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stillness-in-green · 3 months

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Counting Cliffhangers: The Heroes Are Not the Underdogs in BNHA's War Arcs

(Being a project to tally up which side, if either, of Team Hero or Team Villain is "on top" at the end of each chapter in the war arcs, in consideration of the impact of the overall totals. This is one of those mega-long list posts; do not click the Expand/Read More unless you're prepared for a lot of reading and/or scrolling.)

One of the things that bothered me throughout both of the war arcs was the persistent sense that, for all that the manga was trying very hard to convince me that the Heroes were up against the wall and really having to give it everything they had, I never really felt that level of danger. Of course, one always expects a degree of that—it’s not as though any sensible reader would really think this manga could end with the Villains winning!—but the problem went beyond that. Expecting that the protagonist will win out in the end is the standard, after all, but good stories still find ways to keep readers engaged and believing in the stakes.

So why didn’t I? I certainly believed in the stakes for the Villains—Twice’s death happens very early in the first war, and it sets the stakes quite clearly! Was it just the difference between my own engagement with the Villains compared to the Heroes? That didn’t seem quite right—even if I cared about one side for more than the other, it shouldn’t have been the case that that affection alone was skewing my suspension of disbelief about the dangers faced by the Heroes. The threat posed to Midnight certainly seemed real enough, as was also the case for the Heroes left trampled in Gigantomachia’s wake, like Gang Orca and Fatgum. As I’ve had to tell the occasional asker here before, just because I don’t particularly care about a character doesn’t mean I become incapable of evaluating their story beats!

What was the problem, then? Why did the dangers to the Villains seem so desperately real, while the dangers to the Heroes, for the most part, just had me rolling my eyes and waiting for the next asspull that would save them?

I think there are two primary factors. The first and biggest factor is simply baked into the worldbuilding and the decisions made in the writing: the sides are poorly matched. I’m not going to go into all of that here, but as a thought exercise, go through the arcs of the story that contain active conflict and consider which side has the advantage in each of the following categories: individual combatant quality (stuff like raw power, endurance, and training/experience to improve upon their inherent capabilities), equipment quality, information about the opponent, ability to set the terms of engagement, and raw numbers of warm bodies to throw at a fight.

By my measure, much of the early confrontations in BNHA work because these advantages are divided evenly between the Heroes and Villains. Likewise, My Villain Academia is so gripping because the Meta Liberation Army has virtually every advantage over the League, making the League really and truly feel like the underdogs in the fight. Conversely, the Heroes are the ones with virtually every advantage in the war arcs,[1] meaning they cannot convincingly be the underdogs the story so desperately wants us to believe they are.

1: I swear I’m not going to go into all of it, at least not in this post, but to be very brief, I think the only advantages the Villains could even kind of claim during the war arcs are numbers and combatant quality. The numbers advantage is mostly illusory; the PLF are leveled in the cursory mass arrest of the first war and, despite repeated insistence otherwise, the only place where the Villains’ numbers are a true threat in the second war is at the hospital attack, where said numbers consist chiefly of untrained and easily swayed civilians in a battle it’s desperately unclear why the Heroes allowed to take place at all. The quality advantage, meanwhile, is heavily concentrated in only a handful of hard-hitting, A-to-S-rank threats on the Villains’ side, while the Heroes maintain clear quality supremacy in rank-and-file or side character battles.

The other factor, and the one this post concerns, is the structure of the chapters themselves, to wit, the way that they end. In a serialized story being published and read week to week, each installment’s ending is a crucial factor in the story’s overall tone. What happens on the last page is a major factor in the impact each chapter makes, the feeling the reader is left with while they wait for the next part. If the intent, therefore, is for the Heroes to feel threatened, pushed to the very edge of their endurance, then a very basic thing needs to be observed: don’t end every fucking chapter with the Heroes having the fucking advantage.

I’m so serious here, guys. It’s not that the Villains never have the advantage, never get twists or reveals or reinforcements that turn the tide of the battle in their favor. It’s that, by and large, those advantages come in the middle of chapters, while the Heroes’ twists and reveals and reinforcements get the benefit of being at the end of chapters, so the dominant feeling—the side that’s left wildly cheering for their “team” at the end of the week—is usually the Heroes. While it’s possible that the impression left is different when reading the story in volume form,[2] when reading week to week, that imbalance critically damages the story’s ability to portray the desperation and strain of the Heroes’ struggle.

2: Having not read the arcs in this fashion, I couldn't say. Obviously I don't know how a volume-only reader would experience this aspect of the story, but even reading (or rereading) a bunch of chapters all in one go online suffers from some impaired momentum between chapters by having to specifically navigate to the next chapter webpage and wait for it to load rather than just being able to turn pages freely.

That, in any case, was my thesis when I first started this count, listing which side has the upper hand at the end of each chapter of the two war arcs, as well as the total overall. With the second war arc finally having ended, I figured I’d go ahead and post my results.

Hit the jump!

For each arc, I started counting at the chapter where active conflict breaks out, including as a dramatic end cliffhanger. Thus, for the first war, I didn’t start in Chapter 258, where the groups are still gathering, but rather in Chapter 259, when the forward momentum begins and the first Villain (Ujiko) is confronted. Likewise, the second war count begins with Chapter 343, when the armies confront each other. The counts end with the last chapter containing active Hero/Villain conflict rather than narrated montage. Thus, the first war ends in 295, when AFO and the League flee the field, not in 296 with the looming threat of the long-awaited jailbreak. The second war ends with Deku’s weather-clearing fist in 423.

My basic categories are Hero Advantage, Villain Advantage, and Neither. Fake-outs are categorized as they are perceived in the moment of reading them, not as they read in retrospect. Further, I do not categorize based on the overall tenor of the chapter, but only the impact of the final page. This is by nature somewhat subjective, but I’ve done my best to call them as I think they’re meant to be read.

What is the feeling the reader takes with them into the next chapter? Excitement for the heroes? Dismay and fear? A simmering tension? Which side, if either, got the HELL YEAH HELL YEAH fist-pump? If there's a relative clear answer, I'll call it for one side of the other; chapters that end with no particular new reveals, arrivals, power-ups, or other such shifts in the tides with be called as neither.

Finally, for ease of tracking and reading, my tallies and accompanying brief explanations are separated by volume. I'll provide totals for each category at the end of each volume, and full totals, as well as a total count for which category the volumes end in, at the end of the arcs. Final counts and commentary will close the post.

Let's get started.

FIRST WAR ARC

Volume 27: 259: Hero Advantage. Endeavor and company confront (apparently) Ujiko, catching him completely flat-footed.

260: Hero. Mirko crashes into Ujiko’s lab, to his horror, and kills John-chan in doing so.

261: Neither. Mirko and the High Ends square up for their Round 2.

262: Hero. The Villa gets cracked open like an egg, catching its inhabitants entirely off-guard.

263: Hero. If they were on more level footing, I’d call this Neither, but given the positions Hawks and Twice end the chapter in, and the clear difference in emotional preparedness, this one goes to the Heroes.

264: Neither. The Hawks/Twice fight continues inconclusively; Dabi is revealed to be on his way, but has not yet arrived on-scene to affect any changes.

265: Villain. Dabi makes a strong and, for Hawks, unexpected entrance, pinning Hawks beneath his boot.

266: Neither. Twice dies, which is a huge hit to the Villains, but the narrative sympathy is so clearly with Twice and Toga that it’s impossible to describe the chapter as ending on a fist-pumping note for anyone.

267: Hero. Doubly so, as Endeavor and Tokoyami both show up to intervene in fights that were about to go to the villains, but we'll be fair and only count it as one anyway.

Heroes 5 | Villains 1 | Neither 3 | Total 9

Volume 28: 268: Neither. Basement action. The tube gets cracked; Aizawa and Mic are told not to let Shigaraki wake up. Nothing conclusive.

269: Hero Advantage. Literally ends with Ujiko wailing that the Lord of Evil’s dream is over.

270: Villain. It ends with Deku getting a warning about Shigaraki, which makes it a bit borderline, but Shigaraki being awake at all has to count for the Villains.

271: Villain. Gigantomachia stands up.

272: Neither. The kids start rallying against the Decay wave. Deku gets a new move that doesn’t seem like it should have any effect but is played as being effective. Shigaraki’s Decay wave is being monstrously effective, even apocalyptic, but the tone of the last page is ambiguous.

273: Neither. Shigaraki faces off with Endeavor. Both are known factors on this field of battle.

274: Neither. Deku is on the move in hopes of leading Shigaraki to a more deserted area.

275: Hero. Aizawa arrives at the Shigaraki fight, locking down his quirk use.

276: Hero. Deku and Bakugou arrive in time to save Aizawa from what likely would have been the same kind of blow that will later cost him his eye.

Heroes 3 | Villains 2 | Neither 4 | Total 9

Volume 29: 277: Neither. Mount Lady attempts to stop Gigantomachia. Results inconclusive; both known factors.

278: Neither. Leans a bit Hero side because it’s Momo dramatically getting her head on straight, but it’s really just more preparations for a face-off.

279: Hero Advantage. The League is getting swarmed and Mina is on the brink of delivering what’s framed as a knock-out blow to Machia.

280: Neither. Shigaraki laboriously gathers himself, preparing to monologue.

281: Villain. Shigaraki readies a quirk-destroying bullet with Aizawa’s name on it.

282: Villain. Gigantomachia, who is very much not knocked out, looms over an unsuspecting city.

283: Hero. Deku negates the (immediate) danger of Decay by activating Float.

284: Hero. Deku lands a full-power blow on Shigaraki, who’s been largely unable to fend him off in the air.

285: Villain. It pains me to grant this because I knew good and well Bakugou would be completely fine. But he is a major combatant and face for the Hero side and this is clearly intended to look like it will take him out, at least for the fight.

Heroes 3 | Villains 3 | Neither 3 | Total 9

Volume 30: 286: Hero Advantage. The action moves to the vestige realm. Very borderline, but Nana’s words are definitive: “Let us handle this.” The implication is very much that there’s no need to fear because the vestiges have got this.

287: Neither. Chapter ends with Toga reflecting on heroes and the weight they give to the lives of Villains. Could represent a major turning point for Toga, but it’s still soft-pedaled by making that turning point dependent on a Hero’s yet-unspoken words.

288: Neither. Chapter ends mid-dialogue in the Toga/Ochaco fight.

289: Villain. Machia and his passengers arrive.

290: Villain. A little borderline because the actual very last panel is the plane containing Best Jeanist, but the audience doesn’t know that yet, and the bulk of the final page is dedicated the devastation of the Touya Reveal, so I have to give this one to them.

291: Hero. Best Jeanist arrives.

292: Hero. Mirio arrives with his quirk restored.

293: Hero. Machia goes down because the sedative finally kicks in.

294: Villain. Mr. Compress backstory reveal and big escape moment.

295: Neither. The battle ends save for the wrap-up. The villains are neither victorious nor defeated.

Heroes 4 | Villains 3 | Neither 3 | Total 10

SECOND WAR ARC

Volume 35: 343: Hero Advantage. The Heroes counter AFO’s army by “unexpectedly” whipping out their own via Warp Gate.

344: Hero. The Heroes take the offensive and split up the villains’ army.

345: Villain. Toga lassos Deku through a gate, separating him from the field he’s supposed to be on.

346: Villain. The beginning of Fingervetr.

347: Neither. Borderline because it’s a big dramatic page of Toga, but it’s more conversational then confrontational to me, and isn’t revealing anything particularly new.

348: Neither. Deku flees the island, leaving Toga to Ochaco.

349: Neither. Dabi gears up to provide the answers Shouto has specifically asked for.

350: Neither. Dabi’s coming on strong, but Shouto remains undaunted. I’d give it to the Villains if the last page were Dabi liquidating the All Might statue, though.

Heroes 2 | Villains 2 | Neither 4 | Total 8

Volume 36: 351: Hero Advantage. Shouto unleashes Phosphor.

352: Hero. Shouto appears to beat Dabi.

353: Neither. AFO is talking a lot, but not about anything groundbreaking.

354: Neither. AFO and Jirou exchange smacktalk.

355: Hero. Hawks and Jirou combine efforts to break AFO’s mask.

356: Neither. Endeavor has a big moment, but AFO gets his hands up in time to block and is still shown intact at the end of the chapter. Borderline, but I’d say not quite definitive enough to qualify it for the hero side.

357: Villain. AFO regenerates. A little borderline because it actually ends with Deku, and the approach of what I guessed at the time were the American jets, but I think it’s a similar enough scenario as the end of Chapter 270 to call it for the Villains as well.

358: Neither. No impact from the Hero attack leaves it a little unclear how much effect it will have, and a new attack is not a big enough game changer for me to really count it even unproven. It’d be easy to call it for the Heroes, though.

359: Hero. Return of the Big Three.

360: Hero. Bakugou’s in rough shape, but there’s a hint that he’s noticed something important, which could foreshadow a change in the tides of the battle.

361: Hero. Suneater’s Chimera Cannon, which certainly looks incredibly hype and impressive in the moment.

362: Villain. Bakugou’s “death.”

Heroes 6 | Villains 2 | Neither 4 | Total 12

Volume 37: 363: Villain Advantage. AFO finishes regenerating; full face reveal.

364: Hero. The impossibly moronic Edgeshot-as-Bakugou’s-heart business. Not conclusive, but it steals one of the Villains’ victories out from under from them.

365: Villain. A shift in Inner Tenko’s emotional state heralds Shigaraki’s next form.

366: Hero. Deku arrives at the Sky Coffin.

367: Neither. Deku attempts conversation to ask about Shigaraki’s status.

368: Hero. Deku lands a full-power hit on ShigAFO while Yoichi talks to his big brother about letting this being the day that their battle ends.

369: Villain. A scene change to Spinner that’s timed in such a way that it could really only foreshadow Spinner’s victory.

370: Neither. It’s very close to a Hero call, but mostly what Shouji’s doing is shaking off mundane attackers and making a dramatic proclamation. Not quite enough direct impact for an end-of-chapter Hero Advantage.

371: Neither. Even closer than the last one, but neither blow the kids are gearing up for actually connect on-page. I wouldn’t fault anyone who called it for the Heroes, though.

372: Neither. An extremely effective cliffhanger, for once, as Spinner and Mic call out to Kurogiri simultaneously.

373: Villain. Kurogiri gets up, calling himself the protector of Shigaraki Tomura.

374: Villain. Toga deploys Sad Man’s Death Parade; Hawks proves he hasn’t learned jack shit from the last time he faced this question.

Heroes 3 | Villains 5 | Neither 4 | Total 12

Volume 38: 375: Hero Advantage. Toga’s narrative-destined rival manages to follow her off the island and to the Villa ruins. Close to a Neither call.

376: Neither. Setting up a Dabi/Endeavor clash with Endeavor not caught on the back foot.

377: Hero. Return of La Brava.

378: Hero. Return of Lady Nagant.

379: Neither. Sets up a reengaged clash between Shigaraki and Deku.

380: Hero. Arrival of Shiketsu.

381: Hero. Tokoyami lands a blow that AFO is explicitly afraid to get hit with.

382: Hero. Shinsou and Kirishima arrive with a brainwashed Gigantomachia.

383: Neither. Reiterates that AFO is in trouble, but it’s not new information, and the choppers coming in at the very end are an unpredictable element.

384: Hero. The choppers are full of Hero-supporting journalists here to tell the world how incredibly hard-working and earnest and admirable Heroes are. Gag.

385: Neither. AFO’s belated but impressive show of force gets dampened somewhat by the Heroes refusing to give in, and even getting one of their number back. It’s back and forth, but Stain really tips it for good over to a neutral chapter ending. While he’s obviously not aligned with the Villains, he’s far too murderous to chalk him up as a Hero yet, either, especially on-scene watching two kids he tried to kill last time he saw them.

386: Hero. All Might gets a cool robot suit and the last-page chapter title drop references his iconic catchphrase.

Heroes 8 | Villains 0 | Neither 4 | Total 12

Volume 39: 387: Hero Advantage. Rei is, of course, a civilian, not a hero, but she’s clearly aligned on the Team Good Guy, so I have to give it to them. It’s not a hill I’d die on, however, particularly with the very last panel being the flashback to Touya emphasizing Rei’s culpability.

388: Neither. What a nice vision of hell as everyone burns to death, including Dabi. If I gave it to anyone, I’d lean Villain, because it’s certainly more in line with what Dabi wants—what he’s always wanted. But in terms of impact on the reader, it certainly isn’t going to get anyone whooping and cheering for the Villains.

389: Neither. It’s a good last few pages of Shouto and Iida, but the reader already knows they’re on their way, so it’s not a pleasant surprise to see them enroute. The fact that they are still enroute rather than dramatically arriving to save the day keeps this from being a full Hero moment ending.

390: Neither. Teasing more of the fight between Toga and Uraraka, but no sudden turns, new elements, or grand statements on either side.

391: Neither. Ongoing fight; while Ochaco gets the stirring line, the actual last page is Toga lashing out.

392: Villain. While I’m loathe to give it to them on the basis of an injury I was not for one second actually worried about, the chapter does end with Toga putting a knife into Uraraka’s gut and a flashback to Twice asking Toga about a Villain name. A clear Villain-upper-hand ending.

393: Hero. Ochaco comes through with flying colors, getting a quirk awakening and making Toga an offer she’s dreamed of her whole life.

394: BOTH. For literally the first time in this whole count, I can’t count this against either side. If pressed, I’d call it a Hero win, but it’s a win because it validates both sides.

395: Neither. Sorry, gang. I’m utterly incapable of calling this one in an unbiased way. It’s an all-too-real death scare for Toga and, regardless of how happy she is in the moment, I can’t call her potential death a victory. But since Ochaco obviously feels the same, it’s not a Hero win, either.

396: Hero. And get ready, ‘cause there're about to be a whole lot of them. Good god, but I hate this All Mech sequence.

397: Neither. Ongoing battle, no major tides turning in the final page.

398: Neither. As above.

Heroes 3 | Villains 1 | Neither 7 | Both 1 | Total 12

Volume 40: 399: Hero Advantage. The big turn-around with Aoyama, with All Might dropping the Aoyama-themed laser of AFO.

400: Hero. Stain’s return. Stain’s a Villain himself, but far too aligned with Hero orthodoxy for me to count him returning to help All Might as anything but a Hero-side victory.

401: Neither. All Might’s still kicking, AFO is within range of Shigaraki, but nothing decisive deployed on the final page.

402: Neither. To all appearances, All Might continues to shovel more battle damage onto AFO. There’s a death threat in the explosion, one I don’t think I took very seriously at the time, though plenty of others did. Left to my own devices, I’d call it for Team Hero, but I’ll err on the side of restraint and call it a hero equivalent of Toga’s death threat.

403: Hero. Unequivocal Hero victory—Bakugou’s back up.

404: Hero. Saving All Might with the literal power of prayer.

405: Hero. If I wanted to be snide, I’d point out that Final Boss is definitionally a Villain role, so Bakugou enthusiastically claiming it for himself implicates Heroes as having been the Villains all along, while the Villains are the clear heroic underdogs struggling against a corrupt, violent system. But that’s just my bitterness making me perverse; this is a clear Hero victory.

406: Neither. Exchanging of smack talk, Bakugou gets a good but not definitive hit in.

407: Neither. AFO’s flashback ends with one of the most crushing emotional defeats of his life, but you can hardly call AFO slice-and-dicing Yoichi a Hero win, either.

408: Neither. AFO’s going all-out, but Bakugou remains undaunted.

409: Hero. AFO’s effective defeat at Bakugou’s hands. Yoichi’s regretful glance is not enough to shift the needle.

410: Villain. Shigaraki does what the narrative has long been warning that he can and steals a portion of One For All, grabbing Danger Sense for himself and stealing Shinomori from the OFA collective.

Heroes 6 | Villains 1 | Neither 5 | Total 12

Volume 41: 411: Neither. Deku’s readying an offensive that gives Shigaraki lots of Danger Sense tinglies, but nothing definitive.

412: Neither. The temptation is strong to call this for the Hero side, as it’s the moment Kudou formulates the plan that will soon be leading to Shigaraki’s ultimate defeat, but the caveat that the plan requires losing One For All kiboshes that feeling very triumphant.

413: Hero. There’s some nominal sadness for Deku gearing up to lose OFA, but the tone here is much more about how great and awesome Deku is for being willing to do it, on top of how incredibly fucking rad the art plainly wants us to think that he looks.

414: Hero. I’d normally call it Neither for lacking new elements or definitive actions, but I have to acknowledge the sheer disparity between, on the one hand, the vestiges telling Deku that it’s working and to keep going as Deku gears up to unleash another punch while, on the other hand, all Shigaraki can manage is huddling in on himself and choking out a few pained grunts.

415: Neither. Borderline in that Eri is a clear Hero-side ally with an absolutely game-changing power, but the truth is that she’s at U.A. with no immediately clear way to make it to the battle even if anyone were to let her go, so it’s not too different from any other chapter that ended with a major player en route but not yet arriving.

416: Hero. Deku finally breaks into Shigaraki’s inner mind, over Shigaraki’s protestations.

417: Neither. Deku and Nana make a major breakthrough, but Shigaraki’s backstory yet has terrible bombs to drop. I can’t call it a Villain advantage, though, because it’s still stuff Shigaraki very much does not want Deku meddling with.

418: Villain. AFO returns yet again, spoiling Deku’s hard-won moment of equilibrium and understanding with Shigaraki.

419: Hero. We can’t even get a week to savor/freak out over Deku losing his arms because the actual last beat of the chapter is Aizawa bringing in a pair of classmates via Kurogiri’s warp gate, suggesting (albeit inaccurately) that Kurogiri has settled as a Hero ally.

420: Hero. More of the above and Deku gets his arms back after a world-shakingly relevant and momentous chapter and a half.

421: Hero. All around Hero support, now including from civilians too.

422: Hero. More of the above and now Deku’s punching Shigaraki at the end of it under a chapter title of Midoriya Izuku Rising.

423: Hero. Deku’s triumphantly raised fist clears storm clouds, changes the weather, and kills the man he was trying to save. This is framed as a victory anyway.

Heroes 8 | Villains 1 | Neither 4 | Total 13

TOTAL CHAPTER COUNT FOR BOTH WAR ARCS: 118 CHAPTERS Final Page Hero Advantage: 51 Final Page Villain Advantage: 21 Final Page Neither: 45 Final Page Both: 1

Total Volume Count: 11 Volumes Last Page Hero Advantage: 4 Last Page Villain Advantage: 4 Last Page Neither: 3

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Now, you could (and I might) write a whole different post about the unbalanced strategic advantages that I discussed at the beginning of the post, but I think this breakdown also serves to illustrate the scope of the problem with raw numbers (percentages rounded off a bit such that they total to neat 100s).

In the first war, 40.5% of the chapters end with the Heroes on the upswing, 35% have no clear advantage, and only 24.5% end with the Villains waxing triumphant. Despite Hawks reflecting at the end of My Villain Academia about how the Paranormal Liberation Front was a power on par with, or possibly even greater than, that of Hero Society, the numbers don't really back that up. Instead, Heroes have the advantage over half again as often as Villains do, and even the uncertain chapters are still more numerous.

The second war is worse—much worse. Hero Advantage chapters account for nearly half of the arc at 44.5%, while chapters where Neither side clears account for the bulk of the remaining chapters at 39.5%. Only 15% of the chapters, well under a quarter, are Villain Advantage. For an endgame that wants to be about "saving Villains," only one single chapter (1%) ends with something you could credibly call both sides winning.

Now, of course, the second war is the climax of the whole series, so of you might say that of course the Heroes are going to ultimately do better. They have to win in the end, after all, so of course the arc will eventually feature mostly Hero victories.

I would counter that, while that is true, the story repeatedly tries to convince us that the Heroes are really struggling, that they've lost so many people, that they're at this huge disadvantage that neccessitates the extreme measures they use. And the numbers simply don't back that up, even less than they did in the first war!

If you look at the totals for each volume, Heroes have a wild advantage in two of the first four volumes (the arc is seven volumes in total), numbers the Villains never come close to meeting. There's one volume (the third, Volume 37) where they have the majority of the chapter-ending advantages, and even there, it's a narrow margin. Volume 38 is then a blow-out with not a single Villain Advantage chapter cliffhanger in the whole book, and in the final three volumes of the arc, the Villains get exactly one Advantage chapter per volume.

Not very convincing numbers, if the aim is to convince the reader of how much Plus Extra effort the Heroes are going to have to exert, if you ask me!

Between them, Hero Advantage and Neither chapters make up a shocking 81% of the two war arcs, with merely 18%, less than fifth, of the chapters ending on Villain Advantage beats that could serve to freshly drum up, "Our heroes are really in trouble now!" anxiety.

Looking back to what I said about the Heroes having the bulk of the strategic advantages for both arcs, that surely can't be all that surprising. You can't expect a set-up that slanted to leave much room at all for Villains to get time to shine; they simply don't have the room in the story for that when, for everything they try, the Heroes already have some countermeasure.

As a final comparison, remember I praised MVA back at the start for being gripping in large part because the "Heroes" of that arc, the League of Villains, were at such a disadvantage?

I briefly ran the numbers there, and I'd say, of nineteen chapters that contain active confrontation of some sort between the League and an antagonistic force (Gigantomachia, Ujiko, and the MLA), the League have the chapter-ending advantage beat in four of those chapters: Toga's victory in 226, Twice overcoming his mental block and starting to replicate himself in 229, and the two chapters covering Shigaraki's ultimate victory over Re-Destro, 238 and 239. That's a grand total of 20% "Hero" Advantage chapters for them, and half of those are the arc climax chapters.

The "Villains" for the arc likewise have the ending advantage in 20% of the arc, four chapters: Machia having comprehensively whipped the League at the end of 419, RD making the League an offer they can't refuse in 223, Skeptic pushing all of Twice's buttons in 228, and RD plucking off Shigaraki's fingers in 233.

The remaining eleven chapters—60%—go to the Neither category. Compare that back to the percentages for the war arcs, and you can see that, while the Villain Advantage percentage is similar (~5% higher in the first war and likewise lower in the second), the Hero Advantage is twice the percentage (40+%) in both arcs, while the Neither chapters are accordingly lower (the war arcs are 35% and ~40% Neither respectively).

In other words, the Heroes in the war arcs just straight-up have more chapter-ending awesome moments and reveals, and spend less time facing chapter-ending uncertainty, compared to not just the Villains they're fighting in those arcs, but also compared to what those same Villains got when they were being Heroes for an arc.

And to think, Horikoshi wants me to think his Heroes are being challenged. Pull the other one, Sensei; it's got bells on.

(I welcome anyone else to run similar numbers with e.g. the trainng camp attack or the Hassaikai base raid. For myself, I'm too sleepy to figure out a better ending for this post, so I'm just turning out the lights and hitting the sack. Sorry if there's any formatting wigginess or the closing analysis is lacking; I will clean it up later if need be.)

#bnha #number crunching #bnha meta #here be percentiles #war arc woes

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angelatmidnight1 · 3 months

Note

I was wondering if you had any Lee!Astarion headcanons? The man deserves love and laughter 😭

A/N: He does, so I gave these a try. I mainly listened/watched a lot of Neil Newbon's streams to help with these so I hope they're in character for Astarion.

Lee!Astarion Tickle Headcanons

“You’re staring at me again. What do you want?”

Astarion is initially guarded when it comes to being tickled; it’s one thing when he’s the one doling them out, it’s another thing for him to be vulnerable and giggly with someone else.

He didn’t have any of those softer moments for nearly two centuries. So, the prospect of being tickled was pushed far out of his mind.

Asking him if he’s ticklish in the earlier parts of the adventure will only have him scoffing and rolling his eyes. “There’s a tadpole swimming in our skulls, and you’re asking me that? Your timing is impeccable.”

If he becomes more comfortable around someone and he’s asked the same question, he’s a bit less guarded, but he still deflects the question. He may even offer a flirty response if the asker is someone he likes. “You know, If you’re so eager to touch me, all you have to do is ask, darling.”

The truth is that Astarion isn’t sure if he’s ticklish or not. It’s easier to deflect or say that he isn’t instead of admitting to something that could be used against him.

It’ll take some time for him to be open to the idea of being tickled, so surprise attacks don’t initially go over well with him. He’ll get snappy and slap the offending hand away.

As a friendship and/or a romantic partnership is established, when Astarion trusts you, he slowly opens up to the idea. He’d never tell a living soul, or an undead one for that matter, but he secretly enjoys it.

The initial experiences he had with tickling involved him sitting up, hands free, allowing his ‘ler to gradually introduce him to it. He gritted his teeth, suppressing much of his laughter, but it didn’t last too long. Astarion is very ticklish.

His laugh is normally practiced: light, musical, and charming. His genuine laugh ranges from manic giggles or loud cackles. Still adorable, but he gets flustered if it’s pointed out.

Astarion covers his face or torso more than wrestling with his ‘ler’s hands. It doesn’t do much to ward off the ticklish sensations, and unconsciously gives the notion that maybe he doesn’t mind it. He’ll deny it backwards and forwards if someone calls it out.

In truth, laughing himself silly can be cathartic for him. He feels safe and lighter and is able to explore a more innocent intimacy without feeling guilty or uncomfortable.

Astarion’s a super teasy ‘ler himself, but being on the receiving end of teases is a novel experience for him. And they’re met with snippy retorts or lighthearted threats or insults, ranging from “I’m gohohoing to fuhucking kihill youhu” or “juhuhust wahahait until I geheht my hahahnds on youhu”.

He’s ticklish everywhere but is especially ticklish on his underarms, hips, and ears.

Sometimes he hiccups or coughs if he’s laughing hard enough. And if he isn’t covering his face, his fangs are on full display.

When he’s more comfortable with his companions, playful tickle attacks aren’t met with as much of a bite. Squeezing his sides while he’s not paying attention will earn his ‘ler a squealing “AAAHAHA”, and revenge will be swift. “Think you’re funny, do you? Come here!”

He also appreciates gentle, almost massage-like tickles from a partner every now and again. Tickles where he doesn’t immediately jump away and maybe even lean into them a bit. Sneaking in kisses will elicit gentle smiles and sighs. “I do rather like that, you know. The massage, I mean. Perhaps you wouldn’t mind doing it again for me, hm?”

#baldur's gate 3 #bg3 tickle #bg3 tickling #astarion #lee!astarion #ticklish!astarion #astarion acunin #bg3 astarion #bg3

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kyra45 · 5 months

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Important things to think about when getting mutual aid asks

Did you get an ask for mutual aid from a random blogger? Now most of the time there is nothing wrong with getting these asks. This is tumblr after all, the website of artists who take commissions and users who currently need support getting through a tough time. Unfortunately, as it has been since 2021 or even earlier, scammers have used asks as one way to get money off unsuspecting users. While it is generally understood that not all asks you get are from scammers, it is necessary to consider some options when you have received such an ask from someone. I am by no means an expert in busting scams! All the information I will give is some insights and things to look out for if you got an ask for money. If you are a legitimate person sending asks, please read the bio/pinned post of those you send asks to as they may not want those in their inbox. Sending them asks anyway is likely to make it seem like you are just spamming asks and some of those users are minors who do not have bank accounts or credit cards to send you anything.

1. The account itself is often relatively new when you have timestamps enabled. The posts they have may only be a few hours old or even a week old at best if you scroll more than just a glance. Please note that most accounts will have only one original post and then just reblogs of trending topics and popular posts. Their only other original posts are just answering asks. This isn’t always a sign of a scam account, sometimes it’s someone new to tumblr. But more often than not the account is already under suspicion because they may have backdated their posts to look older than they really are.

2. While backdating posts may have some uses outside of tumblr scams, this tactic is often seen if you check the reblog date of the post against the notes. The date is often set to months before it was actually shared and often the user will state someone told them to do this. However, no one is telling you to do that. You don’t do it unless you’re trying to be funny. But these accounts won’t say they did it publicly and then accuse people of attacking them when the date is brought up. I have seen scammers do this quite often, because they don’t think anyone notices.

3. You was sent the ask only after sharing posts about certain topics or certain events. This would imply someone is scrolling the notes of a post looking for accounts they can send asks to. They may have found the post while searching as well but regardless they almost always follow you them immediately send you asks for money despite no prior interactions with any of your content. They do not like your posts, share your posts, or even comment on them. Meaning they did not go beyond the top part of your profile. If you have asks off, they may DM you the same contents of their ask. I feel like there should be more interactions than just a follow and an ask. Legitimate accounts may do this as well, so please try to pay attention to who gets your asks.

4. Something about the ask is familiar if you often get the same ask from differing accounts. Often you’ll get multiple asks all at once from several blogs all saying their someone in need of mutual aid but their all from the same time all at once with a theme that is the same as the rest. A sort of pattern, if you consider it. Why would all those blogs come to you within minutes of a previous one that you already had answered saying you can’t help them? If they saw your account, the askers would know to leave you be since you’re unable to help them. But they don’t. They don’t care. They will keep asking you.

5. When searching the ask you was sent, pay attention to who has been sending it. There is usually a clear repeat of the same pfp across multiple accounts who sent the ask to multiple users over the course of months or even years. I’ve seen ages old asks reused for other scams so I know searching an ask is usually the best way to see if someone’s spamming it. Often very little changes between the asks but they may alter it for more urgency if they didn’t just copy it from a legitimate fundraiser and change up the names to make it less obvious. Usually the edit is adding extra text or asking you to answer privately so people don’t see the ask was being sent to other users. Legitimate accounts may do this as well, and that’s why I try to advise them to limit how often they send out asks since it might lead to false assumptions.

6. The images used may look alright, but have you tried to see if they’re from somewhere else? Most accounts who use images will often credit the source or the content is theirs from another platform. They will usually post videos that come from their other socials which they often have already mentioned. Such as Twitter/X or TikTok and Instagram and maybe even Facebook and YouTube. If someone claims the posted images is their family, but the image has been seen from other suspicious accounts who said it was their family too, it is reasonable to assume those images are stolen if there’s a watermark that the account doesn’t address or if they’ve edited an image that was publicly accessible. It’s hard to really explain it, but some are taking news images and passing them off as their own. Sometimes this can be the same way for those who ask for help paying vet bills; The images are edited to remove details that would point out poster stole it from someone else. Please keep in mind that this isn’t intended to say everyone is doing this. It’s just a reminder. Most of the time, images used are from actual people who aren’t aware that the content was stolen.

7. Unfortunately, some accounts will pretend to be part of a minority. They will also claim to have health issues that need immediate attention such as running out of insulin, needing medication to prevent their lungs from collapsing, having nose freezes too often, or needing more insulin because it’s expensive. There’s even more than that, but this is just the most common occurrences I’ve seen over the years I’ve been documenting scams. There are resources out there that can make insulin more affordable for those who do need it and ways to get it if you are unable to afford it otherwise.

8. Asks to help you after tagging certain things are rarely legitimate accounts wanting to support you. They are often just blogs who offer a digital check for you to cash in your banking app and you don’t scam the scammer by cashing it. Those who send asks claiming to know a person who can boost your fundraiser are generally just users who want you to pay the person a fee for something that’s free to do and doesn’t require paying someone for it. Don’t give out your personal information to these accounts they are not helping you.

Please keep in mind that this is just a general idea on what to look out for when getting asks for mutual aid. There are other things that are useful, things I’ve already noted across my blog is other posts that I didn’t feel like retyping yet again since it would get redundant after a bit. And be aware that not all asks for aid is from scam accounts! Some may be new users who haven’t used tumblr before and are still learning it. It’s important to bring awareness to scams so they can be avoided and to warn those who may have fell for the scam without being aware it was a scam. Everyone falls for a scam sometimes, it’s ok. It happens.

If you found this post useful or just like what I do, I use Ko-Fi.

#scam #longpost #long post #how to spot a scam blog #psa #important information

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wangxianficfinder · 1 year

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In the mood for...

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1. hi!! for the next itmf, it was always spoken in the novel, and sometimes in fics how jfm favoured wwx over his children. despite the fact that as readers we definitely see the contrary, are there fics where this is true? where jfm actually prefers wwx's company over his children, or even just jc?? no wwx bashing pls, i just found out it exists and i hated every word of that fic. thank you!! <3

~*~

2. Itmf fics where wangxian are on a battlefield fighting in a war. I love the angst of being in love in a place with little hope. @gentil-minou

The Vermillion Ribbon by Unforth (E, 233k, wangxian, Wen WWX, politics, slow burn, enemies to friends to lovers, hurt WWX, hurt LWJ, whump, serious injury, off-screen torture, hurt/comfort, angst, marriage of convenience, abusive father figures, panic attacks, trauma, ptsd, dissociation, pining, suicidal thoughts, miscommunication, touch starved LWJ, light dom/sub, feels, family feels, brotherly feels, LQR is a dick, abusive lan sect, emotional hurt/comfort, healing, recovery, Happy Ending)

~*~

3. Hi! I think this is an ask for the itmf but I’m not sure actually :/ anyways I’ve had exams for about the last two months so I couldn’t read any new fics and now that I’m finally free I don’t know where to start! Can you rec the best (completed, wangxian) fics you’ve read in the last months? Thanks luv :D

The Scarlet Lotus by rainbowninja167 (M, 137k, WangXian, Marriage of Convenience, Secret Identity, Fix-It, Angst with a Happy Ending, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, Canon-Typical Violence, canon-typical war crimes, Yunmeng Bros, Slow Burn, Mutual Pining, Miscommunication)

Going on charmingly by scribbet (T, 21k, WangXian, Teenage LWJ, Cloud Recesses Shenanigans, Cloud Recesses Study Arc, WWX is BSSR's Disciple, Genius WWX, Petty LWJ, Meddling LXC, Canon Divergence, JFM Doesn't Adopt WWX, Technically pre-relationship, but in the typical Wangxian way of them being in deep but just not acknowledging it yet, POV LWJ)

~*~

4. (This is my first time asking, so pwease pardon mistakes ʕ⁠´⁠•⁠ ⁠ᴥ⁠•⁠`⁠ʔ)

I'm in a mood for a fic where the drama version of Wangxian(or either one of them) meet the cql version! Thanks in advance ❤️ @dizzydandelionsandhyperhydrillas

The Young, the Horny, the Jaded and the Jade: Partners in Time by Admiranda (M, 55k, WIP, WangXian, Established couple, Crossover, road trip with your older selves, teasing your younger selves about their obvious crushes, yin iron does yin iron things, mdzs/cql crossover, adult wangxian, Teenage Wangxian) i don't know quite if it fits (asker said drama version meet cql (did they mean audio drama?)), but a potential for #4: post-canon novel wangxian meet teenage cql wangxian (WIP, very cute)

#9 of this post might have some recs you would like

~*~

5. Hi, for the next in-the-mood-for, can I request fake!dating of the "I will be your intentionally annoying fake date to your family function / work do/ ex's wedding/etc" flavour. Many thank!

❤️ save a sword, ride a socialist by sysrae (E, 33k, WangXian, Modern with Magic, College/University, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Single Parent WWX, Homophobia, LQR’s A+ Parenting, Angst with a Happy Ending, Idiots to lovers)

Their Side of the Bargain by airinshaw (E, 21k, WangXian, Modern AU, Fake/Pretend Relationship, There Was Only One Bed, Getting Together, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, Roommates, Minor ChengSang)

we don't need to talk about it by vesna (mrsronweasley) (E, 48k, WangXian, Modern AU, Fake Dating, the slimmest of premises, there was only one bedroom, There Was Only One Bed, kissing to prove you're dating, being idiots to prove you're dating, Pining while fucking, background NieLan)

The Mistletoe Virgin by Vamillepudding (G, 12k, WangXian, Modern AU, Romantic Comedy, Friends to Lovers, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Deaf LWH, Christmas)

Veritas by trickybonmot (E, 19k, WangXian, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Modern: No Powers, Humor, Mutual Pining, There Was Only One Bed, Jins Being Jins, Wine Bro JZX, Good Sibling JC, light consensual non-consent, Surprise Fix-it Fic, Weddings, Wine, Hijinks & Shenanigans)

Gremlin Twitter Boyfriend (Twitter thread) by nyanxian Podfic + transcript (T, 5-6H - 38k, wangxian, modern, Social Media, Failboats In Love, Twitter Fic, Pining, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Matchmaking, Podfic, Multiple Voices, Sound Effects, Audio Format: MP3, Audio Format: Streaming, Warning: Jokes about Suicide)

~*~

6. has anyone found a fic where wwx tells jc to put him down if he becomes an actual threat to their family, and after it seems like jyl died, jc does mercy kill wwx as agreed?

~*~

7. ITMF request! I have a hankering for fic where the Jiang siblings turn against LWJ b/c they think he's broken WWX's heart. Would love it to be CR arc era, but modern AU is okay too. I really just want JYL to go off on LWJ, either freezing him out or giving him a piece of her mind. No Jiang bashing, tho'. @kimboo-york

the earthquake in the room by phnelt (E, 39k, WangXian, College/University, Modern: No Powers, Canada, Getting Together, Mentions of lwj/others, inter-faculty romance, strangers to lovers to frenemies to lovers, mostly book characterisation) Modern AU, JYL engages in a cold war with LXC because LWJ doesn't know how to communicate his feelings to WWX and keeps hurting him

could you find a way to let me down slowly, if you're leaving baby let me down slowly by ravenditefairylights (M, 36k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Golden Core Reveal, Implied/Referenced Sex, Miscommunication, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Twin Prides of Yúnmèng Dynamics, Hurt WWX, Mutual Pining, Unreliable Narrator, Self-Esteem Issues, Twin Prides of Yúnmèng Feels, Protective Siblings, Trauma, Slightly dubious consent, courtesy of drunk sex, Inventor WWX, Genius WWX, Phoenix Mountain, Chronic Pain, Getting Together, Fix-It of Sorts, One Braincell Trio, PTSD) has both Jiang siblings angry with LWJ after he and WWX sleep together while drunk, only for LWJ to run out the next morning

~*~

8. Hi! Is there any fic where wwx and lwj really had their own garden? left the cultivation world (or maybe not) but they have a simple life

call me home and I'll build you a throne by ana_cp (E, 51k, WangXian, Post-Canon, Post-CQL, Canon Compliant, Getting Together, Developing Relationship, Gūsū Lán Juniors Dynamics, Touch-Starved Non-Sexual Intimacy, ... and then Sexual Intimacy, Nightmares, Hurt/Comfort, Domestic Fluff, WWX Has a New Golden Core, Farmer WWX, Chief Cultivator LWJ, Mutual Pining, Communication, Quietly Falling Into a Married Life, Light Angst, (because they don't think they deserve each other), Wholesome, POV LWJ, POV WWX, LWJ in braids agenda, Sharing a Bed, WWX's Birthday, Semi-Public Sex, Inventor WWX, Jealous WWX)

~*~

9. Hey for the next itmf post can you rec some post canon protective LWJ

Nice work if you can get it by deliciousblizzardshark (M, 11k, WangXian, Protective LWJ, Genius WWX, Post-Canon, Fluff and Humor, Getting Together, Chief Cultivator LWJ, Soft WangXian, Hand Jobs, Blow Jobs, a very very small amount of smut, also a possessed squirrel, [Podfic] Nice work if you can get it by deliciousblizzardshark)

~*~

10. itmf nmj refusing to swear brotherhood to jgy? could still do that with lxc and/or someone else! i would love to see the ramifications of that 💙

~*~

11. In the mood for… I want to know if you all can share stories were A-Yuan is at Koi Tower when he's a child. Specially with Wei Wuxian. Fix its, time travel, second chance, anything where A-Yuan and Wangxian are happy at the end. Specially if the Wens are all alive and also having a chance for happiness!! Thank you!! Be well, Monica @monicaop21

To Mourn the Young Man by Iamnotawriter (T, 56k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon-Typical Violence, BAMF WWX, Most people live, but not the bad guys, Burial Mounds Settlement Days, Hurt/Comfort, Golden Core Reveal)

changing the path by aurora_chiroptera (G, 2k, LSZ & WWX, WWX & JC, Canon Divergence, POV WWX, wn jzx and jl all appear briefly as well!)

~*~

12. any fics like three changes by orange crushed? something where they’re good friends before they get together? and/or ones that are kind of like a romantic comedies? @willesnelson

undone (the spreadsheet song) series by spookykingdomstarlight (E, 282k, wangxian, modern, Artists, Communication failure, Mutual Pining, mutual obliviousness, Demisexual WWX, Eventual Smut, Gossip, Getting Together, Mentions of Past Lan Wangji/OMCs, Crack Treated Seriously, Friends to Friends With Benefits to Lovers, LWJ's horniness for WWX accidentally turns him into a sex god with everyone except WWX (sorry WWX), POV WWX, Angst with a Happy Ending)

only bought this dress so you could take it off by mirrorofprinces (E, 13k, WangXian, Modern AU, Roommates/Housemates, Slow Burn, Friends to Lovers, Pining, Crossdressing, well wwx wears slutty fashionnova outfits a lot, and lwj thinks about it a normal amount, Brief Misunderstandings, mentions of lwj/others, Bisexual WWX, Idiots in Love, Getting Together, let wwx be tan, let wwx have wavy hair, background NieLan, background sangcheng if you squint)

living in my memory/living in my mouth by tardigradeschool (T, 32k, WangXian, Modern AU, Reincarnation, Canon Divergence, College/University, Modern with Magic, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Sharing a Bed, Nightmares, Light Angst, Epistolary, (sort of), POV Alternating, Mutual Pining, Friends to Lovers)

r/relationships by vespertineflora (T, 8k, WangXian, Modern AU, Social Media, Viral Reddit Post, Pining, Crushes, Friends to Lovers, Awkward Flirting, Romantic Gestures, Romantic Comedy, Love Confessions, Kissing, Happy Ending, r/relationships [podfic] by someplacelikebolivia)

🧡 Baby, You're the End of June by panicking (T, 24k, WangXian, Recreational Soccer, Modern AU, Single parent WWX, Fluff, Slow Burn, Mutual pining)

Lans Never Kiss and Tell by FeelsForBreakfast (E, 30k, WangXian, Modern AU, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Humor, lwj FUCKS, Mutual Pining, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, modern diaspora au)

our own kind of magic. by scarletwanlian (T, 18k, WangXian, Modern AU, 5+1 Things, Fluff, Humor, Mutual Pining, Friends to Lovers, Magic, Magical Realism, College/University, Slice of Life!, Witch!WWX, Banter)

live from new york by varnes (E, 87k, wangxian, JYL/JZX, This is a SNL AU, however the juniors are featured and there are lots of shenanigans!, slow burn, friends to lovers, pining, getting together, happy ending)

~*~

13. ITMF: I know I had a fic in my bookmarks that involved the Cold Spring Cave refusing to let Wei Wuxian leave if he and Lan Wangji didn’t consummate the handfasting. I can’t find it, though, so I’m looking for fics like that with a fuck or die sort of feel. Found it lol, but would love other suggestions (In the Cold Dark by mondengel) @rosethornewrites

~*~

14. Hello there! I've read a lot of fics where WangJi gets cursed with a truth spell or similar and he has to, like, speak his mind and can't shut up. But!!! I haven't read any with a cursed Wei WuXian! And I think it would be hilarious! He tends to minimize his worries and his pains and always jokes around everything, but what would happen if he had to be SINCERE?! Do you have fics like this to recommend??? @randomsuggestedname

i'm a drop in your ocean by starknjarvis (T, 11k, WangXian, truth curse, Post-Canon, so much dialogue, drama characterizations, Get Together, Truth Spells, Love Confessions) and Silence Like a Cancer Grows by julomaiboulomai (M, 12k, Yunmeng Siblings, LXC & WWX, truth curse, Suicidal Thoughts, Canon Divergence, Whump, Hurt/Comfort, Dissociation, WWX Needs a Hug, Golden Core Reveal, LXC did not sign up for this, Hopeful Ending) both have WWX cursed to tell the truth.

~*~

15. Hi! I recently read an MDZS/Harry Potter Crossover where WWX & LWJ went to Hogwarts to help with something and now I just crave more MDZS crossovers where MDZS characters interact with other stories and are BAMFs, do any of you have any recommendations? (PS, It doesn't have to be Harry Potter, it can be any other story, I've read an MLB one I liked as well, so.) @i-like-snakes-and-spiders

Darkness shrouded in light by MomImBusy (T, 68k, wangxian, erasermic, crossover, BNHA, Canon Divergence, Mineta Minoru Doesn't Exist, WWX is a Little Shit, WWX is here to fuck some shit up, mentions of abuse, Courtesy of the entire mdzs cast, Parental Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead, Parental Yamada Hizashi | Present Mic, Angst,bBAMF WWX, Necromancy in a quirk world, WIP)

Diplomatic Incidents by Ariaste (M, 35k, WangXian, IB/DP, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Getting Together, Linguistics, Translation Spells, canon-typical borderline alcoholism, Fluff, a touch of angst for spice, being in love but not admitting you want to sleep together, Versus, sleeping together but not admitting you're in love, Post-Canon, post-canon for MDZS anyway, during-canon for DAI)

Come by it Honestly by ladyshadowdrake (M, 25k, Geraskier, WangXian, The Witcher Crossover, Crossover, Adventure)

Wei Wuxian Makes a Wish series by natcat5 (M, 119k, wangxian, major character death, underage, madoka magica au, modern w/ magic, time travel, high school au, body horror, self-harm, angst w/ bittersweet ending, time loop, mental instability, suicidal thoughts)

The Hanging Tree series by chatonnerie (T, 41k, wangxian, hunger games au, minor character death, violence, blood, limb loss, sickness, recovery, torture)

Wei Wuxian is the Actual Bogeyman (no, really) by chatonnerie (T, 57k, WangXian, Rise of the Guardians AU, Crack, not gonna lie, i mean they literally call wwx the bogeyman my poor brain could not resist, TW:Death, I mean, Jack Frost cannonically dies)

Castle in the Wastes by ailuridae (abigailnicole) (T, 41k, wangxian, Howl’s Moving Castle fusion, personified Chenqing, canon typical violence)

The Altogether Ooky WangXian Family by FluffyHippogriff (T, 57k, WIP, WangXian, 3Zun, Modern AU, Addams Family AU, Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, mostly because death can be overcome with the help of a little necromancy, Kid Fic, Comedy)

Grandmaster of the Magical Arts series by HollowNightmare (T, 305k, WangXian, Hogwarts, Harry Potter Setting, Chinese Hogwarts?, Slice of Life, Developing Friendships, POV Alternating, lwj is an anxious bean, Light Angst, Hurt/Comfort)

~*~

16. Hello! I wanted to ask if you know any WWX appreciative/wwx protection squad type of fics? I've check the wwx centric tag, everyone loves wwx tag and even the wwx protection squad tag itself but I'm having a hard time finding fics where other characters are protective over wwx (preferably at least 2 people

the thread may stretch or tangle but it will never break by RoseThorne (E, 88k, WIP, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Soulmates, Self-Esteem Issues, Fix-It, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, PTSD, Handfasting, Panic Attacks, Getting Together, First Time, Aftercare, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Torture, Scars, Chronic Pain, Golden Core Reveal, First Time, Switching, sex-related injury, LWJ Stays at the Burial Mounds, LSZ is a Wèi, Good Sibling JC, Dissociation, Burial Mounds Settlement Days)

🧡 rain falls and soaks into the earth series by RoseThorne (T, 53k, WangXian, WIP, Near Death Experience, Attempt Drowning, Madam Yu Bashing, Recovery, No war AU)

~*~

17. Hi! I just read the amazing fic "Say my name and his in the same breath" that was linked over on WangxianFicRecs, and it reminded me of one of my favorite things to read, which is LWJ harming WWX — intentionally or unintentionally — and being very, very guilty about it. Do you have suggestions for fics with that element? Thanks!

💙 Wish I could forget the taste of your skin and the feel of your hands pinning me down by KizuKatana (E, 63k, wangxian, WQ & WWX & WN, modern w/ cultivation, getting back together, BAMF WWX, BAMF LWJ, case fic, pining)

🧡 Life as a House by Terri Botta (Isilwath) (T, 55k, WangXian, Modern AU, Post-Divorce, Father-Son Relationship, Reconciliation, Therapy, Angst with a happy ending)

Honesty is the Best Policy (Except if You’re an Asshole) by piecrust (E, 22k, WangXian, Porn with Feelings, College/University)

~*~

If you didn’t get an answer to your ask here, don’t forget to make use of @mdzs-kinkmeme and MDZS KINK MEME on Dreamwidth. Authors actually do use them for ideas. You may get what you order!***Your prompt doesn’t have to be kink! Fluff, crack, whatever - it’s all good!***

#wangxian #wangxianficfinder #mdzs #the untamed #long post #i'm in the mood for a fic #wangxian fic recs #wangxian fic search

132 notes · View notes

dottore-official · 10 months

Text

WELCOME TO THE MASTERPOST, PROCEED?

YES NO

Welcome to the Masterpost, Travelers. You may take refuge here before continuing.

🍃Mondstadters🍃

🪨Liyueans🪨

⚡️Inazumans⚡️

🌱Sumerians🌱

💧Fontainians💧

🔥Natlanders🔥

❄️Snezhnayans❄️

🌌Those of other worlds🌌

❓Askers and Anons❓

🖇️Second masterpost🖇️

THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND

The people behind the screens are real people with real lives. Dont attack them or badger them to respond.

Hate speech will not be tolerated unless it is against a homophobe, racist, etc.

I have the ability to remove accounts from the masterpost at my wish, and I will if it comes to it.

If you make an account, I might not immediately see it. You will most likely have to send me an ask or DM to add the account.

Respect people’s boundaries. If someone doesn’t want NSFW/suggestive, don’t send that. If someone doesn’t want ships, don’t send that. If someone doesn’t want gore, don’t send that.

If you don’t like Genshin Impact, respect that we do and move on. It’s not like we’re going to attack you over not liking it.

Don’t be weird or creepy, it will result in blocks or reports.

Please don’t start drama just for the fun of it.

Nobody owes you an interaction. If someone doesn’t get your response in a few days, it’s likely they didn’t see it/aren’t online. If you send it again and they don’t respond, they probably are ignoring that comment because they don’t know how to respond/it makes them uncomfy. Nobody owes you an interaction.

BLOGS THAT ARE NOT WELCOME

/n0tmentallystable

/taketwo1983

[this person, I can’t keep up with how many times they change their user]

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topgunreacts · 1 year

Note

Ayo! Greetings! I hope you are doing pretty well! I’m really sorry for asking this as I’m truly in dire need of help. My cat needs some immediate help for her surgery so I’m trying to raise some funds for her. If you have some spare time, please check it out the post that I have pinned for her, and if you feel it in your heart to help, please do us the favor by boosting the post or share it! Even if you cannot donate, spreading the word is definitely more than enough. Thank you for your kindness, and so sorry again for being this direct! <33

THIS IS A SCAMMER

But how do I know? And shouldn’t I reblog it just in case? It’s a valid concern. Fortunately, there are a few quick steps anyone can take to assess the validity of a charity request. Because at the end of the day, spreading a just-in-case message can have real negative consequences as other people continue to spread the scam on a just-in-case basis.

A sense of urgency (sickness, eminent surgery, etc)

They ask you directly to give them something

Familiarity, such as calling you “dear” or “hun”

Comments turned off

New account with few if any posts

Direct messages that ask for privacy in the matter

Use of pets, children, irrelevant mention of demographics (please help a disabled queer single parent feed their sick cat, etc)

No response to requests for more information

Copy and paste message that gets sent to numerous people

Photos that do not match up with the origin as found through reverse image search

Lack of creativity: you receive a similarly or identically worded request from a random account

Melodramatic backstory--we rescued this cat from an alligator attack that almost took the cat's eye!

Donation account linked to a country at high risk for hosting scam operations

And others. These are not ironclad rules, nor do they always show up in every scam post. Maybe they ARE a disabled queer single parent who can't afford to feed their sick cat. But these elements are patterns you can look for in order to make an informed judgment call. There is at least one popular tumblr account here that will not post any donation links unless the asker fills out a form allowing the account holder to independently prove their identity and issue. If a person is truly desperate and actually needs help, they will fill out that form. Asking for more information is always a good idea, as is doing a reverse image search to see where else the photos might have been posted. Checking keywords on tumblr is also a good bet. Remember: posting lies is quick and easy. Providing proof is not. And that’s critical if money is involved.

Scammers suck. But some of them are very good at what they do. They are masters of using people’s guilt and empathy against them.

Let's dig deeper.

First, let's check out that melodramatic backstory. It's a doozy!

It was actually her Birthday yesterday….well her gotcha Birthday! We found her on our balcony 4 years ago after an awful noise was heard and I still don’t know if she jumped up scared from something or if she was thrown on there 😔 She wasn’t chipped. Vet said it looked like she hadn’t long had kittens and looked about 3 years old herself. Couldn’t find her owners, so she joined our family. (Oh I looked for kittens believe me) She is the sweetest girl we ever met. She even purrs when she sleeps 😻we so love her. We just very recently lost our cat Mimi. She had cancer sadly but we fought so hard to help her but in the end it won. We have an elderly dog called Billa who just two weeks ago turned 20!!!! Any day now we could lose her, she’s feeling her age 😔 I mention those two because it’s just too overwhelming and feels like Maggie is the only one I can help now. Upon an annual vet visit recently with Maggie….so I could get flea meds for her and her brother Milow that they were due to have…the vet found she had two masses….or tumors. One at the bottom of her back next to her tail (I don’t know how I didn’t see it before I’m so ashamed) and when she pressed on her stomach, my loving Maggie started growling which I can honestly say in the time we’ve had her she’s never done that. We did an X-ray and she found a mass in her stomach 😔 we also did a biopsy. This is just so unexpected and so overwhelming after losing Mimi and knowing we will be losing Billa soon…just can’t lose Maggie also. I hate being in this position. I really pay forward as much as I can. I’ve helped out a couple of women with bags and cases of food for the cat colony’s they feed. One woman with food who has a lot of fosters who needed help with food. I think it’s 3 different pet surgeries I’ve helped contribute to for their treatment. It sucks to be on this side now but I’m really praying somehow it might be my turn to get some help to help Maggie get her ct scan so they can figure out the surgery route to remove the tumor from her stomach. I wish I was in a better situation at this moment to not need any help. We’ve always been there to help our babies no matter what they’ve needed, you have to try at least to help them.. And we’ve been able to pay for it ourselves until now. Now I’m able to work here, it can help set us up for future pet issues….I mean, we do everything for these guys including going to work lol but I’ve literally only had my permanent status the last few days instead of visas and it’s all been on my hubby until now who has been amazing, but after paying for Mimi’s help and then end of life, my flight to and from England for my immigration and all those fees and just paying for everything on his own…there’s a lack of funds now. I just want Maggie to get some help and will somehow have to make this happen for her, so please if you have the means to, you can donate to my paypal which is linked down below

Come on, dude. At least be creative. Please make note of the highlights: dramatic injury, insistence (with evidence!) that the scammer is a Good Person Who Gives Back, Cancer Cat & Old Dog supporting characters, immigration drama regarding visas, sick cat had kittens that were never found, etc.

[speculation incoming] Also, laws regarding the importation of pet animals from other countries are strict, and always involve a vet visit. I doubt a vet would clear a cat with tumors to fly out of the country. Even if they did, the timeline here is weird. This vet clinic is in California. [speculation over]

Okay now let's look at these photos. (PSSST I instantly knew this person was a scammer because I've seen these exact x-rays and screenshots on other posts with different cat images. That's something else to look for. Scammers want to expend as little energy as possible in their hunt for your money.)

Where is the scam coming from?

Hovering over the Paypal link, I see the account is located in the Philippines, a country with a high risk of scam hosting. Red flags on red flags.

How to Reverse Image Search

Find a search engine that will let you search by image. This is Google Images on a Firefox browser on PC. Clicking the little camera gives me the option to upload, paste, or give the URL to a photo.

This time, the photo search wasn't helpful. There were no identical matches that Google picked up right away. But I'm including how to do this anyway because it's good to know.

Search Tumblr

We all know tumblr search sucks, but after looking up "cat scam" in the search bar, I found Everything.

Wait a minute.

SHIT THEY GOT MAVERICK POST CANCELED

@kyra45 appears to have amassed some good resources for finding and documenting these scams.

Be aware, be smart, report scam accounts for spam, block them, and do not post donation links "just in case."

#scams #ask #tumblr scams #scam #cat scam #long post

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theboywithburninghands · 5 months

Text

Okay. Executive decision. Posting the first chapter of my two-parter here, because I'm loaded with caffeine and I want you guys to see what I've been up to all week. Uh it's pure Funnybunny, so sorry if you wanted some Ragatha romance stuff... Uhhhhhh also like... it's a bit long? And character driven rather than romance driven. Hope you like it anyway! Oh and I'm linking the AO3 if you'd prefer that. T/W: Mild cartoon violence, self hatred, a sex joke

https://archiveofourown.org/works/55822147/chapters/141729268

Like Rhinestones, Falling From the Sky (Part 1)

he grounds of the Digital Circus had two states. Daytime and sunny, nighttime and clear. It was a constant that no one bothered to disturb. Caine could grant a lot of requests around the circus, but rarely in any way the asker might want. Ask for a few wildflowers to add some color on the grounds? Congratulations, now there was an entire field of flowers, flowers that smelled like cheap, nose-tickling perfume and grew so thick and snared that it was impossible to walk around outside. Ask for a cool, dim day because you wanted a nap? Hey presto, now the entire circus was engulfed in an impenetrable fog that made Silent Hill look like the Aouzou Strip. The performers all followed the same motto when it came to the weather:

If it’s already broken, don’t break it any more.

Due to this motto being in place, it was a complete mystery as to why all the performers were shaken awake early one morning by a skull-rattling crash of thunder.

Kinger was the first out of his room, bursting through his door with a melodramatic wail.

“They’ve finally arrived! The harvest has commenced! They want ALL of our garmonbozia!!!”

Zooble was out of their room next, screwing their head back on their torso and limping over to the eldest performer.

“Relax! Chill the f#%@ out, old timer, it’s just thunder.” they snapped, still not quite awake.

As if on cue, another rapturous tremor of thunder tore through the air, Ragatha emerging from her room and staring worriedly at the ceiling before joining the group.

“Are you guys okay? That’s some crazy weather we’re-“

Ragatha let out an “eep!” as Kinger seized her by the front of the dress.

“Ragatha! We’re under attack! What’s Morse code for SOS?!”

Ragatha gently took hold of Kinger’s wrists and guided them off of her dress. She smiled and her voice took on a warm, fuzzy tone.

“Hey… no one is attacking us, Kinger. It’s probably been ages since you’ve heard a thunderstorm, hasn’t it? There’s nothing to be afraid of.” she cooed.

“Unless that’s what they want you to think.” came a slippery voice from behind her. Jax leaned against the wall, one foot flat against it. He sported a tired but nonetheless smug grin.

“Jax, quit it. Can’t you see he’s scared?” Ragatha chided, but Jax continued as if she hadn’t spoken, walking right up to Kinger.

“Who knows, maybe they’re after your bug collection, Kinger, or- OW!”

Zooble silenced Jax with a single, well aimed punch to the cheek.

“Can you shut up? It’s too early for your schoolyard bull#%&$.” Zooble drawled.

Jax massaged his cheek and gave a petulant “Jeez…” under his breath. Pomni was out of her room next, stirred from sleep like the rest of them. Her black eyelids hung over her eyes like an eclipse, and she dragged her body over to the others as if it had weights tied to it.

“Hey, morning, Sunshine!” Jax smirked, a hand still on the cheek Zooble punched.

“Go #%&$ yourself…” Pomni mumbled, staring off into the void.

“YEESH, everyone is crabby this morning. I can’t even say hello withou-“

KRK-BOOOOOOOMMMM!

A peal of thunder like a boulder tumbling into a dump truck shook the air again, everyone instinctively covering their ears (or where their ears should have been.)

“Okay, we should see what’s going on! Maybe it’s part of a new adventure..?” Ragatha proposed as soon as the rumbling subsided.

“Wait! Where’s Gangle?!” Kinger cried.

There was a soft click as the door to Gangle’s room was opened just a crack, the ribbon girl peering just one eye out and trembling like a leaf.

“What’s happening…?” she mewled.

Zooble pressed their foot on top of Jax’s to keep him from speaking up.

“It’s just a storm, Gangle… We’re gonna go see what’s going on. You wanna come with?” Ragatha smiled and approached Gangle’s door, offering a hand. Gangle gulped and took Ragatha’s hand with one of her ribbons.

“Okay…” she whimpered.

Jax made a “gag me” motion but remained quiet.

The six performers headed out into the main room, nearly tumbling onto the chessboard floor from another apocalyptic boom of thunder.

“Does this sort of thing ever happen out of nowhere..?!” Pomni shouted, her crabbiness from lack of sleep bubbling over.

“Didn’t you hear Caine when you first got here? ‘THE AMAZING DIGITAL CIRCUS IS A PLACE WHERE ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN!’ Chaos is sorta par for the course.” Jax replied. His impression of Caine was actually pretty good, and might have made Pomni smirk a bit if she wasn’t so irritable.

“Jax is right,” Ragatha chimed in from further ahead. “Around here you have to expect the unexpected, and prepare for what isn’t there.”

“Yeah, but the way I said it wasn’t stupid.” Jax replied.

The six of them reached the tent’s exit. It was zipped closed, but quavered feverishly. A small pool of rainwater oozed through the bottom of the flap, occasionally lit bright pearly blue by unseen flashes of lightning from outside.

“Okay, so it’s definitely storming. Now we know.” Jax drawled, crossing his arms.

“See Kinger? No one is coming, it’s just bad we-“

Another tremendous crash of thunder interrupted Ragatha, and a half-second later, all of the lights in the tent sputtered and died. The only light left was the heavily censored sunlight from outside filtering under the tent flap.

“I f#%&$ng hate it here…” Zooble sighed.

“Okay, no one wander off. Let’s all stick together and find our way back to our rooms…” Ragatha began.

Gangle jolted with a yelp. “Someone grabbed me!”

“Jax!” Zooble growled.

“It wasn’t me! I’m all the way back here, Hodge-Podge!” Jax retorted from the darkness.

“It was me, Gangle! I grabbed your hand…” Ragatha interjected. “I’m sorry, I thought you would need a hand to hold.”

“Tha-That’s not my hand-”

The performers squinted as a corona of light bloomed in the middle of the room. From the center of the ring, Bubble appeared, glowing with an iridescent, rainbow colored light.

“And God said, let there be LIGHT!” he announced, his squeaky voice echoing throughout the tent.

“DON’T BE RIDICULOUS BUBBLE! IF ANYONE’S GOD AROUND HERE, IT’S YOURS TRULY!” Caine floated down from on high, emitting his own faint light, just enough so he could be seen clearly against the backdrop of darkness.

“There is no God here…” Zooble muttered.

“Amen.” added Pomni.

“SO MY LITTLE SUPERSTARS! IT SEEMS YOU’VE ALL BEEN MADE AWARE OF OUR INCLEMENT WEATHER!” Caine unzipped the tent entrance. The sky was charcoal black and arcing with threads of lightning. Rain slashed across the grounds in great sweeps and the howling wind eagerly pushed its way into the tent, bringing in a spray of raindrops that doused the six performers, who covered their faces and demanded Caine close the tent again, which he thankfully did after just a few seconds.

“BUT NOT TO WORRY! WHILE I FIX THIS BROUHAHA, YOU ALL-”

He paused for another crash of thunder.

“-YOU ALL WILL BE ENJOYING AN ADVENTURE!”

“La dee da.” Jax drawled.

“SO, PLEASE ENJOY YOUR TIME IIIIN-”

Caine snapped his fingers. There was a moment or two of silence before Caine looked down at his fingers and snapped once again. Then again.

“Huh. That was supposed to open a portal.” Caine said sheepishly.

“Did you try turning it off and on again?” Bubble asked, squinting one eye.

“Havin’ issues there, Caine? It’s alright, it happens to guys your age.” Jax said with a grin. Pomni felt the corners of her mouth raise, despite herself.

“I DON’T APPRECIATE YOUR INNUENDO, JAX!” Caine declared, brandishing his cane with a trembling hand. He tried a few more futile finger snaps.

“So, we’re stuck here..?” Gangle asked, wringing her ribbons together. “In the dark..?”

There was an ill-timed crash of thunder that made her jump and squeak a little too loudly. She covered up her mask as bright pink blush marks formed under her eyes.

“Yeah, I’m with Ribbons, Caine,” Jax said, jabbing a thumb at Gangle. “Everybody knows monsters like the dark since it’s easier to hide.”

“Okay, cut the Twilight Zone bull$#!%.” Zooble scoffed.

“As someone who’s actually seen The Twilight Zone,” Ragatha piped up. “The quote is ‘There’s nothing in the dark that wasn’t there when the lights were on.’ So we’re fine, Gangle. It’s just us.”

“Nerd.” Jax replied.

In the midst of this whole exchange, Caine had snapped his fingers a good two dozen times before clapping his hands to his face/teeth and bellowing in frustration.

“Excusemeforjustonesecond!” he spat before disappearing in a flash of light and some confetti. Bubble looked around, barely managing a “Bye-!” before popping, dousing the light and plunging the room back into darkness.

There was a moment or two of silence before another peal of thunder shook the tent. Gangle let out a quiet, uneasy groan as everyone tried to get their bearings in an almost total absence of light.

“I’m going back to bed.” Zooble announced flatly. The only indication that they were leaving was the sound of careful footsteps receding into the black.

“Wait, can you find your way there?” Pomni asked.

“I’ll figure it out.” Zooble replied, nothing but a voice from the darkness. Pomni listened to their receding footsteps before she began to pace back and forth.

“I can’t believe it, he just left us here. Not even a flashlight! Isn’t this place supposed to be magic?! How does the power even go out?!”

“It is the first time I’ve ever seen this happen since I’ve been here…” Ragatha admitted. “What about you, Kinger? You ever seen anything like this?”

“Right now I don’t see much of anything…” Kinger replied matter-of-factly.

Another roar of thunder, Gangle making an unhappy noise and clinging to Ragatha. Since it was dark, Jax couldn’t see, and thus couldn’t tease her for it. Ragatha patted her on the mask.

“I don’t want to go off by myself… What if something happens?” she whimpered.

“Come on, Crybaby, you’re not seriously worried about monsters, are ya?” Jax drawled.

“You’re the one that put the thought into her head, Jax.” Pomni replied.

“I was joking .” Jax snarked, as if it was the most obvious fact since “water happened to be a little damp.”

“Jokes are supposed to be funny.”

“Yeah?” Jax’s tone darkened. “Well unfortunately, Clownface , the funny guy-”

They were interrupted by a dry, metallic scratch and a spark of orange light. Kinger held a silver lighter in his hand, which supported a tiny yellow-orange flame.

“…That’s my lighter.” Jax said after a moment. “Where did you get my lighter?!”

“Wait, Jax, why do you have a lighter at all?” Ragatha interjected.

“None of your business. You need to stay outta my stuff, Hoo-Hah.” Jax took a few steps towards Kinger.

“I only found it.” Kinger said, taking an equal number of steps back.

“Bull. I don’t leave my stuff layin’ around. Hand it over.” Jax stuck a gloved hand out.

Kinger looked down at the lighter, then to Jax, who put his hand forward more insistently. Kinger snapped the lighter closed, smothering the fire and disappearing into darkness.

“Hey! Where’d you go?!”

“Kinger, wait! We need the light! Don’t go!” Gangle begged.

There was a grunt and a crash somewhere in the dark, the thunder replying in kind. Another dry, metallic scratch and Kinger reappeared, illuminated orange and standing over by Gangle and Ragatha.

“What was that?!” he cried, stiffly holding the flame out in front of him.

“It was me, you moron!” Jax’s irritated voice called out from somewhere in the void. “I couldn't see my hand in front of my face! Now hand over my lighter before I-”

Kinger yelped and snapped the lighter closed again.

“Both of you, stop it!” Pomni shouted. “Jax, I don’t give a $#!% if it’s yours or not, it’s all we’ve got for light right now, so quit acting like a p&!€# for two god&@#% seconds! Kinger!”

They heard the jester take a breath and soften her voice.

“Kinger. We need the lighter to see. Can you please turn it back on so we can at least get back to our rooms?”

There was a pause, another rumble of thunder, and at last, a metallic flick as the lighter sparked again. Kinger’s hands shook.

“Thank you…” Pomni said with a weary smile. “Lead the way, if you don’t mind.”

The five performers made their way towards backstage, slowly and methodically in the cavernous tent. They passed an overturned pile of brightly colored shapes, Jax delivering a well aimed punt to a mint-colored cylinder, which sailed off into the darkness and landed out of sight with a drumroll of thuds.

“Was that the thing you tripped over?” Ragatha asked, her smile audible in her voice.

“Felt like kickin’ something.” Jax replied tartly.

After a few minutes of careful maneuvering amidst peals of thunder, the five of them made it to the corridor backstage.

“Well… what do we do now..?” Pomni asked.

“Do we have to do anything?” Jax replied.

“Well… not really. But I think it might be fun to have a slumber party!” Ragatha said brightly.

“No offense, Ragatha, but I don’t know if any of us are really in a party mood…” Pomni said, rubbing her left arm with her right hand.

“No, no, it doesn’t have to be an actual party. We can all just hang around in my room! I’ve got some candles we can light so we can see, and I’ll teach you guys how to make a blanket fort-”

“You have candles?” Pomni interrupted. “Oh, that’s really good news… Now we don’t have to sit around in the dark. How many do you have, Ragatha?”

“Oh gosh, um…” Ragatha rubbed her chin with her hand. “30? No, 40!”

There was a period of silence. Kinger held the lighter out so she was illuminated.

“What?” Ragatha asked, putting her hands on her hips defensively. “I need to de-stress every once in a while too, y’know!”

“If the tent ever burns down, we know who to blame.” Jax quipped.

“Oh stop it!” Ragatha flapped her hand dismissively.

“Can… we have a few? Just to have a little bit of light around here…” Pomni asked, touching the tips of her fingers together.

“Yeah! Absolutely, come on!” Ragatha led her fellow performers to her room, unlocking the door with a bit of flourish and motioning them inside. “After you!”

The four of them entered her room, Kinger leading the way with the lighter. Ragatha’s bedroom was… on brand. In the dim light, they could make out some plastic furniture that would have been right at home in a dollhouse. A pink, squat tea table surrounded by some plush and frilly cushions. The table came complete with an old fashioned white China teapot and cups, a glazed pink and yellow flower painted on the side of the pot, and the rims of both the cups and pot were lined with gold leaf (or at least a serviceable imitation of it). In the opposite corner, a CRT television sat within a yellow floral patterned hutch, and a game console was hooked up to it. Her bed sat neatly made on the far end of the room, a canopy like Pomni’s, although striped with magenta and cotton-candy pink rather than red and blue. At the food of the bed sat at least a dozen stuffed animals, a teddy bear, a camel, a tiger, and more, all in a neat pile. While they should have looked cute and inviting in the light, in the near dark, they looked uncanny. Their shoebutton eyes caught the flame’s reflection in such a way that made them look insectoid, and their vacant, pleasant expressions staring off into nothing gave off the impression of someone who had lost their mind gazing into the abyss.

Ragatha hurried over to the hutch, opening a drawer and taking out a brand new white candle.

“Here’s my stash,” she chuckled, rummaging around in the drawer a bit more. “I have a couple that are scented too. Do you guys like… apple cinnamon or toasted marshmallow more? I’m more of a sandalwood gal myself…”

Jax made a noise of disgust. Kinger stared intently at a stuffed elephant, as if waiting for it to blink.

“Nanny cam…?” he whispered to himself.

There was a crash of thunder and everyone jolted. Gangle covered the top of her mask with her ribbons and Kinger fumbled with the lighter, managing to keep hold of it.

“Good thing you have that, Jax. I just ran out of matches…” Ragatha sighed, setting up a neat cluster of candles

“Okay, um, I think we should use a couple to light the hallway, if it’s okay with you…at least until Caine fixes things.” Pomni said. “Um, and if I could borrow one or two for my room-”

“Me too please.” Gangle chimed in, raising a ribbon.

“I need to get my camping stove…” Kinger muttered, still engaged in a stare-off with Ragatha’s stuffed elephant.

“K-Kinger, you have a camping stove?” Pomni asked.

“The h@!! do you need one of those for?” Jax also asked, crouching beside Kinger to see what was so interesting about that and stuffed animal.

“…In case the power goes out.” Kinger replied after a moment.

“This is the first time the power has ever gone out…” Ragatha admitted, but she smiled anyway. “I’m glad you’ve been thinking ahead though.”

Ragatha then gasped. “Oh! We can make tea! I have the best recipe I need to show you guys! It’s perfect for a day like today!”

“I’d like some tea. Something warm to drink would really hit the spot.” Pomni said with a faint smile. Gangle also nodded.

“Hey, I got a suggestion too.” Jax called, raising a finger.

In one swoosh, Jax snatched the lighter out of Kinger’s hands, closing it with a clink and extinguishing their one source of light.

“Jax, hey! I can’t see!” complained Ragatha.

“My lighter, my rules. I’m heading back to my room.” he said.

“What…? Jax, you’re kidding. We need the lighter for just a little longer, then it’s all yours.” Ragatha insisted.

“It’s already all mine. You stole it. So now I’m keeping it.” Jax replied from somewhere in the dark.

“Jax, come on!” Pomni shouted. “Everyone could have light again if you would just-”

“Everyone will have light again when Caine gets the electricity working. Just be patient.”

“But… But Jax…” Gangle began, her voice quavering. “I’m… I’m scared of the dark, please just let us light a few candles…”

“Nope. Your eyes should adjust soon enough.”

The sound of Jax’s retreating footsteps and the open and shut of the door were muffled by another churning rumble of thunder. Ragatha sighed from her place in the dark.

“Well, don’t worry everyone. We can have a slumber party even in the dark. It’ll take a bit more time to set up and we can’t do as much, but-”

Everyone jumped at a sudden angry yell and thunk. Pomni punched the wall, then felt her way towards the door, throwing it open and stomping out into the hallway.

“Pomni’s very angry.” Kinger said in a hushed voice. Ragatha set her candles down on the hutch, a few of them rolling off and clattering to the floor as she carefully made her way to her door in almost complete darkness.

“Pomni? Pomni, where are you going?” she called out into the hall.

It wasn’t too difficult for Pomni to find Jax’s door feeling around in the dark, it was right across from her room, after all. Her right hand aching from punching the wall, she banged on his door with her left.

“JAX! GET OUT HERE!” she bellowed.

“Pomni, hey, it’s okay-!” Ragatha insisted, alarmed at the newest member’s sudden explosion of rage.

“NO! No, it’s not okay! I’m sick to death of him acting like this! It ends right the #%@& now, you hear me?!”

Pomni shouted all this as she feverishly twisted the handle of Jax’s locked door. After several mighty turns, she scoffed and took a few steps back.

“You wanna hide like a coward? Fine!”

“What’s going on?!” Zooble’s voice shouted. They had poked their head into the hallway after hearing the racket outside.

Pomni took another couple steps back until she was almost touching the opposite wall, then ran forward, barging Jax’s door with her shoulder. Thunder roared.

“Pomni!” Ragatha cried, her voice cracking. “Pomni, what are you doing?! Are you okay?!”

Pomni took the same number of steps backwards and ran forward, smashing into the door again, eliciting a splintery crunch from the jamb. She backed up once again, both her right shoulder and right knuckle ached now, but she barely felt it. Truth be told she couldn’t pinpoint just one reason why Jax’s behavior had enraged her so badly. She was angry from lack of sleep, she was angry that Jax was being such a selfish bully for no reason, she was angry that he had the capacity for kindness and yet chose to act like this-

Her rage burned blue-hot as she charged at the door, bracing her shoulder for impact. The impact never came. She sailed right past the point where she should have met hard wood, stumbling forward into a boneless somersault. She tumbled over herself and ended up in a sitting position.

Jax’s room had incredibly faint daylight filtering in from his window. The sky was still the color of a dusty tire, mostly black with flecks of lights. Flashbulbs of lightning popped from within swollen thunderheads.

Pomni heard the door shut behind her. In the faint light, she saw Jax turn the lock on his door before turning to look at her, arms crossed.

“You almost broke my door, newbie.” he said with almost parental condescension.

Pomni didn’t say anything in return, only glaring. Anger prickled down her back. Thunder boomed.

“You know what? Take it.” Jax took the lighter out of his pocket. It shined in the stormlight. “If you’re gonna throw such a hissy fit about something so tiny, you might as well have it so you don’t embarrass yourself more than you already have. Go on. I don’t want it anymore.”

Jax held his hand out, the lighter on his palm. Pomni reared back and slapped his hand away, the lighter bouncing off the wall with a weighty thud, doing a few midair loops and finally skittering to a stop a few feet behind her.

“What the h@&&?! I gave you what-”

“SHUT UP!!!”

Pomni barked this order with such ferocity that Jax immediately fell silent. It seemed to have shocked the jester herself, as she took a moment to find her voice afterwards.

“…Why? Why did you do that?” was all she managed to get out.

“I don’t like people touching my stuff.” came Jax’s reply. Despite his shock at being yelled at, he managed to keep his tone cool and even. There was a millisecond flash of lightning. Thunder rumbled.

“Not that. Just… why do you always..? I know you’re capable of being kind. I’ve seen it firsthand. They don’t do anything to you, Jax! So why do you just keep picking at everyone?”

“Because they let me.”

Pomni felt her anger froth to the surface again.

“Oh. OH. That makes perfect sense! So you’re cruel because you can be! Nice to know you’re just a sadist then! Ha! That saves me a lot of time, then! We’re through. Get outta my way.”

Pomni snatched the lighter off the ground and pushed past Jax.

“…I’m not a sadist.” he said without turning around.

“You just said you’re cruel to people for fun. That’s the definition of a sadist!” Pomni unlocked the door to his room and placed her hand on the knob.

“It’s not for fun.”

Her hand slid off the knob. There was a rolling growl of thunder.

“So what is it then?!” Pomni turned back to Jax, walking up to him and poking him in the chest. “You keep changing your story! First it was ‘I want them to hate me instead of their situation,’ now it’s ‘I do it because I can.’ So what is it? Tell. Me. The. TRUTH.”

“You want the truth, huh?” Jax said. Half of his face was silhouetted in shadow, his tone steeped in frosty ire.

“YES. Or you can forget about us. About all of this. It’ll be like we never met.” Pomni asserted.

“FINE.” Jax hissed. He turned to the window, looking out on the maelstrom of clouds and wind and rain. Another blinding flash of lightning and grumble of thunder.

“I… I hate myself.”

For a good 10 seconds, the only sounds were that of the rain on the digital grass and the wind buffeting Jax’s window.

“S-S-Say again?” Pomni finally asked.

“I hate myself.” Jax repeated, not taking his gaze off the storm. His affect was neutral, but his eyes were distant.

“You… hate yourself?” Pomni echoed.

“Yeah.”

The jester chewed on one of her gloves. A flicker of lightning and a softer, yet prolonged burble of thunder rolled across the grounds. She removed her glove from her teeth.

“How do I know that’s not a lie too?” she asked, looking intently at the floor.

“It’s not.” Jax immediately replied. “I guess, just, believe me.”

Pomni continued chewing on one of her gloves. She jumped a little at an especially loud crack of thunder, but otherwise remained rooted to the spot. An excruciating minute passed.

“…Okay. You hate yourself.” Pomni finally conceded, throwing her arms out and letting her hands slap against her hips. “So?”

This query got Jax to turn towards Pomni. The icy glare on his face could have shriveled flowers. “The £@€# do you mean, ‘so?’”

“Exactly what it sounds like.” Pomni shot back.

“So? You hate yourself so you treat everyone but me sometimes like trash?! What kind of excuse is that?”

The corner of Jax’s mouth twitched. She had prodded a nerve with that one. He turned back to the window, looking out on the storm-swept grounds.

“Get outta my room.” he ordered.

“No.” Pomni said with a humorless laugh. “You seriously think I’m gonna go ‘Oh you poor baby, I didn’t know; all is forgiven?’ just because you said you hate yourself? It doesn’t work like that! I hate myself too and I don’t act a FIFTH as awful as you do!”

“What do you mean, you hate yourself..?” Jax demanded quietly.

Pomni took a deep breath. Well, he had been honest with her. She waited for the latest boom of thunder to quiet down before continuing.

“I don’t remember everything about outside… but I remember that before I came here I… I was alone. I never went out drinking or dancing; I had no one to go with. Hadn’t kept in touch with my college friends and didn’t associate with anyone at work. How could I? I never had anything to talk to my coworkers about, I never reacted right to anyone’s jokes, I only went to team building exercises if they were mandatory… But it wasn’t like they didn’t try! I got invited to dinner or to birthday parties, and I always said no, I was busy. You wanna know what I was doing?”

“Pomni-” Jax began

“No! Ask me what I was doing!”

Jax didn’t reply. Pomni finally shrugged after a moment and answered her own question with a phony smile.

“Nothing. £@€# all. I was doing sudoku, or watching a movie I had already seen, or scrolling on my phone in bed. And I hated myself for it! I would cry into my pillow, I was so lonely! I would tell myself how stupid, stupid, STUPID I was, and how I was an idiot who didn’t deserve friends! I had every opportunity to get out of the hole I dug for myself, and I didn’t, because I was scared they would hate me even more than I thought they already did.”

Pomni felt her anger rise once again.

“Uh huh. But guess what? I never picked on anyone. I never made anyone else feel worse! I hurt so badly some days I wanted to DIE and I still tried my best to smile and treat everyone around me like a PERSON! You hate yourself? SO F#%&ING WHAT?! That doesn’t give you the right to make everything around you worse!”

Pomni panted, doubling over to catch her breath. She braced herself for some sort of projectile Jax might throw at her. Instead, he only stared at her before turning back to the window. Thunder rumbled.

“I’m… sorry you hate yourself. Really. It’s the worst feeling. But it’d be so much better if you just… didn’t hurt people. Let them in and helped you heal. It’s what I needed, and now that I have friends…”

Pomni stopped herself. She stared down at the floor again. She hated eye contact already, eye contact after an argument was like staring at the sun.

“So… why do you hate yourself?” Pomni asked after some more silence.

“What does it matter?” Jax replied.

Pomni scoffed. “Don’t give me that. Has it occurred to you that I actually care about you? If I didn’t, why would I even be asking? Why would I have kissed you after you made me salmon a few nights ago? I like you, Jax. But you can be a real p&!@% sometimes, and that isn’t okay, even if your pain is real. Why do you hate yourself?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Jax said firmly.

Pomni let out a protracted sigh, chewing on the finger of one of her gloves and looking down at the floor one last time before looking back up at Jax. He was looking out at the storm.

“Okay. Thanks for at least giving me a real answer. I’ll bring your lighter back in a bit.”

Pomni headed for the door once again. She felt a hand touch her shoulder and she practically jumped out of her skin with a sharp gasp. She whirled around and took a few steps back, Jax pulling his hand back in shock.

“W-What?! Don’t… don’t touch me!” she snapped reflexively.

“…I’m…” Jax began.

Pomni crossed her arms and waited, looking everywhere but in Jax’s face.

“…I’m…” he tried again. “I’m not being… I’m not just being difficult. I don’t remember.”

Pomni quirked an eyebrow. “Don’t remember what?”

“Why. I don’t remember why I hate myself. It’s just gone. Poof, right along with my name.”

Pomni licked her lips. She was thirsty from all the shouting.

“You’re… being serious right now? You aren’t just trying to weasel your way-”

“No. No, I’m- I’m totally serious.”

Pomni managed to look into his eyes for a moment. They were big, but his pupils were tiny despite the extremely low light. Just the way he’d looked after she had seen him have a nightmare. Scared.

“…That’s horrible.” Pomni said, looking away after she began to feel itchy. “I… can’t imagine how horrible it must be to hurt and not know why… like a pain in a phantom limb.”

Jax didn’t say anything, looking back out at the window. Lightning flashed, a bright pink-white splinter across the clouds, and there was a tremulous rumble of thunder that followed.

“But… you shouldn’t take it out on people. Even if it makes the pain stop. There are other things you can do…” Pomni added. “And… And I’m willing to listen to you whenever you’re hurting. Even if I’m hurting too.”

Jax looked back at the jester, who immediately stared down at the floor.

“Why? You barely know me. You said it was so hard to make friends back in the real world. What makes me so special?”

Pomni swallowed. She really needed something to drink.

“I know. That it’s bizarre for me to like you when I’ve always had such a hard time. But… I want to help you anyway. Isn’t that weird?”

She managed a smile and to look him in the eyes again. Jax gave a short “heh…” and looked away this time.

“Thanks, Pompom.” he said.

“Anytime, Bunny-Boy.”

The two of them shared an awkward chuckle. Pomni cleared her throat.

“Um… do you want to come with me? I’m gonna go have tea with Ragatha and the others…”

“I think I’m okay…” Jax replied.

“Jax, come on. It’ll be fun… Please?”

Pomni offered a hand.

“Alright, alright. But only ‘cause you said please.”

Jax took the jester’s hand, Pomni sparking the lighter and leading the way back to Ragatha’s bedroom.

#the amazing digital circus #funnybunny #jax x pomni #tadc pomni #tadc jax #tadc #oh no cringe #tadc ragatha #autistic pomni

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im-not-a-l0ser · 8 months

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Hi! Grace asker again.

I wasn’t intending to call you a misogynist by any means, I had simply seen a lot of differing opinions of Grace based on her insanity and just wanted to know if it was a female thing or if she was genuinely irredeemable. I’ve been in a few fandoms before where it was mostly just a female thing, and it gets very exhausting very quickly. But, if your dislike of Grace is because of her insane, cult-building, murderous tendencies, I get it. A lot of people just don’t like to see that in their fandoms.

However, does that same logic apply to how you view Max? He was also—in my eyes—an irredeemable monster, and it seems like the general consensus in NPMD is that life in Hatchetfield was undeniably better without him there. And he also was shown to be a huge bully and bigot in canon, so what makes it more acceptable to make him gay, yet not offer that same development to Grace?

Once again, maybe I’ll change my mind once I finish watching all of the content with her, but for now I’m just gauging where the line is here.

Okay, sorry. It's just a thing I've already heard and refuted before so I was a little defensive.

With Max, he isn't actually ever shown Ever doing or saying anything specifically about minorities, which is my main problem. Like, he's just generally a jerk, not specifically against queer people like Grace is.

I might be super wrong here, but I'm also pretty sure he's supposed to be bi in cannon. I don't know if that was Will Branner who said that or one of the Lang's, so take that with a pinch of salt.

He's definitely got way more of "I am being defensive because I am abused and I cannot be seen for how much I'm hurting," thing going on. If you haven't watched thw show, I totally get how you couldn't gather that. In one of my linked posts, I went a bit more in depth about it.

I've always tried to give any aggressor... well, not the benefit of the doubt, but I've always put thought into why someone might be doing something.

A great example from my own life was for a period of time, someone who'd bully me for years would call me by my chosen name, Conner. And then one day, when I posted something about how I'm not a girl, I'm nonbinary, he suddenly was really brash about it and began deadnaming me again. And instead of being offended, all I could think is "what on earth happened at home." Which is what shifted my view of it in the first place.

Just like how I don't like Grace, I can fully understand anyone who doesn't like Max, and i won't jump to his defense, I'll only jump to my own defense if I am specifically being attacked for how I perceive him, and even then it's just like "Oh, well, I see him like this."

Sorry for being agressive in the first response. It's not the first time I've heard shit like that, and it will not the last either.

I am interested in what you think after you watch the show, which I think you haven't based on how you're wording things, but I'm also at work, so I'm only skimming and I might be wrong. Either way, interested

#starkid #nerdy prudes must die #max jagerman #grace chasity

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adelaidedrubman · 3 months

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HI! I’m a longtime lurker and first time asker, and i hope you’re having a good day!

What’s something that Jestiny does that drives John up a wall but also turns him on to no end?

Also, if your deputy was a GFH in the game, what would her dialogue be and what would she do?

HI BELOVED thank you so much for sending this and sorry it took so long, i ended up spinning my wheels over it a little more than i probably should have!!

and god, that first question encompasses like. most of their relationship. for a more benign example, well… she wears those stupid fucking novelty shirts. and if the over the top tacky graphics weren’t bad enough, she insists on showing off by wearing them with no bra and sleeves ripped off. problem: she does have a really nice rack and big strong arms. what actually makes that a problem: impossible to appreciate those things without looking directly at the giant cartoon fish making an innuendo about swallowing. tacky fishing products and sex are now linked in his mind. he passes by a big mouth billy bass in walmart and gets a semi as a pavlovian response. he’s suffered more than jesus.

and as for my vision for gun for hire jestiny… (warnings for mentions of sexual situations and violence)

this was super fun to think about!! i imagine for a universe where she isn’t Thee Deputy she would instead be a fish and game warden. administratively she’s still considered part of the sheriff’s department, but nobody but whitehorse really knows who she is and she’s never seen around. it’s heavily implied she doesn’t really do anything but fish on the government dime and occasionally write citations (less for actual rule violations and more for getting too close to her fishing spots).

as for her in game recruitment mission, the player can first encounter jestiny around the little mouth where orville creek lets out.

she puts out her first distress call from that location, less in the form of a call of distress and more in the form of radioing out sexually charged and graphically violent threats towards john in between single-handedly repelling an onslaught of attacking peggies. eventually, she finds a spare breath to also request anyone listening help her defend her treasured fishing spot and seek retribution.

if the player engages the mission, they will help jestiny clear the remaining attackers. at the end of combat she will explain she was “minding her own goddamn business, enjoying a perfect day of fishing” when attacked by the cult. it seems the few peggies that survived made off down the river with her tackle box, likely headed to stash it at seed boat launch. she pledges her “casting and combat skills” to anyone who can go take back what’s hers and bring along with it the head of john the baptist on a silver platter so she can “skin his stupid fucking face off and use it to bait [her] hook” then “store [her] tackle in his empty fuckin’ skull.”

or just... steal his boat, she guesses, if he’s not around.

from there it would mechanically function much like the mission to get carmina or the widowmaker back. (which why didn’t they round out the stealing vehicles from john thing into a trifecta with a boat? rule of threes, ubisoft.) the player would travel to seed boat launch to search for jestiny’s tackle box (there would a side gag around picking out the correct tackle box of the many there belonging to her). after locating the correct tackle box, search for the key to john’s boat and take off towards jestiny, pursued by peggies captaining lesser vessels.

on arrival at the meet point, jestiny is nowhere to be found. the player receives a radio call informing them she has been attacked by more peggies and forced to retreat up the cliffside the creek runs through (pictured below) to stand her ground against them. but don’t worry, she left a spare grappling kit behind, and rock climbing is almost as fun as fishing, right?

the player abandons the boat to begin swimming upstream, eventually tracking jestiny down to the wellington residence (pictured below) — where she is sitting outside, reclined, leisurely sipping a beer, no attackers either dead or alive to be found.

she brushes this off with a “hm? oh, yeah. right. you should see the other guy” and gives a half-hearted thanks for the return of her tackle box, which she takes inside the cabin and stacks on top of a row of other, nearly identical tackle boxes without commentary. she then offers a more sincere thanks in the form of pledging that any enemy of john’s is a friend of hers, so give her a buzz anytime you want to make his life miserable. she’s certain he’ll need to be put in his place again within twelve to forty minutes.

as for her combat mechanics, jestiny would primarily be a melee attacker, functioning as a sort of mix between the heavy armor and the brawler npc types, but with an axe rather than a baseball bat. if cornered or outnumbered, she’ll switch to more long range fire or explosive based attacks, usually improvised. her primary combat advantage is being able to absorb a lot of blows without being taken down, despite an absurd lack of actual armor. she’s good at starting stealthy, but not staying that way. all in all, not someone you want to send in for a “undetected” achievement, but she works well for sneaking in long enough to attract attention and absorb attacks.

aaand as for idle dialogue, responds to most people, places, and situations with “i’d rather be fishing.” the violent, obsessive, sexually charged monologues are standard fare for john’s region, naturally. lots of very descriptions of the ways she would gut him like a fish. henbane dialogue oscillates at the flip of a switch between irreverent digs about not being afraid of “miss church camp coachella” prancing around in her “easter best” and terrified, incoherent mumbling and screaming the moment she actually comes near bliss fumes. whitetails is a lot of comments about how she tunes out jacob because when a guy is trying to talk about the outdoors and starts saying shit like he says, you realize he has no goddamn clue what he’s talking about and walk away. that’s why he has to cage people, you know. nobody would listen, otherwise, on account of him not knowing fuck all or being funny.

as for match-ups with other guns for hire, she definitely gets along best and is happiest to be put with adelaide. she also does well enough and has entertaining banter with jess and sharky, although she will quickly begin to grate on jess’s nerves, and sharky will in turn wear on hers. she and grace are not each other’s first choice company, but they aren’t hostile, mostly thanks to grace’s professionalism and patience. she is outright contemptuous and rude towards nick and hurk jr., by no particular fault of their own.

and as for the fangs, she doesn’t care for boomer and wishes everyone would shut up about him, is neutral towards peaches, and respects cheeseburger but is bummed out about the fisherman’s life he’s missing and prefers to avoid him.

she is, of course, thrilled to be paired with hank.

#SORRY FOR THE LONG ANSWER I DECIDED TO RUN WITH THIS LOLLLLL

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