#darn my real-world commitments!

[dieaverage]

is, uh- is this thing on 🎤

[physalian]

What No One Tells You About Writing #4 (100 Follower Special!)

Have you got any that deserve to be on these lists? Don’t be shy! Send ‘em over.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

*This list contains mentions of assault, #4

1. Zero cursing is better than censored cursing

I made the mistake in the early days of writing a self-censoring character, and every “curse” she said just took the teeth out of the rest of the statement. I’m talking gosh, darn, dang, etc, not world-specific idioms a la “scruffy nerf herder” or “dunderhead” instead of “dumbass”.

Look to any American TV show that so, so badly wants to use f*ck or sh*t but has to appease the sensitive conservatives who still somehow believe strong language is worse than graphic violence and horrifying psychological damage. For shame! Your characters can be angry without expletives, so rework your sentences to include equally damning insults that don’t resort to potty mouths if you’re concerned about ratings.

Or go full-throttle into the idioms of the world or the time period like Pirates of the Caribbean. Or just… don’t. There’s zero modern cursing in the Lord of the Rings adaptation and not a single sentence that censors itself. The dialogue is above vulgarity and feels more *fantastical* that way anyway.

2. “Yeah, you aren’t the target audience.”

It’s kind of hilarious seeing the range of reader reactions to two characters I intend to have a romantic relationship. Some will go “I ship it!” after the first page of them together… and another will go “wait, I thought they were just friends” up until they kiss. Sometimes you might be too subtle, other times it might be better to just accept that you can’t rewrite your entire book to please one naysayer.

When I’m pitched a fantasy adventure book that turns out to be a by-the-numbers romance where no one is allowed to be a peasant and every important character is royalty in some way, with a way cooler fantasy backdrop, I get severely disappointed. That doesn’t mean the book is bad, it just means I’m not the target audience.

3. There is no greater character sin than making them boring

Unless you live in the wacky world we find ourselves in where any flaws whatsoever are apparently harmful depictions of so-and-so and not at all written with things like ~nuance~. I will gush over your heinous villain committing atrocities because he’s *interesting*. I will not remember Bland Love Interest who’s a generic everyman with zero compelling or intriguing traits or flaws.

There’s another tumblr post out there that I cannot find that says something like this, and I believe the post goes “his crimes are fiction, my annoyance is real”. Swap annoyance for boredom and you get what I mean. So, I don’t care what your character does so long as they’re memorable. I will either root for their victory or their doom, but I do need *something* to root for.

4. The line between “gratuitous” and “respectful” is actually very thick

Less what no one tells *you* about writing and more what no one tells screenwriters. Y’all do realize you can write a character who experiences assault without actually writing the assault, right? Fade to black, have them mention it in their backstory, or have the horrific aftermath as they come to terms with it. An abrupt cut to this devastated character when it’s all over and they’re alone with themselves can be incredibly poignant and powerful. This goes with anything sensitive, especially if it’s not coming from experience.

If you want to write it or film it respectfully, romanticizing assault, for instance, is when it’s framed as if either character has earned or “deserves” it. If the narrative in any way argues that it's justified. The victim might have "earned" it for any of the BS reasons we use in the real world, or the perpetrator might've "earned" it because of temptation, desire, pressure to assert dominance, etc. Representation is important, but are you “representing” to shed light on a misunderstood and maligned topic, or are you doing it to satisfy a fetish or bias in yourself?

5. Don’t let your eyes get bigger than your stomach

Fantasy has no limitations, which means you can dig way deeper into the well of your worldbuilding than you realize, until you look up and realize you’re stuck down there. I have never seen a more obvious inevitable disaster looming than the pilot of GoT season 5. Why? Nobody has any plans. They’re all just led around by whatever side quest the writers throw them on, twiddling their thumbs until the writers deign to pull the trigger on the White Walkers.

To the point that what should be a major character can skip an entire season because his arc is meaningless. Everything in the last half of that show was one big “eventually” while the story toiled around in an ever-expanding cast of characters and set pieces (seriously, it’s hilarious how jarring the extended version of the theme music became compared to the pilot episode to fit all these locations).

When you have too many directionless characters, too many plot elements, too many ideas you want to fully mature and get their due spotlight and then somehow combine them all together for a common foe in the end, writing can get tedious and frustrating very quickly. Why, I imagine, the book series remains unfinished. Fantasy is great for being able to create such complex worlds, but don’t be the snake that eats its own tail trying too hard.

6. No one cares about your agenda if you insult them to push it

This deserves its own post but here we go. Peddling an agenda is a paradox: those who agree with you won’t need to be preached to, and those who you want to persuade will instead reject you further because they feel belittle and disrespected. This is why so many recent “strong female characters” fail on both sides of the aisle. Feminists see an annoying caricature of the movement they’re passionate about. Antifeminists see an insufferable, shallow, liberal mouthpiece when they just want to be entertained. You have failed both sides, congrats.

The answer? Write a strong, nuanced, well-developed character. Then make them a woman. I know this has been said before but this BS keeps happening so clearly the screenwriters aren’t listening. Entertain me first. Entertain me so well I don’t even realize I’m learning.

7. Today’s audiences won’t react the same way as tomorrow’s

Sometimes genres or tropes get oversaturated and need a few years to cool off before audiences are receptive to them again—teen dystopia, anyone?—that doesn’t mean your story is inherently bad because it’s unpopular (nor does it mean it’s amazing because it is popular).

You should always write the book you want to read, not the book that chases trends. I can pick up a well-written teen dystopia I’ve never read before and enjoy it. I can continue to ignore Divergent because it has nothing to say. Write the book you want to read, but then accept that you might make no money because no one else wants to read it, not because they think it’s bad. And, who knows? You might get a boom of chatter months or years down the line when readers stumble upon an uncut gem.

8. Your characters don’t age with you

Depending on how long you’ve been working on your world and what age you were when you started, the characters, concepts, morals, and story you set out to tell might no longer reflect who you want to be as an author when all is said and done. Writing can take years, some of which can be incredibly turbulent and life changing. I wrote the first draft of my first original novel in my freshman year of college. Those characters and that draft are now unrecognizable and has left a world I’ve poured my heart and soul into in limbo.

I’ve slowly creeped up my characters’ ages. My writing has matured dramatically. The themes I wanted to explore in the height of the 2016 election are just demoralizing now. That book was my therapeutic outlet and, as consequence, my characters sometimes reflect some awful moods and mindsets that I was in when writing them. But nothing in that world grows without me tending to it. It’s not alive. Despite all the work I’ve done, there’s still more to be done, maybe even restarting the plot from the ground up. When I think of what no one told me about writing, staring at characters designed by someone I’m not anymore is the hardest reality to accept.

—

If you think I missed something, check out parts 1-3 or toss your own hat into the ring. Give me romance tropes. Mystery, thriller, historical fiction, bildungsromans, memoires, children’s books, whatever you want! Give me stuff you wish you’d known before editing, publishing, marketing, and more. 

Also, don’t forget to vote in the dialogue poll!

[teaeodora]

gojo x fem!reader

early mornings — drabble, fluff

not proof read

w/c i have no idea but 's short

Gojo Satoru was always late to teaching, meeting – you name it. The question which hasn't been asked is 'Why is Gojo Satoru always late to events scheduled for the morning?' Is he too arrogant too care about menial tasks such as teaching children? No, not really. Was he too busy getting his daily dose of sweets to attend meetings with the irking higher ups? No- okay maybe.

What exactly was the answer? It was simple really. He just didn't feel like getting out of bed in the mornings. He wanted to stay in bed, sleep in more with you in his arms.

Satoru had been lonely ever since the death of his bestfriend. He had closed himself off from the real world and buried it under his obnoxious personality. However....ever since you tumbled into his life, literally, he felt his days brighten up again. His eyes would flutter open each day to a sight he wished to capture with a camera.

Oh wait, he probably has and got it photoframed to keep it in his office. He is rather sentimental to say the least. He enjoys this warmth. Your legs tangled under the sheets, arms interwined and your face squished against the pillow. He quietly laughs and smiles to himself.

"Satoru- you are staring, again." You groggily stated before peeling your eyes open, only to hiss at the sunlight peering in.

"Sorry sweets, just can't help myself."

"What's so interesting about watching seeing someone sleep? I bet you 10 bucks my hair looks like it got hit by a wind current." You yawned and buried your face into the pillow. Yup, monday mornings sucked.

"Unfortunately for you, I am into that." He gave a boyish grin. He leaned in and kissed your forehead tenderly. You could feel him squeezing your hand just a bit. It was a sweet gesture of affection which had became the norm.

"Then again, you look like a demon with your hair all disheveled like tha- ACK"

You pinched him causing him to flinch.

"Ouch! What was that for!?" He whined, rubbing his side.

"You know exactly what that was for." You sternly remarked, not feeling sorry at all.

Both of you stare at eachother before erupting into giggles. You cup his face and lean in. Your foreheads were touching as you stared into his crystalline eyes, their blue colour, vast like the sky.

"I love you, you dork." You smile widely. In his eyes, you were his everything. The bright light that makes him look forward to each waking moment.

"Using the magical phrase to give me a backhanded compliment, are we?" He mused.

"Shut up" you lightly nudge him.

"I love you too, sweets. You make my mornings better, but if you keep fighting with me for the bed sheet at night I might as well sleep on the couch." He chuckled, kissing your nose. How can someone be mad at his guy?

"Not my fault that I am all cold thanks to you cranking up the Air-Con to 21 degrees!" You baffled as he winced at your sudden raise in tone.

"Sorry sweets. It gets too hot." He apologized playfully.

"Then sleep without the darn blanket!"

This banter, these laughs and small moments. He wanted to be encased in them forever. Gojo Satoru is the strongest sorcerer who is never punctual. Gojo Satoru is the strongest sorcerer who trades his punctuality to remain in bed with his person. This was one sacrifice he never regrets making.

Deep down he was a person who wanted to be loved yet he was too afraid commit. You were the person who wanted him to feel loved and he wouldn't trade this reality for anything.

©definitelysel

a/n : fluff makes me all queasy and i love it.

[useless-prophet]

Mapping Radiant Orders (Stormlight Archive) to the Fears (Magnus Archives)

Because I really like categories, and some of the orders/fears just work together so nicely! And also, both end in archives, which just makes me happy for no real reason. Yes, I know there are 14ish fears and only 10 orders, so some fears will just have to sit out :(

Windrunners: The Vast. Endless sky to fall through... forever... especially since the use of Lashings is not technically "flying", but "falling" towards a different direction.

Skybreakers: Though the Vast does fit the flying part of their powers, the Hunt better embodies the determination of Skybreakers to hunt down whoever breaks the law, to any end necessary. I mean, just look at Nale and what happened in Edgedancer.

Dustbringers: Dustbringers want to break things, and have the handy dandy surge of Division to do so. Desolation is the first fear that comes to mind, given the common themes of destruction, but I could also see a pretty strong relation to the Stranger. Dustbringers don't break things for the mindless purpose of breaking things, but to find out how they work. The inside. Sounds a little like the mechanical contraptions and the changelings of the Stranger? Except the Stranger usually breaks people, and the Dustbringers... well, actually, they probably could as well.

Edgedancers: A tricky one at first, because the edgedancers are so darn good all the time. But given that their oath is "I will remember the forgotten", the step to Lonely, while a little paradoxical, is not a large one - most Edgedancers (like Lift), were once the people who were forgotten by society.

Truthwatchers: Ah, what could make a better match than the Truthwatchers and the Eye. Both committed to seeking truth and knowledge, while the Eye represents the ideals of a Truthwatcher taken too far, such seeking truth is not merely a tool to create positive change in the world, but an end within itself.

Lightweavers: Again, Stranger is vaguely tempting because of the Lightweavers' capacity for disguise, but I think that Spiral better represents the illusory aspects of their powers in tricking the mind, as well as the deep lies that Lightweavers often have to confront within themselves.

Elsecallers: As an order whose oaths deal with reaching one's self-potential, Elsecallers are... difficult to lump into a fear. The surge of Transportation matches the Spiral's connection with doors, but Elsecallers are anything but unsure of one's own mind. But Elsecallers do make excellent strategists and scholars because of their rational nature, meaning that the Web is not a bad fit.

Willshapers: Willshapers are all about freedom, self-determination, and the capacity to choose whatever route you want to walk. The Vast and the Lonely fit into the idea of exploration and freedom against being bound by society or a greater power, but we've already used those. The Buried is the opposite of the Willshapers, but unlike the Edgedancers, I think that there's such a difference in ideals between the two that they can't be reconciled in the same way. If you have a solid argument for a better fear, I'd love to hear it.

Stonewards: You know what's always there for you? A Stoneward. You know what's also always there for you? The ground, if only because you're trapped inside a cave that's slowly crushing the air out of your lungs and will never let you go. The rocky resemblance is just too good of a fit.

Bondsmith: Another hard one. Unity is not really a big theme among any of the powers, except maybe Corruption in the sense of a hive and some of its twisted feelings of love. But there is something that all living things are united in - death, aka the End. Is this crazy to map them to? I don't know, it's the best I've got.

Some of the orders just don't work that well with the fears, but I gave it my best shot. Opinions? Arguments? I'd be glad to hear them :)

[wavesoutbeingtossed]

I know it’s been talked about ad nauseam, but I think one of the things that got lost in the discourse about TTPD and the muses and whatnot is how one of, if not the core trigger points of the album is the yearning for commitment and perhaps even more poignantly, motherhood.

The reason she was so susceptible to falling for the “conman’s get love quick schemes” is because she was grieving that imagined life with the person she had long assumed would be the one to give her that. What has been beyond clear in several albums, let alone interviews etc, is that those plans for building a family were very much real and top of mind for years, and she kept holding on and shifting her world in service of making that happen. And when whatever happened happened that pulled that rug out from under her, it left her bereft not just for the relationship that had once been her world but also the imagined family she had been hoping for and sticking out the hard times for.

And that’s likely why she was swayed by and trusting of the promises of someone who knew her history and knew how unmooring that loss was to her. It may have been partially about the person himself or lust or whatever, but the core issue was the pain of giving up the dream, and sublimating that dream into this new opportunity in front of her, because she was so desperate to hold onto the last scraps of that imagined life she wanted so badly. (And I don’t mean desperate as in pathetic or negative, I mean as in fighting within the last ounce of energy and hope she had.) It wasn’t rational and it wasn’t love, it was grief, not just for a relationship but even more so for the family it represented.

So to me the core issue of TTPD isn’t just the Joe vs. Matty or whoever of it all: it’s Taylor and her yearning. She wanted a family badly and a life that was theirs and was processing losing that in all kinds of ways. It’s all over the album in overt and subtle lyrics. It may not have been grieving a literal death but I’d bet it felt pretty darn close.

And I’d also bet that’s why we’re seeing… what we’re seeing now.

(I have so many more thoughts about womanhood and motherhood on TTPD but that is another post being worked on piecemeal in my drafts… this is just a little Saturday morning post-zoomies reflection)

[rustycottoncandy]

Here's some school doodles from yesterday I forgot to share:

Bonus under the cut: Henry in a bride dress but I hadn't warmed up previously so his face looks like a melted popsicle + some scene doodles from the Puppetteer Henry AU (an idea I had a couple days ago in which Henry possesses Ethan after his death because he's so fucking spiteful. And also because he can't stop existing unless he gets exorcised and he really fucking hates being a ghost. It's a little edgy but fuck it they're my characters and I have a lot of fun spinning them in my head). I put them under the cut because some images include blood and scars, and because they're acccompanied by an obnoxiously long lore-drop.

^(Never happens, they can't talk, Ethan's dense as hell, that's just a silly doodle)

Some context as to why they want Ethan to die - possessing somebody ties you to that somebody, it's like the stupidest thing you can do as a ghost, making it so that you can't be reincarnated unless that person dies or you get exorcised. You can also get tied to a living person if that person was the cause of your death.

Things are a lot more complicated in this story, though, there's a gazillion points I would probably take much longer to explain than I'd like to but basically Henry's fucking weird. He died by the hands of one of his roommates and then got reincarnated into Nathaniel, a character who I hardly ever talk about here, when he got his roommate to commit suicide, around five years after his own murder.

Now the thing is that 13-year-old me wanted to stir drama, so she made it so that Ethan was one of Nathaniel's parents and Ethan used to have a very close relationship with Henry. But then things happened and Henry became extremely unhealthy to be around (well, he's sort of always been extremely unhealthy to be around but he got even worse) and stuff between them got really tense. They broke up, Ethan went on to continue with his own life and take care of himself, Henry started taking his frustration out on his roommates, booooooooooommmmmm Henry dies.

ANYWAY why do I mention the relation between Ethan, Henry and Nathaniel? Because Nathaniel's wayyyy too curious for his own good and finds out about Henry's existence by looking through his father's old pictures and as the stupid little 13-year-old he is, he tries to dig up as much information about him as he can because he's so darn curious about this undead-looking guy his dad once knew apparently?? But uh-oh he triggers Henry's memories and brings him back into existence :]

I know that doesn't make much sense but I don't give a fuck, I was 13 when I made that up and I love the characters too much to change the story.

Henry's there as a weird ghost, as a conscience, and sharing his soul with Nathaniel, since that's technically him, gives him the right in his eyes to use Nath's body as a vehicle to interact with the physical world. And so he does, hopping into the 'tied ghost' category after years of inexistence. And the kid is aware about his existence and they fucking hate each other's guts. So basically Henry sort of terrorizes him for.. I think two years? But then Cocoa dies and Henry starts spending time with Cocoa and leaving Nathaniel alone, and they get along overtime because Cocoa is fond of Nath and Henry doesn't want to upset Cocoa by making Nathaniel's life a fucking nightmare so they get along. Yay.

However, and here's where the AU is born, Henry still heavily despises being around. He's tired of being 'awake' and conscious and wants to rest and like, die for real, so him and Nathaniel do some research on ghosts and see if they can find any spells or rituals to separate tied ghosts from the living person they're tied to and allow them to fully pass away. AND THEY DO AND NATHANIEL CASTS IT BUT IT DOESN'T KILL HENRY IT JUST SEPARATES HIM FROM NATH AND MAKES IT SO THAT HE CAN'T POSSESS HIM ANYMORE SO NOW HENRY'S STILL AWAKE AND BORED OUT OF HIS MIND AND HE'S STILL GONNA HAVE TO WAIT FOR NATHANIEL TO DIE PROBABLY? (Which he doesn't, by the way! He can choose to dissappear, he just assumes that he can't because a-oop, he's still conscious).

So since he can't interact with the physical world through Nathaniel's vessel anymore and he's so fucking bored, he decides he'll try to communicate with Ethan somehow. Just to see how he'll react. To give him a scare, even. He tries giving him signs that he's there but he's a weird kind of ghost so he can't even move objects cause he's so fucking pathetic, SO he possesses Ethan to try and communicate with him through post-it notes. Boom, he's tied again. Congratulations, Henry.

He starts using Ethan's vessel to interact with the physical world very moderatedly at first, like maybe to just eat a yogurt or go through a late night walk, but Henry is Henry and minutes of possessions turn into days, weeks, and even months. And he hasn't actively tried to take care of a human body since he was like seven and alive so Ethan's health drops significantly, both physically and mentally. And now he's gonna have to wait for ETHAN to die if HE wants to die which fucking sucks for Henry but hey he got himself into this situation. Anyway, silly doodle dump:

Lore-building ⬇

Double-bonus // Me explaining ghost types:

DENIAL GHOSTS: Those who don't know or don't want to believe that they are dead. They will be reincarnated once then accept their own death.

WANDERERS: Those who choose to roam the astral realm volountarily. They can choose when to be reincarnated.

TIED GHOSTS: Those who tie themselves, volountarily or not, to a living person. This can happen if they make the stupid choice of possessing someone, or if they've been killed by that someone (murder victims will be tied to their murderers, as is the case with Henry when he first dies). They will be reincarnated when the person they're tied to dies (unless they get separated from their magnet via a spell or a ritual, in which case, they will become Wanderers).

SUICIDAL GHOSTS: Those who took their own life. They will be reincarnated once they spend the same amount of years they had when they died as a ghost.

GUARDIANS: Ghosts who, despite having died from natural causes or accidents refuse to be reincarnated immediately in order to look out for their loved ones. They will be reincarnated when they choose to.

SPITEFUL GHOSTS: Ghosts who, despite having died from natural causes or accidents refuse to be reincarnated immediately in order to haunt those who have wronged them. They will be reincarnated when they either forgive their enemies, or witness their enemies' death.

[lady-lazagna]

What does Team Birrung think of the Vermillion Trio? Most importantly, I need their opinion on Megaladon Nemesimpson (or Megan as she is usually called ig)

You have a hot girl trio. I have a hot girl trio. Whaddya say we uhhhh *I am hit by a 2002 Toyota Tacoma*

There’s obviously some strong similarities between each of these girlies, so I’m gonna go through the matches:

Ashanti and Li Hua- Absolute slam dunk of a pair oh my god. Oldest Sister Syndrome, hefty responsibility of leading their teams, being seen as too strict when they’re just trying to protect those they care about, and the HEIGHT. I think, if either was willing to really step outside of their comfort zones and face what it’s like to really be known by someone, they’d make a darn swell pair. They could do each other's hair and makeup and cry together when it's all too much :D AND THE FASHION!!! They would absolutely slay together the world would not handle it. Maybe since Li Hua's a bit older than Ash, she could give her a bit of life advice about managing stress and just general Pained Adult Woman stuff.

Madina and Fifionne- The problem children. They like to cause problems on purpose because ..? They have issues? Who's to say. Granted, their problems stem from different places, with Fifi's coming from the crushing pressure of dedicating your life to a god, and Madi's coming from being the middle child. Either way, they can go around town committing crimes and antagonising people together. So long as Fifi doesn't go too hard antagonising the wrong people (i.e. anyone Madina cares about) they'll get along just swimmingly. But if she does... let's just say these two have the capability to either become really great friends or the absolute worst of enemies. Insulting people is only fun if you both don't like that person, so it could go horribly wrong real quick. It all depends on who their other friends are.

Kylie and Felicity- Doggirl and catgirl solidarity. The others have a lot of problems, but! We do not care <3 These two are just living their happy little lives to the fullest because drama is for losers and cuteness is forever. Not sure how close they would get, since Felicity is an adult and Kylie is an annoying fifteen year old. They could be like,,, tumblr moots. Send silly little memes to each other. Exchange dog and cat pics.

Maybe it's more likely that Madina and Felicity would get along as morally dubious chill dudes who live regular-ass lives outside of Beyblade, and Fifionne and Kylie would get along and annoying spiteful ladies who need animals following them around every second of the day. Who knows.

And Megalodon… god, no one knows what to think of that Beast (average teenage girl). Never really occurs to anyone that the bad guys have like... extended families (or any families, really). So seeing someone introduce themselves as Pluto's cousin is gonna cross a few wires. So long as she doesn't try any funny business they're not gonna bother her much.

[maguro13-2]

Legacy of Shinra Reboot ~ Origins of the Ink Demon Chapter 1 Remake Pt.15 ~

*Smash Sfx : Strong Hit*

Crona : Ugh!

*DBZ SFX : Body Lands*

Inky Jr. : All to easy.

Crona : Darn, beaten again. No wonder I was going to give it all...I still have Black Blood within in me...All this destruction, all of this power, It doesn't have to be this way...*heartbeating rapidly* (growls in anger+straining) Why did I ever deserve to do this. I killed so many of the planet's inhabitants, Shinra, this boy, and it's influence, is drving me mad with power! (voice slowly shifts in a monstrous voice) Why do I feel a sudden urge in destroying of this planet! Shinra Kusakabe must die! Kill all influencer of the devil! The Devil's legacy...MUST BE DESTROYED! (Roars furiously)

Inky Jr. : I'm getting a sense of this kid's power! That so-called Black Blood in Crona's body is not Black at all, the real reason kept on saying it's black, because it's the powers of the Ink Demon's might! So you better get back and step away kid. You being obsessed with this Crona Kid is trying to kill you Maka! That snake faker is using these beings as puppets to do all the dirty work.

Sora : Sanke Faker? So that's what this person had been given orders to destroy Maka Albarn. But she woken up from coma one year ago, how can someone be so cruel to let someone kill innocent people that was trying to absorb the energy from the light. Who's the villain that is responisble for this. *gasp in shock* Guys, look out! Vector Arrows! (deflects the vector arrows) Very funny to attack us! Now cut it out and show your face so that I will hurt your real bad!

[Mephiles' Whisper by Hideaki Kobayashi]

Medusa Gorgon (?) : Maka Albarn. A human girl who would really take on the witch that wants to destroy you and along with this planet.

Sora : That's frieza's thing to destroy the planet, same goes to other Dragon Ball villains that always wanted to destroy planets. So, you must be the villain of Soul Eater...

Inky Jr. : One of the fakers that attempts to put the planet in genocide or omnicide.

Maka Albarn : This is...Medusa Gorgon?

*images flashing*

Maka Albarn : No way...But she was imprisoned inside that coffin.

Sora : [To Maka] Eh? How did you know?

Maka Albarn : I've heard about her. She was that heartless villain that wanted to put an end to Shinra's legacy by destroying from the inside of this planet. Detectives were able to catch this criminal that has been committing countless crimes and most of all, she's one of the three evil witch trio called the Gorgon Sisters, unlike the monsters of Greece, they are a trio of evil witches who were planning to wreak havoc on the planet by spreading all of this dark magic and would eventually destroy the legacy of Shinra.

Sora : So that's why Crona is killing all of these people for power and energy? That's...That's inhumane, why in the world would she do this...Unless...

*images showing Ansem*

Sora : Ansem, he must've did all of this to get his revenge on me. [To Maka] Hey, Kid! Listen to me, both you and this Crona kid were fooled by Anserm to get his revenge on me, he was using this witch as a puppet to destroy all of these who lived here on earth. You were easily manipulated by the heartless that steals light from others.

Maka Albarn : So that witch is not what I think who she was...

*images flashing*

Maka Albarn : (holds head in pain) Aaahhhh!!! Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? After all these years in my life, I can't be my whole story has been a lie from the start, I thought that I could be the story and the world of Soul Eater was just a dream.

Medusa Gorgon (?) : (chuckles) What's wrong, Maka Albarn. Don't you know who I am? I am Medusa Gorgon, I am the witch that has a strong need for Chaos and with it hell will be risen from earth, and Chaos will rise from the darkness! With you and everyone gone, I Medusa shall become the queen of the new profound world! I will have everything in this world and this Galaxy shall be my control! CHAOS IS THE POWER OF EVERYTHING THAT COSTS THE DEVIL'S LIVES! EVERY PLANET AND THIS GALAXY BECOME INTO THE SPIRALING WORLD OF DARKNESS!

Riku : Shut up! Shut up! SHUT UP! *battlecries*

*STRONG HIT*

[Night of Fate by Yoko Shimomura]

Riku : I've had enough of your foolishness! I want this madness to be stopped! HUWAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!! (deflects the vector arrows) You are no witch! You are a monster, a monster who bents on destruction to this planet! I won't let you hurt anyone, anymore! If you think Darkness would be your thirst for power, then you better make a mess on this world!

Sora : Riku! Just in time!

Riku : [To Sora] Sorry, I was in bit of a rush here.

Medusa Gorgon (?) : Oh good, more company.

Goofy : Sorry we're late.

Donald : Don't think we ever have to hesitate. We're right on schedule!

Sora : Yeah, thanks for getting here on time, guys! But we got a minor situation here! This snake witch won't leave Maka and this planet alone so that we can give her a piece of our mind

Goofy : We know that, but that's the Medusa Gorgon, that you expected! Sora! That witch Maka has been fighting with...Is not a witch, but an evil banished half that was separated from the real and original Medusa!

Sora : It's true, because she's really a heartless sent out by Ansem.

Riku : Ansem? Wait, that heartless who seeks darkness is back again? This is the last time I ever had to face someone who makes a great comeback. But first what do we do with this kid over here?

Inky Jr : Like I said...Get away, this kid is up to something. He's about to unleash the powers of the Ink Demon's potential!

Sora : Which means...

Crona : (roars furiously) *transforms into beast made of Ink*

Donald : Hey, that kid transformed!

Goofy : That wasn't part of the plan! This doesn't look good!

Maka Albarn : CRONA!

Sora : No way...There is something wrong with you, Kid. You look...Umm...different.

Crona (?) : (with a monstrous voice) So this is what the powers of the Ink Demon can do. I amazed that the Black Blood had been Ink the entire time. This is the power of both Ink and darkness together!

Sora : What? So the kid named Crona has the power to use Darkness?

Maka Albarn : *breathes heavily" ...N...No...This can't be...Crona you can't...Wh...What has even gotten into you?

[Slave Beast Taka Theme by Akira Yamaoka]

Crona (?) : Sorry, Maka. But the Crona you knew is no more, this the fused form of Crona and Ragnarok together, the power of Ink and Darkness fills me with joy, but it also makes go wild! With this power, I shall put an end to the legacy of Shinra Kusakabe once and for all, or my name isn't Beast Crona!

"BEAST CRONA : Fusion Form of the Ink Demon".

Inky Albarn : So you've finally shown the Ink Demon's true potential, Crona! I guess I have no other choice but to give this kid a mighty ass-whooping from the queen herself. So yea, I sense a smell foul from you over there, snake faker. You trying to sabotage my son were you?

Medusa Gorgon (?) : Well, Your majesty. (chuckles) You got quite of nerves haven't you? Even though I'm still what I'm about to do with this planet being destroyed! My thirst for chaos is...

Inky Albarn : *imitates buzzer sound* Wrong! Your thirst for chaos, does not suit well, but you have got to get some help! But first, why don't I take a meaningful lesson with your...Kid? Woah, was using the power of the Ink Demon's blood that fairly, no one would able to use the power of the Ink Demon's full potential! Now this? I gotta see it for myself? Yo kid! I suggest that you should start giving me a hand here. Why don't we work together to stop from destroying things on people's proeprty?

Maka Albarn : Help you out? Yeah, I might wanna pass with you.

Inky Moon : I wouldn't think clearly. (puts a gun in front of her)

Maka Albarn : Fine, I'll help you, Milady.

Inky Albarn : He-hey! Well I'm finally beginning to understand to your appreciation. Let's make things quick!

(battle begins)

Beast Crona : Don't ever got a second chance to prove to you that I'm willing to become a God or what?

Inky Albarn : Yeah, I see that you're just asking for it. How did you know much about having the planet's destruction? You might wanna know why you were on tasks to destroy everything on this planet weren't you? I suggest that you should give up the ways of destroying planets and these people were enforcing are taskmasters, they annoy me sometimes and I give them a respect to my will.

Maka Albarn : But Crona...

Inky Albarn : Don't get obsessed with that person, you know he's a beast that's gone wild...focus on your battles and do as what I say! I need you get yourself in the game!

Maka Albarn : I'm always ahead of my game, That's why needed to practice and I don't wanna hesitate!

Seto : Mind if we join?

Solva : You can count on us! Woah, who's the big fella.

Seto : What the--Hey, we don't remember someone turning into that! What the hell has that person been eating?

Maka Albarn : Uh, thanks for your advice, Seto. It's a problem, we found out that Crona has transformed into some kind of beast.

Seto : What? That demon went beast mode is Crona? We don't remember any Crona before we, have we? wait a sec, we do! That's the kid who was merely a pawn to those heartless, talk about some bad blood in the system.

Solva : And that taskmaster, was given specific orders from someone else. That's the one who using Ink as Black Blood, the Ink Demon's blood is not a bodily fluid, but a substance used by the powers of darkness. That's what really need!

Seto : But how are we going to stop a demon who can fight against others with the same powers as light, if we can make super effective attacks it might just work. But which one who holds the power of light.

Sora : Good idea!

[Red Falcon by Sota Fujimori]

Sora : Maka! When you were having a battle with Inky Albarn and her group, you used the power of light from your heart and I think that valor of yours might be having a chance, I discovered that projector in the 20th century had some kind of weird power, it was light that effected the Ink Demon and return to it's normal state.

Inky Albarn : You are right about that, Keyblade wielder. It was that stupid projector that returned to my human form when I had the abilities to turn into the Ink Demon, but I now realize that the powers of the Ink Demon's blood is affiliated with Darkness! Figured it out yet, Maka? Black Blood is Ink and is affiliated with darkness!

Maka Albarn : Say what? *gasped in genuinely*

*images flashing*

Maka Albarn : That's it! I remember, I used Light to reflect the Darkness! I have light in my heart and I'm not afraid to use it! Hey, Crona! If you and Ragnarok would want to eat something! Eat this!

*DBZ SFX : Energy Glowing*

Beast Crona : !?

Maka Albarn : HEART POWER...GO!!!

*DBZ SFX : ENERGY BLAST*

Beast Crona : (yelling in agony)

*DBZ SFX : Energy Explosion*

Crona : *reverts to normal form* I...I have been beaten. How can I be beaten.

Inky Jr. : Give up, Kid. You outnumbered by us.

Crona : I mustn't give up, I needed to...Eh? (surrounded by the revived Inky Scouts)

Inky Mars : Well, now. Looks like you have no where to go, Punk.

Inky Jupiter : It's the end of the road for you.

Inky Venus : Where's your pride now, Kid? You think you were much of a threat to humanity, I believe the only ones that is the threat are heartless beings like them. These guys have a lot of nerves to mess with us

Inky Moon : And this is what happens when you cross paths with us, the Inky Scouts! Sorry to break it to ya, kid. Your goal of becoming a God...is finished. Huuut!

*DBZ SFX : Strong Hit+Boing*

Crona : Blehhh!!!

*DBZ SFX : Collapse*

*bird chirping and floating around*

Medusa Gorgon (?) : Grrrghhh!!! You use child of mine! I don't have time for losers like you! If you can't finish them off, then I'll have to do it for myself!

Inky Albarn : Looks like that's taken care of. Now then, time for to finish to snake off! I bet you won't even think using the experiments that you caused, you're a bad snake, you know that? A definite cold-blooded heartless creature that wanted to bring all the chaos you bent on destroying the devil's legacy. I'll take you out with full-throttle force!

Medusa Gorgon (?) : (laughs evilly) That's really clever of you, alright then, I'll take you on myself and then I will have to make the blame on you!

Inky Albarn : Fat chance. I don't take advice from a monster like you, so get ready to die so easily! Nice and clean!

"Villain vs Villain..."

"That's something I'd like to call myself an Anti-Hero..."

"That's the role that I am Into and I will make things for myself..."

"Villains like them are always making that stupid choice..."

"But rest assure, only I can have the power of everything that I got..."

"They can take on me if they want to!"

"Just don't mess with the queen or I'll bite them back!"

~ Scene 14 : Unleash the Full Potiential ~

[strangelittlestories]

Okay, so:

Hopepunk relies on a world or setting that is hostile to its characters. It seeks to isolate them. To weary them. To burn them out, grind them down, snuff them out.

In the face of this, in a story where *hopelessness* and *powerlessness* are forces of nature like entropy, our characters see a situation where it would be so very reasonable to stop caring. To embrace cynicism. Selfishness. Nihilism.

But they say: fuck it. The world is caustic, its earth is poisoned ... but I'm gonna plant a seed here *anyway*.

They build community. They make little change. They protect the weak, because they themselves *are also weak* and they also deserve that.

In the face of systems that effectively punish you for being gentle, that in a very real way *criminalise* softness, they commit acts of kindness and mercy.

And when they no longer can, when their part in the struggle is done, they trust the ripples of goodness they put out into the world will come back to them. For they must, surely? So they hope.

However ... a problem someone recently raised to me with Hopepunk stories is that it can be hard, just in terms of writing, to make slow and incremental change *exciting*.

These are often small soft actions, repeated and peppered through communities, actions that move the needle by inches or less ... the example the guy gave was specifically around community organising. He used to go door-to-door, raising awareness for social issues and local campaigns, and it was *boring* work of long days, cold smiles and wearing down the pavement with your footsteps.

And my answer to this is ... have you played tabletop RPGs? Have you listened to actual plays? Do you know the thing that people *really* fall in love with? Do you know the thing your players will truly go feral for?

Most of the time it's not the big plot. It's not the clever mechanic or dramatic set piece you worked so hard on.

No, most of the time, the thing they sink their grubby little dice-filled claws into is that one goblin called Gleb you made up on the fly. But he had a funny voice, a weird kinda wild energy, and a Single Problem. And gosh darn it, the party immediately decide they will burn the world down if it means Gleb will get their Problem Solved.

And then they will adopt Gleb and never let them go.

I once joked to my forever-GM and party when we were talking about how to get players to care about NPCs: "Come on, it's not rocket science, just make them gay and fragile and call it a day."

And, like, you *should* make your NPCs gay and fragile, because most tables I'm at will go wild for it. But really that's just my shorthand for: make them tactile and make them vulnerable. Show the players there is clay here in need (knead) of shaping, and show them they have the means to shape it.

Because you know what's true of NPCs in most ttrpg settings? The world is hostile to them. The story is so ready to make collateral damage of them. The world wants to take their agency and put it in the hands of the PCs.

And that's fine, that's how the games work.

But also: the players, those folks who have the agency and the power, what do they choose to do with it?

They choose to *build fucking community* with this 2D goblin I invented out of the goddamn ether *because they had a funny voice and a problem*.

Goddamn that's beautiful. Goddamn that's Hopepunk.

Let's imagine for a moment what Gleb the Goblin's problem is.

See, his dayjob? He has to go door-to-door with a clipboard and tries to get people to sign up to help out at the local secular temple (e.g. fantasy community centre). See, there's a shadow curse in this town that eats you if you spend too long in public outdoor spaces on your own.

But the local secular temple will be safe if enough people sign up to take shifts lighting candles and sweeping floors and tending the vegetable garden.

Because Gleb doesn't know how to kill a shadow curse.

But they do know how to plant a turnip and organise a rota. So this is what they're doing.

And you know what? Your adventurers are gonna be out on that trail with Gleb before you can say "we're gonna ruin the local economy with stolen dragon gold".

And Gleb will get *so many sign-ups*.

And after that, sure, your party might go and actually end the shadow curse that you seeded.

But another problem will hit the town eventually, because the world never *stays saved* in an rpg.

So when trouble does come to that town again, they'll know they'll be safe in the local community secular temple, with its garden and its new coffee bar and its indoor basketball court.

And that's because of a little goblin called Gleb, who had a funny voice and problem and some wild friends, who used to go door-to-door around this town ... selling hope.

Nobody:

Me: actually, the tendency of TTRPG parties to adopt NPCs and solve all their problems is inherently Hopepunk.

[corgibardballads]

Foulques, man. He was my first taste of what FF14 was going to do to me.

Foulques. Holy shit. Foulques really changed my outlook of Final Fantasy 14. MMO stories usually play it pretty safe when it comes to characters. For story longevity you don’t really want to have to hard commit to big character decisions. So I was pretty shocked when, at only level 30, they committed to killing a character that felt like was being set up as a much bigger story. Really? At level 30? I guess the game is really gonna fuck around and find out with my emotions then. It set the tone of the story for me, I started going into every quest with the thought that no character other than my WoL was safe. But I’ll backup. I think most people can agree that the story quests for the initial classes are… uh… well they exist. I can hardly even remember most of them. Generally I only see people actively remembering two: Rogue and Lancer. The rogues’ guild was quirky, but I honestly didn’t think the actual story was great. It was more the theme and dialogue that made it memorable. The Lancers guild story was unique in that it felt more connected to real world problems than other guilds. Right outside the darn guild you see how Gridanians treat Duskwight elezen of darker skintones. Gelmorra is so destitute that Duskwights resort to thievery. Too proud to ask for help from those they feel abandoned by and too poor to try and turn it all around on their own. A stereotype. A bad reputation. And Foulques just embodies the result of that hatred. Now this is all just wild speculation and me replaying it 20 times and being sad. Foulques doesn't even seem to really know what he wants. He claims he wants control of the Lancer's Guild but he doesn't really have any endgame. He boasts and berates all to hide his fear. But you? You immediately embody what he wants to be. That fearlessness. A mere novice but even Ywain is starting to respect you. So he takes you as his most promising "student". It seemed like it had no purpose. So it always made me wonder if really he was begging you without asking to help him. Frantically trying to prove to you that Ywain and the guild were wrong and bad. The more he failed to do so the more he panicked. And in the end he failed you too, as a mentor. He froze in fear at the Lord of the Bramble Patch while you stood bravely in front of him. It seemed like something in him just broke. He had nothing to offer you and no way forward to convince you to his side. He just snaps. Getting a bunch of novices seriously injured is just the last straw. By the time you find him he's just mad with fear. Broken and humiliated. He's barely even making sense. But in between it all he tells you story of being poor and destitute in the Lancer's Guild. That when he and his mates stole and got caught they just turned on him. It's the Duskwight. It's always the Duskwight. He's abandoned and thrown away, no one cares about Foulques. So he nearly kills himself to be stronger and it wasn't enough.

I was upset by the ending. It just seemed so wrong. Even in his last moments, he's reaching out to you. You may just be the only person who ever just listened to him. And it just sours your whole experience with the guild. Ywain may not literally be a bad guy but his dismissal of Foulques' issues then and now directly contributed to everything. A decent person can make shit decisions.  I remember thinking if the both of us had reached out to Foulques, just tried, it could have made all the difference. It just seemed to unfair. And that made it a great story and easily one of my favorite class/job quests. Of course it doesn't help that Foulques was one the few darker skinned Duskwights we even interact with. Considering what happens in the following Dragoon quests, I always secretly hold out hope he will one day come back.

[hanzajesthanza]

every day my heart pours for how much i adore the hansa pretending to be incognito nobility during their stay in beauclair, putting on this masquerade in the court of anna henrietta, having to not only dress but also act and speak the part, dressing up in wonderful fancy garments, being the only ones who know each other’s true identities, teasing each other sarcastically about being ladies and lords…

each suffering from their own specific insecurities…

milva frustrated and afraid, knowing that no matter what she wears, when she opens her mouth to speak people will know she’s not nobility, sealing herself in her quarters even after she’s healed from her rib injury because she doesn’t want to expose the company by simply existing.

cahir pained with the noble court, reminded of his childhood and darn dyffra and family in vicovaro that he’ll never see again, living in a world much like his own, but without the politics of reality which own and command his life.

angoulême at first gleeful to have the opportunity of the con of a lifetime, then wretchedly envious as she knows none of it will ever be really hers, constantly reminded that this is a life she was denied since birth, wondering what it would have been like for her if her mother never abandoned her.

regis effortless at blending in, this being another disguise on top of another on top of another, this being the external world he passes through with ease, but internally in conflict with himself, uneasy and questioning and tearing himself apart philosophically in searching for the meaning of all this.

everyone living in a dream, a beautiful dream as painful as it is fantastical, in love with their surroundings and in fear of themselves, wanting so badly to forget the harshness of reality and live a beautiful dream, but, like continous crashing waves slamming down onto a shipwrecked sailor who holds onto land by just one bloodied hand, refusing to let go to be consumed by the blissful eternal sleep which the ocean would grant them, staying, committing to their realities, which grant them only pain.

in the middle of a blissful land untouched by war, none of them can be truly, truly happy. yes, outside, they’re at ease in their fantasy, but inside, they are marked by the horrors of real life, they can’t relax, they cannot forget themselves even if they wanted to or tried. because it’s not real, none of it is real. none of them fit in with their surroundings, this damned dream-land fairy tale, when they are all themselves, as characters in these books, inversions of fairy tales… they don’t fit in, but they don’t fit in together. they’re all real people surviving in a fake land. though, of course, this “survival” just looks like a relaxed two-or-three hour long breakfast every morning and a lazy raiding of the kitchens at midnight. as her grace says, another drop, anyone?

[nevertheless-moving]

Could you talk more about your gumbo jar jar au or the frog one? 🐸

hm on close review the frog promise draft is a now redundant drabble from this au. Here it is in its entirety:

“I will never join you,” Luke said with a sneer of disgust.

Palpatine, as well as the nearby politicians, Jedi masters, and reporters were taken aback. 

“I’m afraid I don’t understand your meaning, Master Jedi,” the Senator said incredulously. “Do you mean to tell me that you consider yourself separate from the Republic? I know the Jedi Council had disavowed recognizing you but I never could have imagined...” he trailed off, leaving the crowd to murmur in alarm.

“I mean I will never join the Sith,” the rogue master replied calmly. “I imagine you’re responsible for the traces of the dark side I felt amongst the trade federation leaders.”

“The Sith...I see.” Palpatine took a step back, deliberately reassuring tone and alarmed expression clearly indicated that he suspected the man before him of insanity. “It’s been a very long day and you clearly intended to do good by my humble home world. Perhaps your fellow Jedi can take you to the healers so you can-”

“Why are you working alongside a Sith Lord?” Luke cut off the Senator and addressed Grandmaster Yoda directly. 

“A Sith Lord, you say?” Master Yoda replied. “A most serious allegation, this is.”

Basically, Luke derails the Naboo Crisis by absolutely annihilating the trade federation army, only realizing after the fact when and where he is. This means that Padme turns right around from Tatooine and never voices her vote of no-confidence. Now, Palpatine probably had contingency plans in place, but the public accusation by a Jedi of being responsible for the crisis in the first place, despite absolutely no evidence, hurts his image enough that he’s not going to win a vote, because people will think it’s a power grab. 

And it’s funny cause it’s true but Luke only barely knows that! He’s just accusing Palpatine of being behind the first evil thing he sees and he fuckin happens to be right!!!

Anyway Luke doesn’t focus on Palpatine; there are like 10,000 other Jedi around. He commits himself first and foremost to completing his training with Master Yoda because sometime Yoda just dies and fades into thin air so, you know! He’s not going to procrastinate on that again!

He goes before the council and humbly asks to be taken on Yoda’s student (this is right before Qui-Gon can ask about Anakin- literally, Anakin and Qui-Gon are in the waiting room). He gives several extremely vague banthashit explanations of who he is ‘I’m a follower of the Force,’ where he comes from ‘the Force sent me,’ and why they should train him when he’s way too old ‘the Force willed it.’ Yoda is somewhat impressed because those are some real unhelpfully wise answers and- here’s the kicker- Luke actually believes them! 

He is really committed to being a Jedi! Is 110% all about being a luminous being! This is several years after return of the Jedi and Luke has pretty much just been hanging out in force temples meditating with ghosts so he has quintessential Jedi vibes, he just knows jackshit about anything!

What really clinches it for Yoda is the fact that his robe pocket starts squirming and he pulls out a live Nabooian Salt Frog. And hands it to Yoda like, “These are one of your favorites right? :) I saw it and I thought of you :)”

Now Yoda- let’s step back a second. Yoda is old. Yoda, in his youth, was a bit more feral. He’s a top level predator and the order has always celebrated diversity and being true to your origins! He’s hunted with Tortugans on Shili! He’s unhinged his jaw with Besalisks on Ojom! 

But as the Republic’s boundaries caved in on themselves, he was more and more put into contact with Core senators who tend to be unnerved by more, ah, carnivorous tendencies. And the more he was put into high level positions by virtue of being really frickin old, the more restrained he became in his public behavior. 

Decades passed and younglings who only ever knew his more ‘harmless-prank’ feral tendencies were increasingly shocked and scared to see him occasionally unhinge his jaw to eat a scrocodile whole. Some of the prey-origin younglings from that field trip actually avoided him for the rest of the their lives.

So. Yoda is still a carnivore- but- in private. With his padawans and his closest peers. But his closest peers age and die and his padawans get younger and smaller as the decades pass. He took on two herbivorous padawans in a row and as a result restrained himself from openly hunting with another soul for around for 50 years.

And then there’s Dooku. ‘Ah a human,’ he thinks. ‘They hunt sometimes. Well. They’re omnivores at least.’

And Dooku is- and I’m not saying this to shame Dooku- but he’s prissy. He likes...neatness. He’s not afraid of violence but force forbid it’s untidy. So when Yoda, excited to get his ambush predation on, takes 14 year old Dooku who’s barely ever left the sterile confines of Coruscant on a trip to a swamp world- yeaaahh it doesn’t go well. Dooku- he doesn’t mean to, honestly. How would he even know that Yoda might be sensitive about things? He’s Yoda. 

But Dooku sobbing openly and puking a little in a bush and running away from Yoda because his Master is terrifying and gross. It... kind of puts the nail in the coffin for Yoda being open about that side of himself. He doesn’t really have it in him to try again. People’s view of him is too fixed, they can’t handle him also being a flesh creature so he focuses on the luminous side of him which is and always was, genuinely, more important than him.

And that’s been the last 100 years or so. The thrill of a live kill is just a little piece of himself that he meditates away and that’s ok. He has the force. He has the order. He’s old anyway, a real hunt would probably hurt his joints. 

And then in comes Luke, radiating Light and earnestness and Jedi serenity while also holding out a very tasty looking live frog. And Yoda realizes Dooku’s not around, he’s surrounded by a council he trusts and respects and likes, none of whom are 14 year olds, all of whom have seen the galaxy and seen worse. He is almost seizing the moment but there’s a little part of him that shriveled up when Dooku cried that’s having a hard time accepting this.

“Want it for yourself, you do not?” Yoda cackles, playing off the offer.

Luke smiles sheepishly and pulls out another live frog. “I was saving it for later. Forgive me Master, your senses are keen as ever I see.”

And Yoda...it’s not about the bribe, really, so much as the symbolism, and it’s not about the flattery either, but darn is the kid really pulling out the stops to make himself likable. And he is a kid, to Yoda anyway. Everyone is these days. What does he care about numbers when there’s a boy smiling like his third padawan, an adorable Rodian who took great delight in their more amphibious and wild missions?

Yoda snatches one of the frogs and slowly raises it in a parody of a toast. Luke does the same. The rest of the council quietly watches in various shades of bewilderment and bemusement.

They’re not actually going to eat that right? Mace thinks. Ugh I hate frogs the skin is so slimy. Shaak Ti thinks. I cannot believe they’re not even offering me one. Yaddle thinks.

And Yoda bites the head off the frog in a quick snap of his jaws, the rest following rapidly. Luke does the same- a slight assist from the force helping his less specialized mandible tear through skin and bone in a well practiced move. He chews slower, but finishes the frog soon enough, the rest of the council looking on with deep uncertainty and a tiny bit of hunger, but no actual fear. They’re Jedi Masters; they’ve eaten everywhere, it’s just a little weird for a human to be eating a live animal and Yoda as far as anyone knew only ate stew and also they were in the middle of a council meeting.

Yoda belches and Luke smiles genially.

“Take you on as my padawan learner, I will. Much to learn you have, much to teach you, I do.”

Luke beams. The council looks on in shock. 

“Master Yoda,” Mace Windu says hesitantly, “He’s clearly in his late 20s, at the earliest. If this is about the... frog thing-”

“Was a pleasant surprise, the frog. The reason for my decision, it is not. Had some training already, he has. Know each other before this day, we do. Taking over for a Master passed into the force, I am merely. Our custom, this is.”

Luke bows lowly and an initiate is summoned to escort him to the quartermasters and then the long-empty padawan suite next to Yoda’s chambers. 

Qui-Gon and Anakin are brought in and. Well. It’s a little hard for them to simply reject the boy after Yoda just pulled that stunt. He’s sent to the initiates dorm, eventually. Mace Windu has a headache from the shatterpoints blinking in and out of existence. Shaak Ti is delighted to discuss a hunting trip with Master Yoda and his new padawan learner Luke Svader. 

The force dances.

[i-dreamed-i-had-a-son]

Guys, I just watched the first episode of Moon Knight and holy heck. Holy heck this really does have potential to reach close to Daredevil levels of quality

It's well shot, with some truly interesting camera work and framing decisions and consistent lighting

The *acting* oh my GOSH Oscar Isaac go off king! A very solid British accent (and it's not just "basic" British either) to top off an engaging, sympathetic, and compelling performance that immediately got me attached

Darn solid writing. I am very invested in this character's story after one episode because the writing feels natural and is great at developing suspense. The treatment of set-up/payoffs even in just the first episode is extremely satisfying: everything introduced is introduced intentionally, so the things that do receive a payoff this episode (e.g. Marc's reveal) carry real weight, and those that do not (the dead bird skull demon-god-thing) don't feel like cheap baits but rather important parts of a larger, developing story.

On a related note, the writers aren't afraid of mystery, of making the audience wait--or even better, think--and that immediately makes me so much more engaged. I'm drawn in and actively trying to piece together along with Steven what's going on in his life, in doing so creating further empathy between me and his character

The pacing is ~lovely~, not once did I feel bored or confused or like we were spending time somewhere we really shouldn't have been. I stayed engaged with the episode the entire time

Love the music choices! Very different from what I'd expected but they do a good job of making the music fit

Great editing, the transitions they used really help distinctly create the disorienting effects from the switching personalities

They actually made it creepy. Like. I was actually unnerved! They leaned into the horror! And they showed actual blood!! Can you believe it???

The tone was consistent. There (thank GOD) wasn't any bathos; I could take this character and his world seriously, which is extremely important for a character like this because we are being asked to question his reality, and if it is poorly established or not cohesive, then it won't hold up to scrutiny. But Steven's struggles are never truly played for laughs, so his elaborate safety mechanisms in his bedroom, for example, don't seem excessive or paint him as stupid and paranoid. We have sympathy for him, and the only reason we doubt his perspective is because we're seriously shown we should. They could have handled this much more poorly and I'm honestly so impressed at how committed they were to holding one distinct tone and presentation. That's incredibly rare in modern Marvel!

In short, rather than leaving me feeling like the writers are more interested in writing a decent character and establishing his ties to the MCU, this show immediately demonstrates that it is committed to establishing a strong character and story that can stand on their own and truly earn the audience's investment. This is the kind of effort I've been looking for!!

I could go on and on but in summary I'll just say: if the rest of the show continues at this level of consistency and quality, I will have easily a new second favorite show, second only to Daredevil. Moon Knight thus far is exactly what I'd hoped it would be, which is blowing me out of the water because most of me didn't believe Marvel would actually do it. I pessimistically anticipated decent and somewhat intriguing--but now I am extremely interested and impressed. And I'm so excited to see what happens next!!

[rein-ette]

A Selection of England’s Relationships Throughout History

Holy this took me a long time BUT Hetalias back so gotta celebrate ♥️

Obviously these are my personal interpretations of iggy and co. — I would definitely love to hear feedback from anyone who agrees/disagrees or finds any historical inaccuracies.

Also I forgot to mention in the actual legend but the line thickness indicates the major relationship during England’s life at that time or the one he was the most invested in/committed to.

More Special Notes/Thoughts Under the Cut!

I use ship names throughout these notes only to denote a relationship between a nation and England, not necessarily a romantic one.

From a outsider point of view England’s relationship with Port and France are almost the inverse of each other, with one relationship growing stronger when the other weakens and vice versa, but actually from England’s point of view he’s just loved both of them, like, forever. For most of his life Portugal’s political agenda just happened to align better with his, so naturally more time was invested there. But I don’t think that made his feelings for Francis any less profound or intense during that time, and vice versa when he was dating France in the 20th century. Nowadays he’s allowed to do whatever he wants.

Also you actually draw the lines you really realize how long England’s been obsessed with those two amdkfjsjbdjdd

Nedeng and Engbel are so under-appreciated even though they’ve also shared the channel for like, forever? Ned had a reAl intense rivalry going on with England in the 16 and 1700s that could give Spain a run for his money — but to me the difference between SpUK and Nedeng is that the latter is actually has a more mutual respect/kinship undertone that Spain can’t share with England. Those two were born into similar conditions (dirt poor), have somewhat similar mindsets towards success (requires ruthless pragmatism and self discipline), both hate Spain and kinda France, and both like the ocean and the thrill of the more dangerous, darker aspects of life. That’s the foundation for a pretty darn strong friendship, despite the little tiffs in the middle.

I like to think Bel had a huge crush on England during the Napoleonic Wars and into the 19th century. I mean, if there’s ever time to fall in love with England, it’s during the Victorian era. Plus I think a relationship like that would balance out well the image of England as “undesirable” and “unattractive” and Bel as just the little sister foil to Ned. She has needs and wants too, and if she wants the worlds most powerful empire you best believe she’ll have him 👀. Now Eng and Bel are friends with occasional benefits.

I also think the idea that England was isolated and had no deep friendships/relationships beyond whoever he’s shipped with is inaccurate. Arthur’s definitely an intensely private and independent person, and he himself does fall into the trap of believing no one cares about him and that everyone who does try to get close wants him for something. But historically there are many nations who admired and liked him. Much of Prussian aristocracy, for example, could be categorized into “Anglophiles” or “Francophiles” and while Prussia himself is best friends with Francis, it makes sense for him to also be really close with England. In fact, historian Barbara Tuchman described the German ambassador to Britain in 1914 as being torn apart by the thought of conflict between “the country of his birth and the country of his heart.” The German people probably would not have felt as strongly, but I also see Prussia as more closely linked with the military/aristocratic class than the common people after Unification, especially since most of Germany as we know it today was decidedly not Prussian. Essentially Pruk like Nedeng is another pair that share some pretty powerful core values, including a strong, sometimes overwhelming sense of responsibility and loyalty to those they see as “entrusted” to them.

While talking about Germany, we’re actually all sleeping on England x Hanover. This was England’s longest official marriage (the Anglo-Portuguese alliance was mostly about informal commitments) and the Hanoverian House produced Iggys beloved Queen Victoria. I have to do more research here to better characterize Hanover, but I do think this relationship would have had a measurable impact on Arthur, even if it wasn’t romantic in nature (which it probably wasn’t, as the power imbalance between England as an empire and Hanover as a German province was just too great)

Asakiku is another fascinating relationship, not least because cross culture Europe x Asia relations are scarcely explored. Asakiku has so much potential for straight fluff and Arthur and Kiki just vibing about literature and music and the meaning of life, but also lends itself to analysis of more serious questions: how racism might affect nation’s personal relationships, or how nations view human rights abuses, expansionist war and those who perpetrate them, including themselves. Of course these are topics that Arthur could discuss with others like Francis or Prussia, but I think he wouldn’t be as vulnerable, calm, or reflective with anyone but Kiku — ironically because Japan and England’s politics, culture, and history are more distant.

Finally, SpUK and USUK. I feel kinda bad for tagging these cuz a lot of people love these pairings, but while I think Al and Toni both play huge roles in Arthur’s life, it’s not really romantic in nature. Besides Port and Francis Arthur’s known Toni the longest, and they make a great pair because on some levels they get each other, but on others they contrast hard (optimist vs pessimist, faith vs reason, belief in fate vs belief in agency etc.) That makes them great foils for each other but not really great long-term lovers. As for USUK I see it mostly as platonic — there may be no one in this world Artie loves more than the Al, but love can be powerful without being romantic. I do think they tried it out in the 60s during the British Invasion (see The Chosen End series) but ultimately they also have irreconcilable differences in worldview that mean they can’t really be what the other needs in a lover.

[maguro13-2]

Death Vengeance ~ Origins of the Ink Demon Chapter 3 Finale [2/3]

[Inside the Space Colony Ark]

Ashley : [about to wake up] Ugh...Where...Where are we? What did Neo Metal warped us to?

Red the Demon : Hey, Ashley, get up! Hey! There's no time for napping around! Wake up! This is real! Where in the real world! Or I temporary miscalculated as in part of Sonic's world. So then, ummm...Where in the heck are we at this kind of place?

Ashley : (gets up) Woah! What just happened? Hmm, no signs of life here inside this place.(Pulls out communicator to talk) Backup, do you copy? Backup! (Radio buzzes) Great! Lost contact with the force. We have no idea of how did we ended up here?

Kimial Diehl : Darn! I can't believe that blue robot bastard just warped us here into this quiet and peaceful space station that was abandoned for 50 years and we didn't even get any calls from earth! How can we suspect that this entire place about 50 years old!?

Jacqueline O'Lantern Dupre : 50 Years? Are you saying we're inside of a Space station that was shutdown for 50 years? *QUACK* Hey, Kimial. Is it me or does this place kinda look creepy and totally empty?

Kaguya : I have no idea what came up with an idea like this one. But this is really a science fiction getup here. So worth it. After all, we finally manage to do something and how cool was of it being aboard on a 50 Year-old space station?

Red the Demon : Guys! Come quick! We can see the real world version of Earth over here! Get a load of this view! I can see my house from down there!

Grim (Metal Sonic) : My god! This place, I've recognized this place before.

(we then cut outside to show the Space Colony Ark orbiting around the earth)

[Preparation for Ritual - Jun Senoue]

Grim (Metal Sonic) : I don't believe it, I'm back where it all begin 50 years in Sonic's world, the space station that was built by humanity as the world's first research facility, the Space Colony ARK. And it contains a mass weapon of destruction that can able to pierce through the stars. This one they call it, the Eclipse Cannon.

Ashley : Hmm? We're inside of the giant Space Colony ARK? Oh now I get it! This was the place that was shutdown about 50 years due to the contact between Gerald and the Aliens, spreading controversies in Sonic's world to hear about Gerald's renegade against his people for research and for one alien leader that confirmed to be the father of Shadow and leader of a race called the Black Arms, led by the sinisterly Black Doom. Who was also voiced by a super Saiyan, you know.

Grim (Metal Sonic) : ARK, 50 years ago...I've executed every being on this colony when I had my chance on executing a man who committed a hateful sin over a dead girl, the girl that was shot by the hands of a man who piloted a machine clef Heavy Dog, the one that was convicted for his crimes against humanity and mobiankind itself.

Kimial Diehl : Wait? You knew about it in Shadow's past? You knew about the Space Colony ARK Massacre incident? I bet you're the one who attempted to kill his father from doing bad things, but you failed and killed another being you committed. Remember of what was Maria Robotnik's killer had something to do with the hedgehog named Shadow, and what was his purpose?

Grim (Metal Sonic) : Okay, you had your wished. And you had your promise. The idiots called the Men of Mobian Influence had the nerves of making humanity as an arrogant species thinking that they were god's creation. But no one on Mobius would had to make mobians putting their hatred towards the human race like that. After Gerald's contact with the alien leader Black Doom, the old president and the original Gun commander ordered their men to raid the Ark, in an exchange of stopping the black arms into creating the Space Colony Ark Massacre, right before the Solaris Project Incident.

*FLASHBACK*

Grim the Hedgehog : You wretched Human! You've been worried about a hedgehog that wanted to be imprisoned that knows all about him. Men of mobian influence were too stubborn to have the truth hidden in secrecies. Do you, punk? Answer my words, sinner! Why did you committed it!?

Heavy Dog Pilot : (being crushed by Grim's foot on his head) No, please! Please, great God of Death! Spare me! Spare my life! I begged my life for this! It's only my job as a soldier! I didn't mean to kill the girl in that way! I only wanted to capture the black hedgehog that we have stormed in! The mobians will think that I even had to say heresy! It was my only chance to kill Shadow! I wanted him and the Aliens dead, you heard me! Dead I say! DEAAAAD!!!

Grim the Hedgehog : You're lucky that you wanted to make yourself a sinner to all those that have committed. Even if it's true, you humans did give Gerald a little space madness and wanted to bring death and Destruction to make the end of all mobians and humans go together. Next time in 50 years, if I ever see you humans dare cause anymore hatred against mobiankind, I won't be so nice to become so worthy of you humans, being arrogant species to the place.

Heavy Dog Pilot : Oh, is that so? You're ridiculous. Guess what....once we capture Shadow and imprisoned on Prison Island for good, then who's lucky enough for being the arrogant asshole we are. And I got one last thing for me to say...when planet Mobius dies with the energy of the emeralds a, we humans beings of Mobius are gonna burn for what we've did to ourselves.

Grim the Hedgehog : That's what I thought you said. Now then...DIIIEEEE!!! [SLASH!]

(We then cut back to the present)

[Tragedy - Kenichi Tokoi]

Grim (Metal Sonic) : So that was the day. The day that those who aboard the ARK were innocence and I failed to protect them, including one life that was lost forever, and Gerald was never the same person ever again. So that is why, to continue to protecting the innocence of Mobius, I made a promise to the gods and goddesses of Mobius that I would definitely wish that Humans and Mobians would put an end to their hatred against each other, and vowed that sinners must pay the price for what they've done to everything in Mobius. Including the humans their selves.

Kimial Diehl : Wow. 50 years too late. All those people were only innocent and the men of mobian made soldiers taken away their lives! Why on earth would any of this hid all the truth, and continues to spread all the lies throughout the world?! War, Segregation, hatred! Those things only hurt when it comes to no love indeed! Nothing is impossible for anything to Handle the life of an innocence. That's why I decided that I made a decision that you would help us finding the truth that was hidden! Please, you gotta give the truth to spread! Spread the truth to everyone, hear the truth from those who believe, speak the truth that gives us the hope we needed. That's what detectives are needed to find those answers! There's gotta be a chance for you, you may have failed to protect the innocence, but you didn't let another life thrown away!

Grim (Metal Sonic) : ....?

Kimial Diehl : But there isn't much to loose one's life than another. Back in Mobius's pasts, you helped Tikal to seal Chaos inside the master, then you manage to save Shadow when he think he died. You are what you really are, you are Grim the Hedgehog.

Jacqueline O'Lantern Dupre : Hey, guys. Not to mention for the Surprise of having a speech, but, uhh, should there be a school and a city floating in outer space like that?

Kimial Diehl : a Schools and and city floating outrr space. That's ridiculous! Where do you think that a school and a city is really floating in outer space like that? Like it could be floating somewhere near the space colony....(realizng) Oh no. It can't be! Not like this!

Ashley : I don't believe it. It's that school that was part of the World Heroes Force Organization...[we then cut outside to show the Space Colony ARK and Death City floating] Death Weapon Meister Academy.

~ Forty-Eighth Scene : 50 Year Vengeance ~

[frommindtopen]

They’re doing a series of sermons on the Apostle’s Creed at church. I thought I’d go through it again just to see if I still believe all of it because I’ve found lately that maybe there are some Christian precepts that I’m beginning to question.

As I was raised Episcopalian, I had to memorize this whole thing when I got confirmed, but I couldn’t remember all of it now so I had to google it and print it out. I went through it step by step and questioned myself. Do I really believe all of this? This is what Christians are “supposed” to believe. It was interesting to note that the Creed didn’t address any of the things that I, personally, am currently questioning. That was a bit of a relief to be honest. Anyway, here’s what I came up with. Honestly, I’m not expecting ANYONE at all to read this whole thing. It’s a lot of words. I’m just pasting it in to keep a note for myself for the future.

I believe in God,

(Yes, I really do believe that. I believe in a compassionate, all-seeing, all-knowing, all-powerful being who watches over us, who CAN take steps to change things and who DOES take steps to change things - from time to time - as He sees fit, that we cannot question because we just don’t know what He knows. I believe that He is omniscient, that we know nothing compared to Him and when we bring our petty complaints to Him - even though they don’t seem so petty to us because they may have to do with life and death - we have no idea of what the grand scheme of things is - He actually knows what He’s doing and we don’t. I also believe He keeps out of our business. After all, this is OUR world, He gave us free will and let’s us use it and if we don’t use the brains He gave us or if we use those brains the wrong way and use our free will the wrong way, the only time He might step in to fix the issues that we caused is if we petition Him with enough prayer and even then He might not step in. But, yes, I DO believe in God.)

the Father almighty,

(And, yes, I believe He is the Father almighty… pretty much see the above.)

maker of heaven and earth,

(Yes, I believe He created everything. I don’t think that necessarily means there was no evolution involved. I don’t see why creationism and evolution have to preclude each other. After all, “to God a thousand years is like a day and a day is like a thousand years,” so time is all screwed up so who knows what seven days was really in the beginning. But, either way, I believe He created everything. And I get really amazed when I think about all living things having the same DNA origin, sort of like God did a cut and paste then made variations to it. Yeah, of COURSE He created everything… come on.)

and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,

(I DO believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God and was fully God and fully man. I don’t exactly get completely how that works but I DO get that it DID work. For heaven’s sake, if we can “get” some of the fantasy books out there, then how can we not “get” the concept of fully man and fully God. Is it because we say that this is real? Maybe. You know that some people run around acting like Harry Potter is real. I saw people in Universal who were wearing robes and dressed like “He, whose name shall not be spoken,” and it was like 100 degrees outside. Yet, they paced around with that heavy stuff on and serious expressions across their faces as if they were truly headed for Dumbledore or whoever it is and ready to buy a real wand. I’ve never heard a story of a wand REALLY changing the course of someone’s life with a miracle but I have heard hundreds of stories of a prayer changing the course of a life with a miracle. So… yes, I believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God and I believe He’s real, but the reason I mostly believe is because of His presence in MY life.)

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

(Well, yeah, otherwise He wouldn’t have been fully God…)

born of the Virgin Mary,

Well, yeah, otherwise He wouldn’t have been fully man…)

suffered under Pontius Pilate,

(Even Josephus wrote about that — Josephus, for those of you who don’t know, was an ancient historian *nonChristian, by the way* who did confirm the reality of Jesus as a living, breathing human being.)

was crucified, died and was buried;

(Yep, it happened.)

he descended into hell;

(I don’t know how we know that and I’m less sure about that one but I’m going to buy into it because it makes sense.”

on the third day he rose again from the dead;

(Now, I struggled with this one for a while. I mean that’s a hard one to believe and it was hard for me. But here’s the thing, there were hundreds and hundreds of witnesses. There were hundreds of people who saw Him after he rose from the dead, not just like the Apostles - which is how it looks in the movies - there were hundreds! The way I ended up convinced was one afternoon, my daughter was telling me about a documentary where they said that Hitler was probably not actually dead at the end of WWII because there were some witnesses who saw him in South America. Not a lot of witnesses, but a few. I got really mad because I believed that, completely. There was no doubt in my mind. Then I thought to myself, if I could buy into the Hitler thing because of a few witnesses, why am I questioning the Jesus thing when there are hundreds of witnesses? That’s when I realized how biased I am. When it comes to Jesus and the Bible, I am pre-biased to more cynicism and anything from the Bible or to do with Jesus/God will require more convincing and more proof than anything to do with another subject. I am pre-programmed to believe anything Biblical LESS easily than anything else!)

he ascended into heaven,

(Yeah, that’s pretty easy to believe if you believe the last thing, right?)

and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty;

(Also, pretty darn easy to believe if you believe the other stuff.)

from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

(If you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, of course you believe He has the right to judge people.)

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

(I DO believe in this. I know what I am like inside. Don’t we all know who we are to a certain extent? And I know the capacity I have for evil. Yet, I also know how I’ve changed since I came to Jesus. I believe that the Holy Spirit DID enter me and is still doing that work in me. Yeah Yeah, I know you can say it’s just me maturing or whatever but you don’t know what is inside of me. You don’t know the struggle I’ve had with mental illness. You don’t know what I’ve been through, how I tried to commit suicide three times, the first time at age 13, how many times I cut up my arms, all that I’ve done to others and myself. And you don’t know how that changed once Jesus came into my life so you really can’t make the judgement call on what brought about the change. Only I can make that call and I say it was the Holy Spirit.. the hand of Jesus.)

the holy catholic Church,

(I was taught that this actually means “throughout the whole” and not the Catholic Church denomination. I DO believe in the church body but I don’t feel as if the church body is functioning appropriately in the USA or probably very well anyplace else at this time. I think we are a very very sick body currently and only getting sicker. We are diseased and Covid has made us even sicker.)

the communion of saints,

(Yes, I think communion is pretty cool in that it centers our thoughts and reminds us of what the Lord did for us but I don’t believe it has magic powers or anything.)

the forgiveness of sins,

(Boy, oh boy, do I believe in this. And I sure believe that we are called to forgive others. I think that is one of our number one callings. We must must must empathize and forgive and when we can’t find forgiveness in our hearts, we must pray for the Holy Spirit to put that forgiveness there. I think that is one of our primary goals as human beings and, especially, as Christians.)

the resurrection of the body,

(I don’t know about this one, but I’m hoping that it’s true.)

and life everlasting. Amen.

(Yes, I do believe in life after life, that it will be everlasting.)