#what's way more important is stopping actively giving her power

[remxedmoon]

“the merciless cobra. its caustic venom can traverse any distance… as long as it stays out of danger.

…please, pay no mind to those ghastly stains. it must’ve been splashed with paint while my back was turned.”

reptile

1 power - 1 health - 3 blood

2 power - 3 health - 2 blood

sniper - you may choose which opposing space a card bearing this sigil strikes.

touch of death - when a card bearing this sigil damages another creature, that creature perishes.

hidden trait - gemmified

when a sigil is transferred to this card, it becomes gemmified. gemmified cards gain +1 power, +2 health, and -1 cost.

COBRADILE!! this was probably the most fun card to make out of all of them. also probably the prettiest card imo!!! writeup below!!

sniper and touch of death! pretty deadly combo. literally. you can just kill any card you please from any spot on the board. i was DEAD SET on giving her the sniper sigil. it just felt right.

GEMMIFICATION YIPEEE! this is a mechanic from act 3! but mox cards appear in act 2 as well. in base game inscryption, you need to have specific gem vessels on the field in order to activate the buffs (ruby for power, emerald for health, and sapphire for cost) but! mox cards and gem vessels aren’t really. in kaycee’s mod. and it would be super clunky to add them for a single card! so all you have to do is sacrifice a card’s sigils onto her. is this a little broken? maybe. but this is inscryption, literally everything is broken lol

^expanding on this, it still kinda fits lorewise? ka buans do compress their ashes into diamonds after all. let’s say that they compressed the creature into a diamond or something and that’s what’s powering her, idk

ok i’ll stop talking about the mox thing after this. both sif and odile were given mechanics from the other scrybes! siffrin requires bone tokens (grimmora) and odile has mox (magnificus). no sorry there’s nothing for p03. they don’t have computers in the isat world i think. i’m pretty sure.

initially i wanted to make her a stork or an ibis, but. all avian cards have the airborne sigil. which makes their attacks hit the opponent directly instead of their creatures. and that defeats the entire purpose of sniper. so she gets to be a spitting cobra! i think it’s more fun this way anyways. more fun shapes.

also this kinda spoils bonnie’s card a little but!! i put thought into the tribes too!!! the vaugardians (mirabelle, isabeau, and bonnie) are all from the hooved tribe! odile is a reptile and sif is tribeless because they’re outsiders. teehee.

ok patch time. she gets double strike, which makes her attack twice (as the name implies). i chose this in reference to memory of first strike (it just reminds me of it? idk) and also because it synergizes with sniper! you get to oneshot TWO cards in one turn! good god! odile really is merciless

that’s everything important about this card! i know this is long as hell but! that’s what happens when you introduce an entire new mechanic. i guess. anyways alt card art!!!

[threepandas]

Your Biggest Fan: Part 2

-Villian Yandere Izuku-

Did you know his Hero~ was blacklisted at twenty-six different agencies, for publicly calling them out on Quirkist policies they refused to change? The most recent was for blatant mutation Quirk discrimination. The lead hero not only ignored it! He PARTICIPATED! She blasted it EVERYWHERE~

He's going to lose his license.

There are entire CITIES where she's not welcome. Agencies that won't answer her calls. Step after stubborn step, ever forward, as she stands the only thing between the SUFFERING, the WEAK, and the endless SEWAGE that spews and spews their hate! Ah~♡

She's so COOL~♡

Her costume's super practical, you know? She got it designed over seas! You can really see the western influences! They like focus on protection first, THEN Quirk. Instead of the other way around! Not like the Japanese. We also focus on marketability when designing, where as she went into a tax funded Heroics system for her education.

It makes her look INTIMIDATING. Foreign. Vaguely militaristic. Ha ha! As though that's not what Heros ARE! What they have BECOME! But not Her~ oh no, no no no, SHE took their tools and made KINDNESS out of it!

Safe parks to play in! Eco-friendly lighting for roads at night! Donating time and money to old pre-quirk cultural heritage sites. So she can help preserve history and traditions! Because before Quirks? We were still PEOPLE. Our past is IMPORTANT.

Community and kindness, mercy and... and...!

He whines. Squirms in his chair. So cool! SO COOL~♡!

It's so hard to keep his hands to himself. To keep them respectful. He shouldn't-! He CAN'T-! But... ah~ look at how REGAL she looks! And in THIS photo? She looks so soft and kind? Giving a speech to kids~ He wishes it was him. He would listen for HOURS. It'd be amazing.

He bet he could ask SO many questions! And... and she'd answer ALL of them! She'd be so happy to have an active listener. Someone engaged. Attentive. He'd remember ALL her talking points and ask after each one~ They'd talk for HOURS. P-probably get thirsty. She notice the time.

Go "ah, look at the time, Izuku-chan! It's been so long! Getting so LATE! But I still want to talk to you! We should get dinner." And he'd say YES, of course!

He can't resist anymore. The thoughts, his fantasy, too much to endure. His eyes flick from photo to photo. Not enough, not yet, but soon... so they WILL be. He'll get MORE. Right now... right now he needs... ah! There. Graduation. Formal dress.

He can pretend it's a date~♡

All dressed up, just... just to meet HIM! He can barely breath at the thought. The audacity of it. She would NEVER. B..But he could dream, right? No one needs to know. What he IMAGINES. What he thinks about as his hands unbuckle his belt, drag his pants down and open wide.

As he TOUCHES.

Runs hands across his skin, up under his shirt and vest, down and across where he wants it most, like he's EXPLORING. Like he's someone else. Someone with gentle, powerful, hands. His back arches, hips lift, but he refuses to stop his teasing. He wants to be rough. Would want HER to be rough.

She would refuse him.

He... he just KNOWS she would. Would tell him everyone else has been rough enough. Their first time should be gentle~♡ Ah~

She would grind the tip until he couldn't STAND it, just like he is. Listen to him babble and beg. Hips bucking in her grip. Begging her to let him WORSHIP her. To slide to his knees between her legs and never come out. Use his tounge and his fingers to make HER feel good. Make her MELT. Over and over, forever~

Just the thought of it has him spilling into the fist of his hand. All but milking himself dry. It's not enough. His body rides the aftershocks of pleasure and still... drinking in HER, plastered up all around his desk, brought up on his screen, it's not ENOUGH.

He needs audio. Videos. Enough for that high end deep fake program he had made. He... he could make her say ANYTHING. The thought sends a sharp, shuddering, jolt of pleasure through him. He could have SO MANY videos of their dates and... and intimate moments and casual conversations! All before he gets the courage up to TALK to her!

It's perfect~♡

Like a scrapbook of their lives to come! W-well, a FANTASY scrap book... Cool as she is? Busy as she is? She probably doesn't even have TIME to date. And what could a deku like him even OFFER? But... but ah~♡

He can DREAM can't he?

Look out for her, like she looks out for everyone else?

He's her number one FAN! They didn't talk for very long... but he can already TELL. He IS. She's the BEST. And she's gonna be his number one too~

[laurenkmyers]

once again, i got thoughts

i think the dad story line was played beautifully. it made the most sense to me. the threat of the dad being a murderer and killing someone rak came to love and rely on (uncle doctor) instead of having him actually be a murderer was brilliant storytelling.

it not only highlighted how "normal" men can be just as scary, just as terrifying, and just as manipulative as "real" criminals can be, but it shows a deep-rooted, human aspect of real trauma and how powerful words can be, and how they're used to manipulate and influence someone. especially someone as young as rak was when his father started his abuse.

rak was abused physically once as far as we know, and from what the story told us, the mum took that one incident and finally said enough and got her kids away. so as far as we know, the physical abuse was a one time thing and it never happened again. but what didn't stop was the emotional abuse. rak was so traumatised by that one incident that he created a monster in his head (and dont get me wrong, the man is a real monster) that was actually far worse. because now he has even more power over rak. because rak thinks his dad has the power to not only control him and his family, but that he also has to power to destroy anyone who might come into his life, and most importantly, anyone he loves. and that's the most terrifying thing of all. it's why he's convinced himself love doesnt exist, because if it does, his dad will just rip it away again.

jak uses his words to get exactly what he wants, from both the mother and the son. it's probably how he got the mother in bed and in that contract in the first place. he's good at what he does. and is still being paid handsomely by both of them. so he stays away, for the most part. until he can gain MORE from them, and with the cousins scheming he sees an in. but also finding out about mahasamut, and that they have 'an arrangement'. he probably thought, 'out with the old and in with the new'. he thinks mut is just a younger version of him, moving in on what he deems to be *his*

but the most important thing to take from this part of the story line, for me anyway, is that words are power. it's why rak being a fiction writer is so fucking important. because he wants to control the narrative. he wants the power that was stolen from him as a child back. and writing is his only form of release.

it's also why we see rak respond so differently to mut's dominance than he does jak. because jak uses dominant words to scare and manipulate rak, and rak retreats so easily back into the shell of his former traumatised baby self that he can't see a way out but to obey and listen, but jak's actions actually speak that of a weak, pathetic little man who wouldn't know real power if it punched him in the face.

cue mahasamut.

he uses words to soothe, and comfort, and to show the world that positivity, determination, and kindness reach far greater heights. but it's his actions that speak to who he truly is. and i think this is what scares rak the most, not in the same way his dad scares him, but mut scares him because he's not used to men actively showing him, time and time again, what real love is.

and next week we're finally going to see the story shift back to our beautiful, wonderful, walking green flag mahasamut, and the struggles he's facing. because he's the most selfless character of all. he loves rak so fiercely and won't want to give him up for anything. but he's also built a beautiful life for himself. he has his own dreams, his own aspirations, and it's time we come full circle with our relationship and see how rak can prove, through actions not words, how much mut means to him too. i'm beyond excited to return to that gorgeous island i just know they're both going to call home one day.

god, i think this show is brilliant. i really do. is it perfect? no. but i never expected it to be. but what it is, is real, and powerful, and beautiful, and messy.

[cairavende]

Worm Arc 21 thoughts:

Well that was sure a turn around from last arc's "I'm going to rally the students so I don't get captured."

I know my daughter has made some . . . mistakes, but I'm not a fan of her turning herself into the openly corrupted and also bad at their job parahuman cops.

(Parahuman cops as in "cops who police parahumans" not "cops who are parahumans")

Like look, I get it. A precog told her to cut ties. I can't say it's wrong to follow that advice. But she could do that in a lot of ways that don't involve the PRT.

The second not from Dinah just being "I'm sorry" is brutal.

But before she can turn herself in she has to absolutely fucking crush the PRT/Protectorate for outing her civilian identity.

I love how fucking simple taking out the entire PRT headquarters was for Skitter and her girlfriends!

Who needs anyone else? Bitch brings muscle, Tattletale brings information, Skitter brings battlefield control. Lesbian polycule power activate!

Was it an overboard response? Maybe. Was it badass how she just took out so many heroes and PRT troops with ease? Yes.

Poor Dovetail has one of the most embarrassing introductions ever. First time we see her and Skitter is wiping the floor with her and thinking about her "crummy power".

God I hate Tagg so much that he makes me miss Piggot. Like she was absolutely terrible, but he's worse! And making me miss Piggot makes me hate Tagg even more!

Kindly old cemetery groundskeeper who doesn't pay much attention to the news! Never a bad trope.

They gave Butcher 15 to Cherish???!? Like sure they give all the reasoning for it but like ... it just seems like a really high risk situation. If she ever gets out it's going to suck. A lot.

THE SCENE AT RACHEL'S PLACE OH MY GOD!

SHE IS BUILDING A COMMUNITY! I LOVE HER SO MUCH!

Rachel just over here finding everyone like her and giving them a place. Legit crying. Look at that fucking growth!

(Also shout-out to my wife for having basically done the same thing. It's how I met her. It's how I met one of my girlfriends. And so many other important people. So ya. I fucking love this.)

Also you ever like a girl so much you try to give her an entire planet? Cause Taylor sure has.

"Rachel I don't want you to be sad when I'm gone so you can basically have this whole other planet we found."

GGGGGGGGGGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!

Imp let Regent take control of her . . . welp. Like, I'm not really surprised by this. And in a different situation I wouldn't even really find it that weird. I'd do it with the right person. But combination of age and the situation they are in and Regent being Regent annnnnd ya. Welp.

I did love how much of the interactions between Skitter and Regent/Imp really was just her struggling with parenting two teenage supervillains.

IT'S NOT SO EASY, IS IT CHILD?!? MAYBE YOU'LL CUT ME SOME SLACK AND LISTEN TO MY ADVICE IN THE FUTURE!

(She won't)

I fucking LOVE that she made the bible themed hero kneel. Absolutely fucking amazing.

Oh shiiit, Skitter just flat dropped that guy multiple stories. Is she going to far?

. . . wellll, these guys do literally worship the Endbringers so I guess a little aggression is ok.

Damn, Valefor sure has some fucked up powers, I wonder what they're gonna do abou-

. . .

. . .

. . . . . .

. . . wellll, these guys do literally worship the Endbringers so I guess a little aggression is ok.

. . .

Yep.

. . .

. . . I think I preferred when she just used a knife.

So anyway

Not a fan of Taylor having more alone time with Brian (not because I have any issue with the idea, but because I think she needs to be focusing on her girlfriends), but I am a fan of her using bugs to clean her dress and fix her hair afterwords while Brian just kinda sits there and has to contemplate what he has gotten himself into. Queen shit.

Flechette was SO mad that Parian wasn't "cute" anymore, I couldn't stop laughing. Sure, she said "You had to take the playfulness away? The joy?" but we all know what she meant. Of course, it's won't take very long for the new costume to get Flechette's attention. (I have to mention that this is basically exactly what I said when reading the scene, and the interlude a few chapters later just proved me right.)

Flechette is just so hopelessly gay

Miss Militia is actually getting very mild respect from me right now. Like, she's still working for the cops but she is actually agreeing to silently push against some things. Now, she says she doesn't have more power then that but she is a very well known hero and if she would publicly speak out about certain things there is a decent chance she could do more. That would of course be putting her position at risk though. Which is why she only gets very mild respect right now.

OH MY GOD I DIDN'T JUST GET TO SEE TATTLETALE'S MURDER WALL, I GOT TO SEE HER ENTIRE MURDER ROOM!

Fucking multiple bulletin boards with threads connecting them. Everything color coded. Reference numbers to files with more details. Multiple TV screens, computer with constant information dump. God. It's like a literal representation of the inside of my mind while I read Worm. SO MANY THINGS TO FIGURE OUT!

I love a lot of characters, but Tattletale always stays near the top. She gets me.

And from the fucking joy of getting to see that setup I come crashing the fuck down.

Like, I have completely figured out at this point that Skitter is turning herself in. I know what is coming. She's had her moment with everyone else and Tattletale is the last one.

And then. Then just . .

No goodbyes.

😭😭😭😭😭

HOW DARE THIS BOOK MAKE ME FEEL MY OWN FEELINGS!! I'M TOO GAY FOR THIS!

I do find it hysterical that the PRT officers working the front lobby don't all recognize Skitter on sight. Fucking gas station employees will manage to keep track of people with pictures on the "bad check" board, you'd think the PRT could manage to have their officers keep track of the face of one of the most well know villains in the country, if not the world, who also controls their city. PRT is forever bad at their job.

That one guy did notice her eventually though, so I guess he gets to be employee of the month.

The Number Man interlude thoughts:

The inside of this mans mind is one of the sexiest things I have ever seen and the constant reminder of the horrible things he is helping Cauldron do to all their prisoners was very helpful because it was the only thing keeping me from deciding that The Number Man is a perfect soul that can do no wrong.

I have no illusions here. I am weak. This man is a monster and I should not have any trouble remembering that.

But fuck shit fuck oh god fuck I don't even need him to touch me. I just need him to TALK to me. I just need him to get high with me and let me pick apart how his mind works!

He understood numbers, and through them, he understood everything.

That line. Absolute killer. Fucking take me.

. . . anyway yes it's a very interesting interlude!

Loved seeing more of the inner workings of Cauldron

I very much want to see the final level of their basement that only the Doctor goes into because I said that I thought Cauldron had a dead (for values of dead that are non-definable) higher dimensional being in their basement back during arc 15 and now I know for sure that there is something down there. I wanna know if I was right!

Oh my god he was friends with Jack

"Friends"

Look I make everything gay ok? It's not my choice! Sure it means I get to enjoy every tiny bit of Wolfspider and Chatterbug cause I see all of it. But it also means I see the ships I don't want to think about!

I men what was I supposed to think when Jack said “We can live this. Together. Every waking second…”?

Gay

Parian interlude thoughts:

And speaking of gay!

Fucking Flechette just full blown "Fuck all of this I want you to tell me what to do for the rest of my life!"

Full U-Haul lesbian.

GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!

This is Parian's new costume having an effect.

Just so gay. I love it.

Also Bitch just so fucking ready to break Skitter out. So fucking gay.

And the incredible loyalty, which is gonna hurt if she ends up feeling betrayed by Skitter.

Still gay though.

Tattletale, basically without powers, just completely giving Accord the "fuck off, we're in charge" was amazing. All she had to do was promise to consider his binders and he was all in. This poor man just wants somebody to read his ideas! He's like a aspiring screenwriter just begging people to read his script.

[riverssongs13]

First, let's just get this out of the way for I'm still seething about the storytelling mess that was Familiar By Thy Side (and parts of Darkest Hour). I want to appreciate the fact that this masterpiece of an episode is more than 10 minutes shorter than the previous one, which had so many unnecessary parts; this half hour of an emotional roller coaster ride has done so much more to progress the ENTIRE show's plot. We finally pieced the puzzle of Lilia's kookiness and her "jumps". We got so much more Teen lore from this than the Teen episode itself. We now have resolution to all the (previous) trials, Alice's… state, Rio's real identity, Jen's importance… We even dealt with the damned Salem Seven as a bonus. So many things happened but it was not overwhelming at all. If this were a suit I'd say it's bespoke indeed.

Now, what I truly loved about this episode is how it was able to paint a non-linear narrative with so much finesse, with each twist and turn taking us to different parts of a single timeline, without making it nauseating, all while pulling the threads to secure the stitches in place and make sure the seams are tight without it puckering. Like embroidery that adds patterns on different areas, we finally sew it all up to see the final tapestry.

The whole fandom has definitely theorised all about how Lilia's weird "inserts" are connected, each episode giving us more pieces to make sense of. But of course it feels infinitely better seeing it ourselves, and how they make up a whole linear timeline in Lilia's mind-POV, while Agatha and the gang are left confused with the breadcrumbs of phrases left for them at different intervals. I absolutely loved how this time discrepancy was used. No more boring-ass unnecessary flashbacks filled with drivel. This time, the past is completely enmeshed with the present, and is used to decide on what's needed to be done to get the desirable future outcome.

This "time is non-linear, it exists simultaneously at all points" phenomenon has certainly been used in countless other media (Fringe and its Observers come to mind), but I love how actively Lilia used it. Her being in that tea-leaf reading lesson held so much significance to her as a Trial Subject, as a Coven Member, and as an Individual Witch. Her time in the gazebo reminds me of The Time Traveller's Wife; existing in all the times, getting sent and pulled back and sent again.

That gazebo was both her prison and her escape. Being stuck in that place made her think her life is a rigid series of unfortunate events, and she can't do anything but be helpless in the face of tragedies that befall everyone she ever cares about. Having had the power to see the future yet be unable to prevent her original coven's death perpetuated her self-depreciation, thus she spent 450-ish years giving in to the usual witchy tropes and misconceptions (the palm reading and tarot tents and the minor scams here and there, but a girl's got bills, ya know), even if it hurts her in the process.

So then, prison AND escape, right? Being tethered to that specific point in time, with her mentor guiding her path to self-rediscovery, was crucial to Lilia's ability to escape her shackles, because she needed to realise she put the shackles on herself. Having a powerful but dangerous gift and being actively afraid of it is quite the self-fulfilling prophecy of doom. You're scared so you stop using it altogether but then you can't control it so all that suppression does more harm than good (looking at you, Charles. What you did to Jean was cowardice. Also, hello? Elsa??). Lilia exclaiming "I was bad at tea leaves" at her literal first day of training might just have been the reason why she spent her life believing she's bad at it. She planted the very idea in her brain (Inception? lol).

This whole forward and back travel from the Road to the Gazebo is instrumental to Lilia coming to terms with the idea that time for her does not move in a straight line. Her confession to Jen, paired with her mentor's wise words, makes her admit that she does, in fact, have a problem. First step to recovery and all that. This then leads to her unravelling the next layer of her issues, which is death to all she holds dear. Granted, she has seen so much death within her lifetime. 450 years of life would do that to you. Something she cannot possibly control.

But that's the thing, isn't it? She was never supposed to control anything. Her job as a Trial Subject, a Coven Member, and an Individual Witch is to SEE. See the trial with the eyes of 450 years simultaneously happening, the heart of someone who wants to protect her coven, and the power of a witch who can walk through the threads of time's tapestry. Once she sees that, and once she accepts that Death is not a Bad Thing, and once she lets go of control, the pieces started to fall into place.

Which then makes her SEE that she's the Traveller. This tarot reading is about her, and she has been sprinkling the answers throughout her timeline, waiting to be plucked by the Awakened Calderu of Now. Give credence to who she is, and her power that Must Not Be Feared. Recognition that she needs her Coven in order to succeed. Acceptance for what she has lost along the way. Welcoming the path ahead no matter where it leads her. Embracing heartbreak, sorrow, and grief. Undertaking miraculous transformation. And finally, the beginning of the end, the end of the beginning.

How fitting is it that we see the start and realise it was actually the end? The fall, initially thought as something dangerous, was in fact just part of the journey. Death, once feared, now embraced like an old friend. Something that perpetuates the cycle. The past, shrouded in darkness, now illuminating the path ahead.

So now we see, she wasn't actually falling. If you ask me, she was flying. Flying to that gazebo in a garden somewhere in Sicily, 450 years ago, about to start her very first lesson in reading tea leaves. Her mentor saying, "Let us begin", and her ultimately saying, "I loved being a witch".

[my-hyperfixation-hell]

FONTAINE ACT 2 SPOILERS [] THEORY ON THE SECOND TRIAL

Arlecchino tampered with the Oratrice, somehow, because she wanted Tartaglia taken down. In true Fontaine style, here's my line of reasoning, if it pleases the court; We know the Harbingers don't exactly all have the best opinions of one another, and it's stated both that she has her own agenda separate from what the Fatui as a whole are up to, and that Tartaglia isn't very popular among his fellow Harbingers. Not to mention, Tartaglia's voiceline, "About the Knave", is him talking about how unreliable she is, saying "If she stood to benefit from betraying others, she'd turn against the Tsaritsa in a heartbeat.". Tartaglia is a pretty upfront person unless he really has to lie, so it's likely Arlecchino knows he feels this way about her, and worried that his being in Fontaine would get in the way of her work there. It's stated that she has permission from the Tsaritsa to go forward with her plan once she has the Gnosis, but what if she wants to do something she knows the Tsaritsa wouldn't approve of? Something outside the agreed upon terms? The last thing she'd need is another harbinger there to stop her and alert the Tsaritsa. Ajax doesn't like her and never backs down from a challenge, so I'm sure she knows she can't threaten or bribe him into going along with her.

Therefore, what does she do instead? Frame Tartaglia. Killing him outright might not be possible, either because Arlecchino isn't strong enough to do it (remember, it's been revealed there's more to the Harbingers' rankings than sheer strength, and Tartaglia is described as their fighter, their "vanguard"), or, perhaps the more likely of the two options, or at least the bigger factor, the Tsaritsa wouldn't allow it. But... The Tsaritsa can't possibly hold her accountable because Tartaglia went and got arrested in Fontaine, right? Lyney admitted to going to check out the Oratrice, and honestly, who knows if he was telling us the truth when he said he didn't tamper with it. But I think, if my theory about Arlecchino's involvement is correct, there are three possibilities; Lyney tampered with the Oratrice under Arlecchino's command and lied about it, Lyney tampered with the Oratrice but does not know he did so (this would potentially require Arlecchino to have a means of wiping/altering his memory, so I think we can discard this possibility for now), or Lyney was telling us the truth, and the Oratrice was sabotaged through some other means.

After all, in the trailer, there was some pretty heavy symbolism about Arlecchino using the magic show and the twins as a distraction for her own means. This could be exactly what was meant by her pushing over the fake twins in the trailer while talking about diversions. Perhaps she sent Lyney to sabotage it, or perhaps this whole mess was her way of causing the necessary diversion to sabotage it herself while everyone else was busy with the trial. I really, really do want to believe Lyney that he's told us everything he knows, but he lied to us once before, and I can completely see why he would keep this to himself. I do, however, think it's more likely that Lyney and Lynette are ignorant to Arlecchino's plans here, and that all she used them for was a diversion to get time to tamper with the Oratrice. With everyone focused on them, she was free to attend to her plan.

It's important to note here too, we never do get told why Tartaglia was being tried at all. There really doesn't seem to be a reason to think it could possibly be him. After all, the disappearances began twenty years ago. I think it's safe to bet Tartaglia has not been active in Fontaine for twenty years, even without having a canon answer to exactly how old he is. But if someone were to, say, give an anonymous tip, or leverage the power and influence of a Fatui harbinger, she could've easily gotten suspicions turned to Tartaglia without revealing herself, perhaps by coercing someone else into coming forward with the accusation in her stead, planting some sort of evidence... something. Furina and Neuvillette, not having any reason before now to have paid attention to Tartaglia, wouldn't come to these same conclusions that the Traveller can, as someone who knows Tartaglia, or even we in the audience, who know the lore, but even if they could, would have a duty to try him regardless. They don't actually need to believe Tartaglia did it, as long as the Oratrice prints out that 'guilty' verdict. He also hasn't been giving himself the best image, both by being a Harbinger and constantly pestering everyone and anyone with power to fight him.

Put all this together, and you get my theory; Arlecchino manipulated the Oratrice to declare Tartaglia guilty under the cover of the magic show murder trial, then personally pulled the strings to get Tartaglia arrested, knowing it didn't actually matter whether or not the logic held up, so long as the Oratrice declared a guilty verdict.

I do have a second, backup guess, however. That backup theory goes as follows; Marcel's experiments were funded by the Fatui, for whatever reason. Somehow, the Oratrice knows this, even though Furina and Neuvillette seem not to. Because Tartaglia is a harbinger, it declared him guilty, even though he knows nothing of it. Maybe Ajax, the person, is innocent, but Tartaglia the Harbinger is a representation of the Fatui, and the Fatui are guilty.

A final note; I wonder if Ajax had some inkling this could happen, and that's why he chose to give the traveler his Vision? If he'd had it on his person, it probably would've been seized when he was arrested. A Vision is an important possession, and we've seen firsthand in Inazuma what happens to someone when it's taken from them, something he probably knows about. It's possible that Ajax gave it to us for the exact reasons he said he did, but it's also possible that the traveler was just the safest place for it in the meantime.

I think this really hinges on whether or not Tartaglia was faking surprise or not at his guilty verdict. There's a chance the reason why he was so eager to leave without a verdict being drawn was because he knew it would be guilty, but I'm leaning towards the idea that he was genuinely shocked, and it's just a coincidence that he gave his Vision to us.

If you've made it this far through my sleep deprived rambling, hi, I hope they made sense! How did you like the quest? Any thoughts on my theories? Objections?

[nonbinarypirat]

Hello! I really like your character analysis from m!ik. I wanted to ask you what do you think of Amerie? And her influence on Iruma? And their relationship?

Great question! Okay, I’ll go in order of your questions since you have a few for me :)

Okay, so I have issues with how Ameri is written on the character, some of the few issues I have with Nishi’s writing thus far. But before I talk about the negatives I want to focus on the positives of Ameri and her character because I do think she has a lot of potential that I hope we get to see! Ameri is a classic capable but soft character type that we see in both her romance fantasies but also her deep care for her fellow students. She isn’t just a student president because of the prestige or power it could give her, it’s because her ideal is for every demon to be proud of themselves and their authentic selves. And this is a quality in her that I find deeply profound and beautiful. She’s proud of herself and she wants others to be proud of themselves as well. And what I like about Iruma and Ameri is that she encourages him to strive for more, more than he ever could have dreamed of in the beginning. And he makes her enjoy herself more rather than overworking herself. He makes her be still more, stop to appreciate the little things. She also has the power to inspire others, a nature born leader, and one that is willing to do anything for her fellow students. Not to mention she has given her fellow student council members a place to belong and by doing so, they have deep respect and loyalty to her. And for demons who are inherently selfish and idealistic, this says a lot. They aren’t with her because of her strength, they care for her and I think that speaks volumes in itself.

What I have a problem with is how much her growth is tied to iruma. I think in this Nishi failed at making her an independent character. For instance, we don’t get to see her work towards rank 7, which would help her in her main ambition. We know she wants to take over for her dad, but we don’t know why that’s so important to her yet. And we don’t get to see the steps she takes towards that goal. Her growth is her progress in her relationship with Iruma and I think that’s a let down. Like I said, I love how she inspires and pushes iruma to be a better version of herself. I enjoy that a lot about their relationship. But I don’t find myself interested at all in the romance aspect of the two, mostly because of how they met each other. The trope is that in so many animes and mangas (and the romance genre in general) have two characters run into each other and instantly fall for the other. They went for the trope, we had some laughs about it, but then it kind of just… stuck around? It’s making fun of the clique while also adhering to it and to me it just didn’t land. I think for the joke to work and to make the relationship flow better, the immediate attraction should have quelled and from there a more slow burn of feelings for Ameri. I think if she didn’t become so Iruma crazy so soon into the story, it could have made a more compelling relationship compared to the current one we have. Right now, besides motivating each other I don’t see much in the way of their relationship? I think it’s also hard because we see so little of her in the actual plot and story so the relationship feels like it’s going at a snail’s pace while also going too fast when we do get to see them interact again to make up for the lack of Ameri. It’s weird, they’ve gone on three or four dates (or at least, we can categorize them as dates even if both characters haven’t called it that) but at the same time it’s like nothing has happened for them. I guess besides Ameri realizing her feelings, Iruma blushing when hugging Ameri, and the talk with Henri. I wish the relationship was more friendship focused or the feelings took longer to develop. Because she’s a busy woman and she’s a year above Iruma, we don’t see her actively take part of the plot often and it just makes it hard to get to know more personal stuff about Ameri.

This isn’t to say I’m a Ameri x Iruma hater, I just don’t find their relationship a fun part of the story. I do also admit to having a bias for the love trio when it comes to Iruma ships. But I do hope that the relationship develops more in an in-depth way because I could see her and their relationship becoming more interesting if Nishi takes the time to write her (in my opinion) better.

[majorproblems77]

ITS LU UPDATE TIME!!!

AND IT IS ALL ABOUT SKY AND IM SO EXCITED :DDDDD

You know what that means! It means a long post by me! :D

Cant wait to be excited about my blorbo for like 30 minutes, so sit get some popcorn and like some earplugs cause i will try to contain my screaming but I've been waiting for more Sky stuff and I'm so excited!!!!

For point, and because I keep forgetting, all the panels I'll be talking about belong to JoJo and @linkeduniverse

Let's do this!

Alright lets get this out of the way first, I love some parallels right, So as per usual, if I need a panel from anything prior I'll let you know where it's from!

So what do you think he asked him.

Hey sir! Have you seen a guy with a big flag on his back going way to fast come through there?

Man is just like, oh yeah he went that way past the forge that your other weird fellows were at earlier.

He run, Then he hero stop. Power pose activated, target acquired. Then he run some more

Run my blorbo run!

Genuinely interested in what exactly this is, Is it a map? Is it a list of places? Is it a paper with time shift shenanigans in it?

I'm not versed in the postman, Is this normal, or did he do this cause he heard Sky and wanted him to think he was waiting?

This face has be dead. (/pos) I love him so much my dear blorbo its been too long since we saw you last.

Putting this together for 1 reason

Postman is a dick, Sky was so close, That can't be more than 10 or so metres at most. Poor man ran across Town out of town to catch up to you for you to go sprinting off into the woods, and my man is full on Olympic sprinting to deliver this mail geesus.

Also, the compulsory return of the king 🧍, Sky is the king of this pose and will not be beaten. Although Legend comes pretty close.

God the expressions in this update are top tier, Sky is just so expressive. Right now, Man is thinking why he does this to himself.

I'm fucking cackling, this art is amazing and Jojo's sister did an amazing job. Like I feel like I can hear this picture with that teasing tone that my siblings would use on me when we were younger. God I love it.

So even though Sky is looking towards Legend here, so I'm totally under the impression that Legend said Wahhhh, and Hyrule said I cant run. As Hyrule was with wars When they got split up initally. Poor Sky, man has become the butt of jokes. Im glad Four is giving them a look, He doesn't look impressed. Its okay Sky, you've got a friend in Four behind you. :D

War's is the real MVP of this arc in my opinion, Man has been in charge of the ragtag chain while Time has been out of action looking over Twilight. He's at the end of his tether.

Part of me wonders if this is going to impact his fighting going forward? Maybe he'll slip up because he's so stressed. He knows not all of them are knighted. These heroes he is with are NOT soldiers and he can't treat them as such.

And this sentence. Don't Interrupt! sounds like he is scolding rowdy recruits, rather than fellow heroes.

Which if you think about it, Sky is giving essentially a scouting report here, He scouted ahead and has returned to speak about his findings. War's is a captain, in his era he's a commanding officer. He's taken reports of this kind before.

Having a panel with Time, Wild and Twilight in Gives me more life than i think i give it credit for. (I am in the crowd that there's a family connection between these three.)

It's also nice to see Wild, like genuinely smiling.

Moving on

Hero pose again! :D

I love this man

These panels are very important to me so give me a moment while I explain.

Sky probably has her words engrained in his mind. You can see the questioning look, and thinking. "Is this going to work?"

That eternal dream That he's talking about, he knows her power is faded, but he's going to try anyway. I just didn't think he would use it to track what I can only assume is the postman.

It's really nice to have Sky's relationship with the master sword put on display. It means a lot to me and has brought me great Joy through this update.

He cares about her. And even if she can't talk to him anymore. He still trusts her to lead him true.

And this panel breaks my heart! Something inside of him probably really hoped Fi would speak to him or give him more of an indication. Sky looks so sad.

I just wanna hug him, and tell him it'll be alright. He's probably thinking about turning around at this point. Maybe he's thinking about how some members of the chain perceive Fi.

A soulless weapon.

(Or maybe im thinking too much into this)

The way his faith is restored!

Fi did lead him! She did! She's still there somewhere, and his shock! Oh my boy. My sweet blorbo,

And having used like super zoom on that last panel, MY BOY IS SMILING! :D

RUN BLORBO RUN I BELIEVE IN YOU!

(Also appreciation for the full body shot's we've got of Sky from this update, I love it so much I love him so much.)

Did I go hunting for the references, Yes I Did.

I think the following area is the area where they pull Twilight too, rather than the battle field and he then moved on from here to get to the battle field.

From sunset pt4

The pillar behind Sky has the only slant I can think of. It looks to be the same angle, but that could just be me.

If it is that location, it might be closer to that battlefield than we originally (Or at least I originally) assumed.

(If you've got any other places let me know!)

God i love him

Blorbo beloved! Is about as shocked as i am with the whole Mailman thing.

The confidence of this man is unreal. He's ready, he's moving he's going. He's going and ain't going to stop.

Me absolutely yelling at how this portal looks, it so ANGRY, But we know the Shadow is pissed right now. And if the shadow is making these portals and he's angry. I think the chain might be in for a surprise as they move on to the next location.

Which if I have to be honest. I think is going to be Skyloft. I think we are moving into a Sky arch, having had a Twilight Arc. (I also really want to see Skyloft in this universe, and there's an opportunity here. We've had more master sword things. We've had Sky content. who knows where Jojo will take this next, but I'm excited either way.)

Finally back to the chain! :D

The gremlins return :D

Wind's little 3:< face as he's thinking is giving the energy of an upcoming detective arch, He is thinking and he is thinking HARD okay.

Poor Sky. Man has been running around doing all the hard work while the rest of them just enjoy themselves. Hyrule especially is kinda like 'Ohhh... our bad...'

It's actually a kinda guilty look, maybe he feels a little bad about the teasing from earlier?

Now i gotta mention the potion thing, cause its just so damn funny not too. Sky my blorbo slow down you are gonna choke on the stamina potion.

But.

I want to focus on War's here.

And Wild too.

These two. These two are important.

Wild has gone from happy and chill vibes to Oh shit real quick.

After everything he put into the Shadow, while the shadow was injured and watched as the thing exploded. It just decided to come back or something. And Wild, here I imagine is thinking, "How was that not enough..."

Now Wars.

War's is Stood not looking at anything, In fact, I think he's looking past Time. The last thing he said was a two word scolding but apart from that he's been awfully quiet. Now he looks like he's thinking. He's closed off, protective.

The only time I can see where he does this is when he's in what I'm going to call, 'Captain mode.' So, When he's flicked something in his head that tells him he has to be a knight.

He dosent do it often, in fact from what I can see he does it 4 other times.

In order

Devine dark reflections pt 8 - when he's talking about knighthood with Sky and Hyrule

Sunset pt11 - When talking about Wild, and the fact that he's left

Sunset pt13 - When speaking to Twilight about pulling his own weight

Dawn pt 2 - when Twilight is talking about the team they are.

And now here in Dawn 7 - Where they are discussing the fact that an enemy they fought escaped or survived.

All conversations I would assume a captain would have to have with his men at one point or another. I wonder what He's thinking here. It's got me thinking.

Woah, So this took me longer than I thought. I am on the 4-hour mark now. Lmaoooo

Hope you enjoyed it! Thanks for listening to me ramble for like 20 minutes.

And just remember

Sky is the sweet bestest blorbo beloved and I love him. :D

Thanks for coming to my tedtalk.

[terraco-07]

HSBC direction and character writing

So the team has released the writer's commentary early to the public most likely because they know how inflammatory the last update is/has been and wanted to get the reasoning behind it out there. Going to be going through it piece by piece here. Disclaimer: None of my opinions and thoughts are directed at the people as individuals and any criticism is directed at the writing itself. With that said, lets start off. Haven saying “this is the update where we’re gonna see if people are really rockin’ with us or not.” Lmao yep and I can assure you that I'm not one of them. I think we're seeing the end results though of a years bleeding fandom here though. Most people who enjoyed Homestuck either didn't read the epilogues or HS2 because they knew it was something they wouldn't like and didn't care for the direction of taking away the kids victory and giving them some new battle to fight while hurting each character. Those remaining are primarily people who are curious, neutral, or liked the official releases after Homestuck ended. Among them I'm sure a fair amount have liked this because this is already a work catered to them and what they want for better or worse. Anyways, moving on. So the next part just goes over everyone liking Yiffy and her getting a voice and all that, not much to comment on here. Which is a non issue except still making Rose and Jade call their kid a type of porn and keeping that was such a choice, but hey silly candy timeline right? Okay moving on to the conversation that matters. Okay starting with Floral: "Kanaya has long earned this confrontation and she’s not going to accept anything less than the truth." JAMES: This is the funniest line in Homestuck. This is so fucking funny because she gets cut off half way through and then the you fucked my wife being memed to hell in back both took any bite out of it and visibly made me cringe to read. Kanaya is mad here but there are other ways to write it. Would have loved to see a rant about "If you loved me so much Jade why would you betray my trust? Why would you not speak to me. Now you choose to spit in my face like this?" Etc etc. I may genuinely re-write every Kanaya part in this log at some point. I did do an alt version already but that's neither here nor there. Compliments for the art which deserve it! BUT FOR THE LOVE OF GOD STOP GOING "Pretty art" AND EXCUSE BAD WRITING. I've had to read "I'm just using it as a picture book" and "I skipped through the logs" way too fucking much. JAMES: This one was for the sapphics. The most important demographic that exists. ... saying this while obliterating the biggest endgame sapphic romance? But hey guys!! Kanaya's hot right? This makes it all better :) Especially considering compared to Homestuck proper the epilogues and HS2 have just felt actively hostile towards sapphics FLORAL: This scene is also only one small part of the larger puzzle, bridging between what already existed in HS2 to what we want to do deeper into HS:BC. A puzzle that most of us aren't going to want to figure out. The question of if something is bad for the first 500-1000 pages is it worth consuming will always be no. Also points of expanding the border of Homestuck 1 BUT WE NEVER GET TO SEE THIS. I'm going to hit more on this later but Rose specifically there's so little or no direct foundational build up to her current character choices.

MILES: Yeah, seriously.  I felt viscerally going in that it was really important that Kanaya get some time to just be a stone cold bitch, both in the context of this particular marital fuck-up and in general.  She deserves it. So I'm on my hands and knees begging you guys to learn how to write badass powerful women that doesn't involve them just getting angry because their wife cheated. Hands and fucking knees. This goes for any writing in general but if you have to develop a character through purely negative experiences I'm not sure you should be writing. This whole entire scenario with Rosemary is such a cheap drama soap opera point to begin with (like a lot of HS2). Why can't we let Kanaya be her own fucking person and have shit going on, do something in the war, get to have moments like this in relation to Jane.

FLORAL:  Was so excited for this panel when we were first outlining the update. I had a lot of feelings about how we should move forward from the initial Yiffy reveal, but justification for these narrative choices only matter inside of the text itself, and this is only a tip of a much larger iceberg.

That said, what has always appealed to me the most about Candy in Beyond Canon is that it’s an opportunity to explore alt. selves to the max and start finding the missing “Meat” to Candy’s unbalanced and unsatisfying narrative. The irony for me on this is it was written about the fucking Jojo ass posing Rose which is in my opinion the worst panel in the update. Rose being turned into a comical villain for the sole reason of shaking things up in Candy. Justifications in the text is a great way of putting it and before this we had very very little. The idea of telling us afterwards well it was all apart of the grand plan when barely any time ago we have Rose thanking John for how happy she was to have her life the way it is here. Rose suddenly going ahh apathy my true love and going from a loveable and complex character to this flat cardboard cut out is the biggest crime of this update. The I knew you would forgive me part too. Just. GIRL HOW?? Rose Lalonde who first lost her seer powers in Candy, second the same girl who couldn't even see her friends all dying and her failing in game over. This girl? She saw 15 YEARS INTO THE FUTURE and knew Kanaya would just get it. Roll over like a good wife and be okay. I didn't know she was a seer of time now? This is the worst line in the entire update simply because it implies that Rose has gone off the deep end in the least interesting way and is now an unreliable narrator or that Kanaya is actually going to forgive her and holy fuck that would be the actual worst way to take this. Not beating the NTR kink allegations HS2 writers. Also spoiler alert it's unsatisfying because everyone in it gets fucked over by writing choices as baseless and useless as these. You're perpetuating the problem.

HAVEN: The world hasn't felt real to Rose since she was 16, this life is like a game to her. For her, a war is just “something to do.” Also man while this was a route that I didn't like for the epilogues either there are so many other ways to handle this than the one chosen. But that would require a rewrite from the start of HS2 which already put on this shit show. I still wholeheartedly believe that none of the things listed here justify Rose's behavior to Kanaya. As the one anchor point she's had her entire adult life. FLORAL: It’s a little sad that even during a Rosemary moment, it's never really about Rosemary, huh? Then later- "There really needed to be a joke here, too, to sell the emotional drop the next page brings" Kettle, meet pot. Whatever could be the cause for nothing ever being about them and the pair being relegated to background bullshit? Who's to say indeed. But hey! They're at the forefront now, and only for the most basic and cheap drama ways. Also I loathe this mentality about there needing to be a joke. You're clearly writing this for adults at this point a joke isn't required a real look at the situation is. The gag at the end where the convo gets ended is enough to break the tension for the reader.

FLORAL: There’s catalyst events, sure, but ask a few questions and it becomes apparent everything rides on the history of smaller fights, disappointment, sweeped away passive aggressions, miscommunication and unsaid hurt feelings.

This is why writing characters in their 40’s is great and why there is so much to do in Candy. Behind all the patented Homestuck misdirection and narrative unreliability, you’re left with an offshoot full of alternate selves at their lowest, layered in apathy and evidently not saying what they think Once again we aren't shown this. We just get told about it later and that's incredibly unsatisfying as a reader. Explaining it further down the line and doing more justification later does not help this either. I think also the idea that everyone in their middle aged years is jaded and apathetic is such a lame ass direction to go in. The idea that no one is allowed to be happy after everything they went through in the game is still one of the most frustrating things. I'm asking anyone why would someone want to read that? Why do you think the fandom imploded after this and that the people left mostly enjoy either soap opera trauma or torture porn (which HS2 is both)

like sitting down with a highschool friend you lost touch with 20 years ago and have only known about through concerning Facebook posts. So we're fully aware of the problem and just going this is a feature. Got it. So the commentary ends there and I'm just kind of left feeling as hollow and empty as before. I have zero faith that we can dig into any of these characters in a meaningful way but especially the more complicated women. This reads as coming back to them 20 years later so we can write them how we want or how we envisioned them without having to come up with in text validation. Reminds me of late season Game of Thrones writing. Guys how we got here is important. Anyways in summary HS2 remains a dour, unfun read of characters going through a perpetual state of torture and emotional suffering while we forever get told "Wait but there's more!" But hey. Happy Rosemary, glad they won that poll. Maybe the little thing James is going to do for the fandom is just kill them off to save them from this torment. As a writer myself it's just painful to read and I want to re-write it all times

[nyashykyunnie]

˗ˏˋ Sung Jinwoo Assassin Au: Part 1◛⑅·˚ ༘ ♡

ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚𝕊𝕦𝕟𝕘 𝕁𝕚𝕟𝕨𝕠𝕠˚◦○˚ ୧ .˚ₓ

‼️[tw: gore, extreme violence, sadistic Jinwoo. Inspired From Manhwa: Killer Peter.]‼️

・┆✦ Entry : 013 ✦ ┆・

‧₊˚ ☁️⋅ Part 1 || Part 2♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.

╰┈➤ ❝ [ The Emperor of the Dark Hours; The True Nightmare of the Witching Hours.] ¡! ❞

Stripped of his right to live as a child, a poor soul entangled in the curse of the devil as someone unfortunately chosen to be a vessel of a secret organization who's sole purpose is to be a breeding grounds for war machines— This was the life 10 year old Sung Jinwoo had found himself stuck in.

He hated his life, oh how he resented the world and cursed it's existence. But what was he to do? He was taken away from his family and reportedly they had died in the hands of his puppeteers.

He had no home to go back to.

So he spent his life perfecting the art of murder, his animosity has been bred to its full extent since at the ripe age of 21— Jinwoo had already climbed his way into being the most powerful assassin the underworld never have fathomed.

Jinwoo was ruthless with his assassinations, he spares no mercy with his targets. Not even giving them the luxury of screaming for their life. The moment their mouths open— Their head would already be rolling on the floor while the rest of their bodies would stand in an eerie stance as blood sputters out of it like a delicate fountain.

It was mercy if you had been able to even realize your upcoming doom, most of the time his targets would have died without even realizing the cause.

One minute you could be indulging in a fine wine imported from the best, the next, you're already in purgatory.

All while your killer takes the bottle of red liquid and pours himself a drink, indulging in the taste of fine luxury, gulping it down with his adam's apple moving so sensuously in his throat before throwing the glass away on the floor so lazily.

Nobody had ever seen his face, nor could the authorities ever dare to bring him to justice.

Jinwoo was too clever, too smart, too calculating.

His crimes had always been perfect, making it more frustrating for them to try and capture him.

So they stopped trying, stopped attempting to find the devil of the witching hours.

50 years. He ruled for 50 years until all of the sudden his activities were put to an eerie stop.

No client could find him, not even his former bosses could look for him. His face was just all too well hidden.

Jinwoo grew up to be a retired old man running a tiny little shop in a small neighborhood. Though he was a quiet and reserved man, the neighbours adore his meals.

Such a shame that a man like him would be so secretive and quiet. Though, he did have a weak spot for children. For once, the people around him would see a glimmer of gentleness spread across the old man's stone-cold features.

The little boys and girls remind Jinwoo of his dear baby sister who he accompanied all the time to watch little girl movies and played with her dolls.

His life was peaceful for another five years.

That was,... Until all of the sudden, his humble little shop got infiltrated by a bunch of thugs.

Jinwoo tried to fight them back, but oh his brittle bones and already scrawny body failed to fight against the young ones who thrashed him around like a pathetic ragdoll.

As a last effort to escape with his little life, Jinwoo threw hot sauce in their eyes just so he can slip away into the darkness.

He ran and ran until he crashed into the field of wheat. The dirt and grime stuck on his old and withered body as he stared up at the beautiful night sky above his head.

How pretty were the stars are, the only salvation for a man like him who lived in bloodshed and despair.

It was a rightful ending for the Emperor of the night, no longer will he plague the witching hours with his brutality—

A pathetic goodbye for a man who has never lived.

He thought of his baby sister, had she lived she would be married by now and having a child of her own and grandchildren of her children. He thought of his loving mother, who cradled him in the darkest of nights and soothed his nerves from his nightmares. He thought of his father, the man he admired the most for his kindness.

The consciousness of the old man slipped away in an instant, a fleeting farewell to the hell he has come to call 'Home.'

Or so he thought.

Jinwoo jolted awake, his head hammering so painfully as he regained his senses.

It went on like that for a few seconds before a female voice scolded him out of nowhere.

"Oppa! How long are you gonna laze around there like a caterpillar!!! You have work to do!!" A female girl, presumably 17 or so, scolds him with an angry pout.

Jinwoo stared at her emptily, dumbfounded at her appearance. Jet-black hair and grey eyes that strongly resembled him, a face as pretty as his mother when she was young in his vivid memories— Jinah.

"Whatever, stop staring like that and I will be off to school now! And don't kill yourself while hunting!"

"G-Goodluck at school." Jinwoo manages to stammer out in his flustered state. Jinwoo watched his little sister leave his room, feeling lightheaded with how surreal everything is.

How badly did he want to run up to her and hug her tightly. But his legs were shaking too much. After a while of contemplating. He got up from his bed and navigated the small apartment to look for the bathroom.

After a while, he managed to find it. He stared at his reflection in the mirror, cold grey eyes looking at a figure of a scrawny adult who looked like he was just 15 or 16.

He sighed, running his hand back at his hair as he mumbled under his breath: "What a scrawny little brat this body is. Fuck—"

Jinwoo suddenly toppled over, groaning in pain as his head suddenly had a massive migraine. Memories were pouring. They were his but not really his.

It was the memory of the former Sung Jinwoo, the scrawny owner of this pathetic body.

Dungeons, monsters, death, death, D E A T H.

"Huu...." The migraine subsided, a smirk forming on Jinwoo's face as he ran his hand on his hair. "It's like a game, and this bloody thing that keeps annoying me all morning"

His gaze then turned towards the notification window that was floating in front of him, "Jinah couldn't see this. I guess it's only available for me?..."

"I guess it's time to work again."

ʚ(੭´͈ ᐜ `͈)੭ .｡✧･ﾟ: ~♡ —! stories written by kyunnie; translations, reposts, plagiarism are strictly forbidden.

[nextstop-fixationstation]

Do you think Sasha's blatant dismissiveness of Marcy's interests was just a testament to her inability to care for things that didnt interest her, or do you think, perhaps, it's something that was developed over time as Marcy didn't stop trying to get them to watch War of Warlocks and play creatures and caverns?

I ask because, if I'm not mistaken, Matt once said they would sometimes play games together when they were alone and I always found it odd how the strategic side of CC didn't appeal to Sasha, which got me thinking if she didn't feel somewhat put off by Marcy's approach to the situation?

I quite like this interpretation because it adds another layer to their communication issues, but pre-amphibia Sasha definitely looked like someone who didn't give a chance to things that didn't outright interest her.

Sorry for the long ask and I hope I made sense here!

Thanks for the ask!

to be honest, I don't think it has anything to do with inability to care or reaction to Marcy's insistence that they watch WoW/play CC. I think that this is much more a testament to the state of their overall relationship, which allowed Marcy to do things no one wanted to do in their presence and allowed Sasha to be kind of mean about it, all while Anne panicked about how to handle the situation on the sidelines.

Sasha still played games and watched the film, paying attention enough to know the plot twist at the end and to know what kinds of things Marcy liked, she just wasn't very nice about it. I think it's more of a testament to how people can get comfortable with being casually mean to each other or bully each other even if they don't actually enjoy it. In the same way, it's easy for people to settle into a routine of being fine going through the motions during shared activities instead of discussing with each other and finding things everyone can enjoy. In Marcy's Journal, Marcy talks about how they all come to terms with the fact CC isn't something they all enjoy, and Marcy resolves to find something they can all do together!

(Also, and this is an aside, I suppose, very little is actually said about Sasha and CC, and it is the case IRL that sometimes people just don't like a game system. Sasha could have liked the strategy but hated the RP or vice versa, or the dice and number system could have been too frustrating for her to enjoy. D&D has strategy and RP elements, but it's far from the best in either direction. If you wanted a pure strategy game, you could probably just go back to Chess, and if you wanted a better RP system, you could almost certainly find a better one out there by an indie creator or big company! D&D just has brand recognition.)

I think that when it comes to Sasha, it's important to note that Sasha's character and arc don't pertain very much to the concept of pure "interest." That's a very "Marcy" or "Anne" thing. While everyone in the Calamity Trio has something to do with attachment, Sasha has much more to do with power and control. Sasha and Marcy maintain a relationship wherein they don't question each other and just go along with what the other does, backing them up even if they don't care about or for what they're doing. It's why Marcy has so much confidence that Anne and Sasha will be okay with the plan with Andrias, and it's why Sasha is so convinced that Anne and Marcy will just go along with her coup. This is a flaw in their relationship, not a feature.

Perhaps Sasha wouldn't give things she didn't care about a chance if she didn't feel it interested her, but I think it's probably more accurate to frame it as it being ignored if it wasn't beneficial. Canonically, we actually see that Sasha pays great attention to things that seem to disinterest her, even if it doesn't feel that way! That's part of what makes Sasha so interesting, at least to me

[metacrisisdoctor]

it makes me sad when people say rose had no choice in the bad wolf bay ii scene because i feel like it's 'cause they get stuck on the beginning of it. people stop at "but he's not you." (by which she means that ten and tentoo have seperate bodies, not that she doesn't think tentoo is the doctor) and that's so sad because the scene is so short but so nuanced!

at first the doctor is absolutely trying to manipulate her into staying in pete's world. whether it's because he loves her or not, that is no good. and we know that; rose knows that, the doctor knows that. but he is in so much pain that he is still in his timelord body, his part-human self will be with rose and happy and all the shit davros said to him? of couse he comes at it with a "punishment" mentality for himself, because tentoo is him and he is tentoo and he hates himself- but he loves rose more than he hates himself.

after this, of course, it's donna who is able to cut through this bs and tell the meta-crisis doctor to tell rose what this is all really about ("it's better than that, though. can't you see what he's trying to give you? tell her, go on.") and from there on the entire thing is absolutely in rose's court because tentoo, in his love and his humanity and single heart - only wants her to stay with him if that's what she wants! he says IF YOU WANT. it's a major thing, that he offers her an out there even though we know how much he loves and missed her. it's just like he offered to bring her home in born again when she couldn't understand the regeneration. it's her choice to grow old with tentoo, and it's something she absolutely wants- rose wants the doctor, not the traveling (she says this in the parting of the ways)

in the end, rtd gives rose literally all of the power by having her pull both doctors aside and choose which path she is going to take.

it's so impactful because it takes the doctor trying to exile rose and his otherself to rose taking the power away from him (as she does in potw and doomsday) and reclaming her authority in her life.

this is why ten watching rose and tentoo kiss hurts so much, because it goes from him leaving them behind to him being exiled from their world and their happiness- which is the beginning of the end for him truly. and it is absolutely intentional.

this scene renders ten completely powerless in the end, until all he can do is walk back to an empty existance knowing what he could have and does have but cannot experience.

rose is special because yes, for a while, it is the universe and the traveling she loves, but it becomes much, much larger than that. it becomes her loving the doctor and pledging to not have a life we see her long for by her eagerness in tsp, to be by his side forever. whatever that would have meant. but with tentoo she chooses him because this way she gets everything she wanted and deserves, she gets to be selfish for herself, she gets to put herself before the doctors - which i think is very, very important. that's good.

it's not fair to rose to not understand that by kissing tentoo she was making an active choice to spend her life with him because by saying those words he confirmed to her that he is the man that she loves and lost and came looking for, the same way ten convinced her he was the man she became the bad wolf for by telling her the first word he said to her was "run" and taking her hand.

rose is not stupid and she is not shallow. she chose tentoo. she is still a bad bitch defending the earth and perhaps beyond with the doctor. she just also gets to keep her family and sense of self too. all the doctor ever wanted was for rose to have a good life, and somehow he got to know that she has one, because it's one spent with him and he knows how loved she will be. how loved she is, twice over in one lifetime.

[midnightsun-if]

how would the ROs react if someone was making MC cry?

(I'm asking this for all the people who hate conflict and feel like crying when anyone yells at them i.e. me)

Koda: His first instinct is to figure out why someone would do such a thing to you— it seems completely implausible to him that someone would wish to make you sad. The much stronger instinct would win, however. He’d quickly take you into his arms, probably rumble out a growl if the other person tried to do something in response, and just take you away. Would try to cheer you up with your favorite activities once you get back to the dorm. He just wants to make you smile again.

Scarlett: That person would be lifted up against a wall, sharp nails digging painfully into their neck, before they’d be even aware of the danger headed straight for them. Scarlett’s eyes would be nearly black with her rage. She’d hold back from doing anything permanent, however, because she knows that you need her, and she wanted to get back to you as quickly as she was able, she wanted to give you all the attention that you deserved. So she’d simply threaten them, probably leave them with a few bruises, and head straight back towards you and carry you back to the dorm. Being the sweetest/softest bean in the world the entire time.

Cyrus/Cyra: Their eyes would flash red, anger quickly causing flames to lick at their fingers, before they stop before the person. They wouldn’t even have to say anything, their presence alone, the way in which they were looking at the person, would showcase how fucked said person is. No one messes with a phoenixes bond-mate and no one will ever make you cry, not if they could help it. They’d be sorely tempted to do something, but they refrain, years of training kicking in, and simply watch as the person scampers off. Only when they’re sure you’ll be safe, that there wouldn’t be anything more coming, they’d turn to you, eyes shimmering a gentle gold, and ask you what you wished of them.

Quinn: It would take everything Quinn has to not shift instantly at the sight of your tears, at the sadness that etched itself across your face. Their canines and claws might sharpen, however, and it’d be clear to the person that if they didn’t back the fuck off soon then they’d be dealing with Quinn’s wolf— and Quinn’s wolf might just tear them apart. Quinn would take you somewhere you could relax, where people wouldn’t come across you both, and they’d simply comfort you— potentially shifting so their wolf can do so too. They don’t want to see you cry, and they’ll always try their best to abate it.

Caden: A sudden chill would work its way through the area, silvery eyes, tinged with a ghostly shimmer, filled with nothing but ice as they stride towards you. They wouldn’t hesitate in wrapping their arms around you, nor would they hesitate in giving the person a peace of their mind, the calm way in which they do it completely unsettling, without any hint of their normal flustered quality. Powers, that lurk underneath their skin, would beg to come out but Caden would stomp down the possibility. You were more important, getting you somewhere safe and sound, everything else came second to that.

Sloane: They’d see your tears, see the asshole in front of you, probably would have faintly heard what had been said… The math adds up. They’d punch the asshole in the face instantly and would grab them by the back of their collar before roughly shoving them away from you. A snarl would be on their face, eyes flashing like crazy as their wolf wished to appear, but they’d simply settle on a warning growl, a deep rumble from within their chest, in making the person stay away. If you weren’t there, and they didn’t have to get back to you, they’d probably do more, but they had to put their focus on you— take you somewhere else. Maybe they’d find the person later…

Blake: Their easygoing smile would vanish instantly, violet eyes going dark instantly, and they’d be by your side within an instant. They would want nothing more than to lash out at the person, which they’d do at a later date, but they needed to focus on you— not anything else that could potentially get in the way of that. They’d take your face in their hands, make you see them and only them, and ask you where you wished to go. They’d go anywhere you wanted to go in that moment, do anything, as long as they didn’t have to see you cry anymore. They hated to see you cry. Seeing it now? It would only harden their resolve to deal with this issue later.

Reginald/Regina: They wouldn’t really know what to do to be honest. A supernatural individual is making you cry? Not necessarily someone they could take in a fight, which they’re well aware of. But, seeing the tear tracks on your face, the sadness that etches across it, makes them not care. They’d definitely get in the persons face, damn the consequences, and once they feel like they’ve been correctly chastised— R would take you away from the entire situation. Probably would start rambling on various activities you could together/they might have planned. Anything to keep your mind off what had happened.

[mike-haters-dni]

Scalding, unnecessary take that I'm going to use as an excuse to yap about my hyperfixation characters more than anything, but El's character is actually impossible to stick into coffee shop fanfiction No Supernatural Shit AUs. That's Jane you're writing about. Jane and El are not the same person. At all. And like, Jane is interesting to think about, don't get me wrong. I have thought about Jane. I love Jane. She's adorable and vaguely autistic. But Jane != Eleven.

Eleven is the way she is almost entirely because of her experience/trauma of growing up in the lab and having supernatural murder powers. Her main characters traits are being a self-sacrificing hero and not being sure who she is due to the fact she grew up in an isolated sterile inhuman environment. Unless you're directly translating those things into something unsupernatural (like growing up in a fucked up cult or something and like fighting her way out and now she'll fight to protect other people from similar experiences or something idk) you're writing about Jane the normal gorl who got to grow up with a normal personality in a normal world. And like, you can do that. It's fine it's fandom do whatever u want. But personally, the first thing I come up with when I birth an AU is what crazy powers and fucked up backstory we give Eleven here. Also how do we make her and everyone else really fucking cool but that...might be beside the point idk.

The powers have to basically ruin or have had ruined her life at one point. They have to be a curse that she either reclaims or gets rid of at the end. If she isn't tortured she isn't Eleven Stranger Things lmao

And then yeah yeah my next step is to figure out how Mike AND THE OTHERS OK but mostly Mike get involved in this. Which brings me to my next point: Jane and Mike have no real reason to talk to each other. Mike x Jane is just Normal Gorl x Normal Boy which is like, fine sure if that's what you want, but also you kinda just erased everything interesting about their dynamic. You wanna know what makes El and Mike's relationship so compelling? Objectively? I'm objectively right about everything I'm about to say here? Ok their dynamic is this: Eleven is the most important person in the world, and Mike is the only boy who will ever love her. And yeah that second one sounds really sad but 1. yeah it kinda is :) 2. its not really true that's just what El thinks which is like a major theme for her character TO ME, her underestimating how 'normal' she is esp in her later years 3. it also is kinda true because he's the only boy romantically interested in her who actually understands and experienced all the supernatural/lab trauma bullshit and is actively fighting beside her through the plot of the show, and 4. he's literally perfect and also the only boy she'll ever love and need so it all works out.

And to explain the first one, I mean, you know she's saved the world twice right? She kinda literally is the most important person in the world considering its up to her to stop the apocalypse probably in the end? But its not the being important exactly that makes Mike love her ok, that's more of a meta character thing. Like she doesn't have to literally be the key to saving the world and the most powerful being in the universe. Its more that she has to have something really special about her that draws Mike specifically to her and binds him to her permanently and inseparably and he belongs to her forever and ever and they die in each other's arms. Like she deserves. In canon I imagine objectively and correctly that it went like this: Mike is a natural outcast collector and protector due to his pervasive unconscious need to be needed and his fear of losing the few people who like him, who meets the ultimate outcast girl who literally has nothing and needs him in a very real way, and this gives him an excuse to just pour his entire self into her, fulfilling one of his deepest interpersonal needs. The best part is that she's super selfless and amazing and she loves him the same right back so its actually a beautiful thing they get going. Basically the idea of being anything less than perfect for her is so sad and horrible due to how fucked her life was that it drives the already caretaking Mike into overdrive to make her happy. Not at the cost of him still being an individual person, mind you. But that's the vibe. Also let me just say, all the self-sacrificing vibes and obsession and desperation can become toxic under certain circumstances and that is absolutely a feature not a bug. Sorry you don't like watching your faves yell at each other but we are not the same.

Anyway what the fuck was I talking about? AUs? Yeah ok so when translating Mike (AND THE OTHERS...and the others) into other stories there's more flexibility u kno because he's mostly just Some Guy. He really just needs (TO ME) an excuse to be fighting with Eleven (she has to be fighting something with the powers I know you gave her). He shouldn't be directly involved with whatever gave her the powers but he should generally know of and be somewhat affected by it. Or become aware of it/involved with it over time. Like in the show. You get it. Honestly his only real consistent character traits are being kinda moody and being the leader of the party in whatever vague or not way. And being intelligent. Like he has to be leader for a reason. I guess that's a decent base for a character right there.

oh right side note: you have to do something fun with her name. like she was basically branded Eleven by the freak that gave her the powers so u gotta take that energy and translate it into another branded name that has el in it because she needs to get the nickname ofc. unless its a cyberpunk au in which case Eleven is a pretty normal name and she can just go by that lmao.

So the point ig is Jane and Mike break up when they go away to different colleges and don't talk to each other again until their next high school reunion, while Mike and Eleven are...well you should know by now.

[daportalpractitioner]

cycle syncing guide: nu moon in gemini

the nu moon in gemini takes place on june 6, 2024 at 7:37 AM CST. major themes include: sisterhood wounds, friendship, ancestral communication, relocation, sacral + throat chakra healing, and breaking generational patterns.

bleed phase: sisters bleeding with the nu moon are in one accord with nature's rhythm, so the need to detox, cleanse, and start anew will feel really apparent. if there are friendships and social circles that you have outgrown but haven't had the courage to cut ties with, then this is your invitation. your ancestors will be speaking to you in order to help you navigate this season in life. so, if you are one to venerate your ancestors, then this nu moon would be a great time to spend some intentional time at the altar or in nature with them. it's time to move forward from the past and stop giving the past permission to be your current story. you have to make room for all the beautiful experiences that match the energy that you're stepping into by releasing all that once was from your reality. some of y'all also may be experiencing constipation as a physical manifestation of you holding onto SHIT that has no business being here anymore.

follicular phase: my follicular sisters may feel increased creativity and inspiration during this nu moon. this is giving you the momentum, power, and strength to choose a different story. it's a beautiful time to think about what you want your life to look like in the next months, by the full moon in gemini in december (gemini is the master manifestor). be mindful of placing limitations on your vision because of what your 3D reality looks like. with this energetic portal, you'll be surprised at what's going to manifest from it. this is a social time to also meet up with your sisters and spend intentional quality time with the women that choose to pour into you.

ovulatory phase: this nu moon is bringing big life changes to my ovulating sisters. there is a strong need for a change that better suits you. you could be thinking about relocating, getting into a more serious commitment, going back to school, or changing careers. regardless of what the change is, it's important that you make a move with the urges that you're receiving. change is scary, but soul necessary for your growth and overall satisfaction in life. you have to take accountability for writing your own story. at the end of the day, this is your life and it is your duty to call the shots around here. take a risk like you know that God has your back.

luteal phase: this nu moon may hit the luteal sisters hard as it has a heavy emphasis on deep healing + curse breaking regarding wounded sisterhood. wounded sisterhood stems from the mother wound and we can only show up as better sisters when we actively work on remedying the relationship that we have with our greatest mirrors — our mothers. a lot of us come from homes where our mother was not properly supported by her community, a wound that has trickled down to us, creating a blockage in how show up for our connections (especially with our sisters). we're being called to address the pains that have led us to not experience genuine sisterhood so that we can then take accountability for the ways in which we've kept perpetuating the cycle. sisterhood is crucial for each woman and how you show up for your sisters is reflected in how you show up in all areas of your life. accept what has already transpired and release it with love through compassion and forgiveness. give yourself permission to eject yourself from this painful story because you deserve to write a nu one where you are chronically experiencing mutual, reciprocated love and trust from other women cause there is nothing else in the word like it.

[twin-wings]

This may be a controversial take, but I think the lack of righteous anger in Stampede Vash weakens rather than strengthening his characterization as a pacifist.

Manga Vash isn't immune to anger and resentment. We see it in his childhood after the discovery of what happened to Tesla, when he lashed out at Rem because he was unable to trust any humans at all. But we also see it in the present, in how he acts sometimes toward his enemies (the fight with Monev the Gale in particular comes to mind) and during his confrontations with Knives. Manga Vash is so furious at his brother that he openly says he wants to kill him multiple times.

Compare that to what Stampede Vash says about wanting to "find a way to save everyone", including Knives, and how he says that without a sliver of resentment. It's hard to see Stampede Vash angry in general, which makes him come across as someone who is just incapable of feeling resentment rather than actively choosing to be kind and compassionate like his original counterpart.

In the manga, the fact that Vash says he wants to kill Knives sounds kind of hypocritical given his ideals, but it makes him human and gives nuance to his character, driving it home how much he cares about protecting Rem's legacy and all the people she gave her life to save. It's not like Manga Vash doesn't want to find a peaceful solution. He obviously does. When there's a way to stop a conflict without killing anyone, Vash always picks it, no matter how angry he personally is (we see it very well when he spares Monev the Gale). The fact that after all this time Vash still tries to change Knives' mind says a lot about how much he would like to resolve things without resorting to more violence.

But this doesn't make him any less angry, and that anger is important. Knowing he's capable of such feelings gives a lot of weight to his choice not to kill anyone, and makes his choice to be compassionate and forgiving so much more powerful.