#But in all honesty his arc was like one of my absolute favorites

[coconut530]

WHY DOES IT SAY MADE ON SATURDAY I WAS NOT NOTIFIED HUHHHHH

ALSO JUST DROPPED OUT OF NOWHERE *AND* IT’S THE PENULTIMATE EP OF S4 WHATTTTTTTTTTTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[steddieunderdogfics]

This week’s writer spotlight feature is:  steddieasitgoes! @steddieasitgoes has 27 works posted to AO3 in the Stranger Things fandom and 23 of them are in the Steddie tag!

Our anonymous nominator recommends the following works by @steddieasitgoes:

Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours)

for a fortnight there, we were forever

honey i'm still free (take a chance on me)

You Were All Yellow

Eat Your Heart Out, Big Boy

"Her fics are SO FUN. I have enjoyed every single one that I've read IMMENSELY and am always talking about them to my friends after I've read them <3" -- anonymous

Below the cut, @steddieasitgoes answered some questions about their writing process and some of their recommended work!

Why do you write Steddie?

Was I supposed to watch Eddie throw Steve his vest – the quintessential 80s romcom moment – and be totally normal about it? But in all honesty, there’s just something about them that compels me. When you dig deep into their personalities and arcs, they’re really two sides of the same coin and there’s so many ways for that to manifest in fic.hen

What’s your favorite trope to READ?

I had to consult my ao3 bookmarks for this one and “getting together” tops my list, which really isn’t a traditional trope but I absolutely adore that mutual pining, idiots in love sort of thing that happens in those fics. Bonus points for slow burns!

What’s your favorite trope to WRITE?

Idiots in love for sure. Again, not a typical trope but I’m pretty sure it’s tagged on just about every fic I’ve written. It’s just so easy to slot them into those roles and banter their way into a love confession. The show is so life and death all the time, that I like letting them be goofy boys.

What’s your favorite Steddie fic?

This is like asking me to choose if I’m more of a Steve girl or an Eddie girl – impossible! But if I had to narrow it down to a top few, I’d say: the most remarkable thing by greatunironic, rounding third, sliding home by througheden, better by you, better than me by palmviolet, and is your light on? By Adure

Is there a trope you’re excited to explore in a future work but haven’t yet?

Outside of fic I’m a huge fan of enemies/rivals to lovers so I think that would be fun to explore between Steddie. There’s a hint of it in Signed, Sealed, Delivered but I think their hatred fizzles out really quickly and I definitely want to play with something where that takes longer to happen.

What is your writing process like?

It sort of depends on the project, but typically I get a kernel of an idea. Somethings that’s a setting, sometime it’s a bit of dialogue, sometimes it’s just ✨ vibes ✨ Then I’ll add it to my jumbled mess of a notes app on my phone and keep adding to it as I get ideas. When I wrote my first fic (Can’t Fight This Feeling Anymore) I had no outline whatsoever. I just knew I had this one scene in mind and kept writing and building the world until I felt the moment made sense to happen. Nowadays, I’m a bit more organized when it comes to longer fics. I’ll usually do a bare bones outline with the major beats I want to hit outlined. This gives me enough structure to not feel lost, but also lets the characters breath one the page and make their own choices. Every fic, but the one I’m working on now for the steddie big bang, I’ve written chronologically which helps me because I can see the progression of the relationship dynamics in real time.  For one shots, it’s somewhat similar. I start with a kernel of an idea and a general plot in my head and just write and hope for the best lol

Do you have any writing quirks?

I think I use the same sentence structure a lot which drives me nuts, but I can’t always help it. Motif-wise I don’t think I have a unifying theme amongst all my fics, but I can almost guarantee that there will be some kind of third act break up. Happily ever afters are always going to be in my fics, but I like to make them work for it. Also they do a lot of gazing at each other and things in my fics. So much gazing!

Do you prefer posting when you’ve finished writing or on a schedule?

Generally, I like posting when something is completely finished. But I get antsy and have been known to start posting when the fic is 85% done and then procrastinate on writing the end until my deadline is looming.

Which fic are you most proud of?

I’m proud of all of them for different reasons, but I was really blown away with Can’t Fight This Feeling Anymore. I hadn’t written fic in years and had never written a third-person mlm story before. At the time it was also the longest thing I had ever written. It definitely made me fall back in love with fictional prose writing and the steddie community as a whole.

How did you get the idea for Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours)?

It was actually inspired by a ficlet I had written earlier that year and decided to use as inspiration for the full length fic. I was driving around and I kept seeing mail trucks everywhere and I remember getting an image of Steve in those short khaki shorts, carrying a satchel full of mail. And then I remember thinking “I wonder what Eddie would think” and the worms took over. I will say, expanding it into a full fic did take some time though because the ficlet was just vibes

When writing Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours), what was something you didn’t expect?

How long it ended up being lol I think it came in double what I had predicted it to be. I also didn’t expect to write it in the way I did. All my other fics are very traditional in that each chapter is a day or a couple days and it follows a clear timeline. With Signed I really went for a vignette, slice of life sort of storytelling which was a bit difficult initially but I think it paid off in the end.

What inspired honey i'm still free (take a chance on me)?

That one was written for a valentine’s discord server so it was based on the prompt steddiealltheway on Tumblr had submitted. It took me a minute to work out the plot, but I liked the idea of Robin getting to be the wingwoman for Steve.

What was your favorite part to write from for a fortnight there, we were forever?

There was a metaness to that one that was so fun to write. You have Eddie falling in love with Supernatural, a show that was known for making questionable decisions in the end and talking about how fanfic saves the day and that’s exactly what I’ve spent the last two years doing for him lol I love the idea of Eddie being a fandom kid like all of us, and dragging and unknowing Steve into it with him.

How do/did you feel writing Eat Your Heart Out, Big Boy?

At the time I think I just wanted to write something fun and silly because I was deep into Signed, Sealed, Delivered at the time and was feeling bad about not sharing anything. It was like a palette cleanser.

What was the most difficult part of writing You Were All Yellow?

Definitely deciding which yellow objects I was going to use and figuring out how to string them together in a clear narrative arc. It was a puzzle of sorts that took a lot of patience to figure out. It was also a bit reverse-engineered where the objects dictated what the story would be. I think it would have been easier if I had the story first and then found things that fit that narrative.

Do you have a favorite scene and/or line from any of your fics?

I struggle with writing poetically, so I was really proud of this line from Duck, Dodge, Don’t Fall In Love: “He feels like an astronomer falling in love with stars for the first time in the untouchable night sky. Because that’s what Steve is, right? A dazzling force that Eddie can steal glances at but never touch, never reach.” But also any and all smut scenes I’ve written. That was an incredible challenge at first and I literally wrote the first make out scene ever under the covers of my bed lol

Do you have any upcoming projects or fics you’d like to share/promote?

I’m planning to participate in this year’s Steddie Week with some (hopefully) short one shots. And then I have my big bang fic When The Buzzer Sounds that will come out later this year. Other than that we’ll see. My notes are overflowing with ideas it’s all about finding the time and the right one.

Outside of these questions, Is there anything YOU would like to add?

As I write this I’m not sure who nominated me, but I want to say thank you to them! It’s so wild to me that people resonate with the silly stories my brain comes up with and I’ll never take that for granted. There’s so many creative steddie fic writers out there and I’m so happy to be one of them. We really blew up overnight and it’s been so fun watching everyone grow together. And I want to thank all the mods behind this blog for helping share writers hardwork!

Thank you to our author, @steddieasitgoes, and our anonymous nominator! See more of steddieasitgoes's works featured on our page throughout the day!

Writer’s Spotlight is every Wednesday! Want to nominate an author? You can nominate them here!

[bibibbon]

Wait, did Hori completely skip over their second and third year at UA? Or is the graduation talking about a different year?

Love how there's still absolutely ZERO introspection from anybody about the war, what drove Aoyama's parents to force him into being the traitor, Tokoyami and Izuku possibly being Quirkless, or Aizawa being such a shitty teacher that he never noticed the UA traitor being one of his own students.

And Shinsou can go kick rocks. I've never liked him since I learned how pervasive Fanon!Shinsou is in the fandom, and seeing his Goob from Meet The Robinsons ass being rewarded for his victim mentality really irks me. Again, love how Aizawa supposedly hates favoritism despite turning around and favoring Shinsou (and Bakugou).

#BringIzuku'sFluffyHairBack

Hi @nutzgunray-lvt 👋

No hori didn't completely skip over 1A's seconds and third year. The time skip was only a few days (which bugs me even more) so I was talking about mirio and his classes graduation. Personally I feel like it's too early to do such a thing but I mind of see it as hori making a full circle moment with what he mentioned in the war arc.

Oh my Iam so mad that there is no and I mean NO INTROSPECTION about what everyone or anyone just went through!??!?! Like y'all just went through a whole war and there is nothing acknowledging that!!!! Heck not even last chapters hospital scene made an effort in acknowledging what went down. The only type of acknowledgement we get is mirio's speech talking about how the heroes are trying hard to go back to square one and how they know there is a lot of work cut out for them but other than that complete radio silence which is weird as hell.

I mean we have seen people die in that war arc, many suffered injuries or lost things, many are probably mentally or physically scarred or both and hori opening no acknowledgement to that and trying to go back to normal is just horrible writing. The fact that it's been a few days since the war and they're going back to school is horrible in itself.

The series in itself doesn't even bother to mention aizawas faults as a character or teacher. Look I got into MHA because of the fanon promise of dadzawa (so Iam bias and have a soft spot for it) but dam horis writing of aizawa is such a let down to what fics and friends have told me about dadzawa. Also it's such a shame that aizawa apologises to izuku mid battle using his first name btw and then we are never brought back to that moment it's simply a one off. Also the simple lack of intropsection and information coming from every character is seriously annoying me it's like I can tell that they're simply puppets that hori is horribly controlling.

Also yuuga deserves better I have talked about how I wanted hori to use the idea of transfer students and students dropping out but this was unsatisfactory. Iam not saying that yuuga shouldn't of dropped out but Iam saying that there was no point considering that he went through that whole ordeal saying that if he fights that the education system may overlook his treachery but now he is leaving?!?!?!?

I like the potential that shinsou had but in all honesty he is way too underdeveloped for anything. There hasn't been any acknowledgements of his own mistakes and flawed ideology, we never see his interaction with Izuku and him learning that izuku isnt privileged, we don't see him apologising to ojiro for insulting him, we don't see him actually warming up to 1A rather he seems to be happier in his own class. I have talked more about shinsou and what he could of been here

Honestly it never made sense to me why aizawa likes bakugo so much when bakugo is like a carbon copy of his childhood bully so🤷‍♀️. Shinsou I kinda get but dam it's not a good look for sure.

#BRINGIZUKUSFLUFFYHAIRBACK

Horikoshi has no reason to take away Izuku's fluffy hair!! I need it to comeback and I beg for him not to give izuku a disgusting undercut like those aged up fan arts do. Also best Izuku is MHA 411 izuku!!!

[giggly-toybox]

now that you're writing for One Piece, if you don't mind, u could share some general tickling thoughts/headcanons on the series? (hcs of characters, scenarios between them etc) if this is too broad u can feel free to ignore, thanks!

HI OKAY SO!!!! I was literally so excited to make this bc this show has absolutely taken over my brain AAAAA

But here we go! For now, we’ll only be doing MY personal favorite characters! If you want a character that isn’t on here, let me know when requests open up again!

Also note: I am in the middle of the Marineford arc (and might have cried a little bit) meaning I am nowhere near up to date with some of the newer stuff!

Basil Hawkins:

EASILY my favorite character. Me and my mutual have been rambling about him for days. So far he’s only had like eight minutes of screen time so don’t know why I like him so much, I just do. My silly babygirl. My borblo Right off the bat, he’s feather ticklish

Like, really. Feathers affect him more than actual fingers

I think he has a very gentle and soft laugh most of the time, but it can get loud if you hit a bad spot

I think his worst spots are his belly, neck, and chin

If you use a feather on any of those spots he will die

EXTREMELY squirmy. He will buck, kick, shove, squirm, whatever he has to do to get away

He’s a really gentle ler most of the time

He’ll just hold you close with an arm while he mindlessly traces his finger on your belly, reading his cards like nothings happening

If you want to get away he’ll let you

But if you tickle him first, that gentleness is thrown out the window and he immediately targets your death spots, scribbling his gloved fingers all over your squirming figure

He doesn’t do it for long tho, and he’s nice enough to get you some water afterwards :)

Perona:

MY GIRLLLL! I love her so so much she’s easily my favorite female character! I just love her style sm, I need her outfit! I love her little ghosts and her aesthetic as a whole, she’s just so pretty!

Persona just oozes sister vibes, both big and little. So I would say she’s an even 50/50 switch

She’s probably ticklish all over, but I would say her worst spot is her belly, specifically her belly button

She doesn’t shut up when being tickled. She’ll scream, beg, plead, complain, or try to distract you

Either that or she’ll send her ghosts to make you depressed

She would be such a brat after being tickled tbh 😭

She would pout and scold you before eventually moving on and floating away

She only tickles things she deems cute, so if you’re not cute in her book, you’re safe

But once she has you in her sights, she’ll playfully tackle you and absolutely wreck you

She likes your cute laugher :3

Crocodile:

My boy Crocodile! Gosh he’s just so cool. I didn’t like him too much in the Alabasta arc, but he got a lot better in Impel Down and Marineford! I just really love the way he looks, and his sand powers :3

Yeah…In all honesty I don’t think this guys really ticklish at all

As much as it pains me to admit

The only spot that could really make him laugh is his neck

Even then all you would get are a few chuckles

He’s not sensitive enough to wreck sorry 😔

He doesn’t really participate in tickling either

He thinks it’s childish

Nico Robin:

The best Strawhat. I do not take criticism. She is my girl and I love her so much. Her “I want to live” made my heart ache! And she easily has my favorite devil fruit

We love a canon ler

Gosh her ability is so well for tickling as we’ve seen in the show twice!

Like she can summon two arms to hold yours and then two to tickle you silly

She’s a nice ler most of the time tho, she won’t torture you for too long

As a lee I think she’s one of those people that are ticklish on most of their body, but not too ticklish

Like no matter where you tickle her, tummy, neck, feet, she’ll giggle but that’s about it

As I’ve said before I think her worst spot are her sides so that’s where you’ll get the most reaction

She’s a bit louder but other than that there’s not really a lot of difference

She had a lovely laugh though <3

Jewelry Bonney:

Another supernova! I really like Bonney, I find her devil fruit really interesting! I can’t wait to see more of her Ticklish thighs. I don’t take criticism she’s definitely weak there

She also has pretty sensitive armpits, but her thighs are a bit worse

Her laugher is kinda rough, and she definitely snorts

If you’re really close to her, she doesn’t mind being ticked by you

But if not you’re getting kicked in the face

Since she’s a big foodie, I see her favorite tickling methods to be things like nibbling or raspberries

I would say licking too but I’m super uncomfortable with licking tickles

X Drake:

X Drake! I love him so much, my dinosaur boy. He easily has the best animal devil fruit so far (I forget what the type is called)

While I do think he’s ticklish, I think he has a lot of tolerance for those kind of things

I mean he used to be a rear admiral he definitely has some endurance

He doesn’t actually squirm around that much. He’ll flinch and shove a bit, maybe kick his legs a few times, but for the most part he just takes it

But he does have one weakness: raspberries

If you blow one right on his belly, like on the middle of the bottom of the huge X on his torso, he’ll laugh louder then the sea

He’s definitely more of a ler. I see him tickling people in his dinosaur form

Like he’s carrying them like a doll and tickling them all over

Or holding them by the ankles and wrecking their soles

Human or dinosaur form, if he’s tickling you you’re not escaping until he lets you go

[utilitycaster]

My unpopular opinion is that Im0dna is a great example of "just because someone knows you the longest, doesn't mean they know you the best". They don't really underwater each other like other people in the party already do

Hi anon,

So the ask meme is done but I don't actually know if this was intended as part of that, as I also have the sort of personality that solicits unpopular opinions into my inbox anyway. (Also I am guessing underwater is a very funny autocorrect mishap for understand; I have been there).

Anyway, yeah. I think my favorite meta I've seen is that what Imogen and Laudna actually ask of each other is just to be there - because it is true that they have both lived incredibly lonely lives. For what it's worth I think loneliness/missing someone is perhaps the most common thread among Bells Hells, with a secondary theme being victims of circumstance/irrevocably altered by events beyond their control, and it frustrates me that a lot of framing of the ship ignores that Imogen and Laudna are not uniquely suited to understand this about each other. But it is true they have experienced loneliness that, in my opinion, is at least partially self-inflicted (also not unique) and that their response has been to be there for each other.

But it also means there's little room for change, because change threatens that status quo, and there's therefore no space to delve deeper. It's a little bit of the classic problem of if you start a romantic relationship with a friend and then break up, you might lose both the romantic relationship and the friendship. But it's more than that - Chetney and Imogen have zero romantic interest in each other and aren't even terribly close within the party, but when Chetney asks Imogen if she's okay Imogen is actually able to answer with some amount of honesty without pretending everything will work out, as she's not worried about making sure he feels comfortable. Deanna, who's known Imogen for less than a week, is able to address Imogen's constant use of psychic powers in a way that's not unkind but is in fact the honest sort of thing a best friend should be able to tell you. Or for another example, FCG's tendency to strongly urge people, including Imogen, to confront their pasts isn't always the most skilled, but it usually comes from a place of good intentions, whereas Imogen and Laudna's relationship feels...unconsciously transactional? I think we saw in the gnarlrock fight that they're just absolutely terrified of being in a fight and don't really know how to resolve conflict in a way that actually moves forward rather than smoothing things over. Like, it's not an unfair relationship - they're both getting the same companionship out of it - but there's not really space for one person to be angry at the other or to feel wronged. There's no room to breathe.

Anyway - I think the party split is really illuminating this! Imogen is benefiting immensely from this arc, as it both spotlights her relationships with other party members and gives her some time to process after being the central focus for so long. While I have to admit that Team Wildemount is the one I'm far more interested in for a number of reasons (fantastic guests, all the main PCs have cool plot hooks to explore, I love Uthodurn and Molaesmyr) I do hope that we get to see Laudna similarly have a chance to branch out (pun kind of intended).

[spiritsong]

6, 16, 19, 25, 28, 30

I had to stop or I would have asked basically all of the questions 💀😂

getting down on one knee and presenting you with a rose because you are a TREASURE 🌹 hahaha thank you for the questions!!

from BG3 Character Development Questions, for Aune;

6. What companion are you platonically close with?

Answered here!

16. Do they have a favorite creature in Faerûn?

Feystags! And though she's more of a cat person, she likes blink dogs as well. Speaking of cats, she freaked tf out upon meeting Tara (a cat!! with wings!!!!), but was not well received lmao 😔 She also is really into pixies but idk if I'd count them since they're technically people and not creatures lol. Aune really wants to see a faerie dragon!!

19. How do you think they'll meet their end?

OH GOD IDK 💀 ok ok ok so, in all honesty, I think Aune will end up getting wayyyy too powerful to simply be felled in battle with anyone, so that's out of the cards. I don't think she'll ever be rid of her self-sacrificing streak, so if it's not simply of old age, she'd die giving her life up for someone. The thing is, she's so (unhealthily) devoted to Astarion that the only person she'd be willing to give up her life to is Astarion himself lol. Otherwise she'd be like "I'm so sorry, I love you and will do almost anything for you BUTTTT my guy needs me. he's waiting at home for his dinner. aka me 😔"

25. What arcana major best represents your Tav?

This is my favorite question of the list because I am wild about tarot!! So I've always associated Aune's larger story with the Lovers. The largest arcs of her life are focused on her relationship with one other person; how she juxtaposes against them, and how she finds herself and her life changed as a result of the relationship. And not just in a romantic sense! (In her early childhood/young adulthood, it was just her and Xulleth, her last master. After that, it was her and Imyrr, her late love, and then her and Astarion, etc.) There's always some sort of duality going on. But most of all, when I think of Aune, I often consider her as a package deal with durge!Aune. I've always thought of them as parallel realities or mirrors of each other. Despite the fact that their paths diverge and they live through different experiences, a lot of their inner selves remain the same, which has been interesting to see play out. ALSO I like the Lovers because Aune's story can pretty much be boiled down to "love trumps all" and how she eventually learns to love herself & let others love her back. HOWEVERRR if I'm just considering Aune as a person, then I... unfortunately can't narrow it down 🤣 The Hanged Man is a BIG one - she hangs in the intersection between life & death, the World Above (the surface) & the Night Below (the Underdark), good & evil, etc. She's an outsider for most of her life and struggles with self-sacrifice. The other card I associate with her specifically is the Star; to me, the Star is basically who the Hanged Man becomes if they can come to terms with their place in the in-between. Because I always have to do the absolute most, here are Aune's cards from my favorite deck of all time (Pagan Otherworlds).

Also, the Hierophant reversed (eschewing tradition), Judgment reversed (self-doubt, self-criticism), and the Hermit reversed (self-imposed isolation) are great symbols of her struggling within Eilistraee's church. OK OK I'm done

28. Is your character the de facto leader of the party? Or do they consider someone else to be the leader?

Aune is definitely the leader of the bunch and would actually have a pretty hard time giving up the position, despite the fact that she complains & laments about it and has WAY too much on her plate. 😂

30. What's your favorite thing about your Tav?

This is probably one of those questions where my answer will change everytime, but at the moment, it's her propensity for hope, even when she's at her absolute rock bottom. She has a tendency to drown herself in her own misery, indulge in apathy, feed her pessimism, etc., and even through all that there is ALWAYS a little seed of hope for something better that persists. She probably hates that about herself because she largely wants to give up, but can't bring herself to. And thank gods because it pays off 🥹

[canonically47]

I'm curious as to your absolute favorite part of each Total Drama season and each Disventure Camp season.

aw thanks for this ask!! i find it really sweet :3 let's see if my memory can hold up to the task!

total drama

season 1: it may be just because i haven't watched this season in a while, and because it's definitely not my favorite if i had to pick, but i think what stuck with me the most were the duncney first kiss scene (which was sooo adorable i miss them sm <//3), gwen accepting to go on a date with trent (i miss them.. sob....), harold's little >:3 after courtney got eliminated, and gwen and geoff's entire arc in geoff's elimination episode. if i had to choose between all of those, i'd pick the latter. it was such a fun dynamic that unfortunately was soon forgotten.

season 2: a lot of justin scenes are iconic but in the end i have to go with a harold scene, which would be the one in which he punches duncan in the face. yeah that's my favorite part always. what a great guy i love him sm. i also really like the entire dynamic of duncan-harold-heather-leshawna as a group they were AMAZING and even without leshawna in that one episode they SLAYED i love that silly trio

season 3: so since you didn't ask for a specific scene but just for a part, i'll just have to say the entire aleheather arc was amazing. they are such a well-constructed ship and i adore them. i cannot picture them with anyone else but themselves. my favorite scene to come out of the entire season also comes from them: when they're dancing on the train, singing "you are the worst, why must you torment me?" oh god they have it so bad for each other

season 4: roti is so forgettable which is sad because it has so many great characters.. i'll have to go with something related to jo since she's my fav and made the season better, i really liked her bickering with brick and anne maria. she's truly a bisexual enemies-to-lovers icon. i love the scene in which she and brick meet up and start ranting about who ran the most

season 5: that season didn't exist wdym?? but in all honesty aleheather dating was awesome and i miss them sm.. when chris said 'are you two DATING??' something in me shifted he was so funny for that idek why

season 6: ugh i hate you so tdpi.. shawn and jasmine dodging the lasers was pretty dope tho

season 7: hard to say because ridonculous race has a lot of GREAT moments but i just loved the dynamic of the cadets in general. i love how macarthur softened up after breaking sanders' arm and how much she cared for her. i also think the step-brothers were awesome and one of my favorite total drama scenes ever is when they realize how much they have in common. i miss those two goobers! the goths were also iconic and i love every moment they are on the screen, but when they came back to the show dressed in even more hardcore goth i LOST IT /pos

season 8: the rajbow kiss. come on. did you think i'd say anything else? the rajbow kiss was ICONIC

season 9: the fact that it ended... that was the best part. but in all seriousness, i really liked ripaxel. i think this is a hot take at this point. even though they were very rushed, they were such a healthy, happy couple. i was scared for them when axel said that awkward goodbye to ripper but i was so relieved for them in the finale. ripaxel definitely made the season better for me

season 10: i love the scene where damien- oh what's that? season 10 is entirely in my head? oh i would've spoiled TD:TBBG? my bad chief

disventure camp

season 1: i will never forget when i actually teared up when miriam and jake opened up to each other... besides that when alec and fiore started plotting together i became a different, better person. i miss them :( please come back to me lovelies :( i also really loved the tomjake kiss but. yeah we all know what i feel about them now. i miss them so fucking much it's not even funny

season 2: kai standing up to yul was so funny to me because why did his hair go like that /pos i remember i had a doodle in one of my notebooks that was kai going haywire the way he did in that scene and i scribbled the following words by him, with an arrow pointing towards him: 'same guy who goes namaste n shit'. also jaiden... save me jaiden... they were definitely my favorite part of the season :3

season 3: i'll definitely update this after the entire season comes out (october btw. yes i calculated. i put it in my agenda and everything /srs) but the villains alliance is by far the most promising and amazing part of the season. i can't wait to see where it goes next!

[maryallenc]

some disorganized thoughts about the latest ep

everyone was on fire, i really love it

i am generally pro-prime deities, but i am actually enjoying the perspective of those siding with the fuck the gods team in this party

simply because it serves to tell me more about the character rather than the actual debate itself

it makes sense

and maybe im wrong but the discussion at least doesnt feel as extensive

deni$e is impersonal

prism is doing as expected of swinging between getting swept up and looking at it with an academic perspective

and i realize ashton and prism were probably the only ones who seem satisfied with what they did

but anyway

i appreciate deni$e so much

shes definitely a simpler character than the rest, but shes also the most self-assured

i wouldnt exactly call her the rock of the group rn but i think its a good thing shes there to focus on what they did all that for, which was the scry

and i see bor'dor and prism as foils

theyre both relatively young and suddenly put outside of their comfort zone and out on their own on a world on the verge of something akin to an apocalypse and they have no idea whats happening

prism is loving it while bor'dor absolutely does not

not surprising considering the vast differences of backgrounds

but at the end there, bor'dor becomes a lot more conflicted after being the one to kill the angel, while prism seems to be the one most glad with the outcome

theres something i just adore with both of them obviously getting swept up with the fight and fighting for what they were told was right

but it ends bor'dor just even more lost and prism more confident

and bor'dor! i love that he has no idea and hes just a guy, but i loved that conversation with orym

i love that he was quick to see the whole picture from the lens of a simple guy from a smaller world than the one has was transported into, pointing out that abbadina is just as clueless

and i love prism's role here

it makes sense for a relatively young and impressionable girl whos out here finding herself and grew up with a complicatwd relationship with her people's deity and a scholar's academic perspective to be asking these questions and getting swept up by these new ideas

she gets easily swept up but at the same time acknowledges that she also has to ponder them on her own

i just. i love whats emily doing with her

shes pushing for these answers and inadvertently bringing up bad memories but she has to know to understand

and ashton is. sigh.

ashton's not okay

ashton was really all for hearthdell's side here, and it makes sense for our punk rock here

and his issues just further exacerbated it when faced with the angel of the god protecting the institution oppressing this village

i admit raising an eyebrow at his takeaway from that encounter but it does make sense

do i fully and wholeheartedly agree? no, not really

but it's consistent with his character

god theyre such a fucking mess. a disaster.

love them

orym continues to break my heart

i was cooing and making noises during his conversation with laudna

he is so lost again

he is definitely grieving right now and that moment with laudna is so important

speaking of laudna!

laudna has definitely become one of my favorites during this arc

i love seeing this bitter and angry side to her

god ashton wouldve loved to have witnessed that

but im glad orym was there

theres so much contrast to orym's despair and just the dark anger in laudna in that scene

and orym reaches out, and laudna immediately reaches back in support and god im so glad i got this scene

i have been waiting for another big scene between them besides laudna revealing her backstory to orym

like. besides imogen, the other prominent dynamic laudna has is with ashton

which is a combination of just open and brutal honesty, mutual understanding and support, but also constant needling and provocation to prove to the other person that their perspective and responses are the right one

but laudna was surprisingly open to orym without any effort

maybe its because the compartmentalization cracked during the fight and a lot of things are trigerring her right now and she is just so done with abbadina and the town itself after what she has been through and she is just so over all these constantly putting themselves into danger when there are more important things

but i found it so delightful

i want more of this laudna

both laudna and orym are so done

they are my definitive faves in bells hells

i want more scenes of them together

on the other hand

my prediction/wish that these side of bells hells are gonna reunite with the others as more feral versions of themselves seem to be going great

love it 🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲

[linklethehistorian]

Linkle, I must know, what are your thoughts on Mori as a character? His actions and motivations?? Id love to hear your opinion, btw that last chapter of cherish was great!! I loved it so much!!!

Ahhh hello there, anon, thank you so much! 🥺😭💕💖🥰 It’s such an honor to get a message like this from someone who is reading the fic. 💕🥺💖🥰💕🥺💖🥰 I’m so glad you liked Chapter 12; it definitely has one of my own personal favorite scenes, tbh (but I won’t take up your time talking about that right now lol). Having a fan base for Cherish is truly lovely; I’m so blessed by each and every one of you. 🥺💖

As for your question, I’m always happy to share!

Before I say anything at all on my opinion, though, I’m first going to make it clear that I am completely setting aside that one…particular matter that has been discussed to death by the fandom for the moment, because I fear far too many people tend to forget that it is entirely possible to make any remotely positive commentary on a fictional character without that actually somehow meaning you condone his alleged…preferences. For the people in the back that need to hear this out loud to be set at ease: I in absolutely no way do.

Now with that out of the way for a bit, let’s talk about the rest of Mori. I’ll throw it under the cut, though, both for length and for potential spoilers of multiple light novels (Dark Era, Fifteen, Storm Bringer, etc.) and obviously the manga up to his last appearance in current arc. Oh and obviously the typical Mori-related trigger subjects. Yeah.

Honestly, on a general note, these days I think Mori as a character is super cool; I’m not sure where precisely I’d rate him on the list of characters because I honestly like nearly every character in BSD and think they’re pretty awesomely written, but on a general scale of 1 to 10, he’s a very solid 8 or 9 for me.

My first introduction to him was…admittedly not at all the best possible representation of him.

When I first joined the fandom, I began my journey through the series by watching the anime adaption of Dark Era, at the behest of a dear friend who said I would be best off doing so before I watched the rest of the show (of which there were only two seasons at the time) and then reading the manga, in order to get the best and most meaningful experience; it is not something I remotely regret, and in honesty, I would probably wholeheartedly recommend any new people to do the same, if they intended to start with the anime. Regardless, though, this decision did have the impact of making me immediately strongly dislike Mori as a person from the very start, given what he did to the orphans, Oda, and Dazai by extension.

Really, I wouldn’t say that I came to see him in any particular shades of grey motivation-wise until I watched the episode titled Double Black, in which there was the first reference of what would have become of the Port Mafia and Yokohama as a whole had he not usurped the throne to the organization so many years ago.

After that, I began to look at him with a bit more understanding and curiosity, horrible and ruthless though his nature may still mostly have been. Fifteen (specifically the light novel, NOT the anime) — which it should be said, I think is the best existing canon representation of Mori in terms of giving us a good look at his thoughts and motivations — only amplified that outlook and interest for me, and I think it alone is largely to thank for why I enjoy him as a character as much as I do in current time.

Although he’s definitely not someone I’d feel particularly comfortable writing an entire story solely around — as I don’t believe I’m expert nor absurdly passionate enough to do so compared to some genuine Mori fans that I know are out there out there — I nevertheless really, really do enjoy writing him, especially in Cherish (which is only the second time I’ve written him, if I’m honest — at least, in anything I’d consider publishing, anyway).

There’s just so much potential in him plot and personality-wise; he is incredibly flexible of a person in terms of his thoughts, mannerisms, motivations, and actions, which makes it super fun to explore and play around with when telling a story. I’d say he easily has one of the most fun personalities among the BSD ensemble, purely because of utterly unpredictable it can be; on one hand, he has moments where (at least outwardly) is capable of being extremely friendly, outgoing, generous and unassuming, and yet on the other, he is very much always inwardly observant of all that is going on around him and capable of quickly switching to being cold, calculating, and openly cruel at the drop of a hat. But even then, usually, his cruelty doesn’t come in the form of physical violence; it’s often emotional manipulation, intimidation, taking your fears and weaknesses and using them against you to get him whatever he feels he needs in the present moment. Sometimes, it isn’t even outwardly visible that the switch of gears happened; he knows how to poison you in the sweetest and most unassuming yet effective way possible — whether that poison is literal or metaphorical. He’s definitely the kind of person who could sing you to sing to sleep every night and kiss your cheek every morning even as he’s secretly plotting your demise. lol

That being said, I think a lot of the fandom, in their hatred for him as a person, tends to mischaracterize him a lot, rather than looking at it objectively. I’ve seen a lot of fics and general fandom takes that portray him as a sadistic person who is cruel simply for the sake of being cruel and does terrible things to others purely for the enjoyment factor, but that is 100% not who Mori is; canonically, Mori does what he does mostly, if not entirely, out of what he feels is necessity as the leader of the organization. Now, I’m not saying there may not be parts of him that enjoy certain things he does — it’s certainly more than possible, and even highly probable — but his actions as godfather are driven by achieving what he feels is the optimal solution, not by personal pleasure and amusement; as a matter of fact, in Fifteen, he even made it clear when speaking to Chuuya that he fully acknowledges a lot of what he does is morally reprehensible — he just feels that it is his duty to commit these atrocities for the ‘greater good’ of the organization, and that the end therefore justifies the means.

The thing is, there is a character in BSD who is exactly the way this portion of the fandom characterizes Mori, and he was even a member of the Port Mafia, so if people really wanted to canonically explore this dynamic of a character who wholly gets off on tormenting people, causing suffering and probing others’ heads rather than doing it as just a business practice, they absolutely could still do it and be true to canon by writing about said other character; it’s just that it’s not a convenient truth that a lot of the fandom wants or likes to face — because that would mean acknowledging that it was everyone’s beloved Dazai and not the oh-so-despised Mori who used to think in such a sick and twisted way during his days in the criminal underworld.

Granted, some people do write both characters very well and very accurately, and I applaud them, but I do find it frustrating when the fandom reduces either Mori to this purely evil, sadistic villain who is bad just for the sake of being bad, because he is so much more interesting as he truly is in canon.

It’s this dichotomy where his dedication to the overall well-being of his people and company is admirable and even understandable, yet at the same time his individual actions when you look at them from a moral perspective are pretty much all morally reprehensible in some way, shape, or form — if not in every way. The same is true of his time in the army; as a general concept, his desire to protect Japan during the Great War was on the whole admirable and understandable, we know that he was well-meaning about it, but at the same time, no matter how desperate the situation was, what he did to Yosano and his entire army was absolutely disgusting and unacceptable — especially because it came so easily to him to do it and he made no apologies for it nor expressed any guilt over the suffering he caused later on.

Do I think Mori is, on the whole, a good person? Absolutely not. Do I think that he sometimes has the best of intentions in mind with his schemes? In the grander scheme of things, yes; it’s just that he mostly doesn’t care who or how many he has to hurt to achieve that so long as it’s slightly less than his net gain from doing it, which in turn cancels out things enough to prevent him from ever being labeled as being or acting as a “good person” at any moment.

I think the best, most objective description of him is to say that he’s pragmatic and ruthless.

…And then obviously there’s the part that everyone in the fandom discusses to death — about the main universe version of him being into little girls. Not a whole lot to say about that; it’s gross, it’s wrong, it’s unforgivable, it’s morally reprehensible, and it’s chilling and disturbing and it definitely completely disqualifies him from being labeled a good person even if he had been able to earn that title from something he did somewhere along the way.

That being said — and I know this is probably going to be controversial to a lot of the fandom, so let me say upfront that I’m not saying that that isn’t 100% a valid and understandable reading of who he is and the way he feels based on all the evidence throughout the series, nor am I trying to convince anyone otherwise — purely because it is fiction and therefore all made up to begin with, at least for my own personal comfort, I typically choose in my own personal readings to just look at him as someone with a particular weakness for little girls because he’s fatherly — although I make no effort to claim that to be the objective truth, nor does such interpretation affect or influence any of my writings in any way; it’s simply the way I prefer to engage with BSD on my own personal time — outside of my writings.

As a matter of fact, in my one fic, Bittersweet Belief, he was intentionally written with the intention of being portrayed as a groomer, and in Cherish, his ‘tastes’ will be portrayed no less nor more suspicious than how they are in canon, and therefore it will never be fully, directly addressed, but may be interpreted however you wish.

I do not need people coming to me providing evidence of why they believe there is no way to look at it differently, as again, I am not arguing that it is objectively untrue in any way that Mori is written to be a pedo in BSD, and when in public spaces among other people talking about it I don’t even try to say otherwise, much less convince anyone of it. I understand fandom etiquette and I am not trying to erase anything about him from others’ perceptions in order to make him more “likable”. I am just engaging with BSD, whenever I am personally reading it and watching it, in the way that is more comfortable for me. Nothing more, nothing less.

Anyway, yeah, Mori’s a super fun character to write and observe in the BSD world! I think there’s a lot of depth to him and he’s very well-written — probably among my top past antagonists purely for the super interesting personality and the purely pragmatic outlook to life and business.

[everlasting-rainfall]

Welcome back River 💗 Hope your doing ok and drinking plenty of water ^^

I really enjoyed reading your new fics ; I especially enjoyed reading yandere Luffy and Sanji (you got me shipping them XD ) and the way Koby had me convinced that pirate love river did set up captain starfish demise (seriously love reading that one )

I really enjoyed reading your aus fic from crossing to zoo (I also enjoyed reading your platonic fic )

yandere Sabo made me laugh poor boy can’t catch a break hahah 10/10 you did an amazing job writing him , I can imagine him being like that if he was a yandere ^_^

hope your doing ok 💗

Hey! It’s nice to get a message in my inbox from ya and sorry that I haven’t been talking to you in our DM’s as I’ve been dealing with some personal issues that have brought up a lot of anxiety for me about random shit but don’t worry! I’m 100% safe!

There’s no need to worry at all and everything is going to be absolutely fine with me! And that isn’t me being like that sweaty smiling character who keeps glancing behind them in a horror movie while trying to convince everyone that there’s no monster like genuinely, I’m gonna be fine

Things are just stressful right now in all honesty and I’d rather not get into it too much as it’s my private life

I’m glad that you enjoyed my new stories as well! I actually felt really insecure about a lot of them like the Koby one especially as I felt like a mischaracterized him big time to the point where I was just like “Fuck, this is awful…”

I am glad to hear that it was actually pretty good though and I’m also happy to hear that that I’ve turned you into a LuSan shipper as it’s one of my favorite ships in One Piece in all honesty! Like one of my many fankids is actually their kid with Sanji being her Mom

Also I am glad that you liked the platonic fic as well because G8 is one of my comfort arcs like I got sick with a sore throat a few days ago and just wound up on my side watching my favorite episode from it because the characters really make me feel safe and comforted

So I decided to try share that with you all too in the form of a Familial Yandere Fanfic about them! I hope that it did manage to spark a little bit of that same energy as I thought that the ending alongside the rescue from those evil NPC’s was very sweet if not scary in a Yandere sense

I very much struggled with the Sabo story too like I was half tempted to be like “Fuck, I can’t do this…” but then came that idea and all turned out okay!

Plus I can see Sabo going through like twenty stress balls in a day if he’s fighting his Yandere urges like the people around him are just staring wide eyed as he pops another one, grabs a new one, and then pops that one like two squeezes later

Also I am trying to drink a lot of water so thank you so much for reminding me! If you would like to talk more though then I think some of my anxiety is wearing off a little and I do have this Poppy Playtime x One Piece thing that I can tell you about in DM’s if you’d like!

Anywho, I’m gonna get back to trying to wind down with some Animal Crossing but I am glad to see that you still like my stories! And sorry for not talking to you much in DM’s

And for anyone else whose reading this part then feel free to send me a message in DM’s if you’d like to chat or listen to me ramble endlessly about my many OC’s

Or send me a message for the Discord Link and I’ll send you one back to join! But remember! No minors allowed!!

[snowe-zolynn-rogers]

In all honesty I think the sams issue with eclipse could be solved easily. Just hug the poor baby. Give them kisses and pats. Praise them for making lunar. Show some love and maybe they'll learn how to love. They basically caused this mess for trying to abandon eclipse in the first place.

Oh absolutely. I’m all on-board for a redemption arc for Eclipse (though he’ll still be my favorite character even if he doesn’t get one). He was abandoned in Sun by Moon, betrayed by his own little brother (though justly) then abandoned by Sun by being shunted out (again, though justly), and now is being made to work on things like a mindless bot by KC.

He deserves to have a second chance like they gave Lunar. He never got one, but Lunar did. I mean, I get why, he harassed Sun and Moon for months, but he deserves to be talked to like Moon did with Lunar when he gave him back control in October.

I mean, Eclipse didn’t ask to be made, Moon just did (even if it was an accident) but he still did and he should own up to it. Enough time has passed that him and Eclipse will possibly work together, Eclipse sounds like a shell of himself and Moon seems to be becoming accepting of other people being family now.

He should sit down and talk with Eclipse about why he did what he did and give him a second chance to fix what he did by helping them with KC. (Helping with KC could also be the beginning of his redemption arc and it’s a win-win.)

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

right now my absolute favorite musical is wicked, coinciding with my perpetual oz interest (I hope I used that word correctly). I used to listen to Dear Evan Hansen quite a lot but haven’t listened to it in a while. Except for “a part of me”, one of the cut songs.

can I ask why it’s your favorite?

Wicked and Oz in general are awesome. I read through the books semi-recently (as well as re-watching Return to Oz) and it always amazes me to remember just how different in tone the 1939 film is. It's truly a world of it's own, with a different feel an overall mood - Dorothy is obviously far different. Our stage adaptation is primarily based on the 1939 movie so my analysis is based on that, but I'd practically call it an Oz AU with all of the liberties it takes. Mostly with Dorothy. She is largely a pawn in games played by the Witches and Wizard of Oz. A game that ultimately, Glinda won. (My feelings about the 1939 version of Glinda are very similar to my feelings about Dumbledore for similar reasons.)

But Wicked is different. Wicked is a commentary on...on, so many things, but I think a major one is complacency. (It's similar to why I love Borrasca actually.) The idea that there can be something rotten in the state of Denmark, something bad happening in Oz, and people will look the other way. It's painfully realistic. Galinda's whole character arc is intertwined with this. Because it's like Elphaba says. She'll grovel in submission to the corrupt institution if it means advancing her own position and career. But in her heart, she knows better. I love the repeated use of the words "good" and "wicked" blatantly deconstructing them and proving that things aren't black and white. That good and evil are just...words that we say. And their weight depends on who is saying them and about what.

The only thing I don't care for when it comes to Wicked is that...well, it kind of succumbs to what I call "Prequel-itus." As a prequel to Wizard of Oz (well, it technically is both a prequel and a retelling since it goes past the end of the original but I digress) Wicked feels the need to give everything and everything a backstory. Fiyero...didn't need to be the Scarecrow. Fair enough to that one, since it was clearly planned and a major part of the story (though it casts a shadow over his bond with Dorothy in all honesty) but Boq as the Tin Man? Give me a break. That asshole is nothing like The Tin Man, who was sweet and sensitive and, oh yeah, already had a backstory. Not to mention the hastily thrown in line about the Lion being the cub from Act 1? Come on now.

As for Dear Evan Hansen.

I just. I really love human dramas. (Again, Borrasca. I can't recommend it enough, except, every trigger warning you can imagine applies to it.) Dear Evan Hansen is such a magnificent story about realistic people going through emotional issues. It's a story that isn't guided by plot, but by characters reacting based on their feelings and desires. The inciting incident is Connor's suicide and the misunderstanding with Evan's note, but after that, the entire plot could be resolved if the characters (mainly Evan) just made different choices. Better ones, smarter ones. But it's not a plot hole, either. It's characterization. You can see the exact moment when Evan falls in love with the lie. "And I see him come to get me. He's....come to get me. And everything's....okay." I've seen a slime tutorial of this show and based on the performance, that is the moment that Evan went from awkwardly trying to comfort a grieving family....to telling himself a better story, about his own life. One where he had a best friend, and wasn't having suicidal thoughts.

And that's one of the major themes of Dear Evan Hansen. Rewriting history when there's no one to contradict you, and living in the new reality you've created from that story, because there's nothing to stop you except yourself. It crops up all over the place, not just in the #BigLie, but Evan also initially lies to Larry about the situation with his father. This idea is echoed in Sincerely, Me as well. "All that it takes is a little reinvention." and "Just believe you can be who you wanna be." It comes up again in Words Fail which is...the most fucking raw and emotional that a musical has ever gotten, for me anyway. I sob when I listen to that song, especially at the crescendo when it reprises Waving Through a Window. Evan talking about no one seeing the real him, because he fears "Will they hate it too?" Just broke me. Because...honestly? I relate to it. And I think a lot of people can. "Will I just keep on running away from what's true?" Like. Oof.

Everyone in this show is miserable, in different ways, and they manifest it in different ways that are typically unhealthy. Though I think my favorite character is Heidi. I don't know if she's considered problematic in the musical fandom, but I will pick up my foam finger and defend her to the last. She was doing everything she could. Evan's anger at her for being absent is understandable, but it wasn't out of negligence. She was working multiple jobs to keep a roof over their heads. She didn't always handle situations the best, like the dinner with the Murphys...but she was blindsided over and over that night, so, fair enough. She isn't very knowledgeable about her son's mental health issues, but it's not for lack of trying. She's doing her best, and also, Evan isn't telling her anything. He's not sharing with her. He's lying to her, on top of lying to everyone else.

The situation needed to end. Because it was unhealthy. Even if Connor and Evan's friendship had been real, it was reaching unhealthy levels. They gave Evan Connor's clothes. They gave him Connor's college fund. Given how he was sleeping over at the Murphy's house all the time, and I don't see them making him take the couch (or allowing him to crash with Zoey) he was probably sleeping in Connor's room. Like, it was reaching creepy levels even if you ignore that it was all based on a lie. And when they find out...yeah, they don't forgive him. Why would they? It would be way too good to be true, Evan would be getting off far too easy, if they just forgave him. They didn't expose him to the world and that is charitable on their parts. Evan had to lose the life he'd gained and return to reality. I like that even though Zoey ultimately forgives him, they don't get back together. Realistically, there's no way they would.

God this story just rips me to shreds. I feel bad for everyone involved, but they're also culpable for their own choices. Like...Alana is another example. We're meant to sympathize with her (and Jared) by the end. Sure, she's a little annoying, but she means well, and her dedication to the Connor Project is sincere. That said...she really doesn't know what she's talking about, claiming the emails "don't make sense" because Connor seemed to be doing better before he died. That's...shockingly naive. Also, the fact that she posted Connor's suicide note (as far as she knew) online without permission. She didn't ask his family if that was okay. She did it explicitly against the wishes of his best friend who the letter was written for. That's fucked up.

I could write similar analysis of Jared, Connor's parents, Zoey...but I can already tell this one is gonna be a long runner so I'll cap it here.

[harryissuchalittleshit]

What's your top 10 Harry Potter favorite characters?

Ginny Weasley - like this girl is so fucking badass! Her boyfriend breaks up with her so she dusts herself off and helps run an ARMY! She is the reason why Hogwarts had a resistance during the war! Then after the war she went on to be one of the best Quidditch players of the century!! Be still my beating heart this girl has it all, and on top of everything she had a severally traumatic experience at 11 and has only grown stronger and braver since!

Percy Weasley - the unsung hero of the Weasley family, and I know haters are going to hate, but this man would do anything for his family. He helped with autistic brother, he kept a steady hand in his ADHD brother, he helped teach his dyslexic brother how to read, and he will forever be the brother Ginny turns to for comfort. He sacrificed everything for the people he loves and it meant everything. (Also he is soooo tall and I find that super attractive)

Hermione Granger - at five years old I looked in the mirror with my two oversized front teeth and messy brown hair and thought that I was Hermione because everyone told me I was smart. I dressed up as her three times for Halloween in middle school. I consumed books and studied and just read because I wanted to be Hermione, and she is still and always will be a favorite of mine.

Harry Potter - without him we wouldn’t have the series, but I don’t care about that. Without Harry, I wouldn’t have a pedestal to place Ginny on (lol). I love Harry for his cool and calm demeanor with the perfect amount of sass and (un)observantness. He’s fun to write for and I love his voice and his sense of humor, and he’s never afraid to give some hard advice when needed.

Ron Weasley - do I love character development!!! Ron is such a fun character to write and read, he has so many thoughts and emotions that are fun to explore and I just always enjoy being in his head a little. I think he becomes a wonderful father and grandfather, and he’s the most well rounded individual of the trio.

Rose and Hugo Weasley - does this seem like cheating? Yes! Do I care?? Absolutely not!! I love these two because just like their parents, they have a very clear and well rounded voice and personality, I’ve written so much of them that I feel like we’re just having conversations most days. It’s fun and I love writing for them and giving them a voice they normally don’t get to have.

Draco and Astoria Malfoy - I love character development! I also wrote Draco a redemption arc where he’s a teacher’s aid to a group of preschoolers and he lives with Andromeda for a few years before her tragic death. I write him falling in love with the Muggle world and also Astoria. Speaking of which, Astoria is just a breath of fresh air to the normal Slytherin mentality and attitude. She’s so warm and giving and kind, she doesn’t hide behind walls of her own making, and she’s usually breaking down others. I love the pair of them together, and Scorpius grows up to have such a happy and stable life with them.

Scorpius Malfoy - he’s the perfect child to Astoria and Draco, he has some of Draco’s sass and stubbornness, but all of Astoria’s unyielding kindness and joy. He is such a sweet and good person who is ambitious in his personal and love life. He knows exactly how he wants his life to be and that means Rose Weasley was going to be his bride and mother to their children, and he gets it all at fifteen, a year sooner than he ever imagined.

James and Lily Potter - I was a Jily shipper before I knew what shipping was. I went seeking out jily stories for my first fanfiction experience and that’s led me down the rabbit hole I live in now. I love the voice of truth and honesty that Lily has, just like her son. And I love James serious dedication and overall hope that he also passes down to his son. Knowing James and Lily made me know Harry better, and the love they have is so powerful it’s managed to save the same life three times.

Angelina Johnson - like Ginny, Angelina is fucking badass! She fell in love with her husband at eleven and never felt her love for him waver. She played Quidditch so well that she was recruited for a starting position, but turned it down to go work in the spell damage ward at St. Mungo’s because saving lives means everything to her. She flew missions for the Order during the war and fought in the battle of Hogwarts without getting so much as a hair out of place. She then fell in love again with her husband as they both healed from their losses, she lost a baby and fought to not lose herself, and she almost died having her twins, but still she persisted. Ange is just amazing.

[casliveblog]

Custom Toonami Block Week 168 Rundown

Spy X Family: We’re back to the two vignette format which I’m not the biggest fan of but what can you do. Becky wants to seduce Loid despite that being illegal for several reasons and heads over to Anya’s house to both accidentally flex her wealth and steal Yor’s man. Anya’s surprisingly on board with Operation Bed a Married Man Eight Times Your Age because Becky is rich and flashes through a montage of how cool having a rich six year old for a mom would be. Loid is just asking questions for spy intel shit cause you can never have too much of that but shenanigans ensue and Yor of course comes in and freaks out initiating a high-speed chase down the street when she thinks she’s gotten Becky sick. It’s funny because not only are the adults oblivious to the plan but like they wouldn’t take it seriously even if they knew, SHE’S SIX. Becky eventually learns to respect Yor’s strength and see her as a kind person and potentially figure out some polygamy shit I guess because now she’s just trying to prove she’s strong so Loid will like her like Yor, that makes three women trying to have a shonen tournament for this man’s oblivious affection. Speaking of which the second half of the episode is Fiona running around doing Loid’s makeup work while he’s on the cruise ship and going through a full-ass training arc to beat Yor that I’m absolutely sure will make zero difference next time they meet.

Inuyasha The Final Act: A lot’s going on in this episodes and we’re juggling like four different plotlines because The Final Act decided to say fuck it to the drawn out storytelling and be like let’s get this shit done, it’s like reverse filler. Kikyo has taken Midoriko’s soul to once again extend her fleeting life by a bit longer and reveals what I assume to have been her plan all along with purifying Naraku’s soul with the completed jewel which is why she gave him the half the jewel back when Kagome had a bunch of shards before Shard Inflation occurred, like I think she’s making a bigger deal out of this than it has to be, Naraku’s not completely invulnerable despite what she says even without his heart and there can be and are other ways to obliterate him on a molecular level but at least seeing her game plan now makes some of her previous actions make more sense. Since Kohaku has what is ostensibly the last shard standing and isn’t able to make nice with the group reminding him of his crimes, he decides to go with Kikyo and go all in on the complete the jewel plan.  Meanwhile Koga undergoes his trial to obtain the Goraishi and finally catch up with the power creep that hit like a hundred episodes ago like Koga was essentially power crept from his introduction but I do love him and the Goraishi is one of my favorite anime weapons so it’s cool to see him be the first of Final Act’s ‘oh yeah other characters besides Inuyasha probably need upgrades too’ list. Last but not least, Kagura is running from Naraku which seems kinda pointless since he literally has her heart in the palm of his hand like I don’t think it’s like cell phone signal like if she just gets far enough away from it, it won’t work. To prove this point Naraku just teleports in front of her and fucking gives her the heart back only to stab her full of poison a second later and be like ‘cool story bro, enjoy the freedom, all five minutes of it’. Meanwhile meanwhile, Sesshomaru is fighting Moryomaru and fucking breaks the Tokijin over his head and spoils the ‘imma steal all his energy’ that is every Sesshomaru fight because they made Sesshomaru way too strong so every fight has to revolve around trying to steal his power. Still once he’s done he rushes to where Kagura is to at least be with her as she dies, telling her as much that he came to see her which is a frightening display of honesty and openness for Sesshomaru, like their relationship kinda came out of nowhere idk why Sesshomaru cares at all about her at this point and I’m not entirely sure when Kagura’s infatuation turned from ‘he’s a strong guy that can beat Naraku’ to ‘I think I kinda like him’ but it’s a good moment, like maybe it’s better paced in the manga but I do like their dynamic as the only two that really understand each other precisely because both are so guarded. Also like that Sesshomaru just tells Inuyasha that Kagura was at peace when she died instead of like ‘bitch it’s not my job to stop your women from dying’ like he did with Kikyo on Mt. Hakurei.

Castlevania: Now that all of the preamble with Dracula is out of the way, we get to our hero…ish guy, Trevor Belmont, who introduces himself as the best fighter in the world while getting his shit kicked in by a bunch of drunken nobodies and still somehow coming out on top. He makes his way around getting scraps of food and talking to marketplace people D&D vagrant style, it’s kinda funny how this kind of conveys how people in video games walk around talking to people to see what the plot is better than the Shenmue anime which is like they actually animated the video game. But yeah in classic anime hero fashion they find someone being picked on by assholes and proceed to… gruesomely dismember them, okay that’s not usually how that works but I’ll roll with it. Apparently these dudes are part of a monk-like sect his father knew and they’re kinda just chill dudes but the Church is like ‘motherfuckers the peace monks did this shit’ when Dracula comes despite the fact the church literally did this shit. And these guys are just hanging around being persecuted out of the goodness of their hearts and also because the elder’s grandkid is down looking for the Jesus-like soldier guy that’s supposed to come stop Dracula-type shit from happening, so minor conflict of interest but being the pragmatic-type hero Trevor is he just wants the peace monks to get the fuck out of dodge so that they’re still around to save anyone that’s left to be saved once everything inevitably goes to shit because if the hordes don’t get them, something more dangerous will: Catholics.  

Jujutsu Kaisen: So yeah as expected, Megudad wasn’t Edo Tensei’d just to fight Ino and then go back, turns out he’s pulling a Madara and reversing the revival and taking control of it himself because the series is really having fun with the ‘the body is the soul’ thing which basically means whatever the plot wants it to mean but they literally said a few episodes ago that it will mean whatever the plot wants it to mean so I can’t really blame them. The next most pressing issue is hand-holding guy is going around killing all the Middle Managers and he’s finally reached the two we know, Kento manages to save Ijichi and Nobara is protecting the blonde lady but hand-hold guy manages to get a blow to her jaw which I feel like ‘a blow to the jaw rattles the brain and temporarily paralyzes you’ is fiction’s new favorite fun fact about fighting because I’m seeing that around a lot lately. Shame because I feel like this guy vs Nobara would be a pretty evenly matched fight but Kento comes in and demolishes him for murdering all the mook Middle Managers. Sadly he’s not dead and as things get worse in this arc I feel like not double-tapping all the random bad guys is gonna come to bite someone in the ass but everyone’s safe for now. I don’t know how to feel about Nobara’s part in this fight because she always seems to get the ‘not now, the big boys are playing’ moments and the only reason she’s not dead is because hand holding guy is a fucking moron but the only reason she was even in trouble was because he got ridiculously lucky so idk I guess coincidences cancel each other out. Also Yuji’s come face to face with Blood Man who’s pissed his less humanoid brothers got murdered by Yuji and Nobara so that’ll be something to deal with next time. Also Mei Mei’s fighting Smallpox or something idk.

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End: Before I begin with this episode I gotta say this is like the chilliest anime in the world like the pace is so slow and no one talks above a light tone and I think it’s an interesting way to portray the way Frieren views a slow and quietly changing world where milestones aren’t large but simply pass by one by one. Frieren is continuing to train Fern to shoot her rock and passes by several years with Heiter, enjoying an amount of time with him that she didn’t get with Himmel even if it is short and near the end of his life. Fern expresses that she wants to be fully trained by the time Heiter dies so he doesn’t have to worry about her and he can go knowing his decision to save and take care of her wasn’t in vain. It’s funny because we get to see both sides of this as Heiter’s doing this as a final act of goodwill in Himmel’s spirit. Turns out the ominous grimmoire had absolutely nothing in it as expected but unexpectedly Heiter knew that and was using it as a stalling tactic to get Frieren to train Fern to the point where Fern can join her on her journey without being a hinderance, like I feel like once Frieren got like 90% of the way through translating the grimmoire and there was no immortality she was probably safe in the assumption they weren’t gonna sneak it in on the last page but it is a cute little flip on that. Heiter tells Frieren to take Fern and go so she doesn’t have to watch him die but Frieren says fuck that shit she’s done missing out on time with people she cares about and having improper farewells on their deaths so she stays until the bitter end. Frieren and Fern then set off to… not really do much of anything honestly, Frieren seems like the kind of person that would get all the Korok seeds in Breath of the Wild you know, she’s a completionist and wants to get every kind of spell she can which is interesting because it seems magic in this world is made through a combination of fundamentals and culture so you can almost homebrew magic like messing with the source code of the mana which actually sounds really neat if that’s how it works and she can just get spells and make new ones no matter how small and simple some are. One day they come across a statue of Himmel and fix it up and Fern wants to create a spell to summon his favorite flowers from his hometown but no one’s seen it in years, so they fucking search for six months for this fucking flower which probably ranks up there as one of the most tedious sidequests of all time. Now the conflict here is kind of interesting since Frieren is now traveling with Fern she can’t just dump a decade into finding one thing for a side project she’s been working on, but also Fern has to come to understand Frieren as well and why she does things the way she does. There’s no explosion of frustration or anything they just legit quietly talk and end up figuring out a way to find the flower once all is laid bare and that’s kinda neat and it also means Fern has the patience of a fucking saint because most people would be done with this shit by now, Frieren also never really gets mad about it despite that wound likely being very fresh and her getting a little obsessive about doing something for Himmel and being a perfectionist about it HAVING to be this particular flower, I could see an alternate drama-filled version of this episode in a different writing style. The note we end on is also really nice with Frieren nothing that Fern and her both got into magic not really for any grand reason but because for a combination of enjoying it and it connecting them to people they care about, it was the choice they made, sort of reminds me of the ending of Soul, it’s more pleasure driven than purpose driven since this seems to be a show about making your own meaning out of life.

Vinland Saga: So Canute sends his rudest men to go tell Olmar to fuck off so he can kill one in a rigged fight and they can arrest the lot of them. Funny thing is Olmar STILL almost loses the rigged fight and then Thorgil gives him a pep talk to complete the rigging and then murders the rest of them which kinda ruins the plan because Thorgil’s a fucking sociopath and murders all of Canute’s guards rather than go to jail which idk why they didn’t have that stone throwing guy give Thorgil some wounds while he was murdering everyone like the guy’s basically Bullseye from Daredevil and he let the situation get completely out of hand. It’s funny how Thorgil’s like ‘yeah we murdered five to ten people but we had no choice, they were talkin’ shit’ and like really puts a fine point on how stupid this whole culture is and why Canute’s trying to change it. Also Olmar does not seem to be doing well with the reality of being a murderer even though it was almost an accident, like kid’s a little screwed up but he’s not a sociopath like his brother. Either way the three of them get away on Leif’s ship so Leif can go see Thorfinn and Canute is ready to bring war to Ketil’s farm.

[klowncrunch]

Okay time to rant about my one(kinda) issue. With never after

Timothy fucking goose

Before I say anything. I will say this.

Tis the nature of improv that not everything will be perfect. I just feel like more could've been done.

I love Timothy. I think what we do have of his arc is absolutely brilliant! I think his backstory is by far the most interesting and his beginning and end are very very very strong. But his middle is weak and that's mostly what I'm ranting about.

Don't get me wrong! I love him! Truly I do but it felt out of everyone in the cast he had the least going for him. Which is a rarity with Ally's characters??? I feel somewhere around the Baron fight I kinda just stopped being as engaged. This isn't to say Timothy doesn't have his strengths!! He absolutely does. The jack the giant slayer conversation broke my heart in a special way and watching Timothy have that conversation with Jack was important to me. Very much so. But Timothy doesn't really have an arc? And not in the same way Pib doesn't have an arc.

The way Pib doesn't have an arc feels purposeful, The way Timothy doesn't have a full arc feels like an unfortunate accident because it feels as if he didn't get enough time to bake. In the final adventuring party when they mentioned the potential Tim boss fight I honestly felt like that's where it should've lead. I have my issues too with dimension 20 seasons ending on net positives constantly and there never being any major pc pc character conflicts and I think that's what messes with Tims character to me.

Okay I'm gonna use a different podcast as an example for this. Scary marlowe. If they had went the route of Tim fighting the party after or even BEFORE pursuing a third wish I think it would've given Tim so much more of a presence then just guy with a book who is very charming.

I'm not even gonna get into how the first Canon Pc MLM (I think) relationship was sidelined for a majority of the story. Henry absolutely deserved better there.

BUT take this all with a grain of salt. D20 seasons in all honesty are not that long. They don't have time to flesh everyone out to the absolute maximum and often the seasons don't need that much time. Also POL is my favorite sidequest so my taste is kinda ass. I do love Timothy! Genuinely. I find him interesting. And never after is one of my favorites, Timothy just feels like he had a lot of potential. It's kinda a Lapin situation. Potential arcs cut short because of the way the dice rolled but overall still a strong character. Just with a twinge of disappointment

[ikemenomegas]

lee and sasuke wasn't something i'd considered before but you described a truly great seed if i ever felt up to exploring that!!! thanks!!! personally i'm Big Fan of sai and shino but setting aside our favourite kikaichu-boy sai though......??? sai and lee just seems like a very very interesting combination based on a tenet of honesty, and because they could also bond over bodies like lee could with sasuke and lee's innate ability to connect to a certain outsider archetype- just look at gaara lol but also-- ...yeah i go hard with sai and lee being good friends and also more lmao

It's so funny that you mention Gaara, because I was so so tempted to add him to the list, but I really like Lee and Gaara as lifelong friends/allies who have this deep respect they don't share with anyone else, and I find it unlikely that Konoha would let it's new 8-gates master leave the village to mate someone else... Of the main group, I think Gaara and Lee are only ones to have had a spar (I'm not counting the shukaku vs kyuubi because that was a different thing) that ended in a particularly bad sort of way - with Lee almost permanently injured and in the hospital - only to fight beside each other a few months later. (Can you all tell sasuke retrieval arc was probably my favorite thing, the way each individual fight was crafted as a way for the boys to work out some major personal issues was so good, I miss the pacing of the og series)

But anon, anon, you have me absolutely vibrating. Shino is not on my list at the moment because I feel he would be difficult for me to write, but I can see it! Shino and Sai have that very quiet introvert + quiet extrovert thing going on. I'm not certain if they or Lee and Sai even speak in the show, so it didn't occur to me, but I agree these are some excellent pairings.

You're very right about Lee's ability to connect with those who are a little "outside" of the usual.

Lee and Sai have different approaches to honesty and different perspectives on honor but I absolutely pick up what you're putting down where they oddly seem to come to complementary conclusions about the way they want to interact with the people around them. Lee and Sai would also likely do without the sniping that Sasuke is known for. Sai imitates Sasuke's on occasion, but it's an act and Sai is not really that confrontational with the people around him, he's more likely to say something uncomfortable and true and let the chips fall. Alpha is going to be doing a lot of... not quite damage control but something between these two lol.

The only thing I would say is that yes, Sai's difficulties regarding connection with his "self" are similar to Sasuke's disconnect with his physical body, but Sasuke is deeply in touch with his emotions, while Sai as an artist is very aware of his physical self.

Sasuke's primary drive is the emotional connections he has with his immediate family, his friends, and his clan, his people. That might be part of the separation between his body and his desires - they have not always moved him towards the same goal, and his body has "failed" him more than once. Omegaverse Sasuke particularly feels this way because heats feel like a regularly scheduled reminder of weakness and until he experiences the emotional tether of a mate, he finds them deeply frustrating and gets rid of them with some grade-a genuine article Orochimaru drugs.

Sai is an artist, but he is specifically a painter. In more than one drama, painting is directly compared to a warrior's fighting style, which makes it very interesting that for Sai they are not only a comparison, but one and the same. For Sai, his paintings are one of the only ways he's able to connect his physical self to what he's feeling. I would even say that he's the most aware of his physical self when he is painting. At all other times though, I do think that you are right, that while Sai does sort of instinctually inhabit his physicality the way any very skilled physical performer does, that he doesn't connect his emotions to his body. Maybe a bit of inverse to the way Sasuke doesn't feel he can always connect his body to his emotions...

Since we're saying things today, the idea of Sasuke/Lee came to me because of the parallels between their respective mentors. Kakashi/Guy works very well as a ship, both logically and emotionally, but I like them as friends, simply because their bond is so particular. Kakashi has so few true friends though that in my writing, I preferentially preserve that profoundly cultivated relationship between them as an unshakeable friendship rather than a romantic entanglement. Thought it would be fun to play that out in their students instead ;)