#(don't tell them you think they should be tortured because they wrote a story you didn't like!!)

[thatswhatsushesaid]

to be honest I am actually rather surprised I don't receive more messages of that nature given, uh, the way I am on this blog

but I am not complaining!!

[eydi-andrius]

F*ck, Marry, or Kill (Gojo Satoru x Reader)

summary: Somehow, Gojo and you always work together in missions

cw/tw: some foul language but tolerable and PG-13, Gojo being Gojo, fluff (?)

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a/n: This will be a series of drabbles I wrote for Gojo but I cannot pieced together as a oneshot or story. I hope you all will like it. Appreciate the likes, comments and reblogs! ✨

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💕

"Fuck, Marry, Kill! Me, Nanami or Ijichi!" Gojo asked. Looking unfocused and obviously, caffeine drunk.

It has been three days since they gave you this mission and on those days, you two barely slept and had to stay up for consecutive days to catch this curse.

You don't know if this work was the torture or the constant noises Gojo makes every time he tries his best to joke around, and throw random questions to help you stay awake.

His efforts should make you feel thankful but at this point, you were so tired of how noisy he was that you have this tiny voice inside your head that tells you to wrap his mouth and gag him using his blindfold.

Truthfully, you have no trouble staying awake. But whenever you are with Gojo, you get so tired that sometimes, you just feel your eyes fluttering-closed because you run out of energy to deal with him.

That's when he will slap you awake and ask the most random question.

The curse this time kills so fast that if you ever just try closing your eyes and taking the shortest nap, you're dead. It had killed so many lives and was getting on everyone's nerves, that's why they assigned this mission to Gojo.

You're just not sure why you were dragged on this absolute hell of a mission though. You've heard this blue-eyed man child threw a tantrum at the principal. But that was just a rumor amongst the first years.

Anyway, this was a tricky curse. It was so smart and hard to catch if you're awake, that even the self-proclaimed strongest sorcerer was having a hard time catching it.

"Marry Nanami, Fuck Ijichi and Kill Gojo." You replied, uninterested. At this point, you also developed a skill wherein you just reply to whatever question he asked of you and you answer right away.

"Huh!? No way you'll fuck Ijichi! He looks like he will die from excitement the moment you start foreplay! Man, you're so mean to him!" Gojo whined while stomping his feet when he heard your answer.

If you just have the energy, you probably have punched him in the face before he even realizes it.

"I mean, I agree with marrying Nanami but you can fuck me!" All the colors drained from your face when he said that with no shame at all. He looks smug, hurt and kinda offended as he frowned at you.

You two were sitting at a bench, in a public park when he said that loudly. Those nearby looked at you differently. Some with disgust, others mouth agape, while the teenagers giggled and cheered Gojo's efforts. And you don't blame them at all. He sounded, as if, he wanted so bad to be inside your skirt.

You were about to retort back when you were stopped.

It's probably the fatigue and shame mixed together, but you started feeling dizzy and lightheaded. Visions blurry and swimming, you slowly lose all your strength. You've heard Gojo calling your name but it sounded as if you were submerged underwater.

Not having any control of your work-beaten and sleepless body, you succumb to the feeling of sleep. However, before you fully lose consciousness, you've heard someone apologize.

It sounded like Gojo but you were not sure.

"Sorry, I was so tired I started talking about the weirdest things. While I enjoyed our time together, I think it's time to kill this curse. I will make sure he will feel my anger after the embarrassment he put me through."

[BONUS]

Megumi was inside the convenience store when he watched the fiasco his teacher did outside.

He muttered repeatedly to himself, to remind him that he doesn't know that person at all.

He was so embarrassed when he heard what he was talking about and kinda felt bad to his cursed spirit for asking it to hear and relay the conversation they're having.

Gojo asked him to come today. He said that you were too tired and he would need another hand killing this curse.

What he did not expect was that, even his sensei was too tired to even think straight.

Or that's what he thought.

Within a blink of an eye, Gojo killed the cursed in front of him. He brought Megumi inside his domain and taught him how to kill it, precisely and fast.

When he opened his eyes, he was back at the convenience store, with his shoulder heavy with you leaning at him. You looked uncomfortable and he kinda felt bad.

"Help her up. I already called Ijichi, he will be here soon. I need to report to the higher ups today. Those damn old geezers." With contempt, Gojo almost spit in anger by just mentioning his superiors.

Realizing that the mission was done with just that, he nodded and his sensei vanished.

With a deep sigh, Megumi looked at you with pity.

He wasn't sure if you were unfortunate or lucky to catch his teacher's attention.

His teacher, his guardian, stayed up for days, forcing you to join him, when he could have just killed the curse for a second.

Even though he wasn't religious, he prayed for your safety.

[helly-watermelonsmellinfellon]

There's something I don't see talked about enough in the SVSSS fandom.

The System.

I just received a comment on one of my fics - which has post-canon SQQ and SQH able to still use social media - suggesting that it would be very easy for people in the real world to point out that these characters using fake accounts to post on real life social media sites would easily be doxxed and the System would have no ability to do anything about that.

Something I have noticed among a lot of people who read this particular book is that not a lot of consideration is given to the very thing orchestrating everything. We often think of the system as a ridiculous guide or rule book that exists solely to give the protagonist what he wants/deserves. We don't really approach it for what it is.

This was my reply to that comment:

Doubt it. The System is able to kidnap people from their worlds and place them in other worlds and bodies in those worlds as punishment. And if you don't do as it wants, to the specification it doesn't directly detail, it can send your soul to an alternate version of the present world to be tortured in another body. I sincerely doubt an abstract, otherworldly being like that, which never receives consequences for anything it does because there is apparently nothing that can canonically challenge it, is going to be threatened by doxxing. If it can create things, link universes together, steal souls, and can be anywhere at any time, I wouldn't expect it to be incapable of manipulating people's perception. I even mentioned how in this fic, it WILL erase SQQ's sister's memories if he chooses to reveal his identity to her, but it becomes too much for her to handle. This suggests it has power anywhere and can do whatever it wants. So, in my mind, if someone actually tried to doxx their accounts, it's either going to lead nowhere, lead to somewhere fake, or the info will be stripped from their lives entirely the moment they find anything/nothing.

It was a very nitpicky kind of comment in my opinion, which warranted this response, but my response just made me realize that the System is effectively an amortal, omnipresent, and omnipotent Entity. It literally doesn't go away. We even think it's over and the Extras tell us, via SQH, that it's still there and still in control.

Think about it.

Think about every single thing that happened because of the System's actions or demands. It literally never faces consequences because there is nothing that could hope to punish it. I've only read 1 fic where higher beings step in to punish the System for kidnapping, coercing, and torturing innocent people for its amusement.

Because that IS something it can do. With ease. And seems all too happy to do.

The System is very dangerous and it's weird how this is something people forget when reading fanfics. SVSSS is the kind of book where crack ideas can work in the frame of the canon story because a character like SQH exists. Because he wrote PIDW with every single plothole and contrived story beat for the sake of money and survival, we can have the weirdest shit happen and blame it on his lack of imagination when writing PIDW. It doesn't need in-depth nitpicking to make it make sense. MXTX gave us a very large and generous sandbox to play in.

You don't need to rationalize a crack plot. And you should always keep in mind that canonically, the System is a terrifying Entity capable of outrageous things. It shouldn't be the deal-breaker that the Entity that kidnaps, gaslights, coerces, tortures, and manipulates people is capable of fantastical feats in a fanfic.

[thebottomfromhell]

In a scenario where the reader is a hashira, what do you think would happen to him if his relationship with a demon was discovered. I know you wrote something along those lines where the reader was someone ordinary. The Hashiras, in the original work, are mostly nice, but they are very strict-minded about demons, so I wonder what their reaction would be if one of their own basically "betrayed" them. If you think it's going to be very similar, you can just ignore it or just say what you think would happen, without it necessarily being a story. I would appreciate it just the same

The Hashira request I like, the one where we treat them as the corporation of hunters they are instead of the avengers! I usually don't like making reader a Hashira, since I like to make it relatable to most, and let's be honest, the power fantasy is nice but most wouldn't live past Kanoe XD. Besides, it's funnier to make powerless MC's who need constant saving. But once or twice can't hurt.

The Hashira will refer to reader as L/N, as Last Name. Like last time it won't specify gender nor who's Uppermoon reader is with. One difference would be that as a civilian, last time reader only knew about the corps due being warned by their couple, hence only saw them as a bounch of psychos, here they will be more aware of certain things.

Hashira find out Hashira!GN Reader has a relationship with an Upper Moon

Warnings: Manga spoilers, Torture (Mostly non-physical, and the ones ññ, Excesive violence, Mutilation, Mentioned non-consented drug use, Mention of character's death, Implied sexual content, Suicidal character with survival guilt (Giyuu) and Open ending.

You became a Hashira to save others, you were told sometimes you were someone that loves too much, even for this line of work, specially for this line of work. In your ranking, most of everyone is civil to each other (depending on your definition of civil), but there is at least a level of trust. But not the tradiotional trust of sharing your burdens or being able to do things together, every Hashira prefers to work without the others, but trust that everyone else will do their job and kill every demon they meet or die trying.

That is exactly the trust you broke, so everyone is angry, upset and thirsty for blood. Most Hashira think positive things about each other, you also had only good things to say when asked, but now? After all that conversations you had with your lover about the inferiority of humanity, that they are pests, barbaric, backstabbers, a necessary evil... you have to wonder. After they caged you without any warning or mercy, sending Kocho and Shinazugawa for you, ending up beated and drugged.... you wonder. You just wonder.

Is it actually right?

The fellow Hashira could have at least confronted you out of the sake of the this fellowship, you could recieve visits from someone that isn't Kocho, drugging you for the sake of being easier to handle for the kakushi. And not only she drugs you, she always makes sure to remind you of your situation. To shame you, to taunt you, to hurt you. "Ara ara, aren't you eager to move? This is the second time I have to drug you today. You should really give a slack to the kakushi, they are just trying to do their job. But again, considering what you did, I must really question if you care about the efforts of the people in the corps." She says smiling, even if your blurred vision doesn't let you see it clearly, you can tell by her tone. Shinobu spits poison so cafefully with every word. Because she hates you. "You know? A mere civilian or commoner would have a an excuse. The don't know the level of sacrifice we have made, the pain the demons have caused. You? You did. And you had one job, the same as us. To stop that pain or die trying, you should have done the later."

You know about Kanae. You were never told about the demon who killed her nor the details, but it's almost (Tokito...) impossible to be a Hashira and NOT know about her death on the hands of demons. You knew, know that most Hashira have lost something to demons, and yet you decided to get close to one. Close enough to become lovers. But... it was right, at the time. The gentle touches, the vulnerable moments, the softness. The beatings inside your chest, the warmness in your face, that lightness in that voice... you are in love. And that Uppermoon is too, or else you would be dead, like everyone seems to wish you were, already.

You have too much free time in your thoughts, since you are tied up in a way you can't move any of your limbs and struggling cut's your circulation, kept in a dark room, when light and noise only appear when the Kakushi are told to feed you, once a day at most. You have no idea if they were told to do it that way or they are only scared to face a "renegade Hashira" or whatever they call you when you can't hear them. Your body is sore, it has been for the longest time, and you feel constantly sick due Kocho's drugs. Dizzy, tired, too hot, wanting to throw out when anything touches your throat, and even after hours the needles stings remains in wherever she managed to shot you. You also never healed your leg when fighting Shinazugawa, at lealt not properly. You can still feel empty tissues and the bone in your thigh stabbing the flesh, with smaller piece stuck. Your nose is also broken, making you need to breath through the mouth. The only thing Kocho actually tended was a cut through your hand, so you don't die from the blood loss.

You still remember grabbing the tilt of your sword to protect yourself, only to have all of the digits cut out of the hand, keeping in each different fractions, but all of the without the tips. At first there was a fast and intense sting, similar to a burning senssation as your katana started to fall from your grip, then, for a second, a coldness that was at worst, annoying, some sort of emptyness. Finally, when the realization sink there was pain in your pulsating fingers, mixing a lasting feeling of both previous ones, fighting to be the dominant one. You still can feel, on a lesser extent, all the time, those sensations.

It takes a lot for you to not go mad with the lack of contact with everything, and that sensation of being ill. Part of you wonders if your beloved will save you, if any other Hashira will speak to at least let you defend yourself in vain. Every day it becomes less of a reality, which adds resentment. Part of you tells you that you were the one to betray them first, another that longs that sweet voice and touches angers, wanting nothing to get out, to go somewhere safe, with the demon you love. "My sister and my best friend were killed by demons..." One day you suddenly feel a voice besides you... Tomioka. He is giving you his back, speaking only high enough so you can make up what he is saying. "So I really hate them... how... how were you able to love such a monster, knowing well what others suffered because of them?"

You don't know the answer, you can't even speak coherently due the drugs on your system. That is a question you asked yourself so much, thinking that if you didn't fall like that, you wouldn't be in this situation... but... "Sp-cil.... hom.... looovd...." you wonder if the silence means resignation or understanding, but you are glad to have someone close. "You will not be forgiven... there is someone that might, but... he is not here right now, and seeing the situation is probably for the best. I'm sorry." You... honestly can't understand it. That is why you curse Tomioka after he leaves, even if he was the only one willing to listen to you. That feeling only gets worse when you realize he is not in your "trial", he didn't go. The others, as always were neither fast to condemn him or dismiss him because of it, but besides some of them changing the subject, nobody came to his defense. Like you have already realized nobody is comming for yours.

You don't listen when Oyakata-sama speaks, is your attention lacking or he is just talking too low due being sick? None the less you just watch the others. Tokito is there, you want to trash out, but are still drugged and tied up, at the fact the child is here. That is child is going to see you being excecuted... but does it make a difference, this child has killed even more powerful demons than you, and you has never seem to care. Is it really that different to see a human die than a demon? Because everyone else seems so eager to see you die as one. You wouldn't know, you never wished death upon any specific human nor killed any. Yes, sometimes you curse some more anstract subjects, like people who hurt others, some criminals, and so, but you have never talked to anyone and wished you could kill them.

Every Hashira seems obsessed with death in one way or another, even if it's only to avoid it like Mitsuri, who is crearly sobbing and trying to keep it down. "Where is Tomioka? We shouldn't start without him!" Asks Rengoku impossible to not hear him, even in your state, but you know that he isn't comming probably asked permission for it. Damn him, that coward. You can also basically hear the scoffs from Shinazugawa and Obanai. After some seconds you feel the Serpent Hashira stab your shoulder with that irregula blade, making the cut difficult ans uneven, not covering the bleeding at all. "Obanai! Stop! Do not let your anger cloud your judgement!" Himejima acrually screams, and Obanai is close enough for you to hear and see him decently.

There is also a significant, loud, growing hatred in his eyes. Being any other situation you would tease that it's because you made Kanroji cry, but you know better. It's because he trusted you to kill demons and die trying, and you didn't. Come to think about it, it's an unfair standard to hold against anyone. What about those who had someone to go hone to? What about those too young to die? What about those who have a bright future ahead? Is everyone expected to? "My judgement?! What about L/N's judgement! This level of treason is unforgivable! It deserves more than a quick death! I apologize, Oyakata-sama, but I can't accept your desition!" Kanroji only cries harder at the time she speaks. "NO! NO! Y/N-SAN IS STILL OUR FRIEND! WE SHOULD AT LEAST MAKE IT AS PAINLESS AS POSSIBLE!"

"OUR FRIEND? A FRIEND DOESN'T GO AND SLEEP WITH THE ENEMY! IF L/N SIDES WITH THE ENEMY THEN WE TREAT THEM AS SUCH!" Shinazugawa screams at her, moving her direction angrily, so both Kocho and Rengoku put themself in between. You can't hear what Kocho says, but you can definetely make up what Rengoku does. "Shinazugawa! I understand your anger! This betrayal woould never go unpunished! But if we torture and rip L/N as we pleasw we won't be better than demons! We must answer with humanity!"

There is arguing, a lot of noise, Himejima and Tokito-kun are the only ones that are not with to it, besides the big boss who will only let them cool down by themselves, but you don't know that because you can make any voice out of the sounds, but because you know them. You know them... You spoke with them, shared meals and stories with some, worked with them... you know them, and they know you. And still, they will be the ones to kill you as long as they sort their shit out before you bleed to death.

"SILENCE! THIS IS SO UNFLASHY, WE SHOULD NOT BE GOING AGAINST EACH OTHER AFTER SUCH AN EVENT. We are already too on edge for this treason, we we can handle it. We should not be losing trust on each other!" Suddenly screams Uzui as he takes out his weapons, unecesaryly moving them for show, having the blades surrounding his torso, arms and shoulders without a single scratch on him. "I should be the one who deals with this. I know how to make it fast." He gets close to you as your vision becomes even more blured, to the point everything is red. Not black yet, you can basically see your eyelids and your own blood on the ground. You feel cold, trembling violently, you are pain, wanting to throw up your empty, tight and twisted stomach, feeling as if your organs will leave your body through the mouth the second you give into that urge. You pant, having a hard time breathing, every muscles is sore and protests... You are scared.

You swore that was what forced you to stay awake, even after loosing so much blood, but then... "Well, isn't this sad?" You hear a voice loud and clear, masculine. One that you have never heard before but still edges you. Your heart beats faster and normally you would worry about what that would mean something for the bloodloss, but... you don't feel like you are loosing blood, on the contrary, you feel more. "To be honest, I didn't notice at first you had my blood in your system, but now that you are weak, loosing the liquids of your body, the few drops you had inside are taking over. I won't pretend I don't know about your... intimacy with one of my powerful demons, but let me tell you this. It can save you."

You.... can be saved? You want to be saved, you have no idea where Uzui is, if he is near and ready to make the last blow or the arguing is stopping him. "You see, right now I can speak with you, share myself, but I can't take any look in your mind. But if you were to say where you are, I will gladly save you. Just tell where where are the ones who hurt you, and I'll even reward you with more blood. Don't you think it's a winning deal for you?" You cal sell out everyone for your own survival. Do you actually want them to die? To be killed. You feel suddenly a bit better, as the demon cells fight off the drugs.

You take air into your lungs softly and-

Tomioka Giyuu is in his home. He didn't want to be part of this. For now he doesn't want to think about it, the fact that one day he might take your place for not killing that demon girl. Urokodaki sends him letters of Kamado Tanjiro's process, the boy sends him his own letters too. He reads them all. Right now he has a brush in his hands, wondering if he should answer. He is tempted to write back, congratulate him, tell him he is doing good, to take care of himself and his sister, or at least to warn him about some difficulties he might face.

He can't. He doesn't want to get attached, no matter how nice and lovely the boy is, of how much he reminds him of himself when younger, except Tanjiro has more talent and is more capable that he was at his age. He will make a great water Hashira, far better than him. But for that Tomioka can't risk the others undermining his judgement by defending you. He didn't know if he would or not, and he didn't want to find out. Right now, that important thing is to ensure that the boy will take his place, and that means taking his distance too. Because everyone that Giyuu has ever held so dear into his heart dies. His sister and Sabito.... and even if you too were not close, not really friend... but still.

"It shoukd have been me." Is the only thing he can think as he sets the brush aside, not having written anything, and saving the letters carefully in a box. Then, just silence.

It doesn't matter anymore.

[imjustspirit]

A very sane rant about the Epilogue

Wrote this after I finished reading the epilogue and needed to rant lol. Spoilers obviously

oh my lord what a TORTUROUS epilogue I just read like seriously???

Don't get me wrong, it's well written like the rest of the story, but it is just 35 chapters of the characters getting pulled around getting destroyed like oml

I read episode 99 this morning and it was an incredible end, open-ended in a perfect way and I cried a little. I was then like, oh I should read the epilogue now, I'm sure it will just be KDJ looking down on his companions to see how they're growing and how everyone eventually moves forward and forges ahead with him still in their hearts. What a mistake that was.

First I quickly clocked onto the fact that this was only an epilogue thematically (?) and was actually just a continuation of the story, which was cool. And then I actually started reading it and 👁️👁️

KDJ gets called out in a way very suiting of the scene by the one who was most likely to notice, HSY and it's a great scene which made me thing that, at least epilogue 1, was going to be about them coming to terms with this 49% KDJ. Then it started spiralling

What could have been a seemingly very nice and deep epilogue about coming to terms turned into the author repeatedly tearing into the characters. It's 35 chapters of the characters desperately trying to save KDJ only to fail, despair, and bicker. They are given hope after hope and it is just torn away every time and as the reader you feel it every time as well, every time you think the resolution is round the corner it gets yanked away.

It is soul destroying to see how they all fall apart and separate, especially after turn 1865 which just made the who situation worse, then they fight, then a solution is found, which then goes wrong again, then it starts going right, only for it to go wrong again again

And on the final chapter, hope is gifted back to us, only for us to never see it come to fruition, because the story was never for us readers. It existed, and always has existed, for one reader, one Dokja, and I'm not them.

When I shared this last part, someone pointed out that "we are all that one reader, by reading this story, we helped that ending we want to see come to pass. as much as we write the ending by imagining it, it's also telling us: that ending can't exist without us. dokja won't make it without us. so we have to survive, too." which I believe to be a very interesting point of view.

I had personally read it more as I am a 'collateral' reader, someone who happened to find the story on its way to dokja, and in return for helping it spread, I was allowed to view that story and enjoy it myself. However, when it's re-read under the context they presented, it reveals a different, although still, very interesting concept. The idea that everyone is the reader serves to validate our own imaginations. It tells us that our interpretations, understandings, and derivatives, are all correct, as long as we continue to create them, and someone continues to view them. It a much more hopeful perspective for a collective fanbase such as the one surrounding orv.

Anyway amazing epilogue which perfectly characterised everyone to end off the incredible story, I'm going to go finish my looming assignments before I end up locating the side-stories I need to read or googling fan-fics :D

[ladyofthe-manor]

Ronmione shippers... in 2024?

I don't know what I did to big Tumblr for them to be punishing me with my timeline but lately I've been bombarded with Dramione hate seemingly out of the blue. I don't know why, but it has been kind of funny to see other people's posts.

I saw someone wrote out a list of reasons Dramione would NOT work, and it included things like "Hermione being unforgiving and petty" and "Hermione shouldn't need or want a man to change for her" and it left me honestly baffled. Maybe it should be a prerequisite that you read Dramione fanfiction before you attempt to bash it, because clearly some of these people are just outing themselves.

The misogynistic hatred of Hermione as a character is nothing new, so I won't touch on it here, but some of these posts are so telling.

I will talk about Draco though, because he gets almost double the flak because of all the hatred of Drarry on top of it all (which reads as homophobic to me but well, that's a story for another time.)

Most Dramione readers and writers don’t ship Hermione Granger and the 12-year-old boy that prayed on her downfall and wished for her death. Do you think we seek out 100k+ word stories just for the long awaited epilogue where he calls her a mudblood in their marital vows? 

Are you that judgmental that you would begrudge a sixteen-year-old (threatened with the death of his mother) the chance at redemption?

A brainwashed, bullying, ignorant CHILD? Who goes through an entire war? Who watches and is forced to participate in torturing his own classmates? Do you really think he went through all of that only to come out on the other side STILL believing everything he was taught? Or is it more feasible that he might have had a change of heart or two?

(And honestly, even if he does come through the war still believing in blood purity, the fanfictions that explore his subsequent journey of self-discovery and learning are some of the most popular on ao3. I wonder why?)

Isn’t it more exciting to read about Draco and EITHER his redemption arc, or if you hate him so much, his own downfall? Especially over canon pairings? Ron and Hermione are childhood friends-to-lovers. BORING. 

You can't have it both ways. I've seen people absolutely shit on Hermione for the birds, and the permanent disfiguration, and the jar, but jeez, do you know who would have loved that side of her? Probably Slytherin Draco, don't you think? Or is it Ron, the object of her ire with the birds and the one that thought she took it too far and was too ruthless?

Also, to so confidently argue that Hermione would never forgive Draco and that he would never change (even for himself if not for her) is such an incredibly pessimistic outlook on life that I can almost understand why you sad people still ship Ronmione. It's giving... ordering chicken tenders at a fancy restaurant. Grow up, lmao.

Hermione can forgive her childhood bully... for HERSELF. Draco can unlearn the harmful brainwashing of his childhood... for HIMSELF. And then the two of them can learn from the other's experiences and heal together. Or they can bicker until the sun comes down and turn slowly from enemies to lovers. Or they can become friends to lovers. The possibilities are endless, and more importantly, it allows for something Ronmione inherently lacks: GROWTH.

It's especially funny to me, because unless you specifically go looking for it, most of the quality Dramione fanfiction that gets posted on a DAILY basis doesn't even mention Ron except to say that their stale high school sweetheart relationship ended quietly and amicably and everyone moved on. You guys love to go on and on about Draco and Dramione readers are sitting there like... Ron? We don't think of you.

[theheirofthesharingan]

Thanks for that! I got my questions answered. But do you think treatment towards Sasuke was necessary? The part where he uses Tsukuyomi on him or the second time where he attacks him brutally and uses the same genjutsu again. It seems quite redundant, I think he didn't had to be so violent towards him. A large part of my doubts on Itachi raised through this post--

https://www.quora.com/Did-Itachi-really-love-Sasuke/answer/Indra-Nakari?ch=10&oid=178954935&share=ebfcccb7&srid=hjHWv1&target_type=answer

The writer's critisms on Itachi seemed fairly accurate. I want to know your thoughts on the post.

You're welcome. :)

When it comes to the fictional characters, I try to think outside of my personal feelings. Because a character's thoughts/feelings/motivations are determined by what they go through and their personal experiences. And theirs and my experiences are vastly different. If we haven't been into this character's shoes we can't accurately measure their actions which are the direct result of their emotions.

It's obvious people will judge characters based on their own feelings and experiences, but imo, there needs to be a fine line where you stop seeing yourself in fictional characters and judge them for who they are rather than how you want them to be. To me, it seems like the irl circumstances when you're telling someone your story and how you messed up, and someone who hasn't lived your life, suddenly pops up with the countless scenarios of could haves and should haves. Hindsight and not living through one's hell aren't very different, but are repeatedly applied.

It's the same with Itachi. No. I don't think torturing Sasuke was necessary or even the massacre was the answer to solve the political conflict in the village or joining a criminals' gang was necessary. However, it boils down to why did he think it was necessary. And that's more important than why any of us feel.

Here, we are talking about the child-soldiers and their psyche that gets damaged from a very young age. All kids — be it Itachi, Obito, Sasuke, or Nagato (mentioning the ones who went 'rogue') — have lost their loved ones and were changed by it.

I wrote a piece here talking about how Itachi's psychology influenced his actions throughout the story.

For the second time, while he was in the village, he was there to make sure Sasuke was safe/alive. He did not go out looking for Sasuke, but Sasuke, upon finding out Itachi was back, came to look for him. Now, Itachi expected to see hatred for him in Sasuke's eyes. He expected Sasuke to be more critical of him. But the way Sasuke reacted to his presence (jealousy because Itachi paid more attention to Naruto instead of him) told him Sauske didn't hate him enough. He was also there as a spy, working for both the Akatsuki and the Village. He needed to make sure neither of the sides suspected his loyalty was with the village and not the bad guys. If he'd let either of the sides know, imo, it could result in a major disaster. Konoha was home to the nine tailed beast and if the Akatsuki got their hands on it, it couldn't be anything good. The whole reason the Akatsuki refrained from attacking the village was because of him.

Objectively, yes, his treatment towards Sasuke was horrible, but from his perspective it was necessary. Because he ended up achieving certain goals.

With Sasuke's state as it was, Danzo wouldn't suspect Itachi had told him anything.

Sasuke 'hated' him more.

He'd also warned the village about the Akatsuki's plans, which with them wanting to kidnap Naruto, clearly did not bode well. It was after this Jiraiya took Naruto's training more seriously.

The most important thing for him was to keep up his cover or Sasuke's life would be in danger.

So, while to us what Itachi did was cruel, from his perspective it was necessary to do so for Sasuke's survival. Also, it's my own theory that what hurt Sauske the most wasn't the Tsukuyomi or witnessing the deaths of his parents on loop, but the fact that Itachi had done it. That he could be so cruel.

Coming to the second part of your question from the Quora link, I've read this response before when I was still struggling with my feelings about Itachi about certain things. And something seemed to be missing from this write up. What the person here has spoken are raw facts, but they significantly skip the emotional context behind Itachi's actions.

For example, if you're familiar with LotR, a large part of the fandom is overtly critical of Frodo's actions and hates him. According to them, 'He complained all the time. He only succeeded because he had Sam by his side. He couldn't have done anything without Sam. He failed in his mission. All he did was whine and complain while others did hard jobs.'

The people who say this are speaking complete facts but without any context attached to these words. They're the ones who project their personal feelings on fictional characters and fictional situations, which are harder than the ones we live in. I see a similar pattern in Itachi's criticism as well. And the answer you shared is the perfect example of that.

The writer uses a proper context to explain why Sauske was going to destroy the village, why Naruto understood Sauske, but that context somehow goes amiss when talking about Itachi.

Itachi was a kid who saw death when he wasn't prepared for it. Kids being brought to the war happened around the times Hashirama and Madara were kids. But Itachi was brought to see the reality of the Shinobi world when he was too little to comprehend the gravity of what he was witnessing. This is what changed him forever. Despite having his parents by his side, he raised himself. He was left alone in his formative years, entrusted with with responsibility that grown ups should have been handling, not a kid. And then, both his clan as well as the government placed the heavy burden of the world on his shoulders. The Uchiha did so unwittingly and the village knew what it was doing.

People expect him to be normal about it and make sound decisions that synchronize with their morals and feelings? It's not possible. It doesn't make his wrong decisions right, but it explains why he made those wrong decisions. Itachi lived in a terribly hopeless world and saw all the ugliness in its fullest glory. He knew wars and deaths. He was an Anbu. He knew even an entire clan couldn't fight against a system. Taking lives traumatized him too. Killing his own parents was more painful for him than most people give him a credit for.

So, expecting Itachi to function like a normal teen and then as a 21-year-old, while he never lived a single moment of his life he wasn't traumatized is wrong. He lived fearing death of the person he loved the most and wanted to stop it. His methods were terrible and he ended up hurting Sauske the most, but it wasn't done out of malice. If he believed there was better future for Sasuke and some hope for him, he might have acted much more differently. He might have trusted Naruto way before.

The criticism of the Edo Itachi is along the same lines but quite baseless this time. Itachi can talk to/about Naruto freely because he has no emotional connection towards him. He can't do that with Sasuke because he loves Sasuke too much.

People expect Itachi to burst into tears and seek Sasuke's forgiveness (a scene I would have loved to see myself), but they forget how damaged Itachi is to be able to express himself. He was a Shinobi who did things that required him to kill his own feelings. He isn't used to expressing himself. He stopped himself from expressing his feelings when he fought his final battle against Sasuke and gave in only in the end.

He wasn't running away from Sasuke because he didn't understand Sasuke's feelings, but because he understood them too much. It was his last ditch effort to make his brother continue to hate him, not knowing Sasuke had already believed the truth. From Itachi's POV, what did Tobi and Danzo's words mean if he doesn't confess them himself? He knew he was dead. He knew he couldn't stay back anymore, so talking to Sasuke and leaving him again, making him go through the pain of losing Itachi again... He didn't want that. If he really was more interested in Sasuke not chasing him, he would have done something stronger than summoning his crows to keep Sauske behind. Itachi didn't want Sasuke to kill people on his name or seek justice for him or tell anyone his truth. He wanted Sasuke to be known as the hero and respected for killing him (an S-rank criminal). He wanted Sauske to believe he could go back to his home and to his friends.

The reason he wouldn't spend more time with Sasuke and repeatedly said he was entrusting him with Naruto, was because Itachi didn't feel entitled to Sasuke's love, forgiveness, affection, and time. I can't stress on this enough. He didn't think he deserved any of this because he'd hurt him too much. Him hurting Sasuke previously was done out of sheer necessity (in his mind it was necessary) and he didn't want Sasuke to ever forgive him. He didn't expect this when he died for the first time and definitely not the second time. To him, Naruto was a better brother to Sasuke than Itachi was.

It's how he lived and this is how he wanted to die. But he confessed his feelings in the end, because he knew Sasuke deserved the truth. He also knew what he'd done to his litte brother, did not deserve forgiveness. He was okay with being hated by Sauske even now. He wanted Sauske to direct this love towards people who loved him and wouldn't hurt him (Naruto, here).

Also, the last word he uses to express his love is aishiteru, a Japanese word that means I love you, but is rarely used in the Japanese culture. It's to express the purest, kindest, highest, and most profound form of love.

Sasuke isn't being blind towards Itachi's flaws. If Itachi was alive, Sasuke would have been more critical of him. But when his brother is dead, he can't do it. He loved Itachi the most and unlike a lot of his fans, Sasuke, who was also a Shinobi, understood Itachi's perspective.

So, to conclude this, I agree Itachi hurt Sasuke a lot and there's no justification for that, but from his side, it was essential because he hadn't ever been able to hope for something better. He'd seen an entire clan being wiped out for wanting to change the system, and he himself had caused their destruction.

Both Itachi and Sasuke's feelings are totally justified. Itachi's love and guilt drove him to do all he did, and he is allowed to feel guilty. He is allowed to feel hopeless when literally no one ever supported him. Sasuke understood it. He was the only person in the world who saw Itachi as a human with feelings.

I can understand both of their point of views without having to hate or blame them when they both were the worst victims of the system. Itachi never even realized he was a victim and Sasuke has to live with its knowledge.

It became quite long. But here it is. This is my interpretation of Itachi and his actions. I don't see them as justified/unjustified because morals aren't that simple in their world. Seeing Naruto world from our world's perspective is quite tricky and everyone will become an unforgivable monster if we did.

[tobiasdrake]

So, if I know my Mesa Island geography, we should be getting pretty close to Songshroom Marsh. Wonder if Yoyo's still hanging around here?

That's, uh... that's... not an ominous name or anything....

This place... doesn't seem quite as fun as Luana made it sound.

Okay, full disclosure, I was actually trying to drown myself in the mire because I want to tell Quarble about all the cool stuff I did.

But this is cool too. I guess the moral of the story is that sometimes attempted suicide comes with neat prizes. If they ever write a fable about all the things I learned on my travels, I'll be sure to include that.

Holy shit, the Magic Seashell? The one from Watcher Island that lets you breathe underwater?

Wait, no, I can already do that for some reason. Plus, it doesn't really look that cute. Luana said it was a cute pink clamshell thing. She was very excited about it. But this more resembles a slug.

That does sound like it relates to the magic Docarri shells, though. Hmm....

Yeah. Uh. What the hell happened to this place? Luana didn't like it very much but what she described pales in comparison to how tortured and gross the marsh is.

Also, she called it Songshroom but the sign at the entrance said Quillshroom. So. Obviously some changes have taken place.

Oh, is it the cool magic seashell I found? 'Cause I found it. You can't have it back. It's mine now, as laid down in the Mine Now, Fucko bylaw.

Primal Fear... fuck, I know that name. It's... somewhere. Maybe one of Teaks's stories? I don't know. I've heard it before. I know I've heard it before.

No, wait! It was one of the volumes of prophecy that Yoyo kept in her cabin. She had a book on Primal Fear. That's where I know the name from.

Is. That. Where the living mushrooms come from?

...Luana wrote about them singing. The ones I've seen have not been singing. I don't think they're enjoying their fungal lives anymore.

With gusto.

I can't believe you told me to fight it! Do you have any idea how humiliated I was!? That was the most embarrassing moment of my goddamn life.

And I once screwed up Cloudstep practice so hard I ended up dangling from a tree branch by my pants around my ankles. I met Quarble on a return trip through a challenge I'd already solved. So the competition is steep.

How many times have you sent members of my order to their graves to pick a fight with a harmless glowball minding his fucking business!?

FUCK. No wonder Luana called probably-you an assclown!

WHAT. NO. I don't really see much relevance or importance in your stories - I think the pear tree one might have been about Yoyo maybe? - but I've been enjoying them nonetheless.

I'll stop touching your cabinet if you keep sharing stories with me. ._. Pweese?

Oh, there's the singing mushrooms. Okay, so they are still here.

They. Uh. They don't look very cheerful, though. Luana said they were cheerful.

Gotta say, not a fan of the titular quillshrooms. Their quills are incredibly difficult to dodge, especially when they fire while I'm in midair. What total assholes.

As a botanophobe, I can't be surprised by this, but fungus is far more dangerous than turtles.

...how stupid do I feel like being today?

I am... passably competent at the Cloudstep. I think I could--

Okay, I want it on record that I actually made it, but was killed by a Quillshroom afterwards. After being thoroughly tenderized by spikes in the process of making it but that's beside the point. The point is I'm awesome and this is definitely going down as a W in my book.

Not important. What's important is HEY BESTIE, check out where we are? Yeah, that's right, I'm blazing trails through Quillshroom Marsh with my expert jumping and profound getting-stabbed proficiencies.

I know we were in Howling Grotto last we talked but I... found the exit of my own accord and nothing else happened. Now we're here. Trying to not be here as expediently as possible because I don't want to be a mushroom.

...

Why is this my life?

...we've found one secret path beneath the mire. I wonder... This does look very suspicious.

They thought they could hide their secrets from me. Joke's on them, I am highly skilled in observation and pattern recog--

I think I hate this place.

[jiangwanyinscatmom]

hi

I'll start this by saying you can ignore this ask if it's too annoying bc valid

but I just saw some absolutely bullshit takes when I was scrolling through mdzs posts

some people claimed that:

- jin guangyao and wei wuxian are the same and both killed for revenge so if wwx isn't evil then jgy can't be either (I- excuse me??)

- jgy did so much good for people and wwx just........ saved some wens (lmaoo???)

- jgy killed nmj out of self defense (ok so why did he keep coming back and acting nice playing/poisoning him for probably weeks if not months then????????)

- (this one is just crazy) wang lingjiao was just some poor commoner woman who couldn't fight back so wwx is awful for what he did to her

....

I'm sorry am I the crazy one here because these takes sound straight up INSANE to me like did the people who wrote it read the same novel I did??

"wwx stans are so hypocritical how can they say my baby's evil while they stan this cruel murderer who doesn't let his corpses reincarnate :((((" bitch????

I'm fairly new to the fandom and I can be wrong so can you tell me if I'm missing something (I doubt that i do tbh) but you seem very sensible and I just needed to get it off my chest

I'm not even saying people can't enjoy characters that are evil/morally gray bc some of my faves from other works are just that... but if you have to pretend these characters are some saints who didn't deserve what they got and drag down the main character just because you're salty then I don't think you like your "fave" all that much tbh

I hope you don't mind me ranting in your askbox, if you read my message then thank you for your time! Have a nice day! (I hope I didn't ruin it too much haha)

Hello anon! No I don't mind at all for this, rant away if you need to as I make my inbox open for it.

As to the idea that Wei Wuxian are similar, in terms of their status they had been born to, yes. But that's about as much of their similarity as they get. Just as how Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji are literary mirrors due to similarities in circumstance, but not mind or ideals. Yes, Wei Wuxian did kill in revenge, but he never denies this. He fully admits to this unlike Jin Guangyao, who continues to say he had no choice but to kill those that wronged him. The difference there is that, Wei Wuxian had been tortured, his guardians killed cruelly, his own sect almost was decimated by the ones he killed. Where as with Jin Guangyao, he killed many that endangered his political position or, verbally insulted him in some way. Between the two one's actions of revenge was foremost for the ones that had been wronged. For Jin Guangyao it was concerning his own ego.

Jin Guangyao never did anything for the common people. We are told several times in story that Lan Wangji, and the Lans are the outliers for this sort of thing. The watchtowers are nothing more than a repainting of the Wen's Advisory Offices and keep in mind, it was still under the approval of Jin Guangshan that they even were created. From a Jin Guangyao who wanted to please his father foremost. He also burned down a brothel of prostitute women, where in that, shows he cares for commoners of his own background?

A scum of a person, can be human and sympathetic, but it does not change that they themselves are in the end selfish, cruel and manipulative. That's what makes them terrifying, they use that sympathy to cause more hurt. Wei Wuxian never holds others hate of what he had done as unfair, just that he would not take rebuttal for what he never did and stands by what he did. Jin Guangyao never takes any sort of responsibility towards the ones he drags into his schemes and continues to say he needed to with no sympathy for the ones who had been innocent, saying that he should be the one pitied and forgiven.

You can like and enjoy an evil, just don't paint it as a saint when that is what the very work is against and criticizing. We are told that Wei Wuxian is meant as an ideal of morality, who this is still argued about and he is labeled "morally grey" and "just as wrong as the others" is just wrong from a literary and plot point of the book.

[terranovathemust]

POST FOR ih8marysues PART 2

the fact that I haven't upset my story by following your reviews depends first of all on the fact that, when your criticisms refer to the technical side they are not at all explanatory, such as the bad characterization of the characters you were talking about in your criticisms. ok, you wrote that they are badly characterized, but develop this criticism, otherwise I can't get to the root of the problem and solve it. it's useless to say "you wrote this scene badly" and then not explain anything. a criticism to be constructive and therefore helpful to the author, must be well developed, otherwise it's useless. I also noticed that in your reviews you attack a lot of futility such as the title of the fanfic, the meme, the plot that I chose to tell, etc… obviously, I put the plot that I chose to develop, because I tell what I have in my head and that I want to share with others, I'm the one who decides, the important thing is that it is well written from the technical side. when telling a plot, you don't have to care what I choose to tell, but you have to care how I tell it, that is the technical side, because I need the latter in the reviews, not to hear me say that the title sucks, that you want me to only tell what you like or that you don't like the meme related to the fanfic. those are futility. if you don't like what I tell, I will try to improve, but you are not forced to self-torture reading something that you don't find satisfactory. if you really want to help me with my work, then contact me privately, so you can express your ideas, give me support in writing dialogues, in translation, etc… it's useless to stay in that limbo where you write reviews in which you only hint at what you think, without ever developing your thoughts. on grammar and vocabulary, I ask forgiveness, english is not my native language, i am italian, so it's normal for me to make mistakes and use translate, for more complex texts that go beyond my limited knowledge of the anglophone language. In addition, I translate the texts over and over again to prevent translate from distorting what I write. it's difficult to write english, thinking in italian. among other things in terms of grammar and vocabulary they come out much better when i write them in my native language the chapters. i wanted to use more precise translators, but i don't want to spend money on various subscriptions to use the service. I apologize for the papyrus, but I had to clarify some issues, especially because he/she wrote a few aggressive reviews and so I'm curious to understand the thoughts of this person. thanks to those who will read.

PS: in one of your latest reviews you were able to offend not only the original work, because if you say that my fanfic is a copy and paste and then say that it is badly done, you imply that the original product is also badly written (which could also be partly true), but you also insulted those who appreciate my fanfic by saying that, "whoever appreciates this fanfic is a person who likes to waste their time watching paint dry on walls". so you subtly called an idiot those who appreciate this work, whether it is beautiful or ugly. A review should never be offensive.

[scandalouslamb]

18. Choose a passage from your writing. Tell me about the backstory of this moment. How you came up with it, how it changed from start to end. Spicy addition: Questioner provides the passage.

passage choice:

“For years, I thought about asking my father where he got the meat just to watch him crack. In the end, I decided it didn’t matter. It kept me alive, didn’t it? If I was starving with no there option, I’d do it again. I’d close my eyes and eat it. Savor the first full meal I’d had in months. It doesn’t matter what it was. It kept me alive.”

Why are you telling me this?”

His voice came out in a whisper.

Were girls always this confusing and terrifying? 

Well.

Now that he thought about it. Artemisia could be both those things.

“I’m tired of scrapes,” Persephone said, jostling him from his thoughts. 

25. What is a weird, hyper-specific detail you know about one of your characters that is completely irrelevant to the story? (it doesn’t say i can specify but…request for artemisia mayhaps?)

ask game

Thanks for the ask, Lily! So fun to rant about Close Your Eyes again... it's almost been half a year since I started writing it... 4 months since I finished it...

18. Passage Question (See Above Excerpt From Ch. 2, Close Your Eyes)

I remember wanting to acknowledge Festus/Persephone in Close Your Eyes, because I do love them, and I hate when a character's more "canon" love interest gets kind of sidelined or vilified to prop up the fic's ship. Obviously, as she's not really central to the story, Persephone doesn't appear very often but I wanted to make sure it was clear when I wrote her that she had her own life that she was living.

The original draft had the interaction as much shorter, but the intention was always to have it be longer. Most of the changes was me finding my characterization of Persephone.

I've talked about my version of Persephone being more confident than yours, so this is kind of that shining through. I like writing strange, unnerving women (that might be obvious idk), and this is also that shining through. I was like "what if she's not ashamed? what if she's come to terms with it as just something she did? she did it to survive, why regret it?" I think in someways it's more unnerving for someone to act weirdly normal and well-adjusted about an incident that other people would normally be horrified by than to be tortured about it.

It's also kind of a sign of her kindness and trust in Festus that she's telling him this secret (because while she's not ashamed, it could damage her reputation) and also basically telling him as they are breaking up that he should just get over himself and admit that he's in love with his two best friends. The main thing we know about her is being kind, and I felt that should shine through even if she's in a very frustrating position.

Because of the situation, I also have her asserting herself and her boundaries. He's wasting her time if he's not committed to this relationship. She's going to find something more fulfilling. She's tired of scraps. <- me realizing I put scrapes instead scraps (whoops let me go edit that real quick).

This answer was mostly just explaining choices. The process, as with most of my writing, is brute force hitting a passage with editing until it makes sense with the rest of the story.

25. Weird, Hyper-Specific Detail (Artemisia)

Hmmm. Unsure if this is weird or hyper-specific, but it does never come up in the stories (directly)!

Artemisia is so resentful towards most of the Capitol because of her childhood. You'd think that even in Close Your Eyes that she'd be a pretty likely candidate for questioning the status quo and maybe turning rebel, but she doesn't do that (in that fic). The reason that Artemisia never contemplates becoming a rebel in Close Your Eyes (before Felix's death, although even after, she doesn't really rebel) is because Brandy kills Arachne.

I don't really focus on Artemisia and Arachne being friends, but I do think someone from the Districts killing Arachne definitely stops Artemisia from truly empathizing with them. That's why it it's kind of ironic (and important to me) that in All That You Can Do, Artemisia actually sees herself in Brandy, and that is what sparks Artemisia to rebel in that fic.

Close Your Eyes! Artemisia unfortunately was not immune to the Capitol's attempts at utilizing her friend's death to further the Capitol-District divide.

[nobodysdaydreams]

ALL ABOARD TO TRUTH TOWN🚂 , WHERE FICTIONAL STORIES ABOUT SHINY BUTTONS, DONUTS, AND ROBOT UPRISINGS ARE MORE FUN THAN CUTTER'S STUPID SLOW CLAPS, HERA ALMOST DYING (she BETTER not), AND DOUG'S JAIL TIME AND ALCOHOLISM THAT I TOTALLY PREDICTED (good for me 🥰) (or my reaction to episodes 38-40 of Wolf359)

Also: Whiskey boy needs to chill, seriously. Are we sure Doug is the one with the problem?

Welcome back dear readers. Thanks again for your patience. Excited to continue with my season 3 reactions!

Tagging the mutuals who got me invested in this, and if you want to be tagged or untagged from these posts, lmk, or you can follow my blog or simply follow the tag "#bods wolf359 reactions". Anyone who has followed me for a while knows my updates are inconsistent, so I apologize in advance for that and for any spelling/grammar mistakes in my posts.

@sophieswundergarten @oflightningandstars @acollectionofcuriousreblogs @herawell @commsroom

Episode 38: Happy Endings

I'm gonna be doing chores while I listen to these three episodes, so sorry if the notes get a bit brief.

This Hilbert and Doug morality debate is funny because it's literally one actor debating with himself.

I'm sad Hera can't be a part of the group.

"2am"? How is it 2am? You're...you're not on earth. I understand keeping up with a schedule, but it's still a little weird, what time zone are they following?

The way Hilbert talks about Sam... it's like he has this shred of humanity left inside him that he's just gotten used to ignoring.

And Hilbert, I have a clear answer to your little "trolley problem": the decima virus is CUTTER'S property. He put that in your contract, or have you forgotten? Do you seriously think that man will be using it for the good of humanity? Because I don't.

I also feel like the "No one gets a happy ending/ there are no happy endings" think is foreshadowing. But I hope I am wrong.

"This wasn't here last time"

IS THIS THAT WEIRD DOOR???? FINALLY! Bah-ha just shove him in! At least it’s not the airlock which is what I was expecting.

Hm. Do not like the dark. Uh what. Also. Isn’t he supposed to be alone? Totally alone? And shouldn’t it be an emergency?

Dentist chair from hell? Nope. Don’t like it.

Recorded message? Oh gosh not the slow claps…Cutter no doubt. Of course he does a dramatic dark room, and the lights go up on an evil chair...he was one of those kids in school who at recess would find insects and torture them for fun, wasn't he?

Easter egg? Cutter, this is the worst easter themed scavenger hunt I've ever heard of. Where are the chocolate bunnies? The jellybeans? The message of hope, love, and rebirth? But I suppose I should expect nothing else from the man who ordered the killing of three people on Christmas. Makes you wonder what Cutter has against holidays. Did mommy and daddy not give someone enough presents?

“The other crew has... gone away like last time” Cutter you suck. Seriously his villain mode does not have an off switch.

What does Cutter want with his brain? An old friend made this for him?? Is it the dude he killed or is it the Pryce person he wrote the book with? Makes me wonder where his mysterious friend is hiding. In the shadows at Cutter's right hand or six feet underground with a knife in the back? Not sure which is worse. I guess we'll see.

THEY CAN SCAN HIS BRAIN AND GET THAT KIND OF INFO? That...but...I...as someone who knows slightly more than average about how the brain works, Cutter needs to learn how to make better use of his tech. I cannot even BEGIN to tell you how much better his evil plans would go, if he focused on THAT instead of...oh I don't know...investing his money into elaborate dark rooms with evil dentist chairs and slow clap videos?

Also "Hera can't detect these secret rooms" HOW. HOW CAN SHE NOT THAT'S AN AWFUL IDEA: She flies the ship, she has to calculate for its size. It's science fiction, so let me be 100% clear, I'm not dumping on the creators or writers, I'm dumping on Cutter the character. You idiot.

Oh he’s just leaving him in space. Oh...Hilbert will come around in the hopes that he’ll use decima to help people. That's cruel. “Thanks for all the memories” Cutter. DUDE. Too much.

Do not give him your memories. Do not Hilbert.

Haha… hee hee… why is he laughing?

Brilliant? Chance for work to continue? NO. HILBERT YOU DUM-DUM. THEY ARE NOT GOING TO USE IT FOR GOOD. CUTTER WILL NOT USE IT FOR GOOD. BECAUSE HE IS NOT A GOOD MAN. The reason you shouldn't do this has nothing to do with sacrifices for the great good...it's that the greater good IS NOT GUARANTEED AND LIKELY DOESN'T EXIST BASED ON CUTTER'S BEHAVIOR!

Don’t call her Isabel. You are in the wrong here Hilbert. And there is a very clear difference between what she is doing and what you are doing. She knows better than to count on a killer for benevolence.

Good. Smart. Don’t get in the chair. It would probably slice off your head or something.

Something about Eiffel? Minkowski… Doug is your friend. Just because he served time doesn’t mean he’s a bad guy.

Well Lovelace and Hilbert...it's an unusual alliance. Hope it works out.

Episode 39: All Things Considered

"It's a bottle…"

👎🙅‍♂️🤬❌ WRONG!

Oh it's the Whiskey isn't it.

Wrong! Cancelled! 🤬👎🙅‍♂️❌

Oh my gosh Kepler shut up.

Of course duck boy knows the boss’s drinks. Teacher's pet.

“YOU VILLAGE IDIOTS!…🤬... but points to you Jacobi 😏🥰👍" okay… clearly discount Cutter has his own discount Kepler.

oh I love these stories. Why do I feel like Minkowski's is gonna be the most realistic. Like, I can see Doug making lightsaber noises, and I can see Jacobi being a little arrogant. Just...maybe a little exaggerated.

Oh my gosh Jacobi's story. 😂😂😂 The way he's portraying Doug is way too much.

“But the button is so shiny! 🥺” PFFT- the way Jacobi portrays Doug... I'm sorry for laughing but it's too funny😂

He’s doing Minkowski dirty. Why is he making her talk like a valley girl?

“I’m sorry Jacobi you were right!” / “I’m just gonna lean against this big red button!”

Duck boy who do you think you’re fooling with this one 😂

I cannot wait for Doug's story.

Yes, Doug I am ready for the truth. I am so ready. I AM READY!

I love Hera’s announcement: "Uh...yeah some stuff is happening today for sure"

“The innocent victim stepped in to help” why is Doug me telling a story.

“We’ve never high-fived!” “We’re headed to truth town!”

Heck yeah we are! All aboard to truth town Doug, this is the best story yet!

Why are they like fighting elementary school children? I love this. Dang Doug is roasting them!

“Oh thank goodness Doug you saved us 🥰”

"Minkowski decked him!" "I did not!" "Duck boy passed out" "I did not!" "But then Hilbert came. Russian's are drawn to loud noises and he wanted to experiment on Jacobi's brain."

Doug, if you made a fictional podcast about your time in space I would listen to it. It sounds amazing.

Why is Minkowski doing a different accent now? WHY IS HERA THE VILLAIN SUDDENLY DOING A ROBOT UPRISING? 😂

"Is there any truth to your story?" Um...yeah? I'm pretty sure there were donuts in multiple stories Kelper 🙄

"But... but truth town! 🥺"

I agree. Doug was taking them straight to truth town and Whiskey boy shut down the railways. All because discount Cutter can't handle the truth. Big surprise.

“As I've mentioned...I like the feel of it IN MY HAND 😡”

Geez man okay.

And Doug's story was not a time waste. It was delightful. Just because discount Cutter is evil doesn't mean he has to be the fun police.

“Until your idiocy stretches all the way around back to half-way competent” dang I really am like Doug. 😔

Episode 40: Limbo

"Lob of meat" well you don't have to say it like that Hera.

"I can't think of a single way to prank everyone else" Doug. Jacobi is afraid of ducks. You are sitting on a gold mine.

Ugh this is awful because I can't tell if Hera's compliance with Maxwell is programmed or not! It's so scary that her free will can just be...programmed out.

Maxwell. Why are you interrogating her? Hera. Do not turn on your friends. Maxwell. You BETTER be trying to help.

I'm very worried about Hera. Is Kepler going to shut her down?

Good on you Hera. She deserves to know the truth.

...oh no.

Maybe I'm misremembering this, but was it Maxwell or Lovelace who said "if only Hera knew the truth" a few episodes back? I'm really suspicious about how Cutter and co. treat the AIs and what they want with them.

Hera. Talk to Doug about it. Just let him know you're scared. He'll be there for you.

Hera please let your friends help you. Please let them help you. AND LEAVE HERA ALONE STOP OVERWHELMING HER! She clearly has...whatever the AI equivalent of anxiety is.

I feel so bad for Hera. I swear. Whatever Cutter has planned for her...he will pay for this.

Hera offline? NOOOOOO...

Maxwell you kinda got in her head.

But everyone has problems. And Hera is more than a robot computer. She's a friend. You can't just shut her down!

I KNEW IT. A panic attack. She has anxiety 🥺. Poor Hera.

What's dummy program? Would they destroy Hera's freewill? Neanderthal version of AI? No. Maxwell no. You don't get it. Hera is a friend. Oh they don't get it. They think it's a companion to her, not a replacement for her.

DO NOT DO IT. THANK YOU DOUG! YES! THANK YOU DOUG!

I need Whiskey Boy to drown in his own whiskey. And I need Hera to be okay. You can't do this to me. You already took Blessie you monsters. YOU ALREADY TOOK BLESSIE!

Maxwell stand up to discount Cutter! "Don't forget what she is Maxwell. She went rogue and tried to escape. There's a reasons she's up here. She's expendable. Make sure that doesn't become you." YOU better make sure it's not YOU whiskey boy. Hera just wanted freedom! She didn't ask to be born!

Minkowski just tell him. Please tell him.

Yikes.

Minkowski don't make him go through this. Please stop.

Kidnapping isn't the worst part? That's...this doesn't sound like a fun story. This doesn't sound like a trip to truth town.

Right. His daughter. Baby Ann 🥺

Doug would make a good dad. Oh no. I predict that he had drug and alcohol issues!!! Oh he gets clean. Good for him. Oh no... Doug...relapse is bad.

Oh he loses Ann. HE KIDNAPS HER? Doug bad idea. People get put away for stuff like that.

NO HE CRASHED INTO SOME TEENS. ...Model UN president in a wheelchair?

The way he says "I was fine...the driver's always fine..." yikes. He made her deaf? He hasn't seen her since? How old was she?

Hera needs to be okay. And I'm sorry if they have the tech for sentient AI, decima viruses, space travel, and who knows what else, that weird brain transmitting machine, then deafness should be totally curable by now, Cutter's just hogging the tech to himself like a psychopath. I hate him. I hate him so much. Cutter is the worst. I hope HE loses his senses. Almost all his senses. Except for pain. That's the only one he deserves to keep.

I hope Maxwell can save Hera. She has to! Hera can't die now. We already went through that, and she deserves to be happy.

But I do get the feeling that might not happen. For anyone.

You know, as I go back and edit this, I gotta say, in some ways Kepler is like an evil version of Doug. They both clearly like alcohol and substances (Kepler's "I like the feel of it in my hand" and Doug's "I just want to hold the cigarette"), but Doug wants to get better while Kepler clearly doesn't. "You're like this Whiskey see? I'd be sad without it but I'd be okay." And then he risks the life of his crew for it. You sure you don't have a bit of problem Whiskey boy? 👀

And that's all folks! Thanks dear readers for coming along on my journey. Sorry for the delays in reactions. Life gets busy, but I try to do at least once a week for you guys.

[thetownwecallhome]

OOC: My biggest regrets regarding this webcomic. And, what's to come.

(( bad grammar intended.

In case you're worried I'm being badged by bad reviews and/or "focusing too much on the bad"--- no. These are self-criticisms I've always had about this comic. It's always a joy to see you guys like it so much and there are some comics I love more than others and return to reread just for myself; but I think it's fine to have a healthy self-critical lens about your work sometimes. Just as long as you don't go 2000s-era Lucas and try retconning everything. So without further ado:

>Dislike the earliest gag where Jack complains about being 'fat'.

>Keeping art consistent and low-effort so it wouldn't take so much work.

>Introducing the Holiday leaders like I did. So underwhelming.

>"Mothball" [*sideshow bob grumble of pain*]

>While we're on it that earlier depiction of Clown being a jerk to Sally and Sally needing to be pepped-up by Jack to feel good about herself. Like 'Mothball' is needs a serious rewriting of dialogue to make it bearable ((to me)).

>"Packing Up" for reasons that should be painfully obvious later when I finish making Halloween Town comics. (it goes against current continuity in my headcanon)

>Really I regret how I wrote Sally and Jack a lot throughout the years. You can tell I was battling different takes about the characters and rationalizing them. I made Sally way too demur and Fluttershy-ish when she's not that kind of shrinking violet meanwhile Jack's either too kind and mature or too wrapped in guilt. For Sally I think I was operating on the logic that og-Carolyn-Thompson-script-softspoken-Sally > better then how she is in the movie because someone in my life was trying to convince me Sally was underdeveloped, and with Jack it's being hit w people saying he's an absolute incel or got away with everything in the film* and my coping by giving him more obvious guilt. Though, in fairness, Oogies Revenge, Kingdom Hearts and the fanbase didn't help that disparity by claiming Jack's just a cinnamon roll. Half of the reason "Ask Jack Skellington" prompts ever existed is so I could have an excuse to make Jack the spooky-doofy manchild of terror he is. I neglected that part of him for so long and he and Sally would be so upset with me. I failed you my babies.

>I think the joke of Jack being way too naive about how violent the other holidays actually are and/or oblivious to what adults use Halloween for is overdone in my work. I've done that gag like four times now I think.

>Unnecessarily hating on Lock, Shock, and Barrel for no reason. I think it shows just how much I didn't care for the characters before Zero's Journey came out.

>The Beetlejuice ask/reply comic from like 2015 or 16 whatever is not canon.

>Jack and Sally were too smexual in my earlier gags. Good god I REALLY hadn't figured out my asexuality, or theirs, for that matter.

>Like Jack suffering more +being too riddled by guilt, I think I made Oogie way too OP in my Oogie's Revenge (the prequel story to the entire comic) outline.

>This is a problem I have with all of my work but I hate the walls of text and run-ons all the characters do. It takes me out of my own fanfiction when it's just so obvious when I'm talking vs when the characters are. "Sally and the Doctor suffers from this a LOT".

>So many decisions made regarding plotpoints and plotlines that I think I muddled along the way or did way too quickly as it's obvious I don't have an exact outline for any of this fan stuff I'm throwing out. I really wanted to emphasize Harley and Mayor's blooming romance more than I did. They deserved so much better.

>AUGHTHEAWFULSELF-EDITED TEXT I DID IN 2015-2016 WAS TORTURE WHY DID I EVER THINK THAT WAS A GOOD IDEA???!

---

All of this is to say, one day, if Oddities or my patreon makes enough dough and my SSI sitch isn't so fragile or fluctuating- I really wanna hire a beta editor/artist to be my extra pair of hands in sprucing this comic up and making it more articulate, readable and complete for my liking. And yes, it HAS to be a hired job. I can't promise big bucks but I refuse to hand that kind of responsibility to someone without compensation. This comic's too big.

As far as what to expect from the comic after this year, here's all I can tell you for my endgame plan:

I plan to go until 2027, when this blog will be 13 years old.

I want to make next year special as it'll be 31 years of Nightmare Before Christmas then.

You're gonna get a new character soon. Don't worry; they won't distract from the og cast too much. In fact they literally go to jail.

More of Halloween Town in the human world to come.

More Wolfman and Vampire brothers shenanigans.

Jack and Sally past tyme.

One of these final years Ima do something really special with the other holiday worlds and leaders. You'll see.

None of the characters will double die but I will be basically ripping off a spongebob episode.

No one from Halloween Town is ever going to meet anyone from New Holland. You are going to get a Beetlejuice character, but not a full blown crossover.

))

[kaesaaurelia]

Apropos of the last reblog... whenever I have had doubts about the 1926 fic being well-received in fandom (I had a crisis about this when S2 was announced, and also again when S2 happened) [edit: also I'm using "well-received" as a euphemism for "I won't get crickets and will not get more than 5 people telling me I don't know canon"], my therapist is just like "Why don't you just publish it [commercially as original fiction]?" And like... I don't want to, that should be enough, but I foolishly make the mistake of saying "I don't want to do that, because I'd hate the result and it wouldn't sell anyway." But it's true.

First off, I'd have to fundamentally change the characterizations of not-Aziraphale and not-Crowley to be comfortable with publishing it, in ways that would make them much less appealing to me, because I like those characters. I could see myself writing origfic about Vehuel and Nisroc, and have posted some stuff to AO3 tagged "origfic" because people who would like it will find it more easily there than in the GO tag, but I don't think I'd feel comfortable publishing it for profit unless I changed the setting completely so it wasn't Comically Bureaucratic Heaven and Hell -- which I'd also want to do with the 1926 fic, because everyone who's read or seen Good Omens is going to instantly recognize it. It's not bad to be influenced by something, of course, but look, if I have to rework both the setting AND the characters that's a lot of work to make a story less itself. Had I had more interesting-to-me ideas for either story or characters I would have written those instead.

The other issue is I do not think she understands how LONG it is. People who aren't writers hear "1000 words" and think "wow that's a lot of words, that's like 20 pages, right?" People who aren't writers hear "400k words" and think "wow that's a lot of words, that's like a hundred pages, right?" People who are writers understand that 1000 words is the point during an average NaNoWriMo day where you're like "I don't think I can do this actually," and then you're annoyed with yourself because you barely wrote a page and a half, and that 400k words is "oh no the idea got away from them, RIP." No traditional publisher wants to publish something that's 400k unless it's by George R. R. Martin and it is specifically the thing they've been waiting for him to finish for several presidential administrations.

So I'd have to self-pub. Which I don't really feel like doing because, bluntly, I would not get anything out of it. I do not know how to market a 400k book that is a historical action/adventure story with a substantial queer romance B-plot, but also a lot of it is torture porn, but not like that, it's not dark romance, the romance is fluffy. There isn't a good marketing niche for this. I'd either have to take out the sex scenes or rewrite them to be more appealing to the market (which means less appealing to me, a person who has found maybe one explicit sex scene in self-published fiction that I was into, and surprise surprise, the author's webpage linked to their AO3 account) and if I rewrote them I'd probably do better condensing the story down drastically to 15-20k of mostly porn with a light dusting of historical fantasy, which is not what I wrote.

But back to the marketing: I'd have to build a social media following, something I am not good at, on a social media site that is doing well and not in crisis (how??? where???) and all my insecurities about posting things online would be magnified a hundredfold if a. I had to do that and b. money was on the line. If I'm posting on AO3, I won't get money, but I will (very occasionally) get people telling me they liked it, which I will probably enjoy much more.

Anyway, I don't want to go into all of this with my therapist because she keeps doubting any of these assertions -- as if I do not keep up with publishing drama, or know self-pub authors, or understand that fans can diagnose "they painted landlord white over my blorbos to publish this" at 50 paces -- so it takes the whole hour.

But when I just leave it as "I don't want to do that, because I'd hate the result and it wouldn't sell anyway" she hears it as "I don't think my writing is good and I think no one likes it [clearly a symptom of depression]" but what I am trying to convey is "I don't want to take a sledgehammer to my favorite things about this story just so I can pitch it to a commercial audience I didn't have in mind when I wrote it, and I do not want to waste my free time and energy for socializing professionally trying to get people to like me on social media, something you know full well makes me deeply unhappy even at a small scale."

[waitingtobebroken]

hey! is there a reason you don’t have a name in your profile? i wanted to greet you with it and then realized there was no name i could use :( here are some random asks anyways: what’s your favorite drink? what’s the last fanfic you read? what song would you recommend right now? do you prefer writing sad or happy stories? what’s your dream s3 scenario? 💖

Hey! Thank you so much for the ask 🥺 I grew up at a time when you were not supposed to tell anyone on the internet anything personal, so having people know my name still freaks me out a little bit!!! Sorry about that!

My favourite drink is iced coffee (I know, so basic!) The last two fanfics I read and absolutely adored were "and now all of my garden is grown in lavender" by ilikeblue - A fake relationship AU that is just so adorable and sweet and has the most amazing feel to it! I cannot recommend it enough! And the other is "Tales of Turning Pages" by @foolishlovers - Another human AU and the characterisation is just delightful. Aziraphale is an amazing flirt and Crowley is a precious oblivious baby but also so very smart and charming! Both are still WIP but they are really fun!!!

You have caught me on a day I've spent listening to the Glass Animals, so... Definitely Wyrd - Glass Animals. It sounds really fun and trippy but once you start listening to it, it's surprisingly dark! It's about the inevitability of your destiny and just... Go listen to it right now, haha!

Um, I like to write both, I think? It really depends on the way I feel on a given day. Like, sometimes the amazing people on my dash would not stop torturing me with ANGST for days and my brain would be incapable of writing anything nice and light and sometimes I'll just wake up, feeling silly. I don't think that one is more important than the other, there should be a nice little balance. That said, most of my favourite fics are definitely on the angsty side.

I did write something set during a theoretical season 3, so I think that, perhaps? It's called Haunted By Something Still Alive and it's about Crowley being a nanny to the reincarnation of Jesus, a sweet little girl named Mary. It's very angsty and deals heavily with the fallout of Aziraphale and Crowley's relationship. But if I could choose, really, I would like it to go like this (obviously, since I wrote it and I've always been my target audience anyway haha). I do want them to suffer a little bit, I would feel very disappointed if Crowley just completely disregards what happened and acts like everything is fine. But I would also feel like it's out of character if he is intentionally cruel to Aziraphale! So I find it ideal for him to help Aziraphale but also put some distance between them, to protect himself mostly. But also because it would emphasise how close they used to be and how much Aziraphale misses that! (Gosh, this turned into an essay, I'm so sorry!)

Thank you so much for the ask, this was so fun and it really made me think!!!

[servenas-inner-fangirl]

Watching Black Sails 3x7

My watching is picking up pace again, maybe because I'm procrastinating other things with it... like doing my taxes.

Oh damn, did Max know exactly where to find her?? - Pls don't fight, pls don't fight...

Oh, okay, this is a planned meet-up. Also Anne on a horse is doing things to me. She looks so cool!

"Fuck what he needs." My thoughts exactly.

Well that went well. But also I'm confused - what was the night at the cave Anne was referring to? Because the last time we've seen them together, Jack had definitely not been arrested yet.

Also Max arguing for Jack's life (and, granted, probably her own ambitions for Nassau...) is maybe a bit ironic?

"it will tear her to pieces." I just want my lesbians to be happy, is that too much to ask?? Appearantly...

"Now you come back with nothing but him -" Well, I for once am happy he did!! But the ships would've been nice as well.

Vane seems as into Flint's military speeches as the rest of us.

"I don't know yet." Not what you want to hear from your most important ally in that kind of situation! But the queen seems to know quite a bit about military strategy herself.

Man, I wish Jack were long gone by now! Alas...

Yes, pirate queen Madi soon!!

That man does not look healthy at all. A plague in Nassau is the last thing we need right now... or is it?

Yay, Jack is not being tortured!! - Wait, Rogers is married??

Nooo, don't give Jack to the Spanish!! Bad, bad governor! (And Max is genuinely upset. .__.)

Haha, I bet I know what Featherstone is thinking right now!

I don't think the Spanish need to provoke Anne at all, when they meet up with her without Jack, she will tear into them like a rabid dog.

Yes, wlw solidarity! Or something.

"I don't know what is worse, Anne dying for Jack or surviving without him." T_T

Oh, a peace offering!

Hm, maybe I don't know what Featherstone was thinking.

Vane is still really pissed about the whole thing, huh? That really got under his skin.

Oh wow, is Billy actually being helpful?? - Yes, Silver is back!!

I love every single sentence of that conversation between Max and Eleanor. God, this show does relationships between women so well even though there aren't that many.

Eleanor playing with fire, nothing new here...

Okay, maybe I feel for Rogers a bit. Who could resist a woman like her? - And it's been a while since the show has been that explicit, right? I kinda missed it. It somehow feels different than in a lot of other shows, more interesting.

Okay, that's an interesting post-sex topic. But it kind of feels like Nassau itself is fighting back against the foreign invaders.

"You're one of them." Man, you have no idea how much. Or do you?

And I don't really believe Eleanor when she says she no longer wishes to be that way. But Rogers appearantly does.

Love Vane being all sneaky. And Featherstone's "Hand over Jack or Nassau burns. This is a dilemma to us how?" is really funny.

Roger's dream of a new Nassau is already falling apart, one Featherstone at a time.

"He's fine. - He's dying." From falsehood to truth in under 5 seconds flat. But love for the slave girl from season 1 (who's appearantly named Eme, which I had forgotten) to get some plot! I always felt like she would be a bigger part of the narrative, and then she wasn't.

That's not a very full tavern for Silver's show. But it's probably safer that way.

Oof, and he's immediately back to insulting his audience. But I love that he's basically telling the ghost story Flint wrote for himself so long ago.

Oh, of course Madi knows Eleanor, they grew up together! But Madi should be careful about what she says, Eleanor did free Eme from slavery after all, there might still be some loyalty there...

Guess we're gonna find out who is already sick of civilized life and would rather go back on the account (or is simply more terrified of Flint than England).

It is such a delight to see Silver work. The man definitely has a way with words.

UGH, Dufresne. Somebody finally kill that guy.

I think he's making a mistake underestimating Silver here. A lot has happened since they last saw each other.

YES! (They're really controlling the room well with just a handful of men.)

Ewwwww. But yeah, that'll send a message. They couldn't have planned this better. (Also the Silver of S1 would have never. - Although - he did stab a man in the first episode.)

Aww, Flint checking up on Silver! - Ugh, these two are so co-dependent. No wonder everybody is insane over them.

Everybody like: Oh shit, Flint is alive! Rogers is about to find out Eleanor named the wrong pirate as the most dangerous one.

Rogers playing 5d chess in regards of how to (not) react to this newest development, and probably still coming up short in the end. There is no way Flint isn't already two steps ahead.

Idk if Max wants to help with this. Isn't this a way to get Anne (and Jack) out of harms way? She's gotta see this.

Either way, Idelle is not wholy on board, I think. But I love how much influence the whores have in this show because everybody always underestimates them.

Ugh, she is back. Is that wise? She wasn't very nice to the girls who do remember her. Why not Idelle?

But Max doesn't want some random whore, she wants Anne. ;_;

Huh, Flint is impressed. Maybe I did underestimate Rogers. Either way, this will certainly be a meeting to remember.

Oh god, Rogers immediately twists the knife that is Thomas Hamilton. Let's hope Flint won't jump over the table and try to strangle him. (And how much does Eleanor know about that whole story? Certainly not everything.)

"Nobody's being hanged." Well, except for Jack maybe?? Since you're giving him to the Spanish??

"So what is it you're fighting for that we're not already offering?" Revenge.

Also they're just gonna pardon the burning of Charlestown? Or did they blame all of that on Vane?

"I no longer seek anything from England except her departure from my island." Flint really has the best lines.

Featherstone trying to bring some brain cells to Vane's single-minded pursuit of Anne Bonny and the cache... but maybe in vain (haha).

If this gives me just one actual interaction between Charles and Anne, instead of them merely existing in the same space, I will be happy.

Those are maybe too many men to kill even for Bonny. But maybe not for the both of them?

Oh Anne! She's gonna think Max betrayed her! This is breaking my heart.

So this was the plan? Let the money get away and leave Anne ready for anything? Not a bad plan, but still.

Oh, they had already met up before! So Anne was playing a role. That explains how she gave up rather easily.

Vane has actually though this through!! Or maybe somebody else thought it through for him. And this also means that they're forcing Flint's hand, who might otherwise not be so interested in Jack's rescue.

I approve. Surely nothing will go wrong...