#this is a unique fandom and i want to try to keep it alive while we wait for our next big wave of popularity

[sapphicjigsaw]

its been fun yall see you when splatoon 4

[haphazardlyannotated]

With how much we as a fandom discuss what will happen to John in AtN, it's kind of surprising how little I've seen on what the future has in store for Alecto. Since I already love her, I've decided that won't do. So here's a bunch of possible endings for Alecto:

1.) Alecto dies (alongside John): We know that neither of them can die while the other one is alive, so if John dies in AtN the most likely result would be that Alecto does, too. There are several ways I could see this going down. To the subsections!

1.1) The cycle of violence: Alecto is killed unwillingly as collateral damage by someone who wants John dead more than they want her alive. This ending mirrors how John killed Alecto the first time trying to get revenge on the billionaires. I really hope this doesn't happen. Not only does Alecto deserve better, it also doesn't bode well for everyone else's future.

1.2) The self sacrifice: Alecto dies willingly so John can be killed. Slightly less horrible for her than replaying the trauma of her death and birth to the letter, but still pretty damn sad. We know from Nona that Alecto at the very least has the potential to love being alive. I want her to get that chance. But at least this ending gives her some agency.

1.3) The peaceful rest: In this version Alecto wants to die. Something something necromancy as a violation of the natural order, something something everyone John wanted to keep around died 10000 years ago and his desire to hold onto them only caused everyone pain, and so on. A more bittersweet ending. However, I still struggle to believe that the entirety of Nona didn't mean anything about Alecto's will to live. Nona accepts her death, but that's for the lack of a better option. I firmly believe that Nona is still a fundamental part of Alecto and I want her to have the chance to live and be happy again. The odds of survival for Gideon don't look good in this ending either. If keeping someone alive via necromancy is meant to be categorically bad, the only way we're getting a happy ending for griddlehark is on the other shore of the river.

2. Alecto stays alive as Alecto: We know Alecto doesn't like her current body, so this goes square in the middle for me.

2.1) The survivor: I know I was just talking about how John and Alecto live or die as the world's worst package deal, but to be fair, their situation is entirely unique. There could still be some way for Alecto to survive John's death. There's an entire book left to find loopholes. Alecto would probably have some kind of feeling about whatever ends up happening to John, but I don't think we've seen enough of her yet to know what these feelings would be. Not to mention, part of her soul is stuck in John, and I suspect it's a tad optimistic to think she'd get those parts back if he died. Killing him would leave her with a literal hole in her soul. My girl deserves better. In any case, I dont think this ending is likely. It's too neat and basic for a series like tlt. And besides, why have a 'perfect' solution when it's so much more fun to make characters choose between flawed options?

2.2) The wanderer: This one's not tied to Alecto remaining in a humanoid form, but I'm putting it here anyway. This ending sees Alecto leave the Houses behind to travel the universe. Possibly with someone else. John? Paul? Pyrrha? Varun? Who knows. This ending is pretty open and feels more like a new beginning, but it's also rather hopeful. I could live with that.

2.3) The probation officer: This would be a version of events where John survives and is sentenced (by anything from court to the narrative) to some version of restorative justice. In this ending Alecto finally gets to see John use her powers the way she intended. This is basically the antithesis to the cycle of violence ending. Whoever chose this weighed saving the innocent (Alecto/humanity) against punishing the guilty (John/the billionaires) and decided that Alecto's life matters more than revenge. While I'm not entirely happy keeping Alecto in a body she hates, I think it would be an otherwise satisfying, hopeful ending for her. And hey, maybe someone can give her a necromantic makeover.

3.) Alecto lives, but not as Alecto: I don't think it's unreasonable to think that the planet who became a girl, who became a different girl and then became the first girl again might end up going through another transformation.

3.1) The Resurrection Beast: What it says on the tin. I'm not sure if Alecto technically is one already, but who says she can't turn into an eldritch being even larger than the planet she used to be? Unless this is combined with a wanderer ending (probably alongside Varun), I see this more as a temporary step that happens during the finale. In this case, I am incapable of imagining as anything other than an even messier version of the Steven Universe future finale. John being eaten by RB Alecto would also be one of the few ways I can think of to achieve a John dies, Alecto lives ending.

3.2) The planet: I feel like I'm daying 'hopeful ending' too much, so I won't do so again. It's a good one, though. I picture Alecto walking into the sea and dissolving into foam like the Hans Christian Andersen version of the little mermaid as the planet comes back to life. I like this ending a lot, not only because it would be a happy ending for Alecto (but bittersweet enough for those who loved her to still be exquisitely painful), but also promises a chance of healing for the rest of the cast.

3.3) The Paul: Short version: Alecto and John do a Paul, but since John's just a guy and Alecto is literally the world, it's not an equal fusion like, well, Paul. This post already says everything about John's side of this better than I could, but I have some additional thoughts on what it would mean for Alecto. Because part of her is in John, right? Doing a Paul would return these parts to her and (hopefully) heal the damage John did when he ate part of her and stuffed the rest in her barbie form. I think this ending has a high potential of going into the planet ending as well.

And that's all the endings I can think of right now!

For everyone who read through this entire thing, please tell me which one of these endings you're hoping for. Here's a poll!

[russetfoxfur]

okay so i went a bit insane about the examination of agency in the nightmare's routes, and then this evolved into a deeper examination of the rest of nightmare's whole deal. i am not an analyst so please take everything i say with a grain of salt, but. you know. i find her whole character to be very interesting. rambles under the cut.

warning it is 5k words of me rambling so like. be aware of that

okay, so every route the princess begins by being chained to a wall. this is the first thing she knows. she appears to be the ideal of a damsel in distress - she can't move, can't fight on her own at first, can be easily stabbed if your perception of her stays as a damsel in distress. she has no agency in this. she is forced to wait in the cabin until you, an unknown monster-looking thing comes along explicitly to kill her. and if you're quick and doubtless, she ends her life just as it began - born in a chain in a cabin, died in a chain in a cabin. and that's how you get the spectre.

now, the nightmare you can get on either harsh or soft princess. she's unique in this - as far as i remember, the only other princess like this is the stranger, where you don't meet her at all. (please correct me if i'm wrong though, i'm new to this fandom). and - as pointed out in another analysis, though i can't find it now - she's like this because she speaks to the foundational fear that all princesses have, which is going unperceived. she adapts based on what you are, and while she'll treat you differently if you try to kill her or save her at first, she will always revert to the nightmare when you meet her and then refuse to engage with her at all.

by refusing to perceive her you take away her agency. when you fight her she at least has the chance to fight back. if you manage to stab her in the heart she can at least provoke you into wondering if she's actually dead. but she has so little agency here, fighting for scraps to keep herself alive in the face of a construct that desperately wants her dead, and you leaving her alone says that you don't even see her as someone who's a threat. while slaying her means seeing her as an apocalypse in the making, and freeing her means seeing her as a pitiful thing locked up in a harsh cabin, leaving her alone means seeing her as absolutely nothing at all.

so she fights back. she slips her chains to try and escape from the cabin on her own terms. i genuinely don't think the shutting-down-the-organs thing is a lie on her part - she doesn't really lie, not unless you think she can, and she doesn't want to kill you at all, as evidenced in her chapter II. she knew you were the key to her escape, and then (in her eyes) you have the spite and sheer audacity to kill yourself just when her freedom is in view, just before she can leave for good. you kill yourself just to make sure she can't have the option of leaving at all.

so, to recap: she's locked up, you abandon her, she tries to escape, you die, she dies.

when we come back to her, the cabin bends to her will. her chains are nowhere in sight - whether they existed in the first place is a mystery. what i find interesting is the sort of prelude to her appearance - when you descend into the basement, you're given a choice between staying, running for the stairs, turning left, or turning right.

no matter which way you go, she always finds you.

she gives you the false choice this time. while before you'd spoken to her, tempted her with freedom and autonomy and agency, you'd snatched it away and left her with the worst fate she can imagine. now she's giving it to you - she tempts you with freedom and agency, and then she snatches it away by showing up no matter where you turn. no one ever talks about it but it's just. she'd said so many things to try and coerce/persuade you into helping her leave, and no matter what she'd said you'd left her anyway. you try and go any way to avoid meeting her and facing the princess again, but no matter which way you go she'll always find you.

anyway.

you pass out a few times as paranoid begins his chant, she reacts with mild curiosity and annoyance, and then you're free to question her. someone else pointed out that her mask never changes - it's frozen in this teasing smile, almost like she's smiling over the pain. (which she definitely is, considering what happens in the leadup to MoC.) she repeatedly reinstates her desire to leave and now gleefully talks about the world ending. what has it ever done for her, anyway? she also teases lq with death, just like he teased her with freedom. an eye for an eye.

a few highlights of her dialogue: when told that she's a lunatic, she responds, "I am what I am. And right now, what I am is in control." she also then teases him with death again. how the tables have turned. if you've got the knife, you can tell her you might just kill her instead, to which she warns the player and then says, "This place is mine. And I'm not giving you the stairs unless I'm leaving with you." she then demonstrates you by trapping you in the cabin if you decide to slay her right then and there. everything else is pretty standard - talking about her plans when she's free, talking about what happened after she died. these are interesting in their own right, but not for this analysis.

then, once you've exhausted all dialogue options, you have a few more options, three of which lead to chapter IIIs which have interesting takes on agency as well. you can remain with her, run, leave with her, or (if you have the knife) stab her.

both running and remaining - seemingly opposing actions - lead to the same outcome: the moment of clarity. this happens when you've finally exhausted all other possible outcomes, and all that's left for you to do is to let. her. out. you have no other choice - they're all grayed out. whether it's a broken hero or your own amnesia-blocked trauma doing this is anyone's guess, but the fact remains.

in the leadup to the moment of clarity, she takes off her mask, the thing that's kept her seeming morbidly cheerful and playful throughout the rest of the route despite her multiple open threats and gleeful hatred of the world. the narrator describes, in detail, a horrific existence which she is baring to you in an attempt to get you to help her to leave. she takes off her mask, stops playing nice with you, and tries to get you to see her side of the story, tries to get you to at least pity her and leave.

it's so bad the narrator stops narrating and refuses to go on.

think about this. this is the guy who narrates the entirety of the fury sequence, cool and calm. he describes the nightmarish cabin matter-of-factly a few minutes before, which hero points out. he isn't bothered by you getting killed except that it means his plans are ruined and the world is doomed, and he tells you about various gruesome deaths such as being crushed by vines or watching the prisoner chop her own head off. the only other times i can think of that he despairs like this is when you fail your mission (by freeing or dying to the princess) or when he himself is in danger (getting burned up by apotheosis, getting controlled by the tower). but in nightmare, the vision is so horrible that he cannot stand going on. (paranoid also stops chanting at this time, but he does that before when his concentration is broken. narry is notably VERY DEAD SET on his goal of slaying the princess. he's not like this!)

what this vision is exactly, i cannot tell, but for the sake of this analysis i'm going to interpret it as what she is, behind the mask, behind the facade of a vessel. shifty offloads the nature of her existence, the purest distillation of change - a lifetime, the circle of life, bloom and decay and burgeoning rot over and over and over again, success and fame turning into scandals and dishonor and poverty, humans living and changing into monsters or saints, every choice you make irreversibly altering the tapestry of time you are a part of. she represents the future and its unpredictable nature, and people trying to adapt to changing societal pressures and failing to evolve fast enough, and each unlucky twist of fate that leads to ruin and despair. she is survival of the fittest, and she is testing you.

this is what the nightmare is, under the mask. a monster, a murderer, the essence of death and destruction. this is what you are denying agency.

in this light, refusing shifty's offer of godhood seems almost reasonable. maybe she's trapped here for a reason. death is... pretty bad, isn't it? if our cool-headed narrator doesn't want her out, maybe there's a reason for that. maybe he's loved and lost - maybe he's seeing reflections of himself, in the princess' experiences, and the reason why he's so set on you slaying her is to prevent this nightmare from happening to anyone else.

you die, of course. you have the audacity to die. and when you wake again - we don't know whether she's hopeful you've learned the error of your ways, or whether she's still as forceful as in chapter II, but one thing's for certain - she doesn't win. you still act as the prison guard. you still keep her away from her only goal, and you become determined to keep it that way.

so you guard the door. you slay her. you romance her and question her and murder her and you end up with different voices, each time, different fragments of change that help you evolve to fight her but you always end up with the same princess with the same goal and nothing's getting better and you keep on denying her freedom because she's clearly awful and you're clearly the guard to an irredeemable prisoner.

from her perspective, mind you, she's been locked in a room for no reason, teased with escape, accidentally killed you while trying to leave, entertained your faints and questions, bared her soul to you in order to get you to understand why leaving her alone is such a bad idea, and then you died and promptly doubled down on your decision.

it's hell for her! she doesn't know why you're doing this! she's forced to react to your actions, because you're the one who can take the knife and you're the one who can leave! she lashes out! how dare you! how dare you keep her trapped here! why can't she leave! why can't she be the one in control of her fate! why do you hate her so much, that you are willing to die over and over just to keep her trapped?

so she lashes out at you. she takes vengeance on her captor, and she hunts you again and again, eroding away your defiance loop by painstaking loop. we don't know exactly what she did. we probably don't want to. but it's bad enough to break the voices, shatter many of them beyond recognition, and outright deny us our autonomy in a way that's only otherwise seen in tower.

and i'm not saying she's a saint! i know this whole analysis i've been on her side but that's because most people aren't! she's undeniably cruel to lq, but the thing most people forget is he was cruel first! she is a creature of perception and he denies her even that basic privilege! and she reacts violently! she lashes out and tries to threaten him into staying! has no qualms with sacrificing the world if she can get out! the nightmare cranks the abandonment anxiety of all the princesses up and adds a vicious vengeance to her as well!

but also. this route shows how hero isn't quite so perfect as he appears to be. you get this route by taking hero's third option, which satisfies no one. (it's also worth noting that HEA is also hero's call.) you abandon her, she who literally never has met anyone beside yourself, and that breaks her. so she tries to cling onto you. she possesses you and shatters you and threatens you and wants you there because she knows nothing else and she's already fractured from shifty's splintering, she can't fracture further, so she'll squeeze and claw for any bit of companionship she can get. she'll hunt you down for sport if it means she can spend a few minutes with you perceiving her. she's lonely is what she is. and she's reacting in the worst way possible.

where were we? oh, right. moment of clarity.

eventually, though, after untold numbers of loops where you keep doggedly trying to keep her locked away, she breaks through. she exhausts your options, traumatizes you, forces you to let her out. she will not be defeated. she will have her way. she makes sure of it.

what i also find interesting is that you're not scared of her anymore. paranoia isn't chanting away in the background. there's no more fear - just resignation. no one's happy with your third option, just as the narrator said back when you made it in the first cabin - everyone just wants it to end, and the only voice of dissent is the narrator, who doesn't even remember what's happened and doesn't know how awful it is to keep on trudging through the same, unchanging story over and over and over again. it's not new, or exciting, or changing anymore. it's just painful. you should really just let her out.

ah, but you might be wise enough not to try and pick that third option, and instead choose the more traditional two options - leaving or slaying.

leaving with the nightmare, like most chapter II endings, is pretty straightforward - you comply with her wishes and let. her. out. if you have the knife, there's a fun moment where paranoid says 'fuck you' to the narrator, but otherwise you give her her agency again. you allow her out. you've learned the error of your ways - now you'll let her free.

and, granted, she does wish death onto the world, but - as detailed above - she does kinda deserve it. i'd let her. she should kill people. i want to watch it happen :3

but if you choose to slay her, she reacts not with indignance but with gleeful wickedness. she can't believe you - a paranoid, helpless thing that she'd decided was barely a person at all, just a key that kept getting stuck in the lock, just a helpless little birdie who couldn't even stay alive in the face of her beauty and power - actually killed her! she's too surprised to be angry, i think. and then that surprise turns into realization - she's already figured out that you were always going to keep coming back until you let. her. out, and she can feel herself changing as a result of your changing perception.

and thus we meet the wraith.

while she has the same dialogue no matter where you kill her, you get different voices depending on where you do it - oppy on the stairs/in the cabin, cold if you do it in the basement. you're also forced to kill yourself either way - she tosses you into the void if you betray her, and you're stuck in the basement if you kill her in the basement since, as mentioned before, she won't give you the stairs. you die either from biology or suicide, and then you go into the wraith.

the wraith is a vengeful creature, and for good reason. she tried being nice to you! she tried talking to you, then tried threatening you, then tried forcing you. but you keep refusing! you keep dying, stubbornly, before you can reach her... you keep killing her before she can reach the outside... you keep teasing her with freedom! you keep her away from freedom, so tantalizingly close yet far.

and she's done being nice. she's seen where that's gotten her - a paranoid corpse and a knife through her heart. it's not her fault you keep dying! you just can't help being so afraid of a shackled princess that you're willing to kill yourself to be rid of her! so she's going to take it by force. she'll be evil. that's the only way things get done around here.

so she transforms into the wraith, a half-dead thing with a skeletal grin and grasping claws. you're introduced to her when she twists your ankle and drags you down to her level. she also explains that she was so, so close to freedom last time, but then you locked her away, killed her, and took her body away from her. so she's going to take your body away and march out that door, and you're going to be completely helpless during all of this, just like she was.

interestingly, she also limits your freedom, just like she did last time - if you ask her questions twice, she'll cut you off and take over your body then and there. she's done entertaining your frivolous questions. she wants to leave. let. her. out. she also goes ahead and possesses you without a second thought if you try to struggle or give up

a few interesting highlights from these explore options: you can claim that you were a victim in all of this, and she says, "Just because someone hurt you doesn't mean you get a free pass to hurt anyone else." some delicious hypocrisy there, wraith, as the voices point out. but perhaps she doesn't even see you as someone who can hurt, thus justifying her possession and torture of you. someone who can hurt would have sympathy for the poor locked up princess in the dark basement, and they certainly wouldn't lock her away and stab her to death. only heartless people do that, and heartless people can't be hurt. if you tell her that possessing you is evil, she says, "After all you've done, why would I ever care what you think of me?" she's past the point of evil and not-evil. to her, you're evil - you hurt her first, after all. whether a villain sees a hero as evil is irrelevant; to her, you're means to an end, an end that is always dancing just out of reach. possessing you is a necessary step to her goal.

she then possesses you.

now that she's in your head, she realizes that you also have voices in your head. oppy is immediately on wraith's side, because of course he is, and cold's a bit ambivalent about the whole ordeal (as he often is), though he's leaning toward your side. narry and hero are mortified, as they are wont.

if you struggle as she possesses you, paranoid's able to save up a bit of will and uses it to help you defy her one last time. first you lock her away in the basement, then you stab her, then you are literally willing to kill yourself and fall forever to be rid of her. she's sadistic as she tries to force you to move, but if you want to - because you're the one with agency here, still, even as she forces you to shamble toward the door on a broken ankle, even as she usurps your body and forces you to watch - you can throw yourself out the window.

as you fall, she asks you why you hate her. why you've always hated her. why you didn't trust her when you locked her away, why you decided to stab a knife through someone who didn't even want to kill you, why you defied her even with a shattered ankle and her voice in your head. why you decided your autonomy was more worthy than hers, way back at the start, back when she didn't even want to kill you. why you hated her into the nightmare, and then the wraith. why you decided she was better off alone and abandoned.

and honestly? you might have a valid reason at this point. she did break your ankle, after all. she did shut down your organs and act gleeful about the end of the world. she's a monster. she's sadistic and cruel and horrible and she possessed you, for goodness' sake! you've been trying to defend yourself against a threat! you're literally dying all the time near nightmare, and wraith greets you by breaking your ankle! like, i understand why people hate her! i'm not saying she's a good person! no one is, in this series! that's part of the appeal!!!

but she never even tried to kill you. (to those who are going to say well what about the organs-shutting-down-thing, think about it rationally: she needs you to get out. you fainting and dying isn't helping her. it's an active detriment. if she could control it, she probably wouldn't do it, because you being dead just shunts you back into the same hellvoid again.) she never locked you away forever. that was you. you keep taunting her with freedom and then shutting her away. you killed her and trapped her and, to her, you forced her into this. you forced her to hurt you and possess you and make you fear her. this isn't her fault. this is yours. for locking her away, for killing her, for denying her her one wish. she tried, in that first chapter. and you decided she wasn't worth the time of day.

personally, i would've made this choice also branch off into MoC. this game doesn't do fourth chapters - and i understand why - but i feel like it would've been fulfilling. she finally gets her freedom after you kill her and kill yourself and lock her away and keep her from getting out. you wouldn't even have to change much - you've already proven you're not going to let her out again. who's to say that the wraith wasn't one of MoC's iterations, and that the voices leading the charge then were also able to store some will and kill themselves before she could escape?

and maybe they were right. we don't know what happened between the nightmare and MoC, and we never will. maybe she was horrifically cruel, an unfeeling maniac. maybe she was pleading to be let out, and you weren't having that. maybe she was doing both. what we know is she never left the cabin.

finally, i want to draw attention to what, exactly, shifty says about each vessel. she gives us our best glimpse into each vessel's psyche, as someone who is part of them. her little speech often endears me to the princess i delivered, even if i wasn't very fond of her.

for the nightmare, she states, "This one is filled with sadness. A doll abandoned to the company of her darkest impulses. She desires only companionship, but the only thing she knows is how to hurt. She will make for a tender heart."

this reinforces what i've been saying throughout the whole analysis - most of the nightmare's nightmarish qualities come from her desperate need to be perceived by someone else. to be known. you doom her to a life of eternal loneliness, so she gives into her darkest urges and hurts you, over and over again, to try and win you over. she doesn't know how to do otherwise.

for the moment of clarity she states, "This one is a waiting maw. An inevitable destination where all roads end. She will make for a wise heart."

she chased you over and over until you broke, waiting for you to shatter and let her out. no matter what you tried to do, no matter which choices you made or roads you took, she awaited you, and you awaited her. she was made wise through your attempts to defy her, and eventually she won the long game. it was inevitable, really. you did your best. there's just a pecking order, and you'll always be at the bottom.

and about the wraith she states: "This one is loneliness turned to seething. She could not find her strength in others, so she found it in herself. She will make for a driven heart."

when you refused to save her, when you defied her over and over, she realized she couldn't rely on you to save her. you took everything she had away from her. so she took everything you had - a pristine blade, a free body - away from you instead. she used to be lonely, scared - but now she is powerful, hateful, laughing even as you throw her out a window in a spiteful act of defiance. you monster.

but eventually, inevitably, finally, she rejoins the shifting mound as one of her many perspectives. she finds peace, finally, in the eternal choir of the vessels.

do not mourn her. she is not alone anymore.

...

this analysis is not in defense of her actions - she does do some pretty fucked up things in this! pro tip: do not break people's ankles and then possess them, and also do not torture someone and break their will. just a suggestion.

but the reason i'm making this analysis is that so many people will say that nightmare/MoC (and tower, though this analysis isn't about her (but i love her very much and she was so valid for mind controlling the narrator)) is a horrible irredeemable bitch, and then they'll turn around and praise smitten/oppy/cold.

and that feels... more than a little hypocritical to me. oppy is literally a backstabbing bastard who allies with the person who has the most power - he literally tries to stab you in patd! he is born out of the decision to betray the princess when she's finally thought she could trust you, similarly to the nightmare, except this time you're killing her instead of locking her away. in HEA, he decides that free food is worth more than the princess' happiness, and in thorn he wants to stab the princess because of her newfound vulnerability.

and yet i've seen so many analyses of his behavior! so many people excusing him as a sopping wet cat who just doesn't want to die. and it's like, well, okay, i'm not going to stop you from liking oppy. i'm not a cop. i can get why you might like a morally gray kinda sneaky character. but it just feels a little misogynistic when you hate the nightmare, who also resorts to desperate measures in order to not die, don'tcha think?

or cold! i'm gonna be honest i'm a bit more favorable of cold, but he still advocates for killing the princess when he thinks it'll be interesting. he is literally born when you don't even try to hear the princess out in the first place, coldly stabbing her without a second thought. he values novelty over pain. and yet people will praise him and then turn around and criticize the tower for not caring about you at all!

ugh. i just... hate the shifty neg, you know? so many ppl hate her for being 'manipulative' and 'self-centered' while completely ignoring your own hand in shaping her! she is a creature of perception, after all - the damsel and the tower are wildly different, and they both change based on how you act. each princess is a reflection of your own thoughts toward her. and people hate on the nightmare for *checks script* trying to leave the basement she was locked into, and then reacting violently when the only person she's ever known decides to keep her trapped, possibly for forever. like, you all see why she'd do that, right.

...also, like. god forbid women do anything. even if she did do all that organ-shutting-down stuff of her own volition, good for her. she should do it more. she should kill everyone who disagrees with her. she was locked in a basement and abandoned by the first person she met i think she deserves to kill and slaughter.

andddd end of post! again i am NOT, like, a practiced analyst. there are almost certainly things i got wrong during this, and feel free to bring those up in the comments! i will admit this got a bit out of hand and turned halfway into a gushing-about-nightmare post.

also i just want to reiterate that this analysis explores her motives and explains why she's Like That, and again i am not trying to say she's a precious cinnamon roll. just that she's got some reasons for doing what she does.

ALSO ALSO PLEASE DO NOT MAKE THIS POST ABOUT THE VOICES THIS POST IS ABOUT THE NIGHTMARE AND HER ITERATIONS!!! MAKE YOUR OWN POST!!!

alright! that's it! russet out!

[ilikekidsshows]

Saw a post discussing about conflict in a relationship and a man said that "yes, men must stay present, calm and steady when she need to speak. But he also has a right to bail away when she's being irrational. If she want to be heard and respected then she should earn that by communicating her needs with calm and clarity, to own her trigger. That's how they both meet and communicate to each other with equal respect" the post is way longer than that but that's basically the gist of it. Communicate your feelings with respect to the listener if you want to be heard, that's what I get from that post and as a woman myself I wholeheartedly agree with this. I'm not going to expect my man to calmly stay and hear me leashing out, when I myself can't even get my feelings under control. That's seems like a recipe for disaster than anything. Sadly many woman on that post seems to be disagree with that take, that no one should earn the respect to be heard, they said. That man should try to understand, they said. But seriously, as a woman myself, I don't want to hear someone screaming to my face, I don't think anyone would like that either.

The post just remind me of old ml fanfiction I read before where Adrien end up leaving when Marinette just screaming to his face when he's already injured after the fight! And people went ballistic over it because "how dare he leaves when she's talking!" First of all, she's not even talking, she's fucking screaming! Second, he's already injured, he just banged his head to the concrete! And while she's worried, that doesn't give her a free pass to scream at him. This particular scene stood out in my memory because it divided the comment section into three : The one who justified Adrien bailing out from the screen and left Marinette confused, the one who blame Adrien for disrespecting Marinette and the one who said its OOC for Marinette to leash out at him when she's the most compassionate character in the show. The last one make me chackle though, since we've seen Marinette, as LB leashing out at Adrien, as CN, in the show thorough the seasons and most of the time its not even because he did something wrong. Of course people claimed that he should understand that she's leashing out because she's stressed but here's the thing : whatever issue you have at the moment doesn't make it as a free pass to hurt people. It's just weird that people keep talking about respect but when it's men then it seems like they said men doesn't deserve respect and woman should not be held accountable for their feelings and ml seems to be working on this bad stereotypes and a lot of people loves it. No wonder Marinette can get out of the trouble easily and the show still going strong despite of how problematic it is if a lot of people agree with the messages.

---

Heterosexism is alive and well in the lovesquare fandom. The strong belief that women are somehow uniquely emotional and have stronger emotions and supposedly need to have meltdowns over them is a sexist stereotype. The stereotype of the “hysterical woman” has always leaned on this belief that women aren't just socialized to be more open with their emotions while men are socialized to suppress them, they just inherently have stronger emotions. It's not true. Every human being experiences emotions, and the intensity relies on neurological factors, not sex chromosomes, and we deal with those emotions how we are taught to do so.

In that discourse we also see the typical double standard of respect and lack of it. When one group has a type of respect, here it's women's emotions and emotional needs being respected as valid, it's just a given that such respect should be granted. If you asked them how they “earned” that respect, I doubt they’d have an answer outside it being a necessity. But, the instant a different group wants that same respect, it's a privilege that has to be earned. There's this idea that the “respect” being asked for is something more than being treated as a valid, equal human being even when the other party literally just asks for human decency.

“Don't treat others in ways you don't want to be treated” shouldn't be such a high bar, but I guess some people just have to believe there are different categories of personhood and these categories are in a hierarchy so elevating your own means putting others’ down.

[infinityinakiss]

arcane incorrect quotes: dysfunctional sisters edition (+ cait, the number one sister-in-law)

vi: go to hell!

jinx: where do you think i come from?

//

jinx: my assistance will be an act of beneviolence.

vi: ...don’t you mean benevolence?

jinx: no.

//

caitlyn: don’t go picking a fight with me. i could make your life difficult.

jinx, sarcastically: wow. i wonder what it’d be like to have a difficult life.

//

jinx: i'm gonna nickname my child "lil bitch". vi: i see you're passing on your name.

//

jinx: i typed "bitch" into my gps and guess what? i'm in your driveway.

caitlyn:

jinx: vroom vroom, come out already.

//

jinx: hey, caitlyn?

caitlyn: yeah?

jinx: can a person breathe inside a washing machine while it’s on?

caitlyn:

caitlyn: where’s vi?

//

vi: advice of the day kids, if you ever meet someone who calls gatorade flavors the actual name of the flavor instead of just the color then they are a certified nerd.

jinx: yeah but you have to specify, frost glacier or cool blue? you can’t just say blue because there’s more than one blue.

vi: blue and light blue, nice try nerd.

//

jinx: people tell me i have a unique way of lighting up a room.

caitlyn: it’s called arson and those people are called witnesses.

//

jinx: i never understood why people cared so much about their dumb friends until i got a dumb friend myself.

jinx: *picks up isha*

jinx: i've only befriended isha for a day and a half, but if anything happened to them i would kill everyone in this room and then myself.

//

vi: ...i'm pretty sure that place is fire-proof, or something.

jinx, grenade in hand: alright, but is it explosion-proof?

//

vi: why am i not the protagonist of an amazing story…?

jinx: you are, though - it’s called “your life.”

vi: shut the fuck up, i wanna struggle fighting demons not struggle with getting out of bed every day.

jinx: but those are your demons.

vi: …

vi: i am hereby naming you as the antagonist and now it is my sole job to find you and hit you in the face with a chair for that bitch-ass comment you just made.

//

vi: why would you think any of this was a good idea?

jinx: probably because i’m a dangerous sociopath with a long history of violence.

vi:

jinx: i don’t know how you keep forgetting this.

//

vi: you’re alive.

jinx: no need to sound so disappointed.

//

vi: can you be serious for five minutes?

jinx: my record is four, but i think i can do it.

//

cait: tell jinx off, vi! assert yourself!

vi: that's my ice cream!

cait: good! now let them have it!!

vi, handing jinx the ice cream: here, you can have it!

//

jinx: you know, pinocchio could tell us so much about the universe! he could randomly claim stuff like “the big bang happened” and his nose would confirm or deny our theory.

cait: pinocchio’s not omniscient, you dumb fuck! his nose only grows when he’s intentionally being dishonest!

vi: things are heating up in the pinocchio fandom…

//

jinx: look, i'm glad everyone’s on the same page.

jinx: but it’s the last page in a book titled “we’re all going to die”.

cait: that’s not even clever.

//

jinx: FIGHT ME, YOU NERD ASS SLUT!

cait: at least try to sound slightly more sophisticated when you threaten someone.

jinx: oh, i'm sorry. i should ask; dost thou want to engage in a duel, my good bitch?

cait: somehow that's worse.

//

vi: i don’t think we can mansplain, manipulate, or malewife our way out of it this time.

jinx: *cracks knuckles* manslaughter it is!

//

jinx, holding a toy lightsaber: i’m darth vader!

vi: i'm done with everyone’s bullshit.

[marvelstars]

Does it bothers you when people are like "Leia is so Anakin coded" or "Leia is so alike both Ani and Padme" while completely reducing Luke to "Padme in a boy's body". I have seen a few edits of the twins on tik tok lately and always when the video is about the parallels between Anakin and Luke the comments go "No. That is wrong. Luke is like Padme and Leia is like Anakin", or "you get the twins right, anakin-Leia, luke-padme".

And I have tbh, that pisses me off a bit, mostly on Luke's behalf since he is my fave, cause while I totally agree Luke has a lot of similarities with Padme, he also is alike Anakin in so many ways. And it upsets me a little people just trying to erase everything they have in common just to support this narrative. (Main reason why I don't like the reverse AU, or Senator Luke fics. The ones I have read just straigh up pushed this narrative, putting his love to fly, his passion, and many things that makes Luke be Luke to the side only to make him be a version of Padme)

It is also upsetting for Leia, since she is far away from being 100% like Anakin. They are both passionate and determined people, yes, but this doesn't make her be "Ani 2.0". And this narrative also completely dismiss the existence of Bail and Breha on her upbringing.

Both twins share a lot of similarities with both of their parents in different and intricated ways, with a lot of their own personality on the mix, what makes them unique. It baffles me see them being reduced to charicatures of their parents.

I agree with you, I understand fandom wants to have fun with memes but sometimes they go too far, Leia and Luke ultimately are their own persons and tbh those takes also do a big disservice to Anakin and Padme characters´reducing their arc and personality terribly and ignoring Owen, Beru, Bail and Breha influence on the twins emotional development.

But I will focus on Luke and his relationship to Anakin here.

Luke is a strong force sensitive with a good aptitude towards mechanical work, he is passionate, short tempered, idealist, has big dreams for the future, excellent pilot and soldier who cares more than anything for friends and family and causes he considers just, he is also kind and compassionate even if this doesn´t come easily to him, just like Anakin was at his age.

That said, he is also down to earth, pragmatic and has a no non-sense actitude when it comes to other people, see his reaction to Han trying to scam them on their travel to Alderaan, he doesn´t suffer people trying to make him feel inferior because he knows his own personal value, those are characteristics he got for being raised by his uncle and aunt, sure they lived on a desert planet full of Hutts, slavers, criminals and bounty hunters but they lived an honest way of life and didn´t believe they owned either group an ounce of their honest work, they only ever owned it to their family.

Anakin´s experiences shaped him differently on this matter, given his life as slave his mother teached him the art of bend,dont break by keeping his identity intact, this made him more susceptible to be ordered around by the Chancellor, the Jedi Council, the Republic sometimes even Padme even if this meant sacrificing his original hopes of freeing his mother, the slaves of tatooine and having a family.

Anakin developed low self esteem issues when he got separated from his mother because he no longer had her unconditional support and knew the reason why he was trained by the Jedi was contingent to his habilities and what he could do for the Order, not because he as a person, was important or would have been chosen for himself as a Jedi if he wasn´t so strong in the force but he learned to keep his real self buried and protected from outside forces while using the systems controlling him to his advantage. Palpatine managed to break him but even Vader was able to keep part of his real self alive despite the Emperor´s many efforts to turn him completely to the darkside ,which Luke noticed thanks to his bond to his father.

Those characteristics Luke got from his Uncle and Aunt served Luke well when he confronted the Emperor, Obi-Wan and Yoda, he already was interested in being a Jedi because of his father but this didn´t mean he was going to blindly follow whatever order Yoda and Obi-Wan gave him as much as he personaly appreciated and loved them as people and masters in the force and he certainly wasn´t going to act as if the Emperor wasn´t trying to destroy his familiar bond to his father when he didn´t even know the guy, took his father from him before he was born and was the rebellion´s main adversary, all Palpatine was for Luke was an objetive to kill on sight and Palpatine knew this, that´s why he temped him to the darkside by giving him the oportunity to kill him. Luke is also of the mind that if he doesn´t agree with something and that something is the source of great pain for others he is 100% justified in destroying it, see Jabba´s palace, the death star, the Empire. Anakin´s style is more "I know the system doesn´t work, it sucks but I will be damned if I don´t try to fix it or work around it" because he often feel as if he had no other choice.

Many fans take for granted the fact Luke forgave his father as his main personality trait when the opposite is the truth, Luke wasn´t a stranger to violence because he lived on a planet in which if you didn´t learn to take care of yourself you could die and as part of the rebellion he wasn´t a stranger to killing imperials and losing loved ones to the cause, the interesting thing about Luke´s CHOICE of saving his father isn´t that it was part of his nature all along, it´s the fact that´s pretty much agaisn´t his natural temperament, saving Vader went agaisn´t his natural care for family, Vader may be his father but he hurt his friends and Leia, saving Vader was the least pragmatic choice acording to his identity as a rebel and Jedi, saving Vader went agaisn´t his own feelings of abandoment and yearning for a father feeling betrayed by Anakin´s turn to the darkside.

Still Luke made this choice because he felt how utterly isolated and broken Vader was and he cared enough for the image of the father he never knew, a father he knew could still be there, to show him some uncomplicated, familiar love once again, the kind his aunt and uncle showed him, if only for Luke´s own peace of mind that he truly tried everything to make his father feel better, while his pragmatic side took care of things by letting Leia know about his mission and telling her they had to attack the DSII anyway even if he was there because the cause of freeing the galaxy from the Empire was still more important than his personal feelings and issues with his father.

The narrative gives Luke the victory, saving his father from the darkside which lead to the destruction of the Emperor and the Empire, for being loving and compassionate despite this not coming natural to him but as part of his personal grow and maybe, as the legacy of the two women who shaped his family without him meeting them, Shmi and Padme and the person his father used to be.

Luke and the Skywalker family in general are waaay more than some fans give them credit.

Thanks for the question anon

[princess-of-the-corner]

I confess I am iffy on framing Celestia in a too negative light. This might be rooted in the fact when I was in the MLP fandom the general writing for her was 99% "She is an evil tyrant, monster & or pedophile because we said so!" attitude.

Thus I tend to prefer to write the divergence between the sisters as more a radical shift in circumstances and perspective that neither one really clicked with what the other was doing.

To Celestia being princess, guiding Ponydom and everything else is an obligation born of their power and position, She not particularly enamored with it in fact barring the fact there's codes of conduct for socializing (cheat sheet, yay!) she doesn't like it at all.

Luna did like it, or more, she wanted to like it in a way that tied into being loved by the public and that translating into understanding and closeness with them. She didn't get that, and then it was compounded by the sense her nights were being rejected.

Trying to explain this to Celestia would be a struggle for both of them because as lonely as it makes her, Celestia doesn't see being a princess as a thing that's meant to make her happy. At most she will be satisfied if she does good when good needs to be done.

& given ponies work in the day and a very literal, practical spin on daylight, she sees the shaping of the celestial bodies as less "Baring my soul" and more "This is the thing I do that makes plants grow and produces oxygen which keeps things alive." Its much less artistic than Luna's view of things.

As a result of these factors they end up constantly talking passed one another when the issue comes up. It was never a problem before because it was just them, even if they looked at things differently they appreciated the others love of their craft and unique perspective.

But then the third element of ponies got added tp the dynamic and while for Celestia this didn't change how she views sun-crafting beyond "Need to accommodate X farm, Y growing season, ETC" It very much impacted Luna because her artistry, that she poured herself into was not being appreciated it, which felt like a rejection of her.

That was my read anyway, but that's me.

oh no yeah it-

When I say things like 'manipulation' I don;t mean it in a purposeful, negative, light.

Celestia isn't /trying/ to use manipulative examples or exert her authority to make Luna comply. It's just something that happens naturally due to the dynamic they had at the time and had yet to unpack in a healthy manner.(They're still young. They're shifting from something where there's a clear power imbalance of older/younger siblings and caretaker/child to something that /should/ be equal as co-rulers of a kingdom. Celestia doesn't yet know how to listen, but Luna doesn't yet know how to speak up)

And then yes that compounds on things. Luna trying and failing to be like Celestia emotionally and putting her more personal feelings on a shelf for the Greater Good. Luna putting artistry into her work that goes unnoticed, and Celestia not understanding what the big deal is because the Moon is still serving its purpose equally as the Sun is regardless of how 'pretty' it looks. Surely Luna's navigation of Dreams is little different from the day-to-day political negotiations so why she feels hurt that it's hard for ponies to remember Dreams in the Waking World doesn't click right.

And she keeps trying and trying until something in her snaps. And if she were anyone else, this would just be a breakdown and fight and maybe not talking for a while. But they're Deities and thus all of that manifests into something that causes the world itself to go haywire.

[fanarchoslashivist]

I know you dropped it but I love 'Compost' its my favorite fic of yours and also i really like 'A Royal Pain In The Ass' and 'Calefaction" the way you write Jack is so unique and fun he's such a little shit stirrer hes like a prank youtuber and it is so obvious why so many people would find him annoying and hate him. I always had a problem with how the fandom worshiped his little boohoo I'm so lonely because people don't like when I'm a fucked up little shit to them. Typical lonely white boy who acts out to get attention and then cries when nobody likes him after he literally ruined their shit.

Bunny definitely should have popped Jack in the mouth during their first encounter I swear it would have fixed so many bad takes about their post Easter confrontation. Jack is such a smart mouthed mean spirited little shit and I love him but oh my god oh my god I KNOW he has other spirits who will jump him because he fucked up playing around with something and then didn't apologize or acted like it wasn't that big of a deal. Jack had zero problems throwing out punch after punch shit talking everything the Guardians do but Bunny pushes exactly one button that we as the audience have context for and suddenly Bunny is the bad guy and Jack is the sad lonely child. They BOTH were being shitty, Jack literally has history of destroying the thing keeping Bunny ALIVE like oh so sorry he got his white boy feelings hurt. Jack killed a kid's goldfish and caused mass car accidents in the first twenty minutes of this film, he's the class clown at the frat party who thinks its funny to steal your phone and dangle it over the side of the pool to watch you get upset and try to take it from him then laugh when you fall in the pool as he dodges.

its just a joke, lighten up," he says until you call him an asshole college dropout who is intentionally crashing parties to make everybody's life hell because he's terrified of being rejected so he gives everybody an excuse to hate him first.

Then he's sad and hurt and you're mean for handing him back his entire personality on a platter.

The important takeaway from that scene is that Bunny and the other Guardians are supposed to help people in this situation, but Bunny is supposed to be the person who recognizes that Jack is in need of help. Bunny is playing the stern "you are here because of the consequences of your actions," role to a young adult who has not had proper guidance through his teen years. Jack's entire problem is that he learns about the world through trial and error, but faces no lasting consequences, he is literally dismissed. This is very white boy problem child of him, getting into trouble with little consequence because white kids are usually swept aside instead of severely punished like kids of color are, they are told 'oh he just needs care and guidance' while also giving him no care and guidance. literally how the fandom treats him actually, "Jack is just lashing out because he wants to be seen and people are mean for getting mad at him instead of helping" then call every guy who tries to be funny to get their attention in real life a fuck boy. Rise of the Guardians is best read as a trouble making twenty-something kid being forced into community service and finally meeting adults who actively work with troubled kids.

I think Jack is a great representation for young adults aging out of a system that failed them, his mixture of longing and disdain for everything the Guardians do is a perfect reflection of how everything we do to help protect and provide for kids as a community can fall short, but they are still necessary, and always at threat from groups that think the best way to straighten out a kid is breaking them. Think of all the people who are so upset at the idea of replacing detention with actual support projects, and all the comments from people who insist the best way to punish the kids is to hurt them in some way, hit them, force them to do grueling exercises, deprive them of their dignity. Think of every person around you who looks at a crying child in public and say "MY child knows better than to act like THAT" and the implication behind it.

Jack views the things the Guardians do as vain little pet projects that they use to bribe kids in exchange for their belief, the same way a child who doesn't receive care can view it as bribes for good behavior instead of rewards. The Guardians are, quite literally stated in the movie, a replacement for the way previous generations raised kids through punishment. Pitch is the Boogeyman, the manifestation of how parents used fear to control kids and get them to do as they are told. "if you don't listen to me the boogeyman will GET you."

This is replaced by a system of rewards, "Go to sleep on time or you'll miss the Sandman and wont have good dreams." "If you don't be good Santa won't bring you presents, only nice kids get rewarded." "Sit still and behave through Easter service and you'll get to go to the Easter egg hunt." "Losing a tooth isn't a scary thing, its something to look forward to, you get money from the Tooth Fairy."

But when you don't have that, when you don't have rewards to look forward to or the rewards are used to control you instead of as a gift you earned, you can build resentment. Especially if, like Jack, you are a child in need who slipped through the cracks of a system built to help you.

Jack seeks the Man in the Moon's help, he insists that MiM put him there, and we as the audience believe him even though nowhere in the film does anything back this up, in fact we are shown that MiM is easily ignored when he attempts to contact people, if Sandy had not noticed him and gotten everyone's attention. Jack also insults what the Guardians do, with each Guardian having a special scene with him where they showcase and explain the individual importance of their duties and how much effort goes into it. He learns he was wrong as he interacts with them, and he learns that he ALSO has use of their gifts. It was all "cooped up in some hideout finding new ways to bribe kids" until it was HIS memories being protected.

The Guardians had an important lesson to learn, its a very easy lesson for viewers because its in half the family films you watch. Parents need to spend time with their kids! Its not enough to focus on what you can give them, yes work is hard and you are doing so much to make sure they are provided for and you are tired and need time for yourself to rest when you are done, but you also need to connect with and actually talk to your kids. You can't just be the person that gives them things, you need to be THERE for them.

But Jack has an important lesson to, and you are right to see him as immature and uncaring for the harm he does, he needs to understand his actions have consequences. Its all well and good for him to show up and make a mess of things and fly off when nobody cares if he comes or goes, blow a kid's homework out the window, freeze their goldfish, cause car accidents by sending kids sledding into the street. He lives up to every trickster story I know, and how he's dealt with also follows that line. Tricksters show up and play games with you, and you are often the one suffering from those games, except when you convince the trickster to play by YOUR rules.

The Guardians follow this when they convince Jack to help collect teeth, Jack wants his memories and they can help with that (how the fandom thinks that's blackmail is beyond me, how exactly is he getting those back without them? 'If we work together as a team we can do this' is pretty basic problem solving skills to teach kids. You help me I help you isn't manipulative unless they specifically have the teeth and are keeping it from him to force him to help them.) Challenging a trickster to a game is the go to method to surviving a trickster encounter, in a trickster story there is always a lesson to be learned, its meant to set an example and someone is going to bear that weight. If you don't want to be the example you need to make sure its the Trickster. You need to play by the rules of a trickster story while also convincing the trickster to make mistakes that will lead him to face consequences.

Pitch does this beautifully, I fucking LOVE how Jack's encounter with Pitch is beat by beat how you deal with a trickster. He even lures Jack away like a trickster would, very "Coyote promising to help you home if you follow his voice but gets you lost all night" Jack is off balance and without control the entire time, he fell for the trickster's promise. Its a GREAT confrontation for a Trickster character who plays pranks and creates problems for others that those people are left to deal with even though they are not at fault. Do you think the child who lost all their homework didn't have to either go running for it or restart from scratch, or have to show up without their work the next day at school? Do you think anybody cared that it wasn't their fault? "Don't leave the window open" is the lesson and getting a bad grade is their consequence. I would LOVE to see the Burgess Facebook Rants and Raves page after Jamie's little sled ride. "Whose child is this in the street?! Someone needs to call CPS."

Lessons require consequences, and Trickster lessons are often mean spirited and outside of your control. "I did everything right" you say even as the story highlights all the ways you misstep.

Jack isn't the one who ruined Easter, but he IS the one who chased after a voice in the dark when he knew there were people relying on him. It falls in line with the "go straight home after school," lessons in a lot of kids stories. The child wanders off and gets to see a lot of things, maybe gets lost, maybe gets in trouble, and when he gets home he finds out that he missed out on something really good or everyone is mad at him because he wasn't there to help with what they were doing.

The Hey Arnold cartoon had an episode in which the kids ditch school and spend the whole day hiding that they ditched so they don't get to enjoy any of the fun activities they had planned, only to get to school after they give up and realize it was a Field Day and they missed out on all the fun activities the school had set up for the kids. Its a classic consequence for a kids story, and a good one for Jack who has shown that he both WANTS so badly to be accepted by others and has spent several scenes making mean sarcastic remarks about their work. "Its no hard boiled egg, but kids LIKE what I do." "I'm not climbing into some rickety old sleigh" Jack is SUCH an "I know I can't have it so I'm going to mock it to show I don't even want it," kind of person and as someone raising kids every time the Guardians give him that LOOK when they show off and he's wowed by them is so real.

Jack, after realizing that he let himself be distracted by an immediate want over the expectations of the people waiting for him, he does what he always does when he makes a mess and flies away. The Trickster at the end of a story. The question is who are the ones learning a lesson? Is it the Guardians, who put their trust in a trickster and he didn't show, or Jack who got what he wanted at the expense of everyone else?

And that's why Jack choosing to go back, choosing to face his consequences and return to clean up the mess, is so important for his character and his story.

He was, again, the child that slipped through the cracks of the system set up to protect him, and now he has a chance to work for that system, he disparages it, how could he not? It failed him! There is no question the system failed him. But are the people working in that system bad? Is it better to abandon kids with no support system at all? and can you trust the people who claim THEY know how to raise kids right, that kids should be taught to fear what will happen to them if they step out of line. The Guardians are all focusing on one thing, all their energy on one thing to help, each Guardian identified a need and they put their efforts into providing that one thing for the kids, millions of kids, and if everyone just put effort into one thing then we would have a million needs being taken care of, instead of setting up one single thing that does everything.

Pitch was able to attack that by taking them out bit by bit, but the whole system didn't fail, because each Guardian has one thing that they do. Our support systems are always under attack, we need to constantly justify something as small as a free meal program, people want Children to go hungry in school, and the schools are not above withholding the very right to eat as punishment. Children are at risk of losing their most essential human rights on a daily basis, and the people doing the work to just ensure they can Eat are being criticized that they are not also fixing every other problem in the world, and therefor they must not be of any use and we should listen to the people who want to hurt kids to fix the problem, because children who are not afraid of punishment are undisciplined and will just going to run wild. Please ignore all the evidence that punishment as a form of discipline creates more problems than it solves. Anything that is not punishment is obviously not actually discipline and the only real consequence a child understands is one enforced by fear and pain.

Also important to note that Pitch was no match for them, at his strongest it literally only required the Guardians to have a small portion of their power back (Easter is still ruined and Tooth has not been able to collect for 2 days) for them to take him down, because he was only able to avoid their attacks and strike from a distance. Even at the Tooth Palace as soon as they charged him directly he ran, and you get the sense from his urgency that he CAN'T fight them head on. This is how child abuse survives, abusers CAN'T defend themselves, they can only hide and try to talk their way into convincing those around them that what they are doing isn't actually that wrong because the system is also flawed. How can anyone criticize how THEY raise their kids when the people raising kids the supposed "right" way are also failing?

Jack is an outsider because he fell through the cracks and is lashing out at a world that doesn't acknowledge that it failed him, but Pitch is lashing out at a world that isn't letting him hurt people without consequence. And I could go on and on about how Pitch is a great metaphor for generational trauma and wanting to raise kids who wont be killed the way his family was killed even though how he raised his daughter with kindness and courage before the attack is literally what saved her life because she snuck out of the house to play on her boat in the middle of the night. Her disobedience as a child and lack of fear of getting into trouble with her parents literally saved her life. Imagine sneaking out of the house to steal your parents car in the middle of the night and not being afraid they would beat your ass to oblivion and it being framed as the thing that saved you. Also always thinking about how Pitch doesn't want a child that's already evil but instead wants a child that is seen as good and pure and he wants to corrupt that child to be like him because he sees himself as a good and pure person who is corrupted and the fact that every person he attempts to turn into his fearling prince or princess always turns away from him or proves to be beyond corruption only shows that he too could have avoided his own fall and it drives him further into insanity because he can never NOT be in the right because then he would have to face the galactic scale genocide he committed. I love Pitch so much he is so so so close to being redeemed at every turn but he actively chooses to continue to insist that raising children in fear is the only way to protect them and I just get so many emotions about that as someone from two cultures that faced genocide. The people in the fandom insisting that fear IS what keeps kids alive are not going to break the cycle of abuse i am so sorry.

The thing that really always draws me into the Guardians of Childhood universe is that every character has so many flaws and is capable of so much cruelty but actively chooses to be kind, and Pitch is shown time and time again to be capable of kindness but actively chooses cruelty. I love writing characters who hurt people, who think its fun or right to hurt people, and have to face the consequences of hurting people. I love knowing that humans are able to fix their mistakes and learn to have compassion, even if it does not come naturally to them. I love that North was a bandit who was lured by MiM with the promise of a town filled with riches he could pilfer and actively choosing to fight to save the kids. I love that Tooth was literally hunted like an animal by the adults but still snuck into villages to trade gifts with the other children.

I love Katherine's little temper tantrums throughout the books and how often she falls to despair over her worries only to pick herself up again. She is such a little girl, I love her so much. I love when she blew out the magic candle North lit for her because she was mad at him, I love how Pitch broke her compass and she didn't have any immediate confirmation her friends were going to rescue her and she just felt so completely and utterly alone even though they literally just had to be chased out of her room by Nightlight because they kept checking up on her two whole scenes ago. Girl it has been like a day and you have been kidnapped before, they are going to come for you, you are so middle school melodramatic it is painful sometimes.

This is so long and ridiculous I'm sorry for rambling. Anyway if you come off anon and pm me I'll give you my email and send you the next few chapters I've written. I'm currently not posting anything for the fandom because of some people bothering me, I haven't gone so far to take down my fics yet but I do have plans to delete my ao3 eventually and go full private if things get worse.

[hepilsketches]

Okay, guys, here's a little announcement!

It's officially Jee&Zuko/jeeko only blog since now on. Ta-da! Maybe with a bit of Zhao, if you lucky. If I ever want to post something else, I'll just create a new blog. So, if anyone weird was still hoping to find here some different content - run! Run for your lifes!

(I mean, it doesn't necessarily mean I'll be posting more often in the near future - my new job tends to leave me pretty burned out, but… just so you know, lol. Hope dies last and all that.)

On a completely unrelated rant note…

Honestly, I just want to cry here a little bit and pretend someone cares, okay? :') Okay. You don't have to read it. Anyways…

---

I didn't lie when I said I'm against glamorization, and yet…

I'm just so f*cking tired of all the ponytail bashing in atla fics, guys T_____T You have no idea. It feels like a freaking torture to stay in the fandom at this point.

For some reason, people believe what if the guy transforms during canon, then acting like f*cking bullies towards his 'before' version is suddenly okay. As if all iterations of Zuko don't coexist simultaneously and can't be loved and wanted in their own unique way.

I mean, I'd be okay if ficwriters called the ponytail names and still let the authentic book 1 Zuko to have some action - like, it's your or your characters' personal opinion, it's your right, whatever, - but no. Mostly, if the guy doesn't look absolutely perfect, the only option for him is mockery and rejection - until he loses the canonical integral part of his identity and becomes generically 'hot', that is. As if these people can't comprehend the mere possibility of loving or wanting something alive and imperfect.

(Well, unless it's a cool-looking scar that doesn't really gross anyone out so you can safely smear it with you mental saliva until it's glistening and treat it as a declaration of a true undying love. … In the same forbidden-enemies-to-lovers au where still-avatar-chasing Zuko has full head of sexy long hair for some reason. Freaking hypocrites.)

And even if Zuko didn't just "wake one morning with the desire to cut off that ridiculous ponytail" in chapter one, I have to read, for example, of how characters imagine him "with his dark raven hair in a longer, more scruffy look, as opposed to the bald ponytail look he has going on currently" while touching themselves in book 1 fics.

Or how "He was also incredibly charming ans sexy, third season style, without the lame shaved ponytail thing because that isn't cool at all and this is an alternate universe wherein everyone is as attractive as possible for the sake of the smutty plot".

(Yes, these are real cases and real quotes.)

Are you f*cking kidding me, guys? You literally have 99% of fandom aus to enjoy your sexy hair, but no, you just have to do this kind of shit to me, don't you? I'm trying to stay impassive and not to hate on book 3 Zuko, I really do, but honestly, it's nearly impossible at this point.

Some people here don't see the ponytail as an annoying parasite that just stuck to the head of their sexy shaggy-haired baby, okay?

Some people perceive it as an integral meaningful part of the character they're here for.

Some people's sexuality is a bit (or a lot) more complex than just "I want the prettiest guy in the room", okay?

Is it really such a difficult concept for you so-called normal people to comprehend?

If the ponytail is such an unbearable turn-off for you and you love Zuko's shaggy hair so f*cking much, why don't you just leave a book 1 timeline alone and write a f*cking book 3 fic? >__< Or at least let people imagine whatever the hell they like? Why the hell you keep insisting on shoving Zuko's shaggy hair down your readers' throat?

Ficwriters don't own anything to anyone, DL:DR, yada yada, I know all that, but does this fact make acting like bitches towards the fandom's minorities okay?

Why the hell this kind of behavior is normalized?

I hate this f*cking cult of glamorization with passion. It makes people with unusual tastes feell like outcasts in the space that could bring them joy otherwise.

I can't even filter this shit out, for god's sake. It's just f*cking everywhere. And even when people put warnings in the tags, it sounds like "It's an au where Zuko never had that disgusting ponytail you're welcome".

(Yes, it's a real quote too).

You call the ponytail disgusting? Your behavior is disgusting, guys.

Anyway, I don't have inner strength left for intellectual honesty or good taste in fiction anymore. I'm too exhausted. At this point, I just want my favorite angry boy to be loved, and be called gorgeous, and be f*cked silly and not be treated like dirt under the feet of book 3 Zuko on the ONLY non-canon territory where I can find him just because his haircut doesn't fit majority's standards of sexiness or something. Simple as that.

…

So, I'm just gonna sexualize the hell out of aged up him in my own art, lol. Brilliant!

Jee too. For company.

(Love Jee. The best randy sailor that ever sailed the seas, if you ask me.)

And if my love is blind, then I don't wanna see.(c)

P.S.: also, as a finishing touch, here's the absolute gem of my collection:

"The wind surged up again, blowing his hood off and wrapping his hair around his throat. He gasped, clawing at his neck, but he was trapped and blind and definitely not starting to panic—

He couldn’t breathe. It was impossible to be calm if you couldn’t breathe. Zuko pulled his knife from his belt, but his hands were trembling too much to risk bringing the blade anywhere near his throat, so he reluctantly reached up and began to slice off his Phoenix tail at the root, wincing as the knife jittered against his scalp."

Reluctantly, my ass.

You call the ponytail ridiculous? Look at yourselves, guys. Just look at yourselves.

[inviisiiblelee]

The Beginning of a Lifetime

Fandom: Hazbin Hotel Word Count: 2,030 Rating: Teen and Up Audience Relationship: Alastor/Vox Additional Tags: Vox is named George Taylor, Vox is Brand New, Alastor Has a Heart (Hazbin Hotel), Fluff, First Meetings, i love writing about first meetings, Vox died in the 40s, Probably only a handful of years after Alastor at most, Alastor Takes Vox Under His Wings, porting from AO3, link included above if prefered. Notes: Always based around headcanons. I named him George Taylor simply because its a really non-unique and generic type of name. Meant for a boring, plain little man. I thought about V names like how Angel is Anthony, but I was looking up popular names for boys born in 1890's when I headcanon Vox was probably born and wanted to stay within the top of popularity. A (late) entry for RadioStatic week day 1. Enjoy! <3 Meant to rival in name my other work, The End of a Lifetime, too.

-----------------

George Taylor was not a violent man in life, and to be faced with so much violence immediately in Hell? He was absolutely not ready. Not only was he unprepared for the levels of pure chaos, but even his own body was beyond a little different. He couldn’t say it didn’t make some sense, he’d only died with a large television set dropped directly onto his head. Turns out that’s quite enough pressure to cause the skull to give in and be crushed completely. He had enemies, sure, while alive, it wasn’t something that could be easily avoided in the line of business he had pursued, at the end of the day. And some of those people were more temperamental than he was, but that was where his disarming charm was used the best. He could talk a majority of people down from a direct conflict, could sugar his words just right so that they would feel reassured. White lies, little seeds of doubt or warmth, a way of wriggling into their hearts and minds. He was good at it. He was just a plain, simple man, anyway. What was intimidating of someone as plain as him? Dressed well and groomed, with an easy smile and all the patience in the world. A soft voice, dulcet tones, easy airs of confidence and pleasantry. It worked.

Usually. 

His life’s final confrontation was impossible to ease down, and George was not a fighter in any way. He could be quick on his feet, but fear, while motivating, didn’t make it easy. It wasn’t as though it wasn’t a fair experience - he’d gotten the man booted from his job, needled down with debt, and serving time for something he definitely did not do, as a star witness who lied on the stand in full confidence and with the performance of a lifetime. It made sense he was murdered, and it made perfect sense he found himself here in Hell, something he did, at least, gather quickly.

He didn’t anticipate some sort of warm welcome, of course, no group of happy campers to explain how things worked or to help him out, but he also didn’t quite anticipate being jumped and pushed into an alleyway by a small group of three rough looking demons (he had to guess? Surely that was what they were called?) who threw him to the ground, searched his pockets, slammed his head against a wall, and took his slightly worn out jacket and his shoes of all things, considering he had nothing else to offer. He wasn’t sure how a television of a head could lead to the pain shooting through his back and limbs, and while he was unsure of anything else that was injured, it hurt more than he liked to admit, and trying to stand led to such severe vertigo that he slid down against the wall and just stayed there. 

He had never been so beaten down so fast while alive, even as a sickly sort. He was often ill, pushing through regardless and a little less than sturdy as a result, but he’d always been able to keep some sort of victimization at bay. Yet here he was now, exhausted already, in pretty poor shape and relative thundering pain, hazy vision and some sort of buzzing in the back of his mind that was steadily growing. It was a little distracting, really, and he sort of leaned into the sound, trying to follow it, the odd tones and shifting noise. It reminded him of an older time, before he was a television personality, back when he worked in the industry fixing problems with the tech. It was a sound mostly associated with audio problems, really. He wondered how deep the effects of having such a … changed physical form went. He hadn’t even had the opportunity to really look or examine it much before things went down, anyway.

Static was building in his head, and George was finding it hard to think. The sound of it shifted and changed every moment, pitch and tone flowing up and down like someone trying to tune an old instrument, except interspersed by buzzing and screeching of something electronic. Like a speaker ruined by water, or being in general interfered with. He tried reaching out to it mentally in some way, a sort of … internal troubleshooting. It felt weird and almost nauseating to explore, but he was trying to make any sense of it. He found he could sort of lower the volume of it, but it kept rising even when he did, steadily, and eventually he gave up, letting the buzzing, shrill feedback take over his mind. 

He barely noticed a shadow tower over him.

But he did. He saw it projected along the ground and over his person, and his heart dropped into his stomach. A soft little plea for mercy escaped him, and he realized he had been whimpering quietly for a little while now. He hadn’t noticed in the whirlwind of emotion and sensation, and something akin to tears appeared to be dripping from his screen. It felt weird. A chill settled over him, and he felt fear sink into his soul. 

George looked up at the person causing the shadow. Shades of red, black accents, a demon dressed rather formally and holding something that looked like both a cane and some sort of … microphone? The buzzing was so loud in his ears, and then it abruptly cut quiet as the looming form spoke.

“Good to see you, old friend.” A hand was outstretched to him, the friendliest gesture anyone had shown him so far, at all. 

Old friend? For a moment, all George could do was stare at him, this strange … person? Man? Devil? And then it clicked. 

Was that Alastor? They had met a couple of times over the years they lived on Earth simultaneously. A radio host, whose voice George was fairly familiar with when he would make his trips through his area. They’d met in person only a handful of times, at various functions that George ended up at per his workplace. The two had shared a few conversations, and he remembered them well, one of which being recommended to look into broadcasting himself, a compliment that George had taken quite seriously. Alastor had been a hell of a man when alive, certainly, in spite of what he thought he knew of his potential crimes. It wasn’t as though it was his job to judge, and it wasn’t as though he felt he had been in any danger. He remembered hearing about his death, finding it quite regrettable and sad, even. It was quite the accident to learn of. But Alastor was far from who he expected to run into, let alone to be recognized by.

“Alastor?” 

Idiot. It was the only thing he could seem to say, even as he reached forward and placed his own hand in the other’s. His blue fingers contrasted so starkly against the red of his old acquaintance’s. But he found support and strength in the grip of his friend’s, and Alastor helped him stand and steadied him easily when he swayed. He was smiling wide, and George wondered if he was really that happy to see him. He couldn’t help but feel a little relief - okay, a lot of it. A weight was being lifted from his chest, seeing someone familiar, someone he would happily trust in this moment. Maybe a little naive, or a dangerous line of thoughts, but he couldn’t help himself. 

“The one and only!” Alastor replied, chipper energy in the words. “You look an absolute mess, friend, what happened?”

“Oh, uh,” George hesitated to respond, but it was hard to miss the clear evidence of an attack, anyway. Or at the least, the torn clothing and dazed expressions. “Someone stole my jacket and shoes.” He said it with a shrug, and he offered his own easy smile. It was something he could do, at least. He could pretend, in this moment, that it didn’t matter. 

“How shameful of them! Come along, I’ll get you sorted out straight away. What did they look like?” The question had him blinking, and then scrambling to remember. It hadn’t even happened more than an hour ago, so he gave what description he could. Alastor simply nodded, looking away in what he thought was some sort of consideration. He placed a hand on George’s back, urging him out of the alleyway finally, leading him down the sidewalk.

“Sorry, I’m just a little out of it still,” he said quickly. “Just got here and I didn’t quite think it would all be so … immediately exciting.” Carefully chosen words as he examined his surroundings, peering around to finally get a sense of where he might be, the state of things around here. He’d barely made it a few blocks on his own, before. 

“Worry not, we’ll get you right as rain in no time at all,” was all Alastor offered, and George fell into step with him cautiously. 

Things were odd. Alastor brought him to what seemed to be a tailor, offering to cover him getting repaired and refreshed clothing for the time being. He didn’t ask for anything from George as they left, but he couldn’t help feeling relieved. He noted that many seemed to shy away from Alastor for some reason, fleeting glances and then people crossing the roads, as if to get away from him. It was a weird thing to see - Alastor was still only smiling, seemingly unbothered by any of it. 

“What’s with the parting of the crowd?” George finally asked after a little more walking, entirely unsure where they were even going, now. 

“Oh, they’re merely getting out of the way,” Alastor said simply. “I’ve made a few waves here, they know to move pretty well.” He said it so jauntily, George couldn’t find a reason to mind it. If Alastor had made a name for himself already, then all the better, right? Good for him. 

They walked only for a few blocks before George realized they were within sight of the group that had attacked him. Stepping a little closer to Alastor, without realizing it, he tensed up. Alastor seemed to notice, however.

“Is that them?”

“I- I think so? The one on the right has my jacket, at least.”

“Stay here, yes?”

“Uh. Okay.”

Alastor broke away from him with a few strides and approached the small group of other demons. Alastor’s height towered over them, and they seemed very startled by his presence. George stayed where he was told, unable to hear the conversation, though it was clearly mostly Alastor speaking to them at length before holding out one hand, palm up, expecting something. A moment passed, and then something in the air changed, and the buzzing static and feedback roared in his ears all of a sudden. He saw the space around Alastor darken, saw a long, strange set of antlers begin to grow from his temples. Dark shadows formed around the trio, and those around otherwise were quick to clear away at the display, but George could only seem to stare. The shadows traveled up and wrapped around each of the demons, and he snatched George's jacket and shoes from them, as well as other belongings. The shadows squeezed harder and harder, until they were certainly pleading desperately, before being abruptly consumed into the ground without further showing. Alastor draped the jacket over his arm and returned to George’s side, holding his things out.

George blinked a few times before remembering himself, taking them from him with a rushed set of thank you’s, which Alastor only waved away with a quick dismissive comment. They fell into step together again, and Alastor asked if he felt fine enough to join him for lunch.

“Oh, yeah, of course. I’ll be fine, thank you.”

“No thanks necessary. What else are friends for? You must catch me up, I’m sure we have plenty to discuss, so stay close, hm?”

“Definitely will do.”

And, well. Vox would be a man of his word, for as long as Alastor wanted him there.

[pixelartpeach]

Transformers: Matrix of Leadership

Worldbuilding: Sparkmeld

The act of combining sparks; its importance, its effects, and the contexts in which a pair of bots might let their sparks join.

Necessary references: Worldbuilding: Spark Types, Worldbuilding: Nexuses

Sparkmeld, or more loosely, sparkmerge, is the act of combining two or more sparks into a single life force. In most cases, this is brief link that only lasts a few minutes.

Most Cybertronians consider this a very intimate act. Not only are you sharing your life with someone, but you're also trusting them as completely as you can, baring the one thing that keeps you alive and giving them full access to your frame.

In Earth terms, it's a BIG deal.

Physical Effects

When two sparks combine, the resulting spark, usually, reaches an equilibrium between their power levels. For example, if you combine two sparks, one with a Radiance of 3.4 Lux, the other with 6.2 Lux, like Knockout and Breakdown:

Then while merged, the spark would eventually equalize out to 4.8 Lux, and look like this:

The longer the two are melded, the closer the component sparks would be in color on separation, which temporarily effects their energon output. In Knockout's case, he would burn through more energon until he leveled out, but also get a power boost. In Breakdown's, he would conserve more energon than usual, but be more tired as a result. This lasts for roughly a day, as the sparks slowly return to their original Radiance levels.

While melded, the component sparks don't exist individually. There is one spark, in control of both frames it's linked to, and it exists as one being with a fusion of personalities between the two.

In the case of most sparkmelds, the varying Resonance will force a split after a few minutes of contact, as too much energy is lost to sustain both at once. If the component bots have synchronic Resonance (i.e., their cpnk matches), the meld can last indefinitely.

Synchronic Resonance is what allows combiner teams like Devastator to exist. Rather than fighting itself for resources, the melded spark of the Constructicons behaves as if it were always one entity, adding the components' energies together rather than trying to find equilibrium between them.

Note: Unlike in popular fandom, merging sparks in the MoL continuity does NOT create a perpetual mental/emotional link between bots. There is no permanent change from melding a spark, it exists as an experience.

Sparkmeld and Nexuses

Some (not all) Nexuses are punctuated by a sparkmeld after they've been pledged. In the case of a Nexus of Concord, this is a vital component, albeit it works a bit differently; members of a combiner team will finish their vows off with a test run of their combined form.

Nexus bonds that involve a sparkmeld:

Nexus of Confidence

Nexus of Concord

Nexus of Stability

For these Nexuses, melding is considered fair game to request of your partner after they're pledged. Some bots do it once, then never again, others meld any time they want company; the frequency varies uniquely between each set.

Nexus bonds that do NOT involve a sparkmeld:

Nexus of Apprenticeship

Nexus of Adversity

Nexus of Protection

Since the role of these Nexuses is to teach or protect another bot, rather than understand how they think, melding has no use (and is often impossible, in the case of Metrotitans).

It is EXREMELY uncommon for a bot to want to merge outside of a Nexus, namely because the level of trust it entails often demands a familiarity that would lead to a Nexus in the first place. Still, it's not completely unheard of; especially in wartime, some bots want to know what the experience is like before they die on the battlefield, while others just want someone to share some solace with.

Medical Sparkmeld

In the case of extreme emergency, sometimes a bot might house someone else's spark in their own chamber to keep it alive during an intensive operation.

This is typically a last resort. A frame can't survive very long without its spark powering it, and removing a spark, however temporary, means that the bot will require a long recovery period afterwards. On top of this, the person housing the spark has to have a synchronic Resonance with the patient being operated on, or the chamber will reject the added energy.

When this does happen, the housing donor loses their individual consciousness in favor of the meld (albeit without the memories of the detached frame). Putting it into layman's terms, they become a one-frame combiner.

Note: Putting this into even more understandable terms, they're a Steven-Universe-style fusion. Two components, two minds, but the sum of their parts is a whole new person.

Appendix: Sparkmeld and the Matrix of Leadership

The spark of Optimus Prime, by technicality, can be considered a more permanent meld. Orion Pax's spark took on the Matrix of Leadership's directives and purposes; as such, Optimus isn't Orion, but Orion forms a vital part of who he is.

Hi! This is part of my worldbuilding series for my own continuity that I dreamed up while I was bored at work. I'm probably going to make a dozen or so posts like this. Thanks for reading!

[thatnerddave]

I’m a man who grew up surrounded by strong women. Even as a child, I gravitated toward stories about women like those who helped mold me. This included stuff like “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”, “Tomb Raider”, and eventually, “Sailor Moon”.

I first encountered “Sailor Moon” as a young boy. I watched the 1990s anime religiously after school with my cousin. Beneath the silly slapstick humor of the anime, I detected characters with depth and pathos. It was love at first sight.

I eventually read the manga and adored it even more, particularly for how it approached the central romance between Usagi and Mamoru. I returned to the manga frequently and yearned for an adaptation that took these characters just a bit more seriously.

Little did I know, that adaptation existed. “Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon”, a live-action tokusatsu series, never made it to the west officially. A chance encounter with a fan sub finally, quite recently, introduced me to what has become my favorite adaptation of “Sailor Moon”.

Here were the characters I loved, given room to breathe, their journeys fully explored. There was just one problem: those journeys ended after only the first arc of the manga.

So here we are. I have written stories for most of my life. I’ve even had the pleasure of having some of my comic book work published. Despite the fact that I always wrote for the love of the process, I’d never written fan fiction. Something about “PGSM”, however, urged me to put pen to paper and continue the story.

I'm sure in a fan community as vast as that of "Sailor Moon", I'm far from the first person to continue the story of "PGSM". I do believe I have a pretty unique approach that is ultimately additive to the fandom. Whether I am successful at crafting something worthy of the franchise is ultimately left up to the judgement of my fellow fans.

I did set some rules before I started writing.

1. Like “PGSM”, I will be adapting an arc from the manga, the “Black Moon” arc. Just like “PGSM”, I will follow the basic spirit of the arc while diverging, making changes, and taking BIG SWINGS.

2. “PGSM” was not blessed with a massive budget. To keep the spirit of the show alive, my second season will similarly stay quite grounded. Events here should at least be plausible in the context of the show.

3. Everything from the show is canon, including the “Special Act”. I knew this would create a challenge, since that final story jumped forward in time 4 years and saw Usagi and Mamoru get married. I jump forward another year after the wedding. We’re dealing with older Sailor Guardians, around 19 years old.

4. My biggest goal was to approximate the feel of a TV show. That is why the story is organized not into chapters, but episodes, called acts. That is why each act features opening and closing credits, as well as eyecatch (���イキャッチ) images common in Japanese television, particularly anime.

5. Finally, I wanted to not “impose my will” on these characters, but attempt to extend their journeys. Character conflicts, both internal and external, and relationships should feel like a natural evolution of what came before.

If you’ve never seen “PGSM”, but are a fan of Sailor Moon, consider my story an “alternative universe” and try to enjoy it on those merits.

I do recommend all fans seek out a fan sub of the show and watch it; it’s fantastic. Search the web for “Miss Dream” or “Sea of Serenity” and you’re sure to find it. The cast and crew really knocked it out of the park.

I will be posting new episodes on a roughly monthly basis and currently plan to write anywhere between 15 and 20 episodes. The whole season is already outlined, but I like to leave myself some room to improvise.

You can find my take on a second season of PGSM currently on three websites:

Archive of Our Own

Wattpad

FanFiction.net

I hope you’ll try and enjoy this little “what if” return to the world of “Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon”. I know I am.

[lis4ux]

Hey I’m not sure if I’ve ever interacted with you directly on tumblr before but I just wanted to let you know that you’ve been and you still are A MASSIVE part in the Jiara community🤍

Regarding what you said about writing for Jiara and fearing that people wouldn’t be interested anymore I can say with confidence that if there’s someone how can bring that excitement back, it’s you 🫶🏻

I’ve been reading Jiara fics for years (and yours are some of my favorite that I go back to constantly for comfort) and in the past year I’ve also started writing myself for our beloved ship. Sadly I have to admit that right in this moment I am one of those people that has lost the motivation regarding Jiara, both as a writer and as a reader, but one thing that I hope is that this feeling isn’t permanent but only temporary while we navigate through this pain.

I think I can speak for a lot of us in this situation (or maybe not and I’m wrong lol) when I say that the fact we’re not motivated at the moment is something we wish to get past because we love Jiara, we love their story and we love our community and we hope to keep it alive!

In the past 3 days I’ve tried going to Ao3 to get distracted and find comfort in the fans stories, but everytime I tried to I just couldn’t and I have to say that probably a lot of it is because almost every new upload is about JJ’s death and Kiara’s grieving so it’s a costant pain in the chest, but I just wanted to tell you that what I’ve been thinking in these days is “I’m waiting for Enemies with benefits next chapter”, I am waiting for that chapter because I’m 100% positive that it could be what can make me get past the canon hurt and back at living Jiara like we always have. I’ve been thinking of the update of your fics as a way to hold on to them, as a motivation to find back my way to them ‘cause despite everything I don’t want to let go of them and I don’t think any of us do 😭

You have always had an incredible and unique talent in our fandom, creating alternative universes for them in which they could live so many different lives and I think right now it’s what the Jiara fandom needs, to find an escape in those stories and infinite other possibilities for them and you’ve always been amazing with that. I’m the first one who admits the lack of motivation at the moment both as a writer and a reader, but I think the fandom could never lose interest in your stories and actually probably needs them, you have always offered us an escape🤍

Of course please don’t take this as if I’m trying to tell you “go write” AT ALL ‘cause I’m the first one at the moment who needs time, I just want to tell you to keep going with what you feel it’s right and you want to do and not worry about if we’d still be interested, ‘cause we are and your story are forever gonna be and will be part of what makes this ship special to many!!

I think you could be a great part for us to find back that love and excitement towards their stories, seeing them live in the alternative worlds you’ve built for them is something that has always been special but that right now is even more precious in our fandom…we lost them in OBX, but at least they live their love in that house in Malibu🥹

Don’t worry about us losing interest in your stories, I think we need them more than ever to find a refuge from this ugly canon and could help the fandom to reconnect with them🤍🤍🤍

Sending you lots of love 🫶🏻

This is so encouraging 🥹

I do understand what you’re talking about with going to ao3 and it being nothing but pain. That may be the writers way of grieving, and I completely understand it. I can’t do sad art work of them right now or read anything not happy. I just fell in love with the joy of jiara, I can’t go to pain. Only good vibes and ending from me🥰

I also understand taking a break from it. It really is a tragedy what they did and i doubt I’ll forgive anyone apart of it.

I do know there is one writer who is rewriting the ending to where he lives. Once that’s posted I will be diving into it to rewrite my head cannon. I’ll post the link here when she’s done. I think it’ll be cathartic and a healing fic for us all.

It means a lot that you have found comfort in my fics the way I found comfort in so many others. The connection of this fandom is what I love the most about writing. I met my best friend through this ship and writing and I can never turn my back on it for that alone. I love writing and writing jiara specifically.

Thank you so much for talking with me and encouraging me to keep writing. I will continue 🖤

[loverducky]

*hands you the mic and sits down at your feet* i would love love love to hear more abt why those are your songs :333

*taps mic* uh. this thing on? (silly) (thank u for giving me an opportunity to ramble lmao)

so! starting with pork soda, this one's just slightly more general but it's still important to me because for one, the album it's on (how to be a human being) is like. The album of all time to me. which is a bold claim but i Love the backstory and context to it. (each of the songs on the album corresponds with a character on the album cover and was inspired by people the band met over time, and some of the songs/stories intertwine with one another, and it's just so unique and fun. the music itself is also something that i really enjoy, and i'm still sad that glass animals (like many great bands) have left it behind in favor of more traditional pop-punk-esque music.

pork soda is also very special to me because i was a huge animation meme fan back all through 2018 - 2020, and that was one of the signature/more popular ones during that time period. a lot of other songs off the album also were made into animation memes (and later, tiktok cosplay sounds lmao), but this one is the one i associate with the animation memes the most, and as such the good memories of the various fandoms i was into at that time (creepypasta you will always have a special place in my heart)

i am also just a big fan of the song: i love the storytelling of it, the anger in the first verses set against the determined "why don't i say it then? i want you all the time" of the last bits. i just love the idea of someone being like "i want to keep trying. i know i'm not perfect but we had something special and i still want to keep that alive with you."

moving on to tongues and teeth, i picked this one because of how deeply it connects to my particular brand of aromanticism. if we get Very specific, the microlabel that best fits me is cupioromantic: i love the idea of a romantic relationship + the intimacy of one, but i don't actually feel the romantic attraction that typically goes into one.

the specific lines "i know that you mean so well / but i am not a vessel for your good intent" resonate very deeply for me, because i've been confessed to/asked out multiple times (by diff people) even after explicitly telling them that i was aromantic. a friend of mine even tried to ask me to be queerplatonic partners, and our relationship still hasn't been quite the same since i told her no, which is honestly part of the reason i told her no in the first place. she very evidently liked me in a way i could not reciprocate, and although she claimed she was okay with that, there was a certain... weight to how she tried to confess, that made me think she wanted a more traditional relationship, under the guise of queer terminology. (aka: "in the night i know you burn with feelings i cannot return, my dear").

i also just like. had this song on repeat when i was first figuring out that i was aromantic in the first place, haha. (plus, i got to see the crane wives in concert and this was their finale song and everyone sang along with them and it was such a fantastic experience fr). but yeah, this song's vibes of "i cannot love you in the way you are wanting; my love is hard won and you will have to endure my worst self to be mine" are very relatable to me LMAO.

your love is not enough (i'd like some cool shit too) is a sillier song, but considering tom cardy is a comedy artist, it's to be expected. honestly, i don't have too much to say for this one, other than it's a bit of an extension of the aromanticism thing again - i had this song on loop for ages, and then on one relistening i was like. "hold on a damn minute. is THAT the reason my primary love language is gift giving?"

turns out, yeah. "cool shit represents your love for me" is quite literal in my case, because while the other things ARE very good, for me, a gift that is catered to my interests is like a physical representation of "you thought about me when i wasn't there. you know about what i like enough to present me with something related." i very much pride myself on my own gift giving skills too, because while feelings are nebulous, this is me handing you something tangible so you know i was thinking about you.

finally, from the start is a bit of an odd one. by all accounts, as opposed to all the other ones, this is just a straight up love song. however, there's a reason i chose this specific cover - i do like the original by laufey, but this cover by good kid is how i imagine my romantic love would feel like. whereas the original is softer and more jazzy, more of a silent, wistful crush, this cover is loud and fun, mixing the jazzy inspirations with full guitar and energetic vocals.

this version of the song reads as more of a confession to the object of their affection, the singer playful and a little dramatic (i love the way there's group vocals at the "blah, blah, blah" part), but with hints of true yearning/longing coming through in the choruses, and of course the end transitioning to a quiet but earnest sincerity. i love thinking about me singing this song to oliver specifically for his reaction to that sincerity like it's a classic "oh. oh." moment in my head for him :3

anyways THANK YOU AGAIN FOR LETTING ME RAMBLE ASDKJDLKS

[vintersang]

🍓

let me compliment you / accepting / @fulltimeforestcryptid

Jess, finally!!!

I've been secretly hoping you would send plant a strawberry in my inbox for so long ever since I reblogged this meme, so you cannot believe how excited I am to have the chance to compliment you.

Anyway, here's a little bit of backstory. On my first muse blog that I've had since 2018, I was in my own little island. I had amazing mutuals and friends, but my muse's RPC was... small. Very small. Even more smaller than the Frozen RPC. It was small yet very, very fun. I was obsessed with the lore of the franchise, always trying to encourage people to get lost in the lore and the characters. Like you, I wanted more people to know about my dear franchise. I don't have the skill or the patience of running a server, so I used my blog to try to reach out to more people. I wanted to see the fandom to be alive with both canon muses and oc muses. Even now, I still want both of my cherished fandoms to grow.

Long before I made my Elsa, I was secretly admiring the Frozen characters. When I created this blog, I was stuck on whether I wanted to invest in using this blog as an aesthetic blog for Homura muse... Or take the plunge by making a new muse. I don't know how all my dear mutuals thought about me making a second muse blog, but the ones that did speak up were very supportive. While I was thinking of url ideas for Elsa, I was quietly lurking on the Frozen RP tag to try to familiarize myself. That's when I noticed your post on how Elsa blogs should join together with their uniqueness, not clash with each other. I truly admired that about you, though I knew very little about you at the time. Whether I made my Elsa or not, I know I will always adore how supportive you are.

Okay, it looks like I'm going to keep rambling...

𝐃𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐃𝐎𝐖𝐍 𝐃𝐄𝐄𝐏 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐎 𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃… ❄️

In the beginning of my blog on here, I was quite afraid of following other Elsa blogs because I was afraid of duplicate anxiety. I was afraid of my lack of confidence in my writing for Elsa. My Homura blog did not suffer from these form of fears and worries because the fandom was that small. Most duplicates of Homura were on multimuse blogs, so there weren't a lot of Homura blogs to be worried over. Not only that, but I felt confident in writing Homura. My version of her was very strong, so no one could shake my love for her. Her muse is currently sleeping, but I will always love her. Elsa, on the other hand, is someone new yet familiar. I have always loved Elsa and the Frozen franchise, so I had a passion to write her.

Alex from @umbravirtus and I exchanged Discords, learning more about each other. Alex turned out to be very supportive, going as far as inviting me to the Frozen RPC server. He also encouraged me to reach out to you, telling me of how wonderful you are. It's his support that made me decide to follow any Elsa blogs, determined to overcome my duplicate anxiety. I already had another Elsa blog, which is @froznspirit with the wonderful Circe, following me on Homura that already threw a follow my way on my Elsa blog. With this in mind, I already knew I had to overcome my worries over other Elsa blogs before it got worse. As someone who desperately craved a community to share my ramblings and talk about fandom topics, I always knew I wanted to be more confident in my Elsa. I hate how duplicate anxiety can damage someone, so I didn't want to be caught in this fear forever.

I've never been part of a roleplay-focused community server, so you can't believe how nervous I was feeling. I do not do well in group settings, so I was going out of my comfort zone on so many levels. Still, I took the plunge by fully submerging myself into both the servers and any follows that I received from fellow Frozen blogs. I have not looked back ever since. I cannot thank Alex enough for his support, but I also cannot thank everyone in the server enough for their support. I know I'm not the most active person on the server, but I love how calm and peaceful things are. With the help of the server, I managed to grow closer with my mutuals. Circe and I, for example, are having loads of fun with our Twin AU verse. We are much closer now, so I'm thankful.

Goodness, I am rambling. But I'm not done yet. Let's go back to you, okay? I feel like I'm throwing stuff at everyone in this post, but I can't help it. Anyway, let's do some more complimenting because I feel like you really need it right now. I want to thank you for being so strong, first off. You have most likely seen a loooot of stuff in your long time with Elsa. In recent events this year, I think things have been a bit rough. I am sorry for your struggles. I won't focus on anything specific, but I want to let you know that I am always here for you if you need someone. Your strength through everything is very nice to see, so I'm happy to see you are still here. Both offline and online struggles aren't easy, just like dealing with any form of anxiety, but you have handled everything so well.

We haven't known each other for very long, I know that, but I have greatly enjoyed your presence on my dash as well as in the server. You have so much dedication to the Frozen community that it really inspires me to try to be like you, so much depth to preserving everything to the Frozen world. Now, I mean it when I say you focus on the Frozen community as a whole. Some people like to focus only on their muses, which is more than fine, but you go the extra mile by being very open with wanting to protect and cherish everything about the Frozen world. Not only do you want to protect the Frozen world in all its details and glory, but you also want to spread that love and information to anyone else. You should always, no matter what the new year brings, be proud of this trait of yours.

Now, we have not been writing for long, but I adore both the humorous and practical sides of your portrayal of Elsa. From what I've noticed, you stay very true to the canon material. I have not been following you for long, so I like to learn more about your writing with Elsa. Can I mention that I also adore your themes? As someone who can only make alright graphics, I love how you know how to tackle themes. It doesn't look easy, so I know I will always cherish seeing your work on my dash.

We have only known each other for only so long, but your kindness and constant support really speaks volumes. It's hard to tell who is genuine sometimes with me when it comes to interacts, so it's really refreshing to see that I am friends with someone who is genuine and mature. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for being such a wonderful person, Jess. It means so much to be part of your world, so I cannot wait to see what we will be doing in the new year!

I hope you have an amazing new year!

P.S.

I hope you are having more fun in Stardew Valley! :3

[itwoodbeprefect]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love 🤍

thank you!! ❤ sooo @actingcamplibrarian also sent me this one, and i'm going to take this opportunity to cheat (shamelessly!) and just. give another five fics. because there are more than ten of them on ao3, and because i can.

so again (mhuahaha), from five different fandoms, in no particular order:

-

Silly wrong but vivid right [sga, john/rodney]

i adore this now, but i went through a weird thing while writing it where i really loved the first half, and then i had to end it somehow and i came up with something that i didn't like very much, and i ended up posting it anyway because i still liked the first half a lot and felt it deserved to see the light of day. which is interesting to me because when i reread it now it doesn't feel wildly out of balance at all, and it all fits just fine, and i just still really really like the idea of 1) gay john getting some freedom and actually taking it, 2) rodney on the sidelines having Weird Feelings about it and drawing a very wrong conclusion, and 3) both of them still being idiots, at the end of the day.

-

Tell me the sky is falling now [starsky/hutch]

i like the way i opened this! and the way it ended too, and nearly all of what's in the middle. most of all though i like starsky Finding Out and being confused and maybe trying to freak out but hutch is right there, and he loves hutch, and he doesn't want to freak hutch out, and then he comes to some other conclusions, because it's hutch, and he's starsky, and that's the important part. this is one of those fics that i keep sort of almost rewriting in the sense that i have very similar ideas for a story and then have to try to figure out how to bend that new idea into a shape that's at least slightly unique so i don't actually end up writing a pale imitation of this one.

-

Cause if we’re all gonna die (Now’s the time to be alive) [h50, steve/danny]

in terms of my h50 fic this is definitely on the older side, but i still firmly stand by the headcanon behind this, i like that it has a good dosis of team banter, and it has some lines that i think of fondly from time to time, like this: He tumbles until he’s kissing Danny, awkwardly boxing Danny and his soft heat in against the cold and rough wall, not quite sure yet if this big bang is a creation myth or a mass extinction event. and, of course, taking the sappiness a step further still: Everything that comes after this point in time will forever be witnessed by eyes that have to send images off to be processed in a brain that also stores the memory of this kiss, which logically and inescapably prevents anything from ever being experienced the same as before.

-

Coming Up Aces [911, eddie/buck]

i don't know if i'd call this one a favorite writing-wise (at least overall - there are definitely parts that i do really like), but it does rank on a list of favorite fics i've written in the sense that, just. the way people connect with fic like this means something to me. and one of the things it means is that there should be more ace rep in (mainstream) media so people don't have to have these huge epiphany-like moments only while reading fic, but another is just feelings, big and warm and human.

-

Abandon your sad history (and meet me in the fire) [top gun, iceman/maverick]

top gun is A Movie, for sure, and i'd been trying to write some fic for it for a while when this finally came together. i loved playing with identities here, and the extended metaphors pretty much wrote themselves (iceman!), and every time i reread it and come to the line that mentions iceman is drinking an old fashioned while trying to fend off maverick's very queer advances i give myself a little pat on the back for subtle jokes.