#I really wanna understand her character more cause I'd love to write her story one day

[indigobackfire]

Fankid: Indigo × Barnaby

Sawyer Sinclair Silverwood-Lee

RAVENCLAW | SEPTEMBER, 2002 | ENTP

Born: Isle of Mull, Scotland;

Looks: Relatively tall with tawny skin and chocolate brown hair that's quite wavy, big green eyes with thick eyelashes and eyebrows, dimples to her smile and soft cheekbones;

Patronus: Spider monkey;

Pets: Lychee, the white-bellied Caique parrot that she carries everywhere like a pirate, and Chuffy, a scrawny turned fat domestic longhair;

Fav Subjects: Maths, Arithmancy, Magical Theory, History of Magic, Potions, Alchemy, Wizarding Literature;

Least Fav: Herbology, Charms (one bc she doesn't like dealing with the mess and the smells/and the other bc she already masters the subject and finds it boring);

Extracurriculars: Flying, Ancient Studies, Physics Applied to Magic, Magical Sea Creatures, Wand Mechanics, Mathmagicians (class/club), Law and Political History of the Wizarding World, Magic Applied to Culinary Arts, Debate club, Music; (listen she's a chew more than you can swallow type of girl)

Boggart: Losing her family / The shadow boy she sees since childhood;

Hobbies: Reading fantasy, sci-fi, and biographies on inventors (and on her weaker days, a romance or two), playing the piano, putting apart both muggle and magical devices, training pets to do tricks, swimming, doing all types of puzzles, training her technical drawing, and karaoke with Vesper.

---

After many losses, Sawyer is the baby that comes into their lives unannounced yet wholeheartedly welcomed. A perfect mix between the two yet with big green eyes that leave no doubt about her genealogy, she's the apple of their eyes and would've grown quite spoiled if they were different people. Growing up with a legilimens for a mom certainly shapes her into a blunt and sincere girl, edges deeply softened by her father.

Though her looks never lie, the early signs of her prodigy leave both parents questioning where she could've gotten her intelligence from, which she first demonstrates with her interest in math and art, and her ease of learning writing multiple languages, all despite being homeschooled by Indigo most of her childhood. They later invest in tutors (given how early her magic began acting up sending her to a muggle school would be unwise).

In the subject of magic, her access to the family's libraries allows her plenty of knowledge on basic magic many years before she sets foot on Hogwarts which makes her a restless and uninterested student in her first years until she finds herself capable of invading more advanced classes in secret instead of attending her own. Unfortunately, the imbalance in understanding easily alienates her from her year mates, driving her to befriend much older Ravenclaws with similar interests.

But it's in her youngest cousin, Vesper, she finds her very best friend who despite the difference in age and sorting remains as such since their childhood, throughout the years they share in Hogwarts, and beyond. While Sawyer represents control, Vesper, spontaneity, and together they make quite the unstoppable duo especially with both being eager learners and fearless explorers.

While not a legillimens like her mom nor a seer like her father, Sawyer does have a strange connection with dreams, hers and others, (which I'm still in the process of discovering) that makes her nights restless and reality occasionally deceiving. She also has a more druid-like connection to the dead thanks to her Celtic origins, but something she discovers much later in life.

With her looks and sympathetic personality, she earns several admires, but getting to know her truly is a tough task with her ability to illusion openness, talking a lot not saying anything. She has a hard time being vulnerable and understanding romance, which is why despite all the flirting she's known as a hard-to-please girl. She's often drawn to extroverted and messy types despite considering herself quite cool and collected.

For the time Maxwell's in Hogwarts, she's part of his band playing the keyboard, and joins in after that whenever their official pianist gets sick or busy with personal life. Beyond the piano, she can also play the guitar and a little violin.

Her biggest obsessions in life are integrating technology and magic, not leaving any rock unturned, and understanding time and its complexities, including time travel. Needless to say, her curiosity more often than not lands her in great trouble.

[dynamightimagines]

Hi. You said request were open when I messaged you earlier so I'm sending one! I'd like some Nejire x male reader. Reader helping her get dressed for the first time and possibly trailing kisses and licks along her skin. Especially her stomach and thighs! I think it'd be cute if reader was normally kind of shy and a bit nervous even with her but went all in on doting in her.

However, if you're not comfortable with that given Nejire's age/status in canon, I completely understand! I think it'd be cute to see such a scenario with Ragdoll as well. Especially if it's set after she loses her powers and is a way for reader to comfort her.

I know that's a lot but thank you for reading and if you choose to write it thank you for that as well!

Okay wait this is so cute; I'm not a huge Nejire fan but this makes me love her more! I am gonna do an age up if that's ok! Story under the tag~ (All characters are 21+ for the sake of the fic) WARNINGS: Thigh kissing thigh licking, hips?

Tender Kiss (Pro Hero! Nejire x Male! Reader)

"Everything okay in here?"

You had come up the stairs of Nejire's home after what sounded like a sudden tornado coming from the bedroom, followed by a familiar groan and more thrashing.

"I don't know what to wear!"

Nejire had what seemed to be her entire closet strewn about the room, and knowing the size of her wardrobe, that was a feat. "This interview is really big for me and I want to make sure I look perfect! Everything I have is either already worn or just not cute enough!" She picked up another blouse and held it up to herself in her full-body mirror, before throwing it back down in defeat. "That's it, I'm canceling!"

Wearing a small smile from her outburst, you walked up behind her, wrapping your arms around her from behind. "Babe," You said, putting your head on her shoulder and looking at her in the mirror she was still facing, swaying slightly. "The host won't care what you wear, you're adorable no matter what! And a badass, too. If she can't look past the shirt you're wearing and focus on the feats you've made as a hero, she needs a new job."

Nejire sighed, leaning back into your arms. "I know," she breathed, looking up at you. "But it matters to me, I want to look my best! Will you help me choose?" Her wide eyes pleaded with you.

A small chuckle escapes your lips as you lean down to plant a kiss on her own. "Of course, but for the record I think you look perfect in everything you wear."

After almost an hour of fashion shows featuring only her, Nejire finally picked an outfit, holding it up in triumph.

"This is perfect! And I still have enough time to take my time getting ready!" She squealed, spinning with the outfit in her arms. She turned towards you, suddenly waving you off. "Now shoo, I need to get dressed!"

She playfully shoved you out of her room, laughing as she closed the door in your face.

You hadn't been downstairs for more than ten minutes before you could hear her calling for you once more.

"Y/n?"

You made your way back upstairs, knocking on the door.

"Everything okay?"

Small shuffling could be heard from the other side of the door.

"I can't get it zipped up."

"Do you need help?"

There was silence on the other side, before her small voice could be heard ever so slightly.

"If you could? I don't wanna make you nervous."

You reached out for the door handle, opening the door to see Nejire standing with her back facing you, the bodysuit she was trying to wear unzipped down the middle, showing off her back and shoulder blades.

You could immediately feel the heat rising to your face, never having seen each other like this before.

"Babe?"

You focused back on her face, now slightly turned to face you. You could see a blush spreading across her face as well, eyes looking down in embarrasment.

You approached her and gently put one hand on her back, the warmth of her skin causing your heart to race. With your other hand you grabbed the zipper, being careful to not catch it on her skin. Once you made sure it was all the way up you slid your hands to her shoulders, lightly rubbing them.

"Is that okay?" You asked, hands trailing down her arms. "Does it feel zipped all the way?"

"Yes," she replied, lightly nodding her head as she turned to face you, yet keeping her eyes from yours. "Thank you."

You flushed, not used to seeing the cheerful and outgoing Nejire so flustered. It made you almost happy to see the effect you had on her, you wanted to see it more.

A sudden burst of confidence, you lightly pushed her down to the bed, so she was now sitting.

"Let me help you get ready."

"W-what?!" She replied, eyes now meeting yours as her face grew even more red. "Are you sure?"

You knelt down in front of her, almost eye level with her thighs. "I'm sure," you look up at her before grabbing a pair of calf-high socks she had on the bed next to her. "You wanted to wear these too, right? Let me put them on."

She averted her gaze once more, mouth quivering with anxiety before she slowly lifted her leg up to allow you to slide the sock onto her.

Grabbing her leg, your hand instinctively rubbed her calf, feeling how soft it was due to her intense self-care routine. You slipped the sock on as you trailed your hand higher, over her knee and onto her thigh.

"What are you doing?" She stammered, looking down at you with nervousness.

"You're a goddess," words you'd usually be so embarrassed to say rolling off your tongue thoughtlessly, as you leaned down closer to her thigh.

You planted a small kiss on her leg, just above her knee, and heard how she sucked in a breath at the sudden contact. You wanted to looked at her face to see how she was reacting. "Is this okay?"

Nejire had a look you've never seen before. She looked nervous, happy, reluctant and eager all at the same time. She nodded her head wordlessly

You kissed her again, higher than the last, feeling her leg twitch suddenly from the foreign contact. You moved your hands to the outer sides of both her thighs, holding them both as you kissed her repeatedly, switching from each thigh and going higher with each kiss you gave.

You could hear her breathing, uneven and heavy from the new sensation. As you trailed higher you moved to sit straighter, putting one hand on the center of her stomach, guiding her to lay down with her legs dangling off the bed.

The bodysuit she was wearing showed off her hips, and you trailed the outline of her hip with one hand as the other rubbed her thighs where you were kissing them.

"Y/n?"

"It is okay if I continue?"

"Mmhm."

You leaned down once more, kissing her thighs and making a trail of kisses from the inside to the outside, getting closer to her hips.

"If anyone says you look bad in today's interview, they're a fool."

You laid a kiss onto her hip, holding her down by the waist.

"You're the most beautiful girl in the world."

Hands rubbing the curve of her waist you continued to pepper kisses from her waist to her stomach, kissing over the thin material of the bodysuit she was wearing.

She let out a soft moan, immediately tensing up from the sound she made. You let out a small chuckle against her skin, moving one hand back down to rub her thigh in an attempt to soothe her.

"You just proved my point; you're the most amazing girl I've ever laid eyes on."

Moving back down to her legs, you decided to try something different, feeling a rush of courage surge through you.

When you got back to her inner thighs you continued with your kisses, before giving her a small lick.

Nejire squeaked, legs instinctively moving to close. You used your hands to keep her legs open, the heat radiating off of her thighs.

"Just tell me if you want me to stop"

You gave her thigh another small lick, then another, before placing your lips down onto her thigh and sucking.

Nejire gasped, one of her hands instinctively going to your hair as you sucked on the skin of her thigh, set on leaving a mark.

When you were satisfied you moved back, looking at the first ever hickey you had given her, placed on her thigh for the world to see.

You wished you could have kept going, but the alarm from her phone caused you both to pause, her leaning back up and grabbing the blaring device.

"Oh shoot!" She quickly stood up, putting on her second sock. you moved out of the way and watched as she frantically started to grab her things. "I need to go!"

Giving yourself a small chuckle, you moved to where she was throwing her things into her bag, putting your hand onto her waist once more.

"You might want to change, love." You whispered, guiding her to look at herself in the mirror.

You watched as she turned red once again, now noticing the dark mark you left on her, clearly visible with the small bodysuit she was wearing.

"Now I have to change again!" She whined, turning to pout at you. "Get out! I'm going to be late!"

She ushered you out once more, but not before you noticed how much her legs were still shaking.

As the door closed in your face you let out a breath you didn't realize you were holding, the events that just occurred suddenly washing over you.

You ran a hand through your hair, and began to walk back downstairs.

You'd make sure to finish this when she came home.

A/N: Holy crap I've never written something like this; sorry if it wasn't exactly what you wanted! It also feels a little OOC so sorry if it is :(

[coeluvr]

Hello dearest!

I don't usually write messages because I have weird, shy internet anxiety, but I wanted to make an exception because compliments always motivate me to keep writing and I need u to keep writing so I can finally h*ld Vincent's h*nd!!! 😔😭🤡

This is one of the few IFs where I actually want to romance all ROs!!! Usually, I have a few I really want to romance and the rest I slog through cause completionist tendencies. But you've done a wonderful job of not only making the characters feel very alive and dynamic but also making them all appealing and attractive.

I usually always want to romance the hater because pettiness fuels me but also love angst with a kill them with kindness mc (I WILL H*LD VINCENTS H*ND OR DIE FIGHTING GOD). So, confirmed Vincent-mancer. His art? HIS EYES. HIS LIPS. PRETTY PRIVELEGE IS REAL AND ALL CRIMES ARE EXCUSED (also I really tried going into it being like he's not sad!!! But, as someone who's been in that place, while not an actual war, he definitely comes across as sad in the sense of a weariness at life and that he's struggling to fit back into his skin as pre-trauma Vincent. Artist did a 10/10 job with all the art because THEY'RE SO BEAUTIFUL I CREYYYY)

But the chokehold Hunter has on me? They were gonna be first because their personality is appealing to me both fictional and irl but omg everything I read I HAVE TO HAVE MORE. Like it's moved beyond I'd definitely vibe with this character and look forward to their route to i WANT TO SMOOCH THEIR PRETTY FACE OFF. So now confirmed Hunter-mancer (I actually died on the tattoo snippet on patreon is it a good or bad day to be bi?)

Helios kind of types I'm more of a 50/50 with, but obviously gotta do it for the juicy drama. But all stuff with him has just been so ??!!!???😳😳🫠 like he just leaves me more intrigued. Confirmed Helios-mancer. (The amount of times I'm gonna replay his route to try different things is actually gonna be crazy)

Soarine hot women nuff said. But also just ???!!!?!? I can't even form words. I'm so excited for more scenes with her. Confirmed Soarine-mancer. (Ma'am pls step on me respectfully and not so respectfully)

Fadiya as the official best friend (Hunter you're a bestie too but I feel bad like I'm making u choose between me and Helios :((( ) is usually one I'd keep strictly platonic. I love platonic routes as much as romance and nothing grabs me more than having a best friend character in IFs. BUT SHES SO ADORABLE. I WANNA SMOOSH HER CHEEKS. Also I feel her cause I'm that oblivious too 😭😭😭 I always appreciate ifs having the shy and bold type flirting but I need an oblivious idiot one because I'd be accidentally flirting with her like I do with all my friends without realizing I'm in love with her (and then be unable to speak to her once I realize because flirting? With people that aren't just platonic friends??? That I have feelings for????? Sounds fake). I gotta write the fanfic now (and perhaps share with u once I get over my shyness)

I really am looking forward to the next chapter! I'm so glad I subscribed on patreon too :))) keep up the good work (it also motivates me to cure my depression and post my stuff too)

💙💙💙💙💙

This is so sweet, anon 🥺 Thank you for sending me this message!!

I'm so glad all of the ROs are appealing to you! I love them all so much they're all beautiful and have so much to their stories. 🥰

Vincent's pretty privilege is insane lmao so many people folded when they saw him 😭 I guess Vincent's inner sadness seeped through because he's really okay #trust but then I probably have a wildly different definition of okay haha very low standards of living over here. He was also never trauma free lol my man just going through it. 🤭

I understand your love for Hunter!! They are just very... very. The tattoo part is one of my favs too they're so smooth with it like okay you're popular with everyone we get it 🙄 *cries to sleep*

Helios is super interesting to me because of the way he handles things and his mindset like I need to study him under a microscope. His route will definitely fulfill all your desires for drama! 🥳

Soarine hot woman. Real. She can ruin my life any day.

Fadiya is perfection and a gift from the gods because she's just so 🥹🥹 I love her to bits and she's going to be so fun to write.

Thank you for your kind words! I love these kind of messages so you're right hehe. Definitely gave me a boost! 💗

[davishater]

I'm back to rant about more winter thoughts. So I thought more about the VA's voice for her and how the VA thought "will my voice really suit that character" lol but eventho I would prefer winter with a deeper voice (she has moments in the manga when she would suit a stronger voice imo, like when she snaps at milo) I think it shows her softer side well (especially towards alice) and is a nice contrast. This got me thinking about soft winter and you know those people who grab onto others jacket or hoodie sleeves (me) yeah I just think that would make winter go really soft!! Allow me the indulgence!! Also just think about her voice (like her VA or something a bit different) but with a British accent! After all most of the characters (the moriarty's, Spitz, Elmer) have British accents. Just thinking about it makes me 😵‍💫. OH! You know now that I think about it I think the VAs who voiced James Bonde/Irene Adler from Moriarty the Patriot would suit winter nicely too! That's kind of the voice I imagined tbh!

Lol, I wait for these every day! 😂 There's really no one else I can go crazy about Winter with.

You're right! Her voice really does match the soft side of Winter! Uhhhhggg, now you got me thinking about soft Winter!!!!! 🙈 Ahhhhh my hearts going to explode!!!!! I'm definitely one who would grab the bottom of a shirt/jacket, or the back! When we pull on Winter's clothes, she would be like, "what do you want?" With a tone that sounds a little annoyed, but actually isn't. Then I would at least stay silent/flustered, or say "nothing...." Then Winter would huff and a couple things could happen! Either she'd get flustered herself, or she'd just say/do nothing and walk off with us in tow (to hide her flustered state), ooooo maybe if we're SUPER close with her, she'd take our hand and hold it in hers while looking away!!!! 😍 Not gonna lie, I love the, "I wanna hold your hand, but I don't want others seeing us hold hands, so I'mma just link one finger with yours" trope. Ooooo, would Winter's hands be cold or warm???? I'd say cold, but only because I automatically associate her with anything that metaphorically deals with the winter season.

I've thought about the British accent and pictured her with it so many times!!!! I've also researched a tiny bit to figure out how the English differ in speaking to Americans (idk if this is accurate, but I saw somewhere, that they say cuppa instead of "a cup of tea" and I started crying so hard when I read that, cause it was sooooo cute!!!!! I imagined Winter saying it and I cried even more!!! I thought I was gonna die from the cuteness!)! There was so much information, I got a little overwhelmed, but at some point, I'm going to write a story where you can tell Winter speaks in a British accent! Also, I've spoken with someone from Britain and her accent doesn't sound like what you hear on TV! If I remember correctly, it's because she's from the country and the higher class citizens are the ones who have a stronger accent (someone, PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong!). The Moriarty's would DEFINITELY be high class, so they'd have strong accents! 😆 Idk what kind of family Spitz comes from, but I can see him being lower class, so he wouldn't have a heavy accent (from the recent arc, Night and Alyssa would have heavy accents, the security guard's accent would be so heavy it'd be hard to understand him, I can see Chelsea and Yudi not having as heavy of accents and I think Hutter and Marsh can go both ways.).

Since Winter is really good at disguises, I'm sure she'd be good at accents, so sometimes, I picture us going up to my friends and playing tricks on them by Winter pretending to be a different person and see how long we can trick my friends into thinking Winter is somebody else. I also think Winter would have random (fake) business cards on her and if we ever ran into a business man, she'd pretend she was also trying to promote her (again fake) business. 😂

Also, it doesn't really matter, but I thought Elmer was American? Or is he just working in America?

I've actually only seen the dub for Moriarty The Patriot, so idk how he/she sounds in Japanese. The dub sounds pretty good for if that VA ever voiced Winter (not gonna lie, when I was trying to convince myself Winter was a guy, as a joke, I said Howard Wang could voice Winter, because if he had to do a little girls voice, he could hit it perfectly. 😂 He's voiced cross dressing men and sounds exactly like a girl!).

[ackermanshoe]

Edited lmao: warning this is kinda pointless and alot of farfetched theory and a veryyy long post please read at your own risk 🤡

Edit again: my analysis when I started it 1 month ago: 👩‍💼🖨️📇✒️🖋️✏️

My post now: 🤡🤡🤡🕯️🕯️🤡

Edit: I started writing this like ages ago but I don't see my own point with this writting and I'm editing it after reading @nini14 's Ackerman breaking the cycle analysis and I feel like both of these go hand in hand. So without further ado:

Triangles

Let's see as we all are made aware that aot significantly revolves around trios of friends such as the following :

Although these are the main trios that is noticeable, other trios can be made out by taking some characters from their original trios to make trios based on looks / character and dynamics. And this is where my argument comes in with this trio:

Their dynamic has always been mother father and son. Now let me explain, idk if anyone has heard about the drama triangle but here

These terms can be applied to MLE trio, Levi being the persecutor, Mikasa is the rescuer and the victim being Eren. In the first 3 seasons at least, Eren was being taken away and his decisions constently put him in danger, Levi being the persecutor who always gives Eren what he deserves for being a pain the ass and Mikasa being the rescuer always siding with Eren and protecting him no matter what. Do you see it?

This is Mikasa to a T.

The following is an example of the dad being the rescuer and the son "junior" being a victim, and much like Eren, could possibly refuse the hand that is helping him.

So that being said now that we have an understanding of their dynamics in the relationship, let's get back to understanding a triangle. Did you know triangles are one of the strongest shape because it has three sides that rely on each other hence shifting their energies on to each side and it makes the perfect shape for a bridge, architectures favourite. Why am I tell you this?

Because these dynamics that every trio is made up of in aot is because they have strong relationships.

Someone mentioned isayama loves putting move triangles and I couldn't help but agree, look at how many times he has placed Eren historia and an angry Mikasa? And subtly he has always ( to me at least) hinted the love triangle between Levi Mikasa and Eren, outside of their father-mother-son dynamic. Personally this makes sense to me the most, fueled by mikasa's dream. A choice was there to make and she unknowingly chose Levi.

Now this brings me to the death of all the trios Levi has been part of, from Isabel & Farlan to hanjo & Erwin to where we are now. Our situation before S4 was EMA+Levi = 4 people but we all know that a square isn't as strong as a triangle so something shifted. Eren, even with him in it Armin and him were more connected as for Levi and Mikasa as a pair it was more obvious. Especially in the conversation EMA had in that stare place as depicted on @gilly-bj 's analysis on similarities between rivamika and Mika's parents. Not only was Mikasa placed directly next to Levi although being feets apart in reality but her lines "another conversation only you two understand" it. Visually and verbally divided Mikasa from Eren and Armin and connected her to Levi. Both alone.

Yet another triangle placed by isayama intentionally or not is Armin Mikasa and Levi.

Because a triangle represents the process of recycle and reuse it also represent the cycle of life, an on going thing that doesn't stop, a history that repeats itself. And going back to Ackerman finally breaking this cycle of tragic fate, will they?

The fact that the whole manga series start at chapter 0 is very suspicious in it self. Why does it isyamaa? A 0, a circle that comes back around? A 0 which represents both the ending and the beginning? Why is the 1st chapter called "to you, 2000 years from now"? ( That's such a fucking impactful chapter name gives me chills )

Before my theory start I just wanna add that the story started from a narrative perspective makes me wanna believe in rivamika even more. Did eldians share the same fate in 2000 years? Who knows, but I know for sure Erens and mikasa's dynamic as the impulsive hotheaded doer and their protective calm but strong friend thinker will continue forever just like the never ending triangles.

I forgot all these ppls names on chaoter 0 so PLS bare with me.

The main dude who heavily resembles Mikasa even tho he is a man, has a incredible power just like the Ackerman's as a human AND he can shift into a titan???? Last time I checked weren't Ackerman's the bio product of titans? Remember is science is on a ongoing journey and forever progressing towards the impossible ;)

Hmmm

The little girl who resembles Gabi, who has the same dynamic as Eren, the girl also looks up to his inhumanly powers, a little too much alike Eren's idolisation of Levi ( and looking up to Mikasa's strength I think )?

Lastly, chapter 0 makes me believe it was set in the future. Look at the buildings, 2 story buildings I don't remember seeing buildings like this in the pre time skip era have you? I could be wrong tho.

If Isayama is as smart as we think he is then he might have related this chapter to the whole plot of aot. 🤷 Or it could mean something. And here's where my theory comes in and it may not be the most favourable for eldians. Let me start with the good part tho, the guy who looked like Mikasa is could be a descendant from the Ackerman clan, but he isn't half and half like Mikasa and Levi, he's full blooded. Which might be why he has the power to shift ( idk this kinda don't make sense since Mikasa and Levi can't buy hush )

So let's say rivamika got married had a family they always wanted and had the peaceful life and 2000 years from then this guy^ existed. Oddly familiar to great great great grammakasa 💀💀.

The cycle never ended for eldians, the whole world could still be mad at them for Erens action and has the prejudice against them for a long time. And the fact that they can shift is never going to change even 2000 years in the future. And the guy ( omg I keep calling him the guy cause I literally can not be bothered figuring out his name ) who lives in a far more developed society with richer civilization within the wall. It could be possible that Ymir or someone erased the eldians memories ONCE AGAIN after the rumbling ended. Because Mikasa levi weren't effected they probably were excused and got to live as they pleased. This dude is also the reason why I believe isayama does not consider the Ackerman's as side characters at all. In the end the story might have actually started with them, alluding to "the ending is just the beginning" as said by kingsama himself. ( Wtf am I saying lol )

So yeah in conclusion as I said yes story is weirdly really influenced by a large amount of triangles and loops. And yes ackerman probably would break the cycle of death after all living through hell fighting hell all for what? If not recreating into a heaven, giving it new life. I do believe in rivamika living the life they are destined for with each other but eldians fate might just be too tragic for me to see them as truly free people who gets to roam around outside the walls as they please.

I guess my point is that everything that goes around will come around, that will bring good karma for the Ackerman's and maybe a repeation of the past for the rest of the world. 😩😩 I think I fully somehow believe Eren is gone for good. Unless isayama draws him waking up from a long dream on his bed then 💀👀👀 I will throw myself away.

Thank you for reading 💞 once again I'm so sorry this post isn't as good as I'd like it to be I am sleep deprived right now and it isn't worded as well as of like it to be. But hope my delulu ness was enjoyable at least. ✌️💀

[burr-ell]

So while Byleth as a character pretty clearly found that she took to leadership like a duck to water and she wants to help and guide people, the players don't really feel that.

After all, if I was in her shoes, I'd feel like I had all this responsibility thrust on me that I never asked for. So Rhea made me a teacher even though I have no experience, and Claude is just using me, and I think Rhea's crazy and Edelgard has a point and I want to side against the church but the game won't let me, and Rhea made me her successor even though I don't like her/the church/religion in general, and Claude ran off to Almyra and made me the ruler even though I never said I wanted to.

Kinda nailed it on the head the disconnect between the playerbase and Byleth...The amount of VW/AM fics that are like "i GUESS Byleth cares to run after Rhea during the Battle of Garreg Mach for SOME REASON even tho I hate her" can attest to that attitude lol

You're right in that they should've just ditched Byleth being a self-insert since they didn't even know how to write a self-insert to begin with. So little of the dialogue branches actually matter that it got to the point where I wanted to yell "tf is the difference here!?" Case in point when Claude confronts Byleth after Ch4 the dialogue is either "I don't know" or "I don't understand" and like! what!!

Also chalk it up to personal preference, I've never really enjoyed self-inserts the same way I do avatar chars (which are different). Like, I don't wanna be "me! but in a video game!" I wanna play/rp a cool character where I interact with the world through their lenses & experiences.

It really is a bummer cause the concept behind Byleth- a character learning how to feel & realizing that they can be more than just some lonesome sell-sword- as well as their few in-game traits are parts that I really liked, it's just that there's so little of that because they're meant to be a self-insert instead rip

Also chalk it up to personal preference, I've never really enjoyed self-inserts the same way I do avatar chars (which are different). Like, I don't wanna be "me! but in a video game!" I wanna play/rp a cool character where I interact with the world through their lenses & experiences.

S A M E. I think for me, part of the issue is that no matter what I do with the self-insert, that's not me. I'm not really in the game. I don't really look like that or act like that. None of it is real. Same with [Y/N] fanfics. I'd rather experience a world vicariously through someone else who has an established personality and character arc; I want the storyteller to just sort of take me along for the ride while I get to watch a good yarn gettin spun, because at the end of the day, that's what's happening. (Sort of lessens that "I wish they were REAL" feeling if you haven't inserted yourself into the story, too. Keeps you grounded, y'know?)

"i GUESS Byleth cares to run after Rhea during the Battle of Garreg Mach for SOME REASON even tho I hate her" can attest to that attitude lol

ok but LITERALLY miss blooth eisner went tearing leeroy jenkins style after rhea to protect her, after rhea put everything on the line to protect the students and stop the empire from destroying the monastery. rhea's a good person and byleth cares about her, antis stay mad about it lol

Yeah, generally speaking Byleth represents a lot of missed opportunities. And I love her, 100%, it's just that her character writing needed to be stronger—because like you said, her story could have had so much meat to it if they'd pushed themselves further! Truth be told, it makes me concerned about the direction of the next FE game (either the inevitable Jugdral remake or the next original one) if they keep waffling like this.

[skaldish]

Hi!! So I'm honestly not sure if I've asked you this before, (incredibly sorry if I have and you didn't want to answer because it was disrespectful or if you did and I didn't see it cause I'm pretty sure it was on anon) but I'm writing a book where one of the Norse gods is a love interest (specifically Hel) and in a wlw relationship with my main character, and I was just wondering 1. If you think witches who work with her would take offense, or 2. If you think she herself would take offense? Or if you think I should try and ask her myself? I've been practicing witchcraft for about 7 years now but I never got involved with deity work because up until about a month ago I was a minor and I just didn't like the idea of committing to a pantheon before I was able to vote, plus I sort of jump around different types of agnosticism constantly, so I'm not really sure what proper ettiequte would be. I wanna think that it'd be fine because people write stories featuring the gods all the time a lot of which they aren't portrayed 100% text accurately in, but I also don't want to hurt anybody or risk pissing off a death deity that I will most likely encounter eventually and who (I believe) has reached out to me in the past. If it's easier I could just change her name of course, but I also want more people to know about her in a more positive light cause she's been one of the few goddesses I've actually considered getting into deity work for even though she scares me a little sometimes tbh (in like, a disappointed mom way, but like, a disappointed mom who's the principal of your school and WILL expel you if you act up way, you know?) and I've had a love for Norse mythology and myths about her for a long time that I want to spread. And I'm not like, anticipating that everyone in the world will read it obviously, it'll be the first thing I've ever published, but still, it'd suck to do it and have a few people read it and feel misrepresented or hurt by how I've written her. Sorry, this is very long and very rambly, but I'd really appreciate your input.

Thank you for reading, sorry if this is weird and gross, I'm not great at picking up on social cues online

It's one of those things I grapple with these days too, using deities as characters. And honestly I'm still figuring out where the line is too.

But speaking solely from my experience, I've yet to meet a deity who's monogamous and strictly heterosexual. Gods represent the human experience taken to a highly-curated level, and that includes our magnitude of sexualities. (If you're that old and that cultivated why would you limit yourself to just one partner?)

I definitely have had gods correct me about how I portray them in literature, but only because they knew I wasn't understanding who they were and that misunderstanding was reflected in the work. They didn't want me to give myself the wrong impression of them. But this usually was in regards to their personality and motivation as opposed to, like, their sexual orientation.

I mean I'd ask Hel because it's the polite thing to do, but I highly doubt your question will incur any insult from her.

And if any witches who work with Hel get offended at any genuine (i.e. non-satirical) portrayal of Hel in a wlw relationship, their opinions are hardly worth the while. I have no idea why anyone would treat gay or lesbian relationships as a bad thing in paganism.

[gralunaisland]

I can totally understand your frustration and unwillingness to read the sequel. And I think the bad pacing and poor story telling is a result of the bad writing of the last arc. It left many things pretty untouched and if Mashima had wrapped that up perfectly, 100yq would've been a lot better. But I do think that the sequel is better in terms of battles, buildups, suspense and in utilizing the villains than the last season/arc whatever you say.

Anyways back to my previous ask, hey listen, I can see why you wouldn't wanna watch/read 100yq because it has abundant gruvia moments and honestly, I'd say just skip all those panels and enjoy our badass queen Lucy. Seeing the gruvia scenes are mostly associated with Gray's fights, you can entirely skip the chapters as well as moments that are related to the pairing.

But I definitely think you should give it a shot for the best girl. You wouldn't believe when I say she's being one hell of a badass queen in the sequel with all new powers and boosted confidence. She's so amazing and I faint everytime she's onscreen.

It hurts to talk about the recent chapter 'cause she's badly injured and it looks like whatever happened, she lost her arm and got slashed on the chest. I almost threw up at the bloody panel. And on top of that, mashima just decided to end the chapter with a damn cliffhanger !!!!! Just check out the recent chapter and forget about gruvia for the time being!

I appreciate you responding!

It's interesting that the fights are better but most everything else got worse haha. Those are certainly always fun to watch.

And I am glad you understand why I wouldn't want to read it!

I wish I could read it and just skip all the moments but right now, I just don't even want to see juvia. Even glimpsing their moments is just so annoying to me. If only there were a master list of all of them so I could avoid it haha.

But you make me want to read it, if only for Lucy Heartfilia. She's seriously best girl, and I do want to see her being more badass! I was going to miss seeing her since I wasn't going to read 100yq.

Oh no! Not Lucy! D: I hope she'll get her arm back!! Tbh when I really like characters, sometimes I like them to get hurt so their friends/love interests will be concerned for them, but that's just too much!! I'll at the very least read this latest chapter.

[itsclydebitches]

I got witcher!Ciri too! I kind wonder wha would happen if she died tho, dont wanna put geralt or her through that but I love angst lmfaoo. The game got really confusing at point cause I you have to learn a bunch of politics and how this world works and I didnt pay that much attention so I'm sure I'll get those moments in my second playthrough too I'm playing something in the hearts of stone thnig, it was lower level so I'm assuming you should play that first? a main quest with the asshole ghost in the wedding and wow I fucking hate it, it's so umcomfortable to watch geralt be this gross n weird lol, I'm not too familar when Shani either so watching her get mad when I get geralt to say he wouldnt do what the ghost is doing is so annoying lol, OH AND the ghost is a creepy fuck! shani babe you can do much much better than an asshole who talks about his dick and fucking "maidens" every other sentence!! Geralt really does get thrown into so much shit huh I'm tempted to read the books cause I do rly like the world and most- some characters but yeah reading about yen being yen wold be one of the things to stop me, what are some of the plot points that put you off? if you don't mind sharing And yeah I'd so be up for more content esp with ciri, would be cool to see them work together, even with how combat works in this game with npcs lmao

Woo witcher Ciri ending! :D If you enjoy putting yourself through pain I recommend looking up that other ending on YouTube because there are definitely some nice angst shots in the cut scenes. I watched and then promptly went, “I don’t need to play that for myself” lol. But yeah, hard agree on things getting confusing, especially towards the end. I completely missed stuff like the fact that my actions would actually impact this war, rather than the war simply being backdrop, or that Ciri’s powers were more than just the ability to teleport short distances. So by the time I was getting called on to murder kings and Avallach was taking us to totally different worlds, I had a very John Mulaney approach of, “This might as well happen. Things are already so goddamn weird.” Which, you know, really isn't the game's fault. It's what I get for jumping into the third game first and while I don't regret that at all, the story has absolutely deserved a second playthrough where I actually understand all the basic stuff I should have known going in.

Yeah, Hearts of Stone comes first. You can do any of the side quests you’d like from either DLC, but I’d recommend keeping Blood & Wine’s main storyline for the final push. But yeah, that ghost dude is, uh… something. I quite like the wedding on the whole—I really enjoy Shani, dancing is fun, O’Dimm is being a wonderfully evil dude—but yeah, dead dude is definitely a creep. Which is partly one of the things that turned me off from the books. It has the same ‘Guy trying to write women’ energy of the games but… worse. I’ve read a lot of excerpts over the years and so many of them turn me off. There are a ton of small things, like Triss importantly informing the witchers (who are all like 100+ years old??) about periods and that Ciri can’t train today because of hers (a moment that much of the fandom celebrates as... progressive?), or Triss and Yen getting super catty with one another over Geralt, to much bigger things like Ciri nearly getting raped/being involved in intimate acts with really questionable consent. A lot of the Witcher has a “This didn’t age well” vibe to it which, to be fair, isn’t entirely the fault of the author. The story is the product of 90’s Polish culture and, again, a man trying to write some pretty complex subjects from an arguably ignorant place, which makes much of the work eye-rolling for me at best, outright uncomfortable at worst. (Which I think is why I enjoy the games far more. I have agency in this questionable world, the ability to tailor it somewhat to my own beliefs and desires, which makes moments when that's taken away, like Geralt automatically commenting on how good Yen looks at a funeral, all the more frustrating). I obviously am not a Geralt/Yen fan, which sours a great deal of the plot. From what I got through the pacing felt like a slog and, more importantly, much seems to have been lost in the translation from Polish to English. (I continually hear about how amazing the dialogue is, but sadly that hasn’t come across in translation for me. Much of it is... awkward.) The parts I’ve heard about/read excerpts of that I’m most interested in—Geralt’s hanza—ends tragically and I’m… just not here for that right now. Which isn’t to say it’s badly written or anything, just that it’s not my personal cup of tea, especially nowadays with a pandemic and what all going on lol. I look at what I know of the series as a whole and go, “Do I really want to read five books filled with outdated representation for women, that old-school fantasy violence that turned me off GoT, with a super depressing ending, all wrapped up in an iffy translation and a style I don’t think does well in long-form storytelling? … Not really.”

Still loved most of the short stories and I’ve heard that many people liked the audio book versions when they couldn't get into the text, so I might give that a go someday. I’d prefer to actually have read all the source material for a fandom I’m spending so much time in, but I sadly just haven't had the urge yet. If you do read them, anon, you’ll have to tell me what you think. It’s becoming quite the divisive topic, especially as Netflix fans turn to the books, and—putting aside that everyone’s tastes will always differ—it’s interesting to hear not just whether someone had fallen in love with the books or not, but if they haven’t what about them prevented that. It's very much a case of one person's "That was awful" being another's "Are you kidding me? That's the best part!"

[dingberg]

Hey, I was wondering if the characters you make are for your own campaigns, or campaigns you play in. You inspire me to create my own unique characters and I was wondering if you had any tips on how to incorporate "complex characters" into a campaign. I feel like I'd just get on the DM's/Player's nerves...

First off, thanks for being the first person to ever send me an ask on here, lol. And you have no idea how happy I am to hear that I inspire you in any way, let alone to make your own characters and go above and beyond the call of duty with them. Apologies in advance for the massive response. I can be an extremely long-winded person when it comes to things I’m passionate about.

Anyway, all the characters I’ve made for D&D have been for player roles…never been a DM myself (but maybe some day). Unfortunately, your fears about getting on the DM’s / other player’s nerves by playing weird, complicated characters aren’t exactly unfounded. The DMs I’ve played with could talk your ear off with stories about the difficulties they’ve had dealing with my shenanigans. But despite all the trouble I cause, the DMs and players I’ve played with still really enjoy playing with me and love my characters (or at least that’s what they tell me). Here’s what I’ve learned from my experiences as far as your concerns of being able to flex your creative muscles and still get along with the other people who have to put up with you. These rules apply to any situation, but they go double for playing weird characters.

Rule #1: COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR FELLOW PLAYERS AND ESPECIALLY WITH YOUR DM.

This is probably the most important rule. It’s essential that you learn what the people you’re playing with are and are not ok with and to make sure you’re all on the same page. Because playing a nonstandard character not only puts added challenge on yourself, but on everyone else that has to play around you as well. So make sure your fellow players and especially the DM know exactly what they’re in for with your character and that they’re completely ok with it before committing to anything. And be willing to make concessions for them as well if they’re not comfortable with anything. Sometimes people will be apprehensive to go along with something they’re not used to, especially if they don’t have much reason to trust you won’t screw it up or do it for the wrong reasons. And there are things you can do to help ease those fears, but don’t push too hard, especially on your first time with a group.

The first proper campaign I was ever in, my DM wanted to limit it to only human characters for the first go around because most of us were inexperienced and he didn’t want to take any chances. But I wasn’t really too interested in the setting and felt I needed something to anchor my interest. I was really interested in homebrewing (still am) and had a slime character (Chu) who I designed for another non-D&D project but unfortunately got left on the cutting room floor, so I wanted to give her a chance to shine in this new setting. I don’t necessarily recommend anyone going this ham on their first campaign, but I’d been writing and designing characters for years before I picked up D&D, so I felt pretty confident that I could pull it off.

I knew homebrewing a completely custom race on my first campaign was definitely going to raise a lot of red flags, so I wanted to make things as easy as possible for the DM and help him feel comfortable that I knew what I was doing before asking him to trust me. I first asked what the setting was and made sure this character would actually fit naturally without compromising what the DM had already set up. Then I thoroughly studied the guidebook for the system and setting we were playing in and wrote up an entire guide going through every aspect of how this character would function both in terms of mechanics and lore (which years later turned into my Slime Guide that I’ve posted here). Then I pitched it to the DM to see if he’d even be ok with the idea, then sat down with him to go over my guidebook together and figure out what needed to be changed or rebalanced. When that was all approved, I talked to the other players and told them what I had in mind and asked if they were all cool with it, which they were. So we went ahead with it and we all had a blast with that campaign (literally…a lot of stuff blew up, my poor slime girl was traumatized).

You don’t necessarily have to go to such extreme lengths yourself, but just communicate with the others, make sure they’re ok with what you want to do before you do it, and be willing to make concessions and work with them to make sure everyone’s happy, because D&D is a collaborative effort and it’s not very fun for anyone if some people aren’t having a good time.

Rule #2: Try to put as much of the strain of dealing with your character on yourself and not on other people as possible.

Coordinate with the DM and the other players to figure out what their general plans are. Make sure you’ve got a character that will logically fit in with the party and the world they’ll be adventuring in, and will at least mostly get along with their fellow party members. Nobody wants to have to play babysitter and hold up the adventure or force their characters or world to behave in a way that’s unnatural or metagame-y to try to come up with some reason for the one character who doesn’t gel with anyone or make sense as a member of the party to not just follow the logical path and split from the party. Don’t be afraid to let your characters fight and have disagreements with other player characters here and there, but your characters should always have something that makes them fit into the party naturally and binds them with their fellow adventurers enough to overcome almost any fight or disagreement. Hell, I’ve had multiple situations where my character had a falling out with the party and almost left. But I always have at least one thread that will bring my character back on their own in case the rest of the party doesn’t naturally bring my character back themselves. Never put the onus on the DM or other players to keep your character in the party unless you’re prepared to lose that character.

Similarly, you don’t wanna play a character that’s just not going to fit in with the setting and will ruin the immersion for everyone. If you want to play a cyborg in a medieval fantasy setting, you need to have a good reason for it that everyone else is completely on board with. If your party is on a grand quest to help the local dwarf community raise money to build an orphanage, it’s probably not a good idea to play a character who despises dwarves and/or children. And if you want to play as a monster character in a setting where the average person is hostile towards monsters, your fellow players had better be playing some pretty chill dudes, and your character had better have some way to pass the time they’ll spend sitting out in the woods while the rest of the party heads into town to get supplies unless you’re real good at disguising your monstrousness or think you can outrun the crowds armed with torches and pitchforks (this actually happened to one of my characters, fun times).

Rule #3: Just follow basic etiquette and have fun.

It’s alright to make mistakes and accidentally step on someone’s toes every now and then. It happens to the best of us. Just establish at the outset that you first and foremost just want to have a good time with everyone and get along. Clearly establish your own boundaries from the start and respect other people’s. Make it clear that you’re willing to listen to complaints and concerns and work with people to resolve them before they get out of control, and absolutely make sure you behave in a way that people will be comfortable with bringing this stuff up to you and talking about it without fear of hurting your feelings or causing a negative reaction.

Basically, as long as you consider the feelings of your fellow players and DMs, do a good job of communicating, and make sure everyone is on the same page as far as boundaries and what they want out of the experience, you’re gonna be solid. Because even if you do screw something up, everyone should understand that it was just an honest mistake and know that you’ll learn from that mistake and fix it for next time.

It’s all about building trust (giving and receiving). Because people who trust that you know what you’re doing and have the best intentions in mind are gonna be a lot more willing to let you try out your crazy ideas and play along with them. I almost exclusively play weird, nonstandard characters and early on, every character I pitched was met with an exasperated “Oh my god, why do you do this to me?” from my main DM. But I consistently followed these rules, proved that I know how to make and play fun characters that have a positive impact on the campaigns they’re in, and built up that trust with my group. And now everyone has a blast playing with me and interacting with my characters. I’ve even inspired some of my friends to flex their creativity and delve into the weirder side of character creation.

Sorry again for the light novel, lol. I hope this helped you and anyone else that took the time to read all this. And I’m always open to answer questions!

[be-mymuse]

I remember I wrote a story back in high school called Sweet Misery. The chapters and even the title itself (Rashad - Sweet Misery: https://youtu.be/jc4hzZVQStk) were based off of some of my favorite songs. Well I didn't finish it but planned for this song to be the final chapter.

The main character had a college sweetheart (someone life altering), her first love, her first girlfriend. In the story they went through so much & ended up separating for a few years going their own separate ways. They ran back into each other years later & were working on getting back together or had just got married (I forget) when there was a cancer or terminal illness diagnosis.

As I interpret these lyrics, the chapter is told from both of their perspectives & the main character is first assumed to be the one dying but in the end it was the wife/girlfriend 💔

I think because I knew how the story ended or maybe I couldn't see past that chapter that I couldn't even finish writing the story because it was so heartbreaking. & for some reason it didn't feel fiction.

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

Sunshine

Song by Floetry

You know sometimes we, umm

We don't recognize our dreams inside our reality

And, uh, other times we're not aware of exactly

What's real, you know, we walk around day dreamin'

But the sunshine, the sunshine always is and I

I just wanna see my lovely sunshine

(Sunshine)

I just want to bring back all of my blue skies

(Blue skies)

And if you take away my rainbow, I will cry, cry

(Cry, cry)

Give me back my sunshine

Dreamin' my state of being and I see you smiling

You're so happy, just laughing and standing strong

I'm missing you right here, listen to my tears

I'm waking up to skies so gray, needing you to brighten up my day

Okay, okay, listen, catch your breath, cool out, you need to calm down

Concentrate, don't go makin' all your time run out

See, you're okay it looks much worse than it really is

And you'll pull through, come on, you know how we be doin' this

It's me and you, yo, you promised, you can't pull out now

We're friends for life so you can't just sell me out

We shared a lot but you know we'll see just so much more

Our wedding day and the children that we prayed for

I just wanna see my lovely sunshine

(Sunshine, yeah)

I just wanna bring back all of my blue skies

(Blue skies)

'Cause if you take away my rainbow, I will cry, cry

(Cry, cry)

Give me back my sunshine

I used to depend on your rides to show me

The way that I should go, my reality is blurry

I'm afraid of being all alone, your light has been my guide

Throughout the good and bad, I wish that I had spent

A little more attention to my one and only sunshine

Listen, listen, I'd never leave you, yo, I sweared on my grave

Damn, what's that, I'm feelin' dizzy, kinda gettin' faint

But it ain't nothin', didn't sleep that much last night

From watchin' over you but nonetheless, I'm cool, I'm fine

I said I'm feelin' fine so back up off me, I'm alright

I'm here to see my friends, yo, what's up with that blindin' light?

Said I don't need to lie down, I don't need your help right now

What's up with all the noises, all the runnin' around

You've got it wrong, I'm not the one who needs the help in here

Yo, what's up with you, you're crying, I see tears

Yo, what's going on, don't leave, please don't take her out

Said I don't understand, I'm kinda feelin' scared now

I said it's gettin' hard to breathe, gettin' hard to see

I'm not too sure anymore what's going on with me

Please bring her back, connect me, talk just one more time

But it's too late, the last exhale is mine

(Sunshine, yeah)

I just wanna see my lovely sunshine

(Sunshine, oh)

I just wanna bring back all of my blue skies

(Blue skies)

And if you take away my rainbow, I will cry, cry

(Cry, cry)

Give me back my sunshine

(Oh)

I just wanna see my lovely sunshine

(Sunshine, yeah)

I just wanna bring back all of my blue skies

(All of my blue skies)

And if you take away my rainbow, I will cry, cry

(Cry, cry)

Songwriters: David Harris / John Gordon / Julie Frost

Sunshine lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

[tigerlover16-uk]

If you’re open. For one, japanese polls show fans wanted Yamcha for the tournament. Super had filler mocking Yamcha as a loser who Gohan & Co try to prevent from learning of the tournament. The latest Herms translation on a Q&A for the Anime on why Yamcha wasn’t at the tournament, gave Goku's reason as he(Goku) thought little of Yamcha. I'd call that a dig, personally. If I was writing Super's I wouldn't do stuff things like that as they further divide, anger, or alienate the fandom for Super.

Hmm, okay I see your points there, and it’s understandable that Yamcha fans are upset.

Okay, for one thing though… how do you know the stuff with Yamcha in the saga isn’t Toriyama’s idea? The whole thing with him just expecting to be recruited and going home to wait seems more like an excuse to keep him out of the plot than a dig at the fans. And while I get taking issue with that idea… let’s think about it from a creative standpoint.

The tournament only has ten spots available. Extending the rosters to include more members would put a lot more work on Toriyama, Toyotaro and any other character designers at Toei to come up with that many more characters from other universes, of which this saga basically has close to a hundred new ones.

Each character is there for a reason. Goku and Vegeta can’t not be on the roster. Gohan’s been set up for his comeback for a while, and Piccolo can’t be passed up. Krillin is Goku’s best friend and the strongest earthling, so he has to be there. Android 18 is the only high tier action girl in the Z fighters, and Android 17 was brought back because he’s underdeveloped and hasn’t been seen since his cameo at the end of the Buu saga. So this was the perfect opportunity to use him, since this whole tournament setting benefits from teamwork between the warriors. Majin Buu was initially chosen to fill out a spot because he’s the most powerful non-saiyan. Master Roshi is on the roster because a running theme of this saga seems to involve experience and skill at fighting being often more valuable than raw power, and master Roshi is the wise old master character. He fits with that better than anyone else.

Tien is really the only one without a clearly definited role or reason for being here other than that he’s strong and fans love him. His role from what we’ve seen and the synopsis for the next episode seems to mainly be about supporting the other characters. A role Yamcha could have easily filled too, but then you’d have Tien fans angry that he was being excluded to service Yamcha, so either character gets the short end of the stick however that played out.

Frieza taking up Majin Buu’s spot seems to be a major plot point for the saga, because Toriyama wouldn’t bring him back again unless he has a good reason. But of course, Toei needed an excuse for why any other character couldn’t have been brought up by the Z fighters when Majin Buu started hibernating, because seriously, that’s a huge risk that’s not worth taking if there’s a better option.

Goten and Trunks were explained away because they’re too young, inexperienced and uncoordinated for this kind of tournament. Not unfounded, given how they handled fighting Majin Buu as Gotenks.

Yamcha though, he was an obvious back up choice for if one of the other characters couldn’t compete, and obviously viewers were going to notice that. And even if he wasn’t written as wanting to get back into fighting, he would never refuse such an offer knowing the universe was at stake.

So an excuse had to be made, since Toriyama wanted Frieza for some yet to be reached plot reason (Notice that character’s like Jaco weren’t even acknowledged and they skipped out on the chance to canonize Pikkon aswell, like some fans wanted).

And there was a way around it. Yamcha had already retired from fighting back at the Cell saga, Goku knows this by now and so wouldn’t expect Yamcha to still be in fighting shape by this time. Keep in mind, back in the Champa saga he initially turned down Vegeta’s suggestion to recruit Gohan, not because he thought he was a bad choice, but because he knew Gohan was rusty and not really a fighter anymore, and they needed someone who could already fight at their best for the tournament. As soon as Goku learned that Gohan had been training with Piccolo and he asked Goku if he could compete, Goku was more than okay with it until the conference thing came up.

Same thing probably would apply to Yamcha in this tournament. Goku didn’t even know who he wanted for the tenth member until Oolong told him Roshi was with Tien. He had no real reason to assume Yamcha would have wanted to join the roster, since he’d been out of fighting so long. And the only chance he would have got to recruit Yamcha was at Bulma’s place, and as soon as the tournament came up Yamcha was all like “Hey, I wanna join too!! But wait, maybe I should wait for them to ask me? Yeah, that’s it, I’ll go home and wait, then turn em down, and then make a grand entrance at the last minute”

It was silly and a bit weird since Yamcha’s not one for showboating usually (Though not necessarily above doing silly things), but it got him out of the way long enough for Goku to recruit a full team and then Frieza. It’s not clear if this whole situation was Toriyama’s or Toei’s idea, but Toriyama was definitely the one to decide the roster and who was going to do what in this saga. So he would have been responsible for Yamcha not competing anyway, so I wouldn’t put the situation above him. Heck, it feels like something he probably thought up on the spot while he was writing the outline, wrote it down real quick and didn’t too hard about it before handing it off to Toei and Toyotaro, who were stuck with it at that point. We’ll know for sure what exactly the situation is when the manga’s a bit further ahead and we see what Toyotaro’s excuse is. If it’s more or less exactly the same, then we can safely say it was Toriyama’s idea and thus not filler by Toei.

Also, where did Gohan or anyone try to hide that the tournament was happening from Yamcha or demean him over it. Goku and co mentioned the tournament was happening right in front of him, that’s what caused him to suddenly run off the way he did. No one ever said he couldn’t be in the tournament, nor did they mock him over it. They just didn’t think to ask him, because again, Goku and the others knew he was supposedly retired and thus didn’t immediately think of him as a candidate any more than they did Videl. Everyone acted pretty normally around him, the only exception being Vegeta showing annoyance when Bulla started crying, but the same thing had just happened when Mr Satan tried to make her laugh so that wasn’t anything against Yamcha. Just a throw away gag.

Oolong is the only character who tried to dance around the subject, and that was when Yamcha directly asked him if the others might recruit him after the roster had already been filled, and Oolong didn’t want to disappoint him. Otherwise, there’s no implication anybody would have turned him down or derided his fighting ability if he had just openly asked about the tournament when he had the chance. They didn’t think twice about having Yamcha play baseball with them, because they all knew he was great at that and he would have been the most useful person to help out.

It’s sad that Yamcha ended up screwing himself out of a place on the team, but that was more due to his own ego, not because any of the other characters thought badly about him. Nothing about his scenes really paints him as pathetic or a loser, just that he had gotten ahead of himself and made a silly mistake.

I don’t think this running gag was meant to deride or attack the character. Otherwise the writers would have had the characters openly mock him a lot more, turn him down when he asked, and have him end up feeling dejected. But he wasn’t especially upset at all when the others left to fight in the tournament. He was sheepish and embarrassed with himself when Puar expressed sympathy for him being left out, and he looked rightfully suspicious about Frieza, but he ultimately laughed it off as one of those things, and when everybody did leave he got serious for a moment and wished them luck, saying that they had to win. Which goes to show that Yamcha has his priorities straight and that the fate of the universe matters more than him getting a chance to strut his stuff.

This entire situation could have definitely been handled better and wasn’t a funny joke, but honestly I don’t get the feeling that Yamcha was being intentionally derided or mocked by the writers. If anything, the joke seems to be that he could have probably avoided the situation he made for himself and got what he wanted if he stopped being silly and just asked Goku directly if he could be on the team. Which, again, dumb joke. Not necessarily an attack at the character, or his fans.

The thing with the Q & A sounds suspicious, I agree, and I can’t really say too much without knowing the full context. It could be just the one person doing the interview giving it his own two cents and not really talking for Toriyama or the writing staff, in which case shame on him. Or maybe the intention was lost, and he’s just meaning that in the sense that Goku didn’t think of Yamcha because he’s been out of the game so long that he’s probably very out of shape, similar to his reasoning with Gohan for the U6 tournament. Which, that’s not too bad, though not exactly fair on Yamcha either. I dunno, feel free to be annoyed with that one.

I get being upset with how Yamcha’s been treated. I’m not really happy with it either, I’d love to see more done with Yamcha because I do love his character, I’m just not offended or angry because I don’t think there’s any intentional disrespect towards him. Just that the writers aren’t sure what to do with his character, since Toriyama clearly isn’t giving them anything for him to do in the main stories. Which, yeah that’s not a good excuse, but it’s one I can live with, and it’s what feels like the case rather than them having it out for the guy.

It’s good to hear that Japanese fans wanted more of Yamcha. Maybe that’ll encourage Toei to push Toriyama to do something with him in the future, or maybe give him his own story’s or character arc in a breather episode or two after this saga wraps up. Maybe finally give him a girlfriend that doesn’t treat him like Bulma did. For all we know, Toei and Toriyama might just not have considered that he had so much support while planning the saga.

Although, a lot of Western fans wanted Cell on the roster instead of Frieza, and that wouldn’t necessarily have been for the better in terms of the story. Sometimes what fans want isn’t always going to be in the best interests of the story. We already had two characters, Krillin and Gohan, who’s had to have character arcs developed about them wanting to pick up martial arts again and get stronger leading into and during the current saga, three if you count Master Roshi given his interaction with Ganos in today’s episode and the “secret training” he’s apparently been doing for a while for years now to be able to fight fairly in the tournament of power.

Having the last remaining character besides Videl who had given up being a martial artist and more active member of the Z fighters, and that might start feeling redundant or pushing things too far, having so many characters suddenly getting stronger again so soon to the level that they can seriously compete with the warriors from the other universes. I mean, look around at how many people are outright angry for some reason that Krillin was able to put up any kind of fight against people at all.

And none of this is to say that leaving Yamcha out and have him play so little a role in Super so far is justified or that you can’t be disappointed and annoyed over it as a fan of the character, or how it’s been handled. Feel free to do so. And you have a point being concerned that this might make the divides in the fandom even worse, though that’s more down to the idiots in the fandom being stupid and fueling their own confirmation biases than anything. Same reason I don’t truly hate TFS for the problems they’ve caused, because at least several members like Kaiserneko acknowledge their bad influence and they never meant to create such levels of toxicity in the fandom. Careless fans who can’t understand that something is a parody are responsible for that.

you have a right to be mad. But personally, I don’t think any of these things are intentionally digs at fans so much as they are ignorance on Toei’s part. Who knows, maybe Toriyama actually has a plan and this thing with Yamcha this saga is actually leading to something down the line, won’t know until we’re a lot further into Super. Things could improve, but it is frustrating the way things are going so far and I don’t blame you for being in a bad mood.

I don’t think the situation’s as bad as you do, but then again maybe I’m just not as passionate about Yamcha as you are and I see things from a different perspective. This is all I can really say on the subject, I’m sure I can’t really do much to change your mind and you do have some good points and reasons to feel the way you do.

Let’s both just hope that things start looking up for Yamcha in the future, and that Toyotaro doesn’t actually have the characters directly insult Yamcha for wanting to compete or something like that when he gets further ahead in the manga. Because honestly with his writing, I wouldn’t put it past him to do exactly what you think the anime is doing.