#ideal order 3 1 2 imo

[mariuspompom]

grrm* kills off sansa’s direwolf in the first half of book one, gives her her mother’s tully looks, has her being referred toas “little bird”, has her follow the seven instead of old gods, has her marry a lannister, disinherits her from winterfell, has her learning SOUTHERN + politics with LF, doesnt make her warg*

stansas: the red wolf is MY queen in the north because it happened in that abomination of a season.

Ahm. I might be in the minority in this side of the fandom because i don't actually believe grrm killing Sansa's direwolf in agot was meant to be a symbol of her being cut off from the north as opposed to her siblings, idk. Like if you want to see it that way you can of course, but this angle does feel simplistic and kind of boring to me.

The reason Sansa is highly unlikely to end up as QINT is not that she's not "northern enough", or that she's "too southern" imo (what does that mean anyway, these are pretty vague and slightly ontological statements which don't really fit into grrm's vision of Westeros imo). It's not even that she's not "magical enough". The reason is that she doesn't have a ruling arc. That's not to say that she doesn't have a political arc, she does, specifically that of a courtier, a political advisor if you will. I would really like to see Sansa in control of her life and an active player exerting actual political influence. But a savvy and cunning political advisor is not a ruler, because while the arc of a political advisor is primarily inspired by the themes of political power as a means of survival and influence (very individual-centered) a ruler needs to have a broader (collective) scope, a vision and a mission which exceeds both their personal interests and the pragmatic limitations of their rule. It's not that the characters who have a ruling arc in asoiaf are never confronted with these pragmatic limitations, on the contrary, the conflict between the ruler's vision/mission and the practical limitations they face is at the heart of the "ruling is hard" premise, which is so central in asoiaf. But you do need the larger visionary aspects to be present if you want a ruling arc to feel meaningful and substantial for the reader of a high fantasy narrative such as this, aka you need someone who 1) has somehow been chosen by their people (yes even in a pseudo-medieval setting a ruler can be chosen), 2) based on specific attributes this person has (their particular skill, disposition, character, determination, bravery and most importantly their vision), 3) in order to face a specific task at hand that is particularly challenging. As I said, the originality of this work is precisely the fact that these characters who would be textbook one-note heroes in any other high fantasy narrative, are really struggling in their role here, face conflicting situations and sometimes fuck up because they can't align their abstract ideals with their reality. Ruling is hard, we get to see every aspect of this in a story that values realism and internal conflict ("a human heart in conflict with itself"). But we shouldn't get side-tracked by the pragmatic elements of the story and confuse an arc centered around survival and individual ascension to power with a ruling arc. A ruling arc in that context is not just about the specific character's survival or well-being or growth (unlike what fandom often believes), because ruling is not a reward for individual struggle, it is not a prize, it is not a token. A fulfilling ruling arc is about what the characters can do for others, what they do for the world around them, what they want that world to be, how they try to implement their ideals and contribute to a structural collective change. "We must fight the good fight". This is high fantasy with strong romantic traits, it's not Succession and it is not Magnificent Century. It is definitely not Game of Thrones, a show that treats its characters as mere players in a fight for survival and domination, while completely erasing the progressive, even revolutionary political aspects of some arcs in the book. In Game of Thrones, it's only fitting that it is in fact Sansa who becomes QINT. She struggled, she suffered, she won, great. It's all about her. There is no large, collective scope to be found here. The characters that had that scope were shown to be delusional and got punished for it.

But in the book, these core elements of a ruling art are just not present in Sansa's arc and I don't see them being present in the future books if we ever get them. And that is why she's not going to become QINT, not because of her dead direwolf or the color of her hair.

Last observation: I am talking about a fulfilling ruling arc (fulfilling for the reader), and this might raise some questions. Yes, in a story that values realism and internal conflict, characters don't always get "what they deserve" in universe, and their arcs can't necessarily be considered "fulfilling" from an extradiegetic perspective either. There is nothing particularly "fulfilling" about Rob and Cat's fate from the outside, and they definitely don't "deserve" what they got in universe. So it is true that character progression doesn't necessarily need to be "fulfilling" in the sense of "satisfying". It does need to be meaningful and coherent though, and it does have to serve as a vehicle for a broader message. That's what I personally qualify as "fulfilling", "earned" or ""deserved". There was a reason why Cat and Rob had to die, this didn't happen randomly just for shock value. In the ruling question, yes, characters will not end up as rulers in the end just because they "deserve" it for being decent and brave people (ruling is not a reward). That is true, things don't work that way. But the one that ends up as a ruler will not just get there randomly, while the characters that were preparing themselves for that role in universe end up dead, just because "realism" or "subversion". Their role and final position needs to hold meaning, it needs to feel truthful and substantial and make sense. This is a fictional world, things don't just happen just because. The author didn't spend thousands of pages showing us characters struggling to rule at a very high personal cost just to cast them aside in the end because "nobody gets what they deserve oops sorry". That's just a cheap Game of Thrones cop-out.

tl;dr: yes Sansa is not going to become QINT but not for the reasons you mention.

[gh0stwithaheart]

what content do you recommend consuming to engage in marauders

bcs the harry potters movies arent enough

and neither are the books

so what do i read

please dont say "just engage in the fandom" i want to actually read the content

also separate question, what harry potter movies have the most marauders content? (all 8 ranked would be ideal) same for books too

okokok so DEFINITELY go read on Ao3, you can customize the fics to how you want. Like say i wanted a college au, i could go to the tag section and type in college and college au would pop up. If i wanted a specific ship i could go to the relationships and type regulus black/james potter (it’ll pop up before that fs)

i don’t have any specific recs cause i read on my computer and im on my phone, butttt you can either go around asking some marauders fans or on tumblr there are some fic writters!

chat drop fic recs in comments

hmm and for your second question i would say the 3rd one comes first for most marauders content cuase wolfstar, then the 5th, and then the 8th part 2. imo, none of them reaaallly have marauders content which is lame asf

idk if you wanted my opinion on the movies, this is the same for the books (best to worst) but here you go >:)

1. deathly hallows

2. prisoner of azkaban

3. the sorcerous stone

4. goblet of fire

5. half-blood prince (this one is fourth for my book order though)

6. chamber of secrets

7. order of the phoenix

[zukkaoru]

These new blorbos you got here, they’re compelling. Should I give Bungo Stray Dogs a shot? Manga or anime?

YESSS okay so. i do really enjoy the bsd anime but the manga is (imo) significantly better. especially once you get to late season 4/season 5. the anime tends to,, sort of water down some characterizations. however the nice thing about the anime is that it includes adaptations of some of the light novels, whereas if you only read the manga, you would have to break at certain parts to read the light novels (specifically the dark era light novel i would say is most important to understanding the main storyline). something else the anime did that i. am not a fan of. is they changed the first light novel - dazai's entrance exam - so it takes place during the events of season 1 instead of two years prior when dazai first joined the agency, and they cut out a good half of it in order to cram it into two episodes

my Ideal recommended watching/reading order is:

bsd anime seasons 1-2 -> the dead apple movie -> bsd anime seasons 3-4 -> bsd manga, either from the beginning or from chapter ~71 to chapter 112 -> bsd anime season 5 -> bsd manga, chapter 113 onward

i also highly recommend reading dazai's entrance exam light novel at some point, but it doesn't matter when. as for the other light novels:

the dark era is adapted at the beginning of s2 (i have not finished reading the ln itself so i can't speak as to how good the adaptation is), fifteen is at the beginning of s3 (this one is mostly good, but some of the fun bits and little characterization moments esp with dazai are cut), ranpo's backstory in untold origins is at the beginning of s4 (i have not read this + i believe the untold origins light novel has more than just ranpo's backstory which was not adapted). the fifteen light novel also has a manga adaptation which i believe is either about to be finished or just recently finished updating. dead apple also has a manga, and was adapted into a movie. i have not read this light novel yet either.

the BEAST light novel is an alternate universe. i have only read the manga for it, but i definitely recommend. there's also a live action movie adaptation which i have not seen but i do not trust. wouldn't recommend watching that first from what i know of it.

light novels without adaptations: storm bringer is chuuya's backstory - i'm partway through this and it is widely regarded to be the most emotionally devastating of the light novels (with the exception of, perhaps, BEAST). 55 minutes i believe takes place sometime in the season 2-3 era? and focuses on atsushi & akutagawa (+ dazai & kunikida?) i haven't read this one yet but i've heard many good things. there's also gaiden which focuses on characters who aren't really present in the main bsd show/manga - one of the main characters works in the government and shows up at least in dead apple. i haven't read this one yet either so can't say much about it. the day i picked up dazai was just recently released, and i haven't read it so i can't say much about it either except i believe it focuses on oda & dazai and might be best understood if you've read BEAST first.

there's also BSD wan! which is a silly comedy vibe spin off. there's one season of it + a manga, but it's not required watching/reading and i don't believe it's considered canon to the main storyline. there are also several anthologies which also have little stories in them but are not necessarily considered canon to the main storyline, but i've heard those are hard to find translations for

tl;dr: the manga is overall better than the anime, but the anime is probably best to start with because it includes important information in the light novel adaptations. once you finish season 4, i would read at least chapters 71-112 of the manga before watching season 5

[emblemxeno]

Finished Revelation and sped through lots of supports! So here's a list of my feelings on the cast.

Couldn't get through all of the supports, though. While I love Fates oh so dearly, its cast size makes reading through supports extremely exhausting and overwhelming. It's a legitimate knock I have against the game, where the sheer amount of characters and the fact that each member of Gen 1 has to have so many supports in order to make the Gen 2 cast possible, there's just so, so many that even well written ones I probably ended up skimming rather than give a thorough read through.

Please for FE games in the future, keep it at a nice 40 character cap. I don't expect to go back to characters who, at most, have 3 supports, so at least keep the overall cast size low so my brain doesn't shift into overdrive every other day. Engage was pretty much my personal ideal in that regard, just make the actual support raising process quicker, eh?

As a whole, IMO, Fates has an overall fantastic, if uneven cast, that hits very high peaks but also succumbs to noticeable valleys. But the highs make up for the lows in my eyes. And it gave me Corrin and the royal sibs and they're ALL great, so it's a win!

[maguneedsalife]

you thought my gqux liveblogging was over now that the anime is over? you fool, i am watching it AGAIN (and copying my thoughts here from bsky so i can find them again)

anyway some rewatch thoughts for eps 1-3:

started with 2 and then went back for 1 and 3 (i.e. movie order). i finally got to watch the op now that ian isnt here to make me skip it. idk what ppls issue is w this song, it's a bop

This was like the 3rd or 4th time ive watched the wine scene and i still noticed more things i hadn't before…..😌✨(specifically char saying "we wouldn't be able to keep secrets from each other anyway" immediately after advising challia not to pry too deeply into his heart. augh. Im normal. Im norma

and of course im always happy to see my pookie. he looks genuinely so cute in the flashback sections, augh

I didn't have any particular thoughts about ep 1, other than it being so much easier to digest now that im not constantly asking ian terminology questions lmao. having seen a bit more of 0079 now i have a better sense of what's a new term for gqux vs what was already established, so it was a lot easier to follow what was going on

continuing to ep 3 - this line is still an all-timer imo

Additional ep 3 rewatch thoughts:

shuji graffitis a white symbol next to the red one already on the wall, a detail that completely passed me by the first time but now im pointing at like leodio

shuji greeting machu with "you've seen the other side too?" hits such a way now knowing what the kirakira actually was. once again pouring one out for this show only having 12 eps bc they raised so many questions about shuji and we got like one half answer for any of it

the ep opens with challia asking about the weather forecast, which is inherently funny to me given that they are in space (it seems like the colonies have artificial weather but still???)

I'd full on forgotten that machu's mom works for the government lmao

i wish i had a version of this show i could take actual screencaps of bc there are soooo many handsome challia frames in this ep. god

mr grieving widow who hits on single people

Was very funny to watch challia have them drive the sodon into the colony at the absolute slowest speed it could go and just ignore everyone telling them they can't do that.

Like he's parking an aircraft carrier in the harbor bc someone stole one of their planes & the pilot got arrested. Ideally they'd like the plane back too but they're here to pick up their pilot, can we have him back please, we're asking nicely, please ignore our illegally parked aircraft carrier

[samuelturn]

Aight so now that I have finished Brothersong I have THOUGHTS on further logistical breakdowns of how Green Creek could be adapted to a GLAAD Award-Winning HBO TV show. Spoilers so here is a cut for anyone who wants to be fresh to the series.

PRE-PRODUCTION

OKAY SO! The filming block for Season 1/Wolfsong would MOST LIKELY be the biggest, especially for scenes involving younger versions of the actors. As these are spread out across, like, all four books, some are just “scene we’ve seen but from a different perspective or with ‘Dream Seauence VFX’ so we just need more blocking/extra takes to make it all seem believeable using B-roll” to “yeah this requires Young Thomas and various child actors so we’re filming this beforehand so that everyone looks the same when these scenes come up later” to “ah hell we gotta shave their heads anyways might as well film the revenge road trip.” Thus, basically everyone but, like, Dominique would have to be cast by Season 1, and probably all of Season 1 and half of season 2 would need to be written and finalized and drafts/outlines of Season 3 and 4 would need to be made before casting would begin. Writer’s room would include TJ and a racially-diverse LGBT staff.

Caswell wouldn’t need to be fully built but enough of a location would be needed to film individual scenes with the younger actors and scenes set in the big house at Caswell (ie arguments between Mark and Thomas, Joe being taken, Thomas in the woods with the kids, Thomas writing the letters)

Title sequence would be based on the lovely new covers for the hardcover editions from Tor. They’d get longer with each season and by the end we see the whole pack in the papercraft style of the covers.

CASTING

Yeah we’d need a big ass cast. With multiple actors to play different characters at different ages.

Babies:

Carter, Kelly, Joe, maybe also Gavin depending on things

Children:

Gordo, Gavin, Mark, Rico, Chris, Tanner, Carter, Kelly, Joe, Robbie

Young Adult (ie Teen to Mid 20s) and Adult (ie by the Rough Present of when Ox first discoveres the secret of the Bennetts)

Basically everyone else

The tricky part will be that, yeah, there will probably need to be different actors for 20s Thomas, Elizabeth, Mark, and Gordo because while a 20-something can play 16 or so, its harder for 30-40 year olds to play 20-something. The upside being that an older actor CAN play Gordo for the scenes after Ox’s dad leaves (also Ox’s dad will need a name lol). You would need to switch to older actors for the Bennett kids and Ox basically once Ox graduates high school. But then you can keep all the same actors for the rest of the “present” set scenes. Osmond, and Robert Livingstone would also need younger actors. Richard Collins would only need one actor he’s barely in the flashbacks as it is.

STRUCTURE/PLOT RAMBLINGS

There are a few things that would need to be done in order to improve the pacing for TV, imo. Mainly, that the handing off of Alpha of All to the Fairbanks pack needs to feel more earned and less semi-random. Like, show them taking in Omegas at the end of Season 2, have them be allies at Caswell in Season 3 and the final battle in Season 4. Flesh them out a bit more. Also some continuity smoothing would be needed (ie clarifying that Gordo refused Mark’s MATE bite not Thomas’s BECOME WOLF bite).

Some more forshadowing of Robert’s failsafe in Season 2 would help. Obviously SHOW Gavin’s timber wolf in the attack on Jessie (and ideally have the actor be the body actor wearing the CGI ball suit moving all wolf-like in the scene) in Season 1.

I’d personally add in more of a wrap-up in Caswell at the end of Season 4. And also an extended aftermath scene or episode after Ox’s resurrection. Joe’s wolf is still bigger than almost everyone else, but not as big as it was when he was Alpha. One thing that I’d ask to be added is, maybe with the death of Robert and the ressurrection of Ox there’s a big ass magic pulse and we get a follow-up with the new Alpha of All from Alaska training Betas who have become Alphas thanks to Mystical Moon Magic as they rebuild packs across the continent. Idk the story needs more of a denumont. Alpha of All making more of an effort to try and bring Omegas back from the brink before just automatically deciding to kill them.

Dominique could have human bite marks on her to show thar Jessie tried to “Mate Bite” too even as a human. Bambi and Rico too.

He/They Gavin? Maybe? Gavin feels very he/they. Also Elizabeth showing affection to Maggie (hey if we’re gonna imply that Thomas and Richard had a kind of romantic love for each other in Brothersong before he went Omega Lizzie can make side-eye at Maggie).

Show more of the three year gap between Ravensong and Heartsong (not a lot but more than just one bit when Robbie is kidnapped). And the new story in the deluxe hardcover books too. The myth or whatever. That can be animated in a sketchy style (think Princess Kaguya or Wolfwalkers) with VO from Elizabeth.

Anyway rambling over I love these books so much. TJ I woudn’t say no to a LIGHT DRAMA/mostly fluff 5th book or short story. Maybe from Chris or Tanner’s perspective? Or Jessie’s?

[muqingapologist]

Can I ask your top 10 fav fics ever (from any fandom, if you don't mind)?

Also, just curious, is there a story behind your name "muqingapologist "?

i go through phases with fanfiction, wavering between never reading any and then reading it consistently over a period of time. so my ao3 account only has bookmarks from the last year or so, so i’ll just include those! i did read some reeeally good fics for pairings that i was really into in the past, but i won’t include them here

as for my username, i used to have the apologist format with another character for my finsta, and i because obsessed over mu qing in my recent read through of tgcf. so i’ll defend him from the haters heh.

ok fics. no particular order.

1. Resurrection by heyholmesletsgo

one thing about me is that im going to eat up every songxiao fix-it fic i come across. this one i think follows the logic of the untamed rather than just mdzs, but i don’t think it’s a big change either way. this fic is so beautiful i thought about it for weeks afterward. it’s pretty short, but the slow, gentle pining as xiao xingchen returns to the world, the way they figure out communication, it’s all so good.

2. some new beginning by liesmyth

i got into good omens after season 2 being released this past summer, and i have to say the fics have been very hit or miss for me. the characterizations in fics are always some strange combination of characterizations of season 2 crowley and season 1 crowley and book crowley. this is post-season 1 though so this isn’t really an issue. i loved this one. i think my favorite form of aziracrow is when they’re both just idiots following the momentum of their feelings without really realizing the significance of their actions until, well, they live together hahah. highly recommend this one for that dynamic! it’s also pretty short.

3. Protagonist Rehabilitation Programme by cinnamonsnaps

this one i actually read entirely on my flight from japan last week after randomly stumbling across it. it’s an SVSSS AU where the original luo binghe transmigrates(?) into shen yuan’s world. im not usually a fan of AU fiction because i think much of the time, the events of the source material are very much what shape the personalities of the characters, but this one works for me. it’s so good at matching the tone and writing style of mxtx while being funny in its own way too.

4. hometown comforts by nyoomerr

this is another bingqiu one, post-canon, and it’s an identity reveal. it’s my ideal identity reveal fic because it’s incredibly low stakes and binghe is just curious about shen yuan’s world. no system warnings and stuff. just bonding. im a simple gal.

5. still waters by marichen

went through a beefleaf phase where i read a bunch of fics. this was the best one by far. unmatched. beefleaf, imo, is a very difficult couple to write for. there’s so much to unpack. it’s hard to make their relationship feel genuine because so much care needs to go into shi qingxuan trusting he xuan again. in this fic, it is the classic he xuan lingering around, but also we see sqx building his own life back up on his own, as well. it’s he xuan pov. so good so good.

6. Bring it back, bring it back [don’t take it away from me] by wednesdaisy

another good omens fic, also post-season 1, aziraphale pov. in this one, crowley fucks off to new zealand because he thinks his relationship with aziraphale is fantasy and it’s too painful to keep seeing him after everything they’ve been through. and aziraphale tracks him down and has to convince crowley that he does indeed want him in his life and loves him and ah, it’s really sweet.

7. the round moon by orphan_account and the hazy sun by orphan_account

this is a 2 part quanyin fic (pre-canon qyz for part 1, post-canon yin yu pov for part 2). i’m also incredibly picky about quanyin fics. this one was so beautifully done. it didn’t make quan yizhen feel overly-childish as an adult like many others do, and it made yin yu’s conflicting feelings about him so vivid and believable. highly recommend for quanyin nation out there.

8. This Is Me Trying by Piper_Emerald

another post-canon identity reveal. this one is a little more angsty than the one above but also so well done! a deep part of me needs an identity reveal to happen for them at some point hahaha…like binghe is smart ok…he suspects already.

9. some good mistakes by Lise

everyone forgive me for not really having any wangxian recs. my post-untamed fic phase was on my old ao3 account i can’t find. anyway, i remember this one being really good. wei wuxian goes missing. jiang cheng pov, teaming up with lan zhan to find wwx. post-canon untamed. personal preference but i love post-canon untamed wangxian fics the most because i just reading about all the ways they might get together.

10. Not Easily Conquered by dropdeaddream, WhatAreFears

(i keep getting error when i post the link but it’s on ao3)

i’m including this one because i’d be lying if it wasn’t always in my top 10. i never think about stevebucky these days and cannot stand marvel, but damn this fic holds up like 8 years later!! 3-parter, AU where steve never gets frozen but bucky is still the winter soldier. told over decades. some cringe US cold war propaganda but ignoring that…a beautiful story. if you ever carried any attachment for these two, worth the read.

so that’s my very inaccurate too 10 fics. thank you for asking so i have an excuse to discuss hahaha.

[breakonthroough]

Parallels in Trigun and One Piece.

Today I would like to share my thoughts about the parallels and references in One Piece, which I noticed for myself when watched the anime Trigun — both versions old and new (and yes, I came to them after I caught up with OP ongoing). I may have imagined something, but some parallels suggest themselves. I think Oda-san, like many other mangakas, took a lot of inspiration from Yasuhiro Naitou's classic work.

Analysis may and does content ! spoilers !

1. First of all, from the direct references and easter eggs of Oda-sensei, I would note the similarity of Sanji holding a wounded Zoro on his shoulders, bandajed like a cross, in the Wano arc with Nicholas D. (!) Wolfwood, with his big weapon-cross at the ready. It was a funny gag from Odacchi :)

2. Then, the "Sandsteamer" in Trigun reminded me very much of the "Sea Train" in OP. I don’t know if this is a reference or not, but they definitely have something in common. The principle of movement of steam vehicles in an atypical environment.

3. Another point - the antagonist character of one of the episodes (just about the Sandsteamer), Brilliant Dynamites Neon, very much reminded me of Arlong, both with his toothy design and his charisma.

4. Well, the gang of the Donquixote family reminded me in many ways in its diversity of Knives’ organization “The Gung-Ho-Guns”. (And also it reminded me the BB crew too).

5. Well, the most important parallel for me is the clear and definite similarity of the story and the contrast between the main characters of Trigun - Knives Millions and Vash the Stampede with the Donquixote brothers. I’ll go into more detail here, because there are plenty of references, besides the fact that each of them is a handsome blond.

💙💙💙

▪️If Vash, in fact, bears little resemblance to Rocinante, except for his wounded and scarred body and the fact that, unlike his brother, he is also kind and soft-hearted. Both of them often play the fool, posing as awkward, stupid simpletons (with different goals, of course), and at the same time almost never show outsiders their deeply sad soul, traumatized by losses and experiences.

▪️Doflamingo personality as character imo was largely inspired as personality of Knives, as it seemed to me. The parallel is that he and his brother are similarly representatives of a superior (in their opinion) race, but they only treat ordinary people differently.

▪️Knives and Doflamingo, unlike their kind brothers, are evil incarnate. Proud, arrogant and cruel. Intolerant and merciless towards human weaknesses and any manifestations of kindness and gentleness. Both have a justified and (from their pov) very logical reason to hate people as a race and the whole world order.

And both also have a plan to destroy the world that does not suit them and build their own, ideal one. Both of them are involved in the murder of people dear to their brothers (father for Roci, Rem for Vash). Well, in both cases, the good brothers are trying with all their might to prevent the implementation of the grandiose plans of the evil brothers.

▪️Well, I must say that the showdown between Vash and Knives ends in the anime much less disastrously than that of Doffy and Roci. But even in the general plans of these scenes, analogies and parallels are visible, as it seemed to me. 😢

Well, as you know, the brilliant refers to the great. I'm glad that for all their similarities, these stories and characters turned out to be different. Oda may have been inspired by the work of his predecessor, but he created his own epoch-making story with a great plot and beloved, touching characters.

Russian translation below 👇

Параллели и отсылки к Тригану в One piece.

Сегодня я хотела бы поделиться своим�� мыслями насчёт параллелей и отсылок в One piece, которые отметила для себя, когда посмотрела аниме Триган — обе версии (да, я дошла до них уже после того, как нагнала онгоинг Куска). Что-то, возможно, мне померещилось, но кое-какие параллели напрашиваются сами собой. Думаю, Ода-сан, как и многие другие мангаки, немало почерпнул для вдохновения из ставшей классикой работы Ясухиро Найто.

1. Прежде всего, из прямых отсылок и пасхалок Оды-сенсея я бы отметила сходство Санджи, держащего на плечах раненого Зоро, перемотанного как крест, в арке Вано с Николасом Д. (!) Вулфвудом, с его оружием-крестом наперевес. Это был смешной гэг от Одаччи:)

2. Затем, Песчаный Пароход мне очень сильно напомнил Морепоезд. Не знаю, отсылка это или нет, но что-то общее в них точно есть. Принцип движения парового транспорта в нетипичной для него среде.

3. Ещё один момент — персонаж одного из эпизодов (как раз про Песчаный пароход), Brilliant Dynamites Neon, очень сильно напомнил мне Арлонга, как зубастым дизайном, так и своей харизмой.

4. Ну и банда семьи Донкихот мне во многом напомнила своим разнообразием организацию Найвса "The Gung-Ho-Guns".

5. Ну, и самая главная для меня параллель — явная и определенная схожесть истории и противопоставления главных персонажей Тригана — Найвса Миллионса и Вэша Урагана с братьями Донкихот. Тут остановлюсь подробнее, ведь отсылок, помимо того, что каждый из них прекрасный блондин, предостаточно.

💙💙💙

Если Вэш, по сути, мало чем напоминает Росинанта, кроме израненного и покрытого шрамами тела и того, что он, в отличие от брата, также добрый и мягкосердечный. Оба он�� часто придуриваются, изображая из себя неловких глуповатых простаков (с разными целями, разумеется), и при этом почти никогда не показывают посторонним свою глубоко печальную и травмированную потерями и переживаниями душу.

Дофламинго же, как мне показалось, во многом списан с Найвса. Параллель в том, что они с братом аналогично являются представителями высшей (по их мнению) расы, только относятся к обычным людям по-разному.

Найвс и Дофламинго, в отличие от своих добрых братьев — воплощённое зло. Гордые, высокомерные и жестокие. Нетерпимые и беспощадные к человеческим слабостям и любым проявлениям доброты и мягкости. У обоих есть обоснованная и очень логичная с их точки зрения причина ненавидеть людей и существующее мироустройство. А также есть план по разрушению не устраивающего их мира и построения своего собственного, идеального. И тот, и другой причастны к убийству дорогих для их братьев людей (отец для Росинанта, Рем для Вэша). Ну и, в обоих случаях, реализации грандиозных планов злых братьев всеми силами пытаются помешать добрые.

Ну и, должна сказать, разборки между Вэшем и Найвзом заканчиваются в аниме куда менее плачевно, чем у Доффи и Роси. Но даже на общих планах этих сцен видны аналогии и параллели, как мне показалось. 😢💔

Что ж, как известно, гениальное отсылает к великому. Я рада, что при всей своей схожести, эти истории и персонажи получились все же разными. Ода, возможно и вдохновлялся работой предшественника, но создал свою собственную эпохальную историю с великолепным сюжетом и любимыми, трогающими за душу персонажами.

[potatoesandsunshine]

top 5 (or 10 if you want!) video game characters? :D

tysm for the ask!!!! top ten (in no particular order because i couldn’t actually decide rankings)

10. Tali (Mass Effect)

i just love tali’s journey through the trilogy; everything about her compels me. i love how angry she is by ME3—the conversation you can have with her about miranda post-sanctuary mission comes to mind. i think her character arc is more compelling than most of the series’ characters and i’m not afraid to say it. she goes somewhere!!

9. The Outsider (Dishonored)

one of the characters ever. what if the unknowable leviathan god just really wanted something interesting to happen, y’know? everything comes back to him but also nothing is only his fault. dishonored was one of my first major fandoms and sooo much of my brain went to figuring this guy out. everybody go revisit of leviathans and tea for a good time.

8. Ciri (The Witcher 3)

i haven’t read the books. or played the other games. or watched season 2 of the tv show. but none of that matters because CIRI IS MY PERFECT DAUGHTER WITH ALL THE POWER OF SPACE AND TIME AT HER FINGERTIPS. and nothing bad should ever happen to her ever—but if it did, i know she could handle it. chasing her through the witcher 3 is nothing short of a delight.

7. Death Knight (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)

more characters in this game should be insane. the setting is like a kiln designed to make characters lose their minds. and this guy sure did!!!!! the only one i feel can fully match the level of freak i want in the game’s protagonist. 

6. Lae’zel (Baldur’s Gate 3)

i love her so much. she’s ended up as my character’s best friend in every single bg3 run, which is honestly really funny? local fighter so important that she becomes the bedrock relationship for four wildly different OCs. and she’s never happy about it.

5. Arcade Gannon (Fallout: New Vegas)

guy who desperately wants to be a cynic but can’t quite manage to give up on the world. the ideal post-apocalypse doctor imo. he should’ve gotten to come along to the old world blues dlc because i think it would’ve been crazy.

4. Leliana (Dragon Age)

a little bit of recency bias here, since i’ve been noodling with some post-origins leliana/warden stuff lately, but i love leliana. i think her story is so rich with every flavor of drama, and she was my first ever dragon age romance <3 that’s my murderous pope girlfriend. 

3. Atton Rand (Knights of the Old Republic II)

i have an obsession with this guy that can’t be matched. he haunts me. i recently started/restarted a new playthrough (old OC but with new mods? not sure how to count it) of this game and being around this character again is everything. his perspective on all things star wars is like delicious food to me.

2. Davrin (Dragon Age)

criminally underrated character. he’s far and away my favorite companion in veilguard. if he’d been around in the inquisition era then all of my inquisitors would be in a better place than they wind up. my rook was a warden so we started as brothers-in-arms (fun) and the growth of their friendship was deeply believable in a game where sometimes things happen in a way that Really Makes No Sense. all of his support scenes where he’s like ‘you need a break let’s go outside’ are so important. we do need a break. and we should go outside.

1. Morrigan (Dragon Age)

i’ve been crazy about her lately. something about the futility of her search for autonomy is like. i’m losing my mind over it. no matter what you do you’re never free from your mother huh!!!!!!!! fuck!! also all my wardens are a bit in love with her. as am i.

[marionettou]

TOP 5 TYPE OF DOLLS

THESE ARE IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER I LOVE ALL DOLLS EQUALLY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 1. bjds are THE PRETTIEST dolls n what i aspire 2 be !! 2. marionette dolls !! second ONLY to bjds because i find bjds more "ideal" but. go figure. nazunii was basically a bjd while i was a marionette uwehe ~ 3. RAGDOLLS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 5. porcelain dolls like madonee !! >w< very pretty n while Mobile theyre very perfectly preserved in a way that allows their clothes or hair to be touched up without changin the doll too drastically ~ 5. anime figures. nods. ALMOST a bjd imo but Perfectly preserved in a particular pose with extreme attention to detail which makes fer the perfect art piece 2 admire.

[callmearcturus]

Can you post your MI movie ranking again? Not sure if it was ranking or viewing order but either way you’ve convinced me to watch these

Okay what my suggested viewing order is:

Ghost Protocol (MI4)

Rogue Nation (MI5)

Fallout (MI6)

Mission Impossible 1 (MI1)

Dead Reckoning Part One (MI7)

Ghost Protocol is the weakest of this batch of movies, but it is still in my opinion an incredible on-ramp. I always pitch it the same way, but GP is just a Leverage episode with a blockbuster budget. It's the soft-reboot of the series, it has some of the best team chemistry, it's funny, it has two of my favorite moments of pure physicality in the entire series. It's a great intro.

Rogue Nation is like the Platonic Ideal of an MI movie. It's the Ethan-and-Benji movie, and their chemistry is truly amazing. The Turandot sequence is so fucking glorious, and Ilsa Faust is great AND SOLOMON LANE IS OUR BEST VILLAIN BY FAR. In GP the villain is a non-entity to drive the plot. RN has some fucking baller character writing. Also has the funniest moment in any MI.

Fallout is a perfect movie. I could say more but there's no point. Fallout is a perfect movie. It's gorgeous. It's emotional. It's tense. It's character-driven. I love it.

Mission Impossible The Original is going to surprise you. It's a dense, tense, psychosexual thriller and explains......... so fucking much about Ethan Hunt and his lingering trauma. I adore it. Except the action movie ending is stupid, but right before the action movie ending, it gives you a hot sexy thriller ending, so it's fine.

And you need the context of MI1 to truly get Dead Reckoning, because it is a movie obsessed with the legacy of the series. It's really fucking good. But save it for last.

What about MI2 and MI3? If you think you would enjoy a dumb stupid flashy hilarious action movie that is the diametric opposite of every other MI movie, watch MI2. It's fun.

I cannot recommend watching MI3, I think it's absolutely terrible. MI2 is stupid but at least it has an identity as a movie. MI3 is a confused mess that throws all continuity out the window and almost breaks the idea of Ethan Hunt imo because it doesn't know what it wants to do, what to say, it's pointless.

My personal MI film ranking:

Fallout

Rogue Nation

Mission Impossible 1

Dead Reckoning Part One

Ghost Protocol

Mission Impossible 2

placeholder for the worst possible iteration of Dead Reckoning Part Two

Mission Impossible 3

[catusbeanius]

Decided to branch out and take notes on my Riddle vignettes! So, here are some Riddle tidbits (I have all his cards aside from his birthday jacket and tsumsitter, sadly :(. Also, why doesn't masquerade riddle have a vignette smh. Gave me a heart attack thinking I never got him)

Tidbit 16:

Riddles calls himself the "King of Heartslabyul" (Suitor Suit vignette pt 2), yet he still appreciates the powerful femininity of the Queen. He says he enjoys the way heels make him stand taller and how the clacks catch everyone's attention (Halloween vignette pt 3)

Tidbit 17:

He shows his insecurities on his sleeve.

In his Suitor Suit vignette pt 1, he mentions to Malleus how the princess won't like him because he's short (he also mentions this in the regular event). He doesn't want Kalim sharing anything about his low P.E score (P.E uniform vignette) and he assumes Vil is making fun of his athletic ability when he was just trying to compliment Riddle in heels (Halloween vignette pt 1-2)

Tidbit 18:

He initially assumes everyone understands things the same way he does, but he can grasp other methods fairly easily.

In his Dorm Uniform vignette (spoiler for the whole plot, if you care), he's trying to help Cater pass his exam and initially gives him a 300 page study guide to memorize in a week. He gets very upset when Cater can't even pass the table of contents, but Trey tells him to think about it from a different perspective. He asks Riddle what method he'd use to eat his least favorite foods, and Riddle responds that he'd dilute it or eat it alongside something he does enjoy. He quickly comes up with a way to help Cater study (through Magicam tags).

Imo, this means he's learned to be open-minded and to listen to people before collaring them immediately (however his gut reaction is still anger)

Tidbit 19:

Kind of in conjunction with the last tidbit, but Riddle is not very confident in things he hasn't mastered. Namely, cooking. He follows directions unquestioningly (can also be seen as his strict rule-following).

Riddle trusts Lilia with only mild-skepticism when he tells him how to make soup (Labwear vignette). I don't know for sure what he put in it, but Lilia tells him to make a strawberry tart soup. Lilia tells him to min-max the nutrients and Riddle is like, "Really? Okay... I guess that makes sense."

Tidbit 19.25

I gotta yap about Diasomnia ONCE, okay?? /j

Anyway, I noticed Lilia was very good at making things understandable for Riddle while cooking. When something was up to Riddle's preference, he basically explained it as, "what do YOU like in food," and, "how much would Trey realistically eat?"

Analyzing TWST vignettes has proven that they are VERY careful and purposeful with who they have interact. Knowing Lilia in his general days, it's very obvious that HE struggled with similar things. Very different circumstances, but they're both loosely following rules/orders to survive. They both grew up in tense environments without the tools for self expression and self understanding.

Does that make any sense??? I think it does.

Tidbit 19.5

I gotta yap about Mally, too.

He talks with Riddle in his Suitor Suit vignette and we learn about his ideals in a king!!

He says Riddle's character is befitting of a king (quickly acting to save his dorm mates) and laments how he can't do the same (since he can't marry a princess willy-nilly). Flash forward to his overblot... Yeah, makes sense. He wants to be a good king/son/student/brother/boyfie, idk (talking about the MC not Diasomnia ftr) and he assumes trapping them from harm is the best way.

Tidbit 19.75

Also, why does Riddle say "noblesse oblige" is a philosophy of the "Realm of Roses??" (in the Suitor Suit vignette again)

As far as I know, the Queendom is never referred to as the Realm of Roses & the translation on the Japanese wiki is the Queendom as well. Idk what's going on.

That's it for my Riddle tidbits! Idk who I'll do tomorrow, but I'm planning on spotlighting a different character every day. I might just do Riddle's voicelines (or I'll do those tonight, who knows). Maybe leave a comment/ask for a suggestion? I can't guarantee a quality tidbit post since this is only based on my vignettes. I also wanna try rereading the entirety of TWST and taking notes (idr if I mentioned that before) but especially Leona's, Azul's, and Jamil's overblots bc I know an embarrassing little amount about them. I only discovered critical thinking the past few years /j

Anyway!! Until next time BD

[dontjudgemeimawriter]

OC in 15

Tagged byy @thegreatobsesso (through my main)

Rules: Share 15 or fewer lines of dialogue from an OC, ideally lines that capture the character/personality/vibe of the OC. Bonus points for just using the dialogue without other details about the scene, but you're free to include those as well!

1.

(to Raymond) “Your careful and my careful are different things.”

2.

(to Mika, about Raymond) "He might end up hating me, but what keeps him safe and alive is none of what he’s told you getting out. To the police or the Syndicate.”

3.

(to Raymond) "I know you don’t like the spell, but I don’t even know who [I am without the focus spell] okay? I’ve been focusing since I let you go. You don’t want the person from before that.” 

4.

Context: Raymond and Terran are talking about why Terran let Jesse live, and also why Terran had in the past let Raymond live/saved his life.

Raymond: “Everyone’s real.”

“Yeah, but you taught me that. Everyone who did feel real to me back then saw everyone else the same way I had. Maybe it was partially because you seemed to care, unlike anyone else did, but ultimately, I think that was it. You were real. So maybe all it took was talking to Jesse for him to be real to me. And I don’t know if that helps, because maybe you’re right that it should be everyone, or maybe it would be better if it’d come from something you said or did…”

5.

(to Raymond) “Focusing isn’t why I worry about things. Do you just not like me telling you what to do?” 

6.

(I'm going to count this as dialogue. It's a thought passed from Terran to Raymond that, as thoughts are, is a little jumbled:)

Tried to (can’t move) found Jodi, tried to free her (stuck) caught— failed— (The Judge) Mika was here, gave them something— mistake— Judge using me to bargain (care about me?)— can’t move— don’t do what they want.

7.

(to Mika) "You and Raymond were so good at knowing what the right thing to do is. I watch you do all this and see how much you hate it, because you know it’s wrong. But I’ve only known that based on you guys’s example.”

8.

(The actual dialogue here is 100% not true. But him lying here imo is a big part of his character. Basically, Terran needs to convince Alex that he isn't a threat, and recently Zachary advised Terran that Alex would exploit him caring about people. His denial here, him lying, in a way, really is about how much he does care. Also, I think it says a lot about him that he can and will solidly deny things like this in order to protect those he cares about. He's basically claiming that he doesn't care if Raymond lives, it was more about rebelling against Zachary than anything else. He ha also stated recently, in his thoughts, that to him, "freedom" is just being with Raymond)

“I want to leave. I want to quit.” I said, turning back to [Alex]. “Disobeying Zachary by letting Raymond live wasn’t the best way to go about it, I admit. But now he’s gotten me what I wanted. And you get what you want out of him. That was the deal you guys had, right? I’m not a threat to you because once this transaction is finished, I have what I wanted. Freedom.”

9.

(to Mika) “I already know enough [about my parents' death]. I appreciate learning about them in the journal, I’d be willing to learn more about who they were, but not this. I don’t want to know how they died. Zachary has taught me a million way to kill someone and he knows a million more. I don’t want to know which one it was.”

10.

(to Rayymond) “I’m constantly disappointing you. I’m always doing the wrong thing, the only difference is lately I’m finding excuses. I’m terrified of Alex paralyzing me again. But when I say you should leave without me, it’s what I owe not just you, but everyone— because I’ve always been sacrificing others for myself, haven’t I? Not even for my own life, just for…approval. The only difference lately is that you’ve become a part of who I’ll sacrifice others for, except you don’t want me to do that, and even if I try I don’t know how to do it. Even if I was ever able to leave, I can’t escape myself— everything I’ve done and everything I still want to do. And maybe we’ll all better off if you and Mika can escape and I’ll no longer be able to—“

I'll leave it there, since it said 15 of fewer, many of these are long, and I'm catching up to where I am. This was a lot of fun, and I definitely want to do this again for Raymond and Mika. I kinda wonder if I can even do it with Zachary. Please feel free to tag me again on this XD.

It's definitely difficult doing a POV character who's so often hiding things. I knew going in that this would most show up when he's talking to Raymond. But going through I saw some Very Raymond lines and Very Mika lines, and I think I talk more about Terran's character here, but I would like to pick out the lines that show the other characters whose only ways of showing their character is their dialogue (and actions).

Tagging @sleepy-night-child @squarebracket-trick @enbydragon02 (ik you might not be far enough in anything for this so you can just look XD) and @drippingmoon

[yesloulou]

Do you think the Ferrari/tempo has ruined Charles' looks? I think people who say that must have a high standard of beauty

ohh anon. first of all don't let people who say that bother you <3. if we start comparing people's best looking moments from 3 years ago to what they look like day to day now then we might as well say everybody's look has been ruined by this or that. comparisons like that are meaningless imo. and i think the 1 or 2 ppl who said that were a lil mean :)

secondly as someone who spends a lot of time making ppl look pretty in photoshop (lol) i think charles now has even more good angles than younger charles. to be fair he's basically perfect either way but if we have to pick on something, purely from an aesthetic viewpoint, i think one of the most distinct differences is that charles now has a squarer/more matured jawline which is very suited for his full & well-balanced upper face, whereas younger charles' lower face was slimmer/shorter in comparison (left). the best angles for a younger charles were almost always angles that made his jaw look more pronounced, ie somewhat from beneath up. the gif set that i think prompted your ask had exactly that. and imo charles' facial structure now (right) is very ideal.

thirdly (sorry lol) beauty standard is really very artificial. we equate youth-related features to beauty bc of evolution (youth -> reproductiveness). and in order to maximize survival as a species societies (historically) promote this beauty standard the same way they promote heterosexuality, aka to encourage female-male reproduction at reproductive age. this is not to say ppl who prefer/pursue young-looking features are shallow or whatever. understanding the artificiality of this concept doesn't mean we are no longer influenced by it. but it does bring perspective to topics such as beauty, glow-ups/glow-downs, and aging <3

pic on right: @countingstars-17

[maddiebiscuits]

i don't know how to phrase this any other way so i hope you don't find this rude or anything: you are (imo) a very skilled, very prolific art toaster. it's great quality artwork obviously, but your turnaround is wicked crazy fast to me. what does burnout look like for you? how do you manage to toast so many arts? what dark magics must you employ??

The hard truth is I worked in journalism for two years between 2010-2012 and customer service/hospitality starting at 16 years old in 2007 all throughout my life until 2022 and I don't want to go back to any of it now that I'm almost 33 - that's the main motivator to keep my freelance gig career doing art commissions going as long as possible. Fear and loathing of going back to that work environment keeps me focused.

In action...I'm not quite sure if I ever experience 'burn out'? I do experience art 'block' in that I can't think of anything to draw on my own or feel really unsatisfied with my work...so I just goof off with my canvas or do studies, but this doesn't interfere with doing commissions where I am told what to draw.

I just enjoy the physical act of drawing. Sometimes when I'm bored and restless and going for a walk doesn't help, I just draw more. When I was a kid I would just come home from school and draw crap between playing Gameboy/N64/Gamecube or browsing Elfwood/Newgrounds/DeviantART/Gaia Online, so it's literally just a habit now. If I don't draw for a long time I feel anxious and unwell. Somehow I just programmed my brain to think that art = leisure fun time, even if it's for work. I also tend to get into a "zone" sometimes and just put on video essays or music and a few hours later I'll have worked through some commission stuff.

I have three 'task lists' for my workflow:

A public trello board organized by work order types (N/SFW link)

A personal trello board organized by type/date in chronological order

A coloured tagging and folder system in my emails where I can just see the actual dates/timestamps of my last correspondence with a client so I know exactly who in my taskboard needs to be prioritized for their next WIP update

I hold myself to a standard of sending a client a WIP in stages:

rough draft (1-14 business days)

revisions (1-5 business days)

line art (1-14 business days)

revisions (1-5 business days)

final render (1-14 business days)

tweaks (1-2 business days)

So ideally, the client gets a finished commission in 3-6 weeks, so about 1-2 months. For larger projects I send more WIPs and the process is obviously longer. For simpler stuff like chibis, it's rarely a full six weeks. Over holidays I add an extra two weeks to my noted turn-around to account for IRL time off. On all my terms of service I have a maximum four months turn-around, essentially doubling the time I know my work flow is just in case there's some sort of medical or equipment emergency in my life that I need to account for that gives me a buffer (I also notify all clients)

Monday to Friday I wake up usually...late morning/early afternoon? I do anywhere from four to eight hours of artwork, broken up by walks, stretching, eating, cleaning, cooking, hanging out with my partner, etc. I look at my personal trello taskboard and emails to see what must be done and what can wait. I try to get at least 1-2 things done in a day though, be that sketches/line art/renders/revisions.

Right now I am looking at my email and task board, and the client with the highest wait time chronologically is someone who is waiting for their final render (sketch and line art already revised and done for them). Last email correspondence with them on the email says 9 days ago (so 7 business days, I'm supposed to take Sat-Sun off). Their order was paid in full and confirmed by me on November 9 and it is currently December 13, so I'm at about the 5 week mark (not accounting for delays in clients getting back to me of course) and I am very much On Course for my work load, no one has been without contact from me for 14 days or more so I'm pretty ahead of my game right now! I could take tomorrow off if I wanted, or only do 3-4 hours of work if I feel like it.

However the more work you finish and post, the more you show prospective clients your ability to finish orders and show your audience more art for engagement, so ideally I always like posting stuff when I can, it just creates a cycle of positive production and income.

[literaticat]

I feel like you’ve answered this before and I swear I tried searching a few months back but can’t find it so I’m sorry. Why is it not ok to look for another agent while you have one? Seems like a rule set up to hurt writers but I know this was a recent controversy on Twitter.

There are several reasons:

-- 1 -- Generally, your agency agreement will say something to the effect of, any book that is sold or submitted during the period that the agent represents you, they get a commission on. So you can't just fire an agent who is in the midst of working on a deal for you and toss that commish to some random other agent.

(That was a controversy I saw a little of recently, not sure if it's what you are talking about! But allegedly, an agent got a huge offer for a client, then the client just HIRED A DIFFERENT AGENT, leaving the first one screwed because for some reason she DIDN'T have that in her agency agreement -- which is bonkers to me, this is a completely normal thing to be in an agency agreement! If it is Agent A's work and contacts that got you the deal -- THEY GET THE COMMISH ON THE DEAL, you can't just parlay that into getting some "bigger" or "fancier" agent!)

-- 2 -- Because of that, some agency agreements ALSO have something in there that, if there are works still on submission or "outstanding business" that there will be some kind of cooling-off period -- say, 30 days, something like that, after you leave the agency -- so they have the opportunity to wrap any business that hasn't concluded, or withdraw the manuscripts, or whatever the case may be. IDEALLY, you would go to a new agency unencumbered by any previous agency stuff, you'd know exactly what rights for what projects were available free and clear, etc -- and that wouldn't be possible if you got a new agent before you'd even left the last one.

It's just sort of a "best practices for not getting anybody's wires crossed" kind of a thing. If I'm the first agent, I want to be sure that all my business is wrapped up -- if I'm the NEW agent, I want to be sure that any work that I do, it is actually possible for me to get PAID FOR. If I start submitting things and it turns out there are still submissions out there, I might not get my commish, or have to share it. UGH.

-- 3 -- Also, (GOOD) agents are often hyper-vigilant about not poaching clients, or even having the appearance of potentially poaching clients. This is like, the biggest sin for an agent to do to another agent, agents who poach clients are, IMO, absolute pieces of trash and other agents HATE them.

It's kinda like... let's say you are married to somebody. (Not an OPEN MARRIAGE or anything fun like that -- just, regular-married.) If you decide you want to divorce them, OK, that can be tough, but it happens. If you meet and want to marry somebody new afterward, fantastic for you, mazel tov!

But if you do that in a different order -- ie, you just shack up with a new person BEFORE splitting up with your spouse -- well, it wouldn't really be fair to EITHER partner. (There are some words for that, and none of them are particularly nice!)

As an agent who does NOT want to be ostracised from the Good Agent community, I wouldn't be talking to somebody else's client like that. Look, even if I LOVE your work, I can't be having that conversation if you have an agent. Once you are free of any other entanglements, it's anybody's ball game, I'll fight for you -- but it would be trashy to say the least for me to talk smack to an agented author about how their agent sucks, or that they should fire their agent and come to me. I'm no homewrecker!