#the speed of the plot

[maaaxx]

Hiii this is your daily reminder that fanfic authors do what they do for free and get no monetary gain at all for hours of writing and sometimes years keeping up with a series and so unless the author specifically asks for critisim, dont give it. If you do, your an asshole :)

Authors can quite literally do anything they want to with their fic even if it doesnt fit your or the majority of the fandoms personal preferences.

"Well if you dont want critisized dont post it"

Well if you dont like it dont read it, you cunt.

[reipx]

This is basically what happened after Jin lan city right

[bacchuschucklefuck]

a totem pole of hopeful idiots

[violetwolfraven]

The timeline of the Tinkerbell movies is so fucking funny like Tink was out there getting bullied attempting to fundamentally change what she is and revolutionizing the talent of tinkering all within like. A week tops. of her birth. At the queen’s revue Queen Clarion goes “Tinkerbell sweetheart has no one explained?” (about tinkers not going to the mainland) and it’s like!!! No shit they haven’t explained!!! Homegirl was born yesterday!!!

[zipsunz]

brosweek2024: day 5 - AU

bring in the pinch hitter 🐹⚡️

(written by @sunkitty143)

[beaulesbian]

ONE PIECE ep. 1107 || "What's wrong, Luffy?"

& ch. 1075

[akai-anna]

today i finally managed not fainting straight to bed and decided to work on this personal project, and while looking for references i encountered this freakishly, utterly, ABSO-FCKIN-LUTELY ADORABLE PAGE

and got reminded how much personality and charm Olde DetCo has, and god, i miss it

[butter1knife]

DAY 4: TIME TRAVEL AU

-> @alt-zadr-b1tch3z <-

SOME NOT WELL THOUGHT OUT STORY CONTEXT: Zim and Dib encounter a Time Machine while hanging out in professor membranes lab basement. They dare each other to travel back in time for funzies! Dib set the date and joins in with Zim, suddenly weird noises come from the machine which spooked Dib a bit but before they could’ve questioned it, they got transported and all of the sudden they were falling in the sky down a futuristic city. Zim stayed shocked for a second and then reacted fast in capturing Dib and getting them somewhat of a "safe landing". The impact sprained some of Dibs joints but was fine. Turns out they flung themselves forwards in time, now they’re both hella lost with no contact or idea how life in 2997. They’re cooked

[starcurtain]

hi, me again. so like. i have NO idea how to write omegaverse. like yeah, i definitely was the beta reader for a 165k word omegaverse fic in a fandom that shall not be named, but. i?? how does one even BEGIN

(sincerely, sweating nervously)

Cryinggggg--I wrote like a massive response to this and then my cat jumped on the keyboard and closed the tab. Sorry if this response is not as great as it could have been. RIP my 1500 words. 😭 But trying to rewrite the original response:

I wish I could tell you, but... This is probably a bad time to confess that every fic I've ever written barely rises above the level of gen fic... because I'm super ace. Like, I can think up romance plots, but can I actually write them? PROBABLY NOT. 😂

However, if this is about the omegaverse plot in the Phaidei fic posts, I can share some other thoughts I had about that prompt, and maybe some of this will help you?

I think my key idea for this fic was that it focuses most on Mydei's issues with his body, and how he struggles because the way he looks externally just does not match who he is internally. Like yes, he values the physical strength and dominating presence because they help him keep command of the Kremnoan army and garner his people's respect, but... the whole thing is based on a lie. He's not the overpowering alpha they think he is, and honestly, he doesn't even want to be. He can't abandon rulership and leave his people to fend for themselves, so he has to keep his true identity as an omega secret, but if he had a choice, he would never choose to be this "strange" half-and-half existence. Why can't he just have been born like everyone else? Hell, even though Kremnos treats their male omegas terribly, it still might have been better to have born actually looking like a delicate omega than to be just... stuck between the two.

The point of the fic, obviously, is Mydei coming to accept himself as he is and recognizing that he is worthy of love, even if he doesn't fit his own culture's definition of "acceptable." But the problem is that he's spent so long living the lie that he's internalized it: Mydei is convinced that no one will ever want someone as "incomplete" as him. He's never let himself even consider the dream of having a mate, because how could he ever find someone willing to both keep his secret and accept a mate who doesn't fit anyone's standard for "normal"?

Meanwhile, poor Phainon is down bad. He thinks Mydei is also an alpha like him, but even if alpha-alpha partnerships are frowned on in Okhema, he doesn't care in the slightest. He would want Mydei with any secondary gender, in any form. He just wants Mydei, no matter what. The only thing holding Phainon back is his own anxiety: Sure he doesn't care about being with another alpha, but would Mydei care? Would Mydei think he's strange and reject him outright? Would it make things terribly awkward between them and damage their mission with the Chrysos Heirs? Would Mydei refuse to even look at him if he knew Phainon's interests would persist no matter what their current society defines as right or wrong?

Mydei, on the other hand, is SUFFERING™. He's an unmated omega with a clingy, unclaimed alpha around him at all times, one who has no boundaries about personal space and scenting because he thinks Mydei is another alpha. It is driving Mydei insane. Mydei can barely spend time with Phainon in the weeks leading up to his heats because Phainon keeps bringing on the symptoms early. (Stupid Deliverer, this is all your fault...) It's the worst thing ever because that's him. That's the best damn alpha Mydei is ever going to meet, the only person he's ever encountered that he could actually imagine being mates with, and Mydei's body is just... useless. Unappealing to an actual alpha. Socially unacceptable. Mydei is in love and also miserable.

(Basically, the feelings are very mutual but social pressure is making them both hesitate and think there isn't any way they can be together. Phainon just doesn't know the truth or realize Mydei's feelings, but even if Mydei knows they'd technically match, Phainon is Okhema's golden boy "Deliverer." Choosing someone who looks like another alpha, and is even Kremnoan on top of that, would only ruin his reputation.)

Maybe if anyone in this universe was capable of communicating, they wouldn't have such a hard time. 😂

Some other smaller things I was thinking of too:

Mydei being super good with kids and imagining himself having his own, but thinking something like that is out of his reach. The angst is real.

Mydei also super soft on Tribbie. He knows they're not actual children, but tell that to his instincts, because the message is not getting through.

Phainon totally misunderstanding Mydei's flat-out refusal to be naked with him in the bath. Yikes, Mydei won't even bathe with another alpha? He definitely isn't interested in me. T_T

Castorice being able to somehow magically sense people's secondary genders (I don't know how, Thanatos bullshit go~!), so she actually knows Mydei is an omega but she has no idea what to do with that information because clearly he's keeping it a secret? She's trying so hard to be supportive and to give Phainon and Mydei the encouragement they need, but ugh, these boys are so stupid.

Aglaea is a girlbossing alpha in the background. She doesn't actually know Mydei isn't an alpha, but she's suspicious, because Phainon is always accidentally challenging her authority while Mydei, despite looking like the most powerful alpha in the room, is strangely content to let her lead.

Kremnoan female omegas are as tough or tougher than the alphas of other societies, so the "normal" relationship in Kremnos is an alpha of any gender with a female omega. On the other hand, male omegas from Kremnos are super rare and tend to look very delicate; because they're unsuited for war, they basically get no respect in Kremnoan society. If Mydei revealed that he was an omega, the Kremnoans would definitely strip him of his authority. He's worried that they'll make the wrong choices if he does that, so he has to keep his secret or risk harm to his people.

I think this would have to be a world where betas either don't exist or are so rare that they don't even figure into the equation, because if Mydei could just pass himself off as a beta, that would kind of defeat the plot. 😂

Phew, I think that kind of covers what I originally typed. T_T Obviously you wouldn't have to use any of this, but I hope maybe this might give you an idea or two to help start?

[zorosnavigator]

They didn't cast Haru in the LA because they knew that there was no way they could have make Kat**ng (aka Katara's choice) believable after the holy trinity of Katara's crush aka Jet/Haru/Zuko...

[gofancyninjaworld]

The New Ninja Arc So Far (Review)

RIght, they do say that third time's the charm! I'm hoping that ONE and Murata are happy with how this falls on the page this time.

I am SKIPPING any summary: we've seen this enough times. Let's go straight to Meta, shall we?

Meta

Hard stop

So, in a Youtube video I can no longer find, some wag called Saitama a guy suffering from Premature Eradication Syndrome. It's pretty accurate -- he doesn't so much have fights as he has encounters that end when he decides to stick his fist out. The suddenness with which fights can end in OPM is something that really got me into the story. While Saitama is the guy who most often does this, it happens elsewhere, like with the unfortunate Sky King.

Rest in pieces. I'm sure you were a tough monster but, unfortunately, you were just in the way.

And alternatively, fights that you think will end quickly don't and turn into horrifying prolonged struggles that sap combatants' very will to live. So it goes!

This is why you see readers who have been raised on the choreography of shonen and action movies flipping out, alternatively ranting about how a certain 'monster' was 'wasted' and decrying fights that go on for longer than expected. Sorry! Life-and-death struggles aren't portrayed here as action pieces. [1]

I'm always down for some Premature Eradication Syndrome. I was personally delighted to see that right as Flashy Flash was about to shiskabob himself some Tenninto, Blast comes in and stops the whole fight, beating down the Tenninto himself when they try attacking him.

Now this is another definition of 'sudden death'.

The beliefs that enslave

With this, I see that the initial idea ONE had of the Tenninto surviving has come back, albeit in a different way. I'll start with another idea that has returned: the question of what freedom is. Initially, we had Flashy sparing them, first to gloat, second to show off his superior understanding of what the true purpose of the Ninja Village had been, and thirdly, out of a sense of pity for them having had their lives stolen. Which amused them greatly, as they saw freedom as lying in serving a master faithfully.

Gosh, that was so CREEPY.

This time around, as we see Flash turning over Sonic's words in his mind and wondering whether the idea of freedom was an illusion, the narration lets us know that despite being free of the Ninja Village, none of the fighting parties had the slightest idea of what freedom actually meant due to how restricted their upbringings had been: it's a much sadder affair, one of ninjas unable to escape the cruel fates they've been shaped to accept. In a way, it shouldn't surprise us that they fight: we've seen that each and every ninja is convinced that he alone is the best and is prepared to die proving that to be the case, no matter how hopeless it is. It's just lucky for Sonic that Saitama is as tolerant as he is strong.

Freedom is a lot more than merely not being in captivity.

A few chapters ago, we'd seen Blast musing on how ninjas seem fated to kill each other in a struggle for power, only to replicate the same cruel conditions that make more ninjas, and have the cycle repeat anew. Looks like he has decided to step in and try to break this particular cycle. Whether he will succeed is something we'll just have to see.

Fame, power, influence. Kill your way to the top and make more minions fit only for death. That appears to be the real ninja way.

I have many more thoughts on cages, but I'll have to leave it here.

Ohhh, it all starts to add up

ONE's simple observations are really freaking obvious, and yet surprisingly frequently overlooked. One of them is that for someone to share information with you, they need two things: first, to know what it is that you want to know, and second, a reason to share it with you. We were initially treated to the hilarious scenario of Genos popping out of Saitama's wall to smack Flash on the head with a cup of hot tea, having eavesdropped on the proceedings next door, and then the slightly cringe scene of him delightedly inviting Blast to come back to consult Saitama whenever he liked. Ah Genos, you are so crazy, like a cybernetic Oscar The Grouch.

Genos is so much like a proud mother sometimes. He thinks it's because he told the HA to call Saitama if they heard from Blast. Let us not disabuse him just yet.

But not so fast...

Blast knows where Sonic's hideout is: he has it bugged. However, some time after Saitama left, Blast came back to Saitama's, apparently in the hopes of finding a lead on where Sonic's current whereabouts might be. He did not see Flashy Flash get a challenge letter, and was in conference with Sicchi when the former left, so has no idea of where the ninja could have gone to even think of following him. Sonic has definitely not sent Blast a challenge letter as he didn't even know that the guy was around.

ONE has been diligent in not creating a plot hole of leaving Sonic possibly aware of Blast's presence.

Genos sure as hell doesn't know where Sonic might be. However, he knows a few things. One: that Saitama has a stash of challenge letters from Sonic. Two: where Saitama would have put those letters. Three: they have a freakish dog that just might be able to pick up Sonic's scent. And, most important of all, four: he really likes that Blast *has* come back to consult Saitama and so wants to help.

All of this is how Blast ends up presenting one of those letters to Overgrown Rover, sweat beading on his face as he thinks what an incredibly stupid idea this is, and how desperate he has to be even to be considering it.

if it's stupid but it works...

And how, despite its stupidity, it works: the monstrous scenting ability of the dog does lead him to the correct place.

...it's not stupid.

So, who's minding the shop?

This time around, Blast has not told Flashy Flash or Saitama anything about That Man; not his real name (Empty Void), not his relationship to him (former partner), and certainly not his strategic importance. It's clear that Void is still extremely important to some plan that Blast and Sicchi have, and that it is primary importance that Void is wrest from 'God's' clutches, no matter what he's done in the past and no matter the cost.

Ah yes, Void, former partner, ex-brother-in-law, serial child abuser, slave trader, assassin, and now avatar of an evil eldrich being. Totally the guy you want to stick your neck out for.

All Saitama knows about this guy is that he was an exceptionally cruel ninja, buying boys and brutalising them into being either killers to be sold onto criminals or turning them into minions to serve an evil entity called 'God'. He knows that Sonic is being menaced by this cruel ninja and a bunch of ne'er-do-wells, and he's gone specifically to save Sonic. [2]

Saitama...actually taking the initiative to reach out to someone out of empathy... well, I did NOT have this in my bingo list.

Currently, he's alone in Sonic's former hideout, where Void is going to be showing up sooner rather than later. And Blast isn't there to intercede.

Hmmm, I don't know about you, but I have a feeling this isn't going to end well for Void or Blast. I have some popcorn I'm dying to pop and munch on as I read the way this goes down.

Asides

[1] That said, when ONE is writing shonen, he knows the formula well and executes it beautifully: the fights Mob gets into and the sprawling battles of Versus are testimony to that.

[2] FUCK, I AM STILL SHOOK!!!! Like even the mightiest mountain is shaped by wind and water, Saitama is slowly changing! And in this case for the better. Wow.

[novelconcepts]

Honestly…I’m not thrilled with this. Even setting aside that Van was one of my favorite characters, I just don’t think this is a great direction to take the show in? I felt the same about Lottie’s death and she’s not one of the characters I feel super-strongly for.

This show shines when the survivors are together and when it’s exploring the trauma of the wilderness. Killing off characters willy-nilly before they get a chance to settle into the story (IE interact with a wide range of character and actually get some damn character development *cough cough*) feels like the antithesis of that—especially considering the ways by which both characters died. (And the introduction of Melissa felt particularly sloppy, too, which didn’t help.)

I also read an interview with Tawny and Lauren; they made it pretty clear they didn’t feel that Van’s death had been earned, and Lauren in particular expressed confusion about the direction of the show. They 100% have my agreement there—like, what are we doing? From what Lauren said, it also seems as though she was misled a little in terms of the size/time-frame of the role. And if so, that’s…not great. If it’s true, it definitely contextualizes a lot of what Simone Kessell was saying a few weeks back. (Though I acknowledge that, as the audience, we aren’t privy to the full truth and never will be.)

I really wish I had the vocabulary to discuss this more eloquently, because right now it feels like I’m coming off as someone who just doesn’t like the direction the story went and is using that as an excuse to call the show bad. So I’m sorry for that, ha ha. Please believe me when I say that’s not what’s going on here! I genuinely believe that the quality of storytelling on this show has declined in some aspects and this death was the cherry on top of a bummer sundae. Yeah, damn, I really wish I could articulate this better LOL.

It’s a whole mess and it’s really soured me on this show going forward. I’ll still watch because I have a completionism problem LOL but certainly not with the same enthusiasm. I just feel so frustrated on behalf of all these actors, who have done a beautiful job bringing these characters to life and don’t seem thrilled with the direction of the story either.

Anyway, I don’t know anyone else online or IRL that watches this show, so that’s why I’m here. My apologies for dumping this whole essay into your inbox; that being said, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this, as you seem to be pretty chill about Van’s death. (Hella impressive, by the way.) For now I’ll be living in your amazing fluffy fics!

Hey, your feelings are valid. So the way I’m looking at it is this: I wouldn’t have written this season this way. My version would have included a lot more time with the survivors, a lot less murder mystery, not having lost Lottie or Van, and not worrying about Jeff’s whole furniture thing. Like I do want to be clear. My version of this story doesn’t look like this.

The thing is…it isn’t my story. It’s a sandbox I sometimes play in for fun, but otherwise, it’s a roller coaster I’ve agreed to ride. And I’ve always enjoyed the part of the ride in the 90s more than the adult bit, because I love the “how we got here” narrative. So the adult timeline doing things I sometimes blink at doesn’t shock me; it’s always been Iike that for me.

I don’t know that I agree the writing has gone downhill so much as that the kind of story they are telling is shifting season to season. For both good and ill, this show has always played cross-genre sport, and it’s really trying to lean right now into the murder and mystery and paranoia. I don’t think it’s being unsuccessful, exactly, but I do think we are in the dead middle of the arc, and I dunno about you, but I always tend to find the middle unsatisfactory compared to the beginning and end of a story. Because we’re in the middle, we know what the glory of the beginning was, so we’re going to hold everything up to that standard. And this show probably WILL be like Orphan Black, in that the first season will always be its strongest. Which is okay. I still think, even at its weak points, it’s the best thing on TV (I’m not watching the Big Hit Loves, and I won’t be, so this is entirely subjective opinion. But hey, what isn’t?).

I’m not happy about Van’s death. I’m not happy about Lottie’s, either. I think both actors expected to be on the ride longer, and I’d have loved to keep them. But I do believe this is a story about trauma and hauntings and death chasing you down even when you think you’re free. I think death is inherently unfair, and that life is sometimes crueler in comparison. I think those are points it’s making, and making well. That what you survive doesn’t ensure anything, doesn’t shine up your story; it just means you survived that thing. And then you face wherever is next. Do I want to watch Swank instead of Ambrose next season? Not particularly. But will I, because I love this show, because I’m obsessed with the narrative, because I need to know what these cryptic plane death sequences are leading to? Hell yeah, dude. And I’m not gonna spread my disgruntled feelings about specifics too far, because like…in the end, it ain’t my story. And I want to see where it goes.

(Also, we always get to keep Liv and Thatcher and Courtney, and that is immensely important to me. We get to keep the characters we love. We just know they have a tragic ending—like every character who won’t make it out of those woods. I do believe this show will end with most or all of them gone. I think that’s the point.)

[crimsonlovebartylus]

Barty and Sirius hanging out:

Regulus: I don't like this. *crossing his arms*

Remus: I don't either. *crossing their arms*

Regulus: ask him out already before he takes away my boyfriend.

Remus: wh-.. what? first of all, in order for barty to be your boyfriend, you need to ask him out.

Regulus: *waves them off* ask my brother out, i'll ask barty out.

Remus; you first.

Regulus: no you.

Sirius across the room: *whispers* is it working?

Barty: I think so, if we kiss would it speed up the process?

Sirius: maybe, should we?

Barty:

Sirius:

Barty: maybe?

Sirius: okay.. *leans forward to kiss Barty, when hes yank back* REGULUS OUCH?

Regulus: DONT KISS MY BOYFRIEND

REMUS: DONT KISS MY BOYFRIEND

Barty and Sirius looks at each other: it worked

[meadowsofmay]

i enjoy a great deal how likable and helpful, forthcoming in a way and genuine — an amount that a man of his position can allow himself — ludinus is on his first proper appearance. if not for caleb's knowledge and warning and m9 seeing ludinus in felderwin, you could totally see how one might trust an individual like him. especially given the stark contrast of trent's proper apparence is, him coming onto caleb like a predator, speaking and moving like a snake — immediately off-putting, provoking a knee-jerk reaction to punch his kneecaps out. it all gives you a reason to think, to stop for a moment, maybe second-guess your judgement that is based on the words of the playing characters. i just love how matt creates his characters and builds the world beyond what pcs see, how it gives room for questions and thoughts because it does not revolve around the party but the party is playing an active part in the world and knows tragically little of what's happening behind the scenes.

[stellamancer]

okay, following the breadcrumb path I can say with absolute certainty that I marinated on Sunday. this is actually embarrassing. face in my hands.

[incandescentflower]

Rewatching Fangs of Fortune and there is so much that is rewarding on the second watch. I'm like, oh wait, that actually mattered?? haha oops. I was too "look at the pretty" and "I want them to kiss" to keep track last time.