#they're a bit of a reverse of each other but ultimately they're still both The Joker

[mylittlemiyaomeow]

Been freaking out over the fact it took me this long to realize how similar Mitori Len'en and Beatrice Umineko are but tbh I'm a bit afraid I might've spoiled Umineko for some people in my freakout just by emphasizing how fucking obvious of a comparison it is.

[diagonal-queen]

No worries HHH I'm the one who requested 😭😭 the Sibling one,,maybe Dazai's sibling with Fyodor and Chuuya??

hi! of course i can do this for you <3

They find out you're Dazai's sibling

♡ pairing: Chuuya Nakahara, Fyodor Dostoyevsky x Dazai's sibling!gn!Reader

♡ synopsis: How do Dazai's (arguably) biggest homoerotic enemies react when they find out that their S/O is his sibling?

♡ cw: Mentions of violence, Fyodor is a lil toxic.

note: Imagine reader seeing their brother and Fyodor in prison talking in code and they're like...you can speak Chinese Osamui?? Apologies for errors, hope you enjoy x

Chuuya:

So...he's...not okay for a while. He speedruns the five stages of grief in like two hours and then immediately begins quizzing you lmao

He's mostly just shocked because he would never have anticipated it. If he'd known he'd have already began treating you differently /j

Chuuya is probably constantly mentally comparing you two, like 'oh my god Dazai's so much more insufferable than them' and wondering how you two have such different energy

Also constantly asking you questions about how you deal with him (assuming you're on good terms/see each other often) and makes a lot of sarcastic remarks about it probably

You two like to spend designated times planning ways to break it to Dazai that you're together, but unfortunately this never gets anywhere because he's gonna burst a blood vessel no matter how you tell him lol

You both have semi-regular Dazai-related complaining sessions and they can literally sometimes go on for hours

Sometimes you tell him stories of when you and Dazai were younger and he actually finds them really endearing and funny

Even though Chuuya can't stand Dazai he would never discourage you from maintaining a good relationship with him if that's what you want. In fact he might even try to be civil with Dazai sometimes, just for your sake though <3

Fyodor:

So he mostly just wants to know all of Dazai's secrets. Jokes on you Dostoy- reader doesn't know any of them either!

He's also rather surprised he hadn't figured it out sooner either. He asks you why you didn't tell him and you're like...'babe 😐'

Fyodor still loves you. He gets that you don't choose family, but at the same time he's a tiiiiiiiiiny bit concerned that you might betray him so he doesn't tell you any super important DOA stuff (though if you're dating Fyodor you and Dazai probably aren't that close anyway)

You both agree to just not let Dazai know about this arrangement no questions asked (at least for the time being). He'll probably figure it out on his own but at least you didn't have to break the news yourself!

If Dazai ever did find out and get upset, Fyodor might even reverse uno the trope of 'big brother who threatens sibling's partner' and threaten Dazai himself lmao

If you manage to persuade him (or nag him enough), Fyodor MIGHT just be a teensy bit less sadistic towards Dazai. MAYBE.

That being said he isn't lenient like Chuuya and would prefer if you actively chose him over Dazai

Can he get over it? Ultimately yes he can, but is he secretly very highly disturbed by such information? Yes. Wait for it to hit him that if you two get married then he and Dazai are brothers-in-law...

[rainyraisin]

you should rant about your non tmnt related characters/OCs (if you got any) :3

You say this as if I have developed any of my OCs since I got into TMNT/j

I do actually have a decent amount of characters I've been working on for like over a year now but the really annoying thing is they're for a game @aaronymous999 and I are making 😭😭 so whilst I could talk about them it would be very very boring bc I can probably say about 5 non-spoilery things about each of the characters I'm allowed to talk about lmao- but!!! May as well :3 (cutting this bc this is gonna be hella long)

One of the two protagonists you can pick from is Èmile Dion! He's 27 and a bi cis male (ew cis people/j). He's also French Canadian, and he is a lil bit of a con artist. He made a living off of it whilst he was on his own. Silly little street rat man. He's a little naive when it comes to people he trusts or loves, which is ultimately his down-fall (theres so many endings where this cooks him lol and its the whole reason his route happens), but otherwise he's pretty street smart. He's a lil cutie patootie and I love him 💖 We haven't decided on the character relationship chart yet since not all the characters are fully developed but I think he'd get along with Esi (team TEO), Eun-Jae (team TEO), and Renata (team COC). He'd only really be around Renata most of the time though as he's COC, and both she and Eun-Jae are pretty hard to get through to lmao, he's not really one for giving in though.

(Please excuse the old art throughout this post, only Eun-Jae and Heaven have had recent art, even though almost all of them have been designed for ages)

Talking about Heaven next bc even tho it would make more sense to talk about the participants and then him or him then the participants. Uh. This is my post.

Heaven is one of the hosts! He's 17, mixed race (Filipino, Chilean, Taiwanise) and a pan ace cis male. He works for COC and has been with them a very long time. I can't say too much past that bc spoilers but he's very energetic, a silly guy! He's prone to mood shifts and kinda has anger issues but you wouldn't know it by looking at him. He knows when to be serious despite his naivety and general demeanour.

Renata is 26, Hispanic (havent decided where shes from yet), and a lesbian cis woman. I cant really talk about Renata much bc she just. Doesnt have that much planned for her yet but she's neat!!!!!! Scene girl!!! She was actually the first character I designed out of all the participants, as her design was meant to be used for something else in the game but I loved it so much she became one of the main characters lmao- honestly she probably does have lore I can talk about but I keep forgetting to write stuff that Aaron and I talk about on call down 😭😭 the only stuff that I could talk about is spoilers... cries. I can mention that she's morally grey ig? Each team has 2 characters that are morally grey, morally good and morally bad however this doesn't fully dictate their actions, it's just kind of a template for their character. Characters who we put under morally good can still do fucked up shit and the reverse is also true, its just that the morally grey ones are more of a toss up than the others.

Anyway look at my daughter

Zedekiah is the last of the COC participants I made!!!! He again doesn't have much planned for him, but look at how neat he is!!! Honestly he might get redesigned. Again. But this is him for now!!! His hair is fun to draw :3

EUN-JAE IS NEXT!!!!!! TEO TIME!!!! She's very silly (I say despite her being one of the more serious characters). She's 23 and Korean! Her identity isn't really something she's thought over, and if she has well, she isn't going to tell anyone anyway. I wish I could yap about her mode but spoilers... cries...

AMMON HATCH!!!!! HE'S 20, GREEK AND RELIGIOUSLY TRAUMATISED AS HELL!!!!! PROBABLY QUEER IDK WAIT TILL THE GAME COMES OUT. WHAT A CREATURE <3 killing him. I don't rlly like this drawing of him icl so have his original sketch too

AND ESI GRACE!!!!! SHES 19, GHANAN AND A CREATURE AS WELL <3 She and Ammon are definetly friends I think they'd stick together and try their best to drag Eun-Jae into their silliness. If Esi wasn't around TEO would rip each other apart (well, earlier at least. They'll probably do it anyway despite her presence).

I dont like her digital drawing so have her original sketch <3

Talking about this guy last bc I havent drawn him in a year and I hate the one piece of art of him I have- River! He's 24, British and Japanese, and pan :3 He's sort of an assistant to Heaven ig? He helps with all the simpler stuff along with TEO's assistant, Malachi, mostly stuff regarding the participants and not the big things that Heaven and Ophelia have to worry about. He sees Heaven as more of a little brother than anything, which makes the power dynamic kinda goofy, but he deals with it. I'll redraw him soon but have this god awful sketch for now-

That's all the characters that I'm allowed to talk about 😭😭😭 there are MANY more but their simple existence is massive spoilers so. You'll see them one day. THANK YOU FOR THE ASK DIB‼️‼️‼️🥺🥺🥺💖💖🌸🌸🌸

[myuminji]

I don't have much to ramble about but having 4 reincarnation aus on the go is so real, trimax -> tristamp reincarnation au drives me insane on the daily. begging to hear about the other reincarnation aus pretty pls

(also your art is so charming and lovely!! I love your comics hehe)

UOHOHOHO I SEE WE THINK ALIKE ANON 🤝 reincarnation AU ALWAYS drives me insane too!!! Trigun especially is giving me too much power for me not to waste em yknow?😩😩

(heads up: there's LOTS of rambles, and they're all VW-centric)

Timeloop/Reincarnation AU where Vash reverses the time every time he fails to save Wolfwood, despite having the guilt of knowing Wolfwood will have to go through everything again had Vash chosen to loop the timeline again...

Shouldn't he let him finally get his peace? Isn't it cruel to make him suffer yet again through this horrid nightmare?

(Have you ever imagined if his "I can see it in his eyes" or "all I see is a man forcing himself to play the devil while his heart cries out" is because Vash knows he's actually not like that? That the man he knows has been kind, kind to him. But will also fear what will happen to him if he pushes his belief upon Wolfwood... Would he rather see the Wolfwood he'd known from his past? Or would he let him kill; a cold murderer, befitting of his title as 'The Punisher' in favour of his survival? But could you still call him the same Wolfwood he's known from before? Should he even try to reverse the time again? Hadn't he suffered enough?)

Reincarnation AU trimax VW but focusing on reincarnated! Wolfwood instead, chasing after Vash at every cycle of his life so he can protect, and ultimately, save him from his misery.

(He fails, quite a lot of times. But Vash doesn't need to know how many times.)

Everything was all white. And before he knew it, it was dark. Wolfwood wakes up again in a different place than he used to live in. But more than that, a different body (It was confusing at first, but he's quick to connect the dots when he finds a familiar face he could not mistake for others, now in a wanted poster, spanning across the walls of the buildings: "Vash The Stampede" it says. Wolfwood remembers: it was the man who greets him every time he enters the shop; him donning an apron as he serves other customers and he in his working outfit, back from a job he can remember no longer...)

Star-crossed Lovers where Wolfwood eventually realised he only dies because he tries tp save Vash. He could've lived a long, normal life, even stop his loop! But he didn't. Wolfwood who'd rather live short lives and die countless times just to save him... and the closest he's been with him relationship-wise is where his death is mourned the most...

(whether he thinks it's shit or not, Wolfwood still doesn't know. But had he known it'd be the last time he sees him, he'd have at least pulled him into a kiss. Say sweetheart, how about a thank you kiss?)

Reincarnation AU (trimax->tristamp) but this time both of them have bits of recollections of the past they never told each other they know.

Vash being more deadset on stopping Nai and now EOM as his main objectives, passively avoiding visiting orphanages at all costs in his travels,

Wolfwood as a kid who knew what will become of him when he's selected by the EOM but still joins and persists through his experiments with the thought "This could help the spikey his memories seem so keen on remembering" or an "I could only meet him this way, protect him this way"

Imagine the panic that settles when the timeline doesn't line up with their previous life, "what do you mean I met the gang before the July incident, and who is this old man??" Wolfwood

Eriks going missing for 2 years as written, thinking he should really, really avoid Wolfwood for good before he gets dragged any deeper, maybe he should run away from everything this time?

And Wolfwood desperately searching for him for the whole 2 years, even though he knows he'll find him again, fearing how he gets closer to the time because "what if something is different this time and I can't meet him?" or "What if I'm not supposed to be by his side this time?"

The last one is the one I talked on prev post! Reincarnation AU (trimax->tristamp) but it's only Wolfwood who remembers, and it's mostly a "trying to move on but failing miserably because you can never say no to your (reincarnated) partner"

Wolfwood reminiscing how similar yet so different this life is... thinks how "the ticket to the future is blank, and it led me back to you"

[floofanflurr]

Your pirate au looks awesome! But now I keep thinking if they met the sea au, since it’s kinda like a reverse of the au? And also I don’t they’d get along well lol

EHEHHE THANK YOU!!! :D

You're right that it's basically a reverse! I kinda designed it that way. They were both made for Mermay in 2023, though I never posted either... I couldn't decide who I wanted to be the mermaid (Or siren, in Papyrus's case!) so I just... did both?

Though, the pirate AU has been put to the backburner, but Sea Glass (The siren Papyrus fic!) has been steadily been worked on! I'm hoping to post it by this May... I digress!!!

But HMMM. It sure would be an interesting dynamic if they met each other!!!

OH! I finally get to post their AU names publicly!

Sea Glass (Siren) Papyrus - Sea

Sea Glass Frisk - Glass

Pirate AU Papyrus - Captain

Pirate AU Frisk (Mermage) - Scamp

Pirate AU Sans - Sail

And now to ramble about how they would interact under the cut!

Okay, I'm NOT bringing Sail into this - there's already a billion dynamics to write about so lets just leave it at the Papyri and Frisks...

The Frisks would love each other - hands down. Best friends forever. Another kid that can sign?! Sign them up. (ehehe)

The interesting interactions would be between the skeletons. Of course, all this interaction depends on WHEN in their story lines they're meeting, because they go through character growth!

Captain wouldn't really mind Glass, because Glass is just a normal human - no magic, unlike his own Frisk.

If Captain has already fully taken Scamp in, he would probably try to take Glass in, too, since they're all alone and Scamp likes them. Poor Glass is not in great shape. Always hungry, doesn't have a roof over their head... they're. Not doing well. And Captain is a bleeding soul sometimes.

Glass would be... well. They'd be torn. Glass wants nothing more than to not be alone and they don't have a guarantee of that with Sea. Hell, they don't even feel they have a guarantee that Sea isn't going to snap and kill them. Neither of them have really talked about Sea's human-eating habits...

If Captain promises to look after Glass forever... Well. They would be hard pressed to say no. He's so similar to Sea! But with legs!!! ...And no people eating.

But Glass loves Sea. He's the first person to really care about them since their mama died, and he's Glass's entire world now. They live for the times they get to meet up with him.

Glass would have a hard time choosing what to do, and ultimately, it would depend on if they would be able to still see Sea if they went with Captain. They refuse to lose another parent, even if that parent probably doesn't think of them the same way.

Now Sea. SEA, my beloved... THIS is where the tensions come in.

He's not a jerk. He's a Papyrus like any other!!! But... Sea has... well. A lot of insecurities regarding his ability to take care of Glass. Namely, that he can't.

He's literally too petrified to even touch Glass for the first half of his story, because he thinks he'll hurt them.

And so he would be seethingly jealous if he saw Captain who has everything Sea has ever wanted - blunt phalanges, no spikes, not a man-eater. Captain is respected by his crew. But most importantly - Captain can hold Glass, and take care of them, and help them in a way Sea doesn't feel like he can.

He's not going to be a jerk to Captain. In fact, if Captain offers to take Glass in, he'll probably support it, even if it shreds his soul into little pieces.

But the tensions would mount between Captain and Sea. Captain would originally find Sea quite interesting! Though he would probably make Captain a bit uncomfortable - the only "sirens" in Captain's universe are water mages, and so despite the fact that Sea is a monster, it probably would still brush him the wrong way.

So Sea's resentment and Captain's discomfort would make things stilted and awkward, though not outright hostile. They're both Papyri - in many circumstances, they'd like each other a lot! They'll certainly return insults or hostility if one of them opens that avenue up, but neither are the kind to do so.

So just... really awkward. And Sea kind of sort of hates Captain immensely (but not really. he's just so jealous it brings him physical pain) (another part of him will be incredibly grateful to Captain for taking care of Glass in the way Sea feels that he can't.)

OH. ALSO WORTH NOTING. Captain is in his late 30s timeframe, thereabouts, while Sea is only in his early 20s. Think somewhere around 21-23.

(Glass is 12 and Scamp is 10)

Meaning Captain is more settled into himself than Sea. It just adds another interesting layer to the insecurity Sea feels in comparison to Captain when it comes to taking care of Glass.

Also, Captain has NO IDEA that Sea thinks of Glass as his pup - he just sees that Glass doesn't have a home. He would NOT be taking Glass away if he realized that Sea and Glass loved each other. He would probably try to pull an intervention...

But both Sea and Glass are too emotionally constipated and traumatized to admit that, and so Captain has no idea.

NOW FOR SCAMP! My love!!! They would be absolutely THRILLED to meet Sea. Sea would be... hesitant around them, but less scared of hurting them than he is of Glass. (Sea has a very particular fear of hurting humans due to his nature as a... well. As a man-eater.) And while Scamp is human, their tail and ability to breathe underwater would kind of soothe his subconscious into thinking of them as more of a mer.

Scamp would totally drag him into showing them around the open ocean. They can't really... well. They never had a real chance to explore since they were around 6, and the open ocean is dangerous for a single small human. They don't know how to navigate, or hunt, or protect themself. Sea will gladly take over showing them, though he'll probably refrain from touching them unless absolutely necessary.

Sea's chest will hurt, part of him wondering what it would be like to have this with Glass.

...In a more permanent scenario - them being stuck in the same universe indefinitely - it would probably end up being Captain taking in both Glass and Scamp on his boat, and Sea following along and helping out with Scamp - teaching them a lot of the things they need to know about being a water mage (there's a large amount of skill overlap).

Eventually tensions would be soothed and they would get along better. I imagine, once the conflict has been sorted and the misunderstandings cleared, Sea and Captain would be good friends. It might just... take a pretty big explosion and a lot of rising tensions to get to that point.

...And they'd both probably end up adopting BOTH Frisks. An odd little family, that's for sure, but a family nonetheless.

...

WOW OKAY I RAMBLED A LOT. LEMME WIND THIS DOWN.

If Sea and Glass feel more fleshed out than Captain and Scamp, that's because Captain and Scamp only live in my head right now... Sea and Glass have tens of thousands of words written about them. Probably over 100k if you count rewrites, scrapped scenes, and crossovers with friends. (though the published story is only going to end up being around 40-50k)

I've rewritten Sea Glass 6 times at this point - I'm on V.6. currently. And I only make a new version for MAJOR changes that require me to rewrite the whole thing. I've made so many little changes to each draft...

Well. I digress. The point being, both Sea and Glass have gone though so much character development and workshopping, and a billion and one little exercises to make them feel more like people. Meanwhile, Captain and Scamp I still have only surface level knowledge of.

If you've actually read through this entire ramble... thank you??? Seriously wow that's a lot of random words to read about my little blorbos that aren't even posted anywhere.

Anyone that's read this far gets a cookie 🍪

Thank you so much for your asks!!!! I'm absolutely loving them. You're giving me the chance to ramble about my beloveds... sorry if it's more words than you wanted!!!

[izzysillyhandsy]

My predictions for the S2 finale (also, 100% wish fulfillment)

I'm so intrigued by this quote from David Jenkins regarding the dream sequence in S2E1:

"Stede, Blackbeard, and Izzy are on an arc together. Whether they're in stories together or not, their ultimate arc is together. I think, by the end of this season, the last episode, that first scene will be gratifying. I won't say why, but their fates are tied together."

(Just to get this out of the way, because I have seen posts worrying about it (and for my own peace of mind): if the last episode mirrors the first one and that "scene will be gratifying", in no way can I see Izzy dying - gratifying would be a really weird way to describe Izzy's death, although some antis might see it that way ;).)

But let's look at the dream again.

Stede looking all piratey-tough, beard, earring and all. Izzy standing between Stede's and Ed's happiness, and Stede knifing and stabbing him without the slightest bit of remorse. Stede and Ed running towards each other on a sunset beach. Izzy dead, forgotten and out of sight.

Combined with this quote (referencing "A Star is born") from the same article:

"... to watch Stede — spoiler, but he becomes a real boy, and he becomes a notorious pirate. To see Ed try to process that, Ed's more like Jackson Maine, and then Stede's doing a Gaga, and he's blowing up."

and the scenes from the trailer and teaser where Stede and Ed are running/fighting towards each other on (I think) the same beach...

My prediction for the show's finale is:

While Ed's still on probation, Stede, with Izzy's help, gains respect in the pirate community. "The Gentleman Pirate" becomes a thing, and Ed finds this difficult to deal with. Yes, he wanted to give up pirating and run away with Stede to China, but being overshadowed by him in his own field of expertise? His life's work? By an amateur?? (and Stede not only has his crew, but he has his Izzy too now?)

Maybe there is another separation, maybe Ed goes away to chill somewhere, maybe there is a fight between Stede and Ed.

Then Price Ricky comes back, and he wants Stede (and piracy in general) dead. Izzy has some undercover part where he's talking to Ricky over a candlelight dinner and is seen wearing a Navy jacket later. At one point, he gets severely injured (as seen in BTS photos).

The showdown is happening on the beach. But instead of Stede killing Izzy and then running towards Ed, Ed is coming back to help Stede and his crew out when the battle seems lost and Izzy is hurt/dying.

It could be framed like the scene in episode one - Ed coming from one side, Stede seeing him and running towards him from the other, both fighting Navy guys left and right. With their combined effort, the battle is won.

But instead of Ed and Stede having only eyes for each other, this time around there's also Izzy, and they won't let him die (maybe with help from a certain bird? Or is this to out there).

I can even see a bit of jealousy going on with Ed regarding Izzy and Stede.

In reversal of the dream though, Izzy will be the one bringing Ed and Stede together (through giving Stede a sense of self-worth, through talking to Ed about his feelings of envy/fear about his unloveableness because Izzy knows him and I think Ed really cares about his opinion, etc.)

In the end, the conclusion could be that they're all in it together. Ed and Stede co-captain, and Iz is their shared first mate.

(and then the three of them ride off into the sunset)

[teiasviago]

Saw your love language post-- I'd love to give into a completely fun and respectful debate about that because I think mine is the exact reverse!! :DDDDD I like to outsource my thoughts and make sure they're balanced and unbiased:

I saw the Pilot as Scully not seeking or giving love so much as being ruled by fear; and Mulder suspects that and talks her down like he's been trained to do (calm, reassuring, add personal details to build rapport, etc.) He truly came alive when Scully listened to his story, bringing out his emphatic passion for the "that's all that matters to me" line (paraphrase~.) Scully shows love with her family, too, but never physically-- Maggie reaches out, for instance, and Bill wants to but feels distanced. Scully instead affirms them constantly, reassures them, gives them smiles and a listening ear. When she needs to feel loved-- Never Again, All Souls, All Things-- what she wants is for Mulder to affirm her, her desires, and her needs... he misreads this often because for him to feel loved he needs physical affections (the end of Paper Hearts, Pusher, Amor Fati hallway, FTF hallway.) Words don't cut it with him: whenever Scully tries to affirm or back him up with words, he'll brush them all off if she ultimately disagrees with his theory: meanwhile, she has been able to restrain him by physically touching his arm or petting his hair or checking him over after nearly getting beaned by a cow.

I see Scully using physical affection ONLY with Mulder-- even with Emily she wasn't huggy or cuddly; she was gently coaxing and affirming and giving her space and affirming her need for security with the cross necklace. Mulder, meanwhile, scooped Emily up;, held her close, and was enveloping; and he touches Scully constantly and thinks that's enough-- he's showing his deep affection/love constantly, why doesn't she get it? That's why Never Again and All Things happened.

Am I off? Correct? I wanna know YOUR thoughts~ :)))

I mean, I see what you’re saying, but I think that is all very surface level (no disrespect, of course, haha).

Pilot: both Mulder and Scully are establishing trust with each other, and their gut unfiltered attempts are, for Scully, touch and, for Mulder, words of affirmation. Somewhat indirectly at this early stage, of course, but still ultimately those love languages. Additionally, while Mulder is telling Scully about Sam, she puts her hand on his arm—more unfiltered contact to communicate her trust/love.

Scully’s family is much more complicated because all of their interactions with each other reflect the reverberations of their father’s constant absences mingling with their personalities. Bill Sr. is a very words person, based on the fact that he was specifically withholding his praise for Scully that Maggie had to nudge him into saying in “Beyond the Sea”. And we know that Scully absolutely idolized him, so she tries to reflect his own love language back to him to be more in his image. (And the whole Scully family also seems very into acts of service as a display of good character—Scully joining the FBI because she believed in her ability to do good, Missy chasing after Mulder to make sure he allows himself to embrace his love/anguish for Scully in “One Breath,” Bill telling Mulder to leave Scully alone in “Redux II”. Maggie’s a bit of an outlier—but her acts of service are just more subtle, a lot like Missy’s.)

When it comes to Mulder and Scully flipping the script—she’s the believer and he’s the skeptic—in episodes like “All Souls” (especially the part where they almost touch foreheads), Mulder is looking for words of affirmation from her (that she’s okay and therefore still her and therefore their relationship is okay and therefore he’s okay), giving her a terrible attempt at words of affirmation (because he’s scared shitless), and attempting touch (to communicate his care and love for her). He only breaks out the touch later on because his words don’t seem to be working. (They’re both messes and so everything is very tangled up.)

In episodes like “Never Again” and “All Things,” I think any woman feeling what she’s feeling would want to be affirmed, regardless of primary love language. They enjoy receiving each other’s love languages—Scully getting Mulder’s words of affirmation in episodes like “Squeeze,” where he lets her know how important she is to him (in regards to the work... I see you, Mulder...), and in “Little Green Men,” where she runs her fingers through his hair. I think it’s also important to recognize that much of those needs Scully has (especially in “Never Again”) are sexual intimacies: she wants his affirmation, yes, but the root of it is that she wants that in the form of touch—sex with Mulder. She has difficulty communicating this to him because it’s a reality she hasn’t fully come to terms with. In love with Mulder? Yes. Having important sexual needs and fitting him into his place with regards to her daddy issues? No. Mulder misreads Scully in “Never Again” for reasons unrelated to their love languages entirely—it has to do with being socialized according to gender roles in the gender binary, not love language miscommunication.

Mulder feels loved simply when he is confident in Scully’s confidence in him, no matter how she communicates that. When she brings him to an anthropologist to aid in his case in “The Jersey Devil”. When she insists on working with him in the lab in “The Host”. The list goes on. And not every act is mapped directly to their love languages; some serve first as utility and secondly as communicating love—like Mulder wiping BBQ sauce from Scully’s face. Utility first: she has sauce on her face. Love second: caring about her. (Or rephrased: utility on the surface and love underneath.)

I don’t recall Mulder ever brushing Scully off when she’s trying to affirm him—she doesn’t affirm him with words often because they’re both very reserved people who tend to keep their love languages close, let alone each other’s love languages. Rare times when Scully actually affirms Mulder with words: “Tooms,” “The Truth,” “Herrenvolk,” “Home Again.” They are far and few between. Rare times when Mulder uses touch: “Beyond the Sea,” “One Breath,” “Firewalker,” “Paper Hearts,” “The Unnatural,” “Millennium,” “All Things,” “Home Again.” Both extremely small numbers of episodes compared to how many episodes there are. Scully always disagrees with his theory, so it doesn’t make sense to argue that he brushes her off so long as she does; if that were true, they would despise each other and she would’ve left the X-files very quickly.

Like I said before, Mulder and Scully are both very reserved people and reserve their love languages for each other (I talked about Scully’s family but Mulder’s is also fucked up so his interactions with his parents and Sam are also not a good source). Neither Mulder nor Scully used touch or words of affirmation in “Christmas Carol” or “Emily” outside of each other—not while Emily was alive, at least. It wasn’t until the end of the episode that Scully uses touch when she lays down next to Emily in her hospital bed, and when they have a conversation in which Mulder uses words of affirmation to assure Scully that the situation was not completely terrible.

So… Definitely the love languages the way I said, haha. Always fun to expound on meta!

[sundial-girl]

Hi! Would you like to explain how my portrayal of vsynths contrasts with Heron? I personally can’t figure out what makes it so interesting, since when I make Heron interact with other vsynths I rarely have a good idea of how they’ll work in mind, and just wing it.

hihi! i'd been meaning to get to this, so sure thing! for now i'll only focus on a few main ones that came to mind (i don't have a lot of brainpower atm 😔✌️) but i hope this is alright

mild disclaimer that some of this is based off information in older posts so i am aware that those prior details contained in them may no longer be canon. also again this just how i thought of/interpreted certain things, i'm obv not the og creator (you) so ultimately feel free to take this w/ a grain of salt since this might've not been the og intention.

also this is all under this cut here b/c it ended up being rly fckin long, sorry in advance if my explanations aren't very good 😭

so lets start w/ fukase; some of his character traits in your portrayal of him do seem to line up with some popular interpretations of him: silly guy/wisecracker who makes a lot of jokes, sometimes at the expense of others. also a he's a bit overdramatic ahdksjg. despite his sorta skewed goals, though, and behind that sassy attitude, he does really seem to care about people important to him. they're both very expressive characters (well in general everyone is depicted as very expressive in your art but thats an aside) but i think the way that is conveyed makes for an interesting contrast. fukase seems to show a lot more of his personality through his speech, while heron's personality is shown more through some of his actions. that's not to say heron is completely silent, but he does seem to save his words for more important occasions (or if he just really really feels like speaking his mind); whether that's because he's still a bit shy and/or just a quiet person in general, i'm not sure, but a lot more things with him seem to be conveyed through thoughts or external third-person commentary rather than him outright saying it. its definitely the opposite of fukase, who seems way more chatty and social. visually too there's a pretty neat contrast between them: aside from the height difference that sets them apart, both have limited color palettes that combine some neutral colors (fukase's off-white, black, and brown, heron's greys, muted teal, and tans) with a brighter color to pop out (fukase's bright red, heron's aqua seen on his collar + headphones).

flower and heron's relationship has previously been described as somewhat sibling-like, and it does definitely come off that way: there might be disagreements and rivalry but there's some calm nice/silly moments and genuine care & concern. they share a lot of similarities, but one could note how their relationship parallels that of heron & makarov's - flower occasionally takes on the more cheery and bubbly role in comparison to heron sometimes being the more serious and quiet one, which is seen reversed with the brothers. in spite of quarreling over small, petty little things sometimes, heron and flower seem to make up much easier and not hold any long-lasting resentment towards each other. i ofc know the heron & makarov situation is more complicated and it would make sense for it to be more strained given all that's happened, even in spite of heron forgiving his brother. but i do also wonder if it's been difficult for flower to try and calm heron down on certain occasions, seeing how he's also prone to spirals of his own thoughts that are hard to pull him out of, in a way very similar to his own brother. something sorta ironic there maybe

piko's interesting, pretty much the wild card here. his characterization does seem to vary quite a bit: he can be very playful and cutesy but also kind of a downer, as well as an angry little guy and a bit more ominous/spooky at times. there was a noteworthy point mentioned in this post though regarding how piko sees heron: heron reminds him of his younger self and wants to spare him of the pain that comes with getting your naive dreams of fame and popularity crushed. they're both very similar to each other, from the moodiness to being drawn—sometimes together—in a lot of pieces w/ similar subject matter (both have a fair share of lighthearted doodles as well as darker ones, more so in specific comparison with other characters), and taking the previously mentioned piko thoughts on heron, makes things a little bit sadder... maybe piko's current passive-aggressive and somewhat angry attitude is a mask he's developed over the years to protect himself from getting hurt more, though you can get to his nicer side if he trusts you enough. heron sometimes seems like a slight, cruel opposite of this: being nice and trusting others a bit too easily, but then breaking down emotionally in realizing his choices and impulsive actions, which might scare some people away. i want them to be happy kajhskj but i do wonder if, in spite of how much heron might look up to him, piko really feels the same way. i'm sure he does care about him, but... feelings is complicated. also i wasn't gonna touch on too much of this since i'm aware its not canon, but there's also the whole tall piko thing and how that version of piko specifically interacts with heron. that relationship in particular seems to represent an idealization: some sort of true happiness that'll come once there's an acceptance of the self, and a real willingness to accept help and be vulnerable to allow oneself to be healed... but again that's not canon and might not ever happen so, rip

and of course... there's len. i touched upon this in that original headcanon post but i did still wanna bring it up a little here. something i thought was interesting in looking back at a lot of your art was that most times, len is depicted in group settings; he's rarely seen alone and almost always interacting with someone else in some way. and generally he seems quite concerned, even more so in his interactions w/ heron. aside from the obvious fear of getting mauled to death probably lmao, he also seems to genuinely care about heron and worries about him. i think its worth noting that len is the first person heron sees after "waking up" here, and how he's the only one actually putting a hand on heron there in second-to-last panel. but again, even if len does have good intentions it is clear heron doesn't seem to be on the best terms with him. this piece has always been particularly intriguing to me, pairing what we see happening with the title. makes me think heron's blaming len for what happened to him, that it's len's fault somehow he ended up like this. a big thing also that's part of the len getting mauled thing is... len getting dismembered and eaten. i'm not gonna say too too much b/c i'm sure nobody wants to hear my cannibalism rambling but symbolically... "you are what you eat" yk? as mentioned with piko, heron seems to look up to a lot of the well-known vsynths and wants to achieve a status like them. and ofc len's arguably one of the most popular vocaloids with lot of fame and recognition. heron's design itself is said to take some inspo from len's outfit, and in general (like i mentioned in the original hc post), just wanting to be so much like someone, wanting what they have but not getting it, that might understandably drive someone to rage, and the mauling/dismembering/eating is the violent culmination of those feelings of envy. one last bonus point in terms of visuals too: yellow is the complimentary color to blue (ok ik heron's blues lean more towards blue-grey or aqua but shhhh), the literal opposite of it on the color wheel.

overall i feel heron honestly fits right in with the memesquad; everyone's personalities sort of compliment and mesh well with each other, which creates a fun dynamic that's really sweet to see. i think its really cool how you managed to make him fit in so well and how a lot of his interactions with the others make a lot of sense and are interesting to see, in happy moments as well as more serious/sad ones. sometimes i do really forget he's not a vsynth [yet?] so its surreal. ur doing a really good job tho, keep heronposting we love to see it

[applesfallingfromblondehair]

This new fic idea of yours has me thinking about DLID and the live version of “The Go” where Matty changes the lyrics from the recorded version from “Get out of George’s drive” to something that sounds like “Lying on the street …. at George’s house” and then he sings “I swear that’s George’s house” and then it sounds like he literally turns to George and says “that’s you 😘”.

It’s just crazy to reflect on how much history Matty has with all of the boys but especially George who he has been name dropping in songs since they were literal children. It just seems like George has always been this presence within Matty’s identity and honestly something/someone he has seemed so obsessed with - I can understand why the others might have felt subpar in the past.

It’s equal parts beautiful and sad now looking at how they are still clearly so deeply connected (I honestly don’t think they connection is reversible by any means) although they clearly experienced growing pains which altered their relationship as a unit. It feels like in order to grow up they had to face the fact that being obsessed with each other while trying to have girlfriends and find separate identities was ultimately unsustainable at the level they were operating at. Despite this “change” in their relationship I still believe that they both remain completely devoted to each other over mostly anyone else if it came down to it. It just seems like they each serve a part of the other that no one else does.

This is what makes Matty’s dynamic with Ross so interesting because there are so many similarities whilst also being so different.

Those are just my thoughts!

Duuuude I'm going to need a link to this DLID live performance for, you know, science 👀 sounds very interesting.

And I hope you don't mind me saying this but you sound very Team George! I agree with everything you've said, and I mean it's not like they (Matty, mostly) haven't confirmed it in the past. They're, or maybe used to be, an extension of each other's personalities/minds and yeah, it certainly sounds like their relationship for years and years and years was codependency at its finest. Even when, last year, a certain someone mentioned Couples Therapy (the show) and then explained what said show was about, Matty went ahead and just said "sounds like me and you". So, you know. We'd be forgiven to think (correctly) that every bit of speculation on what they might have been (and in some aspect still are) to and with each other may be very close to the truth.

That being said, I am curious. What is your opinion about what's happening between Matty and Ross at the moment? As in, why do you find it interesting? What are the similarities and the differences you notice, and why is it all so compelling?

I have my own opinion, but I am genuinely interested in hearing yours (and everyone else's, too!) 👀

[owowhatsthis-itsblood]

okay so ummm. well i got shy but it's basically an obsessive autassassinophile (maverick, he/they), his current "love interest" whos an assassin (samael, they/them) and a medicine student with repressed anger problems due to his strict parents who likes organs a bit too much (blade, he/him).

*WARNING: THIS SHIT GOT TOO LONG AND I GOT OUT OF ANON TO PUT A READ MORE IM SO SORRY*

maverick considers murder as the ultimate form of love and sexuality due to associating it when he himself was stalked and nearly murdered by another character (zachary, he/him), well mav killed him in self-defense in a panic (zachary actually revived as a demon but he doesnt knows that) but his mind did a reverse uno card for dealing with the fact he killed someone and now *hes* the stalker lol. and now interprets what happened to him as ~the most romantic time of his life~ and desperately wants for it to happen again. he looks for getting in situations like that by basically using the dark web and snvff/gore sites as dating apps.

this is where he meets samael, but maverick pretends he met them "by chance" instead of telling them he knows about their particular "job" and that he has been "studying" them for months before making the first move to actually meet each other. to this point mav already formed an obsession with them, and molds his entire personality to fit what they would like, in hopes of being of their taste, them falling in love with and eventually murdering him 💖 out of love 💖. this has yet to happen due to samael being closed off emotionally and actually wanting a friend more than a partner, since they were forced by their family not to have a single friend while they were still in school, because that would risk them telling their peers about "family secrets" (they come from a family of assassins) lol. however, they're quite dependent of maverick, and if they saw even the slightest threat of him losing interest on them, they will do *whatever* he wants them to do, regardless if it goes against what they want.

however, in the middle, maverick and blade had "a thing" through internet, because mav recently had a nasty "break up" with his ex gf (roxy, she/her. she never saw him as anything but a toy to unleash her sadistic desires on) and so was in #hoemode, in which he "messed around" with blade, and for these two it meant narrating deranged gory fantasies to each other, both what mav wanted him to do, and what blade wanted to do to him (included but not limited to ripping off his organs while they were fucking and then fucking these organs when hes dead).

blade is kind of a dumbass so he genuinely got attached to maverick and wanted to meet him in person n everything. but mav didnt wanted that due to finding samael and ghosted him lol. so now hes trying to get maverick back to his side, and acts like a scorned lover. considering the town they all live in isnt really that big, they did ended up meeting in person but by chance in a party lol (they knew how each other looked). whenever they see each other, blade tries to get intimate but it kind of... doesnt works lmao. even when theyre literally a match made in heaven. (maverick does gets kinda horny when it happens though bc that man gave him the best fantasies of his life, and sometimes masturbates with a knife [which side he uses depends on how horny he is] thinking about their little chats together tho)

so yeah, these are some of my ocs. once again im so so so sorry this got extremely long, i just have a lot of oc lore

No no don’t apologize! Tbh I would totally read a book about these characters. Makes me want to go make more of my own ocs lol. Loved this, thank you so much!

[seyaryminamoto]

Am I imagining things or is Ozai about two steps away from having a mental breakdown identical to Azula's in canon. Seems like Zhao and Seethus are the only two people keeping him from becoming an unstable, paranoid wreck. Zhao also seems to be secretly getting less confident in Ozai and might even side with Azula in the future for the sake of The Fire Nation's future, helping her in some long term plot to get rid of her father. Yep yep, I thin Ozai is in for another betrayal in future, hehehe.

... Weeeeell, not exactly.

I mean, there's definitely several similarities in both character arcs, many of them accidental, some of them 100% intentional because ultimately, Azula's downfall in canon is a consequence of following her father's footsteps way too closely even when she knew, deep in her heart, that it wasn't what she truly wanted (at least, that's how I've always interpreted it). Hence, it's only natural that Ozai's philosophies would burn him back if the situation were reversed somehow... and you could certainly argue that it is reversed in Gladiator.

But, this being said, Ozai's thought process is quite different from Azula's. He's a lot less prepared to doubt himself, even if at times there's a sliver of opportunity that he'll do a minimal amount of self-reflection... but in his case, that doubt, that self-reflection, only arrives AFTER he's done his worst. So... imagine Azula not having any moments of vulnerability in canon, no mirror scene, nothing of the sort, and only after utterly defeating her brother and Katara would she go "... wait, why don't I feel 100% happy about this?" That's, more or less, what Ozai's path of devastation looks like. The man's just... unhinged as hell right now. I honestly never imagined I'd hate him as much as I do after writing this arc x'D I always took him on as an interesting challenge of a character due to how messed up he is, I never shied away from showing him at his worst... but damn, the way he's betrayed Azula while pretending she's the one betraying him just makes me see red every time I think of it.

So, after that digression there, Ozai still has a lot to offer the story, there's much character exploration to be done still, so we're really not going to simply retread canon's footsteps by just switching around the characters taking each role... nah. There's a few points in common with canon for sure, a few concepts I've definitely tampered with and played around with in order to sort-of challenge canon in my own way, but I wouldn't inflict a fate like Azula's canon fate upon a character, not when I have pleeenty of story left to tell about said character, for better or for worse.

Zhao... well. I fear Zhao's relationship with Ozai is getting messier and messier, but... that doesn't necessarily mean an alliance with Azula is in the cards for him. As will be demonstrated once Part 3 begins... Zhao is actually a little bit more spooked by Azula (and Sokka) than he ever had been before. Even after growing to respect her some more, deep down he continued to treat her as a child when it came to her big "betrayal", he saw it as the whims of a young woman who fell in love carelessly, so on and so forth... never did he expect she and Sokka would be able to not only escape Ozai's wrath but get Combustion Man killed in such a brutal and dangerous way. So... he's apprehensive. Rightfully so, I would say, because he's finally seeing Azula and Sokka as more than just younglings without common sense... no, now they're fully-grown assholes with no common sense and a very strong attachment to each other that seems to have convinced them to set the whole world on fire if that's the only way they'll save each other.

So... to put it simply, Azula, Ozai and Zhao are in for a veeeeery messed up dynamic going forward. There's an underlying tinge of affection in a few of those relationships (... not really in Azula and Zhao's case, I'll admit), but more than anything, there's a toooon of resentment, hostility and fear of whatever the other one will do next. It's kind of like that scene in PoTC where everyone's aiming guns at each other? Yeeeeah, that's what these three will be like, going forward...

[camgirlkaminari]

so ive been thinking for a while now how bonkers it is that ochako has a floatation quirk and an almost identical hairstyle to inko midoriya, and now that we're closing in on deku mastering all 7 ofa quirks, I can't stop thinking that nana, a woman who has been textually compared to inko midoriya, ALSO had a floatation quirk. i wanna ramble about it a little bit:

inko's first introduction to the comic is her telling us that she can float small objects toward herself:

she's an older generation, so her quirk isn't all that powerful compared to the kids' quirks. this is apparent when ochako comes into play and can float much larger objects, but with less control over their trajectory. i think we're not ever meant to compare the two characters' quirks, since ochako is more powerful, and can also float herself. even further, inko doesn't seem to suffer any consequences for using her floatation quirk, but since we are only shown her using it once, there's no way to know.

(i find inko to be such a strange character. she spends so much time crying and being deku's mom that we forget that she is her own person. she's married. she has a quirk. what's her job? how does she pay the bills? how did she meet her fire breathing husband? does she have parents of her own? we know so much more about everyone else's parents than we even know about the main character's mom! this feels so deliberate, even beyond the fact that we are all wondering if deku's dad is somehow ~a villain~. like I don't care about deku's dad! what's up with his fucking mom!!)

so now we're so focused on ochako's journey to mastering her quirk and learning how to float herself in addition to huge objects that we almost forget how similar to inko she started out: her hair, her face, her kindness, her strength.

spoilers ahead: 

now, like 150 chapters later, we learn about nana shimura's quirk: float. deku knows what's coming, so he asks his friend ochako, who can float, for pointers on floating. this is excellent strategy, deku! good call! you don't know anyone else who can float themselves so you learn from ochako!

meanwhile, absolutely NO MENTION of how 'hey, my mom can float stuff too! weird coincidence!' despite him remembering all might's comparison of nana to his mother.

all of this leads me to have a few theories about the nature of afo & ofa, the relationship between ochako, nana, inko, and deku, and the major themes of legacy in bnha.

theory one: Gramps For All

there's a massive theme in bnha of grandchildren of importance. first, we learn that tomura shiguraki is the grandson of nana shimura, a pro hero, one of the three factions warring for a place in post-quirk society. then we learn Eri is an instance of this: she's the granddaughter of an equally influential player. The comatose boss of the yakuza, one of the three factions warring for a place in post-quirk society.

there's all kinds of legacies in bnha: shouto, the son of the number 1 hero, a direct victim of hero society. iida, the younger brother of a hero who was victimized by a villain hell-bent on changing hero society. hawks, the son of a serial killer, a victim who perpetuates the cycle of victimization in the name of upholding hero society. all these legacies, but we don't know anything about their extended families. what are endeavor's parents like? were iida's grandparents pro heroes too? does hawks really have no other family?

and where are deku's grandparents? did they ever watch him while his single mom was working?

my theory is that afo is not dad for one, but actually gramps for one. he had children, more than one, and they each had their own children. inko is one of them, and izuku is the resulting child.

deku, grandson of all for one, one of the three factions warring for a place in post-quirk society. eri, shiguraki, and deku, each representing the groups most affected by post-quirk society: yakuza, "villains," and "heroes."

theory two: ochako & deku are cousins

why the hell does ochako look so much like inko midoriya and NOT her parents?

(in the anime, they look a lot like her, but in the manga...)

gramps for one had children, more than one, and they each had their own children.

i think that ochako may be adopted, or one of her parents is, or perhaps even inko was, so ochako's connection to biological relations is distant or non existent. she may not even know. we've seen that horikoshi doesn't make character design mistakes, and he's gotta realize that every time he draws deku & ochako in the same scene that he's drawn the same face twice.

so either he's trying to throw us off, or he's making a grander statement about who they are. he's a fan of star wars- he's already done a reverse of "I am your father" with touya & endeavor, so I think it would be interesting if he's set up this ochako/deku thing as a fun homage to luke/leia, too. but they're cousins, not twins.

(that's just deku times two, babey!)

inko, unconnected to her family as she seems, may never know if she had siblings or half-siblings. ochako's parents may never have known about ochako's biological relations.

this is a much weaker theory, but i think quirk singularity theory can make some sense of it. we have the original float quirk user, nana shimura. I don't think she is related in any way to inko or ochako, but her quirk helps demonstrate the generational growth of power. she was a hero before all might, meaning she's an earlier generation and had an arguably weaker quirk. but since she was a hero, she honed her quirk so that it comes across as incredibly strong, however she seems to have only been able to float herself, not objects or people.

float quirk user number two, inko midoriya, who can float small objects toward herself. she's the next generation after nana, so her quirk is still kind of weak, and in fact looks incredibly weak compared to nana's and ochako's quirks. inko is a nobody, not a hero, just deku's mom. she had no reason to hone her quirk. who knows? maybe if she'd gone on to be a hero, she could float entire buildings if she wanted to.

float quirk user three, ochako uraraka. ochako can float objects AND herself. she's a hero and a strategist, and incredibly strong despite being 16. she can float pieces of buildings and people and herself all at once. she's a hero. she's powerful. she's thoughtful & kind, yet willful and strong. she's the ultimate culmination of the other floatation quirks as well as inko & nana's personalities. but since we were introduced to these three float quirks all out of order, it's difficult to see the exponential power growth that happens each successive generation.

I don't think that ochako's ever going to be a major player in the end of all for one, or even the plot overall, but i think the THEME of ochako being the ultimate floatation hero in the series is a major player in the final story. ochako REPRESENTS the singularity. the generation after ochako will be so strong, perhaps her descendants would be able to negate all gravity in the vicinity, maybe on the planet. who knows! even if ochako isn't related to deku, let's say dechako happens, they have babies. that's a lot of float quirk in one couple! their kids are gonna have no bones! no muscle development because they never have to fight gravity! ochako's existence represents such a huge, yet nearly invisible thematic element of bnha.

tldr: ochako looks exactly like inko and has a cumulative float quirk reminiscent of both inko & nana, and i suspect the parallels between the three is deliberate for some reason. i just think that's neat.

[ninbayphua]

八三夭 《盗墓笔记》 官方主题曲 《所信非神》 That In Which I Believe In Is Not God - ENG SUBS

So this is the first time I've actually properly translated and subtitled a song 😂 I tried to keep to the original wording as much as I could but there are few places where it's kinda vague or where the wording is just too awkward so I went with meaning or my own interpretation of the lyrics instead. 👀

List of Interpretations

1. 与宿命论个主臣 in a word for word translation would be "debating with Fate who is the master and who is the servant" which basically means they're fighting over superiority.

2. 当自己不死之身 is a really interesting one because 当 has 2 different meanings depending on which intonation is being used and this isn't always clear in songs cuz intonations get kinda murky in singing. Anyways, 'dāng' means to pretend whereas 'dàng' means to pawn. Since I interpreted this song as both from Wu Xie's and Xiao Ge's POV I decided to include both potential interpretation in my subtitling. So it can either mean "pawning my immortality" in Xiao Ge's POV or "pretending I have an immortal body" in Wu Xie's case.

Song Overview (Wu Xie's & Xiao Ge's POV):

Ok I read the song as being from BOTH Wu Xie's and Xiao Ge's POV instead of just one but that's my personal interpretation @thosch3i covered most of Wu Xie's POV and my own interpretation of the lyrics are pretty similar so I'll elaborate from there. This is how the song goes for me:

I give you a look with lost innocence of days past and gone that's tucked away in forgetfulness. (This is without question Wu Xie speaking because of the play on words - Tian Zhen)

Let the sound of raindrops gloss over the unsolved questions, let the sharpest blade be sealed away for safekeeping in this instant when life is at its most peaceful (OK, this could be either Wu Xie or Xiao Ge speaking to the other because both of them have a lot of unsolved questions: Wu Xie still doesn't know what happened to his San Shu and Xiao Ge is still looking for answers to his past. Both Xiao Ge and Wu Xie have been referred to as the sharpest blade of the Nine Gates. In Wu Xie's case, it's when he lost his innocence and became 邪帝 in the Sha Hai era. Xiao Ge was shaped to be a weapon ever since he was a baby stolen from his mother so it goes without saying he is the sharpest blade of the Nine Gates. (There's a saying that Wu Xie ended up becoming like Xiao Ge and Li Cu becoming like Wu Xie during his Tian Zhen era which I think is a pretty accurate reading but a discussion for another time.) Basically, regardless of which of them that's speaking they're telling the other to let go of all the questions tormenting them and sealing away the past and the way they've been conditioned to become a weapon for the Nine Gates and just live peacefully in Rain Village from now on - I'm assuming this is post Sha Hai.

My death, my life, it's not up to the ghosts and gods to intervene (Honestly, this can be either Wu Xie or Xiao Ge depending. Both are very stubborn and don't believe in leaving things up to fate.)

a wait of ten years, I've long since stopped smiling, stopped crying, stopped feeling pain, challenging fate to see who is superior (This could be Xiao Ge but I read it as more Wu Xie because of Qin Hao's line in Sha Hai when Hei Ye said "I still feel a bit of pain from time to time" and Wu Xie just straight up said "I've stopped feeling pain a long time ago".)

Pawning my immortality / Pretending I have an immortal body, to leave for you a gateway of life, this life was not in vain. (This is probably my favourite line of the song because is so freakin beautifully written? The reason there's an either or translation for the line I've explained above so we're just gonna do meta here. OK so in Xiao Ge's POV he went to guard the Bronze Gates in Wu Xie's stead to protect him so he could live a happy life. Essentially he is exchanging his immortality for Wu Xie's life because it was initially Wu Xie's fate to guard the Bronze Gates and he'd probably die in the process. Xiao Ge's immortality for Wu Xie having a life of happiness and innocence is worth it to him. He is using his immortality in exchange for a way for Wu Xie to live by going behind those gates. Remember that line: 用我一生换你十年天真无邪 my life in exchange for ten years of your innocence? That's basically what I think they're referring to. The reversed applies. It's Xiao Ge's responsibility to keep the Wang clan in check. Since Xiao Ge sacrificed himself so Wu Xie could live the life he wanted, Wu Xie decided to do the same for Xiao Ge by getting rid of the Wangs completely so Xiao Ge could be free to live the life he wanted when he exited the gates. Wu Xie wasn't trained like Xiao Ge nor did he have an immortal body like the Zhangs or had their self healing and magical qilin blood but he will pretend that he has all of those and take on the Wangs , wiping them out to give Xiao Ge a way out of being used by the Nine Gates again when he exits the gates, giving him a chance to live the life he wants. Even if he knows he could potentially die doing this, it's still worth it to him. Remember that line after Xiao Ge's: 只愿尽我一世无邪换你百载浅笑无忧 emptying all of my entire life's innocence in exchange for a hundred years of your easy smiles and lack of worries? That's what I think the song is referring to.)

Not even for a day in my entire life have I ever believed in ghosts or gods, but I spent ten years believing in one person. Even if the world is too cold, there is still your lingering warmth in my heart, I'll still rush into the journey, no matter how unfathomable the wasteland or perilous the path, never questioning whether it's fortune or calamity. Honestly, in my entire life, I've never believed in gods, only believed in them. (This can be both Xiao Ge and Wu Xie because the only person Xiao Ge believes in is Wu Xie - and Pang Zi. Vice versa, the only person Wu Xie believes in is Xiao Ge - and Pang Zi. None of them believe in fate or ghosts or gods but they believe in each other and only each other. Wu Xie is Xiao Ge's only connection in the world - thus the lingering warmth in my hear bit - and I'm pretty sure Xiao Ge also holds a special spot in Wu Xie's heart during the Sha Hai era when he becomes a hardened man. We see that flash of Tian Zhen softness when he's talking to Li Cu about Xiao Ge and Pang Zi. He even admits at the time that he has an obsession: to pick up Xiao Ge when he exits the Bronze Gates and take him home. Also, PingXie is constantly rushing head first into danger for one another? Even Pang Zi made a comment on this in Ultimate Note after the sword gifting ceremony that when Xiao Ge lost his memories, Wu Xie accompanies him on his journey and helps him look for his lost memories; when Wu Xie is in danger or gets into trouble in his obsessive search for answers and his San Shu, Xiao Ge comes to his rescue. Even in Reunion, Xiao Ge says he'll follow Wu Xie on his journey to Thunder City in search of answers and his San Shu. Neither of them ever question whether it is fortune or calamity that will befall them on these journeys. They'll go through hell fire and high waters for each other regardless of consequences.)

Exchanging gazes, in it are new sprouts of innocence, all old hatred tossed and tucked away in forgetfulness. (Xiao Ge talking about Wu Xie - post Sha Hai, now that Xiao Ge is back and Wu Xie isn't emo anymore, we see a bit of his Tian Zhen coming back, Xiao Ge can probably see it too. The edges aren't gone but there are now some softness growing back. There are new sprouts of innocence in Wu Xie's eyes again.)

But there are still spirits to drink together, and extra cigarettes enough to share, if there's us and the rest of our lives, then it is the greatest of good dreams. That in which I believe in is not a god. Entrusting my life and soul to you with a smile on the wretched battlefield, even the gods of death themselves must submit under the sword, the world has too many uncertainties, only this is the sole surety. But even the sharpest blade is also mere flesh and blood, I wish to give him affection and to let him rest and recuperate. (This can be either Wu Xie or Xiao Ge referring to their retired life in Rain Village that having just us - the iron triangle - as well as the rest of our lives then it's the best dream come true they could wish for. Also, Wu Xie and Xiao Ge's only belief is in each other but neither sees the other as a god. Wu Xie is unarguably human and Wu Xie sees Xiao Ge as human instead of a weapon or a god so it works both ways. Both Wu Xie and Xiao Ge are considered to be the sharpest blades of the Nine Gates with a tendency to go against fate and death. In Xiao Ge's case even death must bow its head under his sword and abide by his rule whereas in Wu Xie's case he himself is the sword so to speak and that he has defied death so many times as well as planned the death of the Wangs that in a way, death is under his control and has to do this bidding. I think it's also referring to the saying 麒麟一笑，阎王绕道；天真一笑，麒麟开道 when the qilin - a.k.a Xiao Ge - smiles even the lord of the underworld will make a detour to avoid his path; a smile of innocence - when Tian Zhen a.k.a Wu Xie smiles - the qilin clears the way. Not sure if this was in the original books or if it's just a comment made by fans online or by NPSS during interviews but it's pretty legit interpretation in my opinion. PingXie is each other's only constant in a world of uncertainties and they see the other as a human, not a god or weapon/blade to be used for the Nine Gates. I think after Sha Hai when Xiao Ge exits the Bronze Gates both are so wounded and scarred that they want to do is to give the other affection and for them to rest and recuperate from what they've suffered in those 10 years and more.)

Even a lifetime as a god, there can also be a moment, a minute of being an ordinary human. (Wu Xie referring to Xiao Ge that even though he has lived as a god for his entire life, there are still brief moments where he too can be an ordinary human. Xiao Ge is just an ordinary human, just like Wu Xie and Pang Zi.)

Anyways, sorry about the long post but that's about it I think. I'll add on if I ever think about anything in the future. Hope this post was helpful 😂

[ectora]

REVIEW 313

took me some time to actually get into that review lmao But i really loved the episode. I know some people will probably have complains about it, but as someone who absolutely loves Abigael, I really liked it. And honestly the fact that abigael was finally included in the main story is not even the reason why. I loved the pacing, it actually felt like Charmed. The stakes, the construction, the format, it was all on point. It was genuinely their best episode alongside 307 (two episodes related to the tomb lmao) and one of their best in the show imo.

I've put it in "hidden" cause it ended up being so long I did not expect that im sorry 😭

SCREEN TIME

Maggie: 29m20s

Macy: 27m36s

Mel: 25m39s

Abigael: 20m17s

Jordan: 10m32s

Harry: 47s

Not gonna lie, I did not miss Harry this episode. Maybe it's just cause I don't like the way they have been writing both him and Macy this season, way too focused on the relationship, but his story does not really interest me. And I enjoy watching Macy interact with other characters a lot more. I think we could have had a little bit more of Jordan as well.

What I liked

where do i even start. I genuinely enjoyed so many things in this episode.

As said earlier, I really enjoyed the structure of the episode, to me it finally really felt like charmed. The way the episode was done was beautiful and I LOVED the trial in a general manner. They're terrible lawyers, but still loved it lmao

Ok hear me out, the fact they had abigael and macy say what the fan had been saying but reversing the roles was actually sent me lmao

I really enjoyed that they balanced the rights and wrongs of abigael. I'm part of the people who think that overall, most of what she did was not that deep tbh, but the episode allowed to have nuances and hold her accountable for things she did while also recognising that she did good things.

Abigael finally interacting with the sisters. To me, that's the sign of good characters tbh, how they can interact with different other leads/mains and such relationships being interesting. Abimel, i'll talk about it a bit later cause i have lots to say. But AbiMacy ? I absolutely always love their scenes, one of the reasons being that I genuinely think they're the two best actresses in the show and you can really feel it when they're on screen. They have easy chemistry and whatever they are doing, they just work. They also had one of the best potential of the show in terms of dynamic and I will never forgive the writers for ruining this, especially because it's in part because of a man. Anyway, their scenes were amazing to watch and I need more. I was especially happy because let's be honest, if Macy has valid reasons to dislike Abigael, they often miss-portrayed that in the show and it often came across as being mostly based on the whole love triangle between Macy Abi and Harry. But this time it really was not and Macy was quite fair, even reaching the conclusion Abi doesn't belong in there - she does not- and I liked that they actually were fair on Macy's dislike and distrust. Then there was AbiMaggie. Honestly, it's not a relationship i expected to enjoy that much but oh god i love them. I loved them in episode 207 and I still do. They just have such a funny dynamic, I can't even explain it correctly but it just work. They're throwing remarks at each other sure but it's almost in a sweet funny way. Abigael calling Maggie 'Legally Brunette" was so funny and cute at the same time.

Talking about Maggie, I really liked her this episode. I love how she reacts in situations where they need a cold head. She takes the lead, she does what needs to be done and she reaches the goal. I really enjoy seeing her taking that role a little bit more. Especially because to me Maggie was always the one with the most nuanced view on the world which I really appreciate. I loved her speech at the end and she grew so much since season 1, she's really so great. The more we advance in the show, the more she shines.

I really liked what happened at the end with the sisters recognising that they are themselves not perfect and are even chaotic. I have a point about being chaotic for later but anyway. Yes the sisters are not perfect. Honestly, they have done questionable things in the past themselves and often are the cataclysm of new things happening. I think it just makes them more interesting and better characters. Black and white can only get so long. Nuanced, imperfect, that's where the complexity lies and what is more interesting imo.

The perfecti really are good characters. I mean their logic was completely f*cked, but they are so entertaining to watch, it's actually great. I like also that they continued that idea that logic without emotion is dangerous. But in some ways tbh, the Perfecti are not even logical. They want to think they are, but their own logic is flawed and like Macy said, completely lacks context.

Finally the power of three and FINALLY, the plot goes forward. Maybe that's another reason I really enjoyed the episode, the fact that it actually had a good flow, it felt like one constructed episode and it actually advanced the story which cannot be said about a lot of the episodes. So I'm happy that happened.

And finally Abimel. I mean, no one can be surprised Abigael has feelings for Mel tbh, girl has not been subtle about it lmao But that declaration was actually cute and their scene at the bar ?? paralleling the one in season 2, it was so sweet. I just love them tbh, and I really think they could have been the ship a lot of us were waiting for in the sapphic community especially.

Abigael's past. Like I loved learning more about her past and her mom. Obviously her traumatic past does not exempt her from her own actions but I do believe it give strong grounds for redemption. it also gives us a lot of insights in her character. Her mom was an absolute monster and what she did to her was terrible. There is no surprise in Abigael's absolute lack of self worth and her unhealthy coping mechanism. Like her mom basically spent her life telling her she was deficient and then punished her for something she had no control on whatsoever. She punished Abigael for her own action and her own liaison with a demon. She probably projected her anger about that relationship on the child that came out of it and it's absolutely horrifying. Like no wonder Abigael is not fond of witches and went into the demon side tbh. Like that's not surprising at all. It also explains why she was so against the idea of witch = good that the sisters keep perpetuating because that's simply not what she experienced. Again, it does not excuse everything she did but I do believe it helps understand the character better and that ultimately, it gives space for a redemption. And again, kuddo to both poppy and the actress who played her mom. First that was great casting and it was really well played.

Remarks

To be honest, I don't really have things I genuinely disliked so I'm more gonna do like a section where i could criticise some of the aspect which to me did not necessarily made sense but were often still funny, and who knows maybe done on purpose. It's gonna be a mix of a little bit of everything.

One of the first thing I was kinda confused on was their use of the term chaos. Because, well, chaos doesn't equate evil. But that's the angle they started taking at the beginning which to me was confusing. It didn't make the episode bad, but the more I think about it, the more I'm like the defence they were going with had nothing to do with the charges 😭 Like, the sisters tried to prove that basically Abigael was a good person. But the charges were that she was chaotic. and by the end of the episode we did reach that kind of point where they said everyone was chaotic and everything - which i liked - but also didn't really match the angle they took the entire episode. Because, I personally never saw Abi as evil. But she is 100% chaotic like that girl is the definition of chaotic and I love her for it. But her doing good or bad is not necessarily what makes her chaotic. Good deeds can be as chaotic as bad ones. For example, Abi binding her own power could be considered as good by some people (it's not really but you see what I mean) but by doing so, she would lose the title of overlord and therefore end the treaty. In that case the war would start and that would definitely be chaotic. If she was to stay overlord however, and control the demon world, which can be seen as bad i guess, she is keeping the war from happening and stopping attacks toward witches and innocents, which is the contrary of chaotic. So yeah, the angle they took did not actually make that much sense cause the two are not the same.

Not gonna lie, bringing Godrik up was so weird to me cause like he tried to kill her first and they all know it, yet she was the one said to try to murder him and I was like ? did we all forgot what happened ? 😭

Some of the things brought by the perfecti - such as her killing those humans or demons - seemed weird because like, the sisters did the same in the past 😭 But also that's part of the whole lack of context aspect I guess.

No they really used Francesca as a witness out of all the people in the world like the woman is a whole child abuser who asked help to the elders, which have been established as like, not good people lmao I know it was part of the whole the perfecti are very selective on the information they actually take into account and they use the information as well as twist them to fir their own narrative but still it came across as weird because that woman was the definition of evil. But that's also what ticked the sisters so well.

Why did they not call Harry to testify was also kinda like ... weird. I mean at the same time I can't really complain but still, it was a bit odd. Also the fact they never thought about showing what was abigael actually doing with Jordan lmao I mean it wouldn't go along with the plot but still.

Ok, that take is subject to controversy and I know it but anyway : to me, Abi stealing Macy's power was ... not that deep. Don't get me wrong, the story was bad. The execution was even worse. In the show itself tho, objectively, as an act, it was not that bad. It actually made a lot of sense for Abigael to take it for herself. Macy wanted to get rid of her demon powers, no one was forcing her. And Abigael actually asked her multiples times if she was sure. Macy definitely had her reasons to do so. But at the end of the day, Abi picking them up when they were gonna disappear in thin air is really not that bad. It's logical. Don't get me wrong I'm glad Macy is getting them back, but I also think there has been a lot of mix up between the actual act of stealing the powers and the way it was done/optics ( I still don't understand how anyone wrote that scene and was like, yeah kneeling is a good idea ??? Like what's wrong with you 😭). But like ultimately, the act itself is not bad. questionable ? sure. Evil ? really not. Like let's be honest here. Abigael never hid who she was (past ep3 obviously). She did not pretend to be an angel, nor that she was a good samaritan. At the end of day, the sisters knew who she was and how she worked. They came to her knowing this. At some point, there is a need to acknowledge that, she was no angel, but they knew that and still went to her. She said it herself, she is used to fight for herself, and she'll sting to protect herself first - which i personally don't really hold again a character. If you go in bed with a scorpion, you can't ignore the fact there is a chance you're gonna get stung. Plus, when Abigael "stung" she also actually still gave them what they wanted/needed. I personally never saw self interest negating a good action. I don't really care if she gets something out of helping. Like at the end of the day, why wouldn't she take them ? In some ways however I do understand why Macy would be mad, she asked for help and she didn't realise Abigael stole them and she doesn't like abigael in the first place so why would she be ok with Abi taking them. That's valid too. But objectively, it was more a she was offended and mad that Abi herself had them more than a it's a terrible thing to do kinda feeling. So like it's a bit of a weird situation because Macy being annoyed and mad is valid but at the same time, it's really not that bad in itself. But overall that story should have never existed in the first place. And certainly not happen like this.

Abimel. I loved it but I also have issues with it. Mostly based on the fact we learned Poppy was leaving the show. And not gonna lie, I cant stop myself from feeling like it was almost a bit .. baity if I dare say. They had basically admitting having feelings for Mel and low key hoping it could lead somewhere when honestly, if she's leaving, they did not need to make it romantic. Because honestly, watching this episode not knowing she would leave ? You'd definitely could think it's happening, especially with all the other hints in the past. They could have made it like more about how Mel was the one giving her a real benefit of the doubt and they had a connexion and she wanted to be worthy of that. It would not be romantic. Especially cause she admitted caring about all sisters so it would have worked. Again, don't get me wrong, I want the most Abimel i can get lmao but also it feels a little weird. It's complicated. 😭

Jordan is definitely coming back, I just wonder what are going to be the circumstances. I completely understand why my boy needed a break. Like their time in the tomb was long. We don't exactly know how time works there but remember, in episode 7 when the sisters were stuck, the normal time was like what ? hours ? while in the tomb it was days for Maggie. So there it was days in normal time so in the tomb ? could potentially feel like weeks, months even. So yeah, give him a break and some time to breath. I know they're dragging this whole Joggie thing but because of Covid i also understand and will let it go. I really like them tho.

Abi has some alcohol problems I feel like should maybe be talked about. Like she uses it as an escape, as a way to numb her feelings. There is a reason it was used to symbolise her submitting herself to the tomb. And her first reaction after leaving the tomb was drinking. When she feels unhinged or vulnerable ? She drinks ? When she lost the title of overlord ? She drank. Alcohol is her escape which is a bit worrying.

Not about the episode but I think it needs to be brought up. I've seen people trying to say they brought up the abuse storyline for abigael out of nowhere and like. Listen I completely understand not trying to give more thoughts to a character you dislike, that's fair enough. But saying that storyline is out of nowhere is just a lie. The only new elements we had here were the details of the abuse she went through. They showed the clip again in the episode, where Abigael talks to Mel about her mom. She rejected her, she made her felt, deficient, wrong. All that is emotional abuse. She said her mom tried to fix her which can easily be thought about physical abuse. Like none of these things were new. To be honest, not a single thing they clarified/established for abigael this episode does not follow up with what was in the show in the past. Her feelings for Mel were honestly rather obvious at this point. Her not wanting TCO to get hurt ? There is literally a scene where Godrik tells her it's her head or the sisters and she never really even thought about throwing the sisters under the bus. She even asked who knew and it's easy to think it's because if no one knew she could put it under the rug. Again, it's fair enough for people to dislike her to not try to put more thoughts into her motivations or scenes in a general manner, but then you can't really say things are out of the blue.

And most importantly, I'm sorry, I don't care if you dislike the character, but if you dismiss the abuse just because of the dislike, that's a problem. What a character goes through in her past does not, in any way, have to change your opinion about them. Whatsoever. However when it comes to issues like child abuse, the bare minimum would be to be respectful of the subject and not say "she deserved it", "should have done more" or just say you don't care cause that changes nothing. Again, it doesn't have to change anyone's opinion at all and it does not excuse behaviours, but man, minimal respect is not that hard.

Highlights

This episode genuinely had such funny moments, i loved it.

« Is this a hard time to admit I failed debate in high school ? » and « could the defendant keep her commentary to herself » competing with each other for the funniest part of the episode. The delivery was perfect on both part. And Abi and Macy interactions are always so good and them bantering more or less seriously all the time is sending me. Macy was just so annoyed with her, i loved it.

« Need something legally brunettes » I said it already but I loved that little scene between AbiMaggie and that line particularly.

Abigael went from saying "I could care less about any of you" to "because I deeply care about her" followed by a whole ass declaration AND admitting she does actually care about all of them. My girl got absolutely played and it was genuinely so funny. Like Abigael was so freaking smug about testifying against herself and she got played so hard, she was SO annoyed it was actually hilarious.

"Every battle I fought, I fought alone" like excuse me while I'll go cry in a corner. Again, Poppy has been absolutely killing her role this season.

"Your arguments are illogical" the perfecti have such audacity like girl have you heard yourself ? 😭 no one is being less logical than you right now.

Lmao when Macy said Abigael belonged into the tomb, Mel was not agreeing 😭 And Maggie was having none of the drama either she just wanted out.

The sisters realising they had to be Abi's character witnesses lmao it was hilarious pleas idc.

Theories

With Poppy Drayton leaving, there are two theories I kinda have. Obviously Abigael is either gonna die or leave. Ngl, I can feel the dying one coming more but well, that brings the two theories.

Abigael would sacrifice herself. Which I don't like but honestly let's be honest, there are 95% chances of that happening. I could see her sacrifice herself for Mel or for the sisters in general. But that's where my abimel issues are coming. I love abimel. I want the most abimel i can have until the end. But Abigael admitting have feelings for Mel just in the purpose of having her sacrifice herself for her and to be 'worth it' ? that's not only a byg trope, it's also lazy.

If she just leave, which wouldn't really make sense to be honest cause why would she just leave, would she give up the title of overlord (why even) or would they bound her powers (i would hate that) ? but anyway, if that's the case, I could actually see her learn Waverly is not actually the one rejecting her. Waverly could very possibly not be the one who communicated with Jordan and the sisters. No one ever saw her, the letters are only signed by her name. It's a bit sus tbh, so nothing stops it from being Francesca actually impersonating her daughter to keep her away from Abigael.

I want to know more about the perfecti. We know they killed charmed ones before, and it doesn't seem like charmed ones existed when they were created ? Maybe the charmed ones were created after they went into the tomb ? I still am not sure about them going into the tomb by themselves tbh. But also they don't seem to be evil in the sense they want power or whatever, more in the fact like they consider themselves perfect and that if someone stands in their way, they'll just get rid of them.

[s3rendip1tous]

Star Wars OC:

G E N E R A L I N F O R M A T I O N

Name: Josren Ifol

Age: 17

Species: Miraluka

Gender: Female (she/her)

Birth: 37 BBY

Affiliations: Luka Sene, Jedi Order

Era: Clone Wars

P H Y S I C A L I N F O R M A T I O N

Height: 5’ 6”

Skin tone: Light

Eyes: None

Hair color: Brown

Hairstyle: Ponytail with messy bangs

A B O U T T H E M

Homeworld: Alpheridies

Language(s): Miralukese, Galactic Basic Standard, Binary

Personality: Josren is a very emotional and expressive person. She has to since she has no eyes and half her face is covered by a mask. She also makes up for this by using the force to convey her emotions if they're strong enough, causing other force-sensitives to feel similar emotions.

Backstory: Josren Ifol is the daughter of Zadek and Aileeh Ifol on the planet Alpheridies. She lived a relatively comfortable life and, when she displayed more advanced abilities with the Force, she was brought to be trained and educated at the Luka Sene. For many years, she lived and learned with her brothers and sisters until Jedi came to Alpheridies looking for force-sensitive beings to help fight in the war against the Separatists. Being the naive and eager girl she was, Josren was quick to volunteer and fight at the age of 14. Many of her people, including her teacher warned her and tried to convince her otherwise, but Josren wanted to try and help people all over the galaxy. So, she left with a few others to Coruscant and to the Jedi Temple. She was initially taught the beliefs of the Jedi and taught how to fight with a lightsaber. Training went by pretty fast since the girl was already taught the basics of combat during her time at the Luka Sene. She also had to construct and learn how to wield a lightsaber. Although this time, instead of combat being a means of self-defense, it was to be used in the means of attack. The training is what started opening her eyes to how contradictory the Jedi were—supposed peacekeepers fighting in a war.

She was assigned to Jedi Master Kit Fisto as an apprentice. Her first mission was helping her master track down Viceroy Gunray where she met Fisto's former padawan. They soon found out it was a trap. Most of their clone squad had been killed by Grievous and Josren became angry over their deaths and wanted revenge, the anger translating through the force, causing Nahdar to become angry as well. Josren herself starts to calm down each time Fisto reminds the two but Nahdar doesn't calm down until eventually, Nahdar is separated from the two and ultimately killed by Grievous in a duel. The two then go to escape, fighting off Grievous and his droids before flying away. After this mission, they mourn over the deaths of the clones and Nahdar and Kit teaches Josren how to control her emotions more since he could feel through the force that she was projecting her emotions through it. This makes Josren feel guilty and responsible for the death of Nahdar, making her hesitant to use the force as often as she used to. Yoda then offered to teach Josren a few lessons after Kit Fisto reported to the Council what happened and help her regain her confidence and have better control.

Soon, Josren and Master Fisto were assigned to go to the Ord Cestus medical station in order to gather supplies and aid for Master Windu and get them ready to be shipped off on Ahsoka Tano and Barriss Offee's ship. When word got out that Geonosian brain worms had taken control of the ship, Josren became increasingly worried for the people on board, especially for Ahsoka whom the young padawan had befriended. When they eventually boarded, Josren was quick to care for the Togruta and make sure her friend was in stable condition. It was also there that she met Barriss.

Once regaining her confidence, Josren rejoined her master and helped fight in the war. In her free time, she’d often meditate or look through the archives to expand her knowledge in both the Force and combat, befriending Jocasta Nu.

When Order 66 took place, Josren was at the Jedi Temple. She was doing her usual studying when she heard blaster shots. Investigating, she found the 501st marching into the Temple and shooting at other Jedi. Josren was about to fight when a hand grabs her shoulder. Jocasta stops her and shoves a sack into her arms, a youngling sleeping in it. Jocasta ordered Josren to leave the temple and run far, far away. Josren did as she was told, escaping to the Underworld of Coruscant with the child in hand. She soon left the planet altogether. Only then did Josren take a breath and try to use the force to sense if any other Jedi were alive. She found only death, fear, and pain.

Likes:

-Flying ships

-Competition

-Destroying droids

-Meditating

-Danger

-Jedi Archives

-Learning

Dislikes:

-The cold

-Injustice

-Hypocrisy

-Caff

P O W E R S / A B I L I T I E S

Skills:

-Force: She is very connected to the force. Able to see extremely well using force sight, she's a bit more advanced than most her age with the force, especially thanks to her teachers at the Luka Sene training her pretty early. She's able to do basic things such as telekinesis, but also force jumps, jedi mind tricks, occasionally getting visions, and other force sub-powers. As she trains, her perception of the force becomes even stronger and her trust in it helps her learn abilities pretty fast compared to other jedi her age. She also uses the force to compensate for the lack of experience she has in combat since many combatants have been training for the better part of their lives while she has only trained for around 2 years. Some special force techniques she learns to use are animal bond and psychometry.

-Jar'Kai: She often used this technique and wielded two lightsabers, both usually in the unorthodox reverse grip. Although she still trained with one lightsaber in order to not be so dependent on both sabers.

-Form IV, Ataru: She utilized this form often thanks to her acrobatic skills and her master himself a user of this form. Often, Josren will maneuver her way around her opponent using flips and handsprings. It's also handy when trying to dodge blasters. She used this in pair with Djem So, using acrobatics to dodge and disorient her opponent before unleashing a number of powerful blows.

-Form V, Shien/Djem So: One of the first forms she learned, Josren utilized this technique often. Although pretty incompatible with Form IV, Josren used it because she preferred the reverse grip the form made so easily capable. She mixed it with the acrobatics of Ataru, dodging then striking with many powerful blows. She also used it to deflect blaster shots, often using her lightsaber to deflect them toward a chosen target.

-Marksman: She has great aim. Josren is able to deflect blaster shots with her lightsaber and hit her intended target spot on. She also has skill with shooting a blaster itself, hardly missing.

-Pilot: She's able to fly a ship extremely well and maneuver her way out of tight places. She's also able to fire the ship's guns accurately to knock down another ship.

Inventory:

-Blue Shoto Lightsaber

-Purple Shoto Lightsaber

-Credits

Limitations and Weaknesses:

-Reckless: She tends to jump into battle thanks to her enthusiasm, often not seeing the big picture and putting herself and a lot of others in danger. She becomes less and less reckless as she gets older, but sometimes she can't help it

-Weak in combat: She's only studied the different forms of lightsaber combat for about two~ years. On top of that, she added a second lightsaber to her repertoire. To compensate for this lack of skill, especially in lightsaber battles, Josren relies on the force since she's been practicing and perfecting her connection all her life.

-Overly emotional: She often projects her emotions into the Force, causing not only others, but also herself to be emotional and distracted.

R E L A T I O N S H I P S

Family:

-Zadek Ifol

-Aileeh Ifol

-Veros Ifol

-Demral Ifol

Master: Kit Fisto

Friends:

-Ahsoka Tano

-Barriss Offee

-Riyo Chuchi

-Jocasta Nu

Droid(s):

-R6-D3

E X T R A S

Quotes:

“Die you stupid droids!"

"The Jedi are arrogant hypocrites"

Theme Song: "Hang on a Little Longer” by UNSECRET, Ruelle

Trivia:

-She is herbivorous

-Josren is flexible enough to be a contortionist

-She holds her lightsabers in a reverse grip

-Worships the deities Ashla (light side of the force) and Bogan (dark side of the force)

-Studies the way of the jedi in the Old Republic Era

-Often studies/guards the library in the Jedi Temple

[anghraine]

Got another AU for you! Yakone actually does turn over a new leaf. He genuinely loves his wife and sons. When Noatak and Tarrlok discover that they're waterbenders, he doesn't go for revenge, train them vigorously, or teach them bloodbending. They're one big happy family. How much changes because of this?

It’s a little difficult to envision, given that almost everything we see of Yakone is either a) evil crime boss or b) abusive father who warps his originally sweet-natured sons into proto-villains by the respective ages of 14 and 11. But accepting that he did … well, it’d change a whole lot, of course, to such an extent that it’s hard to even say. But here are some ideas.

Okay—I see that final interchange between young Noatak and Tarrlok as a defining moment for both of them, where Noatak finally rejects his role as Tarrlok’s protector and Tarrlok is abandoned over his supposed weakness. Noatak reinvents himself as protector of the vulnerable; Tarrlok reinvents himself as a figure of power and strength. If that moment alone had gone differently, even if it still resulted in Noatak fleeing, I think they would have taken very different paths than in canon. And that’s just one moment among many that shaped them. They’d just be radically different people, and they play such important roles in what’s happening in B1 that it would also be radically different.

We really have to backtrack to little Noatak and Tarrlok, who are adorably sweet kids. We can see that Noatak is already protective and concerned, and we hear that even as a small child, he wanted everyone to be treated fairly. So there’s that. Little Tarrlok is a more ambiguous figure, but under pressure his most noticeable quality is his distaste for causing pain. Without bloodbending driving a wedge between them, I tend to think their most distinctive qualities would influence each other more—Tarrlok would be more egalitarian and Noatak would be more soft-hearted. 

That could lead them in a lot of directions, even assuming that they stuck together. For convenience’s sake, let’s say they’re still going to end up in Republic City. 

Okay. While AU Yakone doesn’t train them as rigorously, I think their talent—especially Noatak’s—would still be evident. And I imagine that, good-natured as they are, Noatak and Tarrlok would always get a kick out of being good at things. So waterbending would have a completely opposite effect on their lives. They’d be taught to appreciate it in a nurturing way, and it’s also just amazing to be able to do (personally and culturally), and they’re good at it, really good. Waterbending is the best! And they’re fairly driven people, so if they retained that quality, I can see them wanting to learn and master it. 

I’d imagine that they ultimately push to study under a waterbending master and Yakone eventually gives in, and they ultimately end up in the NWT capital and study until they’ve fully mastered it. I can imagine them becoming a bit arrogant—Noatak’s a world-class waterbender and knows it, and while Tarrlok is always a bit in his shadow, even roughly keeping up with him at three years younger takes some serious talent, which he comes to realize. They’re very sure of their abilities and very sure of their rightness about everything, while also being gentle and kind-hearted, with nerves of steel.

It’d be a bit funny if they still ended up in vaguely similar positions to canon, or alternately reversed ones (Noatak the politician pushing for change and Tarrlok the pragmatic activist!). But I don’t see a lot of reason for their paths to significantly diverge in this AU. I imagine they’d set out to Make Their Way In The World together, and perhaps Yakone would be just enough himself to like the idea of them rising in Republic City, so he directs them there. 

Noatak and Tarrlok could really become anything, but I imagine they’d still care about the Situation that the city’s in, even without their personal issues driving them. It was probably something of a shock for them. Waterbending as pro-benders and triads use it is completely foreign to their relationship with it, and bending used to oppress non-benders is wtf???? They’d just be a) good people and b) on the same side. So I do lean towards thinking they’d be activists of some kind or another. 

And it’d be interesting, because when Korra shows up, it’s—I mean, ultimately, the issues that arise around them in canon can be largely dismissed because it’s really about their family drama and also they’re villains. The other seasons largely ignore that they ever existed. But if Noatak and Tarrlok are concerned with the same things and actually super nice people, it’s much harder to just dismiss them, especially if they’ve ended up in a position/positions where they can go around asking the uncomfortable questions (maybe they’re reporters?). 

(Asking uncomfortable questions would probably not win them friends among the triads, but like Korra, they’re pretty much fearless and at heart enjoy a chance to use their asskicking abilities For Justice. I would definitely hope all three get a chance to fight together! :D)

Not sure where it’d end up, except that the non-bender issues and the consequence of the strain over it wouldn’t be shoved under the rug nearly so much. I do like the idea that they’re pretty hostile towards Korra and Tenzin and such at first, but ultimately become allies that she can call on later on, if they think her cause is Righteous. And that, of course, would interfere with the plots of all succeeding seasons, so ... it gets even more complex from there.