#OLDER TRIO BELOVEDS

[sm-baby]

CURSE MY INDECISIVENEDSS... *shakes them* WHAT DYNAMIC DO YOU HAVVVE

[chichapalabok]

AU where ritsu meets leo & izumi early on and doesn't get held back bcs leo befriends him immediately :')

falling out still happens tho

[dragonbma]

Happy Sea Temple Saturday! ^^

I come bearing designs for all my Vos-centered Minecraft: Story Mode AUs! (minus Imperial!Vos)

Choose your fighter-

[Find the current list with AU details here!]

[goldensunset]

it's all been said before but something something riku is the element of change and kairi is the element of stability cuz riku wanted to leave the island above all else while kairi didn't really care she just wanted to stay with her friends above all else no matter where she was (and of course sora was kinda in between) something something the moral of the story here being that some things in life have to change while other things are meant to last and this is why both kairi and riku are both so important to the heart of this story cuz they represent that duality. we can't stay on this tiny island forever as innocent kids. but the island and what it means to us will always be there. y'know

[wayfinderships]

I have my gripes with the new P.ersona 3 remake but MAN... I'd be a liar if I said that watching a video of the beginning portion of the game didn't feel like home-

[lovelyyandereaddictionpoint]

You think prince Rille is one of Azul childhood bullies?

Like he one of the kids make fun of him for being an octopus mer and chubby as I seen something in Twitter of that happening or just a bystander, and him being a Prince he seem to be wanting more in life as he grew and on land he sees a very pretty land dweller and to his shock she flat out reject him

And to add in the salt to the wound he sees his lady love being happy and seem at peace around the octotrio to the point she even wears their gifts time to time

Now how will he be went now adult and there a school reunion he sees them again and what's more she is the trio beloved mate that they shared and have children from them all equally beautiful as their mother

Elementary Reunion | Yandere Octotrio vs Yandere Rielle

I definitely think Rielle is apart of Azul’s bullying past but not directly

More like the growing power of a shadow, like from an older sibling

His existence alone puts a cloud over Azul’s difference 

on top of that he’s most certainly an airhead

No doubt accidentally ruining Azul’s life by his sheer popularity

What a perfect reunion 

For the prince to shoot his shot only to be turned down 

Not just turned absolutely roasted as you cradle one of your children and chuckle

“Ah I have three husbands and three children, for now! So I am more than happy in life.”

They’ll keep happy enough

“Ah Prince Rielle I’m glad to see you doing well! As you can see I’m thriving.”

“I can see that! To think you’d get married before me is wild.”

“Three times over in fact.”

“Hehehe that’s more than you’ve ever had red-fish!”

“...yeah.”

The least he can do is make desperate attempts that usually fall short

Considering you have three husbands each able to patrol you its real hard

So hard he might try to be more…forceful

Too bad this isn’t grade school any longer 

And Azul isn’t pulling punches the twins never were

And they aren’t afraid to cement a prince’s tail if they get too close to their family

[of-many-fandomss]

Hi i was just wondering if i could request something with James Potter being protective.

like maybe reader is a bartender and James is her bf and she is just chatting to him and Remus and Sirius when a guy comes over and is creepy towards her and it’s just James become protective.

Happy new year by the way!!!

James Potter my beloved 🫶

—————

“And what can I get you, handsome?��� You asked with a smirk, glancing up to make eye contact with the beautiful hazel orbs that you had gotten the pleasure of growing accustomed to.

“That’s depends, what do you recommend?” He asked back, leaning his forearms against the bar and smirking at you.

“Gag!” Sirius called jokingly, coming up and clapping James on the shoulder, “That is not the kind of stuff I want to hear or see on my night off!”

Remus laughed, coming up beside the pair and offering you a friendly smile in greeting.

You shook your head at the trios antics and immediately went to work getting your longtime boyfriend and his your best friends their usual drinks.

Sirius often joked that the only reason he approved of you dating his best friend in the first place was because you worked as a bartender and therefore gave him an excuse to go out of drinks whenever.

As he and Remus turned and began chatting amongst themselves, your boyfriend turned his attention back to you, running a hand through his hair as his eyes raked up and down your body, “Can I just say that you look bloody gorgeous tonight, darling.”

Your eyebrows raised slightly as you looked down at your plain, all black work attire before chuckling slightly, “Such a flirt,”

He hummed in agreement, not taking his eyes off you as he took a sip of his drink, “But your flirt.”

“Yes, my flirt,” You laughed again, going back to your previous activity before they had arrived of wiping down glasses.

The bar was relatively empty tonight, with only a couple of groups standing around tables and a few friends playing some rounds of pool.

You happily went back and forth with James as you talked about your days in between getting orders for someone here and there.

“Hey there, gorgeous.”

All four of your heads snapped over to the new voice, all conversations ceasing as your gazes narrowed in on a man much older than all of you were standing in front of the bar, holding onto it with one hand while he swayed slightly.

You did your best not to grimace at the name, having grown used to it by now, but your friends and boyfriend didn’t seem as keen as you on ignoring it.

With your attention focused on the man, you missed the way Remus and Sirius exchanged glanced and the way James’s eyebrows furrowed as the grip he had on his glass tightened.

“What can I get for you, sir?” You asked politely, remembering having gotten him and his two friends a few rounds already within the past couple hours.

“Well,” He slurred, “I did come over here to ask you for another round, but I can think of a few things that would be much more interesting to ask you to do for me.” The smirk on his face had the exact opposite effect that James’s smirk had on you, this one made you sick to your stomach.

Your nose crinkled at his suggestive tone and your lips curled in disgust as you took a slight step back despite the fact that you had a whole bar separating the two of you.

“Oi!” James snapped angrily, slamming his glass down so hard that you were surprised it didn’t shatter, “That’s no way to talk to a lady, let alone my lady.” He snarled, hands curling into fists at his side as he took a threatening step towards the man.

If the man had held his hands up in surrender and walked away right then, James would have let him go- granted, he would have been glaring at him dangerously for the duration of his stay- but there would be no need to escalate things. But the man just had to open his mouth again.

The guys eyebrows went up, clearly not having noticed your boyfriend before he had pushed away from the counter and he let out a scoff, rolling his eyes at him, “Mind your business and go find your own slut, this one’s mine.”

Wrong move.

Within a split second, James was on top of him in a state of fury and cursing, sending his fist flying into the man’s nose hard enough to allow a sickening crunch to echo through the bar. But he didn’t stop there. As the man stumbled to the ground, James harshly kicked him back and got on top of him, clocking him in the face over and over again.

People began murmuring and milling around to see what all the commotion was about, and it only took the guys friends a second to realize that he was in trouble, and they quickly sprang forward to help.

Sirius and Remus intercepted them, though, holding them and arms length. When they were met with retaliation, neither one of them hesitated with sending a good right hook to each of the friends faces.

You could do nothing but watch in horror as your boyfriend and best friends fought against these men- mostly winning, but the couple good hits landed on them were enough to churn your stomach more than any disgusting pervs words ever could.

When Remus and Sirius finally realized enough was enough, they left their guys sputtering on the ground and quickly rushed over to pry James- who was still swinging- off of the man, who looked like he was on the verge of unconsciousness.

Blood ran down and coated the strangers faces in red, no doubt hiding some ugly bruises as well. Your boys on the other hand only had a couple shiners and James had a busted lip, with his glasses also slightly cracked.

The crowd that had formed slowly began to fan out and turn back to their normal activities once they realized the show was over, and the three winners of the brawl stood, panting over the losers.

“Take care of your girl,” Remus muttered to James, “We’ll handle this.”

With that, he and Sirius hauled all three men to their feet by their collars and began dragging them out the bar.

James didn’t waste a second with turning around and quickly clambering over the bar until he was stopped right in front of you, who was still frozen in shock.

“Love? Darling?” He asked worriedly, gingerly taking your face between his hands, “Are you alright?”

You finally snapped out of whatever daze you had been in and you put your hands over his and stared at him as if he had gone insane, “Am I alright? Are you alright? You just got into a bloody fight, James.”

“He shouldn’t have said those things to and about you.” He said determinedly, lips curling up into a sneer at the mere thought of it.

You huffed slightly, “I’ve dealt with it before.”

He sighed and leaned forward, closing his eyes as he set a delicate kiss to your forehead, “But you shouldn’t have to,” He whispered when he pulled away slightly.

“It’s apart of life, James.” You looked at him with soft eyes.

His head just shook back and forth stubbornly, “Not while I’m around.”

You smiled slightly, reaching on your tiptoes and placing a soft, lingering kiss on his lips, “Not while you’re around,” You repeated in a whisper before pulling away and taking his hands off your face to examine them, “Now, come on, let’s go in the back and get some ice for the three of you.”

[fiery-emblems]

Like a lot of people I sometimes ponder what my favorite characters might look like if they were allowed to grow older. I've been seeing a lot of good designs for older Soren specifically so of course I got to thinkin' about my own take!

Some notes on design process under the cut cause I think we should all share our thought process once in a while:

So, for this I didn't want to just want to go with "Soren, exactly the same but older". My thought was "if I was actually in charge of designing for a fire emblem game, one that takes place in a future Tellius perhaps and featuring this character as a guest (a la Tiki or the Awakening trio, which they should keep doing BTW) how would I go about doing that".

You have to think of course, about what the character is actually doing and what their role is. It seems pretty likely that after RD Soren is either traveling the world with Ike or wandering around (probably the former) so "traveler" was the theme. As far as the overall shape and the outer layer especially it seemed obvious to reference the dragons, who are also travelers:

I don't want to just straight up copy the look of the robes though for a couple of reasons. 1) that's boring and the idea here is for an updated visual style 2) I wanted to combine different elements to evoke a feeling of mixing cultures. I figure if this scenario takes place say, 80 years in the future or something, fashions will have moved forward and perhaps you would see elements of beorc and laguz fashions mixed together. Especially for Soren given what he is. So I went with an inner layer that looks more Victorian puffy sleeves (which you don't actually see a lot of in PoR or RD since the characters favor more stiff looking tunics, but they are there and I figured its the future and maybe Crimea has entered its puffy shirt era) with the outer layer looking more like what the dragons wear. 3) Staying with robes seems kind of stagnant. I imagine that a much older Soren who's lived a good life along side his love has probably chilled out a little bit. A little bit. 4) I think having more leg visible gives a more adult silhouette.

The other consideration is the hairstyle. As much as I love Soren being a carbon copy of Rajaion, it wouldn't be the most interesting design choice if I was the character designer of a game to just copy a past design 1 for 1. So I decided to just lengthen his hair a little bit and give it a look like its been blown around in the wind. Soren is the windy guy and I'm assuming he would be more chill here so why not let it be loose and free? This also helps avoid him just looking like Sephiran cause I see that a lot too lol.

Yes I also changed the shape of his brand. I've always been fascinated by the fact that it changed shape between games. I know it was likely just a design oversight but what if it changed because he isn't an adult yet and it changes more as he ages?

Lastly there's the why. Why would your fav show up as a guest character? What would he even do?? Well I think Soren could be really fun actually if we assume he went with Ike and that Ike kept Ragnell with him. I'm picturing a situation where Ike has lived out his natural life and died, leaving Soren to return to Tellius alone in order to tell Mist's family what happened (cause Ike just left without telling anyone anything lol), and to return Ragnell to them. Instead some conflict breaks out, you know how it is, and the more chilled out Soren is convinced to bestow the sword onto the new starry-eyed lord who reminds him of his beloved.

Oh yeah. I can see it now.

[alisaint]

guys, i have good news for once. i've found proof of intelligent life out here in these wastelands:

my favorite excerpts:

Will, Jonathan, and Joyce Formed a Special Trio

If Eleven is the main character in Stranger Things, the Byers family is the conduit through which she flickers. Will’s disappearance in the first season spurred the Hawkins community to rush to his aid. The tight-knit camaraderie between Will, Jonathan, and Joyce juxtaposes the stereotypical family composed of kids and teenagers. Parents and children are supposed to fight and bicker in television and other media, often to build the main conflict of the story, but the Byers family already underwent that trauma offscreen.  Lonnie Byers (Ross Partridge) makes a brief cameo in the first season, flexing his standoffish demeanor and abusive nature. It’s clear that the Byers patriarch doesn’t possess much empathy for his ex-wife or his sons. Jonathan valiantly steps into the father, husband, and big brother role, amalgamating into a combination of responsibilities that no other character on the show could dream of emulating. 

Jonathan Binds the Byers Family Together

Jonathan’s multifaceted arc in the first two seasons made him one of the series’ most easily dissectable characters. Stranger Things often differentiates itself from other shows by keeping the antagonists separate from the main characters. There are no Walter White or Tony Soprano-style antiheroes in which fans must compromise one part of their moral compass to appreciate the character. One might think this makes the series boring, but it’s the opposite. Jonathan was proof that a nearly perfect brother and son can still be fascinating to watch. After Will was found in season 1’s climax, he was taken over by the Mind Flayer in season 2. Jonathan again stood by Will’s side as his little brother felt outcasted by friends and society at large. Schnapp and Heaton’s chemistry often leads to tender, humorous exchanges like this one in which the boys remind the audience that being weird can be a human superpower in its own right.  These moments became few and far between in seasons 3 and 4. Will and Jonathan were relegated to minor supporting characters as the aforementioned new additions took center stage. Will at least gets to tag along with Mike, Dustin, Lucas, and the other younger friends. Jonathan often only appears in a few small scenes with his girlfriend Nancy (Natalia Dyer), and the writers even flirted with pushing Nancy back into Steve’s arms in the most recent season. Jonathan spent the majority of season 4 high on marijuana and frolicking around in a faux buddy-comedy routine with the one-off character Argyle (Eduardo Franco).  The decision to waste Heaton’s work from the first two seasons with a 180-degree personality change made no sense. Jonathan suddenly seemed careless, distant, and uninspired, but not in a dense way that could be unlocked by further character development. Little-to-no time was spent on him. While some fans might concur it is a necessary evil to take screen time away from older characters when expanding the world of Hawkins, it certainly transforms Stranger Things from a show about family into a show just about monsters and romances. 

Jonathan’s Enhanced Role in Season 5?

Many theories point to Will being one of the critical pieces to defeating Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) in the fifth and final season. His connection to the Upside Down and the evils underneath the surface should open up opportunities for Jonathan to lend his ears and counseling once again. Jonathan grows on an individual level when he aids others. When locked out of his family’s life, it stunts his ability to shine as a listener and an empathizer.  Jonathan’s best scene from season 4 again features a tear-jerking moment with Will. On the cusp of coming out of the closet, Will needs Jonathan more than ever before, and his brother responds supremely to the task at hand. The poignant conversation validates that the Duffers haven’t completely forgotten how to flesh out the Byers family. When the world gets too enormous for the characters and the audience, Jonathan serves as a connector to the most human elements of the series’ thematic thesis. He may not be as funny as Steve or as neurotic as Robin, but Jonathan symbolizes the good in all of us. In a show shrouded in darkness, Jonathan’s presence will be instrumental to forming a satisfying, optimistic conclusion in Hawkins, Indiana.

[zealfruity]

Some older stuff for yall as I clean through my files. Info below.

From the original rendition of ahsoka's outfit for the Bones In The Stars Au. I still like it, I'll probably keep it as an alternative look for her (May 17th)

Echo the second he sees Fives after he made everyone think he was dead before showing up as a force sensitive bounty hunter with a lightsaber. Bones In The Stars AU

Jesse and Hardcase. Jesse's quick temper and captain obvious tendencies make him a smartass idiot no matter how capable he may be.

idk long haired clones. Kix and Nax (first two from the left) are drawn the way they look by the end of the Domino Squad Lives AU, followed by Cutup's original design from the same AU. Then, of course, Hunter and Tup, the OG long haired clones (May 9th)

The Trio Ever. just-out-of-shinyness Fives and Echo enjoy overenthusiastically following Rex around (June 10th)

TUKK MY BELOVED (Captain Tukk created by @highgroundanimations)

Older Ahsoka drawing (March 12th) back when I drew her closer to canon

[holostarz]

my problem is i think most of p5s ships are cute and thats why i almost always am down for some form of polythieves

usually i just lump all the guys together cause all those ships are just so good to me??? and i mean like, every combination of them, even without ren. ill ship ryuji and yusuke. and i also love goro with either of them. ryugoro and akekita are so rare but theyre so nice?? they all just. clenches fists. theyre so good ot4 pegoryugorokita

goroann besties is real in my heart. also goroharu being like the Cursed besties ever in the end like. my god they have such a wack and unhinged platonic soulmates/kindred spirits potential. goromako rivals forever my guy they are so fucking funny. and ryukoto is kinda cute...

i think shumako is nice but its just not my cuppa tea. they are dear friends and i do love the image of ren and makoto being a bit rivalcoded and butting heads over phantom thievery and how to lead the team best. and goro is weirdly the one who can actually somehow stop arguments before they happen and get them to compromise.

makoto is NOT the mom friend okay she is the bossy and protective older sister friend. and she is smart and sensible but not immune to her friends infecting her with Stupid. ren is the mom friend. and the dad friend. best of both things. :)

ren: its hard raising 8 kids when youre in high school and an 18 y/o whos like if a divorced widow was a boy 😔 sojiro: what happened to your husband??? ren: he was lost at sea goro: ren, look at this dog i saw on my way here ren: i can still hear his voice

meanwhile i love futago half siblings headcanon. so while goro and makoto are a little more sibling rivalry coded, futaba is still goros actual gremlin sibling who will bully him to death. meanwhile, futaba is actually adoptive siblings with ren. these two are WAY more sibling coded than goro and futaba ever.

and when futaba starts trying to do similar Sibling dynamic things with goro. goro is like ??? "ren, futaba just came in here. stared at me. burped. and then left. what does this mean." and ren is like. "oh is there food? theyre probably telling you theres food and to come out if you want some. or if this is your first time seeing them today they could just be greeting you." and goro is like ????? but louder this time

i love shujin trio poly... and i default to them being the OG Cule. shuann? v cute love them. ryuann? also cute and honestly v funny of how messy i imagine their hookups being. like they keep breaking up and eventually finding their way back to each other. sometimes i see them as sibling coded, too, more than anything else. overall i just love these three together they are the tomodachis of all time they are partners for life

i also love ryuharu. and harukita (yuharu?) theyre really cute.... then theres good ol makoharu and annmako (makoann?) and i love them too... honestly love hifumi and makoto too?? i think they would be huge fucking dorks together... perhaps.... rivals, even?

goro and hifumi being friends... good shit. hifumi and yusuke being close friends? plz... and ren and hifumi are just. wahh i love them theyre so good. even futaba and hifumi could be cute, honestly.... wtf

and we cannot forget ANNSHIHO,,, forever. my GORLS.... lesbiabs of my heart.

anntaba is a rare one but theyre also v cute to me... and if they arent girlfriends i love the idea of futaba having a crush on her and then realizing those feelings are actually just Admiration and Gender envy. i also love the idea of morgana finding out his crush on ann is ALSO GENDER ENVY RELATED.... we love nonbiney morgana. hope is genderless

ren: my CAT IS TRANS!? NOT CLICKBAIT?

and makoto is always being an older sister to futaba. yutaba is nice, too. i honestly see futaba and yusuke being aspec and theyre platonic soulmates and in a qpp. and ofc sumitaba my beloved... i love sumitaba a lot

i adore ryusumi too like oh myg od,,.. wahh.... the sweeties. sumikita is so rare but like. i think they could be kinda cute too?? sumigoro is V platonic soulmates to me like my god theyre so. clenches fist. honestly whole royal trio tbh is just. "they can make each other worse" and each of them thinking "thank god im the normal one here" thats it thats the whole dynamic. and its so funny.

shusumi is cute too but honestly i think i prefer both ren and goro have somethin of a platonic soulmates or older sibling dynamic with sumire. they have adopted her okay. sumiann isnt one i see a lot either but they.... THEM.....

any mishima ship is super funny imo but like, theyre cute. love yuuki having a crush on ren but like. the game makes it near impossible for you to actually be fucking nice to him so i always get the vibe that ren would rather keep him at a distance, even tho they appreciate him and care about him.

its okay tho cause i say hes good friends with the OG trio + shiho and they vibe. yuuki crushing on goro, to his own horror? hilarious. and weirdly enough shiho and ren?? idk what their acronym is. but. oh my god. theyre actually weirdly cute? but i see them having disaster twins energy. theyre absolute menaces.

[majorproblems77]

New update! New update!

AHHHHHHH

I enjoyed this a normal amount

We got double standing frames in the first 2 pages. Like

Look at him standing there

The :( on legends face is giving me life ngl

Look at Twilights little pout!!!!

Wind and Wars the dynamic duo! This is the whole look of the older brother showing the younger something. Hand on hip, the little smug face!

Like look at these two

I love them, Hands on hip thing again, like the older brother he is!

Warriors being suspicious this entire chapter as well.

From first glance you can see he's looking for something, maybe trying to size Twilight's hits up if he ever has to fight him?

War's isn't looking at him at all. He's still looking around him, checking logs and the like.

Filled with suspicion

We know war's has experienced his men turning on him. Hyrule warriors did that for us. The angry look on his face tells me he's thinking of that. He's thinking that he may have to keep a closer eye on Twilight now.

Then there's Wind

You cant tell me this isnt an attempt at him trying to look like Warriors. The raised eyebrow? The arms, I'm convinced that he had his arms crossed during this questioning. Mainly cause of this

Like come on.

They are brothers your honour and I love them dearly!

Speaking of the sailor

WIND BELOVED BABY! LOOK AT HIM

He's so small I love him, love him so much!

Younger brother vibes here

Man looks like he's about to investigate a crime.

We can't forget about this

Might start calling these three the downfall Trio. I know wild isn't is the downfall timeline but to be honest they are all as chaotic as each other

Wild looks like he's in so much trouble. The wrath of four instills fear into him and we all know it.

OHOHOH AND AND

HYRULEEEEEEEE

the boy got a whole set of panels! I love him. And I AM LOVING THE FULL BODY SHOTS OF THEM AT THE MOMENT.

BELOVED LIFE SPELL CASTING RULIE.

Okay now that's off my chest

Thanks for coming to my TED talk about how I enjoyed this comic a normal amount

Check out the comic here!

All art belongs to Jojo, it's her comic after all!

I just really enjoy it :)

[critterbitter]

Asks and responses under cut!

First to note! THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH FOR THESE ASKS. I REALLY APPRECIATE YALL. That aside, lemme get cracking! @drakeling7413 AWE MAN THANK YOU! I just started playing B2 with a friend (we're... not doing a nuzlocke anymore because we both got full team wiped at Clay's gym. That exadrill's built different man.) But I'm glad to bring back some of that whimsey! @bluemimikyu As an eel defender I am VERY glad to hear that! Good luck with tynamo though, they evolve at a disgustingly high level and they're... well, I don't want to say weak but they're a bit difficult to use against anybody not water or flying, from personal experience. (I love eelektross though. Levitate my beloved...) @ashnesspokemon ADLSKJFLKSDJ THANK YOU!!! I have SO many thoughts about them. We've seen them as rat children. We've seen them as sad old men. Today, I offer you-- gangly teenagers interning at Gear Station and Scheming in the meantime. (Plus elesa! The more I draw her the more I love her, ah... I've always been a sucker for trios. ((looks dead eyed at botw and hollow knight))). I do intend to draw them older later on, but that's a timeline I will Not Nail Down anytime soon hehe. @64s-art-blog Emmet has eel rights, Ingo has lamp rights. (But you're right. He should have thrown eelekrik. The comedic apparel would have been incredible.) @aroacepokefan First of all (points at your user name) AYYY. (Points at this characterization of Ingo). AYYY??? Second of all, thank you I LOVE moles and drillbur's perfect. @asperanna Oh boY OH BOY OKAY SO. I am prrrrobably not gonna draw anymore conventional starters AU cause I have a lot of wips I have to handle of the current comics, BUT Ingo would have a unovan samurott. and then when he gets heebie jeebied into hisui, he would have a HISUIAN Samurrott. And then when the two samurotts meet, they would be like the spiderman pointing meme. But because this is also a sandbox, if you ever wanna run with the hisuian samurott idea please go for it! Free real estate, just remember to credit so I can sneak in and spectate the art. @submasfan SLJLDSFJSLDK TY!!!! I am definitely gonna have to slow down at somepoint so I can work on commissions again (ah... maybe I should open a patreon... to feed myself. hmm.) BUT I APPRECIATE THE EXCITEMENT. The submas brain is real. @magicfeatherbean4 (sweats) This is where I tell you they only appear for like... five lines. BUT YOU SHOULD PLAY BW! I miss the 2d pokemon aesthetic, and BW nails that in the head. ((Its okay we can sit on the sidelines and admire the muppet men do their daily commute within the depths of the train.)) @rudeboimonster I'm so glad you caught the stims! Character consistency is an important rule I hold close to my heart, so seeing people notice the little details I add makes me grin like a loon.

[mellkellyismyhero]

Jonathan Stroud and Kipps

You know, as a kid reading Lockwood and Co., I LOVED Lucy, George, Lockwood, and Holly. They were all my age! Every time a new book came out I’d imagine Lucy was growing up with me.

But that meant that I didn’t have much of a connection with Kipps, who was kind of L&Co.’s punching bag (affectionate). I liked him, but I never loved him the way I loved everyone else.

Now, I’m older than L&Co. Reading the books and watching the show feels like revisiting my younger self. I was expecting to love the L&Co. trio dynamic- and I did! But one thing I really wasn’t expecting was my newfound appreciation for Kipps.

Jonathan Stroud’s decision to focus on Kipps’ transition from brilliant teen agent to terrified, washed-up adult... It didn’t speak to me as a kid because I was too busy identifying with how cool Lucy’s Talent was. But now that I’m in Kipps’ age range, I identify with Kipps a lot more over Lucy. I can’t really put it in words- this is probably going to be the first of many posts of me spewing emotions and love for Jonathan Stroud’s writing skill- but I’m going to try.

Minor Kipps-related spoilers for L&Co. books under the cut.

Kipps, in the show and books, is 20-22 years old. He’s college-aged. And he cannot do the one thing that he has trained his entire life for, and needs to adjust to that. As a kid, I just kind of saw that as the same kind of “kids rule, adults drool” thing that happens in all kids adventure stories. Can’t have the responsible adults ruining the kids’ fun!

But Kipps was unusual in that you get to SEE him go from ‘competent rival agent’ to ‘technically a useless adult’. He’s straddling the line in the way that other series, where kids get to have magic because they’re good and pure or whatever don’t.

The thing is, it would’ve been easy for Kipps to be forgotten. Just let him fade into the background and never be mentioned again after book 2. But he’s there in book 3, and 4, and 5, still doing his best to fight ghosts even if he can’t see them. As a kid, I was just like ‘huh, okay, that’s a choice’ and kind of ignored him. Who cares what Kipps is doing when Lucy and Holly are having an epic argument that’s going to bring a million ghosts down on their heads?

As an adult, I LOVE that Stroud chose to keep Kipps around. I love that Kipps found a new way to keep fighting (the goggles). I love that Kipps kind of became a member of Lockwood and Co. I love that Stroud made the readers and the characters confront the reality that one day our beloved main characters would lose their Talents too, that even Lucy would go deaf one day, instead of just ignoring the generous but very real time limit the characters had hanging over their heads.

(Side note: part of my love for this series might be stemming from my complicated feelings about the Seven Wonders book series, where a kid is told he has less than a year to live and will likely spend months in debilitating pain and then... spends that year fucking around looking for magical artifacts and not actually having any kind of physical consequences for LITERALLY HAVING A DEADLY ILLNESS-)

Anyway.

Kipps is fantastic. The way he represents the inevitable future of Lockwood and Co... the way he represents the thousands of other agents who grew too old to sense ghosts and couldn’t keep fighting even if they wanted to... the way that he tries so hard to keep the kids he’s in charge of alive but can’t because he’s only one person and he’s losing his Talent...

He’s going through such a major transition and doesn’t know what his place in the world is anymore, and honestly, what early-twenties person does? There’s something there about Talents and childhood trauma and taking your first few steps into adulthood without the tools that saved your life as a child because they don’t work anymore...

In conclusion: Kipps was an amazing character, and I’m sorry I didn’t appreciate him sooner.

[careful-wish]

I know that Eddie had to die bc plot reasons yada yada

But they could have done that in season 5. We had so many deaths deaths in 4 (tho Max did end up living). The stakes are higher in season 5 and having a beloved character die halfway through would have had such an emotional impact

But also Eddie and Argyle not being included in season 5 with the other older kids feel like a joke, especially Argyle.

Nancy is the only one of the older teens (now young adults) to have a real close friendship with someone (Barb). Could probably argue Eddie too bc of Gareth, Jeff, and that other guy in Hellfire but they're younger than him so Idk how long they've been friends or how close they actually are.

In s4, though it's through super unlikely circumstances, Eddie does develop friendships with Steve, Nancy, and Robin. Probably, he already has had some interaction with Robin and Jonathan in the past due to the fact all three were considered weirdos or freaks (Jonathan was The School Freak(tm)) but he had no interaction with Jonathan this season.

Jonathan after being apart from Nancy for a few months then meets Argyle and they become pretty close mates, weed aside. Jonathan finally has someone he can talk to and open up to, and you can tell Argyle genuinely does care for Jonathan and is a LITERAL ride-or-die for him.

Why, WHY did they take Eddie and Argyle away? Yeah, we get the monster-hunting trio back in s5 along with Robin and Vickie in the group, but why'd they take Argyle away? He is also wanted by the government and knows everything. We're just going back to Jonathan having no friends, Nancy really having to confront what happened to Barb, and only Steve having a best mate? Why does Steve get to keep his best friend and Jonathan doesn't?

Also, the group would have been a little bigger than the Party but the dynamics and just absolute chaos would have been amazing.

Steve realising he is absolutely outnumbered by nerds and that he is not the leader, that role goes to Nancy and her babygurl Jonathan.

Vickie being introduced in a group that has several very loud ppl (Steve, Argyle, Robin), joins them immediately and Jonathan goes insane bc the four chatter like kookaburras at three am.

Nancy insisting they need to be discreet and Argyle explaining that while yeah, having an all black van would be cool but bad guys have those too and they would blend in better with a pizza van bc "Who would question the pizza man, Wheeler?"

Eddie secretly having tons of respect for Jonathan and nearly falls over himself trying to make up for the fact he tried to push another guy at Jonathan's girlfriend. Also develops similar respect for Nancy and feels guilty after seeing how happy Nancy is with Jonathan, and also realising it was never his, Robin, Steve, or anyone else's decision what Nancy does or who she wants to be with, it's all her.

Vickie learning about everything but still not knowing the kids very well and fellow newcomer Argyle is like "Idk about the others but Little Byers and Wheelie-boy are good, and of course our amazing super-powered little friend"

Steve discreetly being a terrible wingman for Robin without accidentally outing her. She comes out to Nancy first, then Argyle on accident after they have a weed sesh ("You're good, Batman's sidekick, boobies are great"), and of course ends up with Vickie.

Mike being the one of the Party Vickie ends up bonding with the most, mainly so they can make fun of Steve together but also other reasons

Anyway, we were robbed of these seven chaos nerds being a group together.

And if Eddie were to die halfway through, the turmoil. Dies similar to s4, Dustin is there, but it not only affects Dustin and Hellfire, but the other six he'd started becoming close with.

[queseraone]

Everyone asks about what we want to see in S6, but I'm curious, what are your wants in general for S6 or beyond? Any particular storylines you'd like to see?

Honestly I'm just beyond grateful that we're getting a season 6! (In terms of renewal, and of course the strikes.)

What I want (also includes things I don't want) under the cut!

Tim and Lucy dance at the wedding!!! (it's a need)

KOJOOOOOOOOOOO

The little things: holding hands, a kiss on the cheek, one coming up and wrapping their arms around the other from behind. Just those soft things that are so easily overlooked, but frankly these little moments often have the biggest impact.

CHENFORD I LOVE YOU! That's the only "big" development I need for them in season 6, mostly because I think it should have happened in season 5.

Oh I lied, other big thing I'd really like to see - Chenford living together. Because let's face it, they already do, so might as well make it official already! (Especially if there's a time jump of any kind. Grown ass adults move faster in relationships than 20-year-olds.)

Aaron lives! (I almost didn't bother including this one since he obviously does, but still)

Development to (if not resolution of) everything that's been brewing regarding Lucy's undercover career. I know everyone has their own (strong) opinions on what they want to happen/where they want this to land, but I just want Lucy to have the career she deserves AND the life that she wants (and I personally don't think she can have both with the current state of things) AND for her and Tim to be in a good place. So ultimately I hope she realizes that UC is not for her - BUT NOT JUST BECAUSE OF TIM, because it goes against her character, because she doesn't want to leave herself, her friends, her life behind... (I could write an essay on this, and... oops apparently I have!)

Related the above, but Lucy to advance in her career. Be that as a detective or some other type of promotion or advancement. Girl has been killing it, she deserves it! (As much as I think having Angela and Nyla AND Lucy as detectives is too many detectives, I would loooove to see that trio kicking ass together!)

More Tim and Angela moments. Aside from Chenford, this is my absolute favourite relationship on the show, I adore their friendship and I'd love to see more of it!

Aaron and Celina to be just friends. Petition for more platonic male-female friendships on TV!! And they just give off BFF energy to me

Genny! Moments with Tim, moments with Lucy, maybe tell us her other kid's name... they made a point of moving her character to Los Angeles, I hope they use her!

No pregnancy for Bailey/Nolan. Congrats to Jenna, but we've had pregnancies every season since season 3 and it's a lot. Plus Nolan wasn't keen a few seasons ago, and he's even older now, and giving the lead character a newborn at home would really fuck with the dynamics. Also petition for more female characters choosing not to have kids, representation matters! (Oops another essay...)

Better integration of the various characters. Lots of people dislike Bailey (I am not one of them), but I personally think the biggest hiccup with her character is that she almost exclusively interacts with Nolan. This cast has incredible chemistry, so I would really like to see them play with that more! What I would give for a ladies night with all these badass women (you know they'll stumble across a crime or something...)

I'm sure there's more, but I've yammered on enough. Aside from these things, I'm just REALLY looking forward to my beloved show coming back. This cast is magical, I love how they manage to keep it light, and I'm excited to see what they have planned for us.

And I'm hoping for some renewed inspiration for fic ideas, too! Oh and that reminds me, my biggest want for season 6? RENEWAL FOR SEASON 7!!!!!!!!