#Also also; I’m not saying this justifies anything said or done. In fact I think how unjustified some of it is just makes it more interesting

[kingly-court]

Anyways, someone on my last ramble said it’d be great to see other rambles, and thus. [Cracks knuckles] I’m buzzed and here to deliver. Lets talk about The Mind Electric. (Something something Just Personal Interpretation disclaimer)

Yeah, that three minute diss track! I’ll be honest; it was my introduction to Chonny’s stuff, so I’m definitely biased with how much I love this song (though it’s not my ultimate favorite), and with how much I love Mind as a character and a concept I’m doubly so.

Since I started getting into really analyzing the media and the characters, and small bits of cano lore within the CCCC album, it’s become a even more of fascinating little ditty. And listening to other people’s commentary and goofs about it has been amazing.

Specifically, it’s been fascinating since we got a sort of “canon”(for lack of a better word) order that the songs fall into with the album. And separated from the overall THA/TME/TSE video, the context of the song changes just a little bit for me. Particularly with the fact I switched from thinking Mind’s anger was the primary emotion behind the song, to thinking Mind’s anger was a secondary expression of something else entirely.

See, anger is something that is easy to default to when faced with other feelings that are significantly less easy to express, whether it be for people overall - or for someone specifically. And in Mind’s case; I think the sheer amount of, ironically, blinding and disorientating rage within TME is a thin veil for an intense and uncomfortable amount of fear.

The song, in my perception, switched from just a three minute diss track from some high and mighty dickhead - to the song equivalent of an animal trapped in a snare, lashing out at anything that gets close and hurting itself in an attempt to get free. SaaS was just before this. Mind is overwhelmed, in way over its head, doesn’t truly seem to like being in control, and is aware of that. Heart is likely aware of that. And rather then admit that, Mind is instead completely lashing out and trying to justify getting to stay in control, despite clearly not wanting to, by putting Heart down; trying to make them seem incompetent, incapable, and all that fun stuff. (It’s projecting. But that’s neither here nor there.)

Yes, Mind is pissed - its angry, its words are cruel and senseless and rely on baseless statements and hatred, trying to rid of Heart (or at least keep him out of the driver’s seat); yes, this is a habit of his and needs to stop. But I’m motioning to all this and saying that it doesn’t feel like he’s running on pure anger and spite alone. Its spiteful, yes, and its dislike of Heart stems from a variety of different places (both valid and invalid), but really it just seems to feel like he’s covering up something much more complicated - purposely leaning into ripping Heart a new one rather then really acknowledge anything its doing or feeling.

If it points fingers, after all, then hopefully no one will look at him; at the way its mechanical hands are shaking. And thus he can stay in control, and keep this whole song and dance safe and running (well, in its perception, but shhh).

[anamericangirl]

Since you clearly have trouble understanding why this ruling is so terrible, let me explain it to you.

SCOTUS said that the president has complete immunity when using his constitutional power, presumptive immunity for official acts, and no immunity for unofficial acts.

The constitution says that the president is commander in chief of the US military.

This means that it is the president's constitutional power to issue commands to the US military as its highest ranking official.

Let's say the president wants to kill you.

He doesn't have a justified reason to do this at all.

He just wants you dead and he's going to use the US military to do it.

BEFORE this ruling, the president using the US military to kill you, a private citizen of the United States, without any actual justified reason besides wanting you dead, would be considered murder.

Regardless of the fact that it is his constitutional power to be able to tell the US military to do ANYTHING, using the military to kill a US citizen like that is still murder, which is illegal, and so he can be held accountable for such a crime through impeachment.

AFTER this ruling, since it is his constitutional power to be able to tell the US military to do ANYTHING, and since he has COMPLETE IMMUNITY in regards to any use of his constitutional power, this means that he can kill you using the US military, which would be the crime of murder, without ever being held accountable.

SCOTUS just gave the current president, and every future president, the ability to use the US military to do anything they want and commit any crime without ever being held accountable and having no options for accountability.

If a president wanted to kill all his political rivals, or kill everyone of a specific political ideology, or kill everyone who didn't vote for him, or kill everyone who is gay, he can now do it, and there is absolutely nothing to stop him because he now has COMPLETE IMMUNITY to command the US military as he pleases without limit.

If this decision is allowed to stand, and isn't reverted at some point, America dies.

It ceases to be a free country.

It becomes a dictatorship.

If Trump became president, he could (if he wanted to) have an armed soldier stand next to every congressman and congresswoman, ready to shoot and kill them if they voted against his wishes, and there is absolutely nothing that could be done to stop him.

This SCOTUS decision, is THE WORST decision in the history of the United States, because it gives the president UNPRECEDENTED and UNLIMITED POWER through the use of the US military, whereas before, a president using the US military to commit a crime (or misusing ANY of his constitutional power to commit any crime) did not have immunity and could still be subject to impeachment.

If you're not worried, it's either because you don't understand it, or because you support it.

Hi, I don’t think you read very well because you somehow misunderstood a very simple sentence.

Me: this is how the law has always worked

You: LeT mE eXpLaIn WhAt HaPpEnEd If YoU dOn’T tHiNk It’S a BiG dEaL!!!11!!

Since when does knowing this isn’t new equal not being concerned about it?

And also, sweetie, I think you need to get someone to explain it to you because I’m sitting here laughing at your entire message. This ruling does not mean a President can just order the military to go on a killing spree.

You’re not equipped to explain this to anyone seeing as you don’t know what you’re talking about lmao

[bleue-flora]

What would it be like in the finale if c!sap or c!quackity confronted c!dream instead of c!tommy. Do you think we would have seen that “you just want friends” moment. I feel like c!sapnap possibly would understand reach that moment with c!Dream maybe better than c!tommy did but as for c!quackity I see no chance of that happening

The quick answer is no. I talked about it I think somewhere before, but it had to be Tommy. Tommy was the only one who could have brought that vulnerability out of Dream. And Tommy had to die and experience limbo from Dream’s pov for that all to happen. In other words, it was the ideal situation.

But let’s say it was Sapnap or Quackity. Let’s say they sent Q to stall Dream and let’s say Dream and Punz didn’t just kill him off the bat, but they allowed him to talk and then killed him and brought him back. What would have been Quackity’s reaction to Dream’s pov limbo?… honestly, I’m not entirely sure. I wouldn’t say I’m an expert on Quackity but here are my thoughts…

Well I don’t think he would be the selfless character to put himself in that situation in the first place, and Tommy also had an upper hand in the fact that his method of stalling was asking Dream why and for his pov. I imagine Quackity wouldn’t ask that though so wouldn’t experience the same limbo. So I imagine, Quackity’s likely method of stalling would be to accuse Dream and justify his own actions, maybe under the guise for Dream’s forgiveness, knowing that if he pissed off Dream then he’d just died and it wouldn’t really be a very good stalling tactic, would it? In other words, it likely wouldn’t be far off from his encounter in the Las Nevadas Finale or perhaps it would be similar to how he interacts with Wilbur.

Now let’s say regardless, Quackity experienced Dream’s pov limbo, then I don’t know, he’d probably use it in his manipulation and stalling tactics, maybe use it to mock Dream or turn Punz against Dream. Perhaps he uses the “you just want friends” to make fun of him - *read in condescending voice* “you say you want all this power and knowledge but really poor little Dream, just want friends” *theatric pout* … Whatever his reaction is it wouldn’t be to reach the understanding Dream and Tommy did, not just because Quackity is well… Quackity, but also because only Tommy could fix what he broke. Only Tommy had the power to change Dream, because it was him that ruined him in the first place, Q and Sam only got the leftovers of what Tommy had down by turning everyone against Dream, triggering that fundemental fear of being alone. It was Tommy and Wilbur that made Dream wonder how the freak did they show up and ruin everything, spurring his yearn for answers. Sapnap and Awesamdude were already in the server and Quackity is just the later infection taking over the wound Tommy left behind…

Having said that, it would have been interesting to see what Sapnap’s reaction would have been. I think like Quackity he wouldn’t be asking the questions of why like Tommy was to stall, because part of his problem is his assumption that he knows. His tactic probably would have been pulling Dream into a long fight and perhaps playing at Dream’s ego. Accusation and nostialga used as weapons - “remember me and you and George built the community house, and then you blew it up, Dream!”- If Sapnap experienced the same limbo, I wonder if it would have done anything more than remind Sapnap what he lost. Unlike Tommy, Sapnap did see Dream as good in the beginning so seeing his perspective at the beginning would not shatter any huge misconception for him. It probably would have just left him feeling angry. making the situation actually worse.

In other words, in order for Sapnap and Dream to reach a similar point as discduo, Sapnap needed a pov of more recent Dream to highlight his poor misconceptions, whether that’s of seeing Punz and Dream setting up the staged vault room, Dream learning about how everyone is trying to kill him, Dream being tortured in prison, or something especially something that highlighted an emotional part of Dream. But as for Q, though an argument could be made against it, I don’t think he wanted to make amends with Dream and unlike Sapnap and Tommy, I don’t think he was as oblivious to his actions of how they hurt people. I feel like he already saw Dream as a person and didn’t give a damn anyways. He did what he had to do, but he isn’t naive to how Dream feels. So there was no limbo that could change that. Perhaps more circumstances and character’s involvement could do something to change Q, but not just between him and Dream. (I think the situation with Purpled and Q would have been more the opportunity to reach that understanding like that of disc duo, but we already know how that turned out.)

So to summarize - Sapnap already knew Dream’s pov in the beginning so seeing it would not have radically changed anything. What he would need is an experience of something more recent Dream that shows Dream has emotions (maybe even specifically feelings for missing Sapnap) and isn’t some just crazy control freak. Then it would more so be feasible for a similar unfolding as Dream and Tommy had to happen. Quackity on the other hand, I don’t get the feeling had a misconception about Dream that needed to be changed so there was no Limbo that would matter. Maybe that’s wrong of me to say and judge Quackity so harshly, but I honestly don’t get the impression he sees Dream as less than human in a way that resulted in what we got in the disc duo finale…

Hopefully that answers your question or at least lays out my 2 cents. I think @elmhat has also talked similarly about alternative finale options so I recommend looking at what they had to say if you haven’t already.

[blank468]

Oh look another unhinged wonder boy Stan who thinks every scene with Bakugo and Deku has to deal with romance. Once again I’m not revealing who this person is to protect their identity but you’ll most likely find them on Twitter if you search hard enough. Three things in particular that proves that they don’t care about what’s happening in the story or if it even makes sense. The only thing that’s important to the eyes of these people is whether the Green Jesus and the Creator’s pet will bang or not.

I’m not sorry.

“Katsuki being overly protective in their relationship, he's always making sure to keep Izuku in line. In an actual relationship it's good to have a partner who is making sure you're not mistakingly saying anything private or personal.”

This person tries to claim that after their second fight, Bakugo was being over protective to Deku as in the way he acts and treats him moving forward is another sign of love. Yeah because him throwing his sharp head piece into Deku head causing him to bleed is a sign of protection and love. Deku in that scene wasn’t even talking about his improvements with Blackwhip out in the open, he said that all in his head. The only I can think of as to B***h boy doesn’t like to see Deku be happy about anything. How romantic.

There was also that one scene in the Endeavor Agency arc where Deku was explaining his quirk and how he wants to improve to Endeavor and Bakugo gets triggered. People like to make the argument that Deku was telling him way too much information about OFA, but does it really matter? Endeavor surprisingly understood what Deku meant and didn’t reveal anything that would get him caught.

I know that Deku almost revealed OFA out in the open(USJ Arc), but that clearly on accident and was in fear for All Might’s condition. And after that he clearly understood how important it was to keep the secret hidden, until the neighbor’s Pomeranian decided to step in and make things insufferable.

So basically Deku was actually being the smart one with these situations and Bakugo was just full of s**t.

“Being vulnerable in a relationship is also important because you feel safe and comfortable enough to show your true emotions around the other, which is Katsuki in this case.”

While being vulnerable is essential in a relationship, that does excuse your behavior and how you treat your partner especially if it’s extremely toxic and stressful. This series can go on all it wants on how Sweaty Pits here feel insecure and vulnerable when he doesn’t get what he wants, but none of that changes that fact that Bakugo had no right to defend himself or justify his shitty behavior when he knows what he’s done is wrong. And even after he EXPRESSES his emotions after losing in technicality to Deku in the battle trials and throwing a child like tantrum all because he wasn’t picked to be All Might’s successor, it doesn’t really matter cause the story finds a way to reward him and guilt trip Deku for no reason.

“Katsuki wants to spend the rest of their lives chasing each other. He wants a future with Izuku and he broke down in front of him cause he's scared they won't be able to.”

Yeah cause apparently there aren’t enough moments where D**k cheese here wins against Deku. All the physical and mental torment Deku had to go through has no meaningful conclusion and are now pointless because the story now decides it wants to support the worst kind of deviant behavior. We have to go through another damn fight/situation that goes through the same process.

1. Deku and My Sweaty Pits git in to a fight.

2. Deku despite being broken AF loses to Bakugo

3. More gloating

I just accepted that Horikoshi will never let his main character beat his most popular character ever in a fight. We’re just supposed to accept the idea that Bakugo is able to beat Deku despite the fact that his victim has several different quirks that could have killed him. I can only imagine if get another round with these two idiots, we all now who’s going to come out on top.

In conclusion, this person and the rest of these stans are delusional.

[thenamessparkplug]

The Bad, The Worse, and The Downright Idiotic

A Wiatt Nicholson Analysis

YOU GUYS HAVE NO IDEA HOW LONG I HAVE WAITED TO VERBALLY KILL THIS DUDE. I HAVE BEEN STRANGLING HIM WITH MY MIND SINCE THE COLLAPSE OF THE BUILDING. AND THIS IS WHY.

DISCLAIMERS!! : One, I have absolutely nothing against any of the writers on this show! You all are doing a fantastic job for how small this series is and I do genuinely adore the work you guys do < 3. Second, I want to make it clear that I do not condone anything Sara has done on her own terms. And she has done bad things on her own terms. She has done horrible things and I do not think that should be brushed under the rug. I do, however, believe her to be redeemable. 

(side note I did get a lil sidetracked when talking about sara, whom I also have strong feelings towards and'll prolly get her own rant in the future)

What has Wiatt done?

Now Wiatt seems to have his heart in the right place, however good intentions hardly amount to much when your actions directly cause death, suffering, and irreversible damage.  

He can’t tell that so much of what’s going on is because Litho knows he’s going to lead people directly into his own plans. This especially became evident in the last episode. Did he not remember the risks of anything relating to Litho?? Why on earth would he think it was safe for Pen, Lisa, or even Hayden whom narrowly survived? 

I know by this point to take everything character’s say with a grain of salt (and I know this isn’t directly Wiatt’s fault either), but I really wanna get into what Hayden said while yelling at Wiatt. He states that since he arrived at dreamworld, someone has gone missing every week. Wiatt has worked here for at least a year. Even considering taking a month off for the collapse fiasco, that is 47 weeks. 47 people. THAT IS INSANE. Even cutting that number in half for hyperbole’s sake that’s still 23 missing people since Wiatt started. Jesus christ man. 

What else has he done? He broke Starlight after recklessly jumping into a hole, got wtdw!rainbott seemingly mindwiped, recorded entirely private and frankly unrelated moments and UPLOADED them, been responsible for the deaths of his coworkers (to name a few anyways), and what does he have to show for it? A police station that thinks he’s insane. He couldn’t possibly have been more tactless trying to convince them to begin an investigation. 

It seems he thinks that because the people he’s against are bad, that automatically makes him good - in the right - but he is so blinded by his sense of a binary wrong and right he fails to see the horrible things he himself has caused. 

Against the Antagonist

I wanna talk about Sara for a second. From what we’ve learned thus far, and I know we haven’t gotten all that many Sara scenes, almost all of what Sara does seems to be attempting to clean up a mess she made many years ago, in comparison to Wiatt who does absolutely nothing but stir the pot.

Sara is stuck here; she is bound to Litho and cannot escape no matter how hard she wants to. She had friends. She’s doing what Litho wants because she has to. We saw what happened when she tried to defy him. Wiatt is only here because of one connection, but could literally leave whenever he wants no harm no foul.

Now the Norman thing I am curious about, because so far, I can’t figure out why 1. she killed him in the first place and certainly 2. why she kept the footage of it. She never seemed to hate Norman, if anything she would be against him for clearly being infatuated with Andrew, and I can’t really blame her for that? I mean nothing is enough to justify murder, but it wouldn’t be in cold blood. I’m also assuming this is before Dreamworld Entertainment due to the fact that Norman seemingly had no involvement. Another odd thing not only was he rebuilt to look exactly like he did when he was alive, but he retained all of his memories as well, and was given a higher power among the staff of Watchful Eye Toys, with memory control himself.

Whatever happened during his death must have been important.

But back to Wiatt. All of Sara actions, albeit terrible, were calculated and she did what she believed was necessary. Wiatt has no concept that his actions have consequences, so all he does is messy things up, making everything far worse than it needed to be.

Why should I care? (Comparison to Eric)

At the very beginning when Eric is first introduced, we are given no reason to care at all about him. I mean, we know he was friends with Lewis but that’s not enough to really grow any attachment to him. We start learning little facts about him, but when it really clicks is during the secret tapes.

Seeing Eric outside of the main plot, his real personality, his hopes, his dreams, his struggles starting from a young age up until how he is today. We’re given the chance to build connections with him and see him as a real person, a character with depth. Knowing his motivations and what built him makes it so easy to grow extremely attached, making any horrific things hit much harder.

Now moving back to Wiatt, we really don’t get to see the real him. We see him once interacting with Lewis, but even that was simply for plot relevance. We really know nothing about him. Even his transition, which would be so easy to capitalize on seeing as the viewership of Dreamworld is highly LGBTQ+, and many people would relate. But we get more about Mike’s transition than Wiatt, and he’s only ever had one real scene as himself.

That’s not even dipping into who Wiatt is as a person. What are his passions? Who are his loved ones outside of just Lewis? What was school like for him? What got him into the mechanic business? Who took care of him after his parents died? I understand this can be hard to smoothly integrate into a story but look how well it worked with Eric’s tapes.

Now this is getting much more into the writing side of the show, but I think something that's kind of lacking is character building filler. As much as having a concise plot is nice, without scenes or even full episodes dedicated to fleshing out our cast, it makes it really difficult to connect.

There’s so so much of his character to explore that we just never get into, and it kinda makes it hard to root for him when there’s nothing backing his character. Just like, a few more tapes of Wiatt would be plenty, something outside of Lewis. I would love to see his relationships with other characters (you cannot build a sense of character off one single relationship), how he views himself, just anything.

Its incredibly difficult to analyze a character when they seemingly have no depth.

In Conclusion

I am not a fan of Wiatt as it currently is (understatement of the year), but good god am I persuadable. I just want Dreamworld to give me a reason to root for him. Something to sympathize with, relate to. Have him improve. Allow him to realize his mistakes, and become a better person for that.

I don’t think he’s a lost cause.

But give me a reason to believe that.

[jacquesthepigeon]

I know I'm not saying anything new or groundbreaking, but if you think about it, the writers really don't know how to incorporate characters into the narrative unless it is for pointless romantic drama or to be manipulated by Lila.

I'd say the treatment Luka and Kagami got in season 5 is the best example of it.

Kagami got to keep appearing because they used her as, say, a sort of catalyst for Lila's "solo villain" arc. Never mind it made no sense because Kagami had already been akumatised by her actions and was quite literally in Chat Noir's arms when he said she couldn't be trusted back in Oni-chan, or even the fact that after Protection that friendship served no further purpose other than Kagami informing Lila she wasn't invited to the Diamonds Ball because she was a nobody. Because, let's face it, they really didn't need to drag one of the best characters through the mud like that for something that could have been done by either Chloé (by virtue of being Lila's willing accomplice and haughty enough to brag about such a thing) or Gabriel (who at that point was quite done dealing with the brat he himself gave power to in the first place).

And aside from that, she also kept appearing for two reasons: her original, lingering feelings for Adrien and the fact that their parents wanted them to end up together kept feeding the Adrienette drama, and then she got her own share when her character was basically retooled into Félix's girlfriend and willing accomplice.

Compare it to Luka's situation. His only real major role was in Migration because his supportive and mature personality meant he was no longer involved in the romantic aspect of the show, and it would have been even more egregious to have him fall for Lila's lies when he is a living lie detector thanks to his ability to hear people's inner music. Notice how the two have NEVER interacted.

And what happened to him? He was unceremoniously booted for the remainder of the season (except the finale, I guess) despite his very important role of being Ladybug and Chat Noir's secret secret-keeper, which was admittedly a much more compelling angle than "Adrienette: The Star-Crossed Lovers" or "How to Use a Lying 14-Year-Old to Justify Your Terrorist Abusive Father Villain Being Redeemed" routes the season took.

God, this got long.

Legit they had no clue what to do with them and honestly I’m grateful Luka got shipped off to learn magic kung fu in Brazil when the alternative was the huge fucking mess they made with Kagami

If I’d had my way and Adrien was involved with the plot, Kagami (alongside Nino) could’ve served as support for figuring out their parent’s’ evil plans and putting a stop to them. No Lila, no arranged marriage, no Felix, just her and her buds uncovering Evil Secrets.

Similarly, I’d have had Luka (alongside Alya) serve as support for Marinette as she figures out Guardian stuff without the deadbeat daddy drama

[hello-eeveev]

Okay okay I’ve seen some takes regarding Orym on twitter (specifically about his relationship to Laudna) that I feel the need to refute but I have a lot of thoughts and also I don’t want to get into fights so hi tumblr! rant below the cut 😊

(tl;dr I think the bell’s hells are doing the best they can in a series of complicated situations, but people are expecting a kind of inter-party conflict to come from it that doesn’t line up with the text and I don’t get it, so I guess I must become Orym’s #1 defender, feat. a defense of the c3e63 decision, Ludinus Da’leth hate, and big big feelings about Keyleth and Vax)

Take: Orym is uncomfortable with Laudna’s weirdness/creepiness, as evidenced by him always bringing it up and trying to hide and obscure her undead presence.

My opinion: Laudna loves the fact that she’s creepy. She revels in it. Orym/Liam pointing it out in narration is part flavor text, part acknowledging an important aspect of Laudna. It’s like how he always makes sure everyone knows that Orym is Small. Not to mention, Marisha brings it up in her narration as much as Liam does.

During Laudna’s resurrection ritual, Orym says, “I don’t know what Bell’s Hells will be without your darkness, Laudna. Or your light.” He values both sides of her!

Regarding Orym’s disguises for Laudna (i.e. dressing her in white in bassuras, adding flowers to her hair to give her more color in hearthdell), again I don’t think this is a sign of Orym’s discomfort with her. Remember, Orym is a bodyguard. His job is to protect others, protect the group. Yes, several members of Bell’s Hells will draw eyes, but notably, Laudna—being undead-ish, with the Unsettling Presence feature and a canonically scary physical appearance—might strike fear into others. And fear makes people more willing to resort to violence than, say, being surprised by the presence of a robot or a faun. It’s not about making her palatable, it’s about keeping all of them safe. It’s bodyguard behavior.

Also, Orym only does this when they are actively avoiding drawing attention to themselves, and as far as I know, Laudna has only had a problem with it once.

Take: Laudna looked to Ashton and Orym for what to do during the scuffle with Bor’Dor, and Orym encouraged her to let Delilah back in, all because he’s hell-bent on revenge and thinks he can use Delilah’s power to get it. He actively disregarded Laudna’s well-being to further his own goals.

My opinion: No, she wasn’t looking to them for what to do. Marisha said it herself: Laudna was barely present. She couldn’t even hear Deni$e suggest keeping Bor’Dor alive; what makes you think she’s going to see a singular nod from Orym 15 feet away? She had already done Hunger of the Shadow, was already cloaked in the “purple-ish glowing hue that hasn’t been seen in a while,” and Matt had mentioned the heartbeat long before Liam ever said anything. Laudna had already let Delilah back in before Orym nodded and before she killed Bor’Dor. It was a horrible situation all around, but Orym did not convince Laudna to let Delilah back in for his own purposes. It is not his fault that Laudna embraced Delilah’s power or that Bor’Dor died. Laudna made her choice, as heartbreaking and conflicting as it may be, so let her live with it.

And for the record, I think they were justified in killing Bor’Dor. He attacked them with a pretty powerful spell (he did Vitriolic Sphere at its baseline 4th level, which is the second highest level spell he had) and nearly killed Prism in the process. Yes, Bor’Dor did a bit of waffling back and forth between “I’m gonna kill you!” and “just let me die,” but him being a pathetic mess is nothing new. He still tried to kill them all. If they let him live, there was no guarantee he wouldn’t try it again.

I don’t know how to impress this upon people who haven’t already gotten it from just watching the show, but the Ruby Vanguard is a bad group. Ludinus Da’leth is a bad person. He may have convinced some members that his goals are noble, but they aren’t. He is misleading people for his own gain, because guess what? The concept of free will exists even with the existence of the gods! People are allowed to worship them or not, and the gods aren’t smiting people down for refusing to worship them (otherwise Keyleth would be long dead, y’all. she said out loud to the champion of the raven queen that they should use her power while it benefitted them and then find a loophole to get Vax out of her service. and she is so valid for that. 15/10 would do the same).

We had a PC, a dozen or so NPCs, and an entire arc last campaign—and then a whole 4-part series!—that dealt with wizard hubris and its unfortunate consequences. Ludinus was one of those NPCs! What makes you think that Mr. “let’s steal a holy artifact and instigate a war” “should try friends sometime” “Essek looks forward to never seeing his face again” “Trent Ikithon can keep abusing children it’s not my problem” Da’leth suddenly has people’s best interests in mind?

He and the Ruby Vanguard need to be stopped, and Orym, being a person whose driving motivation is “to protect,” is willing to do what needs to be done, even when it sucks.

Take: ooohoohoo Orym’s alignment might be shifting! We need Dorian to get him back on track!

My opinion: No? To both these statements? Firstly, Orym’s alignment isn’t shifting, at least I don’t think so. I’m not an expert on D&D alignments (I think they should be more descriptive than prescriptive/ultimately they matter less than character choices, arcs, and narratives), but I would guess that fighting to maintain the balance of nature and to stop those that would harm others for their own gain is still pretty in line with neutral good? I could maybe see an argument for that being more lawful good, but it didn’t seem like those people were talking about a shift along the horizontal axis.

Secondly, I think Dorian would do the exact same thing Orym is doing. Was that not the whole draw of the Spider Queen’s crown during ExU Prime? Power to protect and save his friends? So I don’t think Dorian would see anything wrong with how Orym is acting, much less take him to task over it.

Take: Look! Orym told Keyleth about Imogen’s mom and said “I don’t care” when Imogen complained! Bad! Mean! Selfish!

My opinion: idk that felt more like Liam being a brat to Laura than anything else.

Like, yes Liam/Orym had his own goals in that convo which were unexpected and uncomfortable, but I don’t think he was wrong to point that out. The moment Keyleth swore to take down Liliana, you could feel everyone in Bell’s Hells get really tense, and I am certain that Keyleth, who has 20 wisdom and ~30 years of experience leading her people and politicking, clocked that instantly. And Orym would have clocked that immediately, and in an effort to make sure that their group had the confidence of a very powerful druid and world leader, decided that full transparency was the way to go.

And I don’t know, this is largely speculation, but Keyleth having that information might mean that she will make sure Imogen doesn’t have to be the one to take down Liliana? Or it might make her more sympathetic and willing to show some mercy to her?

Leaning more fully into speculation bc this relies mostly on inference and assumption: while I do think that Keyleth deserves to know what’s going on with Vax, withholding that information at this juncture might have been another tactical decision from Orym. We don’t know how Keyleth has mourned over the last 30 years, but we know that she’s been angry and we know that losing Vax was and is devastating. I feel like finding out that the love of your life (“forever and ever and ever and always” “I’ll never get over you”) is suffering extreme torment such that the followers of his god are in a period of mourning, basically implying that you’ve lost him all over again, that potentially the one reassurance that you would see him again has been ripped from you, etc., etc. would cause anyone to break down on a good day. Add on the fact that Keyleth is gravely, gravely injured, and you’re basically asking for her to be completely out of commission, because 1) holy moly talk about new trauma, old trauma, grief, longing, guilt, etc. bro I’m an emotional wreck just thinking about Vax and I’m not the one living through it, and 2) that would be a lot of stress on her already extremely stressed body, the consequences of which could be very bad.

It’s a tough decision to make, and while I’m not sure I 100% agree with Orym’s, I think it’s a defensible position.

Anyway thanks for reading this far, I hope you enjoyed my analysis. Again, I don’t want to fight or get into arguments, but I’m down for some brief discussions! Emphasis on brief because I can fall into a rabbit hole very easily, which means this will be the only thing I can think of and I have other things I want to do, shadowgast to write, fearnechetney to draw, and this post already took several hours over two days to write after weeks of mental build up.

[encouraging-growth]

Hiatus

Hi all.

Today I come to you to discuss something that I’ve been in severe denial of for a very long time: I’m burnt out and want to stop making content. To find out why, continue reading below the cut.

Well, perhaps “burnt out” isn’t necessarily the correct phrase, but rather I’ve been feeling a lot of detachment and even despair regarding my audios/fics for well over a year (more heavily since grad school started last August). I feel like I’m always behind, never able to catch up, never able to get ahead, and, most frequently as of late, never in the mood to work on anything. In fact, it feels like a burden more often than not, especially during the school year (which is understandable, considering, y’know, schoolwork), but even during the summer, I find myself struggling to want to put anything out.

Starting Beautiful Things has only exacerbated the issue. I feel incredibly passionate about Beautiful Things, and I believe in its quality and value and merits of being published far more than I have with any other work I’ve ever planned, started, or finished. But ever since starting it in June, I’ve been operating under the mentality of “I need to get as much done now as I can because once the school year starts, I’ll have to push it aside to focus on schoolwork and OF content.”  But then I thought to myself, “Well…should I? Should I put BT to the side when I feel so passionately about it in favor of something I’m not passionate about? Should I unravel all the diligent work I’ve been doing this past month and a half for the sake of something that causes me significantly more stress than satisfaction?”

The more I think about it, the less I can justify saying yes.

The biggest gripe, of course, is the financial implications. I don’t make a *ton* of money doing content, but I average between $300 and $400 a month, depending on MV performance and customs, and that’s a decent enough paycheck that I hesitate to lose it. But again, I just don’t think I can justify forcing myself to produce work that isn’t bringing me joy.

Now, all that said, I won’t be fully shutting everything down and wiping myself from the face of the internet. YouTube and DeviantArt will remain as they are, and the OF will also remain open at a discounted rate ($5/month, which is the minimum OF will let me charge) for access to the audio archive. I’ll still be active on Tumblr, as I have been for a while, but I won’t be creating any new content (outside of Beautiful Things) for at least a few months—if not ever again. I don’t want to speculate too far into the future, but if I see a significant boost in my mental health after a few months of not worrying about OF posting, then that is a bridge I will have to cross.

I do want to extend a massive thank you to everyone who’s supported me, especially those who have paid for subscriptions, and even more especially those who have been around since the Patreon days. This community has been an immense source of comfort, confidence, and validation, both for my writing ability/creativity as well as my personality and even physical appearance. Again, I’m not planning on fully disappearing from the community forever; I’ll still be active on here, and I’ll probably also come onto OF every few weeks or so to let those who are left there know how I’m doing—I just won’t be putting any new content out for the foreseeable future.

I’ll be making the necessary updates to OF and other platforms within the next few days. For now, though, I hope you enjoy the archive, and though I’ll be sparse, remember:

Keep eating.

—EG

[exitpursuedbyavulcan]

I nearly lost my mind at the latest WIB chapter!! You’re right, she’s a big one and a beauty at that.

Oh gods where to start?

My take on Alys’ character here is that it may come off as self-serving but she’s only done what it took to survive. Even wifey herself acknowledged the possibility of her doing the same to Daemon should the need arise. But Aemond, well, I have no words. He said he was scared and the first time they did it was apparently necessary to get him to calm down. But as Alys narrates, the other times he needed her vision possibly didn’t so I don’t know whether this means Aemond sought her out himself or… but I do like to think that she made him believe it was necessary to ensure her survival. I also believe her when she said she doesn’t love him, again, I’m choosing to believe she does it not because she wants to harm wifey but because it’s the only way she’ll survive until the war is over. Hence why she chose to withhold sharing the information wifey had a delicate pregnancy because it meant Aemond would have returned to wifey and not come back, thus possibly jeopardizing Alys’ situation. I mean if anything it seemed people at Harrenhal defers to Alys.

As for Aemond, despite Alys claiming he doesn’t love her, I can’t tell if he has feelings for her or if it is out of consideration for his child with her. It seems his actions are contradictory because as wifey observed, Alys resides in servant’s quarters but likely a steward’s implying she does rise above her station but not quite to raise suspicion, he called her to his rooms, frequently but didn’t stay with her, he spilled his seed inside her but didn’t think of the consequences.

Also, he intended to bring back Alys with him to the Red Keep as a wet nurse. Their physical affair would end BUT she would likely raise both wifey and her children. So it is a win-win for him because he’d know all his children while wifey remained oblivious and Alys would finally get out of Harrenhal. But I’d like to say he repeated Visery’s mistake.

In connection with that, I’d like to point out that flashback where Aemond felt apathetic towards his father because he refused to mete out punishment for his eye. I think it’s a bit of dramatic irony because while he swore he’d never subject his children to that kind of treatment, hence why he’s shown or implied to care for his bastard but in doing so, it also condemned wifey. And I think what hurts more is that wifey IS the wife, one he claims he so loves. But in his desire not to be neglectful as his father he ironically ended up becoming the same person because he wanted to have his cake and eat it without consequences. What’s even more hurtful is the fact that while Alicent and the Green kids played second fiddle to Rhaenyra and Aemma’s ghost, it is somewhat understandable considering they were sort of the second family. Not saying they deserved Visery’s neglect or I’m justifying it but sometimes these things CAN happen whereas wifey should be the first priority but she’s made to feel like she isn’t because she’s been played a fool. It doesn’t help that Alys presents an air of benevolence and sympathy, and her saying “He does love you, princess. Very much. I’m sorry that I have made you doubt that” is just “conseulo de bobo” in my opinion. If I’m not mistaken it means fool’s comfort or mock consolation. In my country, this saying is often used as a band aid gesture if a person lost (i.e. election, race, etc) and they don’t want to make the person look stupid.

Basically Alys saying it feels inconsequential in the grand scheme of things because really, it sounds like a mockery after all that’s happened because “oh don’t worry, i’ll live in the red keep nursing my child and yours but don’t worry! Aemond still loves you!” It would also leave a bitter taste in my mouth.

Lastly, it seems wifey is due for a miscarriage induced by the sheer emotional stress she went through, similar to Rhaenyra losing her daughter. But a small, wicked part of me wants her to lose it so she can get that annulment, cite her inability to produce an heir, and spill the beans that Aemond already has a backup so there’s no need for her. And she should run off to the north just to spite Aemond hahaha. I don’t know how they’ll move forward but I know I’ll be in for a treat 😜

I was SO excited to see such a long, detailed ask! Thank you so much! I'm gonna go through this point by point.

You're spot on with the first paragraph about Alys!

Aemond definitively does not have any affection for Alys. Everything that seems intimate was 100% for the baby’s sake. The new fancy digs for Alys and all the baby tricks he learned. He probably did have a panic attack at some point about not being able to do it with Wifey, but Alys assured him that she had her mother and siblings and stuff, so she’d be fine. It didn't totally make him feel better, but it calmed him down enough that he didn't run home.

I love the analogy with Viserys! He kind of did it in reverse, though. Vizzy neglected his second wife and his children with her in favor of his daughter by his first wife to make up for what he'd done to Aemma. Aemond neglected his wife and her children, not really in favor of, but out of consideration for his bastard child with a mistress, because he didn't want to subject anyone else to the neglect he faced.

The apology Alys gave was genuine. Like she said, she didn't regret the affair because in her mind, it saved her life, but she does regret that it caused Wifey to suffer. If her visions had shown her that all this suffering would happen, maybe she would have tried a different route? Maybe she would have deemed it an acceptable price. We'll never know...

[jmdbjk]

Quality anon time:

Addressing a few anons in my inbox:

Anon: “It's really sad that you're a jikooker but you use the same narrative of taekookers, saying that only jimin mentions jungkook. Why you didn't say that also jungkook mentions jimin sometimes?” 

Me: Okay anon... Jungkook mentions Jimin sometimes. Happy now? 

If you don’t know by now where I stand on all this you should just keep scrolling past my blog. I would say, “you obviously never read anything I’ve said” but in your same ask you say “long post to justify the fact that Jungkook never supported jimin in this solo era” so I know you read THIS particular “long post”. Go read some more of my past posts to see where I stand on your incorrect take of what I wrote. But you seem like the type of person who thrives on drama, searches it out, reads things that you don’t agree with, just so you can seethe and unload all of your negative petty judgemental energy on someone you don’t know. The internet and anonymous make that easy for you.

Anon: “Don't you dare to compare tae with jimin...Don't try to minimize Jimin's relationship with Jk only because you want to defend your precious Tae.”

Me: another ignorant person who hasn’t read anything I’ve ever said. ...instructing me to stop spreading a narrative that jikook and taekook are the same kind of relationship. [insert loud laughing rolling on the floor...ROFL] This person also states they are not a jikooker or Tae anti...and goes on to say “Taehyung started mentioning Jk's name all the time unprovoked only during this solo era, ...His purpose is clear even if you close your eyes.” 

Which makes me want to elaborate: A few people are very angry with Tae and believe he has an “agenda.” I don’t have an explanation as to why he mentions Jungkook. Last time was because they were gaming with some of Tae’s other friends. We don’t know what Tae’s real motivation is. Maybe Tae really wishes JK would do a live with him? And they DID manage to do that Instagram live for a few minutes...

But to me, they just don’t have the same chemistry as Jimin and Jungkook. The insta live very much gave me this vibe:

I don’t know what else you want me to say that I’ve not said before. They are doing a pretty good job by themselves dispelling any thought that Tae and Jungkook’s chemistry (awkward?) is the same as Jimin and Jungkook (chemistry through the roof).

And Tae IS precious because he is one of the seven members. He’s not my bias, though...that’s for sure. But I will give his restaurant show they filmed in Mexico a chance when it airs.

Anon: JK was drinking heavily for two days in a row... His home looks like a bachelor pad. He seems down & depressed & even said he's not motivated to do anything. How is this not concerning & taken lightly? I'm worried about JK & JM seems worried too & I think that's why JM came live to tell him to stop, cause it is very concerning seeing JK like that.

Me: I do not consider 3 or 4 beers "heavy" drinking. But if you, personally, or if you are from a culture that doesn't normally consume alcohol, you may think that is a lot. Having a few beers everyday is very common where I'm from. 

About JK staying at home for days and days: Jin once said: “resting is not putting meaning into time spent for self-improvement... those days when you’ve done absolutely nothing, that people might look at you and say, ‘You wasted your day away.’ That’s the kind of living that gives me rest.” Obviously Jungkookie agrees.

Jungkook didn’t seem sad to me. He was singing for us as usual on the first day and then on the second day went on about with getting his mukbang ready and his Netflix going. If you thought he seemed sad, you were projecting your own emotions on to him. Fun fact: There is a contestant in the show he was watching that he has met in person...the MMA champion guy who is older than most of the other contestants. 

And yeah... in my opinion, THAT apartment is not his HOME. It looks like an alternate place to me, but you are entitled to your opinion too. That clothing rack... if you live there and that’s your home, why would you keep a rolling rack of empty hangers in front of the main bedroom door?

Why am I not concerned about Jungkook? because I'm not projecting imaginary emotional drama on him and I'm not an alarmist. There is no crisis. I employ critical thinking within the context of everything I know about Jungkook, Jimin and what they've shown us all these years. I am pretty tuned in to what their personalities are like. Neither of them have given me any reason to be concerned. 

Jimin was laughing in his comments. “ㅋ” by itself in Korean slang means “LOL”. So ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ would be LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL... Jimin didn’t come into the live to tell Jungkook to stop. He came because he saw the Weverse notice that his Kookie-pookie was doing a live broadcast and spending time with Army again and Jimin was having to work. He was laughing because he knew his Kookie was going to do whatever the hell he wanted as in fuck a rule of no drinking during a live. 

The severity of tunnel vision some of you have is incredible. Many of y’all need to lift your heads up from those fanfics, edited video clips and elaborately concocted narratives based on nothing and look around at real life for a little while... like make a friend or two or have a real life relationship involving real emotions and sex. It’ll make a big difference in how you view the world. 

And since I have a habit of letting asks sit in my inbox to marinate with time (read: wait for Miss Karma to show up as usual) these Anons just look like a bunch of mouthy assholes now. 

But I don’t want this post to just be a big downer... here are some Anons who are genuinely nice and have interesting thoughts and questions:

Anon: Not a question but a statement: “If only people would translate without agenda.”

Me: I KNOW RIGHT? Just like fake emotional drama anon above... people insert their own interpretations into translations. Then are quick to defend themselves stubbornly without being open minded to realize there are other ways to interpret what is being said. It’s important to look at several trusted non-biased translators. Native Koreans are who I trust. And yes, google translate can also clarify some things but you should not depend solely on that to understand what is being said. 

Anon: “...was there any instances where Jungkook made sure people understood that his relationship with Jimin is different than his relationship with the other members?”

Me: Jungkook differentiates his relationship with Jimin from the others all the time, except it is usually not intentional. It is a subconscious natural reaction. Watch him and you will see it. I think that people who cannot see it just are not tuned in to such things or refuse to believe that Jimin means a lot to Jungkook.

Depending on what your relationship is with someone, you will subconsciously seek out physical contact with them. You will want to be closer to them, whether sitting or standing. Even within your closest circle, if you have one you are even closer to, you will tend to act differently with them than you do with the other friends...even during work...

Anon: “Why should anyone, now or later be concerned with Jungkook stopping his work? ...Fans are so dramatic.”

Good question, Anon...you certainly won’t find much concern from me until he gives me reason to be concerned and so far, I’m not concerned. And yes, fans are so dramatic in every sense. Jungkook already told us last year he had nothing going on. So why is it a surprise to some to see Jungkook emerging from being a hermit when he already told us he had nothing going on? He said he was going to get back into shape by getting back to eating right and look at him working out! 

Anon: “...why Jungkook is not denouncing tkk?...why not stop some of the other rumors ?”

Maybe you should ask Jungkook yourself because he’s not answering my texts.

[phocidine]

I feel like there’s a disconnect between what fans frustrated with Bad’s character want for consquences and what Bad’s fans consider consquences.

(Explanation below)

Bad was self-harming via modded minecraft bird and having concerning lapses of memory and getting hit in the kneecaps every 2 seconds by purgatory and mourning over his children. And now he’s lost his memory and is either dying from a nuke blast or recovering from dying.

So he’s a character that does some shitty stuff, but he’s also kind of rotting away where he stands, so it balances out right? Why do other fans want him to hurt more? How could he even possibly hurt more than he’s already hurting?

This is what a lot of protective Bad fans believe, but it’s not at all what other fans are talking about.

When I say consequences, I don’t mean the consequences of letting himself be vulture food or the consequences of just…existing in purgatory. These are painful but they have nothing to do with his actions towards others, which are the actions that myself and I suspect a lot of other BBH fatigued fans care about. Does everyone remember that whole ordeal where Bad got interrogated by Tubbo about Ron? Bad would be eaten by soul vultures whether he tortured Ron or not, but Tubbo beefing with him only happened because of what he did to Ron. THAT is a consequence.

And yeah, I do think Bad deserves consequences. Not for stupid shit like furniture stealing, and not for anything that happened in purgatory because I couldn’t watch most of purgatory and I would rather slam my head into a wall than talk about purgatory discourse again, but for the cold and calculating way he treated all of his friends for his big scheme after the Acceptance stream onwards.

I’m going to guess from the fact that this behavior started at the same time as Bad’s rapid mental health decline that we as an audience are not supposed to consider Bad treating everyone around him like ends to the means of his mysterious plan as a good thing, or a neutral character trait.

It might be easy to brush off Bad’s behavior as just angst not really worth remembering, but…I was invested in Baghera’s backstory and how it intertwined with the Ron storyline. I was invested in her and Bad’s friendship. I don’t want to just brush off the fact that Baghera drug herself through the mud to protect Bad and he ignored her in return. Situations like this have happened several times. Bad acts like an asshole to people he cares about because he has a one track mind to save the eggs, and then anyone who would like to see the pain or indignity he caused those other characters have some kind of follow up just don’t get it.

I’ve heard some confusion over why people want consequences from Bad when other characters have done way worse, but the thing is those characters DO get consequences.

Cellbit can’t embrace his cannibal persona and be friends with Pac at the same time. He’s messing up his relationship with his sister. He’s pitting Fit and Bagi against him because they care about the two people he has hurt. The Feds are looking for the worker killer right now and who knows what they plan to do to him. Cellbit does shitty things, and whether not you think he’s justified in any of it, he is suffering as a DIRECT consequence.

Slimecicle didn’t go on a murder spree against the eggs and then everyone just moved on and forgot about it. He was crying and screaming about Flippa throughout the entire thing, and at the end of the stream he has a very sincere “what am I doing?” moment and admits to himself that she’s gone and he needs to accept it. He showed regret, and then he went down and apologized to everyone and said it wouldn’t happen again (although admittedly he did treat the apology part like a bit). This example is kind of shaky because killing eggs was still less of a huge deal back then, but I still wanted to bring it up because consequences don’t always have to be punishments, they can be moments of humility and regret, too. Bad is in despair because of the missing eggs, but it would be nice to see him have some despair over how disconnected he might feel to his loved ones specifically because of the effects of his downward spiral. Or to have him show some regret for how he acted, whether he ends up apologizing or not. I doubt this will happen, it doesn’t really seem like ccBad’s style, but it is an option.

The eggs are back now so Bad will probably go back to being a slightly obnoxious babysitter with trust issues and the frustration of him being able to throw people under the bus for his own needs and getting away with it constantly will hopefully fade away. I do like Bad’s character after all, I just also like the characters that interact with him and feel like they deserve better in the narrative.

[alicentsultana]

Where do I even begin ?

Oh let’s start with the fact that your writing style was INSANE .I really love the way you describe things .Dark Alicent my beloved you were done justice in this .

And Alicent having Aegon to attend lessons ma then granting him so wine was such a goof bit and I do think that was in character for both of them .

Alicent played the dutiful way after Viserys died (“Let him rest!”) was such a delicious detail .I really felt for Aegon when he takes the throne and it’s such a nightmare but if he stays delusional his family (and any possibility of recognition)is dead .I SEE what you were doing with Helaena’s warnings and I love it .

The politics in this were all so delicious .Weird word for talking about politics but reading about the Black box and Corlys as hand and Lord Arryn and Rhaenyra’s pregnancy was so engaging .

Alicent losing three kids was a change that struck me ,and I find it interesting because a lot of women lost children in medieval times and now we don’t even know if they actually lost them or even had them so it was interesting in the historical sense .And really sad because the scene where she is caressing her empty belly really did something to me .I stared at the phone for like ten minutes .

Alicole in this was INSANE ,like wdym she literally said she wanted to have his babies ? What do you mean she’s PLANNING to make him hers ? Not that it makes me unhappy actually I was kicking my feet the entire time .

Alicent’s dream was such a haunting and good bit .Aemond being his cunty self my beloved .And you mentioning Daeron with Criston …the way you wiew Daeron is so heartwarming he is such a KID .

And ofc her last words to Viserys were so cunty and so hunting .The way she took his life and the only possibility to ease his guilt after what he did to Aemma was probably the best bit of the entire chapter .”See you in Hell” GODD

I’m so ready for the second chapter and I really thank you for this fic already because it made my day better .

YOU GO ALICENTSULTANA

Omg, thank you so much!

Lessons in exchange for wine is something that totally would happen, this is soft manipulation/motivation.

Alicent must be a cancer, I can feel it, it's in my blood. I have wondered for a long time what is a major manipulation feature one can express, and I totally would play dumb and heartbroken just to see the outcome and cover my actions, I gave her this to make her truly unhinged.

Aegon is doing it for his children and his siblings, this is the sole reason, wine also. I think he used Helaena's vision to justify his actions and feel less guilty about it, but don't worry, there will be no remorse coming.

I'm not a politics girl, like I don't understand anything about it, so in my head I always justify everything as "political undisclosed reasons", but then, Alicent is a politician, her father and life taught her the hard way, so she had, as queen mediator, to act. Including taking risks with helping Corlys raise to position - one snake + one snake = naja and coral. She must be suttle, must analyze everything, every step, no faux pas.

Corlys is playing for the winning team when is convenient, though don't ask me what he will tell his wife.

I also pondered who would be a major Lord who could prove himself against Rhaenyra, and who better than the brother of her mother. Throughout s1 she stroked me as being relapse and naive about the power of court women, while Alicent entertained them, Rhaenyra was mostly doing faces and throwing some tantrums. Who's to say she wouldn't offend, unknowingly, a member of her own extended family? The Arryns are a super important house, and are her relatives, losing them is losing the vale.

Let's not mention Viserys health deteriorating and her doing what? Thousands years of honeymoon? Alicent was pregnant and holding a child while the world was falling apart and pretty girl was doing what? This will be brought up again in the future. Viserys would 100% overlook and think nothing of it (as always).

I have an hc that she had at least three more pregnancies, though she would have lost them by natural causes, I decided to make her get rid of them herself, and lamenting it because obviously she wouldn't want to do it, but she couldn't bring herself to birth more children to an ungrateful crown. I believe after Aemond, she would often tell Criston like "oh, i wish they were yours" both because she lost faith in Viserys, but also because Criston was the dadTM and she's in love with him.

They are very much aware of their feelings, but my intention was to do it much more mature and heavy, more wild and on edge, they are certainly more touchy, more open, not that many notice or see it happening beyond some of her servants and Westerling (he have a keen eye).

But again, they would never be caught red handed (god I really want to post the second chapter, people will scream).

Even if he's already hers, Alicent doesn't content herself with halves, she wants the whole meal, the whole experience.

Daeron will always be a baby, he's not allowed to grow up, he stays in mini size, pocket size. Though she would want it, Alicent won't get pregnant again, she doesn't have the energy to do so, and she is Dowager Queen, she has an image to keep.

She hates Viserys, like, actively, fervently. Alicent wanted to say those words when he was alive but she couldn't risk him not dying.

I'm so glad this made your day better, this is always the major intent! Chapter 2 will come soon, I'll try to post it as soon as possible.

Thank you so much for reading and telling me what you thought of it!

[ryuichirou]

Complicated relationships with Leona?? Do you guys feel comfortable elaborating?

It’s kind of hard to talk about it, the thing is, this man stole my car, burnt my house down and also owes me money….   

In all seriousness, we just find him kind of boring and overrated, and think that his chapter was the weakest when it comes to writing. I’m especially bitter about it because I really wanted to like Leona; Scar’s always been my favourite Disney villain (I’m basic), so I was already pretty biased and ready to forgive a lot of things, but it didn’t happen lol Leona just… doesn’t really have the same charisma, I guess?

His motivation is also all over the place. What does Leona want?

It’s not like he wasn’t loved – he is loved; it’s not like he wasn’t appreciated for his good qualities – Falena recognized that he’s smart and told him that they could really use his wisdom (it was Leona who refused him); it’s not like he doesn’t have any power and can’t do anything – he has an entire dorm to lead and tons of money to use. If Leona truly wanted to do something meaningful, he could’ve done it, he just doesn’t want to. But he’ll still complain about it. Because he wants ~the crown~

To be completely fair, I don’t mind his motivation being so focused on the crown itself and the fact of him wanting to be a king, but I wish the story would commit to it more? I’m still not sure if it recognizes how ridiculous Leona’s laments are. Some characters seem to be aware, like Lilia and Ruggie, for example. But it doesn’t go further than that.

Moreover, when Leona has a second “chance to shine” in the 6th chapter, he just ends up telling Jamil how to live his life during their entire quest. And of course, the things he’d said to Jamil were pretty valid and justified I guess, and I’m glad Jamil heard some of these things. Very perceptive of you, Leona, but pretty much everything you’ve said also applies to you. Why didn’t we get a “wait a minute, you whiny hypocrite, why are you telling Jamil this when you have the same problem that you don’t really want to fix?”? Of course, Jamil is too cautious to say something like this to Leona, but…

But we never talk about Leona’s bad qualities in general, do we? We can talk about him being lazy all we want, but not him being a petty spoiled child who has pretty much anything he wants but still complains all the time about life being unfair to him.

The fact that he pretty much told Ruggie, a guy from the slums, than both of them were born unlucky, is still bonkers to me. Not because of the fact that he’s said it (doesn’t necessarily make him a badly written character, in fact, it could’ve been fun), but because of all the layers of irony that never really get acknowledged properly. Like… It’s funny, because Ruggie challenges the unfairness of his life: he studies in a great college, he makes connections, he steals some expensive stuff from Leona, he brings home food, for fuck’s sake. He changes his own situation little by little, by fair means or not.

And with everything that was happening in the 2nd chapter, I would assume that Leona shares this sentiment: if you can’t change your life by fair means, do something shady and get what you want this way. This is what Scar did, and what Leona tried to do, but the moment his plan was ruined, he just went “well I don’t care anymore” and never cared or did anything ever since. Just whined.

I also want to stress that our main issue isn’t the fact that he’s an asshole and a hypocrite: we love assholes and hypocrites, all of our favourite characters in any piece of media are assholes and hypocrites. But they’re fun to watch and fun to listen to, and Leona is neither of these things.

The fact that he doesn’t learn from his mistakes also isn’t a problem. Azul didn’t learn that scamming naïve people is bad after his book, the only thing he’s learnt is that he should probably get over the fact that he was a chubby kid and that he’s a hardworking guy and a very nice person overall. If anything, Azul only became worse after his book lol but it makes everything better! It works for Azul’s character, it makes him interesting. We’ve learnt about how horribly he’s been treated, we pitied him, we felt bad for him and we found out why he is the way he is. But he’s still hilariously insufferable, as he should be.

So yeah. I guess I am confused about what we’re supposed to feel towards Leona. Are we meant to feel sorry for him? Because to us it was pretty much impossible: can’t really feel bad for a guy who has everything within his reach, yet does nothing and complains about life being unfair. Are we meant to be annoyed with him? But it’s not the “fun” annoyance, it’s just… “yeah yeah keep whining”; listening to Idia feels much different, for example. Idia’s funny.

At least make Leona funny, goddamnit. Everyone should make fun of Leona more, that would make his character better. Because right now he’s pretty “eh” to us. Do something, lion man.

Maybe if twst didn’t have such a big and amazing cast of fun characters, Leona wouldn’t look as bad, but when pretty much every single other character has something interesting to offer, being mediocre is a serious crime. And because of how underwhelming his chapter was, we don’t really want to dive into more content with him (i.e. vignettes and such): they would give us some additional “meat” to his character, but it wouldn’t really fix the problem of his “core” being boring, I guess.

[kasienda]

So you reblogged a post recently about how you should never give unsolicited cc on ao3 fics and I 100% agree but I want to hear your thoughts on something.

Once several months ago I read a fic where the main characters were very misogynistic and the narrative was justifying their misogyny. I went into the comments and there were a few other people who pointed out the misogyny in the work. I replied agreeing and said it was kind of uncomfortable. The author replied basically saying "don't like don't read".

Ever since then I've wondered if I was being a jerk for making that comment. Is unsolicited cc justified if the author is misogynistic? Or should I have just ignored it and moved on to a different story? I've been wanting to ask someone else for a while now but I've felt kind of guilty about it

Hey anon!!

I don’t know if I’m an authority on this topic, but I’ve actually been in similar situations, and here are my few thoughts.

1) I don’t think the rules are different when I come across stories that don’t agree with my values. And I think that criticism will still come off as rude. And I think it’s up to YOU to decide if it’s something you care about enough to not care if it’s rude or not. And if it’s something you care about then, I don’t think you need to worry about hurting that author’s feelings. It’s definitely not worth your guilt for days or longer after the fact. Like it’s a can I live with being rude? Can I live with myself for NOT saying something even if it is rude?

2) on the other hand, saying something in the comments is not really going to change anything. There’s lots of people who are prejudice in some way and that’s always going to come out in their artwork. That’s the world they live in in their head. And hearing from a stranger on the internet is not likely going to change their minds or make this person suddenly reflective and self aware.

I have learned (by making a lot of mistakes! Haha!) usually that if I’m reading a story that I don’t like because the author and I clearly have very very different values, that I’m better off just not engaging. I hit that back button. Because if I do say something, and the author responds we usually just get in a back and forth and I get all worked up and angry, and they get all worked up and angry and double down, and it’s just not worth it.

Now I have made an exception before when it felt like the writer wasn’t aware of how it was coming across, and would want to know. But even then, I don’t phrase it as criticism! I usually say something like, “omg! This is so good! I have so many feelings! I can’t believe character x didn’t respect character Y’s no!! I can’t wait for Y to kick them into the sun!” And this works because a lot of the time the author DID mean to write it that way and this comes across as me engaging with their story instead of criticizing the story! And if they didn’t intend for x to be unlikeable in that scene, well, now they know that it landed that way anyway!

I will tell you that if someone has already commented about my issue, and the author has responded defensively or reflectively, I don’t need to say anything.

It also helps me to remember that stuff I find awful is always going to exist! Always! And it being awful is not a reason for it not to exist! Because there’s someone out there who is going to find some of my stuff just as awful! (I’ve even heard from some of them!). My comments and values are not going to stop that kind of stuff from existing. I respond by creating stuff that I wish existed instead. I call that spite fic! Haha!

I also want you to know that I’ve messed up before, I’ve been rude on purpose before (usually in defense of writers, but not always), I’ve apologized for my impact before when something didn’t land as positively as intended, and I’ve not commented on stuff that I abhored before. I’ve done it all! And from that, I’ve learned how I want to engage with fic and fandom. And I have gotten to a point where I almost never comment criticism to a writer I don’t know. But it wasn’t always this way. I LEARNED that by doing it other ways and it blowing up in my face. Mistakes are awesome like that because they are the biggest opportunities to learn.

So if you take one thing from this, I hope it’s this - your guilt is not needed. If it was a mistake, learn from it and move on. But only you can decide if it was actually a mistake or not.

[razorblade180]

Ignited chapter 3: Hidden Obstacles

Ch2 <-

As the promising youth of today took their exam, the heroes of days gone by were filled in on what transpired during their secret war. Yang told Jaune, Tai, and especially Jacquelyn, how Adam had saved her from an explosion that could’ve cost her life and put the man in an indefinite coma. After the story, Jacquelyn was finally able to explain to all, the festering hatred that hounded Jael like a tempest in her soul.

Most were privy to bits of the situation already, but for Jaune and Tai, who remained home to take care of the children, it was quite the story. Jaune had noticed the reserved and cold nature that Jael gave during her greeting like everyone else did. He wouldn’t have guessed the reasoning though, or how deep seeded the negativity would be.

“Poor girl.” He said, folding his arms. “That’s a lot for anyone to handle.”

Jackie nodded in agreement. “I’m happy to see you can empathize, but I also have to apologize. I’ve tried my best to get her to understand while her anger is justified, it shouldn’t be directed at any of you. Yujin especially. It’s just…” Jacquelyn sighed in defeat.

“It’s hard to tell your own child to look or feel one way when it’s impossible to hide your own frustrations. Believe me, I get it.”

Yang didn’t even want to think about the countless conversations Jaune must’ve had with Yujin about why her own mother wasn’t around. “I’m sorry.” She said softly. “To all of you; for…so many things.”

“Please, don’t burden yourself like this.” Jacquelyn looked at the group. “That goes for all of you. Nobody expected you to be perfect and despite my own grief, it was ultimately my husband’s choice to join you in ending this dangerous threat. Jael understands this too. I know she does. It just doesn’t change the fact Jael has sadly lived a life with things she could call hers and that are precious to her. The years Adam spent looking over your family in her eyes is time lost with him. Then this tragedy happened. To her, Yujin, or rather, the Xiao Longs have taken arguably the most precious thing of all from her.”

“Doesn’t help Adam trained Yujin.” Raven added. “It would be impossible for Yujin to not be the center of that girl’s resentment. I’m not saying Adam thought of my granddaughter as his own child by any means, but he definitely took his role as a mentor and figure quite seriously. Maybe he felt like he owed Yang for past grievances, or he is truly fond of Yujin? Either way…”

“It would be hard to stomach as his legitimate child.” Ruby finished. She couldn’t help but wonder if Canary held any similar sentiments in regards to how Uncle Qrow treated the two of them. “So what now? I can’t imagine Jael is swearing a lifetime of vengeance. I mean she’s taking the huntsman exam as we speak and seems like a pretty earnest kid.”

Jackie smiled gently. “Thank you, and she is quite earnest. Today, for better or for worse, she’s being comforted with the person she hates the most. She hopes to completely outshine Yujin and prove her superiority. At least, that’s how I see it. It’s why she hasn’t told Yujin about Adam. She wants to definitively prove that all the time she had with her father was well spent and more valuable than anything he gave yours. My fear is that she’ll get far too worked up, or worse.”

“Oh!” Yang perked up. “That reminds me, I saw her spit out blood. Adam had mentioned she was ill. Something about her heart?”

Jacquelyn’s eyes widened. To think he would share that with Yang of all people. Not to mention the look of concern on her face. Will wonders never cease?”

“Yes, my daughter was premature and has an exceptionally weak heart. In all honesty, she completely destroyed the odds of her life expectancy by more than a decade. Thankfully it’s completely possible for her to live a long life with her medicine and own diligence in her health. Her semblance, which is gravity, has also done wonders in lightening the stress on her heart.”

Ren was more than a little intrigued to hear that. “She uses her own semblance to help her heart? That takes incredible control.”

“She’s not always doing it but yes, she does. Life finds a way as they say. Her control probably surpasses mine. Still, the body has its limits. Reckless excursion and letting her emotions get the better of her too much will put strain on her heart. Sadly, I’m not surprised her first conversation with Yujin made her a bit… agitated. It’s why I asked Yujin to let Jael focus on the exam and try not to interact too much.”

Winter furrowed her brow, crossing her arms in skepticism. “You’re letting your daughter attempt to become a huntress despite the health risk!?”

“You see me as irresponsible? Truthfully, I can’t blame you, but believe me when I say my daughter is vastly more capable than I can put into words. If it weren’t for these specific circumstances, I’d imagine today and countless following days would be nothing she hasn’t handled in the past. We don’t exactly live in a comfortable environment. Also…”

Jacquelyn looked off at a single little bird standing on a branch. She watched as it took the leap, barely catching itself and taking flight into the sky.

“Any self respecting mother wishes a long and happy life for their children. That being said, I constantly see my youngest child doing everything she can to always feel her emotions within reason; as if she were a bird in a cage. As much as I would adore the idea of Jael living a simple, ordinary life for all her days, I know happiness is the last thing she’d feel. She may look like her father, but passion and desire to dream… those are my gifts to her. If I have a regret, it’s that I couldn’t give her a body naturally strong enough to chase down those dreams and ambitions without a second thought.”

A breeze blew through the group. It was hard not to feel some sort of pity towards the maiden and she deeply cared about her family. It was also difficult to not fear for Yujin. Once again, a Taurus and a Xiao Long were on opposing sides. The more things change, the more they stay the same. The sound of the tower’s bell rang. Nora turned her head to see several of the potential students already heading back.

“Time really flies. Looks like the first part is over.” She looked at Jacquelyn. “Sooooo…”

“Please treat my child normally, and I’d like it if all of you could continue honoring her request about Adam. If something happens, I’ll take full responsibility. Glynda already knows this, and you all of course have the right to intervene if you really think it’s necessary.”

They all nodded, but silently wished this day could stay pleasant. Yujin and Tenzen were already on their way back; Jael wasn’t too far behind them so Jacquelyn started putting a little distance from the group.

“We’re back!!!” Yujin grinned at her mother.

“Ha! Someone looks confident.”

“Of course! There were a few questions about grimm I was hazy on, but I know my stuff! If the grading scale is normal then I definitely passed this section.”

Tenzen wasn’t worried in the slightest either. In fact, he was even more relaxed than before. “I have a perfect score.”

“Oh yeah?” Nora smirked, hands on her hips. “That’s a bold statement before it’s graded.”

“Trust. I may not have been the star student at combat school but this surprise exam was easier than the finals.”

Yujin chuckled to herself. “I remember that day. You were sweating buckets and looked ready to vomit when I saw you.”

“I forgot my textbook! I couldn’t study properly!”

Several feet away, Jael let out a pensive sigh and tapped her left foot. “That could’ve gone better.”

“Oh no. Was our material not up to standard? I had Blake triple track.”

“No, it was.” She signed again. “I had just never taken a timed test before. Actually, I’ve never really taken a standardized test at all.” Being homeschooled really showed its consequences today.

“Did you manage to finish?”

“I managed that much. I also realized maybe my knowledge of dust isn’t what I’d call…up to par. As far as the rest goes, I feel pretty good about my answers.”

“Glad to hear it. I wouldn’t fret over the test too much. Many people here also don’t have the benefit of attending a combat school before entering an academy. However Beacon is grading this, I’m positive they take individuals like you into account.”

“Gee, I didn’t say I bombed or anything crazy. It was just…unfamiliar.” Jael pouted but quickly shook it off. “Regardless, I’ll make up the difference in the next part.”

“That’s the spirit!”

It wasn’t much longer than Glynda and Canary came walking out of the building at their own leisurely, but efficient pace.

“So was this a test of my grading skills?”

“Young lady, I wouldn’t have entertained an interview with you if I doubted your ability to do average math. Many of these children will be in your class before long. It serves you well to know what you might be getting into. That and if you’re anything like your father, learning to retain names now will make for less awkward moments later.”

Canary couldn’t help but smile softly. “Yeah. That sounds like something he’d struggle with.” They made it back to the group and surprisingly, the examinees all quickly lined up again. “Ha! Wow. Nice to see all of you are dedicated but loosen up a little. It’s not like you’re students…yet.”

Canary pulled out her scroll and raised it for all to see. “Now I could project all the scores big enough for you all to see. However, I’m not in the business of public humiliation or unnecessary stress. I’ll leave that to Professor Oobleck.”

The alumni of Beacon all sighed in unison. “Dr. Oobleck.” They said in a tired and strangely rehearsed manner.

Canary was only joking but now she shared the same look of worry the young adults did. “O…Kay then. Any who, once I hit the send button, all of you will be sent your personal scores thanks to all of you following the test direction by writing down your ID number. I will say this now. Even if your score is low, it doesn’t mean you’re doomed. Just that you have a steep hill to climb in terms of convincing us to let you in. Although for some of you…well, you’ll know who you are.”

She presses send and all scrolls start pinging. Voices of triumph were scattered alongside sighs of relief and agitated grunts. Yujin immediately sent her proud 89% to her family and heard their excitement. Tenzen scooted shoulder to shoulder with her, tilting his scroll her way to flash his 100%.

“…Fuck off. It’s my birthday. ” She nudged the snickering boy.

“What can I say? I’m a good test taker.”

Jael had to fumble with her new scroll a bit before finally opening the attachment to see a humble 72%. Honestly she wasn’t proud of it, but her attitude changed as a few of her peers actively began moving from their spot, heading towards an airship or back to their parents as they left.

“They could feel you immediately?” She said softly to herself.

“Yeah.” Said a boy with gray shaggy hair right next to her. “My cousin told me if you miss critical questions or get caught cheating, then you’ll fail immediately. Not that I can confirm this rumor but it makes sense. Huntsmen need knowledge and integrity after all.”

“Makes sense. Although by that logic it sounds like you could fail honorably and stay. At least that’s what it feels like.”

“Hehe, I like that theory.” The boy decided to show her his own score.

Jael wasn’t expecting to see a solid 50% in red. Yet there was a comment below that gave approval to stick around. “And here I was pitying myself. Guess my theory might have merit.”

“Looks like I’m steep climbing.” He laughed nervously.

His lack of confidence was more outstanding than his ability to get half of the possible points. This guy looked pretty sincere though and about a head shorter than her. Grayish blue eyes and deep blue jean shorts that contrasted his white shirt and open black button up. Even his cyan high top sneakers were pretty normal. Jael would’ve thought he was ready for the mall if it wasn’t for the black mechanical spear on his back.

Jael tilted her head as she examined the engravings on the pole and wide arrowhead shaped tip. “I didn’t catch your name.”

“Marcus.” He smiled. “Marcus Graystone. Nice to meet you. And yours?”

“Jael. A pleasure.”

“Likewise.”

As the failures left, Canary took the time to summon a giant Ursa, choosing to sit atop its head. Her eyes scanned for a certain person then checked the time. “Hmm, looks like I’m not the only person who shows up tardy; eh Glynda?” She smiled.

“The difference is you’re not a child. Also I have a pretty good idea on what’s holding them up.”

“Looks like they’re waiting on something.” Tenzen whispered to Yujin. “Any clues on what?”

“It probably has to do with the next phase of the entrance exam, right? Maybe another teacher is coming.”

“Ooo, I hope it’s Professor Peach.”

“Y’know I hear that name occasionally, and yet for some reason it sounds made up.”

Glynda took the initiative to call the examiner. It only took two rings before an answer.

“Sorry! I’m sorry!” A youthful and gentle voice cried out. “The devil's always in the details! Not to mention I took it upon myself to do some grimm dispatches. I know I probably shouldn’t since this is a huntsman academy exam but a particular few-”

“Ms. Aspen. Are you ready?”

Glynda said calmly.

“…Yeah. We’re all set, I'll say.”

“So I’ll have the students move to the next location and meet you there?”

“Mmm, no need for all that trouble. Plus it’s important to have ample time for good decisions. All you gotta do is video call me and point me towards the crowd! I’ll handle the rest.”

“Very well then.” Glynda hit video call and extended her scroll out. “May I have everyone’s attention!”

There wasn’t a single person who wasn’t squinting as they tried to see what was on the scroll.

“Ah, the courtyard. A nearly full one at that. Looks like there’s a bunch of good apples this year.” The young woman said, knowing few would hear her. “Let’s see who’s right for the picking!”

A golden portal opened up a few inches in front of the scroll and everyone’s eyes widened. Although some, like Yujin, had their eyes immediately grow to the size of dinner plates before the portal could fully open for a young woman to come walking out. It was as if radiant sunlight draped the new visitor. Long orangey-yellow fabric hung off her arms and the back of her dress while the front stood at her knees. The embroidered cuffs and the top of her strapless dress was an intricate white pattern that matched her shin high cowgirl boots. The most peculiar thing was the thin golden veil that rested on silky black hair. Her presence was sudden and captivating like a woodland sprite from a fairytale. However, one person was in immense awe from knowing exactly who that was.

“LILITH!?” Yujin all but shrieked in a burst of bumbling excitement before everyone looked her way, including the young lady who now lifted her veil to gaze with left sky blue eye and right amber eye. Yujin’s cheeks turned a crazy shade of red while her hands instinctively covered her mouth after her outburst.

Lilith waved. “Ah, looks like I have a fan in the ranks.” She smiled warmer than her dress. She could tell right now that the young girl absolutely wanted to disappear so Lilith chose to not dwell on the moment and addressed everyone. “Hello my future classmates. As several of you may know, I’m Lilith Aspen. A junior this year at Beacon and currently your examiner.”

Jael gave a long and puzzling look. She could’ve sworn she’s seen this person before. “Aren’t you the girl from the cereal box?” She blurts out casually.

To no surprise, several people look at her like she’s crazy for a second. Lilith on the other hand found Jael’s question pretty humorous. “Haha! If that’s how I’m recognized then perhaps I should listen to Professor Port and put more flair into my combat next time I go to regionals.”

“Please don’t.” Glynda said dryly.

“To answer your question properly, yes. I’m the lady on the Pumpkin Pete’s cereal box. Today though, I am the lady telling you all that the next phase of the exam is…an obstacle course!” She gives a very quiet round of applause. “Now I won’t spoil all the obstacles but the premise is simple. You’ll start at one end of Forever Fall and have to make it to the opposite side. You will be timed and there’s cameras everywhere to monitor both progress and safety. Any questions?”

“Is it a race!?” A girl yelled.

“Uh, essentially. All of you do have to start at once. Anything else?”

Tenzen raised his hand. “Are we going through your portal or taking a ship?”

“Hehe, excellent question.” She giggled. “That is all up to you. I imagine most of you, if not all, have brought all your equipment already. Due to the nature of this particular exam however, it also makes sense to be prepared. Forever Fall is still grimm territory at the end of the day. We have prepared an airship to bring you into town for exactly half an hour near all the approved equipment shops if anyone is feeling underprepared. After that you will get back on the ship and it will take you to the test site. Those who feel well equipped…” she stepped aside and gestured to her portal.

An interesting proposal for sure. The groups muttered amongst themselves, thinking of the best solution. The first to move and gain attention again was Jael. The contestants watched in awe as the girl floated over everyone towards the portal.

“She can fly!?” Yujin was beyond amazed. “That’s an awesome semblance!”

“Yujin, your grandma can turn into a bird and your aunt can turn into scattering petals.”

“Hush Tenzen! Multiple things can be cool! Anyways, let’s get going!”

They both followed Jael’s lead. This entire day was prepared ages ago. Tenzen jumped in feet first while Yujin sheepishly waved after Lilith gave another disarming smile. Yujin darted in quickly before she would do something embarrassing again. Many others began to follow their example while others headed towards the ship. Once all the participants got through the portal, Glynda went through.

“Ms. Schnee?”

“You can go ahead and go through.” She pointed at her family and friends. Raven had already made her own portal. Maybe she figured walking over was pointless with Yujin on the other side. “I’ll ride with them.”

“Kay. Heh, what are the odds of two portal users in the same space? I wonder how hers work?”

“I’ll try giving you an opportunity to ask later.” Canary gave a thumbs up and ran off to the heroes. “Hey! Don’t leave me out!”

Raven turned her head. “Wha- you were closer to the other one!”

“Don’t be like that auntie. It’s been ages since I’ve done this. I like the sensation.” Canary walked through the scarier looking portal. “Woooo~”

Canary’s carefree attitude earned a couple of snickers as others went through. “Looks like she’s in a bit of a better mood than earlier.” Winter said.

Ruby had to agree. “Yeah. I’m relieved. I thought I’d ruin her entire day.”

“Please don’t think like that, or let everything she said get to you. I can’t claim to know my daughter's exact feelings towards you currently, but I do know she still loves you a lot. In truth, that’s probably why she’s taken things so personally.”

“I know…” Ruby sighed. Hindsight really is 20/20 at the worst of times. “I’m sure the talk after the exams will be long, but worth it.” Ruby walked through the portal.

Everyone came out on the other side at the edge of Forever Fall’s forest. Medical staff was prepped and ready on the sidelines while a giant red archway signified the starting point. Glynda was already checking the monitor, double checking all the cameras.

Lilith clapped her hands and cried out, “Everyone ready!?” Earning many confused looks from adults and students.

“Umm aren’t we waiting for the people who went into town?” A shy girl asked in the crowd.

“Oh, about that, nope. It was a tactical lie.” Lilith said casually. “Everyone was given notice ahead of time on what they needed to bring. Failure to be prepared upon arrival is willful negligence.”

“Wait…” Marcus spoke up. “Does that mean getting on the airship meant failing!?”

“I’d think less about the choices you didn’t make and more about the road ahead; literally and metaphorically. The obstacles are vast and your path isn’t strict. My tip to all of you is to make use of the open area. Friendly reminder, you are timed. Starting now!”

A loud buzzer signaled the beginning of chaos as the future students began running through the arch and into the forest. Yujin and Tenzen broke free from the pack immediately by going out to the right and then continuing straight.

Tenzen looked at his friend with curiosity. “You following me?”

“Pfft, get real! Going straight is quicker in terms of distance. However…”

“It probably has the most obstacles. I’m practically a ninja though so I’m not worried. What’s your plan exactly?”

“Play it by ear? It’s not like there’s a marked path best suited for me. Plus I’m sure they aren’t only scoring us on time. Lilith’s words were like Canary’s during the first part. They’re intentionally trying to make us think in certain ways in order to mask others.”

Tenzen was amazed how much thought Yujin was putting into this. She was really trying to give it her all today. “Teamwork.”

“Huh?”

“If I had to take a wild guess, they’ll score teamwork. Everything Lilith said stoked competition but if we’re applying for a huntsman school then teamwork is important.”

That made sense to Yujin. If people failed by choosing to go into town then it wouldn’t be surprising if you could fail by willingly ignoring someone in need or intentionally getting in their way. Okay; her mind was made up.

“Tenzen, let’s have each other’s backs! We’ll also stick our nose out for others in trouble.”

“I mean I was going to do that regardless, but sure!” He grinned.

Jael stuck the trees and was in far less of a rush. A single lunge propelled her several feet to one branch after another as she made her way left and outward. Where less people gathered. She had thought of similar things in regards to Lilith's intentions and decided on pacing herself slower than normal. The obstacles could be anything and while she could easily avoid a lot of things, having others encounter them first could give valuable insight.

Back at the start, Canary and the others caught up with Lilith as she watched the monitors. “I never would’ve guessed a girl like you would use a tactical lie as a way to set up a bigger lie. I feel bad for those kids on the ship.”

“Don’t be. I haven’t failed them by any means.” She smiled in satisfaction. “That was the tactical lie, haha!”

“Excuse me!?” Nora questioned. “So what’s your angle!?”

“I could never fail someone who chooses to prepare with time given to them. Just like I acknowledge the readiness of everyone who decided they’re fully prepared.”

“So you did it to gauge personality?”

“A little. By the time the second group arrives this first one will be done. Luckily the split was fairly even. It’s easier to guarantee safety.”

“So this is the mind of the regional's winner? Not bad at all.” Jaune praised.

“Thank you, but it’s more of the mind of an overthinker if you ask me, hehe. Can’t say it makes for an easier grading scale unfortunately. Such is the price of nuance.”

It was an interesting approach to the exam. Those who did poorly in this group may come off as being too cocky or rowdy. On the other hand, failing after having time to prepare is going to look abysmal for those in group two.

Yang greeted Lilith with her scroll and a new journal she planned on giving Yujin. “Hey, my daughter is never going to ask herself but can she please have your autograph and maybe a photo?”

Glynda clicked her tongue. “Is this really the time to be asking for that?”

“It’s a cute surprise. Plus your eyes are glued to the screen. It’s obvious you have the say in finalizing scores. As if you’d give the control to anyone else.” Yang’s words earned a side eye from her old teacher, but she was right!

Lilith happily signed the inside of the book and held up a peace sign for a quick photo. It was hard not to notice how much the famous Yang Xiao Long looked like the girl who called her name. “By any chance, was your daughter-”

“Yes.”

“Hehe, outstanding.”

xxxxxx

“Achoo!!! Eugh!” Yujin sniffled.

“Uh oh. Getting sick on your birthday? That’s no good.”

“Relax. It was probably the leaves or something. I’m firing on all cylinders! Bring on the first obstacle!”

As if the gods heard her, hidden launchers fired hunting nets and bolas! The girl let out an “eep!” Before jumping over bolas aimed at her legs. Her shirt was quickly yanked by Tenzen, allowing her to avoid a net. She quickly returned the favor when she shoved him away from another net fired to her left. It flew right between them and tangled another pair of bolas.

“Phew! That was- ah!” Yujin yelped as Tenzen talked her to the ground and out from under a falling wooden cage.

Tenzen could not believe they set up an entire cage! Not that it would’ve been impossible to escape but come on! “Why do I have a feeling Professor Port was in charge of this section?” He chuckled.”

“Tenzen?”

“Hmm?” He looked down to see the girl staring right at him, her cheeks a little flushed.

“You can…get off of me now if you want.” She awkwardly asked, clearing her throat with a fake and weak cough.

“…Sorry.” He sprang up, extending his hand to help her up. “I guess I could’ve just broken the cage when I think about it.”

“It’s good!” She dusted herself off. “It’s all good. So uh..should we be…?”

“Yeah! Uuh, yeah…”

They both took off running again. Although this time they weren’t as talkative and extra mindful of their surroundings. Hopefully the cameras didn’t catch that particular moment.

Meanwhile in Jael’s neck of the woods, the girl finally touched solid ground and jogged down a path riddled with soft dirt. Left right left right left right left; every step felt good enough. She assumed pits had to be dug around the place.

“Am I getting lucky?” She asked herself. Right left right left right left ri-

Click

“Hmm!?” Jael froze immediately, keeping her right foot exactly where it was after hearing the mechanical click. She hissed softly. “Shit! Pressure plate; but for what?” There was a lot of foliage. It could easily be a trigger for projectiles or a trapdoor. She doubted it was anything explosive. She could raise her foot and found out. That was always an option.

xxxxx

Jacquelyn watched as her daughter stood motionless on the feed. “What’s on the floor?”

“Launching springs.” Glynda said as she monitored multiple kids. “They aren’t as powerful as the ones we use for the first day of school, but they’ll send anyone flying backwards at least 15 feet. More if they’re unprepared for the recoil.”

“That’s rough.”

Raven shrugged. “I see landing strategies are still highly encouraged for the start. Let’s see Jael’s. She can’t stand there forever.”

“They all waited to see how the girl would take this first obstacle. Only her mother expected the girl’s next move. Every witness Jael simply walk off. Anticlimactic for sure but still surprising! Jael stared at the spot she moved from briefly before continuing her jog. A few seconds passed before the springboard triggered forcefully.

“It was delayed.” Winter said, examining the live feed. “And she isn’t changing her path either.”

“Haha, why would she?” Jackie smiled, raising a single brow. “I told you all already. My daughter has amazing control of her semblance.”

xxxxx

Jael freely walked through this section of the course without fear. Hidden pressure plates weren’t so scary when you’re too light to trigger them. And even if she did, a little extra pressure to keep it still until she got off of one was just as easy.

Jael smirked at her own cleverness. She felt sorry for whoever made this obstacle. Clearly they weren’t thinking about her when they made it.

“Today might be easier than I thought.”

[forcebookish]

I saw someone say that “Boston has done nothing wrong!”

And I’m like. He sexually harassed/assaulted Top MULTIPLE times??? It could not be more black and white. Top said. I do not want to have sex with you. I am not interested. LIKE YOU CANT GET CLEARER THAN THAT.

But Boston continued. Even though he KNEW Top was dating someone else and not interested in him. Which ended in him coercing Top, under false pretenses, to have sex with him. Boston knew he was lying about Ray and Mew sleeping together. There’s no way he didn’t know Mew has never been into Ray.

Oh does it not count because you don’t find Top likable? Sorry. I wasn’t aware that assault doesn’t count if the person isn’t nice enough.

And that’s not even getting into how he knowingly played with Nick’s feelings and led him on even though he had no intention of seriously dating him. Like that is text in the show. Boston says. Maybe in the future we’ll date. Even though, at that point he doesn’t intend to date Nick. He just likes hooking up with him.

Like. None of this makes the terrible things that have happened to Boston okay. But like. Those terrible things also don’t excuse what he has done. Like. It’s unacceptable that he was recorded without his consent while having sex. And then it was shown to so many people. That’s horrific. And that is a crime. But it doesn’t mean that anything he’s done before or after is absolved.

Like it absolutely enrages me that even if you think the car sex was completely consensual. Boston still groped and harassed Top multiple times. Like. That is sexual assault. That is sexual harassment.

Boston is certainly and interesting character. And Neo is really showing his range as an actor in making me sometimes feel sorry for a character who has done horrible things. Like he’s shown that Boston has many layers.

But he still hasn’t even had to apologize for what he did to Top. And the fact that I see people act like Boston is somehow completely innocent in all this makes my blood boil. I’m sorry for ranting but my god.

don't apologize, you're completely right, anon! the other day i got in an argument with someone who kept bringing up stuff that they just... disliked about top? and when i told them that was all irrelevant, that all that matters is that boston was told to stop and didn't, they called me a jerk!!! it's fucking unreal the lengths this fandom will go to justify sexual assault.

this is kind of the thing with this fandom, they don't really understand what it means to be "morally gray" or even morality in general. they think that what is "immoral" about boston is his promiscuity (something that, if you don't subscribe to an abrahamic religion/puritanical society, is in fact morally neutral - if we go by the "sex is immoral" doctrine taught in those contexts then gay sex is never moral - which, you know, based on how homophobic BL fandom can be, AND PARTICULARLY THIS FANDOM I SEE YOU TIKTOKERS ACCUSING TOPCHEUM OF FUCKING I SEE YOU, it wouldn't surprise me if that's a part of it), when it's the ASSAULT, it's the NOT TAKING NO FOR AN ANSWER.

boston is a bad person, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have, like you said, layers. not everything about someone has to be bad for them to be a bad person - and you can still feel sorry for them when undeserved shit happens to them. but this fandom can't seem to wrap their heads around that. for some reason, despite this show being "messy," when someone actually messes up they're evil and when someone does something deliberately hurtful to another human being it's either ERASED FROM THEIR MEMORIES or justified in a way that makes them completely blameless or even something good (and not story-good like how i feel about sand LOSING HIS SHIT and destroying his phone to steal the audio and fuck with ray's head/ruin top's life; i mean, people thinking that ray exposed top AT MEW'S BIRTHDAY PARTY out of the goodness of his heart lmao).

it's sooooooo frustrating, anon >:(