#was thinking about this because i have developed next/gen kids

[headfullof-ideas]

Unrelated to my HTTYD/The Deep story, but I have a hot-take that might be an unpopular opinion for all the Alpheus fans out there. I like him too, he’s not my super favorite character, but he’s fun to write and work with. HOWEVER, I’ve been thinking, and I came to a conclusion that some people might not agree with.

Alpheus wouldn’t be the best dad. Hear me out.

He’s not the WORST, he’s not abusive, he’s got an idea from Proteus and the Guardians on how NOT to raise a child…but he’s not dad-of-the-year either. He’s not super involved. He’s got paranoia from the Guardians and Lemuria, and a tendency to pry and eavesdrop on business that he has no business knowing. He is a young adult in the show, and would be older as a parent, so he’s grown a bit, but I also don’t really see him going to therapy and fixing a lot of his internalized issues because of a repeated mantra of ‘what if someone breaks into the therapists office and steals all their notes on our sessions, what if it’s over a call and someone plants a bug, that’s something I would do, so why wouldn’t anyone else?” And also, what therapist is going to believe half of the stuff he talks about? Sea monsters aren’t real.

He’s not the worst. He’s not abusive. But he’s not great either. He assumes he knows everything about his kid because he softly stalks them when they’re away from him, maybe reads through their journals or diary when they’re not at home, because he never learned healthy communication skills and just falls back on what he knows to learn about his kid. And if they’re dealing with something bad on the inside, have insecurities or doubts, anything like what he felt with the Guardians, well, he has to know, he’s their dad. But he doesn’t actually talk with his kid about it. He might have some controlling tendencies due to paranoia about the Guardians or the Nektons, or any legal body that he pissed off in his youth coming after him years later, and so he has to know where his kid is at all times, via trackers on their phone, and frequent updates on when or where they are or have left.

He’s half helicopter parent and half barely present at all, because he doesn’t have a good reference for healthy communication and won’t go to therapy for his issues due to stubbornness and paranoia. He assumes the worst about everything, and if his Benthos attracted-to-the-water-like-their-cousins-the-Nektons expresses any interest in the ocean or a field in that area, he shoots it down, because he doesn’t want his past with Lemuria, the Nektons, and the Guardians to catch up to him and land on his kid. Only, he doesn’t tell them this at all, he insists that it’s just for the best. He doesn’t tell his kid anything important, habitually keeps secrets and information from them because in his mind, they deserve to be a kid and not worry about it. Only he can’t tell the difference between actual I’ll-tell-you-when-you’re-older stuff and stuff that actually involves his kid that they should have a say in. He might be slightly controlling, because he wants his kid to have a normal childhood, not like he did, but it twists into him assuming that, as the adult and parent who’s been through everything, he knows how everything will go and so therefore knows what’s best.

He’s not the WORST parent…but I don’t see him being the BEST parent either. He’s got too many issues and not enough like someone who’d go to the necessary lengths to fix those issues for me to think he’d be the best parent.

[lightofraye]

Hi there!

Per request, I cropped your name.

I also sent you an apology privately for how long it'd taken me to get to this. Largely because it's just a depressing thing to talk about. Danneel is doing classic abuser techniques here--putting him down; humiliating him in front of others (when at cons like Wales Comic Con) or having him repeating negative stories at cons himself; continuously finding fault with him; making him feel like the foolish one; disregarding his thoughts and/or emotions; and using sarcasm to cause harm.

Imagine having your own spouse, your partner of what... 17 years?... saying "You'll do" when they're stanning other, wealthier actors and stars. Like, wow. Consolation prize? Thanks? As though she didn't force his hand into proposing to him. Mind, Jensen even said she laid down an ultimatum--propose or she walked. That's love, for sure!

Imagine landing no less than three shows with Amazon and a regular guest starring appearance on a major broadcaster... and still being told "Not impressed". God. That's painful.

He may likely be so busy that despite what some AAs are saying ("It's only 1.5 hour flight to home!"), he might not even fly back home all that much. Why would he? For his kids? Absolutely. For his so-called loving wife? Not so much.

Have you noticed in that clip, Jared had to stop Jensen from rambling? Because he was listening to his friend and brother in all but blood put himself down repeatedly, hearing how his friend's wife is being emotionally abusive... in public, no less. I can't even imagine how Jared feels about this.

Mind, Jared knew Danneel before Jensen did (or so Danneel claimed). Ever notice how they barely ever hang out in the past? If all four of them--Jared, Gen, Jensen and Danneel--did hang out, Jared was rarely spotted with her. He knew what kind of person she was and wanted nothing to do with her.

Even Gen barely engaged with Danneel. Oh, Gen was friendly and warm in public--I'm reminded of that one live video where Gen praised Danneel's acting as Sister Jo/Anael on Sueprnatural and the look Danneel gave her... Danneel knew Gen didn't mean it.

Getting sidetracked here.

I know a lot of anti Jensens won't agree with me here, and that's all fine. We're allowed different opinions. Even those who are "Jensen critical" would disagree as well. Also fine. What I'm about to say next is my own personal opinion, speculation, and observation.

As I've mentioned before, I'm a survivor of abuse. From childhood onward, I've endured a variety. Emotional neglect, physical abuse, even sexual abuse as a child. That wrecks people. Because we're experiencing abuse from the hands of people who should love us. So if our own parents, siblings, relatives, whatever, are hurting us... we start to think: "Did I do something to deserve this mistreatment? Am I such a horrible person?"

And if that isn't corrected--and too often childhood survivors are overlooked and ignored, not able to get the help they desperately need, they often develop and grow into insecure adults with low self-esteem and low self-value.

One very common refrain will ring in their minds: "I am unworthy and undeserving of love."

This is where I feel Jensen's issues stem from. He was exploited by his parents for their gain and profit. Modeling, acting, often told by his father he's being punished out of love (thus creating a negative association of what love really is), and likely surrounded by a lot of people who use him for their gain and profit.

I can't speculate on the relationship between his parents, but what little I've heard and seen of Alan Ackles, it doesn't sound like a healthy example either.

If you don't know what a healthy relationship looks like, or experience it yourself... one struggles a lot. It's how generational trauma is created. My paternal grandfather... was abusive. Emotional and... otherwise (there's a massive skeleton in that closet that left me floored when I discovered it). My own father continued it. I'm determined to break it and I think I've largely succeeded. No, I didn't have a healthy relationship, but I grew strong enough to know what I had wasn't it.

I'd rather be single than in an unhappy relationship. Unfortunately, for so many survivors and victims, it's never easy. Because the voices in their head parroting the fears back to them lie.

It's sadly easier to say "Oh. That person made that choice! It's their own damned fault they're unhappy!" Or "They're the ones who stay!" It's easier to judge than it is to admit that it's not a cut-and-dry situation. That breaking the emotional abuse cycle, that breaking free from abuse in general, is never, ever easy.

I speak from experience. I lost quite a few friends because they actually thought I wanted to stay, or that I was being unreasonable in my fear. Not once did they bother to reach out and try to understand from my end.

"Oh just leave!"

No... it's never easy to "just leave".

Jensen's trapped in a very vicious cycle right now. He finds it easier to put himself down and think he deserves it, than to admit that he's in a situation that he could leave. It's scary to leave. It's the unknown. It's easier, in so many ways, to live with the pain we know than the pain we don't.

Danneel knows it, feeds on it, uses it.

I rambled on a lot. I appreciate your ask and your compassion for Jensen.

Thank you for reading.

[strayheartless]

There is a wonderfully loud three year old in my house and while my sensory issues don’t think it’s a vibe, my fic brain is now thinking about how baby Cloud just wouldn’t be like that.

Three year old Cloud is, first of all, tiny. Like, he’s properly, properly small. His Ma really doesn’t have much in the way of money so they rely on hunting and foraging, which didn’t always garner the best results so Cloud was skin and bone for most of his childhood.

Cloud didn’t speak for a long time. He could, physically he actually had quite a developed vocabulary on account of Claudia constantly talking g and reading to him. But he didn’t want to talk for a very long time.

Cloud didn’t play like other kids. It’s my personal headcanon that Cloud is on the spectrum so I often imagine him lining up his tin soldiers, but I also imagine he was obsessive about brushing his Sephiroth dolls hair.

He had dolls of Angeal and Genesis too that he played with, but he took the Seph doll everywhere. To the store? Better take sephiroth in case of monsters. To the Forest? Better take Sephiroth in case of monsters. Bedtime? Sephiroth will keep watch.

Baby cloud wasn’t cuddly. He wanted to be. God was he desperate to be cuddly, but adults have smacked Cloud in the face for less. Not Claudia, never Claudia but one of the first memories Cloud has from his childhood is being three years old and struck across the cheek by a lady in the general store for being ‘rude’ and not answering her.

The times Claudia can coax him into her arms are special because they are the times Cloud talks. He sits in the circle of her arms and plays with her fingers and speaks just above a whisper about the new newspaper pictures of Sephiroth, or chatters placidly about the vegetables in the allotment and the ones he wants to grow in the summer.

I feel like actually Seph and Cloud would bond over how badly adjusted both of them were as children. Cloud shares being dragged in front of the town council and publicly caned and humiliated after saving Tifa. Sephiroth shares the time that Hojo injected with a test drug in front of president Shinra after he dared to question orders. Angeal, Genesis and Zack sit in silent horror though the entire conversation.

Cloud giggled very rarely, and the first time Claudia ever heard him laugh in delight was the birthday he got the FIRSTS dolls. He immediately enacted the latest Wutai defence strategy that was in the papers, going outside to draw battle lines in the sand and set up a battle front against the vegetable patch.

Clouds has a problem with authority… the problem is he’s scared stiff of it. There are certain words that will have Cloud lock up and not be able to speak or move. The firsts learn this the hard way. A single ‘don’t’ is enough to pull him up short, but the first time Genesis yelled at him as his mentor Cloud reacted so badly he disassociated hard. All Gen said was ‘how dare you…’ but it was enough. One second he’s angry about insubordination, the next he’s following a sprinting cloud into the bathroom to rub his back through panic induced nausea.

One day I’ll stop torturing him. Today… is not that day.

[yourhighness6]

Okay, so, I have talked briefly before about how I do think that Katniss/Lucy Gray were intended to mirror each other but Peeta was meant to be a parallel to both Coryo and Sejanus. There are other parallels between these five characters as well, of course, but they don't really affect what I'm about to say so imma just leave that there. Let me explain.

When you think about the core problems with Snowbiard, they basically all come from Coryo's selfishness (you could definitely talk about certain classism/ a commentary on class there, but again, not really relevant). He COULD have been happy with Lucy Gray, living out in the forests beyond district twelve, but he would never have been happy there because of his core traits. He wants people to recognize him, to see him as someone to both respect and fear, because he feels he deserves more than he was given after his family lost their fortune. That's the hallmark of his character and definitely not new info. But Sejanus was the exact opposite. He felt like he was given more than he deserved after his tough childhood because his family circumstances were the EXACT opposite, coming into money at the same time Coryo's family lost theirs. He could have felt the same way, entitled and like he didn't have enough, but instead, he showed empathy and demonstrated compassion in ways Coryo never did. But that's where the next gen comes in, because Peeta and Katniss shared certain circumstantial similarities that almost certainly reminded Snow of his own teenage relationship with Lucy. But that's where Peeta mirrors Sejanus, because above all, that boy is KIND. He's compassionate and empathetic and his core values are very similar to that of Sejanus. HE was a glimpse of what Coryo could have been, if instead of looking for power, he'd taken Sejanus's advice and followed his example. If he'd chosen to be someone kind and compassionate and empathetic like Sejanus and Peeta and developed a goddamn moral code, he COULD HAVE HAD THAT LIFE. HE COULD HAVE LIVED OUT HIS DAYS IN MEADOWS WITH TWO KIDS AND A LOVING WIFE LIKE PEETA DID BUT INSTEAD HE CHOSE TO BE SELFISH AND VINDICTIVE AND A GODDAMN MURDERER.

Peeta and Coryo foil each other in such an insane and nuanced way that I can't help but obsess over it. These two characters who seem so different but actually maybe share some thematic similarities treating the loves of their lives so differently is just... ugh. Like even if it happened some sixty years apart, Snowbiard really was a guy who had it all refusing to realize that and his narrative foil ending up with the girl of his dreams because he was a good person. Snowbiard fell apart because Coryo's selfishness but Everlark fell together because of Peeta's selflessness.

And, look, that on its own is incredible and thematic and Suzanne is a genius blah blah blah but ALSO, this isn't the most important thing, but I find it absolutely INSANE that Peeta and Katniss found love in a forest while running for their lives and Coryo and Lucy Gray lost love in a forest while running for their lives.

[stitching-in-time]

Finished Star Trek: Prodigy season 2! Overall, I loved it, it was everything I hoped for, and then some. I love time travel paradoxes and alternate universes and that kind of stuff, so this season's story arc was right up my alley, and I think they did it just right. From story, to visuals, to character development, this whole season was just mindblowing the whole way through. The very ending leaves me trepidatious for the future, unfortunately, but I still very much want another season, and I want to celebrate what a monumental achievement season 2 is, both as thing unto itself, and as an epic expansion of what Star Trek can be.

Thoughts and analysis (with major spoilers!) below!

The biggest things for me this season were how Dal and Gwyn grew as characters, Janeway and Chakotay's relationship becoming even more of a central thing, and my boy Wesley Crusher returning as basically a Time Lord to help the Protostar kids save the timeline. As a Next Gen fan, I can't begin to describe how much it means to see Wesley again, and know that he's still out there, doing good in the universe, like I always knew he would. Beverly Crusher raised a good kid! As fans, we always joked about how Wesley Crusher is a Time Lord now, and now Prodigy said, yeah, he really is! That's what the Travellers do! They're literally like the Time Lords in Doctor Who, but with more hands on helping and fixing things, and I'm like yes, perfect!! I couldn't have asked for better, honestly, and Wil Wheaton does a terrific job as manic pixie Time Lord Wesley (there's no other way to describe him lol) without losing the essence of the Wesley we knew. After the horrible, hurtful disappointment of what they did with Picard and the rest of the Next Gen crew in the Picard series, seeing at least one of my first Trek crew getting the respectful treatment their character deserves means, so, so much to me, I can't even begin. My boy Wes! I love him!! (But dude- call your Mom ffs! Janeway is such a space mom herself for calling him on that. The scene at the end where Wes and Beverly hug was EVERYTHING to me. I cried. 30 years I have waited for that!!! Thank you thank you thank you!!!)

Gwyn and Dal's character arcs this year were great too. Gwyn always had the commanding presence that said 'captain' to me, from the beginning. Much as I like Dal, I felt like it didn't make sense for him to be the captain, given his personality and experience, and it kind of seemed like they gave him that because the lead character always has to be a boy, by default, in any children's media that isn't explicitly aimed primarily at girls. But seeing how it shifted this season was really wonderful. How Gwyn stepped up to be a leader, and how Dal realized that being the right hand of someone you trust and respect is just as important a role as being the one in charge, was lovely, and paralleled the relationship between Janeway and Chakotay. Gwyn and Dal are kind of coming from opposite ends of the childhood trauma spectrum; Gwyn being forced to ignore her own judgement, and obey her father's commands without question; and Dal, being undervalued by his surrogate mother, being told and shown by her that he's unimportant and uneeded. The positions that they came to here, as a Captain and her Number One, and are the direct opposite of the roles their parents forced on them, and the exact places they need to be to overcome those negative beliefs and let their true natures shine through. It's so good!! And they actually talked to each other about their relationship! (or at least tried before they got interrupted.) That's honestly way more emotionally mature of them than almost any other romantic pairing in Trek! The kids are all right!! And I love that Gwyn is taller than Dal, and nobody cares. I can't think of the last time I saw a show where a girl being tall wasn't presented as a problem for her boyfriend to be insecure and crappy about it. Not making girls feel bad for being tall, and not making boys insecure about being short, is so important, especially in a show aimed at kids. Way to break down those gendered stereotypes!!

Janeway and Chakotay got so much to do this season, and I loved every minute of it. I love that Prodigy is basically a Voyager sequel. Janeway in the Captain's chair on a new Voyager is like, a dream come true, and seeing Voyager characters again is a special thrill for those of us who grew up with them and love them. (Ngl I was thrilled that my boy Tom Paris got namedropped twice! And so much yes to having him design the Nova Flyers!!! I've always headcanoned that Tom and B'Elanna stayed on Earth after Voyager and designed ships and warp engines and stuff at Starfleet HQ so they could give their kids a more stable childhood, and I'm beyond thrilled and thankful to have that somewhat canonized!!) I kinda wish it had been Tuvok rather than the Doctor along for this voyage, since he's Janeway's best friend, but the Andorian guy (Tysis? Why can't I remember his name??) does remind me of Tuvok a lot, so it might have been an odd vibe to have two similar characters. And anyway having the Doctor along did prove useful to the mission later on. (Though I don't know what it is, but the voice Robert Picardo uses for the Doctor on Prodigy is off, somehow- it's higher pitched, and the cadence is different. If I didn't know it was him, I'd think it was a different actor, and it's pretty distracting. But luckily the Doctor was mostly just there to be comic relief, and didn't have a ton of scenes.)

The character who surprised me the most here, though, was Chakotay. I like him a lot better on Prodigy than I ever did on Voyager. It's not even that I disliked him before, so much as that I feel the writing wasn't always there for him, and that they didn't really care to fully flesh him out and make his characterization consistent. His love for Janeway was one of the only things about him that was consistent, and they really highlighted that aspect here. I've never been much of a Janeway/Chakotay shipper, but I'm shipping it now. I know the die hard J/C shippers are probably livid that we didn't get a kiss or a direct acknowlegement of their feelings this season, and from the way it was going, I don't blame them, I expected it too. But I feel like Prodigy's writers aren't dumb enough to tease it so heavily without paying it off- I'd wager they're playing the long game and saving it for later, what with all the insanely shippy stuff going on between them here. The pda! The longing! That reunion scene! Heck, even Starfleet command knows they have a thing going on, and that Janeway can't be normal about Chakotay! Even the kids give them looks like they know there's something going on between them! The parallels between them and Dal and Gwyn, who already are a romantic couple, make it pretty obvious that Janeway and Chakotay are like a template for them to emulate. I didn't care one way or another about whether Janeway/Chakotay became a thing when this season started, but now I'm invested. They're in love, just admit it!

I love that they added Ma'jel to the Protostar gang, it's nice to have another girl to balance things more. And the fact that they named her after Majel Barrett hits me straight in the heart. So much love for the OG queen of Star Trek!!

I really appreciated Gwyn getting the chance to meet the younger version of her father, and get the chance to recieve some kindness and care from him, at last. I hope now that the timeline is different, she'll be able to have a better relationship with him at last. (I'm still not entirely sure how Gwyn can exist now that he's not going back to become the Diviner in the new timeline, but I think maybe it's some sort of alternate timeline/parallel universe stuff?? That's the one part of the timey wimey plot I was a little fuzzy on, but honestly the rest of it is so awesome that I don't even care that much.)

One of the few things that I disliked this season was Voyager A having a 'cetacean ops' tank on board. It was fine on Lower Decks because it's a comedy, so I don't take anything that happens there too seriously. (I just thought it was a SeaQuest joke, tbh.) But for a drama series, it really bothers me that Starfleet would take wild animals from their homes and plunk them on a starship. Even though they can communicate with the whales now, so we infer that the whale consented to be there, it seems incredibly unlikely that any wild creature would chose to live in a tiny tank away from their ecosystem and others of their kind. Animal captivity is not a cool thing to be promoting in this day and age, so I hope that will go away, and we won't have to see any more of that.

The biggest problem I had with this season though, was all of the references to stuff from Picard at the very end. Worse still than animal captivity was Picard's horrible storyline about using slaves to build Starfleet ships. It's like the writers on that show had never seen an episode of Star Trek in their lives, and had no idea what it's even about. They literally referenced the Next Gen episode 'The Measure of a Man', so they must have seen it, and yet they totally ignored it's message that androids aren't property, and it's assertion that creating an army of android slaves would abominable, and against everything the Federation stands for. The whole point of that episode was that they established the legal precedent to prevent that. To turn around and have that happen is a huge betrayal of the optimistic spirit of the show, and a shows a deep misunderstanding of all of the characters. You cannot sit there and tell me that any of the characters we know would sit idly by and let the Federation institute slavery. You can't convince me that they would just go on with their lives like everything was fine while that was happening around them. You can't tell me Starfleet wouldn't have a wave of resignations in mass protest, that there wouldn't have been protests all over Earth to stop it. Just casually dropping something as horrific as 'oh, our android slaves rebelled and blew up the fleet we forced them to build for us' in the middle of a show aimed at children is deeply disturbing, and deeply wrong- allowing slavery in the Federation negates everything it is, and demolishes Star Trek as a beacon of hope for the future.

I'm very worried for Prodigy's future if it's going to take place in that awful reality, for which there is absolutely no excuse or explanation that can be had to justify it. I'm absolutely horrified to think that it might become the status quo that we're just supposed to accept, but conversely, if they don't gloss over it, if they look at it head on, in all it's horror, there's no way to deny that everything that Starfleet and the Federation stand for is a lie. There's just no good way forward with it, I fear. If the Protostar gang were to find out that someone was messing with the timeline to create that reality in the first place, and that they had to go back to stop it from happening, and erase that timeline from existence, then I could be okay with it, but I doubt they'd do another time paradox plot so soon. I'm just afraid that I won't be able to love Prodigy anymore either, because it will have let me down, just like Picard did.

I desperately hope this season wasn't Prodigy's pinnacle, and that it will continue to believe in hope and kindness and the possibility of a better future, and to fight against the cruelty and cynicism that Picard's writers poisoned the Star Trek universe with. I care about these characters, and this world, and I want to see more of them. I would love a third season, but only if it lives up to Star Trek's ideals of love and equality and compassion. Prodigy has been such a bright spot for me, I've come to love this new crew, and being able to see my beloved Voyager crew members still out there being heroic, and being happy. I hope it can continue to be that bright spot. Based on what wonderful things I've seen overall in these first two seasons, I'm going to choose to have faith that it will.

Here's hoping we get a season 3 that's just as amazing!

[creampuffqueen]

tell us about the tlok gen 2 kids

ask and you shall receive!!!! making fankids is such an obsession of mine lol

so i have futures and kids planned out for pretty much everyone, but i'll just go over the main krew ships + kainora for now. and i'll try to keep it kind of brief but i have So Many thoughts about them so we'll see if i'm successful. i have like. an entire labelled timeline. it's wild

under a cut because this got so long holy crap

the easiest to start with is the bopal kids. they get married a couple years after the end of tlok and start having kids pretty soon after. they end up with four kids (somewhat considering adding a fifth but we'll see. there's already so many ocs)

their eldest is jade, who is an earthbender. then they have a pair of identical twin boys, named san and goji. san is named after bolin's father. san is an airbender, goji is an earthbender. their fourth child is a girl named tempa, who is an airbender. she actually ends up becoming blind later in life. not whatever toph had, as she was born seeing, but she had some degenerative disease that slowly took her eyesight. she actually ends up developing a technique similar to seismic sense, but with airbending, to help her get around! she keeps her head fully shaved so she can always feel vibrations in the air

the next up to have kids is, surprisingly, kai and jinora. this was not intentional on their part. but they've been dating since they were like 12-13, so i honestly don't think it's much of a stretch that they would end up becoming parents as teenagers. pema and tenzin are a bit upset that their daughter got pregnant at 17, but at this point they've accepted kai into the family, and they respect the young couple's decision to keep and raise the baby

and then after they have their first baby, they decide that they're going to hold off on getting married until their family is complete, so all their kids can be a part of the wedding. like bolin and opal, they end up having four kids as well. all of them are airbenders. their first born is a boy named sangye, second is another boy named tadashi, third is a girl named zaya, and fourth is a girl named tara. it's the jinora and tenzin parallels for me lol. two boys, two girls, four airbenders. despite their young age they are very good parents

then we have the korrasami babies. they have the smallest family, with just two kids. i did some research and as it turns out, sperm donation/artificial insemination procedures were a thing in the 1920s. of course they were WILDLY unethical at the time but hey, they did exist. this is how they end up with their kids. mako is the donor, which i know some people may find that weird but mako is their best friend, i feel like they would rather have a donor that they know and trust than just. some random guy

korra is pregnant with their first baby, who they name katara. she's a waterbender. asami is pregnant with their second baby, a little boy they name hiro, after asami's dad. hiro is a nonbender. they are literally the best moms ever <3

and last but not least, we have wuko's kids. for the longest time they are the cool, childless gay uncles. i think they're both really good with kids, but neither are ready to be parents for a long time. not to mention in my timeline it takes a solid ten years for wu to get the new democratic earth kingdom up and running smoothly enough that he can abdicate. and even after he abdicates and he and mako get married, they're still unsure about kids for a few more years. when they do decide to have kids, they both for sure want to adopt. i have a whole separate post i could make about mako quitting the police force to become a social worker and opening up a youth shelter. but he knows he wants to help out kids, so hopefully none suffer the way he and bolin did. wu does not want to have any bio kids, as he wants the royal bloodline to end with him so there is no possible claim to any kind of throne

but then korra and asami are like 'hey, if you guys want a baby, we're cool with helping out' because i mean mako already helped them have their family, they can do the same for him and wu. and since they're offering, mako and wu decide to take them up on it. korra ends up being a surrogate for them, and they welcome a little baby girl that they name naoki, for mako's mom

then, soon after naoki is born, they end up finding a trio of very young sisters out on the streets. their mother passed away, their father walked out on them, and they have no other family. the eldest girl is only 8 years old. when mako meets her it feels like he's looking into a window at his past self. the girls are very frightened, but mako and wu are able to earn their trust enough to help them out. and in the process of caring for them, they end up totally falling in love with these kids. they ask them if they want to be adopted. all three say yes

the girls are named kasumi, ryoko, and hikari. all three are firebenders. naoki also ends up being a firebender. there's so many firebenders in the wuko house. i'm also spreading my girldad mako agenda. him and wu taking these girls in and giving them a family is actually super emotionally healing for him. he's able to make sure another set of siblings out on the steet has a family

anyway that's a very basic rundown!! i love chatting about my next gen kiddos so so much so thanks for asking! and of course if anyone has any questions about specific kids or families please feel free to ask!!!

[amour393]

ok. dragons rising part 2 thoughts

these will be in no particular order but I'll try to stay somewhat organized XD

spoilers ahead!

(this ah. got long)

Characters

Lloyd: As sad as I get when I think about Lloyd growing up, I love what they're doing with him. Seeing the parallels between him and Wu is so poetic and I LOVE the dynamic with Lloyd and Arin. Lloyd is kind and strong and wise and he has been treated so well in dragons rising

Arin: Speaking of, Arin is absolutely amazing. He is precious and adorable and I love him. Sweet polite boy I love you so much you have never done anything wrong ever and I love you

Sora: Sora is fine, I like her but I'm not like obsessed with her character like I am with Arin. I love Sora but I'm never super jazzed about her. Her arc in part 2 was alright but I wish it had more buildup. I think with a few more moments here and there of her trying to use her powers without Riyu would have made the payoff much better. And I know they were trying to go for a "resistance never quits" moment with her speech at the end but. Idk it just didn't hit the same

Zane: Zane I love you. I feel you I also am BROKEN over Pixal being gone. Literally everything about Zane in part 2 was perfect. I love him so much and he loves pixal so much it makes me unwell. Also. Zane Day is now an international holiday

Nya: I love Nya's dynamic with Sora and how she gets to be like. The first positive female influence in Sora's life. Especially because Nya didn't have that as a kid or uh ever so I love that. HOWEVER!!! Oh my goodness gracious give Nya feelings. She has emotions. She has trauma. What are we doing guys. I'll go episode by episode later but I am incredibly salty at how Nya was treated in episode 14. and also. OH MY WORD. WHAT ABOUT JAY. You have said his name TWICE and Cole looked more distraught than you!!! You care about this boy more than almost anyone else in the world!!!!!!!! Why aren't you acting like it???????????? I see you with a lightning dragon but that's like the most we get.

Kai: oh Kai I absolutely love how they are treating you and i also hate it. It's like with Jay gone they were like haha let's make Kai stupid so he'll be the new comic relief! However I love teacher Kai. He is my favorite, the growth, the development, the parallels! Yes! Kai is an accomplished ninja!! He's been a ninja for over 10 years at this point!! He has learned so much and grown so so much since then and I love him so much.

Wyldfyre: I'm about to make a lot of people really mad but I absolutely despise Wyldfyre. I love the concept of Kai having a kid to train (and all of them each having a next-gen kid to train) but Wyldfyre was not the right fit and I just disliked her more every time she was on screen, which was really upsetting because every time it switched back to her and Kai I was already annoyed and I don't want to be upset when Kai's onscreen but she is just so intolerable it made it hard to enjoy Kai, which is so so sad because I absolutely love Kai! Wyldfyre is selfish, arrogant, irritatingly reckless, petty, and INCREDIBLY rude and disrespectful to Kai. I don't care if she was raised in the wilderness. Kai spent all of part 2 trying to help her be better and the most of a character arc we got from her was her. Not acting like a jerk. Which we should not have to be proud of!! Not being a jerk is expected!! That's not a character arc that's just being a decent human being!! I think Wyldfyre's character could have worked in theory if she had literally any likable characteristics but she just doesn't. I don't think I have ever disliked a ninjago character this much which is such a bummer. It fills me with rage every time they compare her to Kai. Sure, in the early seasons Kai was kind of reckless and a bit self-absorbed. But not nearly to this extent, and Kai was still likable. The things about Wyldfyre they try to play off as humor aren't funny, they're just annoying or gross. I'm not opposed to the concept of Kai adopting a feral child, but if the feral child is like this then I don't want it. Replacing Wyldfyre with Skylor or a new character that is actually likable would have made Dragons Rising SO much better.

Cole: on a MUCH more positive note, I literally don't think they could have done Cole any more perfect. I am SO GLAD HE'S BACK I MISSED HIM SO MUCH. Cole being thrown into the Land of Lost Things is absolutely heartbreaking and says so much about his character. Cole, who had an entire character arc over fear of being forgotten ending up in the Land of Lost Things? I AM BROKEN. Dad Cole is back and better than ever. He found a bunch of children and immediately adopted them? Perfection. Could not be better. He actively chooses to remain in the Land of Lost Things to protect them?????? Amazing so in character it hurts and I love him so much. A lot of this season made me remember how much I love Cole. I spent this entire season freaking out over Jay that I forget how much I love Cole and this season did not fail to remind me. His first line being "NO ONE TOUCHES THESE CHILDREN!!!!!" is amazing and perfect and so in character. I cannot applaud what they did with Cole enough. Well done. I am very curious to see where Wu is leading him, can't wait to see him in season 2. I will die mad he didn't get to see Zane or Kai or Lloyd but ITS FINE IM FINE

Geo: I would throw him in with the other characters but oh my gosh. Geo's existence is absolutely perfect. The symbolism?? The metaphors?? Absolutely perfect. Him being a hybrid of two peoples who have a reputation for hating each other being the Master of Fusion, of bringing two things that don't belong together? I am destroyed. It occurs to me that when they first met Geo was probably like "yeah, I'm half geckle half munce and I was exiled from my people since they hate each other and they will never reconcile their differences" and Cole was like "Well that sucks but I have some good news for you" but then Geo couldn't even leave to try to find Shintaro. I am depressed. I love love love Geo based on his symbolism alone, not to mention the fact that his powers are genuinely super cool.

Other Characters: when i tell you I lost my BLOODY MIND when gulch showed up it is a vast understatement. I freaked out I screamed it was amazing. It was so fun seeing Gulch again. This is the dragons rising I love, new characters doing important things and running into old characters we know and love. Frohicky is fun I love him. Lobbo has never done anything wrong and I'm so proud of him for winning the Zane lookalike contest. Slay king. Jordana is uh there I guess, she's boring so far. I will give thoughts on Arrokore when I talk about episode 14

Villains: Beatrix is incredibly boring and I am SO glad she's not gonna be the actual villain. Lord Ras is much more interesting and compelling (is Chima the Wyldness????? Because he is definitely from Chima and the writers are COWARDS for saying anything different). This is the first time we've had a Ninjago plot genuinely stretch across more than one season and I am sooooo relieved that Beatrix isn't actually the big bad. I'm really excited to meet Ras' master. I'm not going to lie I literally forgot about Rapton and had to come back and talk about him. I cannot emphasize how neutral I am about him. He is a Guy and that is the extent of my feelings. Same with LaRow I keep forgetting about her

Speaking of villains! That brings us to the Administration. I absolutely love it. The concept of the Administration is so interesting and I cannot WAIT to learn more about them and see more of them. There's something so interesting and also poetic about an organization of micromanagers being part of the same realm as the Realm of Madness that just. hnng. The Administration is totally sick and i can't wait to see more of them. Which leads us to...

Jay: Hm. Ah. Where do I begin. When I tell you I screamed, I lost my freaking mind it is not an understatement. I think I've watched those same 20 seconds like 30 times at least and I need those five lines tattooed on my brain. I have so many emotions. It breaks my heart. I'm elated. This is everything I've wanted. I'm so mad that's all there was. It makes perfect sense. Why would they do this. There's something that destroys me so much about Jay- sweet, kind, fun, creative, quirky, genuine Jay- in an organization of micromanagers. He is passive-aggressive and sassy and degrading and mean and I LOVE HIM. It is so inherently not who Jay is (except for being sassy I'm so glad he's a little brat) and I think that's great. It makes me SO excited to see what they do with him in season 2. If they don't do him justice I will RIOT. This has the potential to be one of my favorite plot points in all of ninjago history if they do it right, but if they do it wrong I will be broken. He looks so good in this animation, I absolutely LOVE IT. He is beautiful and sassy and it BREAKS ME that they don't know he's there. They were so close and they missed him. No one knows Jay is there. I am destroyed. He's a manager!! He's working his way up in the world!! I am so proud of him. He would buy himself a worlds best boss mug. Everyone loves him and they hate him. I might make a whole other post just on how I need that reunion to go but. I miss him so much. So much. I don't know how long I can wait without them knowing he's there. Go find your brother. You know where everyone else is now GO FIND YOUR BROTHER!!!!

Episodes

11. Temple of the Dragon Cores - Solid episode? It makes me curious about the lore. Surely either the Wyldness or the Garden are Chima there's no way Chima is separate. There are literally snail people and giant trees. If that's not Chima core idk what is. Rapton is there I guess. The guardian thing was cool. Lloyd dropping random earth-shattering facts is such a Wu thing to do I am LIVING for it.

12. Gangs of the Sea - When I say I spent this whole episode wishing for Bentho I'm not joking. I freaking miss him why didn't they mention him it would have been so easy!! Arin you are so cute and I love you.

13. Wyldly Inappropriate - This episode filled me with so much rage solely because of Wyldfyre. I'm sorry Wyldfyre truthers I am happy for you but oh my word it's just painful. She is so arrogant and just straight up unkind I hate her so much. This episode would have been so much better with Skylor instead. Or literally anyone but Wyldfyre.

14. The Last Djinn - Ok as a skybound truther I have So Many Emotions about this episode. How did Nya know this was a place of the djinn and she was just? Fine? Ok. Arrokore is fine as a character but i absolutely hate what it did to the Djinn. Having a character who has lost their whole society is fascinating! I would have preferred if they made him more of a Ronin-type recluse, where he's extremely paranoid and distrusting instead of just straight-up depressed. All of the experience we have with Djinn is that they are extremely powerful and evil and crazy and dangerous. Switching from Nadakhan to Arrokore was such a hard shift that as a fan it was so hard to be able to enjoy Arrokore as a character. That's not the main thing I'm upset about, overall he's likable and he's fine, I just think he could have been a lot cooler. My main issue with this episode is Nya. Is she just perfectly fine? GIVE HER EMOTIONS OH MY GOSH. SHE HAS TRAUMA YOU COWARDS SHOW IT!!!!!! Literally one of THE most traumatizing times in her life was directly tied to a Djinn and she runs into one and she's just. Fine? There was pretty much NOTHING that alluded to Nya having any sort of history with the Djinn except maybe a little bit of salt when she's talking about their showmanship. A Djinn kidnapped and tortured the love of her life. A Djinn almost destroyed her entire home. A Djinn captured her and caused her own possession. A Djinn killed her (more or less). You want to look me in the eyes and tell me she's going to run into a Djinn and just be perfectly fine? Absolutely not. They could have done this SO much better. Show the trauma. Show the distrust. Show me Nya jumping in front of Sora, show me the fear running through her. Give me Sora asking how Nya knows so much about the Djinn and Nya just can't bring herself to answer. Or she does! And we get a moment of "the only other person who remembers is Jay, and he..." [ACTUALLY SAD MOMENT THAT GENUINELY SHOWS THAT NYA HAS EMOTIONS AND ACTUALLY CARES ABOUT HER LITERAL FIANCÉ WHO SHE LITERALLY GAVE UP HER LIFE FOR] and maybe Sora comforts her! A "we'll find him, Nya" moment. Just a moment. Nya left and Jay fell apart and I hate how Nya is shown to be perfectly fine when Jay has been gone for years. We could have had a little arc of Nya overcoming trauma and distrust and learning that not all Djinn are the same! Okay, fine, we didn't get that. But how dare they let Nya start wishing. Wishes got her killed. Wishes caused the most traumatic weeks of her life. Wishes almost killed the love of her life. You want to tell me that she's just totally fine firing off a few wishes? SHE DIED. GIRLY DIED AND SHE'S JUST MAKING WISHES LIKE IT'S NOTHING? We could have had a moment of Arrokore saying they have to wish for it and Nya being like "NO Sora you can't trust him, they're all the same" and then Arrokore proves himself! Even so, Nya should not have let Sora make a wish without protesting, and she CERTAINLY would not have made one herself. As a skybound stan this episode made me so sad. It was genuinely a good episode but I am so so broken up over what could and should have been. Zane did put a picture of Pixal on a broom though so this episode gets points for that

15. They Call It Doom - YOU'RE TELLING ME THE ADMINISTRATION JUST CASUALLY ALSO SHOOTS BLUE LIGHTNING. FINE OKAY THAT'S GREAT. I already shared my Nya and Arrokore and whatnot thoughts but still. I'm still salty. Anyway this episode's ending was glorious. Teacher Kai you will always be famous I'm so sorry this is the trainee you got stuck with. NO ONE TOUCHES THESE CHILDREN lives in my head rent free and his powerup is so so cool. Baby Serpentine. yes.

16. Land of Lost Things - so you're telling me that Cole has adopted stray children who have run away from home because they felt unwanted and unloved. no I'm totally fine I'm SO normal about cole and his character and the respect he got and the sacrifice of him staying there to protect these kids. I am so broken but its fine I'm fine everything is fine

17. The Administration - See aforementioned thoughts on Jay. The Administration is so cool I love them and I am stoked to see more of them. It's giving men in black tbh. They are so cool. When they follow the directions and find Zane and they're like oh hi Zane! we didn't even know you were here! A) peak comedy and B) when he said "who did you think was going to be here?" THAT WAS DIRECTLY TO US THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT JAY AND IM SO MAD AT THEM FOR IT NOT ACTUALLY THOUGH. Also I don't remember which episode Zane Day and Gulch was in but every moment of that was both perfection and also the peak of comedy. The music when Jay walks on screen destroyed me it was so so good. He is a tired office worker the headcanons were RIGHT. Cannot get over that. I love the look of the Administration, the style, it all looks so good. The concept of a whole organization with an entire division assigned to realm reassignment is fascinating. I want to see Kai's teaching in this episode is great and the parallels between him and Wu were amazing. At the end of the day Jay was here and that gave me enough serotonin to last me a good long while.

18. Absolute Power - I'm not gonna lie this was hard to enjoy because I just wanted to see more of Jay but it was a solid episode. I wanna know what Beatrix' sister's elemental power was. Ras is very cool I am so glad he's going to have a bigger role. Nya and Cole's relationship in this episode is everything to me. They are So Siblings and also Best Friends I love them so so much.

19. We Are All Dragons - good for the Imperium kids starting the revolution, but Rapton being the traitor made no sense. It's like they tried to pull a Kallus in Rebels but there was not nearly enough buildup for this to make sense. I really couldn't care less about Rapton so I'm not mad about this it just didn't make that much thematic sense lolll. I did really like Sora's moment with her parents and rejecting them in favor of the found family, but her speech didn't make sense. It would have hit so much more if she actually explained what ~being a dragon~ means but she really just went WE ARE ALL DRAGONS!! and everyone went YEAH!!!!!!!!!! like girlie uh what does that mean. I liked the parallels but Lloyd's moment was better.

20. The Power Within - I still don't understand why Beatrix wanted to uh. destroy the universe but pop off. I'm not gonna lie I literally cheered when Wyldfyre got sucked into a mergequake. Kai's reaction was in theory great but i am still salty it was over Wyldfyre, this child has been absolutely horrible to you Kai what are you doing. I don't understand how everyone is perfectly fine when everyone comes back from the merge quakes when Beatrix literally went through one of them. I loved Sora's showdown with her parents and I can't wait to see what's up with Ras. I will DIE MAD THERE'S NO MURAL ON THE WALL but WHATEVER.

Returning Characters

I want Pixal back so bad. I'm very optimistic she'll be here in season 2 and I cannot wait for her to be back. I'm hoping that she'll come save Zane from, idk, sensing his signal or something.

SKYLOR. OH MY GOODNESS BRING BACK SKYLOR. I need her back so bad it's unreal

I want Vania back. I want fugidove back. WHERE IS GARMADON. WHERE IS HE. WE HAVENT EVEN MENTIONED HIM WHERE IS HE.

I miss Ed and Edna and Lou and Cyrus Borg and Scott and the elemental masters (WHERES KARLOFF I MISS HIM SO MUCH) and BENTHO and yeah. i miss them

SO, I have a lot of thoughts as you can see and this probably isn't all of them. I want all of everyone's thoughts please send me asks send me messages I just want to scream

AND BRING BACK JAY

[megumi-fm]

18 day habit tracker

since the year started, days are passing by and sure I'm doing alright and getting stuff done but lately it just. feels like I'm whiling away a lot of my time which which I could spend learning or doing a lot of things that I've kept shelved for years. I want to make better use of my days and I want to understand how to kind of... develop the intrinsic motivation to improve my productivity. additionally, I also need to do things to take better care of my help given the harsh weather and my ankle (im)mobility.

so I've decided to spend the next 18days trying to be more conscious of how I'm spending my time and also trying to push myself little by little. in this eighteen days I want to figure out what my limits are (vs what I think my limits are) and I also want to understand how to stay consistent and maintain the momentum I need to keep going. eighteen seems like a small enough number to start with; from some surface web scouring it seems like 18days is the minimum number of time it takes to develop a habit. and coincidentally enough it's my birthday in exactly 18days so it seems like a good place to start

to track

🥛 water intake ⏰ hours of sleep +sleep and wake times 📵 phone usage 🍉 fruit intake +the kind of food I'm eating in gen 📖 reading

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personal goals

🧮 relearning math my relationship with mathematics has been quite messy since junior college and it has only worsened through the past four years of engineering(with the introduction of multivariate calculus and Laplace transforms and whatnot)... it feels kind of late and embarrassing to start now but I really want to understand math better and enjoy doing it and now is a good time to face my fear/discomfort and start over at the very basics. I'm gonna start with precalculus and linear algebra

💃 dancing I used to dance all the time as a kid and then... i don't know what happened... as a lover of kpop choreographies it's heartbreaking to realize I haven't learnt nearly as many dances as I'd have liked to. The year started off pretty strong but then my ankle got in the way and... yeah... I want to get back into dancing both as a means to improve my mobility and as a means of exercise, and also because I enjoy dancing in gen... and four to five days seems like good enough time to learn a single dance so i hope to learn the choreography of atleast 3-4 dances in these 18days

✏ art I have wanted to learn drawing for years now but for some reason I just never seem to get around to it (the 'some reason' being my impatience and inability to accept that I'm actually a beginner) but yknow what. if I'm anyway going to feel bad about how poor I am at drawing, I might as well do it while drawing poorly instead of trying to avoid it. I've decided to use this youtube playlist as my starting point

🍳 cooking for someone who is planning to live abroad and live alone I can't cook to save my life, but putting that aside, the main reason I want to cook is that a lot of my favourite regional cuisine is centered towards dishes for the winter and I want to learn to make tasty + nutritional food suitable for this summer heat without resorting to consuming excessively sugared juices and soda in copious amounts

---

yeah. day1 starts today. I hope it works out. my weekly tracker and my work tracker will also be updated in parallel

[bcolfanfic]

Hi! Just wondering if you have any headcanons for Josie and Rosie’s daughter? I think that’s such a fun ship and would love to hear any of your thoughts about them.

babies <3 josie is the longer hair- if any of y’all need a refresher in young vets au josie is the bucks, naomi is rosie’s kiddo that he adopted as a single dad. (though she’s also later adopted by his partner aiden that he gets w later down the line) s/o to @swifty-fox who this was developed with. we have created. so much young vets au next gen lore.

sweet girls

well. kinda. josie is a bit of a terror there for a minute.

she is bucky’s after all (: i think ive said before that while obv they both love both their kids, josie Is bucky and micah Is gale.

has had a lot of girlfriends and situationships and what have you

naomi. has- not.

knows she’s gay, is very gender non conforming just. rizzless like her father (sorry rosie)

is buddies with josie and has kinda had a littleee crush on her since they were kids but. always got the sense that josie thought she was too Cool for her.

why would she want some dweeby gnc girl a couple years younger than her when clearly she can get any pretty girl she wants <\3 ugh naomi baby.

they become a closer when naomi goes away for college bc she. struggles to make friends for a minute and josie texts her to check in and they just start talking more from there.

naomi does meet /someone/ at college and. this girl is not very nice but ahhh we cannot stop her your first gay relationship being toxic as shit is a baby gay canon event.

brings her to the big memorial day weekend reunion get together with everyone in wyoming and josie immediately does not like this girl lmfao.

surely that means nothing (:

everything kinda blows up bc josie goes into the house for something, and naomi’s little girlfriend follows her and tries to hit on her. which naomi walks in on.

and ugh god love naomi she thinks josie was the one that ‘started it’ and they just start going at it. naomi following her back out of the house yelling at her that she can have whoever she wants why can’t she let her have one thing. josie yelling at her that she didn’t do anything- her little girlfriend is a slimy little weasel, nothing good comes from latching onto the first person to pay attention to you.

draws the attention of. everyone in the yard lmfao. bucky and rosie and aiden have to run over and break it up before someone gets smacked.

josie all pouty and frustrated off with bucky and aiden rambling about how she didn’t do anything, naomi is such a good girl, she hates that her little girlfriend is so awful bc naomi doesn’t deserve that.

naomi off w rosie and curt crying because she feels like she’s just never going to be happy <\3 even her own *girlfriend* wants josie instead of her, and she gets it bc josie is perfect but. feels so stupid and broken.

eventually when everyone’s heads are cooler josie all awkward asks naomi if she wants to go on a drive to get away from everyone for a bit. get fast food or something.

and naomi is like 😐🙁 i guess

josie gets like five minutes down the road before pulling over under a tree and naomi is like ??? is something wrong with your car i thought we were getting food ???

and josie just. looks at her for a long few seconds before unbuckling and reaching across the console and kissing that girl good.

naomi kisses her back but then yanks away like she’s been burned bc. shock.

kinda immediately throws up walls nudging her off telling her she doesn’t want her pity over her own girlfriend not wanting her.

don’t do that to me jos, please

sweet josie. a terror but a good girl at heart like bucky. just sighs and tells her she’s wanted to do that since before she brought that little jerk around.

naomi still pushes back just 🫤 i don’t buy that. picking at her nails looking at her lap. tells her she can have anyone she wants she sure as shit doesn’t want /her/. all your girlfriends are gorgeous i know what your type is.

(naomi has. a lot of insecurity around the gender non confirming stuff bless her sweet heart. rosie and aiden are such good dads about it. her best friends <3.)

but josie does want her. she really does <3

tells her that. kisses her again. they end up in the backseat of josie’s falling apart car for an hour and make all the guys giggle like little girls when they rock back up to the bucks house like flushed little baby deer.

micah pushed naomi’s little POS girlfriend into the lake

[all-pacas]

i know everyone loves the og ducklings (and so do i), but i find the second gen so compelling, especially some of the ones that didn’t make the final cut, and i’d just love to hear your thoughts on some of the more major players in the fellowship reality show

In all honesty, I don't have super strong opinions, but I'll do what I can!

13: I talk about her a lot. I love her. :( I love that fandom now loves her, I dimly remember folks hated her (and in my archive trawling, I see a lot of it). Probably for being a woman, you know, but also for getting a lot of character focus — way more than Taub and Kutner — at a time people were still salty about losing Chase and Cameron. But 13's so fun. I like her much more… without the meme? I mean, she makes herself into a Mystery Meme, but really she's not that serious. I think she's great in S6/7, when there's no mystery and 13 is just her cute work nickname and she's joking around and having fun. I love that she quits medicine and lives in Greece. I'm not being ironic, I think her decisiveness and willingness to just make huge life changes is … sometimes not great, but also super cool. I love that she was able to just let go and do something new. I like to imagine she and Chase go on friend vacations sometimes.

Taub: I think he's great. He's so fucking funny, first of all. Like he does some of the funniest things on the show. I'll never get over him staying in the room after House tells everyone who hasn't slept with 13 to leave. He's literally just here to have a good time, he's actually a Good Friend and I like how he invites Chase over to dinner after the Divorce and how he and Foreman are besties and how he and Kutner were best friends. I love that Taub is able to befriend all these young doctors with no ego or issue; like, Wilson's a Friendly Guy but absolutely has never considered hanging out with the kids (who aren't Amber), you know what I mean? Taub is a social equal of the department heads, not the baby doctors. I like to imagine he and his wife somehow and implausibly reconcile. He's trash but he's just a little guy!!

Kutner: I admit, I find him a little… tiring? Like, I don't dislike him; I don't dislike anyone. And Kal Penn is great, and I adore the moments Kutner shows just incredible empathy. He has a moment in The Itch where Cameron is trying to get into the dude's house and Kutner stops her in her tracks and explains exactly what she's doing wrong that's just so good. Or him bonding with the girl in Birthmarks. How he just connects with people on the fringes without trying. But, and I do mean this, I do think he's a bit overhyped as like "the next and true House." He's sharp and definitely the most creative of the bunch, but he's awful at procedures and definitely has strong "new kid" vibes. After a few years he would have been a FORCE. When I say I find him tiring, I think I mean that the show at first lent a little too hard into the "haha he sets people on fire" thing. I like him as a weirdo with incredible empathy, but not a meme about incompetence.

Amber: I loved her when she was Cutthroat Bitch, I loved her going up to House like "I'm calling you Greg now as we are social equals," I loved her telling Wilson to buy a waterbed because she could advocate for herself and didn't need him to be gallant on her behalf. I wonder a lot what S4 would have been like if it hadn't been cut short. I think she would have died either way, because Head/Heart are just too good? But I think she was really good for Wilson and even for House, I would have loved to see more of that period. And I love ghost Amber, even if she's very clearly House's idealized version of her. But damn is she good.

Cole: Honestly, he sort of feels like a wasted character. He got a lot of focus, he got development, and then he was just gone. I wonder if there was behind the scenes stuff — he certainly had more focus than Taub for example. Not that I'm suggesting drama, but it is interesting how abruptly they dumped him, you know? I liked him, but I did find him sort of bland. He's another character I would have loved to see interact more with the OG cast. Cameron seemed to like him. I bet Chase would have been wildly hypocritical about his religious stuff, lol.

Brennan: I adore that he just went insane and started poisoning people. He was so normal before that, I wish we could have seen him be nuts sooner. I bet Cameron was like "omg he's in the peace core 😍" about him.

Really I love the original kids so much but I do love the new ones too, I wish we'd seen them all hang out. (I do find it kind of funny that the last ones standing are Taub and Chase. Like Park and Adams too, and 13 soooorta, but it's so weird/funny that the last two fellows over time are those two.)

[zelenxa]

Storytelling Secrets

Hah, I hadn’t realized this was a pass-it-on type of thing until I was looking back at @townsenddecades’s posts. Considering I’m still sorta finishing up the next few UDC posts, take this as a treat!

1. Originally, I had a story in mind for Marci and Gloria to come together to solve their differences and stuff, but I had procrastinated for far too long, and, well, it never happened. Along with that, it’s also why it’s taken so long for Dayana to marry — I just got absorbed in the Kensington’s day-to-day life and neglected my side households. Dayana’s plot line was supposed to start in 1302, where she was initially supposed to be sixteen at the time until I pushed it back.

2. I’ve been keeping news on the royal family pretty vague (cough, King ‘Edworth’ and Queen ‘Isabel’) so as not to lock myself into replicating the actual shenanigans happening during the 1310s. Nonetheless, things are happening behind the scenes that I just don’t feel fit the story right now. By the 1320s, however, the family will definitely be mentioned in detail - just by very morbid news. As of right now, though? The Crown Prince has just married a noblewoman, and his parents are multiplying children like crazy given I haven’t applied any birth rolls to them.

3. Speaking of the royal family, my thought process for Kurtis’ latest knight tournament was that it was brought together in celebration of Queen Isabel’s 16th birthday. Luckily, I had thought far enough to not write that down, because the in-game royal family really doesn’t have a damn thing to do with Isabella or Edward the II.

4. Kerstan Lassiter never existed. When I first started UDC, I had very surface-level teachings of the medieval times, so I wasn’t really following the most realistic situations for my sims. This is the main reason why I have little to no pictures outside of big events. 1) I had never expected to start blogging so I barely screenshots. 2) A lot of development for the side households never happened in-game and was only recently written down for a more coherent story. Trying to justify little things unthought of back then has been pretty fun, though! I literally rethought the (Gen 0) Lottway’s entire backstory just to justify Kurtis’ existence as a knight.

5. Though Lord Kerstan doesn’t exist, his son does. I don’t think it was well explained in my 1310 Kensington post, but after his death, Samir Lassiter - in his early 20s - takes his father’s place. Like the royal family, he won’t have a role to play until after the Great Famine, when he decides to show his face a lot more often. Spoilers, he’s very much an asshole.

6. I don’t know if I’ll ever mention this in Lottway posts but, funnily enough, there was a period of time when Kurtis and Casandra would visit the Kensingtons constantly by themselves. Anytime Casandra visited at the same time as Kurtis? Kurtis decided to leave. It’s actually why I’ve interpreted their relationship as a downward spiral. To make matters worse for the Lottways, per the RPO mod, Kurtis initially never wanted kids, and therefore, Brynn was born as an unwanted child. Yet, one day, after updating the mod, everyone’s thoughts on children refreshed which left Kurtis’ opinion on having kids neutral, AKA leaving Brynn as literally the only child he did not want.

Anyway, this was fun! I can’t wait to talk about the 1320s/1330s. I’m passing this on to @abigailsultimatedecadesblog (I don’t know how but I hadn’t fully realized you had a udc blog?!?) and @soffiisims (welcome back again!).

[kob131]

Lily Orchard and Pokemon: Gen 3

Okay I'm gonna try to keep these shorter. But to be fair- Lily is going to start belly aching in Gen 4 beyond so I might have more to cover.

"Brendan misogynyist because he assume Gym Leader kid guy!"

Lily's, he's fucking ten. I don't even think you CAN be sexist at that age because I don't think your brain is developed enough to form complex thoughts or beliefs. Also that is LITERALLY the one time he mentions it.

"I like Brendan because he's not trying super hard to be friend or be rude!"

Again, Lily. You misread Blue who does nothing but slag you off and throw tantrums. Your view on story elements is so thoroughly tainted they can't be taken seriously.

"Brendan's salty when he loses!"

Huh, he actually kind of is. I never noticed that. I guess Brendan has about a quarter of a character. ... What, more than what May or anyone in Gen 6 got.

Still doesn't raise him above 'one of the worst rivals in Pokemon.' Also, good job Lily. You actually showed me something new. Took you only...50 minutes...

*Another captialism dig*

We get it Lily- You long to be locked into a gulag and then shot by a firing squad. Move on.

"What is it about Rock that makes it good for a first time Gym?"

That's the kind of thing a retrospective is supposed to SOLVE, Lily. You're supposed to be asking yourself 'Why did the developers choose to do this at this point instead of something else?' But so far, your video has been nothing but you either belly aching or you making half baked jokes.

Anyway- Rock is chosen to encourage the player to diversify their moveset as Rock resists Normal, the most common attacking type in the early game, as well as all of them being physically defensive, which counters most attacks in the early game as Physical Normal moves. It's also weak to Grass and Water, encouraging the player to experiment and understand type matchups better. The Fire problem is solved by either slapping the Fighting type onto the starter or giving it a Steel move in the case of FR/LG.

"Match Call is stupid! Before you could refuse everyone's numbers but now they get forcibly added and they bother you all the time!"

It's called 'world building' Lily. They call to make them feel like real people.

"The Macho Brace is dumb in the main game because you can't control what you fight in the main game so all your Pokemon become worse faster!"

... What?

First off- Wouldn't that make the Macho Brace a competitive focused item? Thus there being no real reason to bring it up?

Second- Yes, you can control what you fight. Go fight wild Pokemon with the Macho Brace. They'll give you the proper EVs if you care THAT much.

Third- EVs...can't make your Pokemon worse. They can be wasted but they are only ever buffs. And you don't need perfect EVs for the main game. Try proofreading.

"Team Magma/Aqua are good because you don't encounter them that often so they can concoct their plans!"

Lily, you just got done explaining why Maxie (and by extension, Archie in Sapphire) is a fucking moron for trying to erupt a volcano which would kill INNUMERABLE PEOPLE just to make land (or water) for Pokemon. (She says it's for people.)

By definition, they are not good just because there is less of them and thus they can make plans. It just means they have less time to fail those stupid plans.

"The Lavaridge Gym sucks because you have to navigate mud titles and which ones transport you and which ones are trainers are up to fate to decide!"

... Lily. If there are two titles right next to each other that seem to be blocking off more, distant titles that correspond to ones from above- they're probably trainers. Its very obvious which ones are trainers.

I found this out when I was EIGHT.

"Flannery stammers her intro which is dumb!"

Her character is that she's a newbie Gym Leader uncertain of what to do.

Story telling, Lily. A key feature of RPGs. Engage with it.

"Gardevoir broken because Special bulk and Calm Mind!"

A. This is a game for children Lily. Numerous Pokemon can sweep Gym Leaders.

And B. Fun Fact Lily- Most offensive Pokemon prefer high Speed over high bulk since cries are a thing. So if a bulky Psychic is broken, guess how monstrous a Psychic with say...10 extra Sp.ATK, 20 SP.Def and a HUGE increase in Speed would be.

... Oh right, that's GEN 1 ALAKAZAM. The same Pokemon you mocked as 'not being that strong'. Contradicting yourself AGAIN Lily.

"Hoenn has too many water routes, which are boring and annoying-"

Hub, I actually agree-

"-but everyone mock IGN!"

And there it is.

Lily, people mocked IGN both as a joke abd because they gave Ruby and Sapphire, objectively worse games, a 9.5.

"No one ever talks about how Pokemon uses music! They use good themes for the legendaries causing peoples in Ruby and Sapphire but not Emerald! Certainly not BW where N is fucking stupid or Zinna's theme is intense but not battle! The remakes ruined them!"

A- People bring up how Pokemon uses music all the damn time. The Area Zero theme was dissected for giving an atmosphere of entering a new world, unknown and dangerous waters and something completely foreign to everywhere else you went.

B-Lily, the remakes simply had cleaner OSTs. They sound very much the same. You even admit this as you call Omega Ruby's OST for Groudon 'like trying to escape a star going supernova'. A supernova. A term synomous with IMMENSE, INCONCIEVABLE HEAT.

and C-Ignoring N where you just go 'N bad!'- Zinnia's theme is intense because you're facing a Dragon Specialist, using a VERY dangerous Type of Pokemon, before rocketing into space to destroy a meteor threatening to kill everyone.

"Team Aqua and Magma aged well because they're charming! Not like other villains who just spout off philosophy!"

We get it, Lily. You don't pay attention.

Doesn't change the fact that you admitted that these one-note caricatures are so fucking stupid they didn't know fucking with primordial gods would cause issues. Or that exploding a volcano is BAD. That's bad writing Lily. You are praising bad writing.

"Why did you change Wally's Gardevoir to a Gallade? YOU MADEIT EASIER, SEXISTS!"

... Because they wanted to promote Mega Gallade. And they both represent Wally growing from a shy, insecure kid to a confident ACTUAL rival.

Gallade was made because it's a fucking knight guarding a lady, moving on.

"I was pleasantly surprised by Gen 3-"

Not surprised one of the blandest Gens got your approval, Lily. Considering your response to any game that tries to have any kind of ambition is to get pissy.

Well, let's go check Sinnoh.

[thiaquiche]

Feedback Fest 2024

Since the @transformativeworks is holding a Feedback Fest in honour of International Fanworks Day, I figured I’d join in the fun and put together my own reclist for the occasion! So, in no particular order, here’s ten fics I love and why you should read them! I’ve got a wide spread of fandoms here, so hopefully you’ll find something interesting. I have all of these fics downloaded, so if you’re seeing this in the future and a link to something you’re interested in ends up broken, just let me know and I’ll gladly send you a pdf.

Something’s Wrong with Danny Fenton Vol. I by Perfectly_Inconspicuous

Danny Phantom. Mature, Graphic Depictions of Violence, Gen. 55 065 words.

Danny Fenton.

The enigma of Casper High.

It's the first day of the winter semester when she notices him.

She notices him for what feels like the first time. Maybe because at this point he's the only alternative kid other than her.

Or maybe because boom, there he is: the locker next to hers.

--

A No One Knows AU where Danny transfers from a different school to Casper during Junior year and ends up befriending Sam and Tucker. Written for Invisobang 2021!

Why you should read it: This fic packs a wonderfully creepy, unsettling atmosphere that really makes this horror!Danny premise come alive (ba dum tss), and makes the development of his friendship with Sam and Tucker feel all the warmer by comparison. It’s incredibly gripping.

Soldier, Poet, King by Stargaze_Sunflower

Ducktales 2017. Teen and Up Audiences, No Archive Warnings Apply, Gen. 104 510 words.

Dewey has always felt like something was missing from his life. Something big. And really, it's just like him to get caught up in a kidnapping plot and stumble across the puzzle of his life on complete accident, and now he's got more pieces than he knows what to do with. Luckily, he's got help in the form of new friends, his moderate skills with a sword, and the determination to believe in the impossible.

This gives a whole new meaning to 'Found Family'.

Why you should read it: This fic is an awesome medieval fantasy romp, and it’s just plain fun.

Friendship Games by WhiteBAG

Milo Murphy’s Law. Teen and Up Audiences, Creator Chose Not to Use Archive Warnings, Gen. 42 662 words.

Milo and his friends enter the Friendship Games. Dakota and Cavendish time travel to fight the monster.

Why you should read it: Without saying too much, the way the time travel plot winds back on itself is just so much fun. Even now that I’ve left the fandom, and haven’t read this fic in a long time, I still find myself thinking about it.

More Than Legacy by PanellaDePonce

Pokémon. General Audiences, No Archive Warnings Apply, Gen. 11 637 words.

It was time at last for the 150th Annual Convention of Pokémon Sciences to begin. Every year, the brightest minds in the field would gather together to present their findings to an eager audience of burgeoning scientists and casual enthusiasts alike. 150 years ago it started in Jubilife Village, and today, the conference is held in Jubilife City.

Before the conference begins, however, many of the leading researchers gather together to argue and debate, verbally slap fighting and throwing around their theories and ideas. Lucas found this tradition tiring, annoying, and most of all, incredibly boring.

Little does he know, something very interesting is set to happen at the meeting. Something he wouldn't want to miss.

Why you should read it: This thing made me BAWL. I was fucking SOBBING. Waaaaaughhhhhhhhhhh

Give Me Healthy Coping, or Give Me Death by Prince_Enby

OMORI. General Audiences, No Archive Warnings Apply, F/M (past Hero/Mari) and Gen. 5420 words.

There was something weird about how Kel was acting, Hero thought. Hero's thoughts were all over the place these days, though, so that observation probably didn't mean anything.

Still, though, he was curious about that glint in his brother's eyes. It was the look of a man on a warpath - and all over a bowl of soup.

Weird indeed.

Why you should read it: This fic is chicken soup when I’m sad, and I wanna share the comfort, plain and simple.

Mari Suzuki’s Overly Busy Afterlife by ShardOfHope

OMORI. Teen and Up Audiences, No Archive Warnings Apply, M/M (Basil/Kel/Sunny), F/F (Aubrey/Kim), and F/M (Hero/Mari). 127 480 words.

Mari never left Sunny after the accident. She forgave him and promised she would stay until he was ready to tell the truth. Until he was strong enough.

Four years of staying with her gremlin shut in brother has made her slightly regret that promise. Well, more then slightly.

A retelling with a ghost, and a brother with no survival instinct.

Why you should read it: This fic is riotously funny. Like, wheezing on the floor funny. Rolling around, falling down the stairs and breaking your neck funny. (Yes I did have to force a stairs joke in there. Sue me, but sue me after you read this fic.)

Coming to Light by Candyland1030 [DeviantArt]

Professor Layton and the Unwound Future. PG. 2819 words.

What goes around comes around. Sooner or later, everyone has to pay the piper.

Why you should read it: This is my favourite fic for seeing Bill Hawks get his comeuppance. A delicious dose of justice for a guy who got off far too easily in canon.

Theo’s Surreal Mountain-Climbing Adventure by CelestialHorizons (TerminalMiraculosis)

Celeste. Teen and Up Audiences, No Archive Warnings Apply, Gen. 5519 words.

Madeline has been able to dash her whole life. She thinks this is rather mundane. Theo disagrees.

Why you should read it: Extremely funny depiction of speedrunning, also Theo is simply best boy. You agree. Read it.

An Empire of Ice by TimeCloneMike

Frostpunk. Mature, Graphic Depictions of Violence, Gen. 4621 words.

The Great Frost has come and gone. That was the easy part. Rebuilding human civilization? That's when things start to get difficult, even with automatons to do all the heavy lifting.

Why you should read it: Both oneshots are great, but I especially recommend the second chapter. The story of Project Legacy saving New Manchester in the actual game has always been touching to me, and this fic’s depiction of the rescue of New Manchester’s last scout gives me warm fuzzies every time. Both parts of this fic add a human element to the game’s more zoomed-out storytelling that I deeply appreciate.

Marital Bed, by MadameReveuse

Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask. Mature, No Archive Warnings, Multi (Randall Ascot/Angela Ledore/Henry Ledore). 3526 words.

A comedy in two parts.

The Masked Gentleman imagines all the ways in which Henry and Angela Ledore might have backstabbed him. Later, Randall sees it all with clearer eyes. Maybe his fantasy can still come true - in an altogether better, lovelier way. With himself included.

Why you should read it: I don’t normally talk about, let alone recommend, sexually explicit fics, but I read this one recently and just fell in love with the characterization. Considering sex in the context of Randall’s misguided hatred and Angela and Henry’s deceptive marriage adds an interesting layer to their whole *gestures* everything, and I found all of the headcanon ideas presented very plausible. However, warning for Azran Legacy spoilers offhandedly mentioned right at the beginning.

Bonus:

This awesome Miracle Mask AMV that has been so stuck in my head lately, lol. Editing’s great, song’s great, all around great. (Don’t watch unless you’ve finished Miracle Mask though, it’s spoilers.)

[maverickcanine]

What other OG chima characters have kids in your next-gen AU?

you just opened a huge can of worms LMAO this is a longpost.

i'm still in the process of figuring that out, but the ones i have are:

laval + li'ella: lucian, landyn, lux worriz + deceased: wynn eris + rogon (adopted): emory gorzan (adopted): gael crooler + unknown: crescent, caesar reegull (adopted): ravioli

i do want it to be stated that most of the pairings for nextgen aren't my preferred ships; just the ones i think follow canon the most. if i did a maverickverse nextgen, then it would be very different lol

cragger is missing from that list, but he's very involved in the lavella kids' lives. he's a close uncle because he and laval are inseparable. and while he has no kids of his own, he's married to another crocodile (that i'm still developing).

the important kids are: lucian, wynn, ravioli, gael, and emory (+ maybe crooler's twins?)

most of this is in collaboration with my friend, @koraydon, but they aren't active on tumblr very much, so it's mostly me talking about the characters i've made.

but here's ravioli! i'll make a separate post about her in the future (+ the other important kids, once i design them.) she's a white raven and a bit of an outcast within her tribe because she doesn't believe in stealing and thievery (the blasphemy!)

and these are crooler's twins; huge troublemakers, of course; have you seen their mother?? they're both 11 yrs old and stereotypical maniac twins.

eventually i'll also post voice claims for each of the nextgen characters. nextgen has been in hibernation since last march, so most of this stuff is being made up on the spot lol

also again, all the art in this post belongs to @koraydon!

[satohqbanana]

of the entire arcanium series, which story do you like the most?

(i know i know that’s like asking to choose a favourite child, but…)

which character arc resonates with you the most? which character do you think undergoes the most growth in the series? and then, which character do you think undergoes the most CHANGE in the series (good or bad)

i love your writing satoh and everything you create <3 can’t wait to hear your answer

Thanks for the ask again, Naveena! These are very good questions to answer.

As I've previously answered the first question before, let's move onto the character questions! I'll put the last one under cut because this is some big spoiler territory.

Character Arc I Resonate with the Most

Can't really say. I haven't really been a viewer to my own works. I'd need to step back and be a reader before I can talk about this. All I can think about my characters' character arcs are honestly sentiments like, "Oh, that sounds good!" or, "Wait no, not like that." I do have a character whose personal flaw I relate to and it's Ireus. He's very well-meaning and he has good rationale behind his conscious decisions, but his actions can hurt others. People don't always understand him or his intentions and he often struggles to express himself in ways that don't involve his preferred language: fists, sassy quips, or screaming. He did get milder along the way, and these issues got resolved more or less when he changed professions and entered an environment that appreciated his ways.

Character with the Most Growth

Aside from obviously Lyarshu, I'm gonna have to say it's Des. Des bloomed from being a wallflower who just about wanted to disappear and never be perceived because magic is taboo at home, to a confident person who diligently assumes the role of the secretary to the Head Mage, willingly experiments with magic for the betterment of society, and is always ready to help anyone who might need it. Des is my favorite among my Arcanium OCs and I'm proud to say that. No, I'm not saying any more because this is going into big spoiler territory. :)

Character with the Most Change

Big Mad Spoiler Here. Like Big Mad. Gracie. She starts out as a klutz and a crocodile-tears crybaby in Magia… and at the start of Liberatio she is considered the most fearsome politician and the worst mother of the year. There's a big disconnect there and I am all for it. You might think, "Uhh Satoh, anime next gen sequels have already told us you're not supposed to make the previous generation look bad just so you can make the next generation look good!" You're right. But Gracie fulfills a different role for the two stories. Before, in Magia, she was just a kid who was learning to like herself as a mage and her part in mage society. We get a mere glimpse of who she is in the prologue chapter, your judgment of her POV, her classmates' POV of her as their classmate, and the side story compilation. True, she develops throughout the story, but she was just a kid, a teenager doing teenager things, with some fun magicks on the side. LAST BIG SPOILER WARNING Now, in Liberatio, she has assimilated her identity as a gutsy and intimidating leader… and a bad spouse and parent. We get to know who she really is and what she can really do (or not do) through the eyes of her daughter, Rena, and through her friends, acquaintances, and the people whose lives she'd touched. Prior to the start of the series, Gracie essentially sacrificed her relationship with her then-husband and her daughter for the sake of two (or three) nations, and almost burned down her relationship with Des and Ireus too. Her sister and her right-hand man are still very loyal to her because they can separate "Gracie the person" and "Gracie the leader of a nation" pretty well, but for those who aren't used to politics, her actions are seen as less desirable. END BIG SPOILER Gracie's just meant to be a complex character, and I like her that way.

Current Tag List: @philosophika, @amaiguri, @thecomfywriter, @wyked-ao3

Feel free to ask to be tagged!

Also tagging @spideronthesun who is a Gracie fan.

[docaran]

Finally played and finished both SV DLCs, and the fans were so real when they described Scarlet and Violet as a game made with love but not time.

I absolutely loved the characters. Compared to previous games that got so much more development and interacted with each other, so it really felt like getting to know them as people rather than “an Elite 4 member” and “the NPC you talk to once.” This was especially true for battles; I really love the addition of mid-battle commentary and the unique dialogue some characters have when you bring plot relevant Pokemon into the fights.

There were parts of the story that felt rushed, but I think it was executed and tied up well in the Indigo Disk, and the characters really helped with that.

So. Many. References. The love for Gen 5 really showed in the Indigo Disk DLC, and even other generations. I loved finding (and reading about) all the different secret events and nods to characters and previous games. Personally, my favorite ones were the Unova gym leaders’ kids, the Meloetta secret, the Monochrome club room design, and all of the new emotes like Leon’s pose from SWSH and the z-move pose from SM.

But then there’s the issue of the bugs and graphics. Apart from that (not that it isn’t a glaring issue), here were some personal pet peeves of mine:

- It’s difficult to grind for BB points without the help of a group. I watched RTGame’s playthrough and was quite honestly envious of how he was able to collect points so fast because he had the help of viewers who joined his Union Circle. With how everything depends on BB points, I might just have to hop into a random group and hope that the others are there to get points like I am.

- Dialogue options. I can imagine that it would be difficult to implement more, but I struggle with reading tone so there were times where I picked “rude” dialogue options on accident. It really feels like that just added more dialogue options for comedic purposes. They don’t serve much purpose.

- They waited two DLCs to give us flight..

- I wasn’t really here for the Kieran conspiracies and I wouldn’t have liked it if they tried to attribute his genuine emotional crisis to a Pokemon anyway, but god I wish the Mochi Mayhem event had more serious tones to it rather than whatever that was.

Anyway, I’m glad Pokémon’s showing more love for its characters since they’re already so well designed and I hope that the decision to take more time before releasing the next game is a sign that they’re ironing out what could’ve been better about SV.