#they also gave him the hardest line in all of choices

[myglassesareinkansas]

It will forever amuse me that PB accidentally gave Bryce Lahela the best arc out of all of their characters

[slightlyhopefulromantic]

been thinking about doing a class swap for a week or so, but i couldnt think of anything for prudence - until party fowl, of course, where oxventure gave an alternative class to me XD i might come back to these and do lines and color, but for now, just some sketches :]

some extra rambling under the cut about my thought process for all of these:

corazón was a pretty easy choice, considering he's already in a band and loves to charisma his way out of things, haha. he's a little less flashy than canon corazón since being a bard gets him plenty of attention as is LOL so he dresses more plainly. he puts up a display of being very cheerful and a friend to all, but this is very much a display - he still is corazón, with all of his brooding and jealousy, which led to him getting the rest of his pirate crew cursed, of course. though he was not initially captain of the joyful damnation, he took control of it after the incident of the cursehole, and is slightly prone to going on rants about "oh, they never took old CORAZÓN seriously, but see who isn't cursed now!" (<- was the one who got them cursed)

prudence was still raised by cyrus the hermit, but when she decided to follow cthulhu instead of zargon, she left behind the life of a warlock entirely. she still follows cthulhu, hence the evil-looking octopus tattoo on her shoulder, but this is purely a religious thing and does not grant her power. she's path of the beast because of course she is, she's a werebear. she carries an axe. she does not use said axe when she can just claw wildly or whip her tail around, but she definitely carries it!

dob was my favorite to draw. he's a pretty boy :] he has the most different backstory - he still got rabies, but an archfey took pity on him after suzette left to find a cure and gifted him with a fruit from feywilds to cure him. he spent some time in the feywilds as he recovered and was only returned to geth quite a few years later, and promptly set off on a quest to find his lost sister. this was, of course, a way for the fey to lay claim over him and now he's in a deal that greatly hinders his life, but he likes looking on the bright side of things! everyone thinks he smells lovely and comforting and he doesn't even have to wash himself for it to happen! awesome!

egbert is incredibly similar to canon. he has a big shield, hits people with his mace, and he's the religion guy (does not do anything with this). when he left the noble order of le dragon d'or, he was called to follow la vache mauve and was bidden to swap his class to cleric. he is not exceptionally good at the healing side of being cleric, but luckily he's light domain, so he can just blast people with all sorts of fire and radiant spells

merilwen was probably the hardest for me to sort out, since she is so based in being a druid and going with ranger seemed too easy (and also was already given to dob, lol). the vision of her riding on a bear took over though, so i went for cavalier so she could have advantage with mounted combat! i imagine that she would very rarely get to do this, but she loves that she has the ability to, and she definitely has an unnecessarily high animal handling score

[friedwritinggamingghost]

Sadly, I was not able to finish a story in time. But here is part of the first chapter I'm working on.

@inklings-challenge

Chapter 1

Molly giggled as she held up a pink teacup filled halfway with cranberry grape juice. 

“Coco wan’ tea?” She smiled at the young teen sitting across the table from her.

“Of course, honey,” Macarius answered, with a big smile, careful to keep his teeth from showing as he reached over the snag the precariously tilting cup from her little hand before it spilled all over the white tablecloth. Removing a stain wasn’t that hard really, but it was simply just beneath him.

Inwardly he grimaced. He knew what tea was and … This. Wasn’t. It. Whatever this was, bordered on absolutely vile. Sweet, with a cloying bitter aftertaste that clung to his tongue. To his mouth. His throat. Everything. But he would drink it anyway, because the sweet little sunshine that sat in front of him was giving it to him and he would do anything for her.

Molly wriggled in her chair with another giggle. “Coco we can play the ligh’? With the colors?”

She waved a hand at the kitchen around them and its incongruous explosion of color.  The light pink walls spotted with tiny, light blue handprints that her mom had encouraged her to put on the walls clashed heavily with the kermit green curtains held open by cords over the kitchen sink. The harvest orange of the oven, sitting between two burner stove tops where normal counters should have been made it all so much worse.

There were three large mismatched refrigerators in a gorgeous sea green, crimson red and the last, the ugliest shade of harvest gold that looked like it should have been a smear in a diaper.  The table they were seated at, and an island for counter space were crammed in the limited space that was left.

Mac sipped at the vileness in his cup, somehow managing not to gag. “Certainly.”

He stood and bowed to her with a flourish, escaping from the cup of ew.  “What color does my Princess Sunshine desire?”

Molly let out a happy shriek as she bounced in her chair. “Rai’bows!”

She squirmed out of her chair and started jumping around the kitchen, too excited to sit still as her peals of laughter filled the room.

Mac sighed. Of course, he should have guessed and simply not wasted his breath, but still. Perhaps some day his little girl would change her mind and want something different for a change. He wouldn’t want to miss giving her the chance. Though, she did also choose the hardest color choice, with its exacting demands to reach perfection and that, was the only thing that he was willing to give her.

Closing his eyes, he centered himself, flexing his bare toes into the ugly beat up sheet linoleum that had once been dark green with big flowers sprinkled over it, his fingers working the complicated hand seals of the magic before flinging it outwards. 

The room erupted in a flash, every surface of the room suddenly colored in sparkling soft rainbows, the lines perfect where they curved around corners and edges no matter what their shape.

A shriek of pure joy preceded Molly slamming into his legs and holding on as she tried to climb up his leg.

“Hold on Princess!” Mac yelped, protecting his groin from flailing hands and bonking skulls. Sidestepping enough that her forehead hit his outer thigh he swooped in, picking up the little girl and settling her against his hip with an arm around her waist and her front foot trapped in his other against his stomach. He wasn’t about to get nailed with a heel down there again. Ever. Contrary to popular belief he did learn from his mistakes.

Molly wiggled happily as she reached her hands up excitedly. “It pri’ee! Coco pri’ee!” she squealed into his ear as Mac flinched at the deafening volume right in his ear.

“Molly?” a warm, amused voice came from the other room. “What are you doing sweetheart?”

“Coco make the rai’bows mama!” Molly yelled

Macarius gave Molly a hasty squeeze and kissed the top of her head before depositing her to stand on the chair. “You must stay down Sunshine,” he commanded softly with a quick kiss to the top of her head and its crown of strawberry scented blond curls, even though he kept his arm around her so she didn’t fall off the chair. He would never, ever endanger Princess Sunshine, not even if it was as simple as a scraped knee.

Molly wiggled happily in his hold as she sat down just as her mom walked in, letting him safely dance away so Molly’s mother didn’t bump into him. That would be …. awkward.

“He made the rainbows again?” Elizabeth asked, smiling at Molly as she leaned down and kissed her, Molly’s arms wrapping around her head as she kissed back. 

“Be sure and say thank you,” she said as she straightened up. She pulled out an empty, large matchstick box filled with what appeared to be a doll foam mattress and a pillow and a tiny blanket.

“Here’s a bed for Coco,” she placed it in front of Molly, rubbing her daughter’s head. “You can put it on the table by your bed tonight.”

“Bu’ mama,” Molly frowned as she picked it up. “Coco bigger me.”

“Oh he’s bigger than you?” Elizabeth chuckled as she knelt by her daughter who was nodding at her. “But do you want to hear a secret, boo?”

“Sec’re!” Molly giggled. 

“Because he’s invisible,” Elizabeth whispered conspiratorially. “He can shrink down and fit in here.”

Molly’s eyes widened as she turned to look at her friend. “Coco s’rink?”

Across the kitchen Macarius winked. 

Elizabeth chuckled as she kissed her daughter’s head and walked over to the refrigerators. 

“Clean up your area boo, mommy’s making dinner.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Coco fit?” Molly enquired in a whisper, patting the box that was sitting on her own bed, right next to the flattened bright yellow lump of the stuffed easter duck she used as a pillow.

Well. Of course he could fit. He just didn’t want to. “Of course I can Princess, if you wish,” he said from where he was sitting cross legged on the foot of her bed. 

“Is small,” she frowned. “You have big boy bed?”

“Hmmm. What if I told you that I don’t sleep and that I watch over you always to keep the bad dreams away?” he confessed.

Molly frowned unexpectedly. “You not dreaming?”

Mac patted her ankle where it rested under the covers. “Only if I want to?”

“You not want dreamies?” Molly asked,  looking up at him in confusion. She wiggled out of her bed and ran to her little bookcase. She grabbed one of her children’s books and ran back with it. She threw it on the bed as she clambered back on and with a lot of little grunts and exasperated growls, she got back under her blanket.

“Here,” she grabbed the book and pulled it onto her lap, opening it. “I read now and you can want dreamies.”

Using her finger she read aloud.

“Once upon a time, there was an old Sow …,” she looked up at Macarius. “What’s a sow?”

“A female pig,” Mac answered her. “Like Miss Piggy?”

 Molly nodded and looked back down. “...with three little Pigs, and as she had… not en-oo-ff, eee,” she pointed to the word. “Coco help?”

“Enough.”

“Enough to keep them, she sent them out to– What that?” She huffed. “Why does see have k at end?”

“Seek,” he answered her patiently. “It’s a fancy way of saying to go find something, Princess.”

 “Ok, seek their fo’turnee.” Molly giggled. “That silly!”

“Fortune, sunshine,” he commented, gently correcting her mispronunciation. “Big people have to go out and work like Daddy does, and that’s what they went to do, because their Mommy couldn’t give them everything like Daddy does for you.” 

“And Mommy and Coco,” Molly nodded as she leaned out of her blanket and crawled to the end of the bed and wrapped her little arms around his waist. “Thank Coco.” 

“You’re welcome Princess Sunshine,” Macarius answered softly.

>>:<<

“And that’s a sloth bear, they eat termites and sometimes tigers eat them cause they know where the bears go to get termites.” Molly explained what was happening on the television to Macarius. 

“But don’t worry Coco, the bear gets away this time because predators try not to be injured and even though some tigers are very good at eating the bears, an injury from the bear can kill the tiger because it’ll slow the tiger down which will make it harder to get prey. So the tiger might starve.”

She patted his arm comfortingly. “So this bear will be ok and chase off the tiger.”

Macarius looked down from the tv to where Molly was curled up against him under her soft poofy blanket that he’d pulled over her.  He didn’t often let her snuggle like this but she’d been so lonely lately with Mommy being off and visiting her sick sister and without their regular baby-sitter Jane. Miss Alma, the old bat that was here instead, wasn't well suited for Molly. Cold. Intolerant. So dismissive of his Princess. His little sunshine was wilting like a rose without water. 

“Oh that’s good, I suppose. But what about the tiger? You don’t want him to be hungry though, do you?” he murmured, stroking his fingers over the blond head that was jammed up against his side.

“Hmmm. I don’t, but I also don’t want the bear to die.” Molly wrinkled her nose as she thought out loud. “I know predators got to hunt and eat, but that means they eat other animals that don’t want to be eaten. It's a co-nun-drum.” She nodded decisively.

“That’s a really big word for you Sunshine.” Mac praised the five year old. “The world does work like that, and humans eat animals too, because they are tasty. Does that bother you?”

“No, some animals are made to be eaten. That's even in the Bible. But it's up to us to take care of them. Like good care so they’re happy like our chickens. And when it's time to eat them, we make sure they don’t get hurt, just dead.” Molly informed him. “But the predators eat their prey alive. And that hurts them a lot.”

“That's a very honorable way to treat animals that you choose to eat Sunshine. I’m proud of you,” he praised. “I want you to think about this idea though, okay? Predators, a lot of them, can’t not hurt something and sometimes they don’t have the right things like we do to be able to just make them dead and not hurt. It’s not something they can help, it just is.”

“Ok.” She looked back at the tv. “Oh that’s an orca. They don’t hurt humans, but other animals they bully and throw into the air to break their bones!”

“Hmmph,” Mac grumbled, “well that isn’t very nice is it?”

[cryscendo]

11. Travel!au

7. Childhood friends

23. You know your book is upside-down, right? (If this is duplicated then my backups are au 14, trope 9, prompt 34)

this one was incredibly cute and fun to do! it gave me an opportunity to write flustered blaine, which i love doing!

Word Count: 736

If anyone else would like to send in a prompt, you can do so here!

Fic can be read under the cut!

~~~

“Attention, everyone. Flight 283 to New York is now boarding.”

“Blaine, c’mon! We’re boarding! We don’t wanna be late!”

With an unmatched eagerness, Kurt directed them towards their boarding gate. Though it should certainly be said that there was absolutely no way they were going to be anything less than punctual if Kurt was the one who was in charge of making sure they got where they were supposed to be.

Blaine couldn’t blame Kurt for his excitement, however. He knew Kurt loved New York more than anything. He also knew that if it weren’t for his dad’s health taking a surprising decline, Kurt would still be living there and not back in Ohio. Blaine feels for Kurt in many ways, though he had to admit, at least only to himself, that he liked having Kurt back in Ohio with him. It felt incredibly selfish, but it was the truth.

He and Kurt have been friends since elementary school. And even back then, Blaine knew that Kurt had no interest in staying in Ohio. That was kind of where the two of them differed. Blaine was quite content where he was. Kurt was not. The few years that Kurt was away in New York was the hardest few years of Blaine’s life. He truly could feel the distance, even if they had Skyped frequently. He would never tell Kurt that, though. He never wanted to be the reason why his best friend couldn’t live to his fullest potential.

But Kurt is back now! And not only that, but they’re taking a trip to New York together. Kurt was looking forward to showing Blaine all his favorite parts of the state. Blaine was mostly just looking forward to having Kurt to himself for two weeks. 

Because as much he hates it to be true, he never did shake his stupid, fat crush on his best friend. And these days, that has only been amplified. During childhood and even into their teenage years, Kurt was always incredibly reserved about being perceived in any way that was even remotely sexual. Nowadays, however, he’s a changed man. New York changed him. He’s confident, alluring, and if Blaine were to be so bold in his word choice, sexy.

Blaine can’t stop himself from staring at him.

Once they were seated on the plane, he and Kurt adjusted their belongings to get comfortable. Kurt pulled out a sketchpad and opened it up to a design that he had been working on. Blaine wishes that Kurt could have continued working for Vogue, but obviously the high fashion market doesn’t really reach Ohio.

Blaine took a book out that he had been reading and opened it up. He was trying to focus on the page, but he was finding it hard with Kurt sitting right next to him looking immaculate. No matter how hard he tried, his attention kept being pulled away from his book and towards the line of Kurt’s jaw, or the slope of his nose. It was unbelievably distracting.

“Uh, Blaine?”

Blaine’s attention was fully on Kurt immediately. “Yeah, Kurt?”

Kurt nodded down to the book in Blaine’s hands. “You know your book is upside-down, right?” 

Huh. It sure is. Blaine flips the book the correct way around, a blush spreading across his cheeks. “You’re right, th-thanks.”

“You feeling alright?”

“Yeah!” Blaine replies, already knowing that he sounded far too energetic to be convincing. “Just a bit nervous about flying is all.”

Kurt gave him a look of genuine concern, and damn it, why does he have to be so caring? “I didn’t know you were afraid of flying.”

That’s not the only thing you don’t know about me, Blaine thought, a bit pathetically. “Yeah, a little, but I’ll be fine!” He offered Kurt a smile that he hoped came off as believable. “Once we get past take off, I’m sure it’ll be easy-going from there.”

“If you say so.” Kurt then patted his knee in a way that Blaine was sure was supposed to be purely friendly, but all he could think about was the heat of Kurt’s touch and how it somehow managed to warm his whole body. Once a silence fell back between them, Blaine forced himself to look back down at his book (which was now turned the correct way), but he couldn’t focus on the words at all.

This was going to be a long trip.

[scriv3lloirl]

HAVE YOU WATCHED LSOH 90s CARTOON??

This is gonna be long, whoops.

But yeah, I have! Someone uploaded all the episodes onto YouTube, Little Shop Archives I believe is the channel name, n I watched maybe.. 4 or 5 episodes(?) out of the 13 uploaded.

I forced myself to watch a few, but Christ. There's no way in hell I could sit through all of that again. No offense if you like it, Anon, but it was jus so god awful borin.

The creators certainly made a lot of interestin choices with the characters—Like Seymour bein built like a damn trapezoid (also not an orphan,) Junior having eyes, Audrey bein' Mr. Mushnik's daughter, along with plenty of other things.

At first, I was excited to watch it, but then I saw Orin wasn't in it, n instead was replaced with some brat named Paine Driller. Paine's design reminds me of a peach pit in the worst way. His voice is fuckin obnoxious, n ev'rytime he was on screen I could only pray the scene would end soon. Which it never did.

Junior's my favorite character, though. He always dropped the hardest songs n it was funny watchin him bully Seymour low-key. A lot of Junior's lines gave me a good chuckle lol

Would I recommend the show to people? No. Was it entertainin? Also No. Might've been the worst two hours of my life watchin it all honestly.

But hey! At least the theme songs real catchy.

[phant0msworld]

Again with you

Notes: Englisch is not my first language please keep that in mind

Waiting for the squad to come back from mount Tantiss felt like waiting for a bad message to come .Not having heard from them since their departure only made it worse, being afraid something happend to them you could not be alone.So you spend most days with Phee or Shep and his daughter Lyana.

But their company can only do so much to help you.

It was midnight when,you again couldn’t sleep when you suddenly got tcommed.

“(Reader), we’re on our way back and we got Crosshair,we will be back in approximately two to three days.”

Hearing hunters voice brought immediate relief, and hearing that they finally got Crosshair back after all this time made you happier than ever for them.

Before everything went downhill you were their squad medic, you were brought to them because they would often be on mission after mission without being able to go to Kamino to get proper medical treatment.

At first it was rough,having a complete stranger in their space and it also being a nat-born wasn’t something they were comfortable with.

The easiest of the four to warm up to you was Wrecker,after a mission on which he was hurt you treated him and to ease the awkwardness you asked how many droids he blew up.After That he started rambling about his love for blowing things up, and on how many he once was able to get with just one explosion.

Next in line was Tech, he once came to you about a question he had on the topic of medicine.Since he and his brothers don’t really get sick, and he once stumbled upon an article about vaccination and their risks and benefits, he wanted to know more and came to you.Being surprised that he would come to you and also happy, you taught him everything you knew about the benefits for nat-borns.Since then he often discusses medical topics with you and asks for your opinion on them.

Hunter and Crosshair were a different story, and you could tell it wouldn’t be easy to earn their respect and trust.

Hunter welcomed you in the squad and was nice to you but you could tell he kept his distance from you.At first thinking nothing of it and believing he just needed his time you gave him space and only interacted when necessary.The two of you got closer over time but you’re big breakthrough was while being on a mission.The five of you were separated and Hunter and you were together,Hunter hat gotten shot in the process of protecting you.As he wasn’t really abel to walke alone and you couldn’t carry him for a longe time,the two of you found shelter in a cave while waiting to get picked up.As you were waiting you were trying your best at treating hunters wound , when suddenly a Wilde animal appeared.You tried to shield Hunter from the animal since he couldn’t move,after taking a few scratches you were able to slice its carotid artery, you didn’t wanna fiere your blaster since enemy forces where stille around,and you didn’t wanna provoke them to look for the sound of a blaster firing.

After That he not only respected you more but was more open to you in general wich made you really happy.

The hardest one was for sure Crosshair, not only was he distant the whole time but every single attempted approach was in vain.You tried starting a conversation he would not answer , make fun of you or leave the room entirely.Finding yourself wanting to impress him you made some dumm choices, not only on the ship but also on missions, you wanted to do anything just so that he would at least tolerate you.But after a few weeks you gave up, and besides Echo joined you and he was a much better conversationalist than Crosshair would ever be.But Crosshair got only meaner,you tried to ignore,it but after a really rough mission where you where nearly put into slavery you lost it. How dare he make fun of you after you almost were sold to some old man and laugh as if it isn’t that bad,you screamed at him in front of everyone, you didn’t care if you embarrassed yourself or him.He doesn’t have to be friends with you, but at least being nice was an option.

After that you went out of the cockpit and in to the bunks,they only saw you again when exiting the marauder and going in to base.

Hunter must have convinced him to talk to you and apologize other than that you can’t explain why he was suddenly beside you and looking ashamed while saying sorry.He looked surprised when you asked him why he hates you.

You can still hear his answers as clear as daylight in your head.

“I don’t hate you.I just don’t know how to talk with you.”he finally answered after a long time.

Looking up to him with glassy eyes you say “ What do you mean with you don’t know how to talk with me,you talk with me now don’t you.”

He looked a bit stunned at your confused voice and sighs.

“Look (reader) I know it seems like I don’t care what others think about me and it first I didn’t care what you thought of me.But after seeing how you care for all of us and seeing your witty comments I must admit I was afraid a bit.Afraid of letting you get to me, afraid of getting attached to you, afraid of catching feelings.I know it was not right of me to be this mean but, i didn’t want you to be nice to me so that those feelings you brought up would disappear.”

Now you were the one to look surprised, “ Oh, I didn’t know”

“How could you know when was an asshole the whole time,all I can say is that I am sorry for making you feel this way I hope you can give me another chance.And just so you know me admitting this is really not easy for me and I will not say it again.” While saying this he is looking away to the other side so you can’t see his face.

But what you can see is the tip of his ears being slightly red.

The following weeks Crosshair and you were able to get closer to one another it took its time but what blossomed out of it was an understanding between the both of you.That he loves you and you love him and Thant nothing in the galaxy could change that, but not having said it to each other made thing when he decided to be with the empire hard for you.You wish you said it to him eat least once maybe then he would not have left, maybe then he would not have suffered.

Looking back on the memories and wondering if one I love you would have change the course of everything made you sad.Knowing nothing will be the same as it was before you feel scared of seeing Crosshair again.

Does se he still love you?

You know you still love him, infact you nerver once stopped loving him.Not being able to stopp the tears from coming over the uncertain future you quietly cry yourself to sleep.

The next two days seem to just pas you as you wait patiently for your found family.Omega commed you a few minutes ago and said Thant they will be shortly there, after your conversation you immediately sprinted to the the landing zone.

As you looked towards the sky you saw the marauder, they land and you feel as if your world is being turned over.Seeing them come out of the ship made you feel relieved.Your feet carried you as fast as they could almost falling in the process you run in to the arms of the people you love.

Sobbing like a child who just woke up from a nightmare mare and clinging at your family like a child would do with its mother.

“I was so afraid I would lose you all.” You say in between sobs.

“You could never lose us we.” Says Hunter while looking at you with a smile wich has so much warm in it that he could probably melt even the icebergs on Hoth.

Hearing all to familiar footsteps you look past Hunter and look directly into Crosshairs eyes.It feels like the galaxy stops for a moment,a tear slides down your face bevor you smile and pull him into a hug.

You can feel him tens at first but then he melts in to the hug, it seems he also missed you.

“(Reader), I am-“ you cut him off before he can say anything else.

“Not now please, later but not now. I’m just glad you’re safe and with us again.”

You whisper in his ear.

The days after the squads return were complicated,Crosshair and you didn’t talk about really.its not because he didn’t wanna talk it was because you were avoiding him cause you don’t know if your ready for what was to come, to hear Thant to much happened between the two of you to start were you left of.

Instead you were spending time with Hunter and omega more and more.

Until one evening where you are at the beach watching the sunset and enjoying the breeze. Not knowing someone is approaching you.

“(Reader),please let us talk. I can’t go on like this with you avoiding me.I know you probably hate me but please don’t be a stranger.I know you don’t love me anymore and all that but I love you and I will love you till the end of my life and I can’t live with you not talking with me.”

You hear his desperation, as you turn he can see the tears forming in your eyes.

“Oh Crosshair, I could never hate you, I thought you didn’t love me after everything that happened and you know we never said Thant we love each other.I regret never saying those three words to you.”

Saying this while looking at him with tears of happiness in your eyes, as you finished talking he bursts to you and pulls you into a kiss where you both pour your whole hearts into.

After the kiss finishes you both sit in the sand and just hug, none of you say anything, but you don’t have to you both understand what is happening.

Watching as the sun disappear you can only imagine what the future will bring, cause he’s again with you.

Notes: I hope you like this one shot I would appreciate a small feedback :)

[itsnothingofinterest]

Hey, I feel like going a bit into why I’m so concerned with things like; confirming Tomua’s dignity & agency in villainy, Deku not taking easy outs in saving Tomura, and the villains goals in forceful societal reform. Get some stuff off my chest.

And really it all relates to how, for as much as his fans can be worried, Deku eventually saving Tomura is as guaranteed as him beating AFO.

But that’s all that’s guaranteed. Anything more than that; like changing the system or being a better hero than All Might so future kids like Tenko don’t fall through the cracks? No guarantee of that. It’s up in the air. And in fact, prospects aren’t really looking good rn.

(But in the interest of fairness, we’ll stick to Deku & Tomura today without touching on what other villain encounters may or may not imply.)

More Character Development Needed:

Here's the thing. The course of the story? That’s when character development happens. It may be unrealistic to assume he won’t mental grow any further, but narratively that’s just how it works. So whatever Deku is like at the end of the story is what we can generally expect he’ll be like for the rest of his life.

And what he is now is an otherwise kind & well-meaning soul; but who has such complete faith in the current system that he cannot accept any criticisms towards it when they stare him right in the face, fully wanting things to go back to normal and believing any flaws can be paved over by him being a good enough hero and staying All Might’s course.

Don’t misunderstand; he’ll still be a good hero. He’ll save most kids in Tenko’s situation just like All Might. But like All Might; some will slip through the cracks, become like Tomura, form their own villain teams, and loop right back to here, complete with casualties. And it’ll end with the same happy ending this conflict will have…and because the events of the story are when characters develop, that will similarly do nothing to prevent the villain team after that from forming and saying the same stuff about Hero Society & Deku.

Repeat until the Quirk Singularity does the world in.

To use an analogy I’m sure Tomura would appreciate: it’s the bad ending you get where the big bad is still beaten, but you didn’t do enough side-quests and messed up the dialogue trees so everything still kind of sucks afterwords.

And I know there are people who hope that all this societal injustice stuff can just...work itself out in an epilogue, after Deku saves Tomura & the rest of the kids save the rest of the villains. because that’s what’s important. But I can’t just give Deku the benefit of the doubt to come to the conclusions needed for him to change society, and then easily implement those changes that Tomura put his life on the line for, by himself, all off-screen. He needs to see the flaws in the system now, in the text, or I will have no choice to assume he never will.

How To Avoid This (By Avoiding Easy-Outs):

The thing is; this is avoidable. On paper, pretty easily. So much so that some may call it rushed; but I’m not complaining...today. Because while it’s “easy” from one view, it’s also the among the hardest tasks imaginable from another. He just needs to take to heart the opinions of someone who knows where his beliefs are wrong and need correction.

All he needs is to go through the proper development on-screen, which could be done by gaining the necessary introspection by talking to Tomura as an intellectual equal with grievances to listen too.

And that’s why I have problems with ending theories where he takes the easy out of blaming Tomua’s distrust of society on AFO. The kind of hero Deku would be to convince Tomura he doesn’t actually have beef with hero society that AFO didn't just trick him to having, pinning it all on an easy-to-blame villain? Maybe follow up with the feel-good buzzwords or ‘hope’ and ‘guiding light’ and ‘lending a hand’ he gave Lady Nagant? all without heroes ever having to take responsibility for their mistakes & the consequences there-of? That’s the kind of Pro Hero Deku I described above. A Deku that never has to admit his or his side’s faults.

Why take that kind of easy out when he could face an greater challenge and get a greater reward for it instead?

Like, forgive a tangent but this is why I could never get behind final villain!AFO.

He never raised the treat level of the villains; far from it. In addition to his self-sabotaging idiocy he also provides many easy outs to the otherwise greatest challenge Deku would face, in combat and diplomacy, in Tomura. 1st by making him weaker by being a worse fighter controlling his body, and 2nd by being such an invasive force that as the idea goes, Tomura will give up all his aspirations of changing society and put his & his friends’ lives in the hands of people he really cannot and has no reason to trust (reminder: still the same people who killed Twice), so long as it means being rid of him.

And then the idea is that Tomura’s turning to Deku’s side will mean they’ll team up against AFO to take him down trivially easy. (Even though either could easily take him on their own, but this way is even easier. Which is a pattern.)

These non-conflicts are apparently preferable to some, to Deku facing the strongest villain ever and then convincing said villain that he can be trusted to change the world for the better by addressing his own short-comings. I don’t see it.

It feels like some readers are just looking for easy-outs that ensure Tomira’s safety; climatic challenge be damned. They’re outs Deku doesn’t really need, and the consequences for taking being pretty severe as society doesn’t ever change to not fail the next Tenko Shimura…but it makes saving Tomura sound so easy it’s all but guaranteed so a lot of his fans support it. But to me: Tomura getting saved in guaranteed, so the rocky way there with a better ending is much preferred to the easy way there riddled with consequences.

Conclusion:

You know, there’s a post going around saying guys like me will be “so much happier” if we accept villains like Shigaraki and Dabi are just pathetic children in need of saving; and I assure you I will not be. Any hope of the future of this setting under Deku’s generation is quite firmly rooted in the villains being treated seriously enough to listen too. To give that up is to give up on the next generation not making all the same mistakes as the previous, trapping the setting in a cycle of suffering and violence perpetuated by hope until doomsday.

Looking at Tomura as just the crying child will save that child, but addressing Tomura the disenfranchised adult can save every such child. And, well, Deku wants to be the greatest hero. I’m gonna hold him to that.

[lykaios2]

Hi, how are you?

Could you do a one shot rottmnt in which Donnie's daughter goes back to the past with Casey Jr and finds her parents alive? At first she tries to remain calm, wanting to focus on the mission, but after a few hours it becomes difficult, and ends up revealing who she is. The daughter was closer to her mother's human side, despite having slightly green skin and the same color as Donnie's eyes.

If you don't want to write this, that's fine, I understand! :)

omg

okay so uh I normally wouldn't do this but yours is a special case

I am splitting this request into two parts! it's been a while since you requested this and I wanted to give you at least something. also it's been a minute since I gave actual content to my followers

Like Father, Like Daughter: Part 1

In which Donatello's daughter travels back in time and has an unlikely run in with someone she never would expect.

Part 2 can be found here

The apocalypse. It was almost over. It was a hard fought battle, but the resistance, under the leadership of Leo and with the help of Mikey, were able to overcome the Kraang. That being said, plenty of sacrifices were still made in the process. Some were affected more than others...

Such was the case for Lily, Donatello's daughter. She bore a unique sort of pain, being the only child to come of the four turtles. She had lost her father at a young age to the Kraang. She was old enough to have shared many great memories with him, but not old enough to get the revenge she wanted.

In turn, she became the hardest working assistant in the resistance. If she couldn't help on the front lines, then she would have to help behind the scenes as much as possible. Every day she worked, moving things around, fixing things up, tending to the occasional patient in the med bay, helping cook meals if the chefs needed it. Everyone said she has the same work ethic as her father.

Casey was assigned as her "caretaker". It wasn't as much caretaking as it was making sure she didn't get into trouble. Lily's mom passed away when she was very young, so they couldn’t find anyone else to care for her. Casey wasn't much older than her, so to pass the time, Casey would often strike up conversations with her. They became good friends over time, eventually becoming side by side companions.Early one morning, Casey found Lily, working hard as per usual. He had always admired her incredible work ethic, but today was the day to return the favor for all the work she had done.

"Hey Lily, are you busy? Actually, I guess it doesn't matter. Come with me."

Lily looked up at him, confused. As Casey started to walk away, she had no choice but to follow. He led her through the hallways, slowly making their way to the less populated part of the base. When they stopped, they were in such a secluded spot that it was completely silent, something that never happened in the base, especially at this time of day.

"So, what did you bring me here for?"

Casey was very excited about what he was going to show Lily. He managed to keep his voice low, though, despite the increasing excitement he was feeling with each moment.

"I'm about to give you something very special. I proposed this idea at a meeting, and I was able to convince some people to have it made for you."

Casey proceeded to explain that everyone around the base had noticed how hard Lily worked. He said he proposed the idea of a gift, to thank her for all the work she had done. Everyone had agreed, and they all pitched ideas until they settled on the one he was about to reveal.

"Are you ready?"

Lily's expression showed a bit of concern, and she hesitantly agreed. She had no clue what she was about to receive. Casey asked her to close her eyes and wait. She did so, and when Casey told her open her eyes, in front of her was a large metal device.

"What...is this?"

"It's...a time traveling machine."

Her jaw dropped. She stood there in awe, now realizing what was in front of her. Casey waited for her to speak, and when she did, she was stumbling over her words, trying to find the right way to express herself.

"You- what? This is- but...how? I can't even...for me? When? I..."

She trailed off her words with a sigh. Casey just chuckled in response.

"I know it's a lot to take in. But I can answer all your questions later. For now, there's something specific I want to do."

Lily looked at him, intrigued, and waited for him to continue.

"You know how you've pretty much lived your whole life in the apocalypse?"

Lily nodded.

"Well, I'm going to take you back. To a time before the war. New York, 2020. I'd like to show you what life was before the apocalypse."

When the words reached her ears, she could hardly contain her excitement. She had heard many stories from everyone about life before the war. In her free time, she often imagined the things she would do if she had lived back then. Now, her dreams could come true.

"Step in. No time to lose, right?"

Lily nodded, barely able to keep her excitement under control. She slowly walked into the surprisingly spacious machine, and Casey followed. As he stepped inside, he began to work the machine's complex controls. When he was done, he turned to Lily.

"Are you ready?"

She nodded again, and Casey pushed a button. As he did, Lily immediately felt as if she had lost consciousness for a second, but then she came to. When she opened her eyes, she was still inside the machine. She turned to Casey, relieved that he was still there. Casey did the same, then proceeded to open the door of the machine.As he did, their eyes were greeted by lots of lights and noises. They stepped out onto the roof of a tall building overlooking New York.

"It...it worked! We're here! Oh my gosh...I can't believe this..."

Lily looked around. There was so much to take in. The noises; people, cars, music. The lights were so bright and colorful. All the buildings were so tall. She looked over the edge of the building, her mouth wide open in awe.

"So...you like what you see?"

"I love it! It's incredible! Everything I ever wished for and more!"

Casey chuckled as she continued to look over the skyline, enjoying the view.

"Come on, Lily. We don't have to just look. We can go places, you know? Do things."

She snapped out of her awestruck state, and followed Casey. He led her down a flight of stairs attached to the side of the building, and out into the streets.

Casey had come prepared, thankfully. He had brought some more casual clothes for them to wear, because he figured their outfits from the future would make them stand out quite a bit. They had changed before they time traveled.

"So, what do you want to do first? This is your trip."

"Oh, there's so much..."

Lily started reading off of mental list she kept in the back of her mind, which consisted of all the things she'd told herself she would do if she ever got the chance. Casey was a bit surprise by how prepared she was for this, but he nonetheless took everything unto consideration and made a quick itinerary.

"Before we set out, I must remind you. It's very crucial we keep out identity a secret, or we could have some problems."

Lily agreed, and they set off. They had lots to do. They tried new food. They went window shopping at all of the fancy clothes stores, even stopping every so often to try a few things on. They watched a movie at a theater. They even stopped at Times Square to watch a few performances.

Lily enjoyed all of it. She had dreamed of this for so long, and now it was a reality. Nothing could have gone wrong...

"Watch out! It's the Foot!"

Lily whipped her head around. She had heard that name before, and she knew it meant no good. She prepared herself to fight, with what minimal self defense she knew. A long time ago, she had begged and begged to Leo to be taught how to fight. Eventually, Leo gave in and taught her a few self defense techniques.

Before anything could happen, though, Casey took her arm and starting pulling her away. Confused, she asked what was going on.

"Don't worry. It's being dealt with."

"By who?"

"By the-"

Casey hesitated for a second. He knew who it was...it was the turtles. But could he really tell her that? I mean, what could happen if she met them? How would she react? How would they react? There were too many unknowable factors to consider.

"...By the police. Let them handle it. We shouldn't get involved."

Lily could tell something something was wrong but she kept her mouth shut for now. She didn't want to ruin her dream trip, after all. But curiosity got the better of her and she turned her head to try and see who it really was.

[red-hemlock]

// 1, 7, 23?

Edgy OC Asks @mute-call

1. What memory would your OC rather just forget?

Many. Many, many many... One of them, would be the death of her younger brother. Men were not treated well in the Locke family, and arguably the ones who passed in infancy had it easier than the ones who were actually allowed to grow-up there. Though he was cowed and more than a bit soft-spoken, River's brother Micah wanted to prove that he was worthy of being an assassin like his sisters and female cousins; and River vehemently stood-up for him to be given a chance to prove it. Thus, their grandmother gave Micah an 'impossible' task to complete to prove his capability, with punishment awaiting them both should he fail to do so.

He wasn't ready for it, though.

When he failed to return, River went out to look for him. When she found Micah, she was unable to save him, leading to him ultimately falling to his death. It's a memory that's stuck with her to this day, a catalyst to her wanting to build-up her muscle-mass; and the sight of his body another reason for her aquaphobia.

7. What’s one way your OC has changed since you first came up with them?

Quite a bit, from what I still remember of how she was originally supposed to be! Granted I trashed all of that stuff more than a decade ago, but-... She used to be a LOT more serious. Not even sassy-serious, but very no nonsense. Instead of an assassin, she was also going to be a meta with fire powers... I think she was going to be an escaped experiment from some lab, or maybe even an alien. I ended-up changing her, because I felt like being a meta was a common choice for DC OCs; and I kind-of liked the challenge of figuring-out how River would have to handle/interact with super-powered characters while she is a standard human.

That, and I thought there were more than enough serious Batman villains too, so I wanted to try making one that was a little more funny.

Her FC was also going to be Gina Gershon, before I found the immaculate perfection that is Lena Headey. Gina instead became the FC for one of her aunts.

23. What emotion is the hardest for your OC to process? How about express?

Forgiveness. Loyalty is a big thing with her, and she expects it to go both ways, with broken loyalty having been the root cause of all her issues in the first place. After having been 'burned' so badly by people she loved and relied-on, she doesn't see the point in forgiving them let alone people not even related to her by blood. But that could be because she hasn't learned to forgive herself for placing trust in such awful people yet.

Even smaller instances, while they certainly wouldn't land someone on her blacklist or effect a relationship with her too negatively, she'll say things like 'it's fine' or 'it's water under the bridge' to them, instead of 'I forgive you'. She'll of course never forget those smaller infractions either, and might even bring them up later down the line as a clap-back for something. Expect a retaliatory prank down the line for small slights.

As for the second question, she doesn't really have problems expressing emotions, but she doesn't express anger very healthily... It tends to be intensely explosive and environmentally-damaging, due to how much she bottles it up.

[ihatetaxes99]

 Hello, ladies and gentlemen. Yes, it is I, everyone's favourite favourite part-Irish, part-English, part-Welsh twat with yet more demented rambles to indulge in. I wish to talk about a problem I have felt with Boku No Hero for quite some time, one that I feel above all else has tarnished the series in regards to its quality of writing. So, here I am, jotting down my thoughts lest my head combust with it all. I shall try my hardest to keep the vociferous language to a minimum, if not outright eliminated, for I don't have much interest in hyperbole tonight. A basic little rundown of what I think may well have been the nails in BNHA's sacred palms.

 Spoilers below the cut. But I'm sure you knew that already.

 I would argue that this particular issue has been present in the manga persistently since Bakugo's non-sacrifice in Jaku. However, it only became truly evident to me in Chapter 295. The return of Mirio Togata. And hence, I introduce the problem.

 Horikoshi has taken to writing scenes based on their emotional appeal- or 'cool factor'- first, and logic second. Yes, BNHA is a superhero shonen set in a far-future Japan, but that does not excuse it from following its own logical consistency. Every fictional world has its own logic, and that can be as different from ours as it could desire, but it must stick to that logic. In BNHA's case, Quirks have had relatively little impact on society as a whole aside from the obvious, it's still very much a world that can be compared to our own twenty-first century experience. This is all to say that yes, prioritising grandiose set pieces over common sense is not something that can be hand waved away, as this is not a series such as JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, which is built on an inherent silliness.

 To better explain my point, I want to take a look at a few scenes that in particular highlight my frustrations. First of all, Togata's return. It's cool, he's kicking ass and taking names (not that poor Sako has any ass to kick at that point), and it's a huge moment for fans of his character. However, upon relatively brief inspection, it falls apart. Togata recovers his Quirk by having Eri rewind his body, a rather ethically questionable act that can further the already-established questions into the morality of UA and the Japanese government that this arc did serve to push. However, the act itself is never shown, nor are any potential consequences. Eri, a girl who is far too traumatised to use her Quirk, is never shown actually overcoming that fear. Neither character seems to struggle in any way with what happened. Furthermore, Togata just appears on the battlefield from nowhere, conveniently at the best possible time. What compelled UA to make such a choice? It's implied that Aizawa is now her legal guardian and with him on the front lines, who gave consent for Eri to undergo this process, in spite of the dangers to both herself and Togata? All of this to send one extra soldier into the war, a soldier who, for all his flash, only served to arrest a man who most likely would have died had he not been captured and hospitalised. Mirio Togata looks cool, his Quirk is cool and seeing him in action again is no doubt intoxicating for his fans; But the simple fact of the matter is that the terms of his return make absolutely zero sense. This is also without mentioning the fact that him reattaining his Quirk spits in the face of BNHA's main themes of taking life's harshness and making the most out of a bad situation, even when you've lost everything. Togata faced a tangible loss in the Hassaikai Arc, a loss that could have haunted him for the rest of his life. But he was content, and he refused to indulge in self-pity. He made the most out of his bad situation. Now, none of that matters anymore. And he hasn't even done anything of any relevance since then. 

 Exhibit B, Kaina Tsutsumi's death. I am aware that she technically is not dead (somehow; Clearly Horikoshi never realised that giving everybody absurd plot armour doesn't do anything to reduce the distraction of the protagonist's), but let's face it, she won't be returning again, so she may as well be. Tsutsumi is a character I rather enjoyed while she was around. A former government agent, the same breed as Hawks, who realised the depraved depths of her indoctrination and fought back against the system, only to be tossed into Tartarus for it. It's a fascinating idea, one that capitalises upon my love for gritty, grounded government conspiracy plotlines. What becomes of it, then? Well, Tsutsumi is blown up by All for One for disobeying his orders. How does she disobey them? After making clear her distaste for the blind optimism in the hero system displayed by indoctrinated youth, she is swayed to the side of 'righteousness' by Midoirya's blind optimism in the hero system. It is well established that Midoriya is the exact kind of person Tsutsumi despises, with his blind faith in what has been preached to him as justice and his somewhat self-absorbed hero complex, so for him to convince her, a hardened nihilist who had spent the last decade in one of the worst prisons in the country, of the light in the world by demonstrating exactly that is… Well, there are words to describe it that I'm not willing to say right now, so let's just settle on frustrating, shall we? A falling, burning Tsutsumi, caught by Hawks, the shot of her rain-swept face smiling warmly as her head blows apart is a catching visual, and that visual is what the whole scene is built on, once again sacrificing any actual internal or external logic, as well as what has been established for the characters involved. 

 For the final example, I want to illuminate the events of Chapter 377, the most recent to be leaked. I shan't be sharing any direct spoilers for this chapter here, but I wish to bring it in, for it perfectly embodies my point. A certain character reappears, a character with a relatively loyal fanbase, who has not appeared in many years. This character's return is no doubt cause for jubilation for some, but once again, the shock and awe of a beloved character coming back to the story is a mask for the lack of underlying logic for their return. This character's return was not in any way foreshadowed before the final few pages of the chapter. Considering that they are seen next to Tsukauchi, one would think that he would have bothered to at least hint at this at some point in the setup for the current war (even just a vague line like "We've got a few bargaining chips we can use, some strings to pull…" would be preferable to nothing). The fact of the matter is that their return has one purpose; The story's writing explicitly failed in that it made Skeptic too powerful of a threat. He is far away from any of the battlefields, has complete control over UA's systems and is clearly insane enough to kill everyone inside if given the chance. This is not something the story can allow, so it pulls out this character to correct how Horikoshi wrote himself into a corner. Of course, one should also note that, while they were shown to be fairly tech literate, to suggest that they are on par with Skeptic is utterly absurd. Once again, the wow factor is given more care than the quality of writing and internal consistency.

 There are many more examples I could call upon. Bakugo's death and subsequent revival, the explosion of the Creature Rejection Clan mansion, anything involving All for One lately, the Stars And Stripes fight, I could go on. It's sloppy and it's lazy and it's killing the series that once stood at the top of the world. BNHA, like so many other shonen manga, is going out with a depressing whimper. It's almost as bad as Beastars. I said it. While it was never a perfect series, it did once have strong writing and consistency and that is why I still cherish a lot of the manga prior to the Jaku/Gunga Raid Arc. 

 For that reason, I wish to give an example of how in the past, Horikoshi avoided these pitfalls. The My Villain Academia Arc is heralded by many as the peak of the manga, and I am inclined to agree. Although not perfect, it has the strongest characterisation, world building and emotional draw of the series. So, I would like to take a moment to discuss how it ends. A powerful image. The great Re-Destro, always well-dressed, always immaculate, reduced to a naked, exhausted old man, bowing down to an angel of death, Tomura Shigaraki, the being he towered over mere minutes prior. It's a powerful image, one of my favourites in the series. In spite of that, Horikoshi does not use this image as a substitute for substance. Everything behind it is logical. It is well established that Yotsubashi's two key loves are for his ideology and human life, so in ceding control to Shigaraki, he is, in his mind, preventing further deaths and handing his future to who he sees as a fully liberated individual. As we soon see, this was a fatal mistake, for Shigaraki used the MLA as another tool in his path and ultimately discarded them once he was done, but it is clear to see why Yotsubashi saw it as the best option. The internal logic is consistent and sound. It's an example, one that wow factor does not have to be a substitute for satisfying storytelling, and that Horikoshi is far better than his recent output suggests. The man is ill, he's exhausted and he no doubt wants this Godforsaken series to end so that he can start writing something that he has passion for once again. I cannot blame him one bit. The reason I have written this is not to point and laugh at Horikoshi's failings; It is put into writing the heights that BNHA as a manga has fallen from, to its current point of mediocrity. No matter what, it will always be a series with moments that I shall hold dear. It was once something special, under that façade of bland shonen garbage and as much as that façade becomes the true face in the current state of the manga, I shall never forget how much it has helped me in the past.

 Thank you very much for reading and I wish you a pleasant day. If you disagree, please don't hesitate to share why; Healthy discussion on opposing viewpoints is how media thrives.

[kimium]

Hello my dear dear friend💜 I would love to hear your thoughts and rambles today on what you think the NRC Housewardens’ favourite songs are💜💜💜💜 (any genre!)

Hello, friend! Thank you so much for this ask. I always struggle a ton with music related character asks because 1) I don't usually assign songs to characters and 2) I mostly listen to Japanese music (Ayumi Hamasaki for the win!) I'm so far removed from "pop" music... I don't even know what the top billboard songs are for this year... regardless I'll answer this as best as I can.

The NRC Housewardens' favourite songs (All based on my personal playlist)

Riddle - Pride by Ayumi Hamasaki

For Riddle I picked this song because of the message in the lyrics. I feel like it's Riddle after his overblot, trying to find his way in life. With (translated) lyrics like, "And then the girl just struggled and struggled/ And when she noticed she was filled with emptiness/ She had a new understanding". However, the ending of the song, "Let's go together/Because nothing is so fearful as giving up" feels like Riddle overcoming his sorrow over his overblot and attempting to move on with his dorm.

Leona - MAYDAY by coldrain ft. Ryo

Leona gave me the HARDEST TIME picking a song. I just don't have the kind of songs that I think Leona would like. I picked this song mostly because of the lyrics talking to someone who "hasn't listened to the warnings and is now paying the price".

Azul - Scala ad Caleum by Yoko Shinomura

My first instinct was to pick a classical or instrumental song for Azul. For some reason, Scala ad Caleum stuck out to me as his choice. I'm not sure why but there is something about the haunting melody of this song that makes me think of Azul.

Kalim - Shut Up and Dance - WALK THE MOON

I wanted a fun song for Kalim and a song that has energy. To me this is a song that is a fun karaoke song and one to dance to. It's also a song I've heard at weddings and that suits Kalim! He wants to celebrate fun events with everyone.

Vil - MWTWB by Amalee

The was the obvious choice. This entire song has "Evil Queen" vibes and every time I listen to it I think about Vil. Especially with lines like "And if you're gonna to beg, then do it now or else I'm going to stain my gown" or "Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the baddest bitch of all? It's me."

Idia - (Don't) Leave Me Alone by Ayumi Hamasaki

I picked this song for Idia because of the lyrics; I think it suits him. It's all about someone so certain they can see past the facade of other people, telling them they're sick of their "niceness" and asks them when they're going to "stop acting". However, as the song goes on it's clear that the person is certain that they're not worthy of this "niceness" and demand that they "leave them alone" even though they contradict themselves by ending the song with "don't leave me alone".

Malleus - All This And Heaven Too - Florence and the Machine

What I love about this song is how the narrator is attempting to understand the heart, but is unable to. No matter how long one studies or learns, the heart is filled with secrets. Yet, there is a yearning to communicate radiates through the song, wishing to give anything to learn the secrets of the heart. This to me speaks to Malleus's loneliness and isolation for most of his life. It just feels like it really suits Malleus to me, even if it's a sad song.

And there you have it! My choices. This was really difficult for me to do... but I hope you like it. Please let me know what yours are! I'm certain you'll have some awesome choices that I'd never come up with. Also, sorry for not linking the music everyone... I'm too tired.

[1lostsoul0fishbowl]

Just for fun, have some random tidbits and trivia about With a Little Help From My Friends. Much like the fic itself, this list got quite long, so I’m putting it under the cut…

I don’t write nearly enough about Eddie and Robin’s friendship, but in both ch 8 and ch 24 when Eddie is in dire straits, Robin is literally the first person he thinks of that he can go to for help.

In ch 10 while Eddie and Max are at the store, he’s debating between Red Vines and Twizzlers, eventually choosing Twizzlers. Later in ch 26 Max says Twizzlers are her favorite candy. And yes, it’s totally because of him.

In ch 12, all that stuff about Temple Grandin and the cows is true. And it totally seemed like something Suzie would just know, and Dustin would eagerly research because he wants to help his bestie.

When I wrote ch 22– the Jason in Pennhurst visited by a vision of El chapter— I had totally forgotten about how Jason kicked Gareth’s ass, but looking back and adding that tidbit to El’s motivations in keeping Jason exactly where he is gives it an extra zesty flavor.

Ch 28, the drabble where Wayne finally makes things official with Claudia, is probably the hardest I’ve ever laughed while writing.

Ch 33 contains a little drabble about Eddie and Chrissy just relaxing in a hammock together, and I honestly think it might be one of the best things I’ve ever written.

In ch 41 Steve probably seems pretty OOC at the beginning. That was deliberate— he’d just gotten back from spending a ton of time with his parents, and no longer has any idea who he actually is. By the end of ch 42 he’s getting back to his real self.

Also in ch 41 Steve refers to Grant as “T.B. Player” purely for a little in-joke with my own self regarding the movie That Thing You Do!, where the bass player never gets a name throughout the entire movie despite being a main character with lots of lines, and in the end credits is listed as T.B. Player. Justice for unnamed freak!

The part in ch 61 where first Eddie and then Steve are teaching Gareth to dance is one of my favorite scenes. If I could draw, I would’ve drawn it!

In ch 63– Will’s letters to Jonathan— I didn’t include Jonathan’s letters back because I just could. not. get his voice right. Jonathan, Nancy, Lucas, Mike, and ironically Steve are the characters that I have the hardest time getting into their heads. I love them all to bits but that’s why I rarely write their pov’s.

Ch 64 was a tough one for me to write and I’m not sure I managed to strike the right balance between Party shenanigans/hellcheer wedding planning vs Robin’s very real fears regarding her parents’ reaction to finding out she was dating Vickie. If I could rewrite the whole fic, this would be the chapter I’d start with. BUT, one thing I liked about it was Steve repairing the crocheted blanket just so Robin could unravel it again. In the Lostsoul Universe, many Party members have told Steve “I love you” but the only time he ever says it back is in this chapter, to Robin. Poor dude.

Ch 66 might seem way OTT but I stand by it. Because it happened to me.

I wrote ch 73 for the sole purpose of giving Eddie a kitten named Lucifer Dio. (Lucy for short!) He absolutely gives cat dad energy.

In ch 79 we find out how Henry Creel became Vecna. Dr. Brenner gave him an experimental drug I called “exousía”. This was a very deliberate choice. Exousía is a Greek word meaning power/control/dominion— all the things Brenner was so hungry for. I based this on googling the word “Soteria” (the implant in Henry’s neck) and discovering that it was an actual Greek word with the meanings of deliverance/healing/salvation. Food for thought!!! Honestly I was a little sad that nobody picked up on how clever I’d been with that name 🙄😂 but that was a really long chapter with a lot going on so it’s understandable.

Feel free to ask me any questions you might have or just holler at me!

[rainytypology]

SF9 Jaeyoon MBTI Analysis

- ESFJ -

An in-depth analysis of an idol's MBTI type. Based on my opinion and observations, may change later. Not an expert.

MBTI: ESFJ (Fe - Si - Ne - Ti)

Dom: Fe (extroverted feeling)

A judging function that values and strives towards social harmony in order to reach a goal

Like most Fe users, Jaeyoon is naturally charming and kind, or tries to be despite his awkwardness at times. He seems to gain energy from others, having no problem with making positive connections (e.g all his flirty jokes to other members and other male idols).

Being an Fe dom and being an older brother naturally makes him a care taker. Even Youngbin has said Jaeyoon feels like an older brother despite being older than him. He's quite attentive to other's feelings, as Fe feels validated with positive results/reactions from others (e.g Sep center; with Yoo Tae, he noticed Tae was quite happy with the needle felting and even checked in to make sure he was genuinely content).

Aux: Si (introverted sensing)

A perceiving function that is focused on the internal sensations of the body. Prefers familiarity and internal structure

Jaeyoon is a very consistent person, as most high Si users are. Has a set workout routine, always makes sure to update with Fantasies, even consistent with the hoodies he wears during his lives (even members have joked about how he only has 3 shirts). Iirc, there was a period where Jaeyoon wasn't doing lives weekly as usual and when he finally had time to do so, he said it felt weird not doing live streams. High Si users do not like to stray from their routine.

Out of all the members, he was still having the hardest time adapting to their new temporary member line up. He has spoken the most about missing Youngbin and Inseong; their absences truly affected Jaeyoon the most. Even Taeyang joked on Weekly Idol that Jaeyoon should just join Youngbin in the military if he missed him so much. Si is not spontaneous and is slower to adapt, which definitely applies to Jaeyoon. During an Idol Radio ep for their Scream promotions, he talked about the empty spaces Youngbin and Inseong left. The ability to clear tension was easy for Inseong but not for Jaeyoon. Doing the ments was Youngbin's thing, not Jaeyoon's. Having those new responsibilities was likely challenging for Jaeyoon, who seems used to simply working in the background.

Tert: Ne (extroverted intuition)

A perceiving function that creates new ideas through connections and patterns in the environment

Since it's tertiary, he doesn't mind doing something different once in awhile.

04/03/22 vlive; He wanted to wear something different for the live instead of his usual hoodies. He couldn't decide though and ended up wearing a button up and track pants. He even gave an explanation to this sudden change. His "I Can" vlive series where he tries new activities is also a good example.

Similar to Inseong, Jaeyoon likes to liven up the atmosphere with his Fe - Ne. However, he's a bit more awkward at times because his dominant Fe can make him self conscious; Dominant/aux Fe users are often careful with how they present themselves to others.

Inf: Ti (introverted thinking)

A judging function that uses subjective knowledge to make the most logical and rational choices.

As his inferior function, it's likely where his slightly scatterbrained nature comes from. Having both Ne - Ti lower on the function stack, it may be difficult for him to organize and articulate his thoughts properly. The other SF9 members have talked about how slow Jaeyoon answers questions and how he sometimes goes off topic mid sentence. It is apparently common for Fe users to struggle with saying their thoughts in a rational, logical manner. They know how they feel but to put it into coherent rational words is difficult.

"The mind of Jaeyoon, who never thinks." - Inseong

___

I don't think he's an INFP at all...For sure, Hwiyoung is one. I don't see Fi usage in Jaeyoon and he's not flexible enough to have Ne in a higher stack.

He could be more introverted socially, but MBTI is not about behavior or social energy.

___

Other analysis:

Enneagram | Birth chart

___

Kpop typology list

[marriedzukka]

5, 11, 17 for retgmt <3

hi jo beloved my number one retgmt warrior <3<3

5. Where did you write this fic? Is that your favorite spot to write?

all over, but probably mostly in my bed or at the desk in my room. i write a lot at work too when there's downtime but I prefer doing it at home in my cozy space with no interruptions (other than my cat)

11. Was there a scene that you hadn't originally planned to include? Why did you decide to fit it in?

soo many omg...but there a few that come to mind:

1) jet giving sokka a pep talk. jet only plays a very small part in this story so I wasn't sure if I should keep it in, but sokka also needed a reality check from someone who didn't care about his feelings as much as his friends/family lmao.

2) iroh's letter to lu ten. it started as just an exercise in trying to find his voice, and i almost didn't include it because it was hard to find a good spot for it. but people still comment about that part specifically so I'm really glad I kept it in!!

3) sokka's conversation with katara, aang, and toph when zuko was Going Through It. round-table scenes like that are so hard because there's so many people to keep track of and i wasn't sure if it was too clunky, but sokka also needed a pep talk and new perspective from his people so I decided to keep it.

4) zuko's conversation with hakoda. I don't know what it was about this scene that was so damn hard to write but other than the huge emotional parts of that chapter, this was definitely the hardest scene to get right. I knew that I wanted them to have a conversation but i couldn't figure out how to get the two of them alone in a way that was natural. But then it finally clicked when I remembered that I had literally already set up the fact that Sokka was trying to pay more attention to when Zuko needed a break, so it gave me a chance to show Sokka actually doing that AND get Zuko alone.

17. What was the hardest scene to write?

hmmm. tough choice, I've cried so many very real tears writing this thing but apart from the big relationship moments, which I'm always concerned with getting just right, I think the hardest to write was when Zuko finally breaks down in chp. 14. That shit was rough. I had to really dig into those feelings and try to express what grief feels like (it feels like So Much), and also simplify it in a way that made sense and resonated. And then because I love making things even more complicated for myself, I decided to put some flashbacks in that scene too. Those ended up being necessary but I was definitely struggling to make the whole thing flow in a way that made sense.

13.My favorite line of dialogue from this fic was [xyz]. What inspired it?

🥺🥺🥺 i love that line too, I think it sums them up so well. I'm not sure if there was anything specific that inspired it, but I wanted to call back to earlier in the chapter when they were looking through pictures together and Sokka made him say that he deserved good things. And it got to a point when Sokka was finally like, fine- don't believe me? I'll show you myself!!!!

[taylortruther]

The hardest part about rereading the trilogy was that I didn't enjoy Northen Lights as much because I wanted Will. He's such a fantastic character and his relationship with his mother is fascinating.

There's so many mentions of cats regarding Will and I love this because his dæmon settles as a cat. It's like he's connected to cats on a spiritual level (do you think we can use this to convince Taylor to read the books). One of my favorite moments is when he meets Lyra for the first time he describes that "he stayed calm and quiet as if she were a strange cat he was making friends with." His soul is a cat and the first thing he thinks about Lyra when he meets her is that she's like a cat.

And when the children in Cittagazze hurt the cat and Will immediately defends it and Lyra's convinced for a moment that that is his dæmon. And when Lyra wonders what his dæmon is and decides "whatever its form was, it would express a nature that was savage, and courteous, and unhappy."

One of my favorite characterization of his is his ability to be unnoticeable, which is almost like the magic Serafina can do. It's such a catlike ability! And it's such a heartbreaking little detail to add to a character that spent most of his life trying to avoid social service separating him from his mother.

There's a moment in the book when they realize the words anbar/amber and electric mean opposite things in the world and I always remembered this scene because 1. It's funny and 2. It's such a small worldbuilding detail and I love this shit. There's also a scene where Lyra finds the idea of wearing pants as a girl completely outrageous that's so funny.

I love how Pullman uses dæmons to describe intimacy like that moment when Will panics because he's the bearer of the knife and Pan puts his head on his lap to comfort him and it's such a crucial moment in the book because Pan wouldn't have done that to anyone else, but Lyra's own soul is desperate to comfort Will (much to her surprise).

"I think Lyra's braver than me. I think she's the best friend I ever had." I lose my mind every time I see a quote that immediately makes me think about that best friend line in You Are In Love.

There's a lot of Lee Scoresby in this book and his relationship with Lyra is so wholesome. It's kind of wicked of Pullman to have Lee say he considers Lyra his daughter and then kill him off. Just another parental figure who dies without Lyra ever knowing.

But at least all the scenes with Lee gave me some great quotes like "You are an enemt of the church, Lee Scoresby." (Icon) and "we're renegades. Not by our choice, but by their malice." and "shame to die with one bullet left, though."

And the funniest line I've ever read in a book:

"What do you mean, a palaeo-archeologist? Archeologists already study what's old; why do you beed to put another word meaning old in front of it?"

The book also presents Mary Malone and I don't have much to say about her but she is one of the best characters ever and I'm kind of obsessed with her discovering a means to communicate with angels and them just being like "you're a snake" (she would've loved reputation). But seriously I love how criticial of religion this book is that it presents the serpent as a positive influence. The serpent is a sweet and kind doctor who's willing to work hard to communicate with new civilization. She introduces Lyra and Will to love which is the purest thing in the world.

I LOVE THAT PART with the amber/anbar! and i love how pullman on occasion describes something without actually describing the thing. he does it here, where he says they look at each other with the same expression. but he doesn't describe the expression - because he knows the reader is also feeling what will and lyra are feeling so there's no need. the reader can fill in the blank. it's just so clever.

you know what part i love, speaking of mary? how she's telling will and lyra about the moment she felt desire - with the marzipan - and lyra describes feeling as if she's a house whose windows and doors have all been opened. like this knowledge just opens her and frees her! all from a story, the same way that the harpies will free the ghosts by telling them stories to lead them to mulefa/rejoin dust in the universe!

also i love how lyra and will are both so strong and good that as much as it hurt them not to be together they both knew they had to part. like they didn't entertain the alternatives for very long. they accepted their universes were more important than them being together and it was just another fact they had to accept. and after all the loss they'd both experienced, it made sense they accepted it so quickly/firmly.

also also, did you ever read those "extras"? they were like excerpts of handwritten letters and documents from the different characters. and something from mary suggested that will was living with her which i think is just really sweet because lyra had an entire world that knew what had happened but in will's world, only mary knew.

[female-malice]

Isaac Humphries

One of the best feelings in the world is playing a game of professional basketball while on peak form.

You get to perform in front of nearly 10,000 people a night; they’re cheering your name, they’re wearing your jersey. And all while you throw down a powerful dunk and flex to the crowd.

Well, it should be the best feeling in the world, right? And for a brief moment, I guess it was.

That was in 2020. I was 22 and playing with the Adelaide 36ers, two years before signing with my current team, Melbourne United.

Now imagine what happens when all of that adrenalin comes to an end after a game. For me, the euphoria was gone the moment I drove out of the arena. I’d get home to my apartment in Adelaide’s coastal suburb of Henley Beach, and be all alone.

I felt I had no choice but to be by myself. That’s when my wave of depression would hit the hardest.

Over my entire career, there was no reality that existed where I could be an openly gay man while playing basketball. Until now.

I’ve played everywhere – Kentucky, the NBA, Europe, the Australian national team – and it’s all the same: for the most part, being an athlete at that level is about making money, dating girls and being the best basketball player you can be.

So I fell in line, no matter how awkward and weird I felt doing it. I just wanted to fit in and not draw any attention to myself. There were almost no examples of a male pro basketball player doing anything other than that, so I was resigned to the fact that my true life would start after I retired.

My depression got so bad that the idea of not making it to retirement became a very real possibility.

There was a night toward the end of 2020 where my loneliness, self-hate and shame finally took its toll, and I decided it would hurt less to take my own life. I had unfortunately decided it was the end. It was only when I woke up the next morning when I realized what I hadn’t done.

I ended up starting that season like nothing was wrong. But midway through it, some previous leg injuries caught up with me. I was shut down for the remainder of the season and most of the following one too.

Simple things like standing up from a chair or walking up a flight of stairs – let alone any explosive movement while playing – became almost impossible.

Part of the fix was following my strength and conditioning coach, Nik Popovic, to Los Angeles to continue my rehab. We had originally set up shop in Sydney to get through my rehab but he had just gotten a new gig at the University of Southern California; he’s the best in the business so the only way for me to continue making progress in fixing my knee was to join him over there.

LA has always been my favorite place in the world. On top of my basketball career, I’m also a musician, so I’ve been really fortunate to have spent a lot of time there and develop a network of friends and peers.

Being in LA over the years also gave me my first ever experiences seeing members of the LGBTQ+ community in a positive light.

Growing up in Australia, I went to an all-male private school from about the age of 13, where there was an unspoken expectation that everyone was straight – and that was the end of the conversation. Throw in the competitive sports world I was part of, and there were really no avenues for me to see members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Things didn’t change when I became a pro basketball player; LGBTQ+ representation had rarely ever been there in top-tier male-dominated sports, where it’s generally seen as a negative point of difference. Anyone who’s ever been in a locker room understands the sentiments that float around. There’s the unintentional derogatory slang, and ridiculing anything with a gay connotation.

In LA, it was completely different. I was around some of the most successful people in the world – everyone from musicians, television and film producers, media personalities, A-list celebrities – and got to see that being openly gay can come with joy.

For the first time in my life, I saw that people at the top of their game can be open and honest about who they are, and that came with a visceral and contagious happiness.

So while in LA in 2021 to fix my injuries, I also got to experience more of being around the LGBTQ+ community. It was mostly through making friends who were openly gay and unequivocally themselves – shame wasn’t even a consideration.

I learned so much about the experiences people in our community go through, and was shocked at the number of stories that were eerily similar to mine.

I saw that being open about who you are can be the most freeing thing a person can ever do. Being gay didn’t come with shame anymore; it came with liberation.

No one was hiding who they were. And it made for the happiest, most positive environment I didn’t realize existed.

That’s what I hope sports can become. I want it to be a place where anyone can strive to be amazing, without fearing backlash just for who you are.

You can be a gay man and an elite basketball player in one of the best leagues in the world. I’m living proof of that.

My journey to get to this point in my life was harder than it should’ve been, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. Without those dark points, I wouldn’t have been thrust into situations where I had to explore, discover and learn to accept who I really am.

If there are negative aspects that come with my decision to come out, I’ll take those barbs so others don’t have to; as long as it means we make progress along the way and kids in particular feel they can be whoever they want.

I’m so fortunate to be able to do this with this Melbourne United team. It says a lot about the club that I really do feel so comfortable doing this with them. To other sports teams out there, create environments that are welcoming to people of different sexualities, faiths, races. Not only is it the right thing to do, but I promise you’ll get the most out of every person in your organization for it.

I’d also encourage a bit more empathy across the board. A comment here or there might seem funny in the moment, and a sentiment that could be considered anti-gay might appear harmless in the grand scheme of things – but you never know who might be in the room with you and how it might affect that person.

I know what it feels like to grow up in an environment that doesn’t feel welcoming, and I want to do my part to make sure basketball is no longer one of them.