#ultimately the huge appeal for this story

[demenior]

📓 anything Animorphs?

To this day, I still think about writing a really good Animorphs/Avengers story

The ultimate barebones would be:

It's set relatively real-time, meaning that the Ani kids were ~16 in 1999

By 2010 (~Avengers time), the living humans wouldn't even be 30 yet

The Yeerk War went off in secret/was covered up by Shield

Jake never went on his suicide mission/no dealing with The One (yet)

Instead, Jake is employed by Shield for a variety of very secret roles

This changes a lot for me as to whether he was coerced into signing up as a minor and so is stuck in a very tight contract where Fury basically owns hm and Jake is resentful of that (with the trade-off being, so long as Jake is held by Shield, the rest of the gang can live their lives in peace)

Or did he join Shield for the same reason he goes off on the One Last Mission- because he can't leave the war behind

In some versions in my head, no one knows about Jake's powers and he reveals them at a cool moment but ultimately I don't think that's a great idea

The bottom line is always that Jake is devoted to keeping the Yeerk War a secret because that was what he believed was the right choice at the end of the war, but maybe these days he's regretting that decision and unfortunately has to live with his mistakes

Anyways, the story goes: the Avengers are assembled and are the big top dogs because not only did they save the world, they saved the world from alien invasion! They're so cool!

There's also this Jake guy who acts as a bit of a secretary/coffee guy/makes them sign forms etc etc. Obviously Fury wants him to be their new Coulson but like, the kid is a baby compared to the rest of the Avengers

While everyone is polite, no one takes much stock of Jake because he's just a kid! And a little dorky, a bit of a pushover, etc etc

And so from there it would be a series of scenes in which the cast of the Avengers all have moments where they have to do a double take at Jake to try and figure out why their intuition is telling them "something is up here" on the little moments where Jake lets his mask slip

These events could even include dramatics such as:

A mission gone bad and Jake lost a limb or was seriously injured in an explosion, only to show up with no injuries

Jake knowing to much about aliens that visit earth and him (badly) lying that he was going off intuition

Jake always exists as a bit of a morally gray character, who's focus is always on The Greater Good (more like Fury), than the morals of a situation, which can put him at odds with a lot of the Avengers. He's a very 'the ends justify the means' kind of guy.

There was a story where, with the events of The Winter Soldier, Hydra = Yeerk takeover, and so I was going to give Jake a very dramatic and public "Shield (hydra) is declaring this one dude enemy of the state and blaming him for Nick Fury's murder" to which everyone goes "Jake??? But he gets nauseous killing flies??"

And so along this route is how Steve and co would reunite with Jake somewhere and find out about the Yeerk War

There was also a thought about the events of Infnity War, with the Bg Last Stand in Wakanda, where Jake rolls in with his Howler morph and a bunch of the Hork-Bajir colony and remaining Animorphs to fight to defend earth

And so during the big fight Jake would be trying to draw Thanos out, because Thanos would definitely know about Howlers, and Jake would be projecting his Greatest Hits (read: war crimes and victories) through thought-speach to goad Thanos into engaging him, leading to the final showdown in that movie of the team trying to stop Thanos and failing

[lalunanymph]

MARRY THE TRAITOR ; gojo satoru

⟡ the day you met your demise is the same day you met gojo satoru, your betrothed from a world so different from yours—a cruel prince who is undoubtedly in love with someone else. as the stakes rise and you race against the clock to beat your brutal fate, can you make the ultimate choice between your heart or your happily ever after?

includes: fem!reader, reader is a florist in our world, arranged marriage, enemies to lovers, slow burn, yandere!gojo, prince!gojo, princess!reader, reader is in cerena's body, princess cerena is described to have pink hair and feminine features, isekai-ed reader, mentions of death, mentions of blood, assault, injuries, smoking, mentions of terminal illnesses (cancer), language

⟡ masterlist

ACT 1, SCENE 1: MIRI'S REPRIEVE

It was horrifyingly cold tonight. 

Your body seized with bouts of shivers the second you stepped out of your shop, the smell of roses lingering in your hair. The lights are already switched off, the tulips you were shearing just a few seconds ago placed in crystal vases by the shop window to keep them from wilting overnight. 

However, as much as you try to distract yourself, there’s a shake in your hands you cannot ignore.

Pulling out a crumpled cigarette from your jacket pocket, you burn the end of the white stick with your cheap convenience store lighter, watching the flickering flames cast shadows across the wet road as you’re suddenly struck by a thought from a long, long time ago. 

The great Greek philosopher, Plato, once theorized that humans were born whole. 

Each of us, regardless of race, creed, or religion, shared one body, four arms, four legs and two faces fused together on a singular head. 

However, the gods—vain as they were—feared the human’s increasing power and Zeus himself devised to split them into two separate parts, forever condemning mortals to search for their other half in a journey filled with despair, longing and loneliness.  

The first time you heard this in Philosophy 101, a part of you was intrigued, if not a little terrified at the notion. While you weren’t a particularly huge subscriber to the idea of having a soulmate, it did have a sense of appeal for a girl raised on stories of handsome princes saving dainty princesses from their castles of grief and isolation. 

But, tonight, your jumbled mind can’t stay on Plato or distractions for too long. It constantly circles back to your mom.  

The scans she took had came back positive, and the doctor’s bleak voice on the other end of the line read like a death knell to your flimsy hopes that the cancer hadn’t spread further than her stomach. 

Your eyes weighed heavily, the burden of knowing sanding you to the bare bones till you felt close to breaking down on the cold road, screaming and shaking your fist at the night sky; cursing the gods for tearing the only person in the world who still loved you from your side.

Why they did it, you will never know. 

You weren’t exceptionally powerful nor did you pose a threat to the deities above. You were a simple florist in the middle of the city, trying to make ends meet and pay all your bills on time; nothing but a tax-paying citizen and a role model for small business women trying to make it big in a competitive city.

Smoke curls around your figure and you suck on the nicotine, letting it coat the back of your throat and numb the ends of your fingers.

Oblivious to your surroundings, you tread past an alleyway, ignoring the scampering of rats and smell of garbage burning through your nose. You inhale another toxic breath, expelling it out and watching the plume of smoke disappear upwards.

“Hey.” 

Nothing could prepare you for what came next. 

Turning around to appraise the voice calling you from the shadows, white hot pain cracks through your head, leaving you blind from the sudden assault.

Your cigarette falls somewhere at your feet, and you tumble to the gravelly ground on your hands and knees, skinning your palms as your ragged breaths echo in this dilapidated and abandoned alleyway. 

A hand shoots out to grab your purse, and before you can croak a yell or blindly turn to confront your assailant, another blow cracks down your skull, making you collide face first into the dirt-packed ground. 

Pain explodes in your face, white-hot and agonizing. Your breathing and the sound of blood rushing through your ears is the only thing you can hear as you breathe in the smell of dirt and blood, your head feeling like a thousand sparks of pain were going off at once. 

Cracking open your good eye, you catch a sliver of light in the distance; it washes over you, potent and soothing. The light at the end of the alleyway shimmers, and you think this is it—this is the last thing you will see from this world. 

Not your mother’s smile, or your best friend’s laugh. There are no flowers in your hand, no loved ones standing over your sickbed to kiss your cheek one last time before you depart this world.

It’s you, the floor, the blood trickling in your mouth, and your consciousness slowly ebbing away.

The last thing you remember before your world snuffs out like a pathetic candle is seeing the beady eyes of a rat shining in the dark, its long tail curling around its dirty body as it scampers closer and closer to you. 

And then, nothing else remains.

“... care to explain yourself?” 

The world is too bright, much too loud and you cringe back, a loud ringing clanging in your ears like the high-pitched squeal of a thousand nails on a chalkboard. 

What… is this scene? 

Your eyes struggle against the bright light and you wince, throwing your hand up to your face to ward off the glare. 

When your gaze finally focuses, you’re confronted by a pair of ice cold blue eyes, his sneer tearing through your mind like a bloody gash on white canvas. 

“Are you an imbecile?” His chilling tone laced with arrogance and contempt sears through you, leaving you mute and dumbstruck from this stranger’s sudden hostility. “I asked you if you would like to explain the accusations brought against you for hurting Miri.”

A girl with bright red hair and freckles splashed across her cheeks looks up at you with fear in her eyes. You take a step back, assessing her attire and countenance with open horror. Her pale face like the moon, dirt-streaked hands with stubby nails and a uniform splotched with indiscernible stains. 

But, that isn’t what draws your attention: it’s the look of contempt secretly masked under her woeful and pitiful expression. Those green eyes burn through you with the force of a thousand deaths, each one more painful than the last.

“Cerena.” 

Your eyes grow wider when you realize this strange man is speaking to you—calling you by an unknown name. 

As your attention shifts back to him, you’re stunned and breathless. His shock of pure white hair, towering stature and cruel, azure gaze never yields from your expressions, thin lips twisted into a baleful grimace. His attire is one you have never seen before: a regal, embroidered jacket and matching pants in the darkest shade of navy blue. Regalia and military medals drip from the lapels of his jacket like icy tears, each metallic glint striking more fear into your heart as you take in his majestic and imposing demeanor.

“I said, speak, wench!” 

Dexterous and pale fingers, like that of a violinist, grasps your jaw painfully as he jerks your face towards him. Instinctively, you tense and push him away, a petrified look on your face.

“Who are you?” 

Obviously, it wasn’t a question he was expecting. The princely man gives a dignified scoff, the corners of his lips twisting into a terrifying sneer. 

“Oh, so now you're playing the short term memory loss card? Stop begging for attention, Cerena, and own up to your mistakes.” He moves aside and the maid cowering behind him lifts her teary eyes to him, her pitiful state clearly tugging on his heart strings and his protective instincts. “Miri told me you slapped her when she wouldn’t braid your hair fast enough, and you even threw your tea at her. Pray tell, is that a way how a princess acts, Your Highness?” 

His words drip with venomous sarcasm. You open your mouth and then close it, unsure of how to respond to him—what you could even say in these circumstances.

But inside of you, welling deeply and painfully, is a surge of anger at being falsely accused for something you did not do. You have no idea who he is, who Miri was to him and who even is this woman called ‘Cerena’ he keeps on referring to you as.

What you do know is that he has slighted you with his openly hostile tone and body language, and if years of being a florist in a cutthroat business has taught you, it’s that you should always stand your ground against unruly customers to safeguard your reputation and dignity.

“I have no idea what you are speaking of,” your words come out frostier than you intended. Your sharp gaze sweeps to the other maids observing the spectacle with stony faces. “I wish to go back to my room.” 

Turning on your heel, you take one step forward and realize just how heavy your gown is. Lace and organza with dangling pendants woven through the thick fabric, you move as if walking in a vat of molasses, slow and controlled, when all you want to do is storm off. 

“Hey. I am not done speaking to you—”

It’s easy for him to catch up and grab your arm, impeding you from making your swift exit.

“Is this how you are to treat your subjects when we become wedded, Cerena? I would think that the princess of Kraith herself would have better manners and not behave like a barbarian!” 

His words snap something tight in your chest, and your nostrils flare. You break free from his grasp and spin around, fists clenched to your sides.

“Do not touch me,” your deathly warning stills the entire room. “Do not speak to me like this and if you wish to protect her reputation—”

Your eyes fall on the maid still cowering on the floor, her eyes turned to the ground, but a shadow of a smirk on her face belies her true intentions. 

She was attempting to frame me… or, Cerena. She is trying to get us in trouble with this powerful, spiteful man. 

“—next time, choose someone else who doesn’t make it obvious that this is all a ploy to smear my name.”

mtt fun fact: maids are divided into different tiers according to the nobles they serve. miri is at the bottom tier, and her scope of work mainly focuses on cleaning the hallways and stables

dawn says: it's bit of a shorter chapter, but trust, the drama is gonna hit you like thief-kun when he smashed our heads in yayy <33

!! reblogs and feedback and asks about this series are so beloved and appreciated and will motivate me to update and write faster <3

©️ all rights reserve to lalunanymph. do not copy elements of my story, repost or claim as your own.

[starcurtain]

I wish everyone collectively understood aventurine’s character like you…things would be so much easier! I genuinely don’t understand how people keep getting his motivations wrong??? Could it be because some of the most popular Aven fanfics were written prior to his release? That could have contributed to some of the takes we tend to see about him…thoughts?

I struggled all day to come up with a concise way to answer this and couldn't think of one, so here, have a long-winded ramble:

I don't think early fic writers have much impact in the situation with Aventurine's character now, since most people can look at when a story was posted and go "Oh, this was before we had ____ information."

I think that Aventurine's problem is being a male character in a gacha game. Gacha game characters are designed to sell. Hoyo can sell female characters very, very easily. Give her huge tits and a visible underwear strap and you're good to go. I love all my guy friends, but I'm not gonna sugarcoat it: straight men are not the hardest audience to please. Hit a particular fetish (feet, spandex, dommy mommy), and you're gucci.

Nah, we all know why Jade's trailer is Like That.™

Male characters in gacha are harder to sell because women as consumers are a little harder to predict. Does every woman want a tall, ripped hunk? Shit, no, small cute boyish models like Aventurine are selling better now? Why?! Would a bad boy be more popular than a nice guy??? It's harder to account for women's tastes, especially because they are often (a little) less visually-oriented.

Hoyo is good at what they do though, and they've figured out that male characters sell very well when they possess at least one of two specific traits:

Endearing vulnerability/helplessness

Gay ship tease

Give a character both, like Aventurine? They might as well be printing money.

That sound you hear is Hoyo's stock prices rising.

So, from the very beginning, Hoyo is incentivized to create a character that appeals to people, a character people will want to crack their wallets open for. And they achieved this, first and foremost, by giving Aventurine traits that female players (in particular, but men too), find especially appealing: emotional and physical vulnerability.

We see Aventurine's pain. We sympathize with his grief. We identify with his struggle to make meaning of his difficult life. He's our woobie, blorbo, babygirl, whatever the hell they're calling it now.

He can't hide his suffering anymore. He's on the very edge. He's a dude in distress. He's surrounded by enemies! He misses his mama! He's been betrayed! No one understands him like you do, dear player!

The ultimate feeling evoked is: He needs to be saved.

When people talk about male power fantasies, I think they forget that women can experience them too, and "Emotionally vulnerable man that only I (or my favorite character) can fix" is actually a female power fantasy.

And from there it's really easy, right: the people who shell out cash to buy warps for their harmed-husbando feel like they've saved him; the people who are into mlm ships look for the nearest hot dude to be the savior Ratio was waiting for his time lol.

Morally and intellectually, this type of deep-down-golden-hearted, emotionally-wounded male character is very easy to digest. There is nothing to dislike about this type of character or role in the story: this character is a good guy who has just gone through so many terrible situations, whose victim status makes him endearing, and whose lack of agency means that any of the questionable or downright bad things he does are always the result of someone else forcing his hand, and never something he would have chosen himself.

His motivations are always clear and consistent: get free, heal, and live happily ever after.

Insert the Wreck-It Ralph meme: "Do people assume all your problems got solved when a big strong man showed up?" But to be fair, a big strong man did kind of solve Aventurine's problem, so--

Anyway, it's simple. It's straightforward. Morally, it's pretty cut and dry, black and white: Aventurine is our hero, which means everyone dictating the course of his miserable life is evil.

Hoyo is not remotely discouraging people from literally buying into this emotional appeal.

And trust me, I get it. I'll be the first to admit that hurt-comfort is its own entire genre in fandom because it is so appealing. People eat up Aventurine's tragic backstory like candy! The idea of watching a character go through hell at the hands of bad guys just to finally find a happy end is like the definition of everyone's favorite story.

In fact... people love Aventurine's suffering so much, they have invented whole new ways for him to suffer that aren't even in the game.

This is where we get all the headcanons that Aventurine was a sex slave, every single person he meets hates him because of his race, the Stonehearts are executioners holding knives to his throat, Jade enslaved him to the IPC with a lifelong contract, his material possessions belong to the company, the IPC is forcing him to take only the most dangerous missions where he is being required by his evil jailers to continually put his life on the line... You name it and I promise you, I can find a fanfic where Aventurine suffers from it. 😂

Bro can't even sleep in on his day off; life is so hard for this man.

Being serious: if the game is telling us that Aventurine is a victim... Why not make him the perfect victim?

Why not envision an Aventurine with no freedom, who bears no responsibility for any of the horrible situations he is in or any of the dubious things he does?

It's so natural to like that version of Aventurine, so appealing to see a totally powerless underdog use his own wits and charms to claw his way up to freedom. Or, if you're the kind who really relishes angst: It's even appealing to see Aventurine lose more. To delight in fics where he loses his wealth, where the IPC punishes him for past crimes while he's powerless to stop them... (I assure you, this is many people's cup of tea and the fanfics prove it!)

Ultimately, there's nothing wrong with liking characters who are exactly this straightforward! It's completely fine to embrace characters that are intentionally written to be morally above-board, whose primary role in the story is to generate angst by being a good person who suffers, or those characters who never show unlikable traits, bad decisions, or contradictory actions.

The problem is that that's just not who the game is telling us Aventurine is.

Hoyo may be capitalizing off people who love to envision poor Aventurine still living his life as a slave... But the game also needs to tell a complicated enough story overall to appeal to people who don't care about this specific husbando--Aventurine's role in the actual game's plot has to be interesting enough for almost everyone to appreciate it, not just Aventurine's simp squad. (Don't get mad, I'm in the simp squad with you.)

So his character doesn't stop at just being a pure-hearted victim who is still waiting to be saved.

Aventurine is not that easy to label, and I think the biggest struggle in this character's fandom right now is between people who prefer the even-more-angsty, still-a-slave Aventurine versus people who want a morally grey, self-destructive character instead.

To me personally, while I greatly understand the appeal of fanon!Aventurine and the joy of a really juicy angst fic where characters lose it all, I think that missing out on the depth that canon is suggesting would be a real loss on the fandom's part.

The character motivations that Aventurine shows in the game are complicated. They cancel each other out. They're basically self-harm! He makes almost every situation he's in worse for himself--on purpose.

He is a good person, but also a person who has done unspeakable things. He does have morals, but he's not above allowing those who don't have them to use him to their advantage.

He's both the victim and the victor. He's his own worst enemy. He's a lost little boy who's been making terrible decisions for himself since he was like eight years old, and a grown ass man who is barely managing to fake his way through an existence that destiny is not letting him quit.

This kind of character is a lot harder to embrace. He's done things that most people would find appalling--like willingly joining up with the organization that let his entire race be massacred. He's invented a whole new peacock persona to frivolously flaunt riches he doesn't even care about (Poison Dart Frog Self-Defense 101). He actively plays into racist stereotypes about his people to manipulate others through their preconceived expectations. He's made a mockery of his mother's and sister's hopes and dreams by endlessly trying to throw his own life away.

He has flaws! He bet everything he had on a ploy without doing his homework to find out if the people he was risking his life for were even still around. (Maybe he already knew, and couldn't bear to admit it, even to himself.) He's intentionally off-putting and obnoxious to everyone he meets (Poison Dart Frog Self-Defense 102). He terrifies everyone who gets close to him by (seemingly) carelessly throwing himself into the jaws of death without the slightest provocation.

He knowingly allows the IPC to exploit his power and talents for profit. Did everyone forget that his role in the Strategic Investment Department is asset liquidation?! Like, his actual day-to-day job is ruining people's lives. Canonically, Aventurine kills people when his deals go bad.

His motivations change off-screen in two lines of story text. We're told in one line that his biggest reason for joining the IPC was to make money to save the Avgin, then in the next line we find out that's impossible. And... then what? What motivations does he even have now? The whole point of his character arc from 2.0-2.1 is that he was on the edge of giving in to utter despair and nihilism because he couldn't even perceive a single reason to stay alive. He has no purpose in life before Penacony, and that didn't start with the Stonehearts at all??

People keep saying Aventurine was held in the IPC by golden handcuffs, but how do you tie down someone for whom profit is meaningless? What can you offer to a man whose only desire is to bring back something already lost forever? How do you imprison someone whose only definition of freedom is, canonically, death?

Working for the Stonehearts is obviously not healthy. But that's why Aventurine was doing it--because taking dangerous missions allowed him to put himself at risk. The job that he originally pursued hoping to save his people became a direct means to self-harm, and the IPC's only real role in that was just happily profiting off the results.

The journal entries for Aventurine's quests are there deliberately to tell the player what is on his mind, and none of it has to do with escaping from his job:

Like... Work is the least of this man's problems.

At really the risk of rambling on too long now, he's also just a massive walking contradiction:

Aventurine is among the most explicitly religious characters in the game, yet he's one of the only people in the entire game that we have ever seen actively question his people's aeon.

You might be tempted to think Aventurine's risky gambles with his life as an adult are a result of giving up after finding out about the Avgin massacre... Butttt no, Hoyo makes sure to tell us that even at knee-high in the Sigonian desert, Kakavasha was already willing to risk himself in a fight to the death against monsters because even back then he found his own life to have less value than a single memento.

He's the "chosen one" who will lead his people to prosperity... except they're all dead.

He's explicitly suicidal... andddd also a pathstrider of Preservation.

He wants to die... He doesn't want to die. He wants to make it end, yet goes to staggering lengths to continually survive. (Every plan risks his life on purpose--but every plan's win condition is also to live.) He life is the chip tossed down, but his hand is trembling beneath the table. When faced with an otherwise unsurvivable situation, Aventurine literally became a winner of the Hunger Games. He beat other innocent people to death with his own chain-bound hands just to come out alive.

He knows the IPC failed the Avgin and left them to die... and he still willingly sought out a position of power in their organization. Maybe he really is after revenge... but maybe not.

He starts his journey in the IPC with a truly noble goal in mind: to help his people using his newfound wealth and power. He's a good guy who did genuinely want to save the Avgin and repay all those who helped him. But once it became clear he was too late, once it was obvious he would have no use at all for that monetary wealth and power he risked his life to get... What did he do with it? Unlike Jade, we don't see him over here donating to orphanages. (I'm not that heartless; I'm sure he does actually do a lot of good things with his money on the side, but the point is that the game does not show us that--it shows us, over and over again, Aventurine putting on a wasteful, over-indulgent persona toward wealth. We've supposed to feel how meaningless money is to him, how meaningless everything is becoming to him.)

He outright refuses to use underhanded tactics or to cheat at gambles, which is meant to show us that's he's more morally upright than his coworkers. There's an entire exchange where he says that he'll never stoop to using manipulation the way Opal does. But... he doesn't have any issue fulfilling Opal's exact agenda. He was never remotely morally conflicted about denying the Penaconians their freedom by dragging Penacony back under IPC control.

He's willing to risk his own life, which is one thing--but he's also willing to risk other people's well-being. Topaz accuses him of constantly egging their clients on into dangerous situations; we've actively seen him shove a gun into Ratio's hands and pull the trigger with no care for how Ratio would feel about that on their very first meeting... Dragging the Astral Express crew into the entire Penacony plan in the first place was exceedingly dangerous...

To me, I just think it's vital to understand his character through the lens of these contradictions because they demonstrate the extreme polarity of Aventurine's life: from rags to riches, from powerless to empowered by multiple aeons, from willing to kill to survive to killing himself... He has quite literally lived a life of "all or nothing," and while he is the victim of many terrible situations out of his control, his arc as a character involves facing the truth of himself and the future his own actions are hurtling him toward.

Frankly, the Aventurine that canon is suggesting is a little annoying. You want to grab him by the shoulders, shake him, and say "Why are you like this?!" And he won't even have an answer for you, because he doesn't even know why he's still alive.

In the end, to me, this is so, so much more interesting. I can read an endless supply of hurt-comfort fics where Aventurine escapes the evil IPC and Ratio is there to fill the void in his life with the power of love and catcakes and be a perfectly happy clam online, but I want canon to continue to serve us this incredible mess of a man who constantly takes one step forward and two steps back.

Who is fully aware of his role as a cog in the grotesque profit-wheel of cosmic capitalism and still manages to say he never changed from the rags-wearing desert rat of the Sigonian wastes.

Who over and over again flirts with nihility but, ultimately, even if he has to wrest it from the grip of the gods themselves with bloody, chain-bound hands, chooses life.

[amphiaria]

*walks back in* and one more thing

ultimately we need to meet media on its level, and the reason that chobits is a crazy-making narrative is that it takes such huge, insane swings and utterly whiffs every single one of them. if it were an absolute failure on every level nobody would like it. it is extraordinarily good at a few specific things. anybody will tell you that the aesthetic is absolutely off the chain. very few manga groups rival clamp in appealing character design. every single thing they have ever done oozes with style, and their costume design is more considered than many larger and much more successful properties. they are also very good, bless their hearts, at making narratives where god's most perfect angel (literally in the case of wish) makes doe eyes at the most Some Guy-ass man in existence. they're fucking great at this. this is their bread and butter. this is what they want to be doing, and everything else is gravy to them.

why they decided to tell this particular narrative with chobits' particular set dressing is frankly beyond me, but I am not the ultimate authority on what stories are allowed to be told in which settings. chobits makes me insane because I want it to be more ambitious than it is - because I think I see places where IT wants to be more ambitious than it is - but I can't condemn the story because it wasn't exactly what I wanted it to be. chobits raises and subsequently fumbles a thoughtful narrative about the violence of being a women in a society where sexuality is forcibly imposed upon you without your knowledge and against your will and is unable to keep the plate spinning alongside the other plate that wants to draw cute girls in underwear (I am only going to write five paragraphs about the fucking vagina button if you ask me to). we cannot help but rend our garments and stan.

anyway I theorize that rebecca sugar read chobits and looked at hideki/chii and went "I could make it gay and worse" and gave us pearlrose send tweet.

[dancermk]

I’m a little disappointed to see so much discourse, fandom competitiveness, and plain arguing going around at the moment in regards to queer film/TV. People complaining about too much sex, not enough sex, too cheesy, made for the hets, too happy, too sad, too realistic, too unrealistic, and a million other petty issues. I, for one, am a queer person in my 50s and I grew up with practically zero representation! Yes, we want to continue onwards and upwards with quality and varied shows BUT let’s be HAPPY we now have representation! Like, actual shows where the central characters are queer, not just a side character who gets f*cking murdered! There is room for all different types of representation - so enjoy the types you like, and let others enjoy what they like.

And on a side note: progress is progress and film/tv is a business that has to turn a profit! If some queer content is made to appeal to the straight community, and will also act as a means of reducing homophobia and increasing understanding, then that’s a good thing. That means in the future more and more content will include queer stories and representation. If only 10% (ish) of the population is the maximum target audience then shows won’t keep getting made!

There is a huge backlash all over the world right now - a “push back” by conservatives and religious groups that want to wind back the clock, and specifically the last decade of advances.

So stick together queers and LGBTQIA+ allies.

I’m super happy knowing I don’t have to wait years between content anymore. And I’ve loved all different types of shows over the last 5 years, for lots of different reasons!

Interview with the Vampire - is giving me the toxic, passionate gothic love affair I’ve always wanted. And addressing interracial relationships.

Heartstopper - is filling me up with pure joy and hopefulness for the future.

Shameless - gave me Ian and Mickey - unique, anti stereotypical gays with a tragic yet ultimately beautiful love story spanning 11 years

Lone Star 911 - is giving me TK and Carlos whose sexuality barely factors into the storyline! Yay!

Looking - gave me an authentic queer experience and an intoxicating love triangle.

Red, white and Royal Blue - gave me a sweet, cute romcom that allowed reality to be sidelined. Fun escapism!

Young Royals - had me captivated by first love and intense angst.

Fire Island - an underrated romcom that made me laugh so hard I cried.

Sex education - shoved the realities of sex in our faces and provided me with laughter and drama and a range of queer identities.

Gentlemen Jack -gave me historical lesbians with spectacular wit, and feminine power.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg- because there’s SO SO SO many more shows I could mention! Don’t at me because I didn’t mention YOUR favourite. This is my point! There is SO much great content it would take all day for me to include everything. This is just a sample - and that’s f*cking brilliant!!

So maybe we could all start posting/tweeting etc about what WE DO LIKE / LOVE / MAKES US FEEL LOVED AND SEEN and put down the device if we’ve got nothing nice to say.

Sending everyone a love filled week! 💜

[howtofightwrite]

I love picking at plot holes like scabs so i want my fight scenes to be as realistic as possible. However. There’s a creature in my head that says a buster sword is SICK AS HELL. What modifications would it need to be even remotely wieldable while still keeping its central appeal (huge sword big blade cool and sexy) intact?

You’ve made a mistake. You mistook suspension of disbelief for realism. This is a common problem that gets in the way of a lot of fantasy and sci-fi authors. So, don’t worry. It isn’t just you. However, realism vs believability is where your hangup is. Stories don’t need to be realistic to be believable.

The quick and dirty (and possibly unhelpful) answer is to create a world that justifies your buster sword, not a buster sword that’s trying to justify itself in a world that doesn’t want it. You step back from the sword itself and away from a world where reality dictates that it’s too heavy, too clumsy, too slow, and ask yourself: “in what type of world does this thing make sense?” And there’s about a billion different ways to create that.

The hangup with the realistic argument is that all of fiction is a lie. Good or bad, that’s what stories are. They can be very compelling, addicting, manipulative, feel incredibly good, and still be fake. The goal of a creator isn’t just to create stories that are believable, but for your audience to want to believe in them. Storytelling is always a joint venture between you and your reader. You are the salesperson asking your audience to come along for the ride. To keep their attention, you’ve got to spin up a good yarn. Build trust. The world has to feel right, but it doesn’t have to be right. Reasonable, not right. The goal is to take a cool idea and work backwards to how your society got here so that when seen from an outside perspective, the choice ultimately looks like a reasonable conclusion given the surrounding context. One of the better ways to build your reasonable conclusions is by studying the history of technological invention from the beginning to the midpoint rather than starting with the end point—the results.

History is full of weird, wacky, wild attempts and failures at creation. You’re not the first person to look at a human sized sword and wonder if it could, in fact, hit good. Or, really, better than swords that currently exist. Or, fulfill a battlefield role the sword was currently not occupying. Or, as we like to say, have real battlefield applications. The Claymore, the Zwhihander, the Zhanmadao are all real weapons that saw real, if not necessarily extensive, use. Like all weapons, they were specialized tools meant for particular battlefield uses. In this case, mainly as anti-cavalry support.

Ask yourself, why? Not just, why would I want it? Ask, why would I use it?

What actual purpose does the big cool blade serve beyond looking big and cool? What function does it fill on the battlefield? Why use the big cool blade instead of other weapons? What does it do better? What are some offsets which might account for the massive size? Technology? Superhuman enhancements, mystical or otherwise? Gravitic fields? Magic? Why is the big cool blade better suited to ensuring a character’s survival? What advantages does it provide? What is its practical value to warriors within your setting?

The initial defensive reaction is that we don’t need a reason because we have the Rule of Cool. That could be the reason, but I challenge you to go deeper. Go deeper than, “this was the weapon my character was trained to use.” The followup question is: why were they trained to use it?

In the real world, we can answer these questions both from a personal and from a larger social perspective. We may not be able to answer whether we’d use a gun, but we understand why humanity developed guns, why we use guns, and the purpose they serve both for personal protection and in their military applications. The answers don’t necessarily need to be good or smart. What matters is that an answer exists to feed your audience. When your reader starts struggling to believe, they begin to ask questions, they pick at the fabric of the narrative trying to figure out why their mind has rejected the story they were previously enjoying. What we, the writer, want to create is a chain of logic underpinning the narrative and its world. This way, when questions are asked, a reasonable answer is ready and waiting. While we won’t win over everyone, trust that your audience wants to believe. Trust that they’re smart enough to figure it out without being spoon fed. That way, you won’t fall into the trap of infodumping.

Worldbuilding always involves a lot more happening under the surface than ever makes it onto the page. Your characters will be the ones to demonstrate and act on the internal logic that’s been created for them without needing a billion questions to lead us from Point A to Point B.

If we look at human history in a wide view, we find that weapons are a fairly steady march forward that matches a civilization’s technological growth. We keep what works and discards what doesn’t. The crossbow replaced the bow as the main form of artillery in martial combat, but we still kept the bow. The bow still had practical applications. Guns eventually replaced the crossbow just like they replaced the sword, but it actually took a very long time. We had functional firearms in the Middle Ages.

Ease of Use

Ease of Training

Lethality

From a military standpoint, these are the three most important aspects for widespread adoption of any weapon. Easy to use. Easy to train. Lethal. The longer it takes to train a soldier on a weapon the more time your army is losing out on using that soldier and the more effective the weapon needs to be in order to justify its expense. Why give your soldier a big cool sword if they’ll never get close enough to reach the forward line to make the assault? Why have them use the big cool sword if operating the laser cannon is more efficient, effective, and keeps them alive longer? In the coldness of battlefield calculus, it’s often better to have cheap, efficient units rather than more expensive ones that might be more lethal but take longer to produce. No matter how good they are, you’re eventually going to lose them. Therefore, easy replaceability becomes a factor.

If you can answer those questions (and the myriad of other similar ones) you won’t just have a weapon, you’ll have a world. You’ll have more than a justification, you’ll have battlefield strategy, tactics, and a greater understanding of how the average layman characters in your setting beyond your main character approach warfare and possibly a technological history. You might even have several functional armies.

Ultimately, this is a game of value versus cost. Most settings that use big cool swords sacrifice ease of use and ease of training to amp up lethality. The weapon having a specialized function or only being usable by a specialized unit helps if that unit’s battlefield effectiveness is justified. Or, you could just have a weird technological outlier where its effectiveness doesn’t quite justify its cost even if the individual warrior is effective. A good example of this is in shounen anime where one character has a specialty that no one else has, a really cool, effective weapon that never appears anywhere else, because the length of training, high skill floor, and finicky nature of its use make it difficult to justify widespread adoption.

The danger is assuming there’s a right answer. There isn’t one. The value in learning the rules of real world violence is so you can break them. This way you can tell the difference between the vital rules necessary for suspending disbelief and don’t accidentally break the ones you needed to keep your audience invested.

-Michi

This blog is supported through Patreon. Patrons get access to new posts three days early, and direct access to us through Discord. If you’re already a Patron, thank you. If you’d like to support us, please consider becoming a Patron.

[bluerosesburnblue]

The thing is, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth isn't even the problem. It's going to sell well when they stop kneecapping it. The numbers look bad now, but that's entirely because right now it's a PS5 exclusive. It looks bad in comparison to Remake, but Remake released on PS4, a much easier console to get. I'm sure that Rebirth will start making up the numbers once it has a PC release because that's what people who lack a PS5, including some who owned a PS4 for Remake, are going to be getting it on

And that's ultimately the crux of Square's issues: bad decisions that don't pay attention to the market. FF7 Rebirth and FF16 are both suffering from PS5 exclusivity right now. PC usage for games is extremely popular, partly because it tends to sidestep the console exclusivity issue unless a company does something like this and hard delays the PC release just to keep it fully exclusive longer. Despite the fact that console exclusivity helps no one (except maybe the console sellers) in terms of sales because a lot of people who would otherwise play the game don't have the spare cash lying around to spend on a new console for whatever they're interested in, so they have to wait until it comes out on something they CAN play. Especially true of the PS5, which is expensive as hell and was prone to shortages after release. Which means that for all of their complaining, Square has a ton of unrealized gains on their IPs just because the PC releases that were promised aren't even out yet, and plenty of people are just waiting until they are

But the more they delay, the greater risk of those people who would have bought it on another console have of getting the story spoiled, or losing hype, or getting into something else, or just plain old deciding that they don't care anymore. And that'll be true of any game they release, regardless of whether it has the Final Fantasy brand attached or not, if they keep up this exclusivity stuff

Combine that with a number of just... baffling decisions and flops like:

Forspoken being a massive flop, panned for mediocre gameplay, bad dialogue, a weak story, and unlikable characters despite the massive budget behind it (and I do mean massive, it's probably where most of the financial loss is from)

New IPs that seems to be creatively uninspired and not fun to play, like Foamstars, which literally everyone said looked like Splatoon and is apparently just not a good PVP shooter

That fucking Symbiogenesis NFT nonsense, a game that you can only play by buying an NFT of a generic character, well after the NFT trend was over

And neglected legacy IPs like Kingdom Hearts going years without any real updates, and for KH all we do have is the horribly contradictory concept of a plot-heavy ARG game that you can play at home, which I can't believe was greenlit because it defeats the entire purpose of it being an ARG. And that still has no release date

...and it's no wonder that they lost $140m. And those are just the IPs I'm aware of. Like, let's be honest here, between an actually okay one-console showing for FF7 Rebirth and FF14, Final Fantasy is their money-maker right now. I'd be surprised if they didn't go more in on FF, because literally everything else is completely failing on them right now

It's so sad how fasts things can change in some cases...

Because, before we knew how many millions of dollars Square Enix had recently lost, I kept wanting to make a post about why I thought that a Final Fantasy VIII Remake was a really good/fun idea, even though Square Enix themselves and some fans might be hesitant about one in some regards.

And IDK... I still might end up making that post. But do I honestly think we'll ever see one now? No.

Chances were slim before... But if Final Fantasy VII Remakes can't really sell well (at least this most recent one -sobs-), we can honestly kiss our chances at most other ones goodbye:( Especially ones that would be even harder and more time consuming to make (and more costly).

Though I do think FFIX Remake is still happening. And maybe that rumor about an FFX Remake could be true.

[sunlit-skycat]

Pale by Wildbow shill post

“The practice, as we call it, is best summed up as an ongoing contract. By pledging to make your word inviolable, forces in this world will start listening. Routine, ritual, and expectation have formed the grooves and determined how best to communicate with those forces. Diagrams, symbols, knowing who and what to appeal to. Many, many things become possible. If your word is inviolable.” [...]

“Something terrible happened, of a scale that words cannot easily convey. We need you to look into it,” Matthew said. “No need to solve it. Simply… look into it.”

Overview

Pale is an urban fantasy web serial about three girls Awakened into a world of magic in order to solve the murder of a Judge, a supreme being that oversees magic in an area. Soon, however, they discover that the very roots of magic are built off of systemic injustice, and that outside forces want to destroy the meager sanctuary that they have been charged to protect.

Why you should read it

Pale has a huge meta-system that tries to provide an explanation for how all fairy tale type of magic works. When one Awakens, they give up their ability to lie, but that doesn't stop Practitioners from trying to mislead everyone around them. Nothing comes for free. The easiest way to deal with the costs of Practice is to pass them off to someone else, which over the years has led old Practitioner families to exploit magical creatures and each other to do their bidding.

In a way, Pale really reminds me of the Harry Potter fandom, particularly the newer fics that try to examine all the unexamined issues that Rowling put into the worldbuilding and never explored. It tackles subjects of imperialism, child abuse, community building, and justice. There's a lot of fun things to discuss about it, including whether the protagonists ultimately got it right at the end.

Many of the characters in Pale are marginalized in some way. Of the main characters, Lucy is the only black girl in a rural Canadian town and sick of it, Avery is a lesbian and doesn't know how to come out to her dubiously tolerant family, and Verona's single father is an abusive emotional black hole that wants to drag her down with him. Overall, there are a lot of well-realized female characters who are allowed to let their sharp edges cut others in the story.

The fandom

Pale had an earlier prequel work set in the same universe called Pact, which features different characters and settings but has roughly the same magic system. Because of that, it's most useful to think of the fandom as an being composed of an umbrella group, called Otherverse or P-verse by different places, and then subcategories of Pale, Pact, and OC focused works.

The main cast runs young, so shipping isn't big in the fandom, but if you like f/f potential Pale is pretty decent for it. The OC fic tends to have a lot of queer main characters as well.

On Dreamwidth, I run sister communities at blueheronteanook for canon character based fic and meta, and hillsgladehouselibrary for OC fics. There also is a discord server for these communities, the Blue Heron Tea Nook.

You can read Pale fic on Ao3 here.

Where to read it

Pale can be read online here: palewebserial.wordpress.com/

There also is a fanmade audiobook that goes up to arc 10, about 1/3 of the story. It's on Spotify and Podchaser.

[blasphemousclaw]

tanith for the character list thing?

MY GIRLLLL

• favorite thing about them

I love how she occupies this position of power as the proprietress of the Manor, the consort of a demigod, and she’s the sole person in charge of operating their cult movement (since Rykard doesn’t seem to do much except kill eat and sleep these days) and yet she comes from such a humble background as a dancer from a foreign land… she projects this image of ruthlessness and strength, but she actually has really deep insecurities about herself that start to come out during Rya’s quest? her greatest fear is that she’s always been weak, and that Rykard always knew that… I think she clings to the entire structure she’s built up at the Manor because she’s afraid of feeling powerless, maybe because she felt powerless in her past? also her mask is sexy

• least favorite thing about them

I just wish she had more content! the dlc introduced the Dancer of Ranah with almost an identical face to Tanith, which implies Tanith was the same kind of Dancer? was she actually an expert swordswoman who gave up the lifestyle to run a cult with a demigod? I NEED TO KNOW

• favorite line

“Dear Rykard, please find purchase within me, I wish to be your serpent; your family.” eating your beloved’s corpse is what true love looks like <3

also it’s super long but her speech about the Volcano Manor’s goals is really good; you can tell she’s tailored her and Rykard’s goals to appeal to the Tarnished and get them fired up against the Erdtree… queen of public speaking

• brOTP

her relationship with Rya is so sweet and also so emotionally complicated, like they love each other so much but Tanith lies to her about the truth of Volcano Manor and the circumstances of her birth and shatters that trust… :(

I also feel like Tanith would’ve had a great dynamic with Bernahl?? there’s this implication that he’s her most trusted Recusant; he never got eaten by Rykard even though Tanith feeds all the greatest champions to him, and Bernahl seems to know everything about Rykard and his mission after we kill him… and there’s also the fact that he uses a really important weapon to the serpent cult, and it’s implied that he goes to Farum Azula to challenge Maliketh, which was seemingly what Rykard was originally gonna do? so Bernahl and Tanith must have shared their plans and secrets with each other… I wonder if he was the “precocious” guest Tanith mentions having long ago whom we remind her of if we show up to the Manor unannounced?

• ОТР

TANITH/RYKARD. OBVIOUSLY. I won’t write a whole paragraph about them because I already talked about their relationship here

• nОТР

Patches LOL I know he’s trying to keep Tanith from destroying herself and remind her that she has other things in life to live for but what if I WANT her to destroy herself because of her undying love for her serpent god husband who’s prophesied to devour the entire world! like what’s sexier than this!! STAY OUT OF THIS PATCHES

• random headcanon

she braids Rya’s hair to match her own hairstyle :,)

• unpopular opinion

I’m never going to police the kind of content people want to make and enjoy, but it really bothers me when I see serious analysis of the game’s story and interactions with my own content that are like “Tanith is such a good mother!” and “this family is so wholesome!” when the actual story involves her making really questionable decisions that ultimately harm Rya’s wellbeing? there’s no doubt that Tanith loves Rya more than anything, but she’s lied to her about the Manor’s true purpose and the circumstances of her birth for her whole life, and then asks us to drug her so she forgets the truths she’s learned? like… it’s kind of baffling to me how these things are never talked about. I just think it’s such a huge disservice to Tanith’s character to smooth over all the flaws in her relationships, because her flaws are what make her so interesting to me… loving someone doesn’t always mean you’re doing what’s best for them!

• song i associate with them

ok I’m so sorry but I never know how to answer these questions because I only listen to instrumental music so I guess I’m just gonna pass 🙈

• favorite picture of them

I think this one is by @/Zlofsky2nd on twitter? she’s so pretty

also this image I edited

[gentlekalita]

Are you a submissive? Find it out

🌟 How Can I Know If I’m a Submissive? 🌟

Hey there, my lovely friends! It’s your Gentle Domme Kalita, and today, I want to chat about a question that I know many of you have been wondering about: “How can I know if I’m a submissive?” I get it; navigating these feelings can be both exciting and a little confusing. So let’s take a cozy dive into this together!

Understanding Submission

First things first—submission isn’t just about giving up control; it’s about really connecting with your desires and exploring that wild side of yourself. It’s all about that spark of excitement when you think about trusting someone else to take the lead. So, how do you figure out if that’s you? Well, here are some thoughts:

1. Self-Reflection

Let’s start with some good old-fashioned self-reflection. Grab a journal—or even just a cozy spot to think—and ask yourself:

Do you ever daydream about scenarios where you’re being guided or cared for?

How does the idea of giving over control make you feel?

What kind of fantasies do you find yourself daydreaming about?

Writing down your thoughts can be super helpful. Just let your mind flow and see what pops up. You might be surprised at what you discover about yourself!

2. Exploring Fantasies

Your fantasies are like little clues to your desires:

Do you find yourself drawn to the idea of being restrained or directed by someone confident?

What roles do you fantasize about—do you enjoy the thought of surrendering or being gently teased?

It’s totally okay to get lost in these thoughts; fantasy can be such a safe way to explore your feelings without any pressure. Enjoying those little daydreams can be a real thrill!

3. Emotional Response

Pay attention to how you feel in different situations:

When someone takes charge, how does that make you feel? Does it spark excitement or maybe a little nervousness?

Are you drawn to the idea of nurturing or being nurtured, of giving and receiving care in a unique way?

Just tune in to those feelings; they can be so telling about what you might enjoy.

4. Interest in BDSM Dynamics

You might find that you have a natural curiosity about BDSM culture.

Are you intrigued by the idea of exploring power dynamics in a consensual way?

Do you appreciate the intimacy and trust involved in these types of relationships?

Gentle femdom, especially, is all about that tenderness mixed with a bit of power. If that sounds appealing, you might want to explore it further!

5. Engaging with the Community

Getting involved with a community can really help clarify your feelings:

Try attending discussions or workshops focused on BDSM and submission. Connecting with others and hearing their stories can be enlightening!

Follow blogs or platforms that resonate with you—like mine! Engaging with these communities can help you feel less alone on this journey.

6. Trial and Experience

Sometimes the best way to know is to just jump in and experience it:

Consider exploring your submission in safe, enjoyable ways. Maybe start with light role play or engage with a trusted partner.

Just make sure you’ve got safe words and boundaries established. Your comfort and safety are everything!

7. Understanding Boundaries

Remember, submission doesn’t mean you lose your individuality or say goodbye to what makes you comfortable. Understanding your boundaries is crucial!

Reflect on what you could see yourself trying and what is definitely off the table for you.

Knowing your limits and being able to communicate them is actually a huge part of establishing a healthy dynamic.

Embrace Your Journey

Ultimately, exploring your submission should feel like a liberating adventure. If you’re finding that these questions resonate, you might just be discovering something amazing about yourself!

Join Me!

Ready to explore your desires in a warm and welcoming space? I would absolutely love to have you join me for my next camming session! Let’s dive into fantasies together and see what gentle domination feels like for you. Check my bio~

[paragonrobits]

There’s a phrase I like to use when people question why, in fantasy series, people don’t just take the most efficient and ruthless option. I say, “This isn’t Game of Thrones.” Bluntly put, apart from having a very unsatisfying ending to its character arcs due to a realistic but very abrupt swing from the character arcs it had been building up (and in one notable case, a character arc that WAS built up the whole time, but not in a way people anticipated), Game of Thrones is most notorious for a very realpolitick approach to how the characters make their decisions.

Efficiency, immediate needs and ruthlessness regardless of personal qualms comes up a lot in what people seem to have taken from that show’s success, and you see a LOT of people thinking that pragmatic ruthlessness is the most basic and standard solution to any story’s problems, regardless of whether or not its consistent with a story’s given themes and morals.

The Avatar setting is NOT one of those. In this setting, spirituality is vitally important; the reason WHY things are done, as well as HOW they done, are just as important as the actual end result, if not more.

So, one thing I see a LOT in fandom circles (usually in bad takes floating around and being mocked by the circles I am adjacent to, or ideas popular among Big Name Fans who are kind of sheltered from the actual themes of the show itself and have distanced themselves from what the show is actually like in favor of what is functionally a completely original series that appeals to their own preferences) comes down to discussions arguing that AtLA would be better if Aang just took down every one he fought and killed them all without hesitation; there is a popular implication among these ideas that Aang is considered weak to them BECAUSE he doesn't want to kill. Because killing is anathema to his people, because the deliberate taking of life is a HUGE deal to both the Air Nomads and the real life religions that they are based on.

These takes conclude that none of that matters; that his morals and compunctions should just be immediately tossed aside in order to achieve his goals. There's usually something like 'who cares about spirituality when the world is so bad' or the ends justifying the means. And the thing is that we DO see characters in AtLA saying that, quite often. Characters who don't care about the spiritual consequences of their actions, who do whatever it takes to accomplish their goals.

They're the villains.

In AtLA, ruthlessness, pragmatism and 'whatever it takes to get what I want' is SPECIFICALLY and EXCLUSIVELY associated with the antagonists. General Fong; Azula, Ozai, the entirety of the Fire Nation... one thing they all have in common, besides opposing Aang, is that they're not just willing to be ruthless, they have no interest in achieving their goals or really doing anything at all without being ruthless and amoral about it. There's a common point in the narrative here, and I think the episode the Avatar State neatly sums it up through its story, as we are presented with Fong, who is seemingly an ally, demanding that they ignore the spiritual demands in favor of just weaponizing a force of nature no one involved really understands.

His emphasis on the people dying in the meantime does make for a potent image, but he is ultimately and frequently established as a ruthless jackass who cares more about trying to weaponize the Avatar State (and mere mortals do not get to have a say in its decisions or what the World Spirit, in its fullest power, wants to do). Apart from this indicating a more or less full departure from a strict moral binary within the series, there's also an emphasis on Katara growing increasingly uncomfortable with the non-spiritual plan they're taking, to the point that she won't have anything to do with it, and she is very much the show's heart. If she disapproves of something with plot relevance, its usually a bad sign.

So this whole THING you have with people going 'everything would be better if Aang killed everyone immediately except for the secret Good Guys even though he has absolutely no way of knowing them out of context'... its genuinely really bewildering and I think its kind of proof of people not engaging with the show's themes or ethics, but assuming that ruthlessness and efficiency are the default way of handling everything. AtLA is not subtle about this and if you think that the show at any point suggests that this is a likely outcome, I don't think you're really engaging with it, or you're misunderstanding the context (such as the Ocean Spirit rampaging being framed as a last second moment of hope; I think people conflate its destruction as generally a Cool Thing, rather than the world itself protecting a dying culture from near certain destruction as the moon itself is... well, dead.)

(There's also a protagonist-centered morality in that they seem to want their characters to BE rather amoral, being all about love and acceptance and tolerance but also brutally and remorselessly kill everyone in their way without hesitation, and the people making these statements don't see any kind of logical flaw. I dunno but that's WEIRD to me.)

[skitter-queen]

i think i post a lot about cauldron vials because theyre inherently funny to me. its this hugely important and very serious setting detail about worm, right, this critical piece of a generally dark and gritty and serious story. but cauldron is so absurd about everything they do, all the time, and the vials are, ultimately, cans of weird sludge that you drink and it gives you superpowers - which is funny - but watch out!!! theres like a 5% chance it turns you into a Weird Beast forever. and thats even funnier. plus i think the cadence of the phrase ‘cauldron vial’ is just inherently appealing to me. vial is a great word tbh we all need to use it more often... cauldron vile? i find it quite pleasant!

[deviouscrackers]

MY opinion on todays TSAMS ep

Going to try and keep this constructive, because criticism without offered solutions is just dumb. (Got a bit long, sorry)

(I've had to use data to watch it since my wifi isn't existing for some reason (like everything is working but for some reason it ain't showing up on the connect list).)

Todays TSAMS episode... hm.

What did I like about it? Well, I liked Dark Sun pressuring Sun, the desperation in Sun's voice and his reluctance to kill Nexus at first. I liked how Moon came rushing in, and the fact that both him and Solar were willing to die to protect Sun. Nexus's scream was pretty good too. I think Reed and Davis did pretty well acting-wise.

(I can't comment too much on the exact dialogue, since I had to rush through and conserve my data.)

All in all, a solid episode.

Where the episode falls flat, at least for me, is that it's very noticeably lacking something.

Ironically, it's also very similar to why I no longer watch TFF Fnaf, even though the potential of Bryan's character rotates in my brain like it's in a microwave.

Today's episode had too much buildup for what ended up being. I'm not purely talking about Nexus's death and the months of buildup, I'm talking about from a viewing stand point as well.

The "marketed appeal" (I dunno what else to call it tbh), of this particular episode set was that it was a three parter halloween special/arc finale that had the last part premiering.

The first part, The Halloween Party, did very well with the collab, the way the events took place, the editing was good... it was very solid, and I enjoyed it. It got me interested in what was to come, got me wondering who took Moon, what's going to happen next?

The second part was also excellent. Goliath versus the Dragon was a thrilling addition and Ruin helping Moon nicely showed off his character. The way Nexus yelled when he realized what had happened, nicely done too. I left that episode wondering what would happen to Ruin, who would win the dragon fight, will Sun and Moon find each other in time, will Sun's trance come into play at any point in time?

The last episode did not deliever on what the first two episodes were bringing up. The dragon did not come back, and with what Dark Sun said about not wanting to see Sun again, it most likely won't. Sun and Moon did find eachother, but it wasn't all that impactful? It felt more silly than anything else.

After writing this all, I realize what exactly I felt was missing.

The episode felt like filler, almost?

Throughout Dark Sun's regular antagonist position on the channel, and specifically near the end, after the dragon had been revealed, it felt like he had a plan. Something cooking up in the background that involved all these complex pieces. And in a way he did, but it wasn't satisfying. What was the point of the dragon? What was the point of asking Ruin how long? What was the point of all of that, if he's just going to leave? Dark Sun did almost nothing, and while I want to believe that all of it was because he that "data", he went about it in such a stupid way!

Nexus's death, while well acted, also just wasn't satisfying either.

I think ultimately, the disappointment I feel with the episode is a result of things feeling rushed, underdeveloped, or just not elaborated on. Nexus felt uncared for as a character and I think the story could've done without Dark Sun. It could also be that we just haven't seen everything that's too come with the story yet, and there's loose ends or extra stuff to be told. I want to continue watching, because I enjoy TSAMS, and I'm a huge fan of Davis and his va work.

Because I don't want to sound like all I'm doing is complaining, I want to offer a solution.

I think, something that's bogging TSAMS down as a whole, is how often it's being posted and how that really spreads the story thin. Three times a week with one "lore" episode per week would work well. Yes, that mean less daily views, but it could potentially boost the lifetime of the channel for a while. It'd be easier to catch up when a viewer has fallen behind and allow the episodes, both gaming and story, to breathe.

At the end of the day though, I don't know how the channel works, I'm not a va for the channel, I don't work for them. This is just my own opinion on it and if I write anymore I will begin rambling on about why Season 1 of TFF Fnaf was peak and the others weren't (jokes but I do think both TFF Fnaf and TSAMS have a lot of similarities when it comes to the writing issues).

Anywyayyyaahha Happy North Hemisphere Halloween, losers :P

[thisisxli]

What about tooru oikwawa x Hajime twin brother!reader who is shy headcanons?

( I don't know if you do male reader)

Omgg yes ofcc! I really like this idea, it's really cute

Anddd Oikawa's also my fav! <33 I used to be a huge big haikyuu! fan back then lmao. But yes, I will happily do this request. 💗💗

Rs: Tooru Oikawa x Male!Reader

Warnings: small angst, mentions of panick attacks, drama, Tooru's homophobic ex, love quarrels

Tags: Reader is Hajime's twin brother, fluff, Tooru is lovesick and down bad for reader, small The Notebook reference, slice of life, sweet stuff, Golden Retriever x Black Cat energy

wc: 1.8k

First impression/how you met:

Obviously, you both met through Hajime. You've known each other since you were kids. You were born only by five minutes later after Hajime and even so, you were left behind sometimes. This caused you to be really hesitant when Tooru was around. Hajime? Not as much since he was your twin. But Tooru was a different story. You don't know why you got so nervous around him. You started to get really annoyed with yourself when a buzzing prickly feeling started to pick up in your gut whenever he was around. Other than that, Tooru's best friend was Hajime. Not you.

Tooru was never one for introductions as a child but ever since he had met you, it was like you had to know everything about him. Something else told him he just wanted to know everything about you- but it was whatever. Other than that, he felt a little... timid by you. And he swears it's not that he didn't know what to say or anything but you were quiet and you would get really flustered every time he asked you a question. His ten year old brain that time clearly was not fixated on the early signs.

First realizing you had feelings for each other:

You realized you had feelings for him when you watched him set a ball in your backyard, your twin brother spiking it as usual. You were thirteen at the time and you just started puberty. So the hormones and voice change was a huge big weird surprise to you. Watching Tooru glisten in sweat, wiping his nose with the neckline of his shirt. You were practically drooling. That's when a thought popped up in your head, 'oh my god! He's so attractive!' That was when you ultimately decided you were attracted to men. Not many girls were that appealing to your eye anyway.

Tooru realizes his feelings when you two were eleven. He suggested the idea of teaching you and you shyly accepted. He set the ball your way but when you tried to spike it to the other side of the net, you missed and fell on your butt. And it hurt. Tooru immediately rushes to your side, checking if there was some other sort of injury you had. And yet, when he had looked into those teary eyes of yours, that's when he knew that you were going to be the one he was going to marry when he was older. His husband in hand. Surely you did look like Hajime, but you were different. You were unique in a way that made his heart flutter.

How you get together:

You guys got together on Valentine's day. Literally.

Tooru's locker was immensely filled by letters and boxes of chocolate by girls all over the school, some were even boys. You can't lie and say you weren't jealous. You even had your letter you were going to give him. A letter explaining your true feelings and some parts reminiscing some fond memories you two had with each other. But for some reason, he was the one who gave a letter to you. But it wasn't just a letter, he had chocolate.. and gifts! Flowers! And he made sure everyone in your hall saw his proposal! Hajime was in the crowd, crossing his arms over his chest, a soft scowl displayed on his face. Did he know about this? Perhaps he even helped Tooru?

"(Y/N), will you do me the honor of becoming my boyfriend?" Girls shrieked, some cried, some stared at him in disgust while he just stared at you like you hung the moon. You felt small under all these eyes of the people who were crowding you and recording. "Y-yes.." You nod warily, watching him excitedly let out weird sounds and chirps while he jumped with his friends, careful not to drop any of your gifts. Later on that day, he walked you home with your hand held in his hand, both of your other arms occupied with the override of gifts he brought you. Just until Hajime booked his head with a fist, of course.

First kiss/how you kiss:

Much less to say, you were really nervous. You were on your first date with him and it was soon coming to an end; you had a feeling where it was going. "The moon looks beautiful tonight, does it?" When you turn to look at Tooru, he isn't even looking at the moon, he's looking at YOU. You nod, biting the inside of your cheek, "yeah.. it does look beautiful." You both stood on top of a bridge, a small river softly rippling through the streams. As much as you tried to take your mind off things by staring into the reflection of the moon on the water, you couldn't. So you scooched a step closer. And then another step. And another until Tooru took one for you, making you stiff. "(Y/N).." You turn your head to meet his eyes but your lips meet his instead. You were unprepared and was internally screeching inside. But soon enough, you got used to it and start to move your lips against his own. It was slow and passionate. You did not regret a single embarrassing thing you did in front of him as kids after that day.

Whenever you two kiss, they're very playful and chokeholding. At least for you. Tooru loves to bite onto your lip and drag it with him, doing it in front of his friends to show you off and get reactions out of them. When they're not playful, they get sensational and sweet. Some tongue is used here and there. Whenever it's used, you get flustered every time and he absolutely loves it.

Dealing with his ex:

His ex absolutely HATED you. And she hated the idea of a dude and another dude dating each other. You did try to be peaceful with her but she irked you. Tooru would reassure you and pepper you with kisses, rephrasing, "don't worry about her. She's just jealous so don't waste your time, love."

You stepped out your comfort zone and absolutely blew up at her when you caught her putting her hands on Tooru. Non-consensually.

"You better back the fuck up," you raise your voice at the hand-wandering girl, her face falling once she sees you. Suddenly in all your years, you never felt any more bold than you did now. Phones started to pull out from people's pockets and record while you marched your way over to the girl, chest in her face. You were only an inch short from Tooru, same as Hajime. "I don't fuck with the gays, hun. Who are you again?" Her question only seemed to irk you more just before you tightened your fist around Tooru's collar and smash his lips against yours. The colors literally drain from her face when she watches Tooru cling onto you desperately. And you make SURE she watches his tongue slip into your mouth. You seperate your lips from his when she turns to walk away, "yeah, walk away, puny bitch."

Teaching each other:

Tooru LOVES teaching you volleyball. Although you fail miserably at it, he still loves teaching you. Because he gets to pick you up and start back all over again, just to see you try. And he thinks it's cute to see you struggle. He notices you have the habit to pinch your sleeve between your finger nails when you concentrate or struggle.

You laugh every time he attempts to copy one of your drawings, only to end up looking like they were drawn by a five year old. You try to teach him how to draw in your way step by step but he miserably fails at it so. When you suggested to just have him draw his own thing, it was two stickmans. It was him and you, to be precise. You found it adorable and is now hung up on the wall of your room till this day.

Panick attacks:

There was a time you noticed he had been acting strange. You went by the gym to check it out but when you did, you only saw him there just serving balls and setting them as high up as he could. When you called out his name, he messed up his momentum and that's quite literally when he started to cry. He started to hyperventilate and close in on himself which you immediately rush to his side to comfort. He quickly took you in his arms, breathing heavily against your shoulder, his dry throat and muscles burning intensely. Luckily, you had a bottle of water with you. So while he calmed down and laid on your lap while drinking water, he went back to being okay. He did vent to you about his problems and insecurities though. And you were there to hear it all.<3

Arguments:

You both barely gotten into arguments. But after finding out he was going off to move into South America, you were bawling and begging at his feet.

"(Y/N)- look- I'm sorry! I can't stay! I really wish I could but I can't! I don't even know if we.." His voice trails off, eyes softening at your kneeled figure. You were clinging to his pants, soft hiccups leaving your chest as you rest your forehead against his thigh. "We have to stay together," you murmur, snot slowly rolling down and over your lip. Tooru smiles before kneeling down to meet your eyes, placing a hand on your cheek. "And we can. It's not impossible. If someone really wanted to do or keep something, they would've done so already," he kindly smiles, warning a ripping whine out of you, tears over spilling your cheeks. He's quickly alerted and tries his best to wipe away your tears and snot.

Adult life:

"My brother and brother 'n law will be here in a min', just give them a se-" "Tooru (L/N) is here people!!" Tooru slams the door open, cutting off Hajime who now had a grim scowling look on his face. You and Tooru had just got back from your honeymoon, and you both had a great time. It was wonderful and beautiful. You followed behind your husband not too short after, awkwardly lightly bowing to the guests in the house at Tooru's loud boast.

You two lived in a house together. He pursued his dream as a volleyball player and you pursued yours. You both supported each other in every way. But now, there was a debate whether you two should get a surrogate or an adopted child. You two decided you wanted a surrogate, one of your own and one of his own. You two now have one girl and one boy. They were basically twins; the only difference was that one was born an hour after the other.

The girl was named 'Najime' and the boy was named 'Hajime', after your brother.

Fun Fact:

There was huge drama between you, Tooru, and Hajime. You guys were in your late teenage years and Hajime suddenly realizes his love for Tooru. You were sort of devastated when Tooru couldn't really deny his feelings for Hajime. Could you really blame them?

But in the end, Tooru chose you. He made sure he gave you all the attention and love after that, doing whatever he could to gain your trust back again. And Hajime apologized profusely to you so many times. You weren't really happy with him but you managed. You two became close again after a talk with your parents.

As old people, you both passed peacefully in each other's arms at a nursing home.

[solar-serpent]

PAC: how do you inspire your soulmate/FS?

In their heart, you’re their muse and bewitcher. When the voice quivers and words fail to express how much they admire you, the truth will always find your way.

Pile 1

Justice, Ten of Swords, The Emperor, Two of Cups, Six of pentacles

They like when you get all serious and grumpy after you’ve made your decision—to go to battle💀. Ha! JK, or not? You have an iron will and are a natural protector. No matter if you act cowardly at times as when it comes to protect your loved ones, you will turn fierce and basically into a mama bear ready to claw some baddies’s eyes out. Too early for a +18 mention? Maybe not ��. Your aggressiveness turns this person on. They like this wild part of you and you releasing the control you hold so dearly (might not apply to everyone, but some of you definitely are huge control freaks). They also admire the fact you get your priorities and morals straight, and you can stick to your choices ‘till the end. You’re stubborn and they respect that. It’s appealing to them that someone as small and cute as you (in comparison to them or that’s how they view you like “their little one”) could fight thugs and manage problems they themselves would be afraid of. “How do you do it?”, I heard. You aim for doing everything on your own and refuse the help offered by those worried of you, which would ultimately lead you to sickness and feeling burn out. Your person appreciates greatly your independency and they would let you do anything you want, but they still worry a lot about you. You and this person are quite similar in character, so they have no right to chastise you for your excessiveness. They’re proud of you and you inspire them to keep going forward. By any chance did you thought of your soulmate when you picked this pile? You’re definitely going to marry your other half, darling. Congrats!

Hello💞 if you liked this reading and wish for a customized one, you can check my list of services here and my lastest offers here.

Pila 2

The high priestess, seven of wands, two of pentacles, ace of swords, nine of wands

You have a dark feminine energy. Whether you’re female or male, you have this sultry and mysterious aura around you. You’re like a chameleon; ever changing and you can show people what you want them to see. You’re in charge here, wow. You remind your person of a female fatale, and they love it. When I said “ever changing”, I didn’t mean you had mood swings nor you’re volatile in nature. You’re smart and reflexive and you have many opinions, even views on one topic that are contradictory to each other. You always have something to say, but I’m under the impression you usually don’t speak more than necessary. You rather surprise people with an interesting comeback or sharp remark. You like to feed the mysterious reputation you have. If people say you’re a vampire, then you will put on an act for them with the goth clothes and dark makeup. You’re a show men or woman. Not like Leo or the rest of fire signs that are high key. You seek to entertain yourself, but you end up entertaining the one who is paying close attention to you—your lover. You’re their dark muse, a naughty one. You might start the tradition of inciting the other so an argument can break out. You two could play-fight and mock each other, until someone gets actually mad and you shut their mouth with a deep kiss. Your person loves heating arguments as they usually lead to a fiercer match in the sheets. However, what they admire the most about you is that anyone can talk to you about anything. You’ve been through a lot, dear, and that turned you into an empath and good listener. You don’t have to tell them anything as they know of your suffering, it certainly shows in your energy. You give them courage to talk about their nightmares and the most weird and random stuff. They would speak to you about camping stories as they probably were a scout and/or those experiences are both the best and worst they went through.

Hello💞 if you liked this reading and wish for a customized one, you can check my list of services here and my lastest offers here.

Pila 3

Four of pentacles, queen of cups, six of swords, nine of pentacles, the fool

Out of the three piles, you have the most feminine energy. For both female and males, your aura is luminous and pure. Your energy feels refreshing and… natural? You could remind your person of the water drops on the leaves after the rain has passed, the smell of petrichor, and the pleasant sound of a near stream. If you’ve played closed attention, I wrote about 3 out of the 5 human’s senses. Your person can’t ignore your presence when you’re around. “You´re too cute and have the charm of a child”, I heard. They mean you’re just like a maiden or little boy—innocent, carefree, and loving. They might not think you’re otherworldly, quite the opposite. You’re the definition of what human should be in their opinion. You set an example for those whose minds have been consumed by social media, capitalism, and wars. You’re incredible, thus a rare sight. I got a glimpse of someone smiling wide and proudly. They find themselves lucky to be your friend. Whether you picked this pile thinking of a soulmate or future spouse, you’re definitely starting off as just friends. It’s weird, I think your person might get obsessed with you but not in a romantic sense? Not at first. They could be an activist or fighter for human rights and they would idealize you for who you are, a conscious being. I’m hearing the following message, “thank God I’ve found you! I’m not crazy! I met a person that’s just like me”. It’s like they’re oblivious to the way they act around you, and you entering their life would put their world upside-down. They will treasure you and adore you and admire you immensely, the list of his favorite traits of yours is too long for this reading. However, they can't put a name to what you are to them. A friend? Nah, you make them go insane and they don’t want to share you with anyone. I feel a strong sense of protectiveness, possessiveness, and jealously. Oh boy, this person might make you wait around for a bit, but right after they realized they actually loved you; they might pounce on you. They might even scare you! I heard, “I want to drink in your essence”. This person who at first was a loving and seemly asexual friend to you would turn into a famish lion with an insane sex drive.

Hello💞 if you liked this reading and wish for a customized one, you can check my list of services here and my lastest offers here.

[thestupidhelmet]

I'm disappointed That '90s Show isn't getting its third season. I wanted to see the end of that story, which very likely would've/could've wrapped in a 16-episode season 3. Instead, we've got an unfinished show -- like an unfinished fic (those are so frustrating).

I accepted (or viewed) it as its own show outside of That '70s Show. I enjoyed what we got, and seeing more of (mostly) in-character Red and Kitty in their relationship was a particular treat.

I can only speak for me, but I I think the reason T9S ultimately didn't garner enough of an audience is multifactorial.

1) It tried to appeal to T7S fans' nostalgia while also trying to get brand new fans for a show full of new characters (save Red and Kitty) as principals. This middle ground approach made the show neither fish nor fowl.

2) That '70s Show experimented with ideas new to network sitcoms: regular fantasy sequences, regular pot circles, and characters with emotional depth and psychological complexity who are also funny. It has a certain quirkiness -- along with approaching the 1970s setting in a non-gimmicky way; rather, depicting the sociopolitical and economic issues of the '70s seriously.

While the quirkiness remained for many sessions, the commitment the 1970s setting faded -- although the time period continued to remain relevant to the characters' core throughout and to plots through at least season 4, albeit to a lesser extent than seasons 1 and 2.

3) The writing on That '90s Show didn't go deeply enough. '90s references abound, but they're not essential to the who the characters are and the show's plots. The '90s setting is fun window dressing, but if removed, the characters' personalities wouldn't be affected. They're written closer to modern teens who have an affinity for '90s teen culture, not as actual'90s teenagers.

The characters (new to the show) don't have the same level of stakes as those from T7S, whether as an individual or in their relationships. Nothing is necessarily wrong with having lower stakes, but teenagers tend to experience everything intensely, whether or not that intensity reflects what they're actually going through.

For comparison, in T7S we've got the characters' first experiences with sex -- or adding sexual connection to their relationships -- treated seriously and realistically while also deriving humor from these character-developing stories. After Jackie and Kelso consummate their relationship, for example, Jackie's so afraid of losing him that she acts servile in "That Wrestling Show" -- a complete reversal of her behavior so far but substantiated by the writing. Feminist Donna makes Jackie aware of her faulty thinking, which Jackie interprets very much in-character and seizes back control of her relationship with Kelso.

In T9S, Leia and Jay's first time having sex is depicted as cartoonish -- and as an actual cartoon. In writing, form follows function. The emotional stakes are very low for Leia and Jay, which the cartoon device both represents and confirms. While Jay's revelation in the following episode that all the sex he had before Leia was meaningless shows depth, it doesn't lead to any changes for the couple. Jay had already made the shift in season 1 from being a womanizer to a monogamist.

In T7S, Eric and Donna having sex the first time in season 2 is huge for both of them. Donna has trust issues because of her parents' relationship to sex, how they use it to manipulate each other, their lack of boundaries in regard to keeping their sex life private from Donna. She's afraid that adding sex to her relationship with Eric will destroy it.

Once Donna feels secure about her parents' relationship, she feels secure enough to have sex with Eric. For him, connecting with her that way is very deep and meaningful. It's not just the fact he's having sex but having sex with her. The love Eric feels for Donna is very evident and moving during the scene where he kisses her neck and begins to undress her.

In the following episode, however, we learn that Eric and Donna had two very different experiences during their first time. Eric is emotionally high from a) having sex and b) connecting with Donna sexually. Donna, however, didn't orgasm. Worse, she felt so disconnected from Eric while they had sex that she disassociated. Likely because she was terrified and Eric didn't check in with her and remain emotional present for her. He also orgasmed quicky, which is a realistic detail for a male teenager who'd built up this moment in his mind for over a year.

Their relationship is negatively affected by their lack of communication during sex and afterward. They both end up feeling miserable. Eric feels humiliated when he learns the truth of Donna's experience from a secondary source, which is ultimately the result of Jackie's gossipy nature. But Jackie, as ever being the font of experiential wisdom in certain areas, tells Eric his first-time performance was normal -- as a way of taking responsibility and making correction for her not keeping Donna's truth to herself.

The emotional and relationship stakes in this storyline are high. They're depicted as such, and that creates an emotional connection in the audience.

Moving away from sex (mostly), Hyde's home life in season 1 is depicted as precarious. We learn that his father abandoned him almost ten years ago and that his mother is an alcoholic who's had many sexual relationships and exposed Hyde to most of them. We also learn that Hyde's mom has left him for stretches of time regularly.

He grows up in poverty. The state of his house, its furniture, and the TV is proof of that, along with the fact he has six dollars and some cents total at Christmas to buy a gift for Donna.

In "Career Day," we get a glimpse of how Edna treats Hyde. She either doesn't view or doesn't care that Hyde was a child (and still is at seventeen, albeit old enough by then as not to be completely dependent on her for survival) when she exposed him to her sexual partners and provided/provides no parental stability. She acts entitled to her narcissistic behavior, which unfortunately often goes with being an addict. She constantly equates him with his father, the man who abandoned him to the abuse and neglect of his alcoholic and selfish mother. She clearly expects him to take on the responsibilities of a husband in all ways but sex from the time Hyde is nine. She's transferred her resentment of Bud onto Hyde.

That's enough emotional trauma for any kid, but in "Prom Night" and "Punk Chick," Edna's abusiveness is expressed through her words to him whenever he leaves the house. His sarcasm (at times biting) is clearly inherited from her. His paranoid belief in conspiracy theories also stems from having the two people (i.e. his parents) responsible for his physical survival and emotional well-being creating an unsafe, unpredictable environment. His passive aggressiveness, (which is a lesser part of his characterization until season 5 when the writers intensified it to serve the season's final arc / plot) is inherited from his mother, as well

Then his mother abandons him. He's seventeen. His father's nowhere to be found. His uncle's in prison. He has no family. If Eric and the Formans hadn't taken him in, he would've ended up in prison himself or dead.

Once he does move in with the Formans, we learn even more about his home life with Edna. He lived in a house full of vermin. He was not fed properly ... and his mother hit him, implied to be a regular occurrence.

His emotional defenses are totally understandable. But "Prom Night" establishes that he cares so much about the vulnerable, even for people whose personality he finds abrasive and unlikeable, that he'll put his own comfort and safety aside to help and protect them. This is his core, and it's reconfirmed in the last episode of season 1.

In "The Good Son," he doesn't act entitled to the Formans' help. He's grateful and shows himself to be the opposite of what his mother always accused him of: being lazy like his father. He does chores around the house happily and without expectation of reward. It's his way of "earning his keep".

But when Eric gets jealous of Red and Kitty's positive acknowledgement of Hyde, Eric acts out by bouncing a bowling ball in the living room, with the unforeseen result of destroying the TV. Red is furious. Hyde, out of gratitude for Eric's friendship and being the reason he has a safe home, takes responsibility -- which could result in him becoming homeless vs. Eric being punished relatively benignly. Hyde again sacrifices his safety to protect someone else, this time his best friend.

All of the above about Hyde happens in season 1 and is depicted throughout a portion of its episodes. One season. A handful of episodes. Plot is created organically from the characters, and the plot -- in turn -- affects the characters organically. Humor rises organically from the characters and plots as to be informed by them rather than the characters and plot being manipulated to fit a punchline.

The depth of writing in T7S creates a significant emotional connection with the show's characters in the audience. This depth is what's lacking in That '90s Show despite its pleasures.

Leia, Gwen, Nikki, Nate, Jay, and Ozzie had the potential to become emotionally complex characters. The first few layers are there, but the writing needed to go much deeper -- at least for me -- for a deeper emotional connection to the characters. The emotional stakes had to be higher.

Accepting that T7S S4 Jackie and Kelso are Jay's parents, that Jackie and Kelso divorced twice and Kelso had a child with Brooke during one of them -- or that impregnating Brooke was the cause of the first divorce -- Jay would not have grown into a carbon copy of his father. He would've been a completely different character, affected by his parents' personalities and toxic relationship. I could write a meta about what I believe Jay's personality actually should have been according to the facts of his upbringing.

Nikki is, for me, the most deeply portrayed character. I think the credit goes to the actress for that, not the writing. She has a nuance to her performance the other younger actors lack.

Leia and Gwen, from T9S's first episode (and through season 1), have a massive amount of chemistry that season two (particularly the second half) intentionally dismantles. I'm not saying all the characters in every show evarrrr need to be LGBTQ+ in some way, but Leia's unhappiness in Chicago in the '90s could've had a much deeper, higher stakes reason than T9S gives us (which pushed the limits of my belief).

Leia being bisexual or gay and hiding this fact at her old school would have explained her misery believably, as she's written and depicted in T9S S1 E1. Discovering Gwen through Gwen's window (queue the Melissa Etheridge song if you want; it was released in '93😅), the freedom of expression Gwen displays, the obvious attraction Leia experiences to both (which doesn't have to be romantic or sexual and canonically isn't) -- with different writers (or Netflix allowing it because they can and have made mandates to showrunners about LGBTQ+ content in the past) -- a perfect set up.

I absolutely would've written Leia as bisexual or gay and Gwen as being gay. In the '90s, a teen discovering their sexuality doesn't fit heteronormative society was much harder than it is for teens today (and it's still difficult). Pushing the LGBTQ+ rep to a side character who is barely depicted as a character in season 1 is a safe choice. Making the protagonist not straight in a '90s setting would have opened the storylines and upped the emotional stakes.

As Cosima from Orphan Black says, her sexuality isn't the most interesting part of her. This would (and should) also be true for Leia and Gwen. But Gwen being out to her family and friends would've helped a very-much-in-the-closet Leia navigate her understanding of her sexual orientation and given her a group of people who accepted her vs. what she experienced at home: having to hide an essential part of herself to be safe and accepted.

Had That '90s Show taken writing risks instead of writing to the middle, it could have been a successful descendant of That '70s Show. The essence of T7S, at its best, is having emotionally complex characters, significant stakes, humor arising organically from the first two items listed, integrating the '70s setting into the characters' essence and plots, and innovating with the fantasy sequences -- which weren't all '70s references but the characters imagining scenarios for themselves and other characters (e.g., Red joining the circle; "I am Whipped-Cream Head. Fear me") -- and the 360 circle scenes.

The essence of T9S should've been, imo, to innovate not imitate. If Jackie/Kelso are together in that version, then write the consequences of that seriously for Jay. Kelso in T7S is clearly a product of his upbringing. We hear a lot about his family dynamics but meet his father only once and only one brother out of his six siblings. Jay would not be a Kelso clone -- but I'll save further discussion on that for another meta.