#I talk about this like any of the main events in the first arc would've happened with CrookedStar as leader and not LeopardStar

[mist-cat]

CrookedStar and Leafpool

Two cats who put loyalty to their clan above everything! Who gave up so much for their family and loved them with their whole hearts no matter how much it hurt! Cats who were lead astray and screwed over by dead people they trusted, who were lead in so many different directions by so many forces and endured it all because they just wanted to do the right thing! Cats who would genuinely do ANYTHING for their siblings, who were so so proud of them. They were shamed by those closest to them for perceived shortcomings they could do nothing about! They stood up for themselves and decided to forge their own paths!

AUGH I'M SO NORMAL ABOUT THEM!! If CrookedStar lived a stupidly long time, she'd remind him of his daughter and would've stood up for her during HollyLeaf's speech.

If the Erins weren't COWARDS they would've had CrookedStar talk to LeafPool in her dreams. They would talk for hours and hours and he'd be such a good listener. I think they deserved to be besties.

He would've loved MothFlight and Leafpool's relationship.

[dipplinduo]

So, I'm really looking to write a Dipplinshipping series myself and I really love the depth that you go into for S&D Dipplins (and its related spinoffs, I am very up to date).

Do you have any tips for keeping up with/writing longer works? I think my idea may take at least 10 chapters, but I've never been able to finish anything but oneshots before... I admire your consistency with the quality of your work (there has not been a single miss, not a one) and I hope to be able write like you one day.

No pressure to come up with anything if you don't know what to say. Regardless of anything, I hope this message reaches you well and that you have a fantastic day!

Omg I love writing talk asks and I'm so touched that you thought to ask me this question!

I'm gonna share stuff I found helpful to keep in mind:

- Take your time with storytelling. The advantage of having more chapters is that you can reallllyyyy enjoy your pacing. One way I do this is through gradual hints and breadcrumbs that build to the major plot points. It's a fun way to develop your story over time while keeping readers interested and theorizing. And when you're not focusing on the main plot, you can focus on other aspects of the story.

- Outlines and general note pages for your fic as a whole are your best friends. They will do the work of keeping track of different story elements for you.

- Listen to your readers. Their feedback is invaluable. If you get a lot of comments about something people seem to be enjoying, this may suggest that it's part of the voice of your fic. It can help you figure out what you'd want to emphasize more down the line - whether it be through side stories or through the main plot.

- Switch up some dynamics overtime. If you find yourself feeling stuck because you feel like you're trying to write similar kinds of moments, thoughts, or dialogues, this is a sign that it's time for you to move on and shake things up. I've done this with Kieran & Juliana in S&S D after I felt I have described Kieran seeing Juliana as a witch (who he has a hard time resisting lmao) so many times.

- Flush out the roles of supporting characters. They don't need their own character arcs, and they don't need to be focal points of the story. But they can influence some events, and it can help with the movement of your fic. (E.g. I often use Drayton to instigate moments one way or another, and this suits his character given that hes relatively chaotic neutral).

- Focus on the quality of telling your story first and foremost; you do not need the permission of certain chapter "markers" to progress. You don't need to wait for Chapter 10 or 15 or whatever to have a big moment happen. If everything is set up and ready to go, just do it. This is why a big moment of S&S D happens in Chapter 9 rather than Chapter 10; there was enough in place and I felt dragging it out would've diminished the moment. No one's really gonna care that much about how things line up to a chapter number. They're gonna be happy they got a big moment, and if anything, your ability to break this norm can keep readers on their toes.

- On the opposing ends of things, know when you have enough in a chapter to stop even if you know where you're going next. If you flushed out descriptions of someone's feelings or some scenery or whatever, and you feel you have enough? It's okay to stop writing and publish. Giving yourself more time to soak on ideas can improve the way you're going to pick up where you left off. I personally don't have a hard rule around this, but I tend to cut things off at the 15-20 page mark for a chapter of S&S D.

- If you feel like you're writing a filler chapter, think of ways it can build to your overarching story. You really don't need filler chapters if you think about it - even if you want to delay going somewhere specific. So if your work could be summed up when completed, what would you want someone to say? Think of ways you can slip in gradual storytelling from multiple angles - whether it be through plot or through some of the lighter moments (that may build to the heart of the fic like found family or dorm life or whatever). This can help breathe life into any chapter update.

- Remember that by taking your time, you're actually developing the voice of your writing and of the story. My original conception of S&S D and where it's at now are wildly different, and that's because there's no rushed time table. That goes for the storyline, the characters, the plot points - everything. LMAOOO, even the beach episode content is going to be very different because I gave myself permission to delay it until I figured out the exact roles I want Paldean Squad to play! It was a better decision that will lead to better characterization (even though I'm nonetheless very grateful for people's patience).

- Write on your timetable, not anyone else's. I occasionally put due dates on myself to get me going (e.g. by teasing a chapter update), but I never promise that I'll have chapters out on a weekly basis or whatnot for anything I write - S&S D related or not. This is deliberate. Life happens and the last thing you need is to write for the sake of writing and nothing else. I feel it's the easiest way to kill your passion if it becomes stressful for you.

- Lean into what inspires you. I find a LOT of motivation through comments, reactions, asks, fanart, etc., so I make it a point to respond to every comment on AO3 and engage continuously with the community on here and whatnot. I've also been loosely inspired by art pieces that have nothing to do with my work. This is just what works for me, though. Sometimes you might be inspired by other media, or maybe by things that you've seen or experienced in your own life. Whatever it is, draw from it.

Hmmm that's what comes to mind for now. Happy to give more later if they come up, & hope this helps! Best of luck with writing YOU GOT THISSSSS 🤗💛

[quillsareswords]

Hi! Me again, I was hoping I could request a little blurb? Like how Damian and the reader met, like under the crooked grin arc? If not then I totally understand, just thought I would ask. Have a nice day!! 🤓❤️

No I'm not answering this like two years late ahahaha no like what who even does that

Anyway here's some thirteen year old Damian Wayne and John Constantine's apprentice. See my Swords and Spells collection for more ❤️

WARNINGS: language

MASTER LIST in BIO

It's too loud.

That's all he cares about at the moment.

Still nursing a headache, as result of a hard hit he took the night before, this place is far too loud for his liking.

Why his father dragged him along is beyond him. Mingle. He'd scoffed this morning and he's scoffing now. The heir of the Demon and son of the Batman does not mingle. Especially with...these people.

The only reason he'd come at all was because, as Pennyworth pointed out this morning, it would be useful to have a standing relationship with some of the other vigilanties of the world, in the event that he has to call for backup.

He's been Robin for three years now, after all, and he's still only really got Superboy and some Teen Titans he could use for a fallback. What if they betray him?

He splits off from Batman almost immediately. Every person he's been introduced too between the main hall and the Zeta Tubes has only commented on how cute he is and joked about how alike they look. Introducing himself hopefully won't have that effect.

Plus, it's quieter on this side of the room.

"Right, but like, theoretically, how would you punch a ghost?"

His eye twitches. What.

He whips around to see who's asked such an absurd question. More accurately, who to avoid.

It's Wonder Girl. Of course.

She's leaning on one of the tables, in a new suit, bright hair brushed and straightened neatly. She's obviously here to make friends.

Whoever she's talking to, however, obviously is not.

You're slouching in a chair, leaning both arms on the tabletop, squishing a cheek onto one propped up palm. You don't seem to be wearing a suit of any kind, nor a mask, which is probably why Cassie came up to you in the first place. Instead, you're in jeans and combat boots, huddled into an oversized jacket. There's a ring on most of your fingers, and he counts three necklace chains from what he can see from here.

"Iron knuckle dusters. And it's not theoretical." You blink at her slowly.

"Really? Have you ever punched a ghost?"

You sigh quietly. "Nope."

"Then how do you know it's not theoretical?"

"Because I've seen it done before," you grumble. "It's my job to know."

She rolls her eyes good naturedly. "You're like, ten. You don't have a job."

You glare. "I'm thirteen. And it is my job."

Interesting, to say the least.

He walks over, squaring his shoulders and putting on his most professional face.

Cass sees him first. "Robin! Oh, I didn't know you were coming, I would've told Diana to tell Superman to bring Superboy!"

He sighs, deeply. "I have quite enough interaction with the Supers, Sandsmark."

You glance over, boredly. He watches, from behind emotionless white lenses, as you give him what he can only assume is a standard once-over.

It's coincidence that he only speaks up once your eyes reach his face again. "Who are you?"

It doesn't escape him that Cass looks at you expectantly, too. As if she's been talking to you this whole time without ever asking your name.

"Hellblazer's apprentice."

He crosses his arms. "Do you have a name, apprentice?"

Your gaze shifts from disinterested and passive to something very sharp and very much directed fully at him. "Do you, jackass?"

Cass goes wide-eyed and sucks in a silent breath. She glances between you and Robin.

This is the point at which, usually, Damian would have smelled a challenge, threw his metaphorical hand of cards down, and barked a challenge right back. But there's just something...different.

And it has nothing to do with the way his heart stutters in his chest now that he has full view of you. That's– Well that must be part of your powers, or whatever your thing is.

He decides to keep his cards in his hands. He minds his tone, just to see what happens. "I'm Robin."

You notice the shift, and react accordingly. Your gaze softens again, to something indifferent. "Oh, right. With Batman, yeah?"

He nods.

You nod too, leaning back in your chair and crossing your arms. Opening your body language, just a little. You give him your persona name.

Cassie can only stare.

She doesn't know Robin personally, exactly. Strictly through vigilante work. But she's still seen him get into brawls with men three times his size over far less than getting glared at and called a jackass.

"I'm gonna go find, um–" she scrambles for a name, for just long enough that you take notice, "Diana. It was really nice to meet you, though!"

You nod once, but she's gone before you get a real response out. You both watch her weave through the crowd of costumed adults, until she's out of sight.

"What was that about?" you wonder, assuming that his use of her last name meant they know one another.

"I don't know," he replies, squinting in her direction.

He catches sight of the Titans while he looks out into the crowd. He supposes some familiar company would be nice. Beast Boy is awfully loud, though. And Kori has such high energy...

You, on the other hand, seem to be just as much of a reluctant attendant as himself. You're sitting here, alone, quietly. And you seemed content talking to Wonder Girl, so you probably don't mind company—you seem like you'd have no problem running him off if he's wrong.

It would be very smart to have a contact with supernatural knowledge and experience. Father has Hellblazer, after all. And he's needed him many times.

It's a strategic choice. Obviously.

"What did you mean, when you told Wonder Girl that it's your job to know how to punch spirits?" He looks down at you.

You snort, but meet his eyes all the same. "Okay, I mean– Firstly, that's not my job, just part of it. Well...I guess it is." You stop and shake your head, looking away from him quickly.

You suck in a breath. "See, my job is to know how to fight things like ghosts. Mostly demons. Ghosts aren't much of a threat to the general population."

Demons? Like Raven's father? Now that would be a useful contact. He uses his heel to kick the chair beside you out from under the table and takes a seat. "Explain."

Your posture shifts a little. A little more towards him. A little more open. Like nobody's been asking you the right questions until now. "Well, I study demonology..."

[ignitionxbomb]

LOOK AT THE BOY (under cut for manga spoilers)

HE'S SO HAPPY (yes, I whipped together an icon from the fan translation because I couldn't wait to make this an icon)

HE'S NOT GIVING THE NORMAL GREMLIN SMILE THAT HE'S ALWAYS GIVEN

also

HORIKOSHI

EXPLAIN THIS

ARE THE EVENTS IN THE SECOND MOVIE ACTUALLY CANON TO THE MAIN SERIES??????

I NEED ANSWERS

Cause this is the FIRST TIME in the MAIN MANGA (I'm not counting any of the side content) where ANIME MOVIE ONLY FILLER CHARACTERS have made mention of Izuku/Katsuki.

Like yes... Melissa mentioned All Might (she called him "uncle")

.... however she didn't/hasn't made any acknowledgement about Deku at all.

but also... Izuku doesn't even mention Melissa or David Shield by name...... when he's talking about the mid-gauntlet during the Dark Hero arc.

He just says "good thing you ordered these from America"

If the events of the first movie were canon.... Izuku would've given David and Melissa a shout out because he'd want to acknowledge the item that they made.

Hell, All Might even says here that the mid-gauntlet is a TEST SAMPLE. Meaning that Melissa and David hadn't fine tuned it enough for it to be an a proper support gear item.

But the only thing from the first movie that's been made canon in the main manga is All Might's past.

[itsclydebitches]

I feel like the conflict between the heroes and the atlas military would've worked a lot better if the Ace-Ops didn't exist and team JNR sided with Ironwood instead. We see a bit of a divide in V8, but it doesn't really amount to anything, whereas if it was established from the jump that half of the heroes was on team Ironwood, it would be far more heart-wrenching.

It also would have helped alleviate this problem of 8+ characters all uniformly backing the same ideas/perspectives (the one time the show really stuck with a divide, helping Mantle vs. getting Amity up, there was 1. an instant solution to the problem so no one had to grow from this and 2. characters like Nora and Ren had randomly flip-flopped priorities, making the impact of that divide... less than great), and, as a side-issue, would have done away with JNOR's really weird acceptance of this whole situation. I mean, they were distracted by Neo—one of the actual villains—and the Lamp's theft the whole time Team RWBY was having their revelations in Ironwood's office. So imagine things from their perspective. You've been dealing with an established enemy when, suddenly, Ruby announces over comms that Salem is here, Ironwood is abandoning Mantle, and... that's it. Wait what? Regardless of whether you side with Team RWBY during that scene or not, the point is that you do or do not support their position because you've seen all these factors first-hand: Ironwood sacrificing his arm to take down Watts, Salem threatening them all via grimm and announcing her impending arrival, Ruby collapsing in grief, the loss of the outer defenses, Ace Ops' pushbacks against further evacuations, the fact that many people have already been evacuated, Yang and Blake's betrayal, Ironwood's cold demeanor, the desire to save the Maiden and the Relics, the order to arrest Team RWBY, knocking the Ace Ops out... Team JNOR got none of that. All they know is that they left half the group with Ironwood and suddenly all their allies are enemies, with their actual enemy, Salem, on her way, guards are shooting at them, and no one has a plan, just this shocking claim that Ironwood is "abandoning Mantle." That's a lot to be confused and unsure about! I wouldn't immediately fall in line after that, I'd be like, "What the hell happened?" Even if the group, arguably, didn't do anything wrong... doesn't JNOR want that proven? Don't they care about explanations for how everything went bad so damn fast? Doesn't the audience want to see whether the group accurately portrays their part in this tragedy (see: Yang's summary of events to Ren)? Oscar rushes off to talk to Ironwood because he instinctively mirrors Ruby's view of the situation... despite not being around for any of the things that developed that perspective in the first place. All the characters agree, not just to an unnatural extent, but over things they have staggeringly different levels of knowledge about. It's the same issue seen in Volume 6 at the Argus house: we open on JNOR being pissed about Ozpin's secret, despite the audience having no idea how much information about the vision Team RWBY gave them, or how that was framed. It's just a foregone conclusion that they'd be concerned about the exact same thing in the exact same way.

Having the group divide over Ironwood would help fix all of the above. Plus lessoning the cast bloat with the Ace Ops and Happy Huntresses. Plus adding weight to this conflict and giving all the main characters a significant arc. Better yet, split up the teams a bit. Weiss is supposedly super loyal to her kingdom, Ren already has an established interest in supporting Ironwood, Yang is displeased with how Ruby is handling things, and Jaune is a more practical leader than Ruby, the type more likely to make a sacrifice for the greater good (killing Penny, anyone?). Meanwhile, Blake is concerned primarily with civil rights, Nora too with her childhood mirroring Mantle's struggle, Ruby is the more bullheadedly optimistic leader, and Oscar, similarly, believes that anything less than total success will give in to Salem. Let them divide over how best to handle this situation, giving credence to both sides, mixing up loyalties and throwing them into a conflict that they can't fix with a silly, "You know we can be in two places at once, right?" suggestion. Idk how that volume ends because it would require re-working the vast majority of Volume 8, but it's something I'd be a lot more interested in watching.

[odanurr87]

My thoughts on... Scripting Your Destiny

Release date: March 16, 2021

Episodes: 10

Available on: Viki

Summary: Every human is born with a book that records each moment of their life and that we call destiny. Shin Ho Yoon is one of the many deities in charge of writing those books, known among the gods for his meticulous approach to his work. For his latest project, the destiny of the mortal Jeong Ba Reum, he intends to write a masterpiece, a perfect destiny, pairing him with his first love, Go Che Gyeong, a scriptwriter for successful, if over-the-top, makjangs like Marriage Pact and Sky Cash. However, when Che Gyeong doesn't fall for the fateful encounter that he wrote, he decides to take matters into his own hands and bluntly approaches her to find out how to get her to fall in love. As the two begin to develop feelings for each other, the perfect destiny envisioned for Ba Reum threatens to disappear and a new destiny between a god and a mortal begins to emerge. But can a god of destiny write his own fate?

Rewatch meter: Medium

WARNING: Spoilers beyond this point.

Characters

From left to right: Park Sang Nam as Shin Myeong; Ki Do Hoon as Shin Ho Yoon; Jeon So Nee as Go Che Gyeong; Kim Woo Seok as Jeong Ba Reum; and Gal So Won as Samshin.

Overall, I liked the leads and most of the supporting characters. As far as the leads are concerned, I think Ki Do Hoon was able to deliver a good performance of what a god of destiny might, or perhaps should, be like: standoffish, emotionless, uninterested in the mortal realm beyond the scope of his duties. As such, Shin Ho Yoon feels the more godly of the different deities in the show, what is curious considering he's probably one of the youngest gods of destiny, what is explained through his cycle of rebirth. I wish the writer and the actor had made full use of this cycle by having the character of Shin Ho Yoon grow more emotionless as a result, what would explain why he's different from other gods. Perhaps this was intended, but if so, the results are mixed. You can see he was more impulsive in the beginning of his cycle as a god of destiny than he was, say, at the beginning of the show. However, the last incarnation we're shown of Ho Yoon, in Episode 10, appears to be more upbeat than any of his previous ones, a fact that could've been used to feed into the notion that something has changed (more on that later) and that's why he's having fun at the expense of the "newbies."

Jeon So Nee as Go Che Gyeong was very good throughout, standing out from her male counterpart, perhaps due to the nature of her character that allowed her to show more range. I never found her to be over-the-top, and she was able to pull off the comedic and emotional scenes very well. She also passed off as a high-schooler better than Ki Do Hoon, despite the fact that she's five years his senior, but I guess that's the power of female hairstyles! My only complaint about her character is that I wish she had been a little more creative writing her own fate. I mean, she is a talented scriptwriter that even a god stole from.

Park Sang Nam's Shin Myeong had good chemistry with Ki Do Hoon's Shin Ho Yoon, echoing the Goblin-Reaper duo from Goblin, what should come as no surprise as writer Kim Eun Sook is a producer for this show. They even paid homage to that iconic walking scene in the first episode. Unlike Ho Yoon, Myeong comes across as less devoted to his duties and more lazy. He himself admits to a disapproving Samshin that he copy-pastes destinies, but also makes an interesting point about only writing main events so that humans can fill in the gaps themselves. I'll let you decide whether this is really his intention or just an attempt to placate Samshin's anger. Consequently, his transition from a somewhat lazy god to a more serious one towards the end of the show was unexpected, but I guess it stands to reason given his worries about Ho Yoon, plus one shouldn't forget he's actually the older god. I do believe the show wasted an incredible opportunity to have Shin Myeong be the linchpin of our story.

Ho Yoon shields precious Samshin from Myeong's words on how to passionately express love.

As for the characters of Jeong Ba Reum and Samshin, I can say the former was functional to the plot and gets immediately sidelined once that function is completed, while the latter definitely stole every scene she was in (and she's 14!). I would've loved to have seen more of her, even though I feel her arc was a little disconnected from the overall storyline and could've been tied better if the last episode had gone in a different direction.

Execution

What if that something are meteorites?

The show has a lot of fun making fun of kdrama tropes, either through Che Gyeong's job as a scriptwriter or through the gods of destiny themselves, who take turns between being writers and viewers when coming up with the destinies of mortals. When Ho Yoon is having trouble understanding "the depth within humans which is beyond divine comprehension" (aka love), Myeong steps in to give him some advice on how "For love to happen you need to isolate them," stranding the pair in an island somewhere and having them stay in an inn with only one room available. Other gems from Shin Myeong include, "They got rained on, they're cold, their clothes are soaked. If they start a fire, we're 90% there." and "A woman always falls for a man who takes care of her when she's sick. Under one condition. He has to be good-looking." If you ask me, I think Myeong has been watching too many kdramas. Unfortunately for him, so has Che Gyeong, who makes her living writing them.

Are they gods or kdrama fans?

As you can see, there's a lot of comedy to be found in the gods' numerous, and failed, attempts to get Ba Reum and Che Gyeong together. However, as I mentioned before, the character of Ba Reum is mostly functional. We learn little to nothing of who he is, how his life has been, what his dreams are, what is a bit off considering he's supposed to be Ho Yoon's "masterpiece." With Ho Yoon and Che Gyeong slowly starting to get closer, as the former tries his best to understand the nebulous concept of love, Ba Reum falls into the background, what isn't really much of a shame as he doesn't contribute a whole lot in the second half of the show, to the point he could've been taken out completely with slight rewrites here and there.

The writing is similarly flimsy when it comes to the rules of the universe. For instance, early on it is stated that whatever gets written on a fate book cannot be erased, and yet when a character accidentally spills coffee on his fate book the ink on the page vanishes as if it were Voldemort's diary (there is also another instance of writing mysteriously vanishing that isn't explained). In another case, it is stated that anyone who knew a certain character got their memories of that character erased, yet one (very secondary) character still seems to be able to recall everything. These sort of plot contrivances are odd in that they are unnecessary and could've been worked around with relative ease.

It means we have a problem, that's what it means.

Another, more important, mystery that doesn't get explained is how Ho Yoon is able to "resurrect" multiple times. One of the rules of the universe states that any god who interferes with mortals, beyond the scope of their duties, and develops feelings for them, gets the Thanos treatment. However, it is eventually revealed that Shin Ho Yoon got the boot several times for this and yet was able to return every single time, with his memories erased. No explanation is provided for this and, instead, the show suggests, in the last scene of the last episode, that this is the case for all gods, as we see a couple of them return from extinction.

Personally, I feel there was a lot of potential left untapped here and this relates directly to my comment on how Shin Myeong should've been the linchpin of the entire story. If you'll recall the web drama One More Time, the reason why the male lead was stuck in a time loop was because of a contradiction that arose in the terms of the contract made between the female lead and the Grim Reaper. In a similar vein, I think the show could've suggested that Myeong first met Ho Yoon as a human kid and maybe wrote for him a fate that implied him falling in love or something similar. However, the human Ho Yoon died before that fate could occur and so became the god of destiny Shin Ho Yoon, destined to continuously "resurrect" until he could embrace his fate. A loophole such as this one could've neatly explained Ho Yoon's rebirth cycle.

The ending itself was a little underwhelming and it's easy to understand why, as it it suggested that Ho Yoon and Che Gyeong are stuck in an endless loop of the former falling in love with the latter and vanishing, with Che Gyeong being the only one able to remember all of their interactions. As fates go, it's rather depressing so it doesn't really jibe well when the show's upbeat main theme starts playing at the end. When I did my episode recaps for the show I suggested that, with some rewrites, we could've made Episode 9 the series finale and the show would've been better for it. How?

Imagine at some point in the show both characters remember everything, perhaps at that wind/lamb farm where Che Gyeong desperately calls out for Ho Yoon who, instead of running to her, walks away out of fear of vanishing for good this time. I would've planted seeds throughout the show suggesting Ho Yoon is developing emotions yet isn't vanishing from some inexplicable reason, and there are already some seeds of this in place. Perhaps he has a talk with Myeong about how strange that is and decides to see how far he can take it. The show would end as Episode 9 did, with Ho Yoon returning to Che Gyeong and asking for a caramel macchiato, the most expensive item. They both smile at the reference to their past encounter and we cut to credits with the main theme playing in the background. Ho Yoon's actions could serve to inspire other gods of destiny to try and write their own fates, like how Samshin (even though she's not a god of destiny) follows in his footsteps and decides to attend school.

Music

If you've read any of my reviews, you know that, usually, all of my recommended shows are accompanied by a soundtrack that not only has good music in it but that is used at the right time. This show has some very good tracks that stand out from their more atmospheric counterparts, such as Lee So Jung's "Skyline" (the show's main theme), Jeong Sewoon's "Time Machine," and Yongmin Ryu's "Chaotic." As far as instrumentals tracks are concerned, the obvious standout bar none is "The Deity of Fate." Other instrumental tracks aren't bad but they just can't hold a candle to this magical piece by Yongmin Ryu that has traces of Hotel del Luna's excellent soundtrack.

A couple of examples that prove how these tracks are expertly used include the end of Episode 7, that shows us how Ho Yoon and Che Gyeong first met through a flashback, with "The Deity of Fate" followed by "Skyline," and another scene in Episode 9, where Ho Yoon recalls his past and we see a quick transition between different days at Che Gyeong's coffee shop as she serves him a caramel macchiato, with "Time Machine" playing in the background. However, in the same way Ho Yoon conjures up a magenta pink moon to distract Che Gyeong, I do believe the show sometimes relies on such scenes to divert your attention from some of its plot holes or inconsistencies, hoping their beauty and poetic nature will thwart any deeper analysis that it might not withstand. It's up to you to decide whether you can let it slide or not.

Conclusions

In short, Scripting your Destiny is a fun show that doesn't take itself too seriously and that successfully creates a universe and characters I'd love to see more of, while trying to convey a timeless love story that has elements of One More Time, Goblin, and Angel's Last Mission: Love. I don't believe it succeeds in this respect, certainly nowhere close to the OTPs in any of those shows, in no small part because Shin Ho Yoon never makes that transition from deity to boyfriend that is present in shows like Goblin and Angel's Last Mission: Love. The romance between Shin Ho Yoon and Go Che Gyeong is one that looks good on paper and should've translated better to the screen. Having said that, their interactions are quite fun to watch and one could certainly envision a future where the two become a couple, provided Ho Yoon somehow manages to stop getting lobotomized. It's a shame but the series finale makes it lose several points as it doesn't make the most of the show's premise or message.

Would I recommend it? If you've watched and enjoyed the other shows I mentioned, yes, absolutely. Despite its flaws, which can be considered relatively minor to an extent (this is a web drama after all), Scripting your Destiny is still a much better investment than many kdramas and at a fraction of their time, and the comedy value of seeing how it makes fun of kdrama tropes again and again cannot be discounted. You're bound to have a good laugh for sure. Additionally, it features some gorgeous and creative (look at that last picture!) VFX-enhanced sets that rival fantasy dramas like Tale of the Nine-Tailed, which definitely had a larger budget and tried to recapture some of that Goblin magic but couldn't. And if you haven't watched the shows I mentioned watch this one anyway so we can have more good web or mini dramas (Handmade Love is an excellent one that runs the length of a movie) that give kdramas a run for their money. Until the next one!

[actuallylorelaigilmore]

Okay... going on a bit of a Schneider x Avery rant for a little bit. I've been reading some of your old posts about them and honestly I really do think they're endgame. If the show were to continue, I think season 3 would've been the closest we ever see Schneider to the family, but I think Avery (bc she doesn't have that much character development) would pull him back to the outer circle for season 4. I don't think they would've brought her back for the finale if they weren't endgame.

(cont) Schneider just barely makes the cut for family in this show. I mean I love him, but the show is about Penelope and her family. If they made too much noise between Penelope’s best friend’s love interest, who has no connection with the rest of the family, it would distract from the main characters too much. Nikki, Schneider’s only other “love” interest had a connection to both Penelope and Alex. But Avery’s there just for Schneider and I’m afraid it would stay that way.

hi anon!! i had to wait a while before answering this one because i knew i would need coherent thoughts and that hasn’t been working so well for me lately

you make two important points here, so i’ll start with the schneider side of it. i agree that s3 was the closest that we’ve ever seen schneider to the family, and that makes sense because honestly even as s3 progressed the storylines for everyone in the family, schneider kind of had the biggest, most consistent arc. (i think alex’s was the next biggest/most consistent. elena and pen and lydia’s stories were more episodic in s3 and sometimes connected more to previous season events than the preceding episodes.)

the showrunners/writers had been planning to address schneider’s sobriety for a while and talked a lot with the actor while they worked on it, and i think they handled it really well. but in my opinion, that all builds up to cementing schneider’s place in the family. not just pulling him into the circle, but making it clear that he belongs there–in a way they aren’t likely to go back on. 

we went from penelope shutting the door in his face in 1.13 when he’s telling her they’re like family, to elena joking about him NOT being family in s2 and him telling a comatose lydia that they’re his family while punctuating his grief with jokes…to the entire family rallying around him in 3.12 after they were all a bit more distant earlier in the season.

elena is the first member of the family to actually direct the word ‘love’ his way! penelope tries to make it clear that he’s important to her just as he is and that he needs to fight his addictions not just for his sake but because of her family, especially the kids! schneider interrupts his big romantic reunion with avery to focus on lydia officially claiming him as an alvarez!

this snippet of an interview todd grinnell gave after s3 mentions the tension between any future schneider would have with avery, and his ties to the family. i don’t know how much the plans for a potential s4 might have changed over time, but since we know the writers do discuss plot arcs with the actors in advance (or at least they have done so with todd before) i believe that when he said this, it was based off his awareness of what the writers were thinking. 

which means that avery could have been brought back to be a source of future conflict–and after schneider’s s3 declaration that ‘family is everything’ it’s not guaranteed that he would choose avery in that scenario. i could see him learning to balance and compromise, maybe, but schneider drifting out of the picture because of his love interest wouldn’t make sense for who he is–unless the actor was leaving the show maybe? i still wouldn’t find it very believable though.

i do agree that avery’s only connected to the show through schneider. that actually bugged me in s3, because they gave her so many little great moments in the beginning to establish who she was, and then she really never interacted with the family even when she was in scenes with them!! they either need to fully include her in s4 or keep her more separate; now that we’re more familiar with her, it won’t make sense at all for her to be in the apartment or at events and ignoring the rest of them most of the time. (unless that’s part of the plot, of course.) i think that avery won’t be likely to get much actual plot unless it starts to be about non-schneider things, like how she affects family members.

i honestly have no idea if schneider and avery are endgame or not. india is too adorable for me to be against it, despite my many objections to how avery was handled in s3 (so much potential after that meet-cute! i ranted in multiple essays about about it!). because the actors are married it wouldn’t surprise me if that’s what the show does, letting schneider’s storylines going forward be more about him maturing and dealing with his first serious lasting relationship. 

i think that how long the show gets to continue existing will also have a lot to do with what turns out to be endgame–if it ends on its own terms in a few years, then we’ll know what their intended endgame was. but if it gets cancelled then i’ll always wonder what they might have been really aiming for.

the biggest thing that you and i seem to disagree about, though, anon, that probably affects how we see the avery stuff playing out, is schneider’s role on the show. you say that he just barely makes the cut for family, and i would argue (as i sort of started to, messily, above) that in fact it’s season 3 that doesn’t just confirm but yells that he’s completely family. 

in the first scene of the season, he comes in and tells the rest of them who their own dead relative is, and in his last scene, avery passes along the news of lydia’s official adoption of him. between all of that, the family sees him turn into someone else while he’s trying to please his father–and they see the relapsed alcoholic he’s never been in their presence before–and they commit even harder to making him feel loved and like he’s a part of them. 

along those same lines, i’d also argue that schneider is a ‘main character.’ not only just technically (because he’s been included in things like promo images for the show since s1, where leslie wasn’t) but in terms of the story. if he wasn’t a main character in seasons 1 and 2, he definitely became one in season 3, when two whole episodes were formed around his arc in addition to his usual mini stories alongside the family.

tl;dr i have no idea if avery is schneider’s endgame but he is an alvarez now and i’ll believe him choosing her over his family when i see it 

[feralenby]

Bakugou Katsuki, part one: Thoughts and opinions.

No one is asking for this and this isn't necessary, but I have many thoughts about Bakugou and I'd like to talk about them! Also to note, I've only just started season three, so some things I say here may not be accurate to events that happen later in the series. And yes, this is the first part of a 'series' I guess because originally I wanted to include theories and headcanons I have for him, but that would've been too long, so those get their own post. Anyway-

My initial reaction to Bakugou when I first started watching bnha was that...he was just a huge asshole. Which he is! He's unnecessarily rude to Izuku, he explicitly tells Izuku to kill himself, and seems to make it his main goal in life (aside from being a hero) to remind Izuku that he's useless and he'll never be anything, even after they both get into UA. It's really obvious right off the bat that Bakugou has a superiority complex, and had convinced himself that he was already so much better than anyone his age, maybe every student in UA. I hated him because of this. I didn't (and still don't in a way) think its neccessary to have a character who was so self absorbed with himself. In the beginning I just knew he was going to get some huge arc dedicated to him that would have major character development and suddenly everything he did would be forgiven.

But now, I don't think thats going to happen. I don't that any arc Bakugou is going to be the key factor in is going to be all about 'redeeming' him, because his redemption can't be (and hasn't been) contained into one arc! His character development has been happening since the beginning. Season one Bakugou and the end of the sports festival arc Bakugou are already pretty different. In my opinion, season one Bakugou wouldn't have even admitted that any of his classmates could match up to him in combat. By the end of the sports festival, while he isn't willing to admit it so bluntly, he still knows that they can put up a fight. When Bakugou wants to fight, he wants a fight. he wants to be challenged against someone who's going to put in just as much effort as him. His fight with Uraraka is a perfect example of this-

Look at his smile in the beginning. They both know that Bakugou is significantly stronger than her, and look at how excited and ready he is that she's still standing and putting up a fight. When Uraraka ultimately collapses, Bakugou doesn't get mad because he knows she put in all she could, and he (most likely begrudgingly and unwittingly) respects her for it. This is obvious later when Denki asks why Bakugou didn't go easier on Uraraka because she's a 'fragile girl'

(Credit to @ miyukei for this gif edit)

So already its easy to see that his superiority complex, while still there and apparent, is slowly starting to subdue. This could be because he's being introduced to people who are very powerful like him, but also because these people just...aren't scared of him like Izuku or other people in the past were. I think the sudden shift in how people at school feel about him definitely has had some affect on him, and slowly opening his eyes to the fact that he's not actually the very best? I think its very controversial thing for him to come to terms with, which is why he's still so outwardly angry all the time.

Now other stuff has happened thats also crscked into this revelation for him, like during the indor battles where he saw a glimpse of just how strong Todoroki is, teaming up with Kirishima during the cavalry battle, and being partnered with Izuku during the final exam are all things that have definitely also played a factor in his 'I'm not the greatest' mind set.

Now after all this my opinion of him now vs. When I first started watching has definitely changed. Do I like Bakugou? No. No, I still think he's the most overrated character in bnha. Does that mean I hate him or think he's a bad character? No! I don't hate him anymore, if anything I'm at a gray area with him, and I think he's an excellently written character who has a lot of potential and I think that potential will be written out throughout the whole story.

Do I think Bakugou Katsuki is a good person? Well, yeah, I do. I believe that at his core, Bakugou wants to help others. He wants to be a hero for a reason outside of just being 'number one'. He's done mean things but also...he's a teenager, he's like 16. Teenagers are just mean. Does this mean I think he's going to have some sudden change and suddenly be smiley and happy all the time? Also no! I think Bakugou is gruff by nature, but he also will figure out how to regulate his emotions better. So its not fair to deem him irredeemable when he's literally a child who still has plenty of time to grow as a person.

[boredom-reigns]

Ken Amada : Character Introspection

Persona 3 and some P4:AU Spoilers!

Ken Amada is honestly one of my favourite Persona 3 characters. I know the way his character arc was handled was somewhat flawed (like when he basically doesn't matter after the closure of Oct. 4), but I still love him a lot nevertheless.

My main problem is honestly the fact that a lot of people in the fandom hate him so much it can get grating, especially if it's for nonsensical reasons (like him apparently being the cause of Shinjiro's death even though the person who shot the guy was right there).

I mean, not liking characters is fine. I respect other people's opinions. But spreading misinformation based on a misinterpretation of a scene is... yeah.

Note: These are my opinions and interpretations of his character based on P3 and P4:AU. Other opinions and interpretations are welcome!

First off, like most Persona characters, Ken's character is based off an archetype. Ken's archetype, you could say that it's based on the Adorably Precocious Child trope. He's acts too mature for his age, even trying to hide his childishness by denying the fact he watches Featherman and saying that he drinks black coffee.

But this maturity came at a cost. From the little glimpses of childishness that Ken has shown (for example, the movie showing event where he's basically jumping up and down in happiness because the superhero movie was so cool!) along with his reinforcement of the idea that no, he's capable even at 11 years old (one of his battle voice lines is "Don't underestimate me because of my age") makes me believe that he wasn't always like this. He was forced to mature due to circumstances or he forced himself to mature due to circumstances.

What was this circumstance?

Obviously, the death of his mom.

Ken's mom is a huuuggeee part of his life and basically affected him a lot. Her death made him what he was today. First is that he saw her get murdered right in front him. Of course he's going to be traumatised. Not only that, he had something to direct his anger and hatred to (I'll talk about that later).

But when he told people about what he saw, nobody believed him, obviously. But remember this, Ken was a kid. He was 9 at the time. And he was 100% sure that what he saw was real. When he was being basically labeled as a liar because everyone won't believe him and just treated him as some fragile, traumatised kid, he's going to lash out. He knew it was real yet everyone just thinks that he was lying. He didn't think that obviously no one would believe him because he was deep in grief and hatred. He wanted justice. But no one would help him because everyone's saying that it was an accident. And he hated that.

He had a target to hate, yet he was powerless to inflict punishment (his idea of "justice") on that target.

So he wanted to be capable. If no one's going to help him, then so be it. He'll do his own justice. So Ken forced himself to grow up. He forced himself to be more mature, copying the image of capability he believes in.

Another thing that possibly added to Ken forcing himself to mature is the way people treated him afterwards. To outsiders, he was a traumatised kid. Ken says in his conversation with Shinjiro that he just receives pity no matter where he goes and he hates that pity.

I've seen LPs where they're like "huh, but isn't that good?" to that line. Speaking as someone who has lost a loved one and dealed with other people who lost a loved one, expressing pity is a balancing act.

It's hard to express pity because people deal with grief differently and some people despise pity when they're grieving. Some people are of the mentality of "what use is your pity because it's not going to bring them back!". Being treated differently because you lost someone or being treated as some fragile person made of glass who's going to have a breakdown at any time is horrible. Moving on can be so hard when everyone is tiptoeing around you. And I think that's what Ken felt.

What Ken needed during his grieving was someone who would support him. Someone who believed in him. He didn't need someone who just stood along the sidelines and pitied him. He needed someone who actually approached him and bothered to listen. I feel like that was what Ken was looking for: someone to listen to him. Because everyone around him never listens and just calls him off as a liar. He had no support system whatsoever. He was staying alone in the elementary school dorm and from the convenience store bentos in his room that can be seen in P3D, you can infer that he was forced to take care of himself for 2 years. For 2 years, all he got was financial support and never the needed emotional support.

Because of this, he was left to internalise his grief which then evolved into hatred. He didn't have anybody anymore. There was no point in living for him because his mom, his light, was gone. No one else was there to give him a reason to live. No family, no friends, no one who believes in him. Ken felt that it was only him against the world.

So why should he keep on living?

And this is where the idea that he has a target enters in. This target of his hatred became his one and only purpose. Why? Because it was the only thing that was there for him. He had no one and nothing. The only thing he had in life was this target of his extreme hatred. The target for his justice. Giving the rightful punishment to this target became his only purpose in life to the point that after killing Shinjiro, he was going to kill himself. Ken's only reason to live was to kill Shinjiro for revenge.

As for his entire "Mom would've wanted this.", I feel like that's more of him trying to justify his actions. He had a target of his giref: Shinjiro. He wanted to kill Shinjiro because Shinjiro killed his mom. But murder is a very daunting task. Even Ken hesitated. I feel like he just justified himself with "Mom would've wanted this." so he can do it. Because killing Shinjiro is the only thing left in life for him. It's the only thing he can do now. He had no reason for living other than Shinjiro's death. So he tried to justify it so he would be able to get through doing it and to give him more reasons as to why he should really do it and not hesitate.

On October 4, it was an utter disaster especially when Takaya (*cough* Shinjiro's real killer *cough* people who keep insisting that Ken is the killer) arrived. At this part, Ken finds out about Shinjiro's drug deal. He loses his shit because he finds out that Shinjiro's going to die early anyway no matter what he does. Killing Shinjiro at this point felt like knocking someone who was already down. It had no point. And because killing Shinjiro had no point, Ken's entire purpose for living had no point. So... He had no purpose.

And this was why Ken went "I have no reason to live."

Other things we can actually see on October 4 is that Ken does care about SEES. He joined SEES with ulterior motives but in the end, he cares. He pretended that he was the navigator to make sure that Takaya won't find out about Fuuka and that Takaya would target him. The time he spent in SEES was most likely the most emotional support he got (and that's kinda sad because SEES is like the most dysfunctional party out of all the Persona games (except maybe P2:EP?)). He got people who saw the same things he saw, people who understood him. He got people who actually bothered to talk to him and listen. Heck, you can even bring him to the movies which I'm sure is great because who knows how long has that kid haven't seen a movie or had fun. There's people who actually don't treat him with so much pity. That fact that you can bring him to Tartarus, I think he's glad about that because he's not underestimated. Ken was respected in SEES as an equal and he appreciated it.

After the entire Oct. 4 shenanigans, Ken has learned to look into himself. He realized his mistakes, his deep hatred blinding him, but most of all, he found a reason to live. He finally moved on, and decided to live as that was what his mom and Shinjiro would've truly wanted.

Then fast forward to P4:AU we can see that he's indeed living. He's pretty much the most popular guy in school, he's in Student Council, and he's even in the soccer club. But he can't fully live yet.

If you've P3 episode of P4:AU, you'd play the Ken vs Shadow Ken part which actually reveals a lot about post-P3 Ken. If you haven't, watch it here.

Ken can't be 100% content with his current life. He feels fake, being a child again, going to school normally and having friends his age to talk and laugh with. This is because of how much his past has destroyed his childhood. He was forced to mature, forced to see things his age shouldn't see, forced to experience things that he shouldn't experience that age. No one his age could understand. They were too innocent while the ones who could understand him (SEES) were too old.

An interesting thing about his entire image post-P3 is that he was basically the "ideal student". He was handsome, smart, athletic, responsible, etc. It makes me wonder if he got that image because it was what he thought was what living was (which his mom and Shinjiro wanted) or because that was what people expected of him. I can see him trying to be more of a child because people expected him to be lighter as the entire Tartarus-Nyx dilemma was gone. I can also see him forcing himself to be more of a child as he feels the obligation to take back the childhood he lost. But that's it, he forced himself. He's not content because for him, he's fake.

Ken's fake he only wanted to fight and this affects him. I think he wanted to fight because that felt the closest to his true self: who he was when he was with SEES. He wanted to help the Shadow Operatives because it was the only environment he can be 100% honest to himself. No pretending that he had a normal life. It was living as him, with people who knew him. In the end, it circles back to the point that he finds fighting Shadows as a purpose to live.

This chapter also showed that Shinjiro still affects him. He blames himself for what happened on October 4, with his monologues saying that he committed a mistake in relation to Shinjiro's death. Shinjiro is an important person to him and his death was very much impactful.

Then Ken fights his fake, where he says that he's been "conceited" and "didn't understand anything at all". I take this as a point of enlightenment for him. What he didn't understand was "living". He followed a mold that be felt he should follow. He thought that he could only feel true to himself by only fighting supernatural creatures. He realised that he wasn't truly living at this point. He thought he understood that he was living like how his mom and Shinjiro wanted but he wasn't. He was still stuck in the past.

This was why I loved his epilogue. In his epilogue, he decides to quit the Shadow Operatives. He decides that it was time for him to move on from their dark past and continue living, not only for his mom and Shinjiro, but also for himself. He thinks that it was better for him this way. He gets to regain his childhood.

His fangirls notice that he's become less distant and more warm to approach, showing signs that he's beginning to open up to people. Despite the fact that he can never tell people about the whole Shadows and Personas, he can still make new bonds. He doesn't have to be stuck on one bond.

This doesn't mean he's abandoning SEES. He still recognises his string bond with them, one might even say that they're family at this point. But just because he has a bond with them doesn't mean he should only restrict himself to them. He can make new, true bonds that aren't fake.

He finds out how to truly live. He just enjoys the moment and finally lets go, showing his inner child.

Ken's character is all about the purpose of life. Because even if life is so hard it feels like death, there's always a reason to live. Even if you can't find your purpose to live now, you will find it someday.

[pendulumprince]

Looking at your blog has me speculating arc v, and I just realized some shit. Did Kaiba not have any idea of what was happening at Academia? Does he ever find out? How do you think the series would've gone if he was involved?

Interesting question!

The one thing that we should probably always keep in mind is that KaibaCorp was the main force behind the development of duel holograms (season 1 of DM) and later, duel disks (DM through 5Ds). Just as we can’t the separate the contemporary card game from Pegasus, dueling technology can’t be separated from Kaiba. He and his company created the foundation on which every other dueling-related technological advancement stems from.

Which means that no matter what universe we’re talking about, Kaiba had to have existed in it. His life and his work is a ‘fixed point’, so to speak. And we know that although the meat of his story was told in DM, that he had a presence in both 5Ds (through the Momentum Generator) and GX (through Academia). Even in Zexal, the fact that duel gazers existence can be taken as proof that Kaiba was once alive.

Arc V’s version of Academia would not exist without Kaiba. But in order to fully answer this question, we’d have to look at the timeline of the five spinoffs and see how they connect.

@astraldirectrix and I were just talking about this recently, and we came up with a tentative theory. There are some vague points just because there isn’t any canon evidence either to support or refute the theory (though if anyone can think of anything, by all means, jump in). But stick with me, I have a method to my madness.

We know that DM-5Ds was one continuous timeline, but that things started getting dicey in the Zexal era. Unlike the first three, Zexal took place not in some incarnation of Domino City, but in an entirely new setting—Heartland. There were instances of people using Advanced, Fusion, and I thiiiiink even Ritual summoning, but not a word on Synchro. D Wheels were also never mentioned.

It’s almost as though… Zexal is what the world would have become, had Zero Reverse never happened.

Old theory, I know. But again, no matter the timeline, Kaiba exists. Zero Reverse was caused directly by the overload of Momentum, a form of energy developed by the MIDS group… founded and funded by KaibaCorp. So working on the assumption that 5Ds and Zexal are two completely different timelines: Zexal is specifically a version of the world where KaibaCorp never went into developing Momentum.

I know you asked about Kaiba and Academia. Don’t worry, I’m getting there!

Now, we know that one of Kaiba’s main, defining character traits is ambition. He’s a risk taker; the threat of disaster doesn’t deter him if he considers the goal to be worth it. So what would stop him from pursuing the development of Momentum?

We can theorize that in what would become the Zexal timeline, something happened to Kaiba towards the end of GX/the beginning of 5Ds’ backstory. Frankly, the only thing I could picture stopping Kaiba from running his company is death, so let’s go with that. Kaiba dies. Mokuba takes over. He continues to conduct research into dueling technology, but does not pursue Momentum energy. Thus, the development of D Gazers, the absence of D Wheels, XYZ instead of Synchro, ect.

So 5Ds and Zexal take in concert with one another, on alternative timelines. They happen, they end, that’s it.

Remember, DM and GX took place before all of this.

Then… something happens to merge the two timelines back together, thus creating the Original Dimension. The only thing I can think of is the creation of solid vision—a momentous occasion that would give duel monster spirits a physical host in the corporal world. We can theorize that it happened at once, in both timelines, allowing the worlds to merge.

And it’s necessary for this to happen, because both the history of 5Ds and Zexal would need to be present in the Original Dimension—because this is the only way both Synchro and XYZ monsters to exist at the same time.

And then, we all know what happened: Zarc goes wild, Ray stops him, the Original Dimension splits up into 4.

Because of this, the timeline is reset. The events of DM, GX, 5Ds and Zexal never happen. Several characters are reborn/remade to fit this new reality (Asuka, Jack, Crow, Kaito, possibly others). Everything is given a clean slate.

One of my favorite Arc V theories is the one stating that Zarc somehow took out our previous 4 protags, and replaced them with his own reincarnations. He would want to minimize the chances that his revival would be stopped, right? And if he couldn’t take out Ray specifically, then the least he could do was take out 4 proven, capable heroes.

And this is supported by the fact that the boys are all foils to the protags who correspond with their main summoning method. Yuya foils Yugi; Yuri foils Judai; Yugo foils Yusei; Yuto foils Yuma.

Back to Kaiba and Arc V’s Academia: Kaiba became the character we all know and love largely though his interactions with Yugi and Yami. Think back all the way to DM’s first episode: Kaiba attacks Grandpa, Yami duels and defeats him… and as a result, is able to exorcise the evil in Kaiba’s heart.

But in Arc V’s time, Yami isn’t around to do that, because Yugi isn’t there to finish the puzzle. So Kaiba stays just as he was in DM’s first episode, with every ounce of vitriolic evil that comes with it. And because everything happening in the four dimensions is happening in concert, there is no time for him to go through character development by any other means. Evil!Kaiba develops duel holograms, develops duel disks; Leo comes in with solid vision. The Fusion Dimension is morally decayed as a result.

I also believe that evil!Kaiba would have been the founder of Academia—whether or not he intended it to be a military school is unlikely, because even at his worst, he never wanted to be like Gozaboro. He founds it to operate as part duel school, part orphanage (seeing as Serena, Yuri, and possibly Sora were all born and raised there).

He runs the school from afar for a few years. Then Leo, in Standard, regains his memories, and for some reason chooses the Fusion Dimension as his base of operations.

And it’s here that we enter the realm of pure speculation. I… don’t see Kaiba willingly selling the school—evil or not, we know because of his history that he wouldn’t want it to be a place churning out child soldiers. I also don’t see Leo successfully deceiving Kaiba with what his intentions for Academia are, nor would he have been able to con Kaiba out of ownership.

You see where I’m headed, right? Leo likely took Academia from Kaiba by force. There’s no evidence that they were ever in any sort of partnership, and knowing them, they wouldn’t have worked well together anyway. There was probably a duel. Kaiba likely lost that duel. Leo, if he had the technology for it already developed, would have carded Kaiba to keep him out of the way.

So to answer your first two questions: Kaiba likely would have had an idea of what Leo’s plans were. He likely didn’t live long enough to stop them.

Now, for your last question: how would the series have gone had he been involved? Remember, Kaiba is still his early DM (possibly even season 0) self. He’s evil. He may not care for child soldiers or war, but that doesn’t make him a good guy. I could see him entering a partnership with Leo, all the while making plans to dispose of him at the right moment.

Would Leo tell Kaiba about Ray, and what his true plans were? Depends: would Leo know about Mokuba? Would this, their only true source of common ground, be something these two villains would ‘bond’ over?

Keeping in mind that here, Kaiba is evil—as opposed to Leo the anti-villain—I don’t think Kaiba would be sympathetic at all. He would regard Leo as laughably weak for not being able to protect his daughter, or his original home. I think he’d also be one of the few to see plain as day that all Leo’s plans are really doing is accelerating Zarc’s revival.

So things would have been different in that Academia’s internal structure would have been disorganized. There would be staff loyal to Kaiba, and staff loyal to Leo. Leo would have to deploy his troops behind Kaiba’s back. Kaiba, again, would be working constantly to get rid of Leo—because this is his home, his school, his students, his legacy, his domain. To Kaiba, Leo is an interloper who has to go, ASAP.

And let’s say he does get rid of Leo? If it’s before the invasion of Heartland, then fine. Leo’s gone, things go back to normal. Kaiba rules the Fusion D with an iron fist but doesn’t wage total war on a defenseless population—mostly because he’d have no reason to.

But if he isn’t able to do away with Leo until after the invasion? Especially if he’s already taken Ruri and Rin? Then shit just got real—because now the boys know when and how to find each other.

What he’d likely do is stop the invasion and send the girls back home, but… the boys still know how to find each other. Yuri has tasted enough power—and Yuto and Yugo, enough grief—for Zarc to awaken and influence them towards each other. So Zarc will be coming; it’ll just take longer. And by the time it does happen, Kaiba likely won’t intervene (seeing it as not being his problem) until it’s too late and the Supreme Dragon King is destroying Academia proper.

Above all, Kaiba would not be a hero here. He’d only be heroic in that he’d oppose Leo; and he’d only oppose Leo because their goals and values wouldn’t have much overlap.

As for Kaiba’s presence in Standard, the Sycnhro D, and the XYZ D? Kaiba could’ve been the one behind The City’s toxic capitalism-gone-wild political structure. Perhaps Standard is only as good as it is because of Yusho’s influence. We don’t know enough about the XYZ D to say why it’s a utopia, but… well, Zexal is the one world where Kaiba, presumably, wasn’t around to see himself. So maybe that could explain it.