didn't have her immediate family with her for very long, so this is a big reason as to why it's a connection i'd like to see her form in some way

[songs-in-nature]

>>>>> INTERVIEW WITH THE MUSE

REPOST and interview the muse. let them answer instead of answering for them. be as creative as you want to be. tag people whose muses you'd like to get to know better like that once you're finished.

What is your full name?

"Rahim F. Allard."

Where and when were you born?

"Ha, joke's on you, I wasn't!"

Do you have any siblings?

"Not blood related, but I have a friend I consider my brother."

Where do you live now, and with whom? Describe the place and the person/people.

"Most of the time I live with my Ma in the treehouse. Not like any treehouse you've ever seen, but it's awesome! The rest of the time I wander around, or sleep in my underwater hangout."

What is your occupation?

"Don't have one, but I would be a kickass fisherman. Or lifeguard. Or stripper!"

To which social class do you belong?

"I don't know what that means. Are you asking if I'm poor? Then yes."

Are you right- or left-handed?

"Right handed, mostly. But I can be pretty- what's the word? Am... ambidextrous! Depending on what I'm doing."

What does your voice sound like?

"Melodious~"

How would you describe your childhood in general?

"Like no other."

What is your earliest memory?

"A rainy day in the treehouse."

How much schooling have you had?

"Next to none. I can read and stuff, but I'm not the best at it."

Did you enjoy school?

"Eh."

Where did you learn most of your skills and other abilities?

"Half is from my mom, half is general life experience."

While growing up, did you have any role models? If so, describe them.

"Ma. Because she's basically perfect. You'll never meet a more helpful, sweet, great person."

While growing up, how did you get along with the other members of your family?

"Great! It was just me and Ma, and I'm always on my best behavior for her."

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

"Still alive."

As a child, what were your favorite activities?

"Swimming! Exploring. Climbing trees. Playing games. Normal stuff, I guess."

As a child, what kinds of personality traits did you display?

"Cuteness."

When and with whom was your first kiss?

"My childhood friend, a forest sprite. I heard about new years kisses and there you go."

Are you a virgin? If not, when and with whom did you lose your virginity?

"Nope! It was years ago. I don't know if I got her name? Met in a bar, wanted to learn some things. It was fun."

What do you consider the most important event of your life so far?

"My adulthood evening out."

What is your greatest regret?

"Eh, I don't know. I've done stupid stuff, but nothing that's come back to bite me in the ass too bad yet."

What is the most evil thing you have ever done?

"Evil? I got in a fight with a demon guy who really hated my guts for some reason. Does that count?"

Do you have a criminal record of any kind?

"No record. Doesn't mean I'm innocent."

When was the time you were the most frightened?

"Growing up, thought I would die quick. Glad that didn't happen!"

What is the most embarrassing thing ever to happen to you?

"Most embarrassing... I've gotten caught in a fishing net before. Got out before they reeled it in, still embarrassing."

If you could change one thing from your past, what would it be, and why?

"Probably avoided some past 'relationships' if I had the chance. not all the connections I made were good..."

Are you basically optimistic or pessimistic?

"Somewhere in the middle? I'm not sure."

What is your greatest fear?

"Something happening to my mom. People leaving me."

What are your religious views?

"Never thought about it."

What are your political views?

"Ha! Like I would care about that shit. Doesn't effect me any!"

What are your views on sex?

"Fun~"

Are you able to kill?

"Sure. Give me a good reason, I could rip your throat out."

Do you believe in the existence of soul mates and/or true love?

"...It's a nice idea."

How honest are you about your thoughts and feelings (i.e. do you hide your true self from others, and in what way)?

"Who's asking?"

Is there anything you absolutely refuse to do under any circumstances?

"Uh... Disrespect my mom."

Who or what, if anything, would you die for?

"My Ma. I'd throw myself on a grenade for her."

[f3r4lfr0gg3r]

just right [goldilocks general headcanons] 🐻🍯

(art cred to Zac Retz)

cw; some angst but that's about it :^

author's note; Sorry this took so long! 🙇‍♀️ ty to those who waited

General

From what can be seen in the movie, I definitely perceive Goldi as someone who doesn't have much sense of belonging as an orphan and in a family of literal bears and actively searching for a connection with someone she can highly relate with. She's seemed to yearn for normalcy for years and part of me thinks a small part of her is insecure, comparing her life to the stories of what "just right" or "happily ever after" seems to be.

As the perfectionist I interpret her as, it would be reasonable for her to reach out to these conventional standards for families as the right way to do things– in the process ignoring what she had right in front of her. Despite the amount of conventional social norms in fantasy she breaks just being herself, I assumed she clinged onto the family ideal as a way of coping as an orphaned child.

Dreaming of the perfect family, and this feeling of everything being just right all the time…when in reality families aren't truly like at all. I think that's what she learned in the film's ending. But anyways enough analysis of Goldi and her behaviors– onto the headcanons!

- She refuses to let anyone touch her hair but herself and sometimes Mama Bear due to trust issues.

- Continuing on the topic of hair, with the amount of curls on her head it knots up easily. Every night she has to brush out curls that are tangled together.

- She styles her hair primarily out of convenience because her hair gets too wild when it's down and makes it hard to see or do things (part of me thinks her current hairdo is a product of her having too much hair to put into two buns and improvising)

- Very acrobatic as can be seen in the scene of her climbing on the bears

- Many kids were scared of Goldi when she was younger because she tended to get into fights and played rough (always been a biter)

- Goldi just seems like a picky eater to me, very particular about what she eats

- With her need for things to be "just right", Goldi is a definite perfectionist when it comes to many things as I've mentioned above in my analysis

- She has a habit of not asking for help when it's needed (Probably due to her having to become pretty independent from a young age)

- I believe she already had a bit of a criminal record and was a street urchin before meeting the bears, so I bet she's a pro at pickpocketing by now

- Smells like grass and honey with a hint of bear, which is surprisingly comforting

- Has a habit of correcting people when they speak about her interests (totally not projecting )

- Likes messiness but in an organized way if that makes sense-

- A very stubborn person!!!!

- Goldi loves fantasy stories, has a stash of them in her room (her taste changed a bit as she got older though so while I believe she's still a sucker for fairytales, she also likes a good novel on pirate adventures at the moment)

- When playing games she can be both a sore loser and winner 💀

- Let's be honest, Goldi is competitive...to a really high degree. She can make anything into a competition-

- Concerningly good hearing, the type of person who'll hear you whisper something across the room

- Secretly pretty good at drawing, but Goldi never talks about it because she never thinks her drawings are good enough to her ridiculous standards

- idk why but I feel like she'd really like sea shanties and idk why (pirate obsessed goldi???)

- Really protective of the bears, especially Baby– just those older sister instincts ifykyk

- Why do I feel like she'd just be a big fan of apple flavored stuff-

- I get sapphic vibes from her idc what anyone says! (I'm writing gn reader for her but still >:D)

- Along with that I feel like if Goldi truly found someone she thought of as cool she'd try to play it cool but stumble over her words the second they compliment her (gay panic for the winnn)

- Seems like the type to unknowingly ramble about stuff she's passionate about (those people>>>>>)

- Tries her best to hide vulnerability as she's someone who sorta views vulnerability as weakness when it comes to herself

- From their interactions, it's safe to say Goldi's closest to Mama Bear

- Part of me thinks Goldi tried for years to imitate the bears when she was younger, trying to be one of them so they could be somewhat of a "real family"' (But when it wasn't working out the way she hoped, Goldi just began wishing for a human family– maybe even her biological parents)

- Very well read, and knows alot of fun facts despite keeping it to herself

- She's really good at climbing trees and hunting, looking at where the bears live it's safe to assume they live off the land around them

- Never has her hair down around other people (it's embarrassing in her as bc it's so messy)

- A horrible singer but knows it, and loves to sing because of how much it annoys others around her (finds it funny)

- That walking stick she has, I think it may have been a gift from Papa Bear (he just has the vibe of someone who widdles/carves things idk why)

- Goldi definitely tried archery before (kinda gives me Merida from Brave vibes so...yeah)

- Stronger than she looks, I don't care what you say Goldi has some muscle to her

- Forgets her own strength occasionally and accidentally broke a few things because of it

- I feel like she makes her own clothes, they just seem handmade

- Very random, but Goldi does parkour, urban climbing, or both

- Goldi's favorite color is definitely always changing around, one day it's orange and then another day it's purple– just seems like the type of gal to appreciate vibrant colors

- Definitely has loads of random shiny trinkets she's stolen in a box

- As an older sister, I definitely know that Goldi and the family are the only ones allowed to insult Baby, as that's how they show love- if anyone else did it they're asking for a fight

- She's not touchy in a conventional way, instead opting to playful wrestling and things of the such to show physical affection at first (lowkey a softie for hugs in secret tho)

- Not the best at opening herself up, Goldi always seems to be a bit guarded so it definitely takes her quite a while to warm up to people

- Winter is her least favorite season because that's hibernation time, aka the time where she feels the most alone

- Because despite how much of a front she puts up sometimes, she loves her family with her entire heart and is highly affected by the sudden quietness that fills their home

made by @f3r4lfr0gg3r with the help of @saplingofspunk, go follow her for togachako content! Thanks you bestie for helping me with this <3

Taglist: @zenmieisaa

[dimiclaudeblaigan]

okay hear me out tho i'm gonna tell u this is sad and why

your bond with someone goes deeper than family? family is, unless something is really wrong between family members, supposed to be one of the instinctually strongest bonds humans have (like why mama bears are a thing lol - even to their unborn children! by default, they love their child even if said child isn't even out of the womb yet! also why toxic family relationships are so complicated, because "it's still my [family member]"). like, by default, there's a bond (usually between immediate family members, i.e. extended family is not necessarily by default depending on interaction and frequency of interacting).

that can change, but things have to happen for it to change. there have to be actions involved to put a strain on that relationship. someone has to do something to lessen the bond or to sever it entirely (i.e. if someone has a bad relationship with their family, it's almost always due to issues that popped up throughout their lives).

from what we know about claude's family, uhhhh... you know, yeah, i'd say his relationship to his entire family is pretty shitty. aside from having siblings who were making active assassination attempts on him when he was a child, his parents sure as shit didn't care enough to make him feel loved or to even bother really trying to protect him. they basically left him to fend for himself when he was "old enough" because he needed to know how to watch his own back, yadda yadda... but for a child they don't need to be learning how to survive that shit alone.

if he was nearly killed, his parents should have hugged him and cried out of fear and worry, but he was left to patch himself up and get back up. children shouldn't have to go through that (unless it's a special circumstance like their parents are dead/captive/missing/etc). claude thinks his bond with someone he just met basically a year ago is more important than family he's known his entire life.

also, just saying "now that we know each other" isn't a very high standard. you can know someone and still not truly be connected, but he's been so starved for bonds his entire life that just generally knowing a person feels more meaningful to him. that's not to discount the bond he's feeling, but that the way he phrases it makes it comes across as this is the best he's ever had. mind you, at this point byleth has mainly just been a teacher to him. there wasn't all that much bonding - especially where claude was concerned, because he didn't really open up to byleth for most of that year.

generally speaking i do dislike the way byleth is propped up so damn hard in vw at claude's constant expense, and i think this may have been one example among many, but i do also think it's a case of byleth just generally treating him better than what he's known. even when he came to fodlan, he wasn't trusted among the nobility and was still kind of on his own. he used byleth, disregarded byleth's feelings, and wasn't open about himself in any way with byleth for the majority of the year.

like, that's all it takes for his heart to be connected to someone? knowing someone for a year or so who doesn't want to kill him and is generally kind to him?

i know claude's upbringing as per his relationship with his parents (affection wise) wasn't as god awful as shinon fire emblem "my mother never hugged me" my love, but they definitely went well beyond "tough love" and it shows. :'(

a bond with someone can certainly be more than family, but most times if someone is on good terms with family, they would treat those relationships equally, i.e. not putting the friendship ahead of the family. that kind of things means someone has reason to not see them equally and that the family has done something (or they have done something, but in claude's case it's the family who did something) to make them feel trust toward someone else more.

the fact that claude's parents not only didn't give him enough love but actively did things to him (or supported it by not stopping it - yeah looking at you Tiana) probably really did put cracks in his trust and feelings with his family. like, with the information we have about his parents, i don't even know if they'd be sad if he was killed.

would they feel insulted that someone took the life of royalty? probably, yeah... but i don't know that they'd feel all that sad about it, regardless of what uwu three hopes wants us to think about claude being the favorite child, because if he is then that means the king is absolute trash to all his children. if that's how he treats his favorite child? like forget it, no wonder shahid grew up to be a pile of stinky horse dung.

posting this in 2023. still angry claude hasn't been properly hugged. vicious and feral that little baby boy claude was suffering and not getting hugs and snuggies and crawling around in blankets.

ima be honest with you, i don't really even remember his grandfather doing much of anything for him/with him/showing particular care and/or love toward him and his grandfather was still better to him than anyone else in his entire blood family.

[sovonight]

Thoughts on vanilla BG2 companions?

these are pretty surface level, but thoughts nonetheless!

edwin: i've never actually traveled with edwin, i can never really justify taking 2 dedicated wizards and my limit is one mean person per party (that slot is usually taken by viconia). i can see his selling point though so i've been meaning to take him along

imoen: i feel the need to bring her along for story reasons but if i'm honest i don't see the need for a thief/mage, especially if i have aerie :'I also the way that they established a canon dynamic for imoen & charname in the bg2 intro always rubbed me the wrong way. in my head imoen regularly skipped class and still got top marks, and radri attended class dutifully and just isn't as good sefjkfsen. like--imoen's a scamp! she's a trickster! what do you mean she was content to sit in lessons listening to stuffy tutors all day?? she always struck me as someone who's kind of effortlessly, deceptively smart and learns on her own schedule

jaheira: i also feel the need to bring her along for story reasons loL but unlike imoen i genuinely like having her. she's obviously dealing with a lot in bg2 but i find her attitude refreshing & am touched that she'll defend charname against the harpers :')

minsc: he's always on thin ice with me, he's just too loud lmAO but i keep him anyway until someone better comes along. when the missing boo quest started (the one added by unfinished business, i think?) i very nearly sighed and ejected him because i didn't want to use my brain on the clues, but at the last minute i found a walkthrough that spelled it all out for me, so. he's still in the party. sigh.

viconia: i don't know what it is about her but i like her T_T i also think radri sees kind of a connection with her & gives her plenty of chances because of it, even though radri barely survives talking to her. i don't think anyone else actively likes her in the party configurations i choose though so i do feel a bit bad whenever i bring her along

aerie: i was a little over her at the beginning but now i think she's cute! seeing her make all those missteps around jaheira really made me feel for her. i like viconia and anomen equally as much as her though, so i've never dedicated myself to traveling with her for extended periods of time

anomen: if xan didn't exist i'd be interested to delve into what his whole deal is. i think he has an interesting personal quest with interesting outcomes, though i think the decision making on the player's side could've been more subtle

cernd: i… never spent time on him… in my current paused playthrough i didn't even take him temporarily to do that whole animal trouble quest, purely because it's just a hassle to move equipment around to dismiss people. and maybe i've just let my dao experience color my impressions but i've always been a little underwhelmed by shapeshifting

haer'dalis: i don't remember anything about this guy either lmAO i'm sorry but i'm immune to tieflings and bards and i'm not into theater

jan jansen: i can see why people like to bring him along, but i'm already playing a thief, imoen is already a thief/mage, i can't justify the thief oversaturation. pass. also his other thing is he's talkative, right? i unfortunately already have a guy dedicated to talking my ear off

keldorn: i always recruit this guy, and i'm always sad when i have to let him go to reconnect with his family ;_; but it's the right thing to do

korgan: i'm sorryyyy i can't tolerate chaotic evil in my party. pass

mazzy: i've never taken her, but i should! honestly i should swap minsc out for her

nalia: i've never been interested in taking her because, once again, thief/mage. oversaturated. pass

valygar: the last time i traveled with this guy was back in 2014, and i remember nothing about him?? i should bring him along again

yoshimo: thief, oversaturated, pass. i would say something about his "betrayal" but i'm not there yet in my current playthrough and don't remember anything about it from 2014. i'm sorry yoshimo... i must've found you so inconsequential

bonus, sarevok: ok i said no chaotic evil but he's the exception. i can fix him

[lulubui]

Miraculous Viet Nam: The final sage warrior

Miraculous Ladybug Movie Idea:

[Open draft - head-canon in Scarabee and Kitty Claw universe]

There'll be Vietnamese to spice things up. I'm giving Kim some Vietnamese dialogue since his origin is there, so it's a win-win

There's a reason why I use this Au since Ox!Kim has it very far similarity to water buffalo. Viet Nam have water buffalo as it symbolized (not confirmed yet) but I think Ox may go well with the Akuma here.

The main perspective that will surround this (vital role character) is:

Alix/Scarabee

Chloe/Kitty Claww

Marinette/Draconia

Fei/Ladydragon

Kim/Nha vua Bullock

Kagami/ Muse Musami

Special mentioned: Alim, Jalil/Lapin du Temps, Luka/ Adrien and Nathaniel/ Marc.

The mentioned miraculous: 12 animal zodiac sign.

rat ox

tiger

rabbit = cat*

dragon

snake

horse

goat

monkey

rooster

dog

pig

(*) (Vietnam uses familiar animals in their daily life so cat is the symbolized animal replacing rabbit)

Part 1: The Journey.

This takes place in the middle of 1 year after Miraculous World ShangHai, read the my post movie script for the extra epilogue.

Kim wanting to visit his 1'st father's family bloodline/root. That when his 2'nd father offers a trip return to Vietnam (headcanoning that his second dad is a rich,bulky Parisian). Mr. Ature offered some friends of him going on a trip as he chose Marinette, Marinette asked Kagami.

For some specific reasons, Tomoe agreed on letting Kagami go there WITH her.

Three of them went to Viet Nam alone as they politely inform Scarabee as their heroes ego (separately) and following similar events like the event of ShangHai, they all received an alarms doll that activated due to Akuma attacks.

Nathaniel, Marc, Adrien and Luka are the middle team, they will assist when Scarabee calls out, since Alix and Chloe are ALSO going to Viet Nam but different cities. Nathaniel and Marc will control the Paris team when they left.

[It's divided like this.

-Nathaniel, Marc, Adrien, Luka will be at Paris.

+Adrien/ Stallion Star learn a new upgrade as he can open a portal connecting two destinations into one. That means he can help Scarabee/ Kitty Claw go to the other heroes destination without Stallion appearance. "Vortext"

+Marcel Gibbon later on learns about Sun Wukong Legends as he is able to not only make uproar but also acquires the 72 Earthly Transformations

[Explain shortly about the 72 Earthly Transformations: Basically a transformation that can turn him into another human, animal or object. It's a special concept of a kwami.]

+Nathaniel will be able to upgrade his fox power and turn into a 9-tails fox which granted him the ability to mind control/hypnosis and dream control.

+Luka also unlocked new rooster power. Not by giving himself sub-power but also giving the clucking sound...well, it seems a worst name to be called but when he used that ability, it's eliminated the hypnosis effect, sleeping effect in all conditions without exceptional.]

The France's protection team are out of the way, now to the others journey heroes.

[ Heroes --> Destination.

Alix/ Chloe --> Ha Noi, Viet Nam. They went for a visit of ancient architectural display. In which they found out it something related to the connection between VietNam and China and the magical systems.

Kim/ Marinette/ Kagami --> Ho Chi Minh City --> Tay Ninh]

"So, anyone wanted some sugarcane juice?"

Kim asked as he pointed at the mini stalled where a young lady was crushing down some sugarcane, the groups looked awestruck at the city scenery as well as the friendly atmosphere.

"Wait, what are the currency do they use here?"

Marinette asked, she was about to pull out some euro as she realized the money here looked different. Kagami observing the girl as she stated.

"As far as I know is Dong, 1 euro equals to approximately 25,000 to 26,000 (thousand) Dong. My mother already gave me some of the cash while we transferred here."

"Woah there, some knowledge before we settle down here eh? Why don't we shake things up a bit? Chú ơi, cho con chén hột vịt lộn"

[Translated: Mister! Can I have a bowl of Baluts?"

And, the girls were traumatized by the bowl of cooked duck embryo. Kim delightfully swallowed down them deliciously while they refused to eat them.

"Come on, we've to travel two hours more to visit my nephew."

"Your have nephew?!"

Marinette, Kagami unison asked.

On the North of the S-shaping country, at the city with its well known nickname "the Mistress Parasian of the east" - "Tiểu Paris Phương Đông", Alix and Chloe was having a date holding their hands and participated in a new historical architecture museum.

What shocked the two girls is that 4/5 of the section all contain symbols of the Kwamis, as well as the potraits showing an emblem of the Renlings "King". Alix quickly messaged to Marinette, who contacted Fei immediately.

"What are you doing Buggy girl?"

"The symbol Goldie, don't it ring the bell?"

She noticed it resembled the former miraculous box, as she hugged Alix tightly.

"That's right cuddly bear!! Should we inform the adults ?"

"Not yet, Jalil may notice it too, since he kept giving me side eyes on random moments. For now let's contact both Marinette and Fei."

The message quickly arrives to the girls, Fei asked for permission from Wang as she rushed to the baker girl's location instead.

Before her arrivals, the group already settled down at an urban area of Tay Ninh where there isn't much different from Ho Chi Minh city

[My fan-non things for Kim is that his first father married his mother, who has her first name is Lê and that his 1st father followed the family name bloodline. Until they got divorced, his 1st father stayed with his 2nd father Ature and that's where he got separated by his mother.

He lives with two of his fathers.]

There's a reason for Mr.Ature willing to give Kim and Mr. Lê a visit to their home town.

Before the divorce happened, Kim used to live with nephews that his relatives sent to "shaping them up".

What he remembered is they have a stubborn, reckless, cocky and arrogant personality and a girlish version of himself, yet they are a " boy".

Soon, Marinette found a local guide as they were transferred to a suburban area. Which something unnerve Kagami sensation.

"Something isn't right Marinette."

"What's wrong Kagami?"

As they soon going to their final destination, Kim mentioned a key word, revealing the local guild Identity.

"Mùi hoa sen có vẻ đẹp dịu kì."

"Lotus have it's own beauty."

That snapped the guild, who been reveal to be Kim's nephews

"Kim?"

"Anh?"

"..Oh?!"

"OH!?!!...!"

To explained the situation out, shortly, the boy introduced. His name was Lê Quang Anh, and he's a distance relatived to Kim. He's older than them by 2 years but still shorter than them.

Shockingly, Kim former home still as new as before yet Anh doesn't live there, what is more astonished them is Tomoe there, having a friendly engagement between Kim's ex-mother and Kagami's mother.

Friendly Note: Anh hated both side of her family, hated her own bloodline, her true parent was the real reason why Anh move to live with Kim since they wanted a perfect BOY. Living with Kim's mother is under more pressure then ever so he skipped school, become reckless, and left the home when Kim move to France.

Anh appearance: 4'9, always wearing a cap/ non la to cover his hair, wearing a plain old shirt and short.

The moment Kagami felt sympathy for her, they both became loathe, as for the reason of engagement is for Kagami and Anh to become married in the future, which Marintte denied, Kagami disagreed, Anh wanted to vomited. Kim confused at the situation as both of his fathers began to argue with Ms. Lê about the teenage married and Law.

Marinette comforts the girl, while Anh hides away and sneaks out.

BACK AT HA NOI

When they are at the ceremony which was held by one of the famous 1 out of 100 the Lê dynasty. This one is one of the kind, while they giving a speech with Gabriel Agreste, who Alix suprising that he's here.

Jalil question the girls, they being suspicious about this whole issues as their kwagamata shines one more when going to the broken pieces of an ancient Fountain.

However instead of transforming, if the hero plushy being ringed up and call out, stellaBee and VisionClaw will fly to the south of the country.

RETURN TO TAY NINH

The group soon noticed the lack presence of Anh as realized he been hide out, Fei also land on her destination as find Marinette (Which she still in her Bird form), Kim suggested go into the main village since it crowded with people there.

They arrived at the local village as Fei getting Deja Vu, seeing a small figure slippingly stealing people stuff, Kim called out the unfamiliar boy yet Fei hesitated at the figure, soon they find out the it was Anh who diguise as a child, however what he's doing is use fire agaisnt fire.

A lady appoarch the nearby police station asked for a purse as Anh give out to her, which the group remember that he been stealing it from a sketchy man.

"Gosh, I must misunderstand you."

"Sorry about the confront earlier."

"My apologies on the carelessness of my word."

" Don't mind about it. Return back at the mansion, r-i-g-h-t n-o-w!!"

Fei stayed silent, observing the boy figure movement, she noticed the lack of deep vocal and fluency in his sentences, the renlings that surround her realm also sensing a new Prodigus roaming around her.

Before Kim could ask Anh to return, the boy bolted away in a flash, making them awestruck at the high speed, which Kagami noticed something wrong with his human physical. Fei dashes after the boy figure as she's the only person that can catch up on her.

Following the trace, she found herself deep into the suburban area, where no human presence can be sight, but a massive, wide shrine (?) / orphanage can be seen.

[MỘNG TRỤ CỘT/ THIÊN SỨ KẾT]

[DREAM PILLARS/ ANGELIC KIN]

Anh swiftly opened the gate and went into the place as Fei also went in there, soon Mei Shi fly out, causing Fei to caught off guard while Anh also noticed their presence.

"WHO'S THERE!?"

He tried to land a kick but got stopped by Fei, she recognized the martial art style and question, only for Anh to mockingly say.

"What're you gonna say about it kung-fu prodigy? What? "Your kick is so slow and weak I barely don't even need to fight a person like you" or trying to point out my mistake. Beat it and go away FEI"

Anh using his mocking tone to make Fei leave, but she didn't. The group was still finding them as Fei know Anh have something hidden in this strange, abandonded place, she immediately point out to get him surrounded.

"You aren't a boy are you?"

Anh stayed silent, staring the hell out of the girl soul as he hissed out.

"Now I understand what's your name really mean Fei Wu. It's mean garbage (废物) not fly ( 飛). Don't even mentioned those word infront of me."

Fei bewildered by his statement but stayed calm, Mei Shi been hold back inside her pocket as it wanted to say something. She percieve to spotted beneath Anh's shirt glowing some sort of light as it about to burst out.

Kagami slammed the door open, revealing themselves as the light disappear, to much Fei disappointed since she already into fighting stance.

"So cool, you own this place Anh!!?"

Kim amazed by the shrine Anh live in, which were wide enough for a large clan to live in, it divided to 4 section/ area. A main building for the owner to sleep, eat or done their routine; a spacious backyard with herbal plants, trees and flowers; a enormous resident that have beds for guests (?) from small to big and place to do daily Personal hygiene; and finally a front yard with a Ying- Yang circle being draw on the ground.

Kim and Marinette like this place due to it peacefulness, Kagami like it due to the inner energy that surrounded while Fei doesn't care about the backgrounded of the place as she stared the boy figure who smashing some herbal plans, thinking about the light earlier.

Some drama, tea conversation, exposing Anh bad personalities as he've been doing bad things with good purposed for people in his area, since robbery and starvation still happend due to goverment low policy and jobs so alot of victim having a bad goal to be active.

Most of the times, he'd just give a short-term answer and turn silent, not extended any more details while mixing some herbal stuff. Kim worried about Anh's different attitude rather than the sweet and innocent one in the past

Hawky time! His goal to revive one of the statues (remember Feast? yeah this is something like that but different) that empowered a large amount of dark energy, in which remsemble a toad like thingy, not to mentioned, it amoktized thing is a venomous snake which turn citizen to minion.

HardenBee and ImmuneClaw appearance! (Immune to posion and thing similar to that) While swipping through the catastrophe in the north of Viet Nam to distract the heroes if they were there, what a surprised.

Hawkmoth began his plan as he able to manipulated one of the people related to the Orphanage where Anh live, Nguyễn Nhật Tông been force to work under Gabriel command as he been believed that the person who own the shrine should be him not some bratty kid that the couples take as their descentdant.

Tông came and confront Anh, to the boy surpised at the offer from the man that he wanted to buy the place. In the end he denided.

More reveals about the former of the shrine/Orphanage which is the couple that Fei met, Trung and Thu. They adopted and raised hundreds of children and pass down the legacy place to Anh with some secret that they taught him

Tông force her into contract since kid can't do anything but Fei and the group protect him. Anh accused as he turning 18 next week and having a high connected to the couple contract.

Before the man attack him with a knife, a shiny light burst to the room, a large, black tiger with white stripe roaring at the man. Fei look awestruck with Marinette as they knew what make that happend. Kagami and Kim pulled them to hide as Marinette and Fei hide away to turn into Draconia and Ladydragon.

Unfortunate for the tiger, after 10 minutes of struggling with Tong, it been return to Anh as the man threw him like a shack, slamming into the wall.

Draconia parry the attack as LadyDragon launched Tông out of the place.

Kim waited for the girls return as Kagami called out for the two main heroine. But HardenBee and ImmuneClaw was too busy fighting the chaos with Lapin in Ha Noi so Hawk Moth become more wild in his move.

He akumatized Tông into "Kẻ được chọn" / The chosen one

His ability is absolute wild as he violently gone crazy, destroyed the three main cities, Hà Nội, Đà Nãng and thành phố Hồ Chí Minh. The moment Anh regain himself and revealing the Vietnamese prodigious, Fei/ Ladydragon surprised before the boy getting brutual pin, thrust by a powerful energy as fling across buildings, coughing out blood.

"TCO" then entangled the two dragons heroine and smash them on the ground, a strange energy outburst, dragging the villains attentions as they got carried away.

[The Vietnamese Prodigious: 4 main symbolized resemble North, East, West, South - Phoneix, Unicorn (not the horse with horn one), Turtle/tortoise and another DRAGON! Another specialty that can sense other Prodigious and turn into the 12 zodiac sighed]

That affected the mission of HardenBee and ImmuneClaw so they called out the Parisain team to assist. That's where Stallion, Vlad, Gibbion and Arman gone and dealt with the statue.

Back at the team spotted, since it was an emergency as Ladydragon and Draconia were being outpowered by the deity like villain. His attack can destroy the whole cycle of life and restore it. It's like a god itself but in an outrageous stat that cannot be stop, while to focus on dealing with Nhà vua bullock, Mamushi, Scarabee and Kitty Claw.

Fei and Marinette return to their normal state, find out each other identity but went and find the boy first. Anh was in a terrible health condition as his cap burn down, revealing a long sily hair fell down.

"You're a girl"

Fei said while Marinette are out of her mind as the girl groaned, but further more, she then turn into a black horse as dashed away in that dreadful state. Fei hurry chased her with her horse form as Marinette retrasnform into Draconia and used lightning to catch up on them.

The shrine now being torn down by the attack, Anh become depressed at the issues as having her traumatized past haunting her.

That included Abuse, Sexism, stress and family isues.

Shortcut Lê Quang Anh past: Sexism. Her parents want a boy not a girl, they give birth to a child which they didn't know it gender. To much disappointed that it's a girl, they all wishes they not give birth to her, her mother only see her as a boy, wanting her to be aboy so they send her to the Kim's family, brought her to the south for study session and more.

Anh always skip school, hide away from the resident to visited the Pagoda, which Trung and Thu taught her many advance things. Soon they realized Anh have asthma, depression, stress and OCD which she cannot kept her mental stable when doing yoga, easily lots focus.

When they pass down the Prodigious and reveals "The Hallowed Spirit Domain" as explainning about the world hidden magical system. Kwami, Renlings, God, Deity and the miraculous, Anh become desperated to wield perfectly her country Prodigious power, in which failling to kept her transform more then 10 minutes and unable to become the 4 Legends Warrior.

In the terrible health from, she return tiredly return to "The Hallowed Spirit Domain" in which cried out to her master, telling them that she failed the mission.

"I fail..Why do I even live until now if I cannot become what people wanted? If all life form are equals, why can't I be like Ladydragon"

[Anh have a crush on Ladydragon which she didn't know the hero that she like is the person that she hated]

The Domain similar to an underground cave, a small path lead to the center with statue that hold the neclace, the two side were covered in water with Lotus floating around it. Anh laid down, fatigue as looking beaten up, wished that everything was end in here.

It's hard for her to face something that live in the past, she wanted to live in the modern day, without any old fashioned thought eliminated life-form and approved the existence of every human beings.

She been treated poorly before meeting her master and never have she felt love before.

"Anh!"

A voice echoed through the domain, Anh groaned again, remember she forgot to close the door into this place, Fei was able to go in but Draconia wasn't.

"What you want? Laugh at my face for being a poor Prodigious user not like the superior LadyDragon out there? I'm ready for you to throw me down on the lake, I've nothing left"

"No you aren't, you coming with me...did you just praise Ladydragon?"

"Well now she knew the Vietnamese "good" Prodigious is a failure girl that been disguise as a boy for her entire life and now being exposed to you, I'm surprised that you were able to guess my gender in the first meeting."

Fei doesn't say anything as she walks up, sits next to the Anh who defeated on the ground. The girl's hair was wet with sweat and blood.

"I know that our interaction for the first time isn't surely the best due to your arrogantness and cocky attitude, but my prodigious said that you're a pure soul that has just been...broken, just like me before."

"haha nice try....wait, your prodigious?"

Fei moved her hand to remove the strain hair on the girl's face, who blushed and confusing at the same time.

"Now we know each other's identity, it's a draw now. By the way, not that I realized your vocal isn't as deep as a 18 years old teenager, i see you wearing female underwear while changing."

"Pervert"

"Thief"

They became quiet, Anh doesn't know how to react when her hero crush was the person she treated poorly before, not until the moonlight begin to shine through a crack, into the domain, a spark appear, burst into the room causing the two gasp in awe. Not until it fly out of the room in a sonic move, Anh and Fei both heal their body miraculously.

Outside, “TCO” was overpowered the heroes due to Hawkmoth achieving a secret power techniques, however, before he could victoriously knock out, a white light join into the battle, knocking out the villain just in a blink of an eye, everyone felt a massive scary pressure that triggering their soul.

Scarabee and Kitty Claw miraculous flash quickly, just like something absorbing all of their energy.

The others aren’t immune to it as immediately de-transform, but able to hide away quickly to keep their identity hidden, Kim having the Ox’s miraculous able to withstand for 10 minutes before seeing a white spritual creature floating down.

It’s appearance look uncanny, having three straight black eyes, emotionless, traumatized anyone soul if they have a weak mental state. It brutal attack knocking out the villain as the butterfly fly out, but soon shattered down.

Before could do anything else, KC grabbed SC as they soon both destransform.

Tikki and Plagg looking weak, as if something pressuring them.

The white spirit then ask Kim to take it to the Domain.

Reunited! Fei and Anh also sense an intense surge.

Null scanning those two, before snapping it paw, transferring Kim outside.

Anh wanted to cried out, seeing a force that she have never sense before, all the lotus in the domain are withering away, Fei put her hand infront of the girl, trying to protected her. Mei Shi then come out, greeted.

“If something is end, it’ll only just the beginning. Life consist both Live and Death, anything that is Zero will be all real, nothing is finished and it will be reborn once again. Nice to meet the god itself, Null”

The spirit doesn’t react but suddenly blurbs, it’s power was enough to crack the wall predictably but also magically revive all the lotus, as it zoom through the three and touching it paw to the ancient shrub, a magnificent aura covers all the earth in a flash. Null, the spirit through Mei Shi words now became mix, it’s mood swing to another different one.

“WOah! So this is what “EARTH!” is, such an amazing knowledge filled place to study!! WAit I Already know everything! BORING!”

The spirit now is in Dark Red, Shining Gold and glittery silver a weird mixture of color as Anh was fully clinging onto Fei back with a heart attack. The shape// of the animal also embody some sort of identical things, similar to Mei SHi

“If this is my punishment for being poorly treated on you, I’m sorry, i’m a terrible person.”

“Quick it Anh, we know that it isn’t 100% your fault until returning to that topic. Mei Shi, explain please?”

Fei reassured the girl safe as looking at the strange, reckless spirit flew around the domain.

“Since we don’t have any grimoire here, let me explain quickly with human modern stuff. The universe extended in a rapid way that living entities like us cannot feel, each of the creations of the universe appears a Null, which it isn’t Tikki who made him, but the archverse is. Null like human USB, if it contacts any ancient magical artifacts, the energy will absorb and store into it core, like how the USB has its storage level, but Null it restricts to only an area that the energy limit, for example, this Null restricts inside the VietNam Domain and it only has the knowledge of history, life and anything only about VietNam.”

Fei dumbfounded at the explanation but Anh understands the whole context, “Null” giving her a praise as revealing that they also stored the memories of the two couples, who are the vigilante Prodigious Master.

Trung is a researcher on soul, spirit kind, that included Kwami, Prodigious and others essential being and also mastered the techniques to use, protect and control over their enhanced vitality.

Thu didn’t embody any of the power that Trung has, but she’s a herbalist and eminent artist who illustrates symbol of the archverse. She also good at martial art, sign languages and human antonamy study.

These two have a strong connection with all of the guardian temple, where the miracle box stored. However, “Null” state out that they wouldn’t be belonging to the human race anymore which shocked the two.

Some more “Null” explanation about it duty to help Anh as a tutor and about how she and Fei could become the Vigorous Dragon Duo, with a embarassed Anh and a Lesbian Fei, who couldn’t agree more to co-op with her.

Anh decided to name the creature a proper one since it embody Vietnam cultural core, XianXian (显现). As she and Fei solves the miscommunication, Fei ruffel Anh’s head in joy,, the heroes finally be able to get inside the cave, Kim worried the hell out of Anh, all of them seems to be in heavily injuried. Scarabee, the leader was the one who question.

“Romace, family reunion, or whatever not in the topic but aside. ANH, A FULL EXPLAINED.”

Anh felt a spine chilling wave, knewing that the ladybug hero is the leader of them all, she hestitately open her mouth. In the end, Meishi, XianXian and Fei the one who end up justify the problem to everyone.

Scarabee contact the group from the northern as they all seem to be fine, she disappointed that her date got corrupted by some random 18 years old kid and that BITCHYMOTH

“ I swear if I can lucky charm a gun, he’s DEAD”

As everyone checing up on each other, some of them admired the beauty of the domain, to which light from the night moon shine through the cracks and into the area.

Guess, what? Hawkmoth return with Tông, who’s now ready for round 2 of the battle, this time, Tông accused Anh’s murdered the family as also the reason why no one return to the Orphan, seeing their supervisors again. That’s a switch, turning Anh emotion down as it the only reason to traumatized her.

Anh got traumatized, remembering the last day she saw the couple, she was at the scene with blood all over her body, something that unpleasant for Anh to reminded with or ring a bell.

It’s like a bomb ticking as Anh felt stress up, KDC being reakumatized but this time with red version, that led to Scarabee realizing that Catalys is also here.

“Everyone careful, this isn’t a normal battle like before!!!”

All the hero on action to fight KDC, yet forgetting to pay attention to Anh who have a panic attack, a velvet butterfly ending up entered Anh necklace as Hawkmoth finally be able to took over the Vietnamese Prodigious.

Kitty Claw and Fei the only one who sight the issues as Fei begging Anh to fight back.

“Anh please! Listen to me and fight back at the villain. You won’t be alone again!!!”

A string of force violently pulling the girl sinking down to the lake of darkness, tangled in depression and lost. That the main reason why Anh never be able to use the 4 Legends, she been blaming herself everything and never get the right recognition.

Kitty Claw tell Scarabee who dealing with KDC now return the focused on the two Prodigious, shocked. Using the last resort, Fei kiss Anh in order to dragged the girl soul out of the darkness.

It’s actually work, XianXian landing on Anh’s head, comment calmly.

“Although the two Mastered aren’t here, but I could be seen as their reincarnated. I’d be proud to see the developement that you made through years Anh. My existence to this place is upon your wishes of gainning your true self. Even if no one is looking at you the way you wanted, there’s a person that will always accepted who you are. That’s yourself”

Fei release the kiss, who now with a calmer Anh, the butterfly mask still on with Hawkmoth trying his best to break through the soul,  a small flash went through Anh’s eyes as spark of hope fire up once again. Scarabee use her lucky charm and got a handcuff, for some reason it not the exact things she wanted, but the moment she throw to BitchyMoth, his arm got wrap in and lock with an upper pole, Kitty Claw jump and trying to use her Tornado Cataclysm but fail as KDC slammed her back to the wall, much to Scarabee mental pain.

Anh not only breaking free from the akuma but also evolve the Prodigious as changing the theme. The old Tortoise turn into a giant mythical crane, and the Unicorn change into a lion cub (con nghê). Phoenix and Dragon still in the same way but having their symbolized change.

Unfortunaely, Anh lost her old concious as her fiercy spirit taking control over her body, turning into a mighty black and white dragon, she overpowered KDC easily but couldn’t take down it.

Switching between a wide variety of black and white 12 zodiac signs, Anh’s only able to keep down the damage as Fei assisting her as Ladydragon.

The akuma soon been defeated, they gang up on Hawkmoth as he then summoned a surprised Senti monster (he hidden the feather inside his staff)

Anh still passed out as most of her action was automatic (fight by intuition and her six sense), when the feather entered her charm and created a powerful god-like figure, they soon wrecked the place and blasted BitchMoth back to France.

Yet, Scarabee need to find out how to destroyed the charm and calm the Yin-Yang dragon down. She summon another Lucky Charm which surprisingly make severals item. (bar of soap ,metal chain ,giant carpet)

“Everyone, attention!”

Scarabee then yell, grabbing all the occupied heroes and told them the plans while LadyDragon try to hold down Anh’s Dragon. As the France’s Hero team leader command, Draconia fly toward them as wind dragon and cloaking the raging one with melting soap, she then give LadyDragon the chain as both of them restrained her back.

Other assist the two leaders by holding back the Senti-God which wipe all of them away. In literally.

Kitty Claw then used a massive move destruction, sending a powerful wave of Cataclysm toward the Dragon’s group as it cracked the Amok charm, Fei necklace, Marinette choker.

Scarabee quickly cast the Miraculous bringing the heroes back. However she still keep the carpet as all of them spread it, the charm return Anh to normal as the girl fall down onto the carpet with the two Dragon quickly transform and help her.

@a-chlolix-blog This is gonna be two parts long, the storyline might be a bit cringe but would you mind leaving a judgment or comment?

[yandere-sins]

Do you currently live in Germany? Is smoking very prevalent there and for underage kids too? I know drinking is pretty common from what i heard but idk. Not judging btw just curious lol! I like your story times 😂 im still reeling over the cheater guy

I do live in Germany, and I'll probably never move away if I'm honest. Most other countries really don't appeal to me and I have my family and friends here, so no real reason to move. If I do get the chance to marry outside of my home country (which would be very appreciated personally), I don't think I would move away from all the benefits (unless my partner turns out to be finnish or smth, upgrades are fine lol).

However, I can't tell you how it is these days with kids, I am too old to actually know what's going on and too young to have my own lol. These days it might be a bit more prevalent than in the past, especially with parents too. Back in my school time it was more of a "cool kids" activity and there weren't that many kids in every class who were active smokers. I wasn't a cool kid per se but I had a lot of friends that were and they were smokers so occasionally I'd join and eventually it turned into social smoking with others, and then when I started working and there were benefits to being a smoker (more breaks, the stress would lift a bit, everyone was doing it so it was another way to socialize) I committed to it. But there were lots of struggles like parents who were still firmly against it, how to get cigarettes (you'd need to ask someone who was older or had connections), hiding it from parents and teachers. It was quite an ordeal. But like I said, no idea what is going on with the youth today.

Also "drinking is pretty common", is probably a stretch ^^' I did go out a lot as a teenager, but mostly on the weekend. I think a lot of people think giving teenagers the ability to buy beer and wine with 16 will automatically make them alcoholics but back when we did it, it really was more of a weekend party thing. And even then, most of my friends knew their limits and personally, I never met someone with alcohol poisoning while underage. It also was an ordeal as well because we'd only be able to drink outdoors or if one of the parents allowed it (but they'd usually supervise us), so if it rained or was winter, tough luck. And we got shooed away constantly. Sometimes we'd change the location 3-5 times a night because someone felt offended by the volume or us just hanging out casually. And there was only one 16+ club in all of the city, and I lived pretty far from it so there was almost an hour drive to and from to calculate, while also needing to be at home at midnight.

At the same time, when I finally turned 18 and got to drink harder stuff I pretty much knew my limits. I never threw up and can hold my liquor well, also don't suffer from hangovers, though recently I started getting stomach aches from wine so I'm refraining. I basically only drink cocktails, sparkling wine and seldomly whiskey at this point, and so rarely that it's hardly worth mentioning. I remember drinking a cocktail when Suzume came out in the cinema, so in April, and nothing since then lol I think the experience really helps you get better with these kinds of substances, and you learn to use them healthily if you're not drowning your feeling in them and just have fun like they are meant for.

I will tell you tho, the most garbage drink I used to have is Aperol Cola. No idea why my friend thought that was good. It's disgusting, overly sweet and bitter at the same time, literally nauseating, unhealthy af, and has no good quality about it. Especially when it gets warm, blergh. Do not recommend. You'll never drink Aperol again after that.

Looking back at it, partying was exhausting and even now where I'm free to do whatever I want, I never go to a club anymore because it's just a waste of my time tbh lol

But I really can't tell you how it is these days with the teenagers. If anything I see more smokers but very, very little drinkers. Something definitely changed, but maybe I'm just not in the right places to actually notice it.

Also, I'm glad you enjoy the story times! They are literally just silly anecdotes of a stranger, but it's still nice to reminiscence sometimes ^^