#their existence is just important for the story

[arosnowflake]

[Image: Tumblr tags reading '#the feeling was friendship but neither of them had ever experienced it before'.]

what is it about the least canon-compliant aromantic headcanons that makes them the best. like when a character shows no romantic attraction okay that is pretty awesome. but when romance is a big part of a character/plot? oh now we're fucking cooking

[drop-of-infinity]

I don’t think we talk enough about how the entirety of Wicked is built on the irony of No One Mourns the Wicked. The musical exists because Glinda feels the need to tell Elphaba’s story, because she is in mourning and entirely alone in that. Glinda’s love is what creates the musical because no one mourns Elphaba except her, and that is an incredibly lonely place to be. She’s just lost two of the most important people to her, and all she’s trying to do is make someone, anyone else see how important they were.

[dusk-into-dawn]

my hottest arcane take

i think the writers were very purposefully NOT trying to write jayce and viktor as lovers

they explore 3 types of love: familial, romantic, and platonic

it’s important to the story and to real world social critique that two men in media can have deep, profound love for each other that is not romantic. women, of course, can have this too, but we see that portrayed all the time. men are socialized to hide emotions, so when male characters show love for each other, people immediately start shipping them. it’s really important for men to see that platonic love for each other is good. viktor and jayce’s bond feels a lot more flat when it’s written off as a ship.

arcane is clearly not afraid of gay relationships. if they wanted them together, they wouldn’t have to queerbait you over it. they’d just kiss.

ultimately, it’s fiction. do what you want. this is NOT to say gay ships shouldn’t exist, i’ve just observed a lot of erasure of real friendships and bonds due to ship culture.

sincerely, your local aspec friend

[mystybelle]

Adding on because I find it relevant-

Knowing which style of world building, or type of storytelling you're doing really, requires knowing what parts of your story are actually important for the purpose of communicating your story the best. Because Art, is communication through aesthetic. And in order to do communicate well, you have to understand what your message is AND what parts of your message are most important before you can decide how to convey them.

The Hard magic vs Soft magic spectrum is a measure of how important the utility of your magic is for solving problems that exist in the narrative. E.g. ATLA's magic is harder than Tolkien's or Lewis' because the characters in ATLA solve a majority of their problems with the power of kung fu magic, and their interpersonal struggles mostly help them learn how to either use martial arts magic better or new ways to employ it. But the fantastic foot-up-your-ass magic is the most important tool. Meanwhile Frodo is a weak hobbit, and his struggle is about whether or not he'll be able to maintain the emotional bandwith to make a horrific trek into the heart of darkness; the rest of the events we see in the book/movie are largely to impress upon us just how much is riding on the mental health of one little guy. Lewis' is slightly harder (barely) because Narnia is ultimately a very christian(colonial) fairy tale, and the wonder of the new and foreign world is the most important part of the story. Even the characters are pretty "soft" in Narnia, because the point is the vibe of the fairytale world, and you're not supposed to care about Snow White's intense psychological anguish at her step mom trying to have her killed because she can't handle being a milf. You're supposed to care about the vibe of the dwarves she's staying with and the overall plot.

Likewise with the worldbuilding-

Narnia gives you a middling amount of detail for it's fantasy world, but it paints in very broad strokes. Because the vibe of the world, the feeling of wonder and awe that unfamiliarity with it provides, is more than the details of Cameroon's culture or borders in contrast with Narnia's.

ATLA's setting is much harder by contrast, because you're explicitly not meant to be a gawking tourist to this world, the viewer is meant to see it through the cast's eyes. A deeply affected member of the world, who is trying to familiarize themselves with it's complexities. The kung fu magic is a part of the complexities of that world in a very fundamental way, so those two things get a lot of details. The show even beats you over the head with the idea by constantly telling you that the Avatar must be connected to the world, verbatim in a few episodes in fact.

LOTR sits somewhere between the two because it's world is... Frankly more fleshed out than it probably needed to be for the sake of it's story. Tolkien wrote his story to make you care about his world, not the other way around. So it's actually probably an awkward example here, but even still! Through the narrative, we're given information about the world within the context that the characters would experience them in order to impress upon us the complexity of the problems they're facing. The world itself provides the challenges, and the solutions come from the mettle of the characters. So we spend more time with the characters and learning about the routes they'll take, the challenges on them, and the sociopolitical structures of the various nations they pass through, than we do learning about the magic.

In order build stories like this, like OP said- you have to do it on purpose, and in order to do it on purpose, you have to know why you take each step that you do.

another thing fantasy writers should keep track of is how much of their worldbuilding is aesthetic-based. it's not unlike the sci-fi hardness scale, which measures how closely a story holds to known, real principles of science. The Martian is extremely hard sci-fi, with nearly every detail being grounded in realistic fact as we know it; Star Trek is extremely soft sci-fi, with a vaguely plausible "space travel and no resource scarcity" premise used as a foundation for the wildest ideas the writers' room could come up with. and much as Star Trek fuckin rules, there's nothing wrong with aesthetic-based fantasy worldbuilding!

(sidenote we're not calling this 'soft fantasy' bc there's already a hard/soft divide in fantasy: hard magic follows consistent rules, like "earthbenders can always and only bend earth", and soft magic follows vague rules that often just ~feel right~, like the Force. this frankly kinda maps, but I'm not talking about just the magic, I'm talking about the worldbuilding as a whole.

actually for the purposes of this post we're calling it grounded vs airy fantasy, bc that's succinct and sounds cool.)

a great example of grounded fantasy is Dungeon Meshi: the dungeon ecosystem is meticulously thought out, the plot is driven by the very realistic need to eat well while adventuring, the story touches on both social and psychological effects of the whole 'no one dies forever down here' situation, the list goes on. the worldbuilding wants to be engaged with on a mechanical level and it rewards that engagement.

deliberately airy fantasy is less common, because in a funny way it's much harder to do. people tend to like explanations. it takes skill to pull off "the world is this way because I said so." Narnia manages: these kids fall into a magic world through the back of a wardrobe, befriend talking beavers who drink tea, get weapons from Santa Claus, dance with Bacchus and his maenads, and sail to the edge of the world, without ever breaking suspension of disbelief. it works because every new thing that happens fits the vibes. it's all just vibes! engaging with the worldbuilding on a mechanical level wouldn't just be futile, it'd be missing the point entirely.

the reason I started off calling this aesthetic-based is that an airy story will usually lean hard on an existing aesthetic, ideally one that's widely known by the target audience. Lewis was drawing on fables, fairy tales, myths, children's stories, and the vague idea of ~medieval europe~ that is to this day our most generic fantasy setting. when a prince falls in love with a fallen star, when there are giants who welcome lost children warmly and fatten them up for the feast, it all fits because these are things we'd expect to find in this story. none of this jars against what we've already seen.

and the point of it is to be wondrous and whimsical, to set the tone for the story Lewis wants to tell. and it does a great job! the airy worldbuilding serves the purposes of the story, and it's no less elegant than Ryōko Kui's elaborately grounded dungeon. neither kind of worldbuilding is better than the other.

however.

you do have to know which one you're doing.

the whole reason I'm writing this is that I saw yet another long, entertaining post dragging GRRM for absolute filth. asoiaf is a fun one because on some axes it's pretty grounded (political fuck-around-and-find-out, rumors spread farther than fact, fastest way to lose a war is to let your people starve, etc), but on others it's entirely airy (some people have magic Just Cause, the various peoples are each based on an aesthetic/stereotype/cliché with no real thought to how they influence each other as neighbors, the super-long seasons have no effect on ecology, etc).

and again! none of this is actually bad! (well ok some of those stereotypes are quite bigoted. but other than that this isn't bad.) there's nothing wrong with the season thing being there to highlight how the nobles are focused on short-sighted wars for power instead of storing up resources for the extremely dangerous and inevitable winter, that's a nice allegory, and the looming threat of many harsh years set the narrative tone. and you can always mix and match airy and grounded worldbuilding – everyone does it, frankly it's a necessity, because sooner or later the answer to every worldbuilding question is "because the author wanted it to be that way." the only completely grounded writing is nonfiction.

the problem is when you pretend that your entirely airy worldbuilding is actually super duper grounded. like, for instance, claiming that your vibes-based depiction of Medieval Europe (Gritty Edition) is completely historical, and then never even showing anyone spinning. or sniffing dismissively at Tolkien for not detailing Aragorn's tax policy, and then never addressing how a pre-industrial grain-based agricultural society is going years without harvesting any crops. (stored grain goes bad! you can't even mouse-proof your silos, how are you going to deal with mold?) and the list goes on.

the man went up on national television and invited us to engage with his worldbuilding mechanically, and then if you actually do that, it shatters like spun sugar under the pressure. doesn't he realize that's not the part of the story that's load-bearing! he should've directed our focus to the political machinations and extensive trope deconstruction, not the handwavey bit.

point is, as a fantasy writer there will always be some amount of your worldbuilding that boils down to 'because I said so,' and there's nothing wrong with that. nor is there anything wrong with making that your whole thing – airy worldbuilding can be beautiful and inspiring. but you have to be aware of what you're doing, because if you ask your readers to engage with the worldbuilding in gritty mechanical detail, you had better have some actual mechanics to show them.

[deathbxnny]

Helloo!! Arcane is ending soon, so I was wondering if I could request the Arcane cast reacting to a reader who suspiciously seems to know everything that’s gonna happen in the plot? They always appear where the action is, and they warn about dangers before they happen, trying to ”subtly” change the outcomes of horrible events. Tragedies are a core element of the story, so I feel that the narrative would create another disaster if one event got prevented, but the thought of these characters being safe and happy after all they’ve been through would be so healing :3 It’s up to you which way you want to take it 🐁💖 I’m fine with both platonic and romantic, but I’d love to see Vi, Jinx and Caitlyn if that’s ok :)

I love love love your writing, reading your HC’s before bed has become an important part of my day and it’s always a joy to see your work pop up in the tags <3 Thank you for letting us read your creations 💖 I can’t wait to read the second part of your Caitlyn fic!!

The Timekeeper. | Vi, Caitlyn, Jinx x Gn!Reader

I absolutely LOVE this idea, Anon, and I appreciate your request so much!! Also, thank you for your kind words. It really means the world to me reading something so sweet!<33

Content: Angst, can be read as either platonic or romantic tbh, time traveling, fluff, bitter sweet, cursing, spoilers for season 2?, sfw

Reader has no set pronouns.

((Not proofread))

You were always a mysterious figure to them. One that appeared at the right time in the right place whenever they needed you the most.

You never revealed a thing about yourself. You never even told them your name. But one thing they did know was that you had always looked out for them, like a guardian angel in a way.

And on one fateful day, after another evaded tragedy, they finally caught up to you just before you could leave again.

》VI

"Who the hell are you?" She asked completely out of breath after having practically chased you down through the dense crowd of the undercity. She had seen you so many times before. So, so many times. And every time she did, you were somehow able to save her from certain death by subtly showing her the right way to survive.

It took her a while to piece together that you must've known the outcome of every situation she had ever been in beforehand. That was the only logical answer to the many questions around your existence she could come up with, but it wasn't enough to satiate her desperate curiosity. There were times she had chosen against your signs, and the consequences ended up being almost grave. So whoever you were, you must've had otherworldly knowledge about everything and everyone.

Because whilst she didn't know a thing about you, you certainly knew everything about her.

Raising your hooded head, you idly played with the pocket watch in your hand, piercing eyes meeting her own. "Does that matter?" You ask, and truthfully, it shouldn't. Who cared about your identity when she knew she could trust you? But that wasn't enough. "Yeah, it does to me. Now tell me who you are already. I... I've been seeing you everywhere for years now. You have always been there and I..." She trailed off, suddenly losing her confidence.

She had thought of this moment for years now, imagined exactly what she would say to you. And yet, ultimately, she found herself speechless in your presence that seemed to drown out everyone else around you two. "I see... but my apologies, we were not supposed to meet yet." You said calmly, seemingly undisturbed by her appearance. "Time and fate... they both are so tightly intertwined and yet also so far apart from each other... how odd that the timeline changed so suddenly again, no?" Your words made zero sense in her mind, but that just added to your mystery.

"What-" "-Are you happy with the way your life is going?" You ask, and that made the woman pause in thought. The answer was positive, of course, but only because you had a strong hand in it once she accepted your help. She thought of Powder back home, who was probably happily tinkering away with the young girl Isha they recently took in, and that made her finally nod. "Yes. All thanks to you." "Not at all. It was you who chose your fate. I only showed you the alternative paths."

You two stood there in silence for a moment before she shoved her hands into her pockets and looked over to a nearby bar she liked to frequent in-between missions. "Let's go grab a drink and talk. It's on me." Deciding to accept this new path the timelines had given you, you accept her invitation with a smile.

》JINX

"You're terrible at your job." "Am I? I like to pride myself in my good work ethic, actually." Jinx was idly swinging her gun back and forth on her index finger whilst she rested up in the ceiling above you, clearly having followed you around secretly. But she knew that you already knew that from the start.

Scoffing at your words, she jumped down and landed in front of your indifferent figure as she pointed the gun right at you. "Pah! You're a funny one... so what are you? A time traveler?" "Ah, I like the title Timekeeper more." You were aggravating but at the same time a familiar face she had grown to appreciate deeply. You were the reason she was doing well in life now, even if she ignored you for a very, very long time. She thought she knew better despite all the odds pointing against her, especially you. Ultimately, she learned her lesson when she finally just listened to you.

"Ugh... whatever. Can't ya at least tell me your name?" "No." "Man, you're such a pain in the butt!" "Likewise." Rolling her eyes, she lowered her gun and lazily leaned against a wall, arms crossed tightly as she observed the crowds passing by from outside the abandoned building you were in. An admittedly comfortable silence fell between you two, one that relaxed her shoulders and made her sigh in defeat after a while. Your presence was always so comforting.

"So, you let me catch up to you this time. Finally tired of the cat and mouse game we've been playing?" You lowered your head at her question, a sly smile on your face that made her narrow her eyes in interest. "Perhaps. Or maybe I just wanted to ask you how you're doing?" What an odd question, considering the context of your meet-up. And yet, it was somehow fitting coming from you specifically. Wasn't your whole mysterious mission revolving around her well-being anyway?

"Shouldn't you know the answer to that, oh so esteemed 'Timekeeper'?" You found no offense in the mockery of your title. Just pure amusement. "I'm afraid that mind reading was not in the initial job listing." Jinx took a moment to think about your question carefully then, deciding to indulge you despite her better judgment. Things were good now, after all. She, Isha, and Vi were together again as a family, including Vander, even if they had yet to find a way to turn him back properly. But everything was happy otherwise... because you made sure that the end to her story wouldn't be a painfully tragic one.

"... I'm fine. Everything's fine." She muttered, and your smile widened at that answer. "So... I'm not terrible at my job, after all?" Pressing a playful hand to her chin, Jinx acted as though she was in deep thought. "Hmmm... I guess I'll need more convincing than all of this to decide." "Of course... then how about we start with running away before the Enforcers show up to raid this place in approximately... 2 minutes?"

Jinx rolled her eyes again with a grin but agreed to follow you, very much glad to have learned her lesson at your side throughout the years.

》CAITLYN

She was ignorant towards your judgment from the start, especially as she was able to analyze very quickly that you weren't all you claimed you were. You were too smart, too fast, too aware of everything. It was clear that you already knew how her life story especially would come to an end. But that didn't mean that she'd always listen to you.

Caitlyn believed to know better, even going as far as to protest against your word, which she had learned to be fate itself. And sometimes she'd nearly get away with her life, and on others, you'd be the one to show up just in time to save her. It was embarrassing and at times even near humiliating, but you never judged her, just silently left every time she attempted to confront you.

And this time she had finally succeeded.

Now dressed in a formal uniform, she watched your still form stare out of a window in her estate, as though you weren't practically trespassing. But Caitlyn was used to that. "It's going to rain soon. I wonder if the construction workers will get done with the restoration on time today before the first drops fall." The navy haired woman came to stand next to you, ears finely tuned to your calming voice she had heard in her dreams and mind for so many years. It felt surreal to stand next to you at last.

"You already know the answer... but I think Mother will send out guards soon to retrieve them." Her mother, who had only narrowly escaped her death, if it wasn't for you. She had only gotten a little injured from falling debris, but that was all that happened. All of the councilors and people in the building had survived the Jinx attack. No grave injuries. All because you prevented it by throwing Jinx slightly off balance enough to make her shot not as precise.

"... Thank you." "For what?" The right answer would be absolutely everything, but she refrained, noting that you didn't seem keen on praise. You saw it as your job. As your duty to her for a reason unknown. "For saving my mother." That should do.

You nodded at her words in acknowledgment as your eyes spied Ambessa retreating with her troops in defeat. They were practicing chased away by the council since their help was unwelcome. Served them right for meddling with the business of other nations. You had exposed their ulterior motives in secret, and that's all it took for the tide to turn against them. "Just my duty." "I knew you'd say that... but I want to reward you for all you've done. If it wasn't for you... then I... I don't want to know what I would have become."

You glanced at her with an unreadable look in your eye, and that reconfirmed her suspicions regarding how deep she would have fallen otherwise. It's best not to think of it.

Humming to yourself in thought, you gave her a small smile. "Very well, if you insist... you can treat me to some fine tea and cookies." Caitlyn weakly mirrored your grin, relief filling her senses at you accepting her offer. She was worried you wouldn't. "Of course. Follow me." Linking your arms together carefully, you made your way through the dim halls.

A chuckle left your lips when it indeed began to rain.

[genderqueerdykes]

its extremely important, i would say even vital to learn about queer history. do not use what i'm about to say as an excuse to ignore our history, however i feel like i need to point something out, because i get a lot and i mean a LOT of questions asking if there are books written on every single queer identity and i have to point out that while it's extremely important to try to look to the past for validation in the present, it's also extremely important to realize that not every single queer experience has to have a long well documented history in order for it to be seen as "valid"

in many places in the world, even writing about being queer can be grounds for being jailed or killed. it's not always safe or practical to publish books, zines, or other written works when it comes to various queer identities. even in places where it is safe, not every single identity is going to be covered and written about. not every queer person feels the desire to write about their experience and not every queer person wants to be immortalized for being queer. this is extremely important to consider

also, queerness is based in identity. identity does not need empirical evidence in order to be legitimate. it may not be easy to find books on certain identities, but that doesn't mean they're not real. as important as it is to refer to books and the writings by other queers, it's also extremely important to not leverage literacy and the ability to publish books and/or zines against certain people and identities. just because there aren't books or comics or poems written about certain identities doesn't mean you can't view them as legitimate.

queerness is not like a scientific theory. it does not need to be proven. it does not need evidence. you do not have to prove that other queer people of the same identity exist in order for your identity to be valid. do NOT use this as an excuse to refuse to learn about queer history, but also do not look down on queer people whose identities don't have books written about them, either. remember that queerness is illegal in many, many places in the world. not every experienced can be published and written about. that's okay.

basically what i'm trying to say is don't use a lack of written records to dismiss certain queer identities or even misgender people. that person's anecdotes, that person's stories are still worth listening to. it doesn't matter that you personally haven't heard of other people identifying that way. don't use books and literature against individual queers. don't weaponize the lack of published work against people with complex or niche identities. having books and sources to refer to is an incredible resource, but that's not why they're there. they're not there so you can refer to them and go "a-hah, this is irrefutable proof that x group of queer people don't exist!" they're there so you can learn about some of the beautiful experiences humanity has to offer.

queer literature and history is important, but just because we don't have proof of something being reflected in the past doesn't mean it's not legitimate in the present. there were periods in time before these books and records that we refer to were published. it doesn't mean the people who came before these works weren't queer, and that their identities weren't legitimate. there have always been queer people as long as humans have existed and it's honestly very shitty to spit in the faces of everyone who came before the common sources we have to refer to today. they were still queer even if they had no books to refer to. queerness is not a science. it's okay to accept someone even if they can't provide you with piles and piles and piles of proof that their identity should be allowed to exist.

you don't necessarily need a "source" to prove that queer identities exist. the "source" is humanity. the "source" is lived experience. don't ever stop learning about our history, but don't use a lack of written records against other queer people. it helps no one. thanks. hope that made sense.

[vaguely-concerned]

just had the thought 'in the end the most important thing varric taught rook was how to make a home for, with, and in other people' and then I had to go lie down on the floor and clutch at my head in unceasing agony for a few hours, as you may well imagine. hawke and the kirkwall crew........ in the end you kind of saved the world a bit in the most characteristically indirect and chaotic of ways. not by anything in particular that you did or achieved or accomplished (lmao imagine!), but just by -- having existed, and by the love that was always there, despite it all, in all its imperfections, even when no one was saved by it in the end. you're not here right now and you're not quite haunting the narrative but I hear your voices bickering and arguing and laughing from the other room. (and so, I think, does varric. all the time.)

'did you think you mattered, hawke? did you think anything you ever did mattered?' yeah actually, varric says with da2 and keeps saying through the series. you were here. and I loved you. and as it turns out that mattered more than almost anything in the world, no matter how long it lasted or how fucked up it was at the time or what else happens, because varric manages to pass that feeling, that intangible... home, that echo of you all as you were together, that love, hopefully the best parts of it, on to someone else for them to bring with them on their journey, with their family. and maybe the world will be kinder this time. you never know. merrill's line of 'Everything affects everything. We were born, a bunch of things happened, and now we're in a mess with our friends.' varric's greatest fear of becoming his parents. even through the wreck and the ruin of the world, ghosts upon ghosts upon ghosts of love -- malcolm hawke, who we never even see, but his life touched hawke's and hawke's touched varric's and varric's touched rook's and rook is passing it on to the family they're creating. the unbroken legacy of love shines through in ways that are stronger and stranger than any magic. help

[notthegrouch]

Fiction was once invented to teach, sure, but it wasn't meant to exclusively teach morals. It's meant as an exploration tool that offers an extra degree of safety! Every idea explored in fiction doesn't necessarily have to be explored in real life. by this method you can explore many topics and courses of actions that you couldn't or wouldn't ever explore in real life.

it's very important that you know that fictional characters are fictional (even if they are based on real life people) and are purposefully designed in such a way to service the exploration of the topics as best as possible by having empathetic (though not always sympathetic) traits and by upholding the logics of cause and effect.

As story does not work if a reader, or story teller for that matter, just produces nonsense that cannot be followed because neither reader nor writer cared to think about actions, motivations and causes. at that point it's at best a list of items, not a story.

In functioning stories you can explore topics in a metaphysical, magical or metaphorical way of thinking. You can explore the actions and possible consequences of those actions, despite never ever wanting to do these things in real life. You can explore your traumatic experiences from the perspective of your the abuser. You can learn to memorize the basics of a scientific process by using the story structure as a mnemonic. and the reasoning for writing these things can be yours, and yours alone, but the cool thing about fiction is you can share the end result: you can tell/write/draw/commision/film the story.

you don't HAVE to learn anything about the real world, and none of these types of stories need to have a moral lesson (in fact unless you read fables and childrens media, you often don't learn moral lessons) but reading stories does always train either empathy, sympathy, reasoning, insight in causality, or a combination of these factors.

Whether or not you learn a moral lesson or not THROUGH the empathy and sympathy that you feel for the characters is mostly just a secondary thing. that happens AFTER a story is written well enough that you can form empathy for something or someone that doesn't even exist.

“it sounds like you’re justifying their actions-“ i am. they’re a fictional character. i’m okay with anything they do all the time. hope this helps.

[boobi-boy]

SPOILERS FOR MOUTHWASHING TRIGGER WARNINGS FOR: R*pe/SA, S***cide, plus various dark themes present in Mouthwashing.

I made my dad play Mouthwashing and he made a really good point.

He said, "If you think about it, Anya is really the protagonist"

Which I think makes so much sense.

On a surface level, Jimmy is the 'antagonist' in the sense that he's the story's primary 'villain' or negative driving force, by crashing the ship, raping Anya, being the reason for her suicide, being the reason Daisuke died (by using the only disinfectant on the ship to spike Swansea and then manipulating him into going into the broken vent), murdering Swansea and then offing himself with no way of knowing if he's actually 'saved' Curly. Since the person he actively hurt the most is Anya, she is then the protagonist.

On a deeper level, almost every character is defined by their relation to Anya and how they treat her or view her as a person.

Jimmy, for example is defined, initially, as a villainous character when Anya reveals what he has done to her. The player also slowly becomes aware - as they go back and forth between playing as Jimmy and Curly - that Anya is not the timid and vulnerable character she is presented as in the early game, discovering that that is just how Jimmy viewed her because he was her abuser. Anya is the character that reveals who Jimmy is to the player on a genuinely visceral level and his relationship with her is among the most crucial parts of the game.

The fact that Curly does not provide Jimmy with any consequences for his assault on Anya reveals a great deal about Curly to the player, displaying him openly as an arbiter and an enabler for the abuse by being a knowing and wilful bystander. This alone is the predominant reason that the quality and content of his character is called into question. Then, because his status as a coward who often stands by and lets Jimmy act however the fuck he likes is already established by his response to the situation with Anya, the player is able to fully believe it when Curly just lets an openly suicidal and homicidal Jimmy go into that cockpit and crash the ship.

Swansea's hate for Jimmy because of what he did to Anya is also intensely important because he probably would not have killed Daisuke under different circumstances. If he had any more respect for Jimmy than he did, he may have given Jimmy a real chance to try and save Daisuke.

Although Daisuke and Anya don't really have an active relationship, plot-wise Jimmy would never have sent Daisuke into the vent if he had never assaulted Anya, as she would not have been suicidal in the first place and the situation would have never existed.

The unborn child that Anya was carrying is also so present during the psychosis that Jimmy experiences in the latter act of the game. Despite her death, the consequences of Jimmy's actions unto her still haunt him and define not only who he is, but how he sees himself.

Anya's relationships with the other characters and her actions within the plotline of the game make Mouthwashing what it is. Everything that happens is somewhat centred around her. Therefore, the true protagonist of the game is Anya.

[tbshorts]

The Best Panels of One Piece, Romance Dawn (chapter 1-7)

Full video scripts below the cut

Chapter 1:

What are the best panels in One Piece?

Chapter 1, being the very first one, obviously has quite a few contenders. Luffy's very first Gum Gum Pistol is an obvious one, setting the tone of One Piece's battles with its mixture of goofy and badass. Plus, god damn, even in chapter one Oda knew how to do an epic splash page.

I also like this panel, where Lucky Roux shoots a mountain bandit in the head. This too is a major tone setter, driving home the seriousness and danger of pirate life. The story up to this point mostly plays as fairly lighthearted comedy, and seeing the jolly cartoon fat guy casually murder a man shocks the audience a little bit. Despite the cartoony artstyle, this isn't a kiddy pirate adventure.

But the crown has to go to the passing of the straw hat from Shanks to Luffy. It's a panel that has only ever taken on more meaning as the story has gone on, and the symbol of the straw hat has taken on more and more importance. It represents the promise between Luffy and Shanks to meet again, Shanks recognizing Luffy as an equal, and it's the passing of a torch. That straw hat means something, and Shanks is passing it on to someone who he feels is a worthy heir to that significance. “Romance Dawn” indeed.

Chapter 2:

What are the best panels in One Piece?

Chapter 2 is all about establishing Luffy's character now that he's grown up, and especially the scale of the odds he's up against. What does his dream to be king of the pirates really mean?

And this is where Oda shows his skill not just as an action and comedy artist, but as a storyteller. He introduces Koby the Cabin Boy, a character who mostly exists to contrast Luffy. Scared, self-defeating and cowardly, even his body language is Luffy's direct opposite.

When Luffy says he will be king of the pirates, Oda drops the angle down low, playing Luffy's chill, unaffected sitting posture against Koby's shouting. His arms are wide, foreshortening even out of the panel as the nervous boy tries to communicate the jaw-dropping scale of what Luffy has said he will accomplish. "Don't tell me you're after the One Piece"?

We feel the weight of Koby's astonishment here, the monumental nature of what Luffy has promised to do. The One Piece isn't a silly bed-time story for children, it is a real thing, and to go after it is to march to almost certain death. And the fact that Luffy is so casual about it, because he has accepted death, is not normal. Luffy is not normal, and Oda establishes this visually through acting in every interaction he has with Koby.

Chapter 3:

What are the best panels in One Piece?

Chapter 3 introduces Zoro with this amazing panel, which, given how much of a martyr he is for the crew and Luffy, WOW what a hell of an establishing shot. But it also establishes one of the great running themes of One Piece, which is the abuse of power, and the value of freedom. Helmeppo lords his status as a navy failson over the townsfolk, abusing his position and status in a way we will see villains in the story do over and over again.

And Luffy does what Luffy will always do to those who use their power in this way. When he learns that Helmeppo lied to Zoro, let him believe he would be free if he survived a month tied up, only to plan an execution behind his back…

This happens.

There are many reasons One Piece is a fun and satisfying narrative to follow, Oda's dynamic and exciting art is a big one for me, but the thing I love the most might the vicious delight the story takes in showing us the ruling classes getting the ass-kicking they so richly deserve.

Chapter 4:

What are the best panels in One Piece?

Chapter 4 gives us perhaps one of the weakest villain designs in the series, which is Axe-Hand Morgan. His obsession with power and control foreshadows many of One Piece's best villains, but… hoo boy, not Oda's best character design.

On a better note, though, we're getting one of the most important recurring story beats in the narrative, which is the effect Luffy has on people around him. Koby, who not two chapters ago was a cowering appeasing wretch, walks into the execution grounds to free Zoro because he can't stand to see the navy oppressing people this way. He accepted abuse from Alvida, but no more. Luffy changes the people around him, and the most important thing he does is set them free of their fear. He teaches people to pursue their freedom, even if it costs them their lives. He will do this many times throughout the story, and Koby won't be the last person who almost dies to chase the dream Luffy kindled in them.

Chapter 5:

What are the best panels in One Piece?

In Chapter 5 the obvious choice might be Luffy taking bullets for his friends in the nick of time, which is a very Luffy thing to do, but I think the best panel is something much quieter. We get a flashback to Zoro's backstory, and his rivalry with childhood friend and swordfighting prodigy Kuina, who is idly one of the most transmasculine characters in anime history.

The panel that strikes me the most in this chapter, though, is this one. It's just a little transitional panel, Kuina lying there, dead, with the words "humans are fragile things Zoro" hovering above. Oda uses crosshatching to just barely hint at the eye sockets under the cloth, which otherwise erases Kuina's face, erasing identity, erasing life. It's such a quiet and disquieting panel, such a matter-of-fact reminder of cold mortality in the middle of all Zoro's hotblooded shouting. It's a death that is so meaningless, and Zoro, in taking Kuina's sword with him, is trying desperately to make it meaningful. If he becomes the greatest swordsman in the world, then everyone will know that Kuina was his greatest rival.

I think it's the same reason so many One Piece fans want Tashigi to turn out to be Kuina in the end. Because the idea that people can just vanish from our lives, so coldly and so pointlessly… it's a scary thought to have.

Chapter 6:

What are the best panels in One Piece?

In Chapter 6, the easy answer, I guess, is the big epic Oda splash page of the Gum Gum Whip taking out a dozen Marines, but… I mean you know it has to be the introduction of the Three Sword Style. Dear Zoro, with his cool bandana and his intense looks and his tragic backstory… and here he is with a sword in his mouth.

This is the power of One Piece. Because on the one hand, this is stupid. This is objectively stupid. Holding a sword in your mouth is dumb, this looks dumb, this doesn't work, this is cartoon nonsense that doesn't make any goddamn sense.

On the other hand… this totally fucking rules. Oda presents it so perfectly with that hunched over power pose blocking ten swords at once, and the black bandana over his head, although I'll never forgive the translators for covering this much of the art over with sound effects. You miss the rope still falling from his body and the scabbards still in the air from Zoro unsheating them so fast. This panel bypasses every critical neuron in my brain, and speaks to the primal, stupid lizard and monkey part of my man brain that goes "ooooh, three swords cool!" And nobody does that like Oda.

Chapter 7:

What are the best panels in One Piece?

Chapter 7 sees our first parting of ways, with Koby remaining behind to enlist in the Marines. It's mostly an exposition chapter, a cool down from all the action with Axe Hand Morgan, but Oda once again uses what could be boring exposition to do good character building. Because Luffy and Zoro are pirates, they can't stay in a navy town, and as they leave, Luffy begins to spill the beans on how Koby was a cabin boy for a pirate, which might ruin his chances to enlist. And Koby, desperately torn up about saying goodbye to his first real friend… punches Luffy to shut him up. Which then becomes evidence that Koby isn't with them, isn't a pirate, so he can enlist.

It's the first moment Koby fully asserts himself, it's the first punch he throws for his dream as a Marine, but it is also a moment of revelation. However simple-minded Luffy seems, so straightforward and oblivious, here he reveals a deep understanding not only of other people but of the things they need, the push they need to find their courage. He pushes Koby's buttons to force him to commit to his dream, to force him to renounce piracy, and when Koby does… Luffy couldn't be more proud. And maybe a little smug.

[sugarcubetikki]

If you didn’t know, Christian Linke recently said that they weren’t intending to make Jayce and Viktor romantic but just to show a really close relationship between men which they believe is underrepresented in media.

Of course, as expected, antis have taken this as a way to shut down gay interpretations and bring up how “romanticising a relationship that is meant to be brotherly demeans it”. It is definitely important to have relationships that depict multiple forms of love and yes at its core we can all agree that Jayce and Viktor are two men who love each other.

I believe that despite what Christian Linke says, the way one chooses to interpret that love ultimately falls on the viewer, as their relationship/love can resonate with people in many different ways.

I personally view Jayvik to be partners, friends and lovers because it resonates with me as a queer fan. I personally see a lot of queercoding in the way they were written and that makes it hard for me to perceive them as not having a romantic love.

For example:

Viktor being shown to take Mel’s place in many scenes like Jayce hallucinating him with after Mel and he’s wearing her black eyeshadow.

Mel x Jayce sex scene overlaps with the scene of Viktor becoming entwined with the Hexcore in a way that it makes it difficult for you to even focus on Mel and Jayce.

Amanda mentioning that Viktor was projecting his relationship with Jayce onto Sky this season - the whole science-y bond.

Viktor making the “this is not the bedroom” joke when Mel catches him and Jayce trying to sneak into the lab.

This all resonates with me as queer comphet and their love for each other being superior to that of their romantic interests also feels very queer for me.

And I have the right to interpret them in that way. I respect the way Christian Link interprets them and has shown to depict them but I personally do not see their relationship in the same way and I believe characters are just as much as the audience’s as they are the creators so my interpretation is also valid.

(Also, creators genuinely don’t always agree with each other and they differ in opinions when it comes to interpretations of characters/relations whilst Christian Linke may not see their love as romantic. I believe there might be other creators who do which could explain some of the ambiguity in their scenes).

Also, to the antis, queer love is also a valid form of love, it can exist with/without physical intimacy and still be queer.

Perceiving Jayvik as queer does not demean their love for each other at all. Perceiving them as having a platonic or brotherly bond isn’t wrong either. All forms of love are pure. Queer or not. Jayce and Viktor’s love for each other is pure and can be seen no matter how you interpret it.

The beauty of a story or a piece of art is enabling the perceived to interpret it in a way it resonates with them and it may not be what the creator intended and it may not be what resonates with you but it is still a valid interpretation.

That is to say I also respect platonic readings of their relationship despite not personally seeing it because you have the right to interpret them in the way you want to. And I am asking you to do the same for me and give me the right to interpret them in the way I want to.

[youryurigoddess]

Good Omens Christmas jumpers, because of course they are a thing now

Glad to see that I’m not the only one clowning about the Good Omens Christmas jumper designs! You know what it means — putting together everything in one thread to make the further speculations more streamlined and, obviously, fun.

On November 20th, Rob Wilkins was present at the “Designing Terry Pratchett’s Discworld” event at Brendon Books. Probably not much to talk about from most of the Good Omens fans perspective, if not for the journalist Kat Brown posting on Bluesky the next morning:

But wait, something’s wrong. Or maybe not wrong, just… different. Why is Crowley the one shielding Aziraphale with his wing in his demonic, black-clothed, black-winged form? That’s a clear deviation from the pattern established in Eden and Before the Beginning.

There was barely enough time to discuss this phenomenon properly though. In the afternoon of November 21st, Rob made a previously unannounced appearance at the Paul Kidby’s “Designing Terry Pratchett’s Discworld” event at Waterstones Piccadilly, where he presented the Aziraphalean version of the jumper. On it — one Forty Years of Discworld pin and a second one in preparation for 2025 as The Year of the Luminous Lemur. Thanks to the phenomenal @basement-jax (I’m not exaggerating, I’ve seen her perform live on stage with Michael Sheen last month) present on site, we got the next photos in real time:

Let’s compare both designs, starting with the most noticeable difference — their color schemes. Both consist of six different swatches, three of which (white, black, and skin tone) repeat. The remaining three are two shades of the fourth color (brown for Aziraphale and red for Crowley) and a fifth, contrasting color (blue and yellow, respectively).

Six is obviously a very important number in terms of the Good Omens lore. Six episodes per season, 666 as the number of the Beast (Antichrist/Adam), 668 as the original title of the unpublished sequel — the ending of this story that will be finally adapted and revealed very soon. Not accidental.

Which brings us to the question of the left angel’s hair. Changing two brown shades to two golden ones, one already used in the other color scheme, not only shouldn’t be a problem for the designer, but would be a cheaper option and ensure consistency with the right angel’s design.

Some netizens have suggested that this discrepancy is caused by the left design representing the book iterations of the Ineffable Husbands. Book Crowley’s hair is dark — could be black, brown, red, even dark blond — and book Aziraphale’s hair is blond, which logically could be depicted as white or light brown.

Their graphic novel iterations created by Colleen Doran use black for Crowley’s hair (much longer than that of the left jumper demon) and blond for Aziraphale, close enough to the yellow yarn already used in this project and not quite the same shape as the jumper angels’ hairstyles.

Since neither seem to be an exact match for the design, could it be reverse Omens? The answer is not as simple. The characters aren’t just swapped; both of their hairstyles have been redrawn, at least partially. Unlikely a technical issue, when wings and clothes stayed exactly the same.

That would be the facts. Now onto the silliness!

My clowning theory is that we’re dealing with two alternative timelines or retellings here.

For Christmas, Crowley wishes for things to stay exactly the same as they are — but with him as Aziraphale’s protector, the romantic hero his angel needs and deserves.

Aziraphale wishes for a past where he doesn’t exist, or at least never meets Crowley. That’s how the latter would stay an angel and his role of the Serpent of Eden would be taken over by someone else — someone like Beelzebub, perhaps, with their small frame and short black hair?

@bardraelyn kindly suggested yet another option, purely out of amusement: “What if the “Aziraphale’ sweater depicts Lucifer and God?”.

What about you? What are your theories?

This clowning is now officially approved by Rob:

[the-one-and-only-aroace]

Because I just rambled about the themes of the books, I need to express my opinion very clearly on this matter. Rick Riordan does not and has not ever given a shit about Theyna. He probably knows it exists, but it doesn’t effect him. He has written one of the most successful middle grade/ya franchises in the world. A huge part of his brand is being queer friendly. He is not lesbophobic or bothered enough by a few people wanting two of his characters who are girls to kiss. He simply does not care.

Reyna joining the hunters has a clear thematic purpose. It is her expressing agency and desire for the first time in a concrete way. That is the point! If you refuse to engage with the Riordanverse beyond nostalgia or shipping, don’t complain when he doesn’t jump to serve your wants. He made the choice for her to swear off romantic relationships for a very clear reason. If most of the Theyna shipper actually read Trials of Apollo, which they don’t because they don’t actually care about the story at large, it’s very clearly written.

It may be shocking to some people, but you do have to read a story fully to understand it. No, Reyna from Blood of Olympus would not join the hunters. But character progression is kind of an important story element. There are themes that run through multiple series and multiple characters. These take reading the entire story to read.

[thelesbianluthor]

Kristen Applebees is a mess of a character in the most realistic way.

The thing is that I understand why people got to a point where they got tired of her chaotic and careless behaviour but that's the point isn't it?

I laughed at the bits and chaos of JY so much but I understand that things can be nuanced. I can laugh at the bits while also thinking about the implications of her actions in the story.

Kristen is a mess, she is spiralling, because she is a teenager who was faced with either choosing herself and being kicked out by her family and community or forever living a comfortable lie that would have inevitably made her lose herself.

She brought back a Goddess and she found her truth in Cassandra's domain, but she is also a teenager who just went through her first breakup with the first girl she ever loved and whom she experienced the highest of high and the lowest of lows. She has a right to mess up and fail and hit dead ends. Yeah Cassandra depends on her and Kristen needs to step up and take her role seriously but at the same time, it's so fucking unfair that the weight of a divine being's entire existence falls on the shoulders of a teen girl still in high school who is trying to find herself and learning how to handle life while also still recovering from a lifetime of trauma.

Whenever I think about that scene where Kristen says that her brain feels kind of liquid and she keeps failing to hold on to stuff I feel so incredibly connected to that feeling. I struggle so much with doing things that require a prolonged effort for a long term goal. My brain fails to hold onto stuff so I genuinely don't perceive how much time has passed, time feels so blurry and I inevitably end up failing at things I should be focusing on because my mind latches onto other things.

I relate a lot to Kristen on her struggles with commitment when it comes to important things and her latching onto fun and excitement that inevitably causes her to lose track of what matters.

The thing is that Kristen relied a lot on Tracker and how stable her presence was in her life. Tracker kept her anchored while also giving her a way to channel her energy and attention so I am not surprised that when they broke up Kristen lost most of her drive towards establishing her religion. It's not Tracker's fault of course and it is something that Kristen had to learn so JY Kristen was an inevitability

[yuseirra]

a family bigger than 4! part 1 / part 2 / part 3 / part 4

Before I get to the part about Gorou(He has a really important role in this story!!) a side story

There was something I always wanted to tackle, but it was always so hard and impossible to do in canon. I wanted to see Hikaru tell what happened to him as a child wasn't his fault. Personally, I feel they did him pretty dirty on this one...his character IS illustrated pretty well, but they make him have this traumatic past...and just leave him with it till the very end. To be fair they do that to A LOT of characters if not all in this series, but it always really pained me to see this character blame himself even after all these years about what's happened.

This is a sensitive and tough subject. I'm not sure if I'm handling it as considerate enough but I've made an attempt to. I quickly looked up how crimes like this are penalized in Japan(interestingly enough, Airi still could have been punished in canon because recently, the statute of limitations has been extended from 10 to 15 years). This article really helped too: A lot of people decide to confront their abusers after the assaults happen for it could help them move on (there are many potential different reactions)

Pretending that something doesn't exist when it already does isn't my thing. They have these really heavy themes in the storyline, if that's there, I think it should still be acknowledged because it's part of what makes the characters as they are. To move onto the future, it'd help come to terms and face/heal from the past. So in this story, I'll have him truly be happy with Ai even being the way he is (as they would have been).

[cator99]

please finish your wedding story, i so badly want to hear the rest of it. i await eagerly.

>everyone lived happily ever after

>a few weeks pass

>I write the brides a lengthy and detailed letter of recommendation to their immigration lawyer

>they're overjoyed and think its a beautiful letter, and I'm glad to help because I hope they last forever and get everything they want in life, if I may drop the act and be sincere for a moment

>a few days pass. the bride I've known for over 15 years messages me

>however... she doesn't care. she's on her honeymoon. and I'm just some chick she was friends with as a kid. what does upset her is how she found out.

>at first I assume that the woman who reached out to her (who I knew back in jr high, and is a few years older than me) was just trying to upset her

>bride tells me about how this woman was her best friend and then suddenly blocked her out of nowhere, which was (and is) still very painful for her

>the woman, who we will refer to as "A" whips up a story about being concerned for the bride's safety and privacy or something

>bride is confused. there's no identifying information. the post is a nothingburger to her. what's important here is that she's upset that this woman messaged her after 4 years, not to make things right..... but to talk about "zander"

>right, this is about me, because this is "A" we're talking about here...... hell hath no fury like a closet case scorned

how did she find my blog?

I assume it went like this:

>"A" goes to peek at her ex-bestie's wedding photos

>"Zander" Spotted

>runs to LC

>"hey does anyone remember Zander who I used to post about on here all the time 7 years ago? I may have found an update!"

>"that's terf cator99 who was posted about on the Women Youre Ashamed To Want To Fuck thread you fucking idiot that looks nothing like her"

>no here's proof!

>autism ensues

>several replies get deleted, other responses indicate they're "A" sperging and linking my blog

>people argue if I deserve to be there anymore

>"she's a tif"

>"no"

> yes"

>"no"

>"I used to know her" ["A" posting]

>"tell us more!"

>"she used to have this one pair of glasses and then she had this other pair of glasses that looked really good on her..."

meanwhile:

>assume she's probably back on her LC shit

>find and link bride to the LC thread and explain to her that "A" has just been trolling for fun and to pay it no mind, you're better off without her in your life

>"hey bride-chan, not to be weird but I'm just trying to understand this shit, do you think A ever had a thing for me... I always kind of assumed she was bi or gay when we were younger and thought it was cool that she was androgynous and went to school dressed as Kaito from vocaloid all the time so I wanted to be her friend but she was pretty rude to people and I backed off"

>"well i dont know but she's married to a man now..."

>yet here she is trying to get under the skin of two women who are with other women

to be fair I earned the lolcow title fair and square years ago all on my own, and really do feel I owe "A" a favor for introducing me to the site. it was very formative for me to find out places like that existed right at the moment I was starting to have conflicting thoughts about the trans shit so I could gain some self-awareness (and general awareness overall) (shout out to "A"s friend who cowtipped to me.....)

meanwhile, on LC:

>"well done ladies, we've figured it all out. Butch Lesbian cator99 is currently partying with gay men, and It is common knowledge that "gay men" are all secretly bisexuals who are looking to hook up with women who say things like "I'm a lesbian" and "I am not attracted to males". That is their mating call, in fact. These words activate the Hetero gland in the Amygdala like a sleeper agent who has been biologically programmed– as we all are– to stop the kiki-ing and split off into heterosexual pairings at the end of a poppers-fuelled night assless-twerking to Britney."

>"good work. But I'll one-up you: look at this screenshot."

[photo from an instagram account, featuring a photo of 17 year old Zander's legs in the bath. "I Am Totally Into Epic Awesome Penis Now!!!!!!" (She had never seen a penis)]

>"yes, this is definitely a normal thing for a straight woman to say. I always knew she was a faker."

>"yes. as im sure you're all aware, there are many social and career benefits from pretending to be a lesbian."

>"doesn't that idiot know that she can't just lie and change her orientation? I can't believe she's been straight this whole time."

>"what does she have to gain from lying?"

>"She's so adamant about being a lesbian, which is a dead giveaway for a cover-up operation. The more they resist, the more evident it is that they are lying in order to gain access to that highly lauded Online Lesbian Following, which is something every straight woman wants deep down."

meanwhile:

>call gf

>"bad news. I just found out I'm actually straight."