#The arc of it all… “are you even a dragon or what’ you’ve been acting strange since you changed forms” progress omg…. You are so close

[fumifooms]

Thistle & Falin

Just my narrative of Thistle & Falin, collection of shippy thoughts and dynamic analysis. Creating some imagery and threads, etc. What if we both made devotion to our loved ones our purpose, what if we both hadn’t lived for ourselves in a long, long time. Who are we? Beyond who we love and our powers, what are we?

Background info: a short Falin analysis touching on Faligon and Thistle + an old thistlin post, compiling most of their moments. Here I delve into further thoughts but for base analysis of what they have in canon and in potential those are good starts. If you want I also have a full Falin analysis.

Disclaimer: Beyond the nebulous 1000 years I place Thistle as a young adult, and though I agree Falin mothers him to some degree I don’t think it’s unsimilar to the way that Marcille is a mom friend that sometimes mothers Falin and Izutsumi especially. Their relationship has layers like every other one in Dunmeshi, reducing it to being incestuously motherly or age discoursy to justify it being problematic is so funny to me, hello did you miss the mind control. Ah yes I love the 1090 yo with godlike powers being groomed by his chicken slave. You can have your own interpretation but canon is ambiguous enough, and dare I say intentionally ambiguous, that I have no qualms with not infantilizing Thistle, same with Yaad at the end of canon. I do ship Thistle and Falin, and although it’s in a nebulous qpr-or-other third secret thing situationship instead of conventionally romantic way, like, I puke on anything giving them a parental framing so don’t come shitting on my doorstep, kid-Thistle truthers be warned. Only nuance enjoyers allowed on this post. It’s valid if you’re uncomfortable with the ship!! Don’t make your issue others’ problem.

I thankfully finished my Falin analysis before posting this, but besides that I also have an analysis coming on the whole Thistle age thing which I think is interesting, beyond the well being poisoned there are things to explore there, idk in how long that’ll be done though. That’s all for plans that are relevant to this, now let’s get into it.

Part 1

So my favorite Falin things are Faligon + her sense of being like a pawn/misplaced, going on autopilot to follow the wishes of others, a feeling of identity being a burden and sort of fleeing from that, and her not really caring in the way/with the intensity that she’s "supposed" to (as per the points I go over in my Falin analysis). Meanwhile, Thistle has a lot of shit going on already but then there’s also how being a dungeon lord is highly wearing on his mind. As Faligon and as dungeon lord Thistle, the way they’re both so out of touch with reality in different ways holy shit?? They have power imbalance between them and it very much comes from mind control lol, but it’s also not something Thistle is fully aware of himself, because the powers are driving him unstable and he’s not even aware there’s someone in front of him really. He’s so out of it that he can’t even recognize that the dragon has been fused with a human and she’s so out of it we can’t even tell how conscious of her actions she is.

And then the interesting thing is that they’re kind of in it together… Mostly from Falin’s standpoint. We see that he does rely on the dragon increasingly so, hanging out with it, being saved by it and embraced by her etc. When he lets them both fall after breaking the web they were hanging from, he automatically, fully and wordlessly trusts her to catch him, instead of relying on magic or anything, and she does. Falin devotes herself to him but he’s devoted to The Cause which is just chasing ghosts at this point. But despite it all there’s a weird comfort here too… From the guy who in his last moment of lucidity reached out for someone, anyone’s hand, from the guy who hasn’t felt companionship in hundreds of years probably, hasn’t taken it slow and slept and eaten in who knows how long, from the girl who feels compelled to care after him like she’s always done with others… And the beast-ness allows her to have some freedom to figure herself out in a weird way, to simply enjoy being beside someone and doing anything her own whims tell her to.

It’s very destructive and weird and layered but like…. I can see the sliver where it works out. Where her kindness reaches him and he has a moment of lucidity where he sees her and it’s like, wait, who are you, you’re not the dragon?? Where finding someone else who feels just as messed up and devoted as them, like they’re just trudging along life like it’s a dream following their loved one, heals them a bit. Where caring for the other becomes a way to care for themselves too, a dark mirror of each other that shows you, oh, this is how bad it can get and I want to choose something else for myself actually. To grow to see the person standing in front of you, instead of only searching with your eyes in what way they’ll reflect on you. In helping each other, finding some companionship that’s weirdly vulnerable and self-healing. He gets her in touch with herself and her own needs again through the arc and conflict they have, and she gets him in touch with the world and his surroundings again. They have clashing ways to be selfless, very self-sacrificial from Falin meanwhike self-centered with Thistle (he ‘knows best’, ‘everything needs to be left to him’, etc etc, he needs the control, but he does it all for others, meanwhile Falin leaves that control to others and only grabs it for herself in exceptional cases like sacrificing herself to the dragon for Laios).

Like just let yourself be, damn!!! So then them being like, zombie mentally stunted babies kind of enhances that theme in a way too lol. The way they communicate together is very… Instinctive and basic, and I’d love to see how it could develop into a functional dynamic. They’re in ‘learning to be your own person’ kindergarten together to me. Thistle looking at her coloring wildly outside the lines and being like "you’re doing it wrong" and then you look at his and he colored everything a weird color. The precision is scary but then his crayon goes 1 mm out of the lines and he blows up into tears. Ok the metaphor has run its course

So yeah like the ship/brotp is very, them being isolated and against the world together and like… Slowly regaining their minds together. Getting their sense of identity grounded into them again. In my mind they have a 50k words adventure where they hang out and he slowly realizes there’s more to her than just dragon and she encourages him to dawdle around and eventually just play in water and shit and it’s like, starting to see life again beyond the laser focus you limited yourself to… And she’s allowed to just chill out and do whatever she wants besides the whole searching for Delgal thing. You can’t tie down a dragon! They are a duo they are an unit‼️ He’d have been fucked without her and at this point in time he sort of made her and he’s her world. Traumabonded kittens do not separate but it’s onesided in different ways haha. Honestly it’s sort of reflavored mickuro wait fuck…

If nothing else, they’re a very interesting dynamic to ponder. The depths of it all… I want to use them as a social experiment. I want them to stop to smell at the flowers and learn to work together… They’re master and servant they’re owner and pet they’re mothering and mothered (in a guardian hound way, in a mom friend way) they’re both incredibly (emotionally and physically) vulnerable in different ways…… Master and monster if you will. Mostly I see them as guardian & leader. Like I said I ship them but it’s not really romantic atp I think but it’s not quite qpr either it’s truly a weird secret third thing… What if we were sort of coworkers but also ?!!!>??????! You should hate me but you fiercely protect me I should appreciate you but I only see you as a tool WHAT IS GOING ONNN IN THERE

He wants to be protected even if he can’t really admit it. Here the catalyst was emotional distress moreso than physical threat. Notice how he lays there under her wing for a bit as he (refuses to) processes what Mithrun told him about Delgal dying and betraying him. She’s becoming his safety net, his comfort hound. Somehow, the both of them find they’re soothed in each other’s presence.

It kills me. Them being so toxic at the start of it, then somehow ambiguously just hinting towards how things could have went on to be better, could have been headed somewhere nice and healing and healthier, she dies and he dies everyone fucking dies and they forget each other and it ends there they never speak of each other again. Canon wanted me dead specifically. Like remember too that I was there when the last chapters where being released, my ass really was like "Oh I wonder how Falin will react seeing Thistle after being revived!" 🤡 But yess at least that means there’s a lot of Unsaid, a lot of space for speculation, and I want to see what could have been. I want to see it so so bad. It’s so interesting

Post-canon is also so interesting, where they’re sort of recovered but not fully not really, them actually getting to know each other… And she doesn’t remember him but he doesn’t remember her either, in a way they’ve never met even though they have, even though she was the first one on his side since so long, the first hint of companionship he’s had, companionship that he’s so unused to getting that he can’t even recognize it for what it is. He couldn’t even recognize a human standing in front of him!! He is so disconnected from others and the world!! He spoke to ghosts like they had no worries in the world and everyone was ok!! He’s out of touch, tone-deaf af!! Has always been tone-deaf!! Being tone-deaf when he was younger, a stick in the mud, caused him to be more isolated than he already was… Autism4autism, anyways—

It’s them not knowing why or how to express it but being drawn together, a bond forged together by the fire of circumstances and coincidences— or is it only that? No one can know for certain but there’s a grip they have on each other there somehow. Weird distant caring thing. I dont know who you are but I feel like I should know you

It’s like my headcanon that she doesn’t know why, but on her travels she feels something when she comes across wild thistle flowers… There are just faint remnants, whispers of feelings like ghosts.

They should be remnants in each other’s lives. A deja vu of a person in the way Falin hugs small dolls to her chest, or how Thistle reminisces of something when he sees bird feathers discarded on the ground. < This paragraph courtesy of @cabinette’s huge brain

He canonically writes poems btw… Poems would be such a good way for him to get in touch with himself again post-canon, find desires in again and get creative fulfillment. He should make poems about her. To explore and vent and express all the vague feelings and memories he has, both those of during canon and after canon. He doesn’t remember her but he remembers her, slivers of kind eyes and warm gentle hands and healing magic like a blanket…

Yaad, an unlicensed therapist but the best you're gonna get in fantasy land: Maybe you should try journaling.

And too the thing is their relationship with each other in a way is ONLY about themselves, even when Falin is being self-sacrifical it’s less about him and more about how she generally is, that sort of instinct to latch onto someone and just follow along with whatever they do and ask, meanwhile to Thistle she’s only ever been a factor in his plans. Idk idk them getting to that point where they see and know each other, stumbling into that through canon or actively working towards it post-canon, there’s weird beauty in that Like. Thistle cares about her because he’ll take anyone as long as they fit the job description well enough, he’s desperate to find Delgal and will grasp at straws to find him. In a similar way that he’ll reach for someone, anyone’s hand on the verge of death, she seeks to protect someone, anyone. That’s how she centers herself, makes someone her compass and her world. Falin wants to protect someone and Thistle would use anyone, pushed to the states they were in they would latch onto anyone for comfort (caring for him, grabbing Marcille’s hand).

Mirrors truly truly. And Thistle likes to shatter those, and silence anyone who tries to talk to him about reality, so then the option left is to be by him quietly and subtly gradually, gently (her specialty) nudge him in the right direction … Nooo but actually why did he shatter those mirrors. Very interesting to think about. Would seeing himself in others anger him?

I like to call him a ghost of who he was sometimes, a ghost of the past, he’s so haunted, and I think there’s fun imagery there too. The care she offers Thistle somewhat reminds me of the one she offers ghosts. I wonder if part of it is that she sees herself in ghosts, that she wants to offer them freedom and peace of mind she can’t get for herself.

And of course meanwhile on her end, the thistlin arc is also about growing self-respect. I don’t want to see Thistle as a lost cause in saying that her efforts are wasted on him, but being so permissive and invested in him is obviously not healthy for her. She needs to learn when to put her foot down

Oooh, just realized that choosing to eat in this scene was a big character moment all things considered. By eating she faltered in her task, stood up for herself and her needs, was selfish for once (/positive go get your damn food girl). She chose to eat. Anyways

I bet he’s the one who healed her wounds after the Shuro party fight. And on that note— it’s interesting he could change her form from Falin to Faligon without touching her isn’t it? Healing by everyone else like Marcille and Falin always required touch, physical contact between the healer and healee, which some like Chilchuck say is a negative, but… The dungeon lord not needing to touch to heal makes a nice metaphor for how isolating the powers are I think. Truly clinical instead of warm. Theme of community and freely offering affection in Dungeon Meshi etc etc. Like I said, Thistle is out of touch.

The way that he has the powers to change her form and heal and like soo much magic power but he can’t even realize when he’s hurting himself and she’s the one who has to heal him. He’s so fully devoted to the cause even when he acts selfishly that he neglects himself too, and she has to remind him to take care of himself, to eat, etc. That she feeds him. Eating is an act of love to yourself and to life. The berries, the curry, the soup that Thistle refuses to eat—

Do you see the vision. Do you see all the narrative relevance and themes and parallels of their dynamic. To chase ghosts, to cling onto them so they stay with you no matter how warped and ugly they get, and to soothe souls, purifying them and helping them depart for the afterlife… Both magic prodigies whose lives revolve around protecting and caring after their loved ones more than anything else. A family member who looks elsewhere while they are their whole world. They can flee their emotional issues together 🤝 Who are we? Beyond who we love and our power, what are we? I think about the way she cradled him in her arms just before they fell down into the dungeon all the time idk idk

^ End notes from the one fic I wrote about them so far: Slivers, on AO3. For a moment, they were both slivers of themselves, bound together.

Thistle feverishly holding onto ghosts of the past and his source of power, meanwhile Falin cradles the people she can protect in the now with the powers that reside in her… Him cradling his book, her cradling her master……… Parallels

Interlude

And yess it’s important to remember too, Thistle became a mage only after delgal asked… He had innate talent, but moreso than Falin it’s through studies that he learned to actually harness his magic etc. Idk I think it’s an interesting parallel that could have interesting stuff be done on it. People often characterize him as predominantly bratty but. He’s smart and composed he’s mainly smart and composed… He’s unstable and everything during canon was happening all at once with the winged lion being freed and Laios’ party and the canaries and agh </3 He can have a meltdown as a treat he’s smart and cool-headed if it wasn’t for the dungeon wearing on his mind ok… Obvi I love my chars with anger issues but saying he’s overly childish is having tunnel vision I think

Ok so the elephant in the room… First of all how present is Falin in Falugon exactly…… We have no clue. The end sequence does show her in purgatory with a dragon foot holding her down, which can easily be read as it suppressing her personality- with how it’s shown though it feels like she’d be fully suppressed by that? And we know that’s not the case, since not only does she recognize Laios and calls out to him, she hesitates to hurt Kuro because of the dog association, she’s excessively kind towards Thistle, the latter which her Adventurer’s Bible profile confirm to be "her kind nature remaining as the chimera". Maybe it’s a dream-like state? Maybe the dragon is the driving force with the instincts, and it’s only bits of Falin and her personality that show through? A state of mind very primal and not very think-y, even if Falin has enough brains to think of sharing the berries, gesturing and oh- of course, casting magic. No issues with controlling the human half of her body as well. To some degree, her and the dragon are working in tandem. My own preferred interpretation is the driven by instincts one, a state of mind like an actual dragon’s, which in my Falin analysis I delve into the significance of it for other parts of Dunmeshi too. So yeah, dreamlike mindless autopilot… I think exploring her pov as Faligon would go super hard. Aware of her surroundings but sort of disconnected with it, and disconnected from herself too, entirely living in the present… And like with her talking to Laios— the only time she speaks in her chimera form, a simple observation, "Laios, brother", sometimes her human thoughts peek through more sharply, short moments of lucidity… I think it’d be interesting to see an arc where as the chimera, she learns to share the "brainspace" more with the dragon.

It’s also unclear if Thistle had a say in how much of ‘Falin the human’ is in control? He very well might have suppressed her somehow when he changed her form to be more dragonlike. That might also be due to just getting back the dragon meat though— and the dragon meat itself might be why/how the brainspace is shared. There is a lot less of Falin’s body in the chimera than there is of the dragon, body mass wise. Dungeon Meshi is a lot about physicality so I wouldn’t be surprised with this reasoning. But there’s the whole mind control soul bond situation too…

The mind bond is another thing that’s left mostly to interpretation when it comes to the details. She feels compelled to listen to the dungeon lord’s orders as a monster created and owned by it, like the dragons Thistle summoned during the fight at his house, but again like we see with the dragons, if the monster has a "strong will" it can disobey to some level without being punished by the bind or anything. The eyes of the magician, the small wyverns, level-of-control wise can’t be accurate examples because they’re sort of like familiars, Thistle can see through their eyes in real time no matter where they are but it’s only this species as far as we know. So otherwise the mind bond is more subtle… There’s also the question of how much the control is shared between the dungeon lord and the demon, which again Thistle’s situation is exceptional because he managed to seal his demon in a book, presumably all the power goes through Thistle without the intermediate of the winged lion, though we do see he has some reach since he reaches Laios through his dreams. ANYWAYS all that to say. I do really ponder about how a dungeon lord's monsters get their orders, like... For the fight on the first floor, did Falin just feel Thistle's agony in her bones and came clawing and barging her way in desperately and angrily to protect him because of his distress, or did he more directly demand she come, consciously or not?! Idk, since Falin is actively protective of him unlike the dragons who reluctantly listen to him, her being very fast and intense about it doesn’t have to be forced… It’d be interesting if she can sense his feelings, wants or thoughts, bc I don’t think it’s as conscious as like, telepathically communicating "hey you, do this"…? Pondering, pondering. Mind bond <3 Soulbound <3

They’re both very trapped in the past… I wonder if as Faligon a lot of her mind goes back to memories of Laios and such, if she’s in a dreamlike state and not just sort of absent, where would her mind retreat... I don’t think so like I said I think she’s mostly driven by dragonlike mindlessness, but still… Thistle stuck in the search of Delgal, thinking back to everything they’ve shared and where it all went wrong obsessively, and Falin, sort of larping that she’s still beside Laios, not unlike how Thistle treats having the corpses of the royal family at his house like them being safe. Delusions. Idk I just want more character studies.

The metaphors in this truly… It’s not literal, like def not something that happens during canon at no point are they or could be ever atop a mountain of frames and paintings of the Golden Kingdom’s royal family and fine art lmaoo, so then like the meaning behind it all… She offers him reprieve, an outsider from all the Golden Kingdom expectations and drama, just someone warm to lean on, someone who’ll stay…….. I love Faligon pushing him to rest and nap so much. Man has first nap in a thousand years. Feather duvet like a nice warm pillow. The peace she offers him man……. Live in the present bbygirl Unfortunately it doesn't help. Look at them eyebags… Man needs to sleep!!

Part 2

^ This panels drives me crazy It’s the possessivity. It’s the "my". It’s the "stealing".

What if you have fear of abandonment and think you have to prove your worth for people to stay by your side. What if belonging to someone makes you feel like you belong and you feel loved and soothed by it lowkey, feel like it makes things easy. What if I was bought as a slave and servant but I was adopted into a pretty loving family. What if ownership is what love looks like to me. What if that’s why I have no problem rationalizing keeping people against their will in a glorified kingdom-prison, because that’s just what someone with the power who Knows Better does, and… Did he always call her his dragon hello? Feelings

He is not letting it go damn He hates when people mess with what's his. Or Delgal’s.

But imagine. The dragon is like, the last thing he has. The Golden Kingdom has moved on from him, everything is shit, but his dragon is the last thing he still has some realm of like. Ownership over. But that ownership is kinda just his sense of belonging. His role, his duty.  So it’s like "Don’t steal the last thing I have" especially if post-canon… It’s thinking from his time as a jester bought into a loving family that ownership is natural in love and care. It’s thinking that’s the way you get to belong beside someone, beside earning that through achievements and being useful and capable. Everything is being stolen away from him. Control and things and people and even the importance he has to the Golden Kingdom as he becomes part of the background & past history and the kingdom switches into new hands aka Laios’…

My dragon, not the dragon. I do like to imagine especially after the berries he’s starting to feel differently about her. He keeps being like "you’re acting odd, dragon". His dragon is special. She’s not just another regular monster npc to easily replace, there’s human contact in there. His dragon just for him. <3

I do think Falin has some issues with like, asking to be with the people she loves, feeling safe in asking for that, that she’s worth that. She follows them and is quiet and just takes the crumbs of love that they offer, she doesn’t ask Marcille at the academy to spend lunches with her, doesn’t ask anything of her distant busy father and ill anxious mother… The person she did ask things of, Laios, who she always asked to go travel the world with him and whatnot, left her behind. Like how Delgal left Thistle. Theme of leaving </3 theme of family and abandonment issues </3 So she just follows and cares after them and makes herself useful and is grateful she gets to be beside them at all. So yeah what I’m saying is being owned/belonging to someone might feel yeah like, belonging. Being One Person's. He’s seen her at her worst and most bloody and raw, and still wants her? Very comforting And especially post-canon he doesn’t need her to be witty or useful or such, he just needs her love and that’s what she has lots to give.

Do you think Falin wants to be needed… Do you think she’s a little restless if she doesn’t feel like she is, like she thinks just like Laios people might leave you behind and you never see them again.  It’s also because of what she said, that she put others before herself, that she just followed/imprinted on her parents/Laios/Marcille. She avoided conflict, she wanted to be liked and live in peace. The only times she was selfish, she hurt people (left school for Laios, sacrificed herself for them, teleported them out despite possibly hurting people on the surface), so she chooses to be selfless instead. "One of the most selfish things i've ever done was barely even for the sake of myself" - Falin and Toshiro both hah Falin is often told she doesn’t care the right way or not enough, you’re cutting classes Falin, I’m upset you left me and you don’t even seem to think it’s a big deal Falin, you shouldn’t have sacrificed yourself to save me (her not noticing her ostracization in her village wasn’t told to her but I’m including it also). And with Toshiro when considering her proposal, she was worried to accept because yeah it’s have been convenient but she wouldn’t be reciprocating his feelings in the way he wants and expected her to with what he asked of her… And she’s worried it wouldn’t be right… Bc she doesn’t care about the proposal on the same level he does….. I just think that’s neat I think that Falin caring both too little and too much, with laser focus on Laios & Marcille neglecting even herself, is a big part of her. She focuses on others and their emotional needs so so much always, babygirl be selfish for a while…

Thistle’s interaction with Laios is interesting too, especiaoly when Kaios heals him. How he looks at his shoulder, surprised and confused… Guy who's used to not having his personal needs met because he's so busy doing everything for the people he cares about receives care??? Woah that’s crazy Something something being so unused to human contact and affection that you don’t know how to process it and don’t recognize it when it happens/stares you right in the face. Thistle the Toudens are gonna make you open up ur heart to humans again on god…

What if… He doesn’t want to admit she’s not the dragon. If he admits it’s not the dragon that means giving up some control… This was not in his plan, he doesn’t know how well he can control a chimera rather than a dragon, it’s weakness it’s vulnerability it’s feeling like he’s losing his grip on everything again and thus losing his place and purpose. Hmm…

Finding yourself through someone else… Because defining yourself through others is what you’ve always done… Yeah. Yeah.

I do love it tying into Falin’s arc of finding herself. Like, she doesn’t remember her time as a chimera, she just remembers this guy she has conflicted but fond feelings of for some reason, so say if they travel post-canon, traveling with him would also be a way to figure out more how she’s feeling, and then there’s how when looking at him she gets the feeling that it’s been a long time he hasn’t lived for himself either… And like for him traveling is about seeing the world a bit too. Seeing it not as something to control or always dangerous but something to explore, and just enjoy the little things instead of worrying about the court. And just. Aghhhh. He hasn’t had someone on his side for centuries. Sighs. Of course Yaad also becomes that largely but traveling post-canon with Falin… Would love to see that in fancontent

Them growing to SEE each other, with the film in front of their eyes slowly fading away. Both of them coming out of it more genuine than they’d been even before meeting, before becoming warped, growing more comfortable in their skin and with the thought of connecting with others. It’s the mutual care <33 it’s having been on each other’s side at both your ugliest <3 Unconventional caring...

Toshiro saying "you can’t tie down a dragon" is always so good… Someone should so do stuff with that. "But you can tame it" / "I tried to once" / "but she chose to stay with me anyways"… Musical theme of How to Train your Dragon starts playing in the distance

When/after they get together, I feel like their relationship isn’t something they like to label… If anything it’s like. Partner. Or calling each other by name… Him calling her my dragon, except now it’s warm and personal would be so. Aughh <3 But then that just also makes the first time he calls her by name so huge.

Conclusion

They and their relationship is weird and unusual but that’s just how they are, and how they need to accept themselves (again: as they are) and roll with it! And make a place in the world for them anyways!

Magic forced them to be vulnerable in front of each other but it’s them who have to like… Be pushed out of their passivity and do something with that vulnerability.

BROTHERSSS THEY’RE BOTH ALL ABOUT BROTHERS. LEAVING. OUT OF TOUCH WITH REALITY. OUT OF TOUCH WITH THEMSELVES AND THEIR OWN IDENTITY. In a twisted way only the other would understand what it’s like.

Thistlin is so crazy, in humanizing you it humanizes me, in recognizing you for what you are I get more back in touch with the world again.

Flighted birds have hollow bones. With freedom there are risks and drawbacks. Thistle was Falin’s.

It’s not everyday you can have a ship where both characters are out of touch with reality and others and themselves and have this weird almost innate bond of her being compelled to protect him and care for him and him holding onto that unknowingly… Even if he didn’t need to, keeping her by himself and sitting on her while he plans and has a panic attack….. And also he owns her and robbed her of her freedom & body & full mind but she still wuvs him. Weird intimacy with the guy who horrifically changed you into something else, and yet is not even aware he has done it.

Falin loves nature and Thistle is named after a flower… Her post-canon coming across wild thistles and feeling a rush of fondness and she doesn’t know why… Thistles have thorns, but they taste sweet. Just gotta peel them off and enjoys the sweet taste of it once it’s open <3 Eat it like them honeysuckles

Slice of life 40k words thistlin sitcom I need you. Don’t make me write it myself. Sob

You are so so close sweetie…

wutiwant

I don't know what I want But I know it's not this These words don't mean nothing Once they left my lips More awake inside of my dreams Was that really you, next to me? Give me what I want, who am I supposed to please? Who am I supposed to please? Who am I? Who am I? I? Give me what I want Give me what I want

Some links, since the pair is small enough that finding stuff for them can be hard: Falin & Thistle search on pixiv Falin & Thistle search on danbooru Ao3: Thistle x Falin, Thistle & Falin Ship names: ファリシス / シスファリ. Thistlin

My own spotify playlists: Thistle & Falin, Thistle, Falin

source v

[colonelpancakes]

Watching the dragon prince season six episode four: The Starscraper. Under the cut as usual.

I love Callum but how is he not frozen solid. Those fingerless gloves may be stylish but they are NOT insulating. Give my boy a coat.

Ooh that’s a beautiful building. It does look a tad like a Minecraft beacon but, it's a very pretty Minecraft beacon

Callum, why would you just stick your hand in? For all you know it’s like a forcefield or something and it zaps you!

Okay, my question is what is the benefit of an elevator partially activating once you’ve read half the runes? That seems like a real safety hazard, like that seems like a magic bug that needs to be fixed.

Woah, wait a minute! Interesting, some of the Celestial Elves seem to have wings that aren’t bird wings. That one in the back looks like they have bug wings. Can that happen with skywing elves? I guess bugs are also flying creatures that inhabit the sky so that would make sense. Hmm… I wonder if you can get Mage Wing bug wings…

Aww. The leaflynx kitten is adorable but also the music is giving major flashbacks to the baby deer at the end of season two. Claudia. Claudia don’t you dare.

Also, glowing butterfly motif!

CLAUDIA NO.

Okay good. It seemed like her hand was almost acting out of her control, I wonder if this much dark magic is starting to like, impact her reflexes? Like she instinctively reaches for things even if she doesn’t consciously want to? Or maybe she’s just snapping herself out of it who knows.

“Are you feeling alright?” “No, I’m not. I’m so messed up, Terry. I’ve been stuck, just staring, for over an hour now.” Oughhh Claudia, honey. Its good that she’s at least able to admit she’s not okay, that’s a good start.

Oh, hey is Claudia starting to lean away from dark magic? Or, like, recognize that it’s not a good thing? That’s interesting, previously she’s been very adamant that dark magic is a good and useful invention, but now she seems to be realizing the negative effects it’s had on her? …Claudia redemption arc? 👀

Skjslkajfdkl that is the exact same face that she made at Zym when she first met him. Some things never change.

I love the little pose Callum does when he’s introducing him and Rayla, he’s so dorky I love him.

Oh my God that escalated quickly. Not a friendly lot got it.

No! Gosh dangit pearl stop rolling around!

CLAUDIA REDEMPTION ARC?! Let’s GO! YES GIRL! SELF-IMPROVEMENT!

I find it interesting how after losing her dad, Claudia turns to Terry, her only present loved one, for instruction. She needs someone to tell her what to do, she needs someone to do things FOR. She went from following her dad's orders to working to save his life and now she doesn't have him to give her direction, she looks to Terry. When was the last time she did something for herself without someone's instructions?

“Only you can decide the path you’re going to walk. You won’t be alone. I’ll clear out the thorny brambles if I see them, I’ll hold your hand as we trudge through wet, mucky leaves. But… you have to choose the way.” I love Terry so much he’s such a sweetheart. He clearly loves Claudia so much and he’s willing to stick with her through everything and anything, whatever happens.

Claudia... Again, it's interesting, how, because she doesn’t know what she wants for herself, she defaults back to finding what her dad wants, thinking that if she looks at him, she’ll find some clarity and she’ll suddenly know what to do. She doesn't know what to do without her family because she's been doing things for them for her whole life.

Aww. Okay, the leaflynx kitten is adorable but. Was I the only one alarmed by how big it is? Something about the perspective in earlier shots made me think it was a lot smaller somehow.

Also, I love the butterfly landing in Claudia's hair in the previous shot.

No, I think Callum has a point here. They did just drop you from the top of the tower.

Oh, hey! Kosmo has vitiligo! That’s cool, yay representation!

Also, I haven’t mentioned it yet but I love Sneezle’s hanging out in Callum’s scarf it’s so cute.

I love Sol Regem’s design he’s so big and menacing. Plus the lighting in this location is so beautiful, the way it illuminates him from behind like a dusky backlight is *mwah*

Sooo, what are we thinking Sunseeds smell like? ‘Cause personally, I’m thinking freshly popped popcorn.

Karim, man, he literally told you that his sight was unrelated to his lack of hope. I don’t know how you are surprised by this.

Sksjlfakj poor Rayla.

Ohh wow. This episode is really going off with the gorgeous scenery and lighting. The Starlooms are so beautiful and I love the name "starweaver spider".

Oh! So that’s what the bug wings are! That’s really cool and such neat worldbuilding.

Hey! It's the intro galaxy!

Okay, that sounds cool in theory but I feel like in practice being Timeblind would kinda suck. I feel like that would just be like. Too much information at any given time it’d be hard to make connections with other people or like, enjoy day to day life.

Continued in reblogs as per usual!

[sheikah-simp]

Okay fuck it today I’m finally gonna talk about how cheap Zelda’s draconification was and how it robbed so much from not only the player but also undercut the entire premise of botw.

Long post below because boy do I have some THOUGHTS.

First, I do wanna say that I don’t completely hate totk. It absolutely hurt me at first and I despised it because it was a betrayal of botw in so many ways, but it does do some things well, and it’s grown on me. Despite the story being shit, the execution of it is done very well. Genuinely I cried multiple times through the game because they just made certain things so beautiful. Even during the draconification scene when I was pissed off beyond belief. And the ending fight is admittedly really cool. Some of the bosses are a bit too easy despite being really fucking cinematic (colgera) and I like how versatile the devices are. Link’s abilities also mesh with the game really, really well. As a “game,” I think totk supersedes botw. However, as a narrative, botw is far superior.

Alright. Let’s just rip the bandaid off. I absolutely despise Zelda’s transformation into the Light Dragon. It completely destroys her entire arc in botw and completely destroys botw itself. Not only have we CLEARLY split the timeline again (ugh) it just seemed so out of character and they helplessly damselfied a Zelda we had just watched grow so so strong. (Maybe how well Age of Calamity handled Zelda’s arc has also colored my perception of this but I digress).

In botw, we watch Zelda grapple with failure, duty, and selflessness. She is constantly faced with her feelings of failure and the looming threat of the Calamity and undue pressure from her father, trying to convince her to give up the one thing in her life that actually brings her joy (researching ancient sheikah tech). This pressure occasionally leads her to acting really bratty, especially towards Link. She is selfish not in a way that is arrogant, but rather is self-conscious because she is so consumed with her own thoughts of failure she can’t often see what other people are giving up or going through - it’s a very natural human reaction many people with low self esteem have. It is still, however, a self-centered outlook. She can’t get out of her own head and stop blaming herself for her problems.

But then!! Just when all hope is lost and the Champions are caught in the Divine Beasts, she and Link are cornered, she steps up and does one big selfless thing. She jumps in front of Link to protect him from the blast of a guardian, and this awakens her powers. This is significant to her story for a couple reasons:

#1) Zelda does something selfless for Link. Even in this situation that seems hopeless, and how in a scene before she’s shown blaming herself, she finally decides to take action in spite of the circumstances. She defies hopelessness even when all hope seems lost. She’s demonstrated not only does she deeply care for Link, but she isn’t going to let a hopeless situation stop her.

#2) This is the bigger one for me. Zelda deactivates a guardian. In that cutscene, her blast is shown to be so powerful that it actually deactivates most all the guardians at Fort Hateno, and maybe across all of Hyrule. All those decayed guardians you’ve been seeing throughout the game? Yeah. Half of them or more could be directly because of Zelda. Her connection to ancient Sheikah tech is ultimately what helps her save the kingdom. No, in that moment she didn’t sit there thinking “Aha! I know how these operate and therefore—“ but it really isn’t lost on me thematically here that Zelda’s major interaction with a major piece of Sheikah tech is what saves everyone. Her own talents are her strength. (This is even more pronounced in Age of Calamity but again. I digress).

So then Zelda buys them enough time to take Link to the Shrine of Resurrection. She drops the Master Sword off with the Deku Tree and then you know what she does? With her newfound power, she goes and fights Calamity Ganon in a cage match, herself, for 100 years. She is locked in that fucking egg with him holding him back one on one, and she is still able to communicate with Link while doing so. That is objectively badass. After overcoming hopelessness and failure she is so strong she can hold back a literal force of nature, herself, for a century. And it’s another selfless act. She’s been in there one hundred years keeping Hyrule safe until the Master Sword is restored and Link is better enough to finish the job.

And then when everything is done? The final shot in the completed ending of the game is Zelda setting out on her next adventure. She’s still talking about the Sheikah tech (Vah Rutah) and what to do about it. Her power is fading, but she’s ecstatic. And the final thing we see of her is her smiling and laughing (the first time she’s really done so!!) and then the camera pans out to this entire field of Silent Princess flowers - the flower that cannot thrive in a domesticated environment. A flower that can only thrive out free in the open - in the wild - and is such a clear metaphor for Zelda I feel like I don’t really have to get into it at this point. Zelda is free of all the chains that once held her back and now she is free to explore her actual interests and talents, out in the field, out in the wild. And it’s fucking beautiful I still cry thinking about the last shot of those flowers. It’s some of the most powerful imagery I’ve ever seen in media, let alone in a video game. It’s on the fucking cover art with the Master Sword. It’s about rising from the harsh, uninhabitable ground and thriving. You show me a silent princess flower and to this day I will weep.

So now this brings us to how totk betrays this (and uses the silent princess flower to slap me in the face I guess idfk).

Look. I get that they cannot keep Zelda in god mode. I get that her letting go of her power is actually an important part of her arc. But you’re telling me she has nothing? This awakened Zelda we already know who’s saved Hyrule doesn’t have any remnants of her light power? I guess they needed it all for Mary Sue- I mean Rauru jfc. And I get the time power thing is a callback to previous games but in the context of this incarnation of Zelda it seems really out of place. I’m glad she got a mother figure for a little bit though. Even if she was then murdered directly in front of her face.

So now we have this Zelda, who we KNOW is kind of a genius at all things ancient tech. And who we KNOW has already saved the world once. (Putting aside how this game can’t decide if it’s a sequel or not). And. Oh my god! She was sent to the past! She was sent to the past to interact with a highly technological race! This should be like a dream for her! She should clearly be able to demonstrate how knowledgeable and competent she is in these situations, right? Right? RIGHT!?!

No! She isn’t!! She is flopping around completely useless back there!!! Rauru and Sonia are shown doing everything while she just watches and kind of picks up her time power eventually. We get little tidbits more of her interactions in the Ring Ruins, but none of this is shown in game. The Zelda we get on screen is helpless, has no idea what she’s doing there, no idea how to get back, and sits having conversations with her mommy about how much she loves this boy back home. And maybe she needs that ok. She didn’t have a mom. But still. Come on. We see NONE of her old talents and capabilities showcased in an era where she was perfectly poised to do so. SHE IS OUT THERE FREE IN THE WILD. She regressed in personality and has less interesting traits than when she was being a selfish brat to Link. Come on. Look how they butchered my girl. She is a damsel. It’s really sad.

And so then!! Then!! They have the balls to sprinkle in this dragon stuff and SUDDENLY make it the big overarching thing of the game. I think the dragons are very cool and an awesome idea for a game, but I don’t think they’re integrated very well into botw, let alone totk, to justify what a suddenly massive role draconification plays late in the story. I wish they were. Because it’s a really good idea. But it is NOT well executed here and serves to undercut her arc and her personality further. The immortal dragon thing is like a side throwaway line in ONE CUTSCENE from Mineru. No one dwells on it. It is not presented in a way where it seems like it’s gonna become A Thing. But it’s made clear to us that OOOO IF U BECOME A DRAGON U BASICALLY DIE. U ARE NOT URSELF ANYMORE U DESTROY YOUR SPIRIT AND SOUL AND PERSONALITY AND DIE. Like oh god ok I get it. Swallowing ur secret stone is suicide by dragon. I get it. Okay.

And so then, instead of being competent in this situation and environment like she should be, we have a useless helpless Zelda floundering around in a hopeless situation where once again all of her friends die. This Zelda who has already overcome this hopelessness and all of her friends dying once and rose above it with god level power. And they are on the brink of failure and all her friends die and what does she do?

(bottoms up, and the devil laughs).

AND SO WE KILL OURSELVES???? KILL OURSELVES!!!???!!

On one hand I really don’t blame her. The devs gave her absolutely no power or agency in this situation and so this is the only option she has. Because she has no power, this is the only way she can get the Master Sword to Link. It’s forced and cheap, but also makes sense on her end given what she’s working with. But I cannot emphasize enough how much she does not know if this will even work or not and how from her POV and everything we have been given to know about this process in game, she is just killing herself over this sword. And that is not MY Zelda.

Not only is she killing herself over Link and the Master Sword, but it makes you feeling invested in the scale of her sacrifice in botw seem cheap and stupid in retrospect. Like, Oh?? You thought it was bad Zelda was locked in a fight with Ganon for 100 years?? WELL TRY ONE MILLION BAJILLION SINCE THE BEGINNING OF TIME AS A DRAGON WITH A SWORD STICKING OUT OF HER HEAD!!!!! Like god ok I get it!!! Sorry for caring!!!! Sorry for thinking her sacrifice in botw was really badass and cool and meant something!! you’re right this sacrifice is waaayy bigger and waaayy worse and scarier god im sorry!!!!!

Like. I'm kind of glad she doesn't remember any of it then. But then why the hell did you need to make this seem like a bigger scarier deal that took a shit on all of her choices in botw? 100 years with Ganon seems pointless and like nothing in comparison to that, and as a sequel, that's bad.

But like I'm sorry. I just can't get over Zelda killing herself in this environment she's supposed to be thriving in. She has NO options?? she can do NO research with Mineru? She can make NO PLANS to get herself OUT of draconification (we're returning to this is a second, don't worry) or find a different way to get the sword better?? My god. What have they done to you girl.

And then. Then these fuckers have the absolute GALL to slap down a ton of silent princess flowers at the end of that final scene. You fuckers didn't even make that a recurring symbol in this game. How dare you put the silent princess flower, the symbol of breath of the wild, the symbol of a girl who rises up out of hopelessness against all odds, who thrives her best out in the wild, tacked on to the end of a cutscene where she does exactly the opposite of all of that. Seriously after watching that entire sequence it felt like they spat in my face. I was pissed.

So then you do the rest of the game that's a wild goose chase except you know the goddamn answer the whole time. You know where Zelda is. She's up there in the sky. You don't need to find her. She's right there. And the ending fight sequence is cool, but as we've established, Zelda was not conscious during that, so really she had no part in the badassness at all. She didn't even actively choose to fly in and face Ganon. The dragon did that.

And THEN!! AND THEN!!!!!!! Rather than create some interesting postgame content (which could have involved the ring ruins!! which could have involved Purah or the forgotten temple!!! you know that room you have to walk through where you very clearly have to walk around this object that looks like a fucking lotus?? yeah?? that one?? that LOTUS that does FUCKING NOTHING????) we just get not even a deus-ex-machina, we get Rauru-ex-machina, yet again, stepping in and fixing Link's arm and turning Zelda back just because he can do that now or something. Because suddenly they can defy all established laws of the game and it means nothing. That big sacrifice we cheapened botw to make also meant nothing because Rauru can just. Reverse it lmao. There is no reason they should just be able to do that now. And if there is, why does the player not get ANY part of this? (Such as in Age of Calamity, where after the main storyline you can go back and put together Terrako and unlock the true ending. Age of Calamity was a better companion story for BOTW than TOTK ever was, in this essay I will--)

Anyways. Those are my thoughts. I was really excited for the Ring Ruins to have some sort of meaning in terms of turning Zelda back (especially because you know. they're a big ring. a circle. like the logo of the game. like. an ourobouros. like. yknow what nvm.) and the whole, Impa being a part of that. and the rest of the Sheikah. But instead I just got Mary Sue Rauru fixing everything and taking his arm back (because I guess he could have just fixed Link's arm regularly the entire time) and the Sheikah, descendants of the OTHER highly technological race, floundering around completely useless at the foot of these mysterious rocks that do nothing but get you an armor set that gets you to a skippable dungeon. Totk. Stamping all over my cool ideas and hopes and dreams once again.

I could go on about this. But I can't. I just can't go on anymore. They've broken me enough already.

[presidenthades]

⚠️HOtD season 2 ep. 4 spoilers⚠️

Your thoughts on this ep🎤?!

Adding my two cents: SUNFYRE AND AEGON WERE SO CUTE, but wtf was that fight🧍🤨 Aemond bbg wtf?? Anyhow, cuties:

TLDR: I’m not even mad anymore, I’m just disappointed (by the writing, per usual; the rest of the show is fine). I’m mostly still on the S2 boat because of the little moments like Sunny and Egg. It makes for great fanfic fuel!

Honestly, this was Criston’s best episode of the entire season so far. Getting him away from Alicent and putting him on the battlefield showcases his better qualities. Also, I love his interactions with Gwayne, it gives me life. Would totally watch a spinoff series where the two of them go on side quests.

I feel like the Harrenhal scenes aren’t super important narratively and the screentime could’ve been devoted to other characters. HOWEVER. The Harrenhal bits are just so fun to watch that I can’t really complain. TBH, it feels like Daemon is getting the best writing (in terms of character arc and narrative coherence) of all the main cast. But uh…one does wonder why he drinks a random-ass potion from a witch lady who just told him he’s gonna die at Harrenhal. (Speaking of whom, I am greatly enjoying Alys Rivers. I’m glad they haven’t made her a femme fatale. She’s just weird. Joff would love her.)

Opinion: they got rid of Kermit Tully and made Oscar the heir because the show wants to minimize Muppet memes. Very sad. 😔

If you’re following my blog, then you know I’m an Aegon fan, so I acknowledge I’m probably biased. But all of the Greens are just shitting on Aegon this episode, holy cow. I totally understand Aemond being snotty and excluding Aegon from schemes; even in the most generous interpretation of their brotherly relationship, they’re often at odds and Aemond looks down on Aegon. But Cole is the Hand of the King, not the Hand of Aemond. Even if Cole is on the front lines, he should be including Aegon.

Alicent has just completely lost the sympathetic traits she possessed in S1. I’ve never thought of her as an especially good mother, but she did love her children—definitely Aemond and Helaena, and there were the “do you love me” and standing between Aegon and the dragon scenes. She also seems to have forgotten that she was one of the people yelling at Aegon to step up and take the crown, and now she wants to hit the reverse button. 🙄 S2 Alicent is not the same character as S1 Alicent, and even S1 Alicent varied from episode to episode. For fic purposes, I’m just completely ignoring what the show writers are doing with her because it makes no sense.

I think TGC would’ve killed a scene where he gets to speak more fluent High Valyrian, but it makes sense that Aegon isn’t good at speaking it. Aegon has never been the scholarly sort, and High Valyrian (if you’ve been trying it on duolingo like me) is not an intuitive language for English-only speakers. I do think Aegon should’ve learned more dragon commands at least, but apparently Sunfyre decided to be the world’s first bilingual dragon and learn common tongue for Aegon’s sake. :3 At this point I’m convinced that Sunfyre is the only living creature who actually unconditionally loves Aegon. No wonder Aegon is messed up.

Back in Driftmark: we finally get confirmation of who the Hull boys are! Not explicitly, but it’s hard to deny that they’re Corlys’s kids like in the book. I kinda wish we got more scenes with Rhaenys talking about/interacting with them though. She seems to have had complicated feelings about the boys.

Visually, the battle was amazing to watch. Some of the best shots I’ve seen during the entire show. But, as I often complain about, the characters’ actions don’t make sense. If you’ve been on social media, then you’re probably aware that Aemond attacking Aegon has been very controversial, and for good reason. I cannot comprehend the Aemond stans (I’m an Aemond fan, but I’m very aware that he’s a flawed character who can act stupidly sometimes) who refuse to acknowledge that this was NOT a good move. Vhagar is a formidable dragon but she can’t win a 1 v 4 against Caraxes, Syrax, Vermax, and Moondancer (and those aren’t even all the dragons the Blacks will eventually have). Vhagar could take out some of the other dragons, but she’s definitely dying in a battle like that. So no, this was not a smart or strategic action on Aemond’s part, at all.

It could be explained as an action taken in the heat of the moment, with Aemond overcome by adrenaline and his anger toward Aegon. But we just saw Aemond two episodes ago being sad about killing Luke, against whom he held a grudge for years because of his eye. Aegon is his brother, and their interactions in S1E8 indicated that even if they’re not besties, they do operate on the same wavelength. Aegon was an idiot for making fun of Aemond in S2E3, but that should not have pushed Aemond over the edge to attempted fratricide/regicide.

At least Cole and Sunfyre care about Aegon, since clearly nobody else does. 🥲 *author shoves a Jacaera toward Aegon*

[arc-misadventures]

Coco Addiction

Coco: Hey, Arc!

Jaune: Coco?

Coco: I’ve noticed you been getting pretty close to my bunny again; Didn’t I tell you to back off?

Jaune: Can’t you tell, Velvet to leave me alone? You know she’s been hounding after me ever since she found out I was a dragon faunas. I’ve been keeping my distance from her, she’s gotten… Weird.

Coco: Quit playing around, Arc! I’ve got my eyes on you; hands off my bunny, or else!

Jaune: …

Jaune: What’s your game, Coco?

Coco: My game? What are you talking about?

Jaune: This isn’t like you, Coco; The only time you’ve ever hounded a person like this before is when some racist bigot was actually hurting, Velvet. And, since you’re so protective of your, Bun-Bun you watch her like a hawk. So you’ve seen how she’s behaving around me, you know that I have done nothing, but keep her away from me. So, what’s your game, Coco?

Coco: There is no game, I just want you to stay away from her.

Jaune: Ahhh~! You’re not trying to stop, Velvet from getting together with me are you.

Coco: What are you talking about?

Jaune: You’re trying to get my attention, you’re trying to get me to notice you, aren’t you?

Coco: Pff, why would I do that?

Jaune: Because you’re interested in me. Romantically I might say.

Coco: Pff! Why would I be interested in you?

Jaune: Then why aren’t you looking at me?

Coco: I am looking at you.

Jaune: With your face, yes, but not your eyes. I can see you’re eyes through your glasses, Coco.

Coco: Pff! No you can’t!

Jaune: I can see the smug of your eye shadow on your left eye.

Coco: Wait, really?!

As, Coco removed her sunglasses, she pulled out a pocket mirror, and inspected her eye, and she did in fact, have a smug around her left eye.

Coco: Holy shit! How the hell did you even… AHH?!

As, Coco’s attention was drawn away, Jaune pounced. He gently grasped her chin in his hands forcing her to look deep into his eyes. If this was any other person she would have decked him with the force of a train. But, all, Coco could do was freeze up as a deep blush spread across her face.

Jaune: Well, well, well~! If anyone dared to grab you, much less like this you would have crushed them harder than a car compactor. And, yet… You’re blushing. Why is that? Hmm?

Coco: I-I-I… Uhh…?!

Jaune: Such beautiful chocolate eyes… Why do you hide them behind such thick shades?

Coco: B-Bright lights h-h-hurt my eyes!

Jaune: Is it also to hide how adorable you are when you blush?

Coco: The hell did you become so smooth! Where’s the blushing virgin?!

Jaune: First off: I haven’t been a virgin in years.

Coco: You’re not?!

Jaune: Second: I’ve been dealing with all this faunas crap, so I’ve had to… Grow a spine as it were. Show people whose the king. So tell me, why are you doing this? Why are you trying to pick a fight when there is no fight to win. At least with me.

Coco: W-Well… I-I’m not sure… Honest! Just seeing how, Velvet acts around you I’ve been keeping an eye on you. And… I’ve just gotten…intrigued.

Jaune: Hmmm… I’ll buy that. So what shall we do then… No. what will you do?

Coco: I… I don’t know…

Jaune: Hmm… Well, there’s no rush. Take your time, Coco. Just be careful, you may miss your chance.

Jaune gave her a devilish smile as he walked away.

Jaune: Till later then~!

Coco: T-Till later…

As soon as, Jaune left, Coco slide down to the ground with her hand over heart as she fanned herself with her hand. She gave a low whistle as finally managed to collect herself.

Coco: Damn… No wonder he’s got so many girls wrapped around his finger…

Pyrrha: In more than one way at that.

Coco: Ahh! Pyrrha? When did you get here.

Pyrrha: As soon as, Jaune grabbed your chin. So, you interested in becoming a part of the harem?

Coco: …

Coco: If I did… Would I be able to play with you as well as, Jaune?

Pyrrha: Hmmm…

Pyrrha: How roomy is that supply closet over there?

Coco: Roomy enough.

Pyrrha: Okay, let’s go have some fun then, shall we~?

(Click)

///

This feels like a logical out come the two may embrace.

[infinity-squared-comics]

Cards entrusted. Part 1:

Darkness. Yuya woke up to see clouds of darkness surrounding him, spreading out in every direction. “Huh. This place is new” he said to no one in particular.

“My apologies”. Yuya was startled by a voice suddenly appearing from behind him he turned around, and saw-

“Zarc. Nice if you to finally drop by!” Yuya was honestly still a little terrified of his original form, but he tried his best to hide it. After all, the poor duelist had already suffered more than enough. Yuya didn’t need to add to that.

“Zarc. Hearing that name, it brings me such pain. The name of a monster. It’s been years since I heard my real name. The only one left who knew it was professor Akaba, and to him… to him, and so many others, and even to myself, I’ll never be anything more than the monster I became”.

“Well… I don’t think you’re just a monster, Zachary.”

Zarc- no Zachary- but did he even deserve such a name, with the suffering he had caused? Did he deserve to be treated as anything other than a terrible monster? He was shocked, how could this child, this poor child, who he caused such torment, how could there still be kindness in his heart for a monster such as he? Finally, Zarc spoke. “Thank you, Yuya. Though I doubt I deserve it, your act of simple kindness means more to me than you’ll ever know.”

“So, what’s going on here? I’m guessing you didn’t show up without reason. You’ve been a hard duelist to track down, Y’know.”

“Yes. That is… by design. It would be utter foolishness to think I would be welcome in your conscious mind, with others to whom I brought such pain. No, a lifetime of oblivion is a fitting punishment for my crimes. However… I still wish to help you. You are a remarkable duelist. You have the potential to be the great dueltainer I never was. But first, I must be sure you can never fall as I did. I would like to show you something.”

“A memory.”

“Yes. I would deign to reveal unto you the story of my life, so that you may never make the same mistakes I did. Please. Observe.”

Zachary stood in the hall of an orphanage. Yuya had seen pieces of this memory before, but with no one to guide him, he had never been able to truly understand what was happening. Now he saw everything, exactly as Zachary had.

“Now! By normal summoning a performapal, I can summon performapal helpeincess from my hand. Next, I use hip hippo’s effect! It lets me tribute summon a level seven or higher monster in addition to my normal summon. Now rise! Odd-eyes dragon!”

“He’s certainly full of energy. What do you think, love?”

Zachary hadn’t known it at the time, but looking back through his eyes, Yuya knew who these people were. They were Zachary’s fathers. This was the day they met.

Several months later, Zachary was dueling against his papa. He controlled performapal salutiger and helprincess, while his papa controlled an xyz monster dressed in the robes of a samurai, with flowing black hair wielding a single-edged sword. “Now! I overlay my two monsters to call upon the most dangerous of dragons! Rise up! Dark rebellion xyz dragon!”

Years later. Zachary was signing up for his first unofficial tournament, at one of the first arenas to incorporate solid vision technology. The man at the counter spoke to him. “This tournament is fully anonymous, so we won’t be using names. Just write down your first initial and the first three letters of your last name, and we’ll be able to find you when your duel starts”. Zachary complied, writing the required information on the given form: Z-Arc.

Zachary’s first championship match. He had clear wing and starving venom on the field. He drew. “I activate monster reborn, to bring dark rebellion xyz dragon back from the brink of oblivion! But it won’t be staying around for long- I tribute it, along with its brethren, to bring forth a revolutionary new monster! Shining silver dragon of dichromatic eyes! Come forth, and bring with you my victory!”

Yuya spoke for the first time throughout this journey. “That monster-“

“Yes”. A voice from behind him again. “That was the true form of our most powerful monster, before I corrupted it with my own pain. This was the potential I squandered. I put my everything into pleasing the crowd, to the extent that I neglected my own joy. But when the pendulum swings one way, it must eventually swings the other. I pushed myself so far, I had nothing left to do but fall, fall into pain and loathing and anger and selfishness. Do not repeat my mistakes, Yuya. Please. Duel for others, yes, but never forget to duel for yourself.”

Yuya woke up, in his real bed this time, at home in the pendulum dimension. He wondered. He got up, and snuck carefully towards his nightstand so as not to disturb the dog sleeping at the foot of his bed. He unlocked the topmost drawer, and looked inside. “What in the world are you doing in that drawer, Yuya?” Came the voice of Yuri from inside his head. So the others were awake.

“Just checking something. You don’t need to worry. None of us do, I think”. He pulled from the drawer it’s sole occupant, a single card. As he expected, it had changed.

“Huh,” the voice of Yuto echoed in his head. “Odd-eyes Revolution Dragon”.

“That’s certainly different from when we locked it in there.” Yugo. So they were all here.

“It certainly is” said Yuri.

“But in a good way” came Yuto’s voice.

“Yeah,” Yuya agreed, “definitely good.” A pause. “I promise, Zachary. I’ll make you proud”

[kasienda]

🤢🎢😴✊👀

🤢 Grossest fic you ever read?

I have an answer to this question, but I don't want to say negative things about someone else's work on main (though you might be able to guess because we've talked about it before) because I again don't think I'm defining gross the same way most would in this context. But the thing about this fic that I'm thinking of is that it's actually really well written!! I couldn't stop reading it! It made me feel so many things. But it also made me want to scream like every other page because the writer and I had like polar opposite values. Polar opposite. But I couldn't look away! Haha!

🎢 Name a fic that was a ride from start to finish.

Balancing Act by @fictionalinfinity - I don't think this would be AS much of a rollercoaster for most readers, but this is a Marinette has epilepsy AU, and like, that's super personal for me. Reading this the first time was hard. Early in this story when Marinette was having symptoms, and I knew what they meant and she was dismissing it, and I was like "GO TO A DOCTOR RIGHT NOW!!" and later when she wasn't telling people that needed to know I was also screaming and wanting to shake her!! I was so up and down and crying and relating and it was a gift, and it was a roller coaster. I have since reread it twice, and I can maintain a more emotional equilibrium, but that first time, it was a nail-biter from beginning to end.

😴 What kind of fics makes you bored?

Usually super short ones? Like I want to dig into an idea. And if something is less than 2000 words there's no time to really explore it. And some people are really really good at capturing a moment with little 100 word drabbles, but even then, I want MORE.

Battles and smut scenes can be really boring for me if they are just describing action for action's own sake. If there's no emotional subtext or no stakes for the overall story arc, these types of scenes tend to be really boring in my opinion. It's like no matter how well you describe the action, it doesn't do anything for me unless I have a connection to it. If you don't need it to show something about the story, I'm a fan of time skips!

Marichat fics have to be pretty creative now for me to get into them, though this wasn't always the case. There's just a lot of them and of those a lot of them are very similar (especially true in early fandom).

✊🏼 What kind of fanfiction do you think you will never read?

I typically don't read fic that focus on original characters in the world I love or a sub genre of this is like "the next generation" fics. I typically avoid enemies to lovers. I avoid ships that I don't connect with - usually ones that feature two side characters that just don't have a lot of development in canon. I need identity shennigans so I don't usually read no powers AUs either. I really don't enjoy Lila revenge fics at all.

But I've read really good fics in every single one of those categories. Even a Lila revenge! Usually I am more willing to try them when they're written by authors that I already know I like. So I can't say NEVER.

The other thing I struggle with is to get into new fandoms. Like even when I adore the source material, I have a hard time finding stuff I want to read. This has recently been true for Owl House and SpyxFamily. In the past, I've tried to get into ATLA and Dragon Prince fic. And I just have a hard time with it. I don't know what's missing! Or if it's a fandom culture discrepancy or what! Maybe just not enough identity shennigans! Haha! (I really did think SpyxFamily would scratch that itch, but the only fics that explored identity reveals that I could find in SpyxFamily were written by miraculous writers! Haha!)

👀 A fanfiction you’ve seen several times while scrolling through fics but never actually read?

Okay, so there's more than a few! But the thing is if I don't read them, I don't know what they're called! It's the summary that's familiar, not the fic itself.

It WAS One Does Not Love Breathing, but as you know I did finally read that one, which I read the summary for many many many times, and never felt tempted. Just didn't seem like my kind of fic. It was people talking about a particular scene that made me curious and give it a chance. This type of fic - we're in the future and there's a new enemy - usually falls into the category of fic I don't usually read.

Thanks, friend for the ask! You make my nursing sessions less boring! Thank you!!

Reader ask game!

[amaiguri]

I need Chapter Critique

Hello Writeblr -- I've got a chapter that's not-working. I've already edited once or twice. But I don't think it's quite hitting yet. I would love any additional insights into how I make the pacing land. I don't care about grammar at the moment but let me know if my video-game-script format makes it confusing.

I don't think you need to have a super in-depth knowledge of the stuff that came before to understand this chapter. I mean, basically, our protagonist -- that's Arlasaire, a hitman of a noble mafia-like house -- is going to go break-up a riot. The riot is trying to prevent her from doing acts of terrorism to stop the Peace Treaty. At the riot, she finds the Queen (basically) of another land and they HAVE CONFLICT.

This is the first time we seriously see her. I want to know if Arlasaire's actions make sense in the context given here. Here's a link to the chapter, if you prefer to read like that.

The chapter is now below the cut:

Chalae

(Arlasaire) Sagelady Chalae ruled Aonen Qiao in those years before the Annihilation. The sun shone that far out at sea and everything had color. The plants crept up every building and fruits hung from every tree. In a land like this, even the tempered Sagelady Chalae had softhearted laugh. But this did not weaken her serpent-slaying spear arm. As one of the most keystone isles — the farthest North you got without being in the Demonlands — House d’Magnia had formed close ties with her Hall.

For her eldest daughter’s 14th birthday, Sagelady Chalae threw a lavish Coming-Age-Banquet and invited House d’Magnia. I don’t know what the ceremony is called in Saegen. I never got one myself. Save for important people, Thuilleans had much more practical Coming-of-Age days — you got an adult-sized set of eating knives, the adult clothes that wrapped instead of tying at the sides, and took your first shot of fermented Rumateur milk. For Sagelady Chalae’s eldest, there were twenty-some courses passed on giant platters around the table — spiral breads and stuffed chauken and landshark soups. Sagelady Chalae danced on lightning spears to promise her daughter victory. She arced like her lightning and hit like a train. I watched her with envy. I wanted to move like that. To kill like that. To smile and bow after like it took no effort at all.

The Princlet herself did an acrobatic dance in aerial ribbons strung to the vaulted roof of the Hall. But before the party could come to the fireworks of its finale, the Princlet vanished. Lord Einharde sent Gil and I out to help them look. I found the girl in a cherry oak overlooking the whole wharf. She jumped down to me with a grin.

Girl: You’re the Burned Maiden of Nouveau Thuille! You’ve killed hundreds of our foes!

I blinked.

Sg: I am Singr-sa — but you probably knew that.

I nodded. Of course.

Ar: They are all looking for you.

Sg: Yeah, I know… But I just… I’m not ready to be my mother.

Ar: …Why?

Sg: “Why?” Because she’s perfect! She’s beautiful, she sings, she dances, she traces, she fights… I can barely do any of that, let alone better than her.

It was good to be humble. But the girl had been fit, from what I had seen at the performance. Faster and lither than her mother. Better balance in her toes.

Ar: Then don’t.

Sg: …What?

Ar: Don’t be better than her. Be different. She already is herself.

Just as I would never be Gil. I thought it was obvious. But it was enough that she went back to the party and told Sagelady Chalae this and Chalae asked me to sit at her side for the rest of the night. The Princlet told me what all the different fireworks were called in Saegen — some were loud. Some were brought. Both had their own uses in battle. A brightly-smiling Chalae launched a firework with golden trails laced behind it, like a cat’s whiskers. Even with my Dragon fire, I couldn’t have worked fire that beautiful in a million years. It was called the Fir-Qarang. “The promised victory,” Singr-sa told me. I thought I’d learn it from her someday.

Now, I didn’t want to.

Lord Silvestre and I arrived at the forge on the north side of town and found, indeed, the Romanach mob tousling with guards outside of it. Many of the mobsters had iron bars or pickaxes or other makeshift weapons. The windows and doors rattled as they rammed into the cracking walls.

I pinpointed Chalae herself on the awning of the forge’s entrance. She counted down in her stilted Thuillean for the mobsters to ram down the door. She had her spears and didn’t even deign to lift them. Only Isaurala’s pawn now. No longer the proud warrior queen.

Silvestre opened his mouth to give orders but I wasn’t about to listen to him. I shot myself across the plaza. The curve in my toe brought the wind under my step. I flew over the crowd and the cold caught my hair. I drew ice runes on my arm to numb them and crashed onto the awning beside her.

Ch: Don’t challenge m—

She was asking to fall from the edge. I rebounded to my feet and kicked at her head. She scrambled away. A pace from the edge. Not far enough. She spun her spear to keep me back as she stood to her full height. I grabbed it. Missed. Its talon caught my hand. I grabbed again and held. A second hand on the shaft. She rammed us both into the wall. My arms trembled under her strength. If she pressed that to my neck—

Ch: You fool, they’ll kill us all!

Ar: *Hiss* Traitor.

She shoved the shaft towards my neck to try to pin me and I twisted out. I ran my hand over my scars and met her gaze. Her eyes weren’t dead now — they were afraid. She trackled me. I exhaled and my whole body lit up in golden flames. Chalae let out a shrill scream and clawed away and I let her. She tried to craddle her singed wounds. My foot found her solar plexus and pushed her off into the crowd.

There was a gasp from below as people rushed to her aid. I let the Ysse-fueled flames die. My body was drenched in sweat, despite the winter. My head spun too. The beginning of a fever. But I wasn’t done yet: Like her, I carved a tangle of golden flames to eat up the sky. The mob screamed and fled Chalae with them. But with the guards around the plaza now, they were pinned against the factory.

It would have been so easy to just kill them all…

It was over in mere minutes then. Lord Silvestre and his guards pinned down whoever they could. Those who had been trampled or beaten were taken to cheap Dusterdocs. We weren’t going to pay for traitors to get medical help.

In the corner, there was a heap on the ground. Spear seared to her hand. She smelled too. Pathetic. I walked over to Chalae. She panted. Burned hands and chest shook. A guard watched nervously as I picked up a handful of snow and sucked on it to wet my throat.

Ar: Chalae… Why?

Her one eye looked up at lazily. A bitter smile cracked as she replied.

Ch: For my daughters.

Ar: You could have fought with us again.

Ch: …For what? A life of endless war? Singr-sa and Vau-Ti deserve better.

I scoffed. They did. Better than this.

Ch: You’re being used still, you know. You think you’ll be happy if you live up to the memory of him.

Ar: …And?

Ch: And you won’t. Why live up to the legacy of a monster? That’s hardly “living.” Senator Diacaius has promised to care for my daughters, so long as we are good to the South.

“Be good to the South.” Right. I sneered.

Ar: Because if you just lick their boots enough, they’ll stop stepping on your neck.

I broke into coughs. Spoke too long. I hated my damn voice.

Ch: Isn’t that what YOU did to your “Masters” at House d’Magnia? How is this any different?

…

Ch: …If you die, you’ll just be another monster. If I die now, then at least, I have a chance to become a saint.

Then die.

I yanked her spear from her and put it in her throat. The guard screamed and shouted for help. But he didn’t do anything because he didn’t really care. Because she wasn’t a “saint.” Not for surrendering, not for dying.

Lord Silvestre rushed over and shoved me away. Too late. He slapped me and yelled and pointed to what I’d done. I closed my eyes. Head bowed. Heat rose to my scar. And I trembled. Feverish. “Rabid beast,” they said. Aftokratorian soldiers soon arrived and I was ferried back to my room. I stripped, washed, and then rotted in Gil’s blue quilt.

No one died “a saint.” They just died.

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

If you got all the way, thank you so much! I appreciate any and all feedback you have (except about the formatting lol).

[blackstarising]

coming back to this post i made again to elaborate - especially as the ted lasso fandom is discussing sam/rebecca and fandom racism in general. there are takes that are important to make that i had failed to previously, but there's also a growing amount of takes that i have to, As A Black Person™, respectfully disagree with.

tl;dr for the essay below sam being infantilized and the sam/rebecca relationship are not the same issue and discussing the former one doesn't mean excusing the latter. and we've reached the glen of the Dark Forest where we sit down and talk about fandom racism.

i should have elaborated this in my last post about sam/rebecca, but i didn't. i'll say it now - i personally don't support sam and rebecca getting together for real. i believe what people are saying is entirely correct, even though sam is an adult legally, he and rebecca are, at the very least, two wildly different stages of life. for americans, he's at the equivalent of being a junior in college. there are things he hasn't gotten the chance to experience and there are areas he needs to grow in. when i was younger, i didn't understand the significance of these age gaps, i just thought it would be fine if it was legal, but as someone who is now a little older than sam in universe, i understand fully. we can't downplay this. whether or not you think sam works for rebecca or not, even despite the gender inversion of the Older Man Younger Woman trope, whether or not he is a legal adult, i don't think at this point in time, their relationship would work. i think it's an interesting narrative device, but i don't want to see it play out in reality.

that being said!

what's worrying me is that two discussions are being conflated here that shouldn't be. sam having agency and being a little more grown™ than he's perceived to be does not suddenly make his relationship with rebecca justified. i had decided to bring it up because sam was being brought into the spotlight again and i was starting to realizing that his infantilization was more common than i felt comfortable with.

sam's infantilization (and i will continue to call it that), is a microaggression. it's is in the range of microaggressions that i would categorize as 'fandom overcompensation'. we have a prominent character of color that exhibits traits that aren't stereotypical, and we don't want to appear racist or stereotypical, so we lean hard in the other direction. they're not aggressive, they're a Sweet Baby, they're not world weary, they're now a little naive. they're not cold and distant, they're so nice and sweet that there's no one that wouldn't want approach them, and yeah, on their face, these new traits are a departure and, on their face, they seem they look really good.

but at a certain point, it reaches an inflection point, and, like the aftertaste of a diet coke, that alleged sweetness veers into something a lot less sweet. it veers into a lack of agency for the character. it veers into an innocence that appears to indicate that the person can't even take care of themselves. it veers into a one-dimensional characterization that doesn't allow for any depth or negative emotion.

it's not kind anymore. it's not a nice departure from negative stereotypes. it's not compensating for anything.

it's patronizing.

it is important that we emphasize that characters of color are more than the toxic stereotypes we lay on them, yes, but we make a mistake in thinking that the solution is overcorrection. for one thing, people of color can usually tell. don't get it twisted, it's actually pretty obvious. for another, it just shifts from one dimension to another. people of color are still supposed to be Only One Character Trait while white people can contain multitudes. ted, who is pretty much as pollyanna as they come, can be at once innocent and naive and deep and troubled and funny and scared. jamie can be a prick and sexy and also lonely and also a victim of abuse. sam, however, even though he was bullied (by jamie, no less), is thousands of miles away from home, and has led a protest on his team, is usually just characterized as human sunshine with much less acknowledgement of any other traits beyond that.

and that's why i cringe when fandom calls sam a Sweet Baby Boy without any sense of irony. is that all we're taking away? after all this time? even for a comedy, sam has received a substantive of screen time over two whole seasons, and we've seen a range of emotions from him. so as a black person it's hurtful that it's boiled down to Sweet Baby Boy.

that's the problem. we need to subvert stereotypes, but more importantly, we need to understand that people of color are not props, or pieces of cardboard for their white counterparts. they are full and actualized and have agency in their own right and they can have other emotions than Angry and Mean or Sweet and Bubbly without any nuance between the two. i think the show actually does a relatively good job of giving sam depth (relatively, always room for improvement, mind you), especially holding it in tension with his youth, but the fandom, i worry, does not.

it's the same reason why finn from star wars started out as the next male protagonist in the sequel trilogy but by the third movie was just running around yelling for REY!! it's the same reason why when people make Phase 4 Is the Phase For Therapy gifsets for the mcu and show wanda maximoff, loki, and bucky barnes crying and being sad but purposefully exclude sam wilson who had an entire show to tell us how difficult his life is, because people find out if pee oh sees are also complex, they'll tell the church.

and the reason why i picked up on this very early on is because i am an organic, certified fresh, 100% homegrown, non-gmo, a little ashy, indigenous sub saharan African black person. the ghanaian tribes i'm descended from have told me so, my black ass parents have told me so, and the nurses at the hospital in [insert asian country here] that started freaking out about how curly my hair was as my mother was mid pushing me out told me so!

and this stuff has real life implications. listen: being patronized as a black person sucks. do you know how many times i was patted on the back for doing quite honestly, the bare minimum in school? do you know how many times i was told how 'well spoken' or 'eloquent' i was because i just happen to have a white accent or use three syllable words? do you know how many times i've been cooed over by white women who couldn't get over how sweet i was just because i wasn't confrontational or rude like they wrongly expected me to be?

that's why they're called microaggressions. it's not a cross on your lawn or having the n-word spat in your face, but it cuts you down little by little until you're completely drained.

so that's the nuance. that's the subversion. the overcompensation is not a good thing. and people of color (and i suspect, even white people) have picked up on, in general, the different ways fandom treats sam and dani and even nate. what all of these discussions are converging on is fandom racism, which is not the diet form of racism, but another place for racism to reveal itself. and yeah, it's uncomfortable. it can seem out of left field. you may want to defend yourself. you may want to explain it away. but let me tap the sign on the proverbial bus:

if you are a white person, or a person of color who is not part of that racial group, even, you do not get to decide what is not racist for someone. full stop. there are no exceptions. there is no exit clause for you. there is no 'but, actually-'. that right wasn't even yours to cede or waive.

(it's also important to note that people of color also have the right to disagree on whether something is racist, but that doesn't necessarily negate the racism - it just means there's more to discuss and they can still leave with different interpretations)

people don't just whip out accusations of racism like a blue eyes white dragon in a yu-gi-oh duel. it's not fun for us. it's not something we like to do to muzzle people we don't want to engage with. and we're not concerned with making someone feel bad or ashamed. we're exposing something painful that we have to live with and, even worse, process literally everything we experience through. we can't turn it off. we can't be 'less sensitive' or 'less nitpicky'. we are literally the primary resources, we are the proverbial wikipedia articles with 3,000 sources when it comes to racism. who else would know more than us?

what 2020 has shown us very clearly is that racism is systemic. it's not always a bunch of Evil White Men rubbing their hands together in a dark room wondering how they're going to use the 'n-word' today. it's systemic. it's the way you call that one neighborhood 'sketchy'. it's how you use 'ratchet' and 'ghetto' when describing something bad. it's how you implicitly the assume the intelligence of your friend of color. it's the way you turned up your nose and your friend's food and bullied them for it in middle school but go to restaurants run by white people who have 'uplifted' it with inauthentic ingredients. it's telling someone how Well Spoken and Eloquent they are even though you've both gone to the same schools and work at the same workplace. it's the way you look down at some people of color for having a different body type than you because they've been redlined to neighborhoods where certain foods and resources are inaccessible, and yet mock up the racial features that appeal to you either through makeup or plastic surgery.

it's how when a person of color behaves badly, they're irredeemable, but a white person performing the same act or something similar is 'having a bad day' or 'isn't normally like this' or 'has room to grow' and we can't 'wait for their redemption arc', and yes, i'm not going to cover it in detail in this post but yes this is very much about nate. other people have also brought up the nuances in his arc and compared them to other white characters so i won't do it here.

these behaviors and reactions aren't planned. they aren't orchestrated. they're quite literally unconscious because they've been lovingly baked into western society for centuries. you can't wake up and be rid of it. whether you intended it or not, it can still be racist.

and it's actually quite hurtful and unfair to imply that concerns about racism in the TL fandom are unfounded or lacking any depth or simply meant to be sensational because you simply don't agree with it. i wish it was different, but it doesn't work that way. i'm not raising this up to 'call out' or shame people, but i'm adding to this discussion because, through how we talk about sam, and even dani and nate, i'm yet again seeing a pattern that has shortchanged people of color and made them feel unwelcome in fandom for far too long.

coach beard said it best: we need to do better.

[dragon-ball-meta]

Time to address this here.

Now to be clear, there’s not a whole lot seemingly wrong with this premise as initially described, 

Fair enough, everyone’s had moments where they make mistakes at some point. But as soon as we start getting into the alleged reasons, it becomes clear that these are being presented and framed in such a way as to deliberately make him look bad. Let’s get started.

Yes. Krillin tried to bribe his way into Roshi’s tutelage with porn. Absolutely true. However, the problem here is the assertion that Goku put in work to be accepted whereas Krillin did not. The truth of the matter is, Goku also had to do something to appeal to Roshi’s baser instincts. The difference is, Goku just doesn’t know that’s what it is. 

Roshi says that he’ll take on Goku as his pupil, but ONLY if Goku brings him a “hotty”. Which Goku actually fails at twice, once because he has no concept of what that term really means, and once because he brings... well, a mermaid.  But the fact is, even Krillin’s porn fails to get him in, as Roshi assigns the same task to both Krillin and Goku again, which is how we meet Launch.

Yes, Krillin was more willing to do whatever it took, but both had to fulfill this task to get in. Moving on...

This is... kind of valid yet not. I get why it seems this way on the surface, but at the same time, it ignores that Krillin recognized something Kami did as well; for one, the Androids actually didn’t attack them, but rather ignored them and tried to be on their way until Vegeta forced a conflict. They weren’t the mindless killing machines he’d been told about. Second, challenging them at that point would have been absolutely fruitless and foolish, as had been aptly demonstrated by the way Vegeta, Trunks, and Piccolo were dealt with as if they were nothing, and would have resulted in there being no one left standing to heal the others, to say nothing of informing them of the true motivations of the Androids. So really... it was actually far smarter to hang back and talk to them than to just be added to the pile of unconscious or dying bodies. But again, I do get the complaint at the surface level. This next entry, however... that’s where things get to silly levels of BS.

You’ve gotta be kidding me. They’re really playing the “he always dies” meme.

I mean firstly, he’s died a whole three times. Each time, it was a sacrificial death, either dying in an ambush meant for his friend while trying to protect a Dragon Ball, dying in combat, or sacrificing himself to try to save his family. Know who else has died three times? Goku. Vegeta. Piccolo. But for some reason, their deaths aren’t bemoaned like this. And the best part is they make no bones about implying he’s not useful... but then say no one’s holding these deaths against him.

I... genuinely have no idea how this makes him unlikable. If anything, it gives him an arc and, being honest? It’s a fairly relatable starting motivation for a lot of people. And then they go ahead and admit things changed so... no clue why it’s on a list like this, let alone so high on it.

... ... ...HE BROKE THINGS OFF WITH A WOMAN WHO WAS CONSTANTLY CHEATING ON HIM AND EVEN TRYING TO SEDUCE HIS CLOSE FRIENDS, HOW IN THE *HELL* DOES THAT MAKE *HIM* UNLIKABLE HERE? I mean my GOD that’s toxic. You can’t possibly miss the point harder than this. Or can you?

Yes. Yes you can. In this particular case, you can both miss what happened with Vegeta and Trunks as well as misread what Krillin was upset about. Vegeta and Trunks never bond in this arc. In fact, most all of it has been spent being callous and antagonistic to his son, even forcing his son to attack him in order to try to stop Cell. Vegeta only acknowledges and respects his son after that moment. Sweet indeed. The point of Krillin’s ire, however, was this.

Vegeta’s act of blind rage, rage he felt only because the son he finally respected was felled by an enemy, had wound up with Gohan seriously injured against a full-capacity Cell. Even VEGETA acknowledges he screwed up here too.

This is a pretty big misrepresentation of the situation. Krillin didn’t give Vegeta grief for mourning Trunks, but for his actions and what they resulted in. Grief Vegeta gave himself too.

...do I even need to explain this one?  The toxicity in this fandom and even the press covering the series in question is ridiculous. How on Earth does taking responsibility for your family and getting a job to provide for them make you unlikable? Look at how they treat Gohan for this too.

This one gets to me pretty badly as, frankly? It misses the entire point of this story arc, Krillin’s character arc, and... well, simple details about it. First and foremost, Goku WANTED to train with Krillin, reminisce about old times, and keep his reflexes sharp. It’s not like he got roped into doing this, or that Krillin dragged him along. He WANTED to spend time with his best friend. Get that right. Secondly, nothing about this required Goku’s help. Period. In fact, nothing Goku did COULD help. The Forest of Terror was looking inside Krillin’s mind, and testing him and him alone. Nothing Goku did or could have done influenced this. It was all Krillin having to confront his fear and learn to still himself and find his center in the face of said fear. And thirdly... this was not about the Tournament of Power. At all. In fact, when the ToP comes around, Krillin is more than ready, something Goku knows and tries to convince Gohan of.  I have no idea how in the heck they missed this, but it’s simply a symptom of a bigger issue. People simply cannot give Krillin his dues. Even when he improves, even when he trains to better himself, it’s somehow just wasting the time of whomever his partner is, which they could have used to make THEMSELVES stronger, right? Good grief.

...yep, that’s right. Krillin’s single-greatest act of kindness, his refusal to blame the victims, his stance against prejudice toward someone because of circumstances outside their control, or judging them for something they MIGHT do or did in a timeline where they were very different people? That’s just downright unlikable. I could sit here and write a whole essay on how even shutting down 18 wouldn’t guarantee victory. I could. But the truth of the matter is, they’re even taking issue with removing their self-destruct devices, which are dangerous to themselves AND others, and trying to give them a chance at having the lives stolen from them back. That’s... kind of messed up, CBR. Kind of really messed up.

...the same ex they earlier acknowledged was a filler character not present in the original work. Yeah, we’re done here. This was utterly ridiculous. But when I say peeps REACH for reasons to dump on this guy, I mean it.

[laikacore]

Worlds of Laika Wallace: an introduction to Silent Woods

Silent Woods is one of many names given to a secret, magical realm that exists alongside every planet and moon. Its main purpose is to act as a time capsule for lost life, providing a snapshot of extinct life and ancient landscapes that you can fully immerse yourself in with varying degrees of risk.

The Woods are endlessly massive, spanning every moment of history and crisscrossing over itself and the “real” or Outside world in a confusing web that can get newcomers and natives alike lost. It can house mountain ranges as high as the sky, sunken ship graveyards far below the ocean, cities lost to time, rolling plains and dense forests.

The Woods are not easy to find, and once you’ve found them, they can be difficult to leave as well. Since they function as a sanctuary for the planet’s life, they do a very good job of protecting it, and can make themselves impossible to reach for those who have bad intentions, even if one were to follow every instruction left by someone who successfully entered. Entrances and exits can change and move seemingly randomly, spitting people out sometimes thousands of miles away from what would have been a journey of a single step.

The Woods on Earth take on a special quality, too, that makes encounters like that more frequent and more dangerous: it is not only the extinct species and old landscapes that are present there. Stories of all kinds influence what happens in the woods, from folklore to fiction to a child’s belief in magic. Fantastic creatures like dragons and unicorns roam the Woods, and whether that means they were once like any other animal on Earth or if they were purely generated by the power of the Woods is up to debate.

There are places in the Woods where elves and orcs trade in the lush blue meadows around snow capped mountains teeming with snow vultures and dire wolves, where cities of polish marble and gleaming petrified wood surround a sprawling underwater cemetery, and where an arc of stones so large they’ve grown their own ecosystems hang like a solar system over a valley of giants.

But these places are hidden deep, deep within the Woods, under the utmost protection. The average person from the Outside will find bits and pieces of the Woods’ influence in their life, when missing objects turn up unexpectedly, a familiar walk brings you to a whole new place that you struggle to find again, or when you see a cat that isn’t quite a cat escaping into the sewers of your suburb before you can pull out your camera.

The source of this special quality is not unique to Earth, but brings a lot of attention from otherworldly sources...

Silent Woods is the main setting in my stories. Town Ghosts, an upcoming novella which will be available on my website shortly, takes place on the edge of the Woods, as well as my previously published short story Awful Moon, which is available in the Fear & Trembling zine and the X/Y: A Junk Drawer of Trans Voices zine, and Grandma’s Stories, which is also available in X/Y: A Junk Drawer of Trans Voices.

[uzumaki2810]

Taking a look at post one year time skip Nalu & 100 Year Quest Nalu

From the beginning of the Avatar arc, it became apparent Lucy was not all that happy in Natsu’s decision to leave and train for a year leaving behind one letter to her. We see it in two key instances: 

When Natsu finds out the guild has been disbanded 

When Natsu tries to chastise Gray for leaving Juvia without a word. 

And in both these moments, Natsu’s reply is the same: stunned silence accompanied with some sweat drops. This reaction gives us some indication that Natsu is aware that Lucy is upset with his actions but that’s as far as the narrative goes in exploring this rift in their relationship. Many have often cited that Natsu helping Lucy bring back the guild is in his way an apology for leaving her but is that enough? Is that a sufficient way to give that storyline closure? 

What about Natsu’s pov? Why can’t he voice his reasons back at Lucy? That he needed some time away from the guild to process his grief and he felt he needed to get stronger to avoid losing anyone else precious to him. Both the deaths of Future Lucy and Igneel happen within a year or so and both these events have affected Natsu in some way. With Future Lucy’s death, the ending of the Eclipse arc has Natsu remain nonchalant after the victory of destroying the gate something you rarely see with Natsu and of course with Igneel death’s he left the guild to train. But for whatever reason, nothing alluding to these keys events are ever mentioned. 

Next, we have the whole E.N.D plot line aka the biggest waste of time in the entire series. When Natsu finds out he’s E.N.D you’d think such a revelation would shatter his entire core right? With all that training he did become stronger to keep his friends safe from future threats only to find out that he is the biggest threat to their safety. But what do we get in canon? Natsu acting like nothing is wrong and Happy being more worried about Natsu’s fate. You know you’ve screwed up if a volume cover showcased more emotion & trauma of a character realising just what exactly they are than in the actual story. 

How about a Natsu that’s struggling to cope with this new information? A Natsu that doesn’t want to die, wants to continue living but believes it’s a selfish wish and the reason why all his friends are in pain, hating himself because of it. Give us a Natsu that’s going through an identity crisis, you know the one that happened off-screen leading to the growth of the dragon & demon seeds. 

Given that Lucy was upset over Natsu going by himself to fight Zeref their interaction afterwards could have been the payoff for the long-awaited discussion that had been developing since the Avatar arc. Imagine a back and forth between these two, bringing up the letter, Natsu’s recklessness & most importantly Lucy telling Natsu that he can’t do everything alone, saying that he’s going against his speeches about friendship & trusting one another with Natsu retorting back saying ‘this is a completely different situation’ and refusing to elaborate. Just something showing that Natsu is bottling up his stress and other emotions that have accumulated over the year and refuse to share them because he doesn’t Lucy or anyone else to be burdened by it. But no, all we get is Natsu getting cancer which is immediately resolved thanks to Brandish, Happy then making dick jokes & Lucy having no questions regarding Natsu’s fight against Zeref. And you wanna know why this was done? Because it was the easy way out.

It gets even worse when we get to the scene where Natsu finally loses it when he thinks Lucy is dead. Natsu turning into E.N.D should have one of the biggest & most important moments in the series right? The thing that has been set up for years since we first found out Natsu was a demon. But what do we get? A nonsensical flashback that only gets worse the more you think about it. Dimaria is about to stab Lucy’s eyes and Natsu somehow: 

Gains consciousness at the right time

Processes what’s going on

Breaks out of his magic sealing stones 

And rush over to Dimaria right before she could blind Lucy, landing a fatal attack on her. 

No, I’m sorry this is ridiculous, there’s no way that scene would work without the numerous contrivances & Lucy’s insane plot armour. Natsu also has enhanced hearing but can’t hear Lucy’s heartbeat and is so incompetent he can’t check a pulse (an incompetency shared by many of the Fairy Tail guild). The common defence is that Dimaria stopped time, but this isn’t the case. Dimaria is in a weakened state why would she bother wasting any more strength & magic power keeping time frozen when all Natsu was doing was trying to wake Lucy up? 

So our big scene involving Natsu turning into E.N.D is squashed into some carelessly planned flashback but surely Natsu finding out Lucy’s alive would give us something good right?  

After the god awful fight that is Natsu VS Gray along with the complete character assassination of Gray, Natsu and Lucy are reunited. Natsu muttered her name before going unconscious. Convenient to say the least. After that, we get superficial pandering in which Lucy stripes naked and cuddles with Natsu to keep him warm. I don’t why Brandish couldn’t have just enlarged Happy have him keep Natsu warm but I guess Mashima has some imaginary rule in which Lucy must get naked more than once in each arc. Anyways the E.N.D plotline is resolved in the dumbest way possible and Natsu wakes up. And what is his reaction to seeing Lucy? The woman whose ‘death’ caused him to lose his mind? 

“Why are you naked?” 

Yep, that’s it. No hug, no relief in knowing she’s safe, no tears, nothing. He also shrugs off the fact that he’ll die when he beats Zeref likes it’s nothing. It’s almost like the narrative itself knows there are absolutely no stakes left in the series & the likelihood of the main character dying is on the same level as this final arc is well written. And just when you think things couldn’t any worse, we later find out that Natsu doesn’t remember what happened to Lucy. All that pain, fear over losing her we saw in that flashback, along with what it could’ve potentially meant in regards to his feelings for her is rendered pointless. I can’t stress enough just how frustrating the writing is here. All that potential just chucked into a trash can.  

It feels like anytime we get a chance to get into Natsu’s thoughts and feelings regarding Lucy and vice versa, Mashima comes up with some dumb reason not. This is a problem that has carried into the sequel. From the Ignia incident to the Snow Clones & to Natsu thinking babies come from eggs. Every possible moment we could get some progression has turned into a joke. Even the scene in 545 where Natsu tells Lucy that they’ll be together forever, a line many in the fandom concluded to be a romantic gesture has been retconned since Lucy now thinks Natsu isn’t interested in romance. The most common defence I keep hearing is that they ‘need time’ or Natsu can’t distinguish between romantic & platonic love. But here’s the problem, we are 600+ CHAPTERS in, they don’t need more time & the idea that our main character still can’t differentiate between the two types of love is a massive problem. What we’re seeing in the sequel isn’t progression, it’s regression. A regression that will make any developments we do get in the future feels so hollow and underserved. A regression that is intentionally done to keep fans reading and throwing more money at the IP. 

[ashen-crest]

OC Development: Hobbies!

This is just something I’ve been thinking about as I’m working on RPS, so I thought I’d jot it down in case it’s helpful for anyone else.

I’ve started using this minimalist character sheet from @dearwriters, and I absolutely love it. That said- for my own personal sheets, I’m also adding the Hobbies category.

Why hobbies? It’s not like anyone’s crocheting as they kill dragons, or painting while they save the world. (I mean, okay, maybe they could). Point is, hobbies don’t always factor into the main narrative, so why think about them?

Because I love them your honor

Because I almost always discover something about my character, the world, and the plot as I consider them.

I’ll give you an example from Rival Potion Shops below. (Was going to give you two examples, but...this is getting too long-winded as it is. Apologies.)

I hate clogging people’s dashes with long posts, so I’ll hide the rest under the cut:

Example: Ambrose Beake, Rival Potion Shops

My buddy Ames. He’s the POV character of RPS, and at first glance, he’s very straightforward. He’s precise and prickly. Standoffish, tidy, quiet, a deep thinker.

But running a potions shop can’t take up all of his time. Neither can errands, nor spending time with his only friend Dawn. So, what does Ambrose Beake do in his spare time?  

Now, this line of thinking presented me with a big question: how deep down do Ames’ surface-level traits go? 

Option 1: his hobbies could be just as orderly and precise as he is. Cleaning, puzzles, organizing. In this option, how he presents himself is the same as how he acts when he’s alone.

Option 2: his hobbies show another side of himself. For example, does he enjoy listening to gossip? Gardening? Reading adventure novels? Watching sports? Attending plays? Playing an instrument?

For me, option 2 opens up so many other doors that directly impact the narrative. For example:

I’ve already established in my head that Eli, his rival, has TONS of plants in his apartment above his shop. What if they both love plants & gardening? What if Ames discovers that? How does that impact their relationship?

If Ames reads adventure novels, how does that color his view of the adventurers that enter his shop? Is he jealous of them? Does he work harder on the adventurer-specific potions, knowing how much danger they’re in? Do these books spark the eventual plot-relevant idea that Eli could be an adventuring healer?

Even deciding against certain hobbies on the list helps me out. For example:

I don’t want Ames to like sports because Eli and Dawn love sports. They’re total jocks, and I want that contrast between him and them when they drag him to a sporting event. (this also leads to: what are the sports in this world like? what doesn’t he like about them? etc etc)

I don’t want Ames to enjoy attending plays because he’s very much not in touch with his emotional side, even privately. It’s a huge part of his personal arc in the book.

If we’re thinking beyond RPS, hobbies can genuinely tie into main narratives. For example- who in your squad cooks? Sings? Embroiders? If your characters need food, entertainment, or help patching up a ripped shirt after a fight, who’s there to help? Or- who’s not willing to share that part of themselves? Shy about singing? Can only cook one thing?

And world-building!! If you have a character who cooks, and they travel to a new land, are they snobbish about new foods and spices? Are they eager to learn about new cooking techniques? That naturally leads to: what are the new foods and spices in this land? What are the new cooking techniques? Is there cultural importance surrounding any part of it that your characters need to learn? Let’s say your characters are ambassadors on a delicate mission. Do they know the food-related customs? Do they mess them up? Suddenly you’ve wound back around through world-building and back to the plot, all out of thinking about your character cooking!

Anyway, I think you get the idea. Hobbies are fun, even for your characters.

[steve0discusses]

Yugioh S5 Ep 19: Yugi and the Only Neck Accessory He Didn’t Really Want to Wear

Been busy! Hopefully stuff will open up soon as I’m taking a hiatus on a different quarantine project and will be finishing painting the entire roof of my car this week? One can hope. Sanding the rust off the whole top of a car takes a long time it turns out?

Also, fun Yugioh fact, I recently painted a book cover for an author who is older so she’s never seen the show, and she looked at my tumblr, saw my Duke Devlin fanart and was like “That’s him. That’s my main character. OMG. You captured him perfectly!” and I was like “Ma’am that is Duke Devlin, hence the single dice earring on his lobes there, but we can work with this.” and now a spiritual Duke Devlin is on the cover of a Wuxia-style fantasy trilogy on the Vella. Had to give him a top knot and delete the eyeliner for Wuxia reasons but uh, that’s just Duke.

So long story short, fanart can get you work, don’t even worry about posting that stuff online because most people don’t even know it’s fanart anyway and older ladies freakin love it.

Back in Yugioh, the team was doing their best to navigate a map through the woods and they do about as well as they normally do.

And inside Tristan lifted up the floorboards and was like “I found the only way out, this is it, this is the only way.”

And they ended up in something that has a color scheme I would actually associate with a jungle. Finally. We have finally left California (in order to go to another Hell.)

Youknow, when we went to California, we visited Hell, and when we went to India, we also took a stop at the nearest death destination. There’s just so much death on this show and sometimes I forget because there’s been a ghost in our party for so freakin long it’s been normalized.

(read more death imagery under the cut)

Joey freaks out at a flock of crows and reveals in this episode something I never realized about him before.

Like I’m not always the perfect observer as I’m sure you’ve noticed, but I love that this is canon for probably only this episode, but I will never forget it for the entirety of this series.

You go on hating birds, Joey.

Bro was like “Maybe it’s a deep cut about Mai Valentine because she’s a harpy lady” but eh...pretty sure we spent like an entire season of Joey telling us that Mai was a good experience? Would be incredibly funny if immediately after all of S4, Joey was like “You know what? Screw Mai, guys.”

So my thoughts...it’s probably just a literal bird experience. Like I had a friend who hated deer because once she went to a petting zoo, got some pellets to feed the deer, but her finger was sticking up, so when the deer came over to nibble on some pellets her finger went up it’s nose by accident. She was so disgusted by this event that was entirely her fault, that she brought up how much she hated deer basically whenever we saw one.

So like...maybe Joey fed a bird wrong at a petting zoo. I can see him getting bit by a parrot because he was too Joey Wheeler.

But now that we’re in a graveyard neighborhood, Pharaoh decides to hop out because there’s a lot of ghosts here and he needs to practice socializing with his peers.

So that’s just a Yugioh monster doing the ostrich dance, right? Like this is a meme from like 2010 but on Yugioh in 2003(4?)

Good to see the Ostrich dance here in the land before Vine.

So they pull out their Pokemon to do some antics, Tea looked like she was about to do something useful, and Yami does a yump across time and space to get her as far away from playing (not)cards as quickly as possible and y’all...sure was a position these animators animated.

Holy crap.

And I was going off about that scene last season where they woke up in the same bed like...

...have these two been together this entire time? Like together together?

They’re like...way more comfortable than you’d figure they’d be considering Yugi nearly passes out every time he gets a hug. But Yami just like....How long has this been going on? As long as Joey’s fear of birds?

Like obviously this show would never cover what the hell Yugi may be thinking about this overreaching move here, because we’re gonna gloss right over that, and just run away up a flight of stairs. No one mentions this ever again. Which is mind blowing for an anime to do. I think in most anime I watch, the kids would be like “ahh ahhhh I bumped into a booooob!” like it does for I want to say every other episode of My Hero Academia. But in Yugioh, they saw that low hanging fruit and they were like “we expect a higher level of maturity out of our audience. Now here’s a fleet of ostrich dancing tree monsters with faces for crotches.”

They decided to sprint up this flight of stairs, and it enough of a slope to deter the monsters who are only unbalanced weird legs.

I want us to take a moment and admire this background painting. I can’t unsee the rocks that are all the same size, just piled on top of eachother. Did Alexander the Great just plop rocks here--or was the mountain made up of tons of similarly shaped boulders?

Like there’s a lot of nice bg’s in this arc, don’t get me wrong, but this one...I’m just trying to wrap my head around the logic of it.

At the top, they meet a pantheon, that is immediately blocked by this wall, because if this arc had a tagline, it’s “Yugi gets inconvenienced every 4 seconds.”

Bro was like “Clearly they would have pushed it over if Tea wasn’t slacking off” and like...she is actually. Look at her. Only used one hand? Slacker.

Joey was disappointed he couldn’t push over a massive wall, and the team decided not to analyze how much Joey Wheeler thinks of his own strength and instead fixate on these statues.

Usually in anthro characters they kinda look birdlike but act human. But what about an anthro that’s just a bird? Like human torso, but can turn his head 180 degrees? Yugioh made me ask this question.

And then Joey was like “wait, there may be a solution that isn’t just to use brute strength!”

Youknow it is a bummer that Kaiba couldn’t witness Joey own a dragon while he himself only has a robot jet dragon. Although, the jet is probably faster, stronger and overall...better than this baby dragon. It would have been great for Kaiba to witness Joey under-utilize this dragon and forget he has it for like huge swatches of the episode.

And then Grandpa pulled some body horror out of nowhere.

Wow.

I mean that is really gross.

I guess Grandpa can’t use Blue eyes, because Kaiba ripped it up, Grandpa can’t use Exodia because Weevil tossed it off a boat, and grandpa can’t use the card that’s just a building because...it’s a building.

So instead Grandpa has a bunch of meat and bones that look like something out of Doom. It’s probably from a more obscure Konami property, but I forget which.

I’ve seen Tristan hold back Joey in this hold, first time it’s been Tea.

So much shipping in this episode, it’s wild.

It’s also wild how low my standards are for what could possibly be shipping when it comes to Yugioh because of how freakin tepid all of these characters are, which as I’ve brought up before, I really don’t mind.

So Yugi decides that because Grandpa was folding his arms like one monster and it made a gem light up or something, to just do the video game thing and use the giant ass statues as clues.

Why was this arc not a video game? Like parts of it really feel like it was meant to be.

So Yugi falls down a hole, where the walls cave in like it’s that dumpster in Star Wars but like...it barely phases him.

Also...Yugi might be able to see in the dark. It’s never been brought up but like...the more I think about it...has Yugi ever struggled to see without the lights on?

After Joey disappoints everyone, he confronts death.

And Pharaoh and Yugi decide to solve the puzzle of “how do I get out of this trap dungeon room” which, honestly, is probably what they’re doing every time they hang out in the brain pyramid.

So they summon their mascot monster, and surprisingly the show decided its ability to fly cannot help them out here.

Kuriboh manages to become enough of a doormat to push Yami up to the stone and they end up in a set of weird cuts that ended in this?

Like seriously it was like flashes of light and then they were just...up here like this.

Hey like...

Alexander the Great, my man...

Were you planning to put that stone in the middle of a exhaust vent hoping someone would touch it? Because there’s no way anyone would rationally have done that. You would need to fly to do it. This is the world’s worst DM.

Like Yugioh pulls a lot of fantasy nonsense but this arc is a lot more like a “it’s a kid’s show, just go with it.” arc than most of them. It’s not a bad vibe, necessarily, it’s just not the vibe I’m used to.

So once I witnessed maybe the most boring conversation I’ve ever witnessed about corn (this was on a twitch stream, by the way, a guy was playing an interesting game, and then a guest came on and started talking about corn and plants for 2 hours) and they would not shut up about how all taxonomy is wrong because there are no such thing as trees and how all animals are labelled incorrectly, and then they started comparing it to like all sorts of mushrooms and phytoplankton as you would if you clearly got a little bit high before dumping your corn knowledge on a twitch stream.

Anyway, after that bizarre experience I suffered so I could learn how to play an obscure video game, I think I can safely say, that while I know everyone here thinks a bird can’t be a dog. If you’re a high biologist: a bird is absolutely a dog. Apparently you can just do that if you’re the most boring biologist alive and no one will argue with you because to do that would involve talking to you. We’ll just say a bird is a dog and no one can fight me or I will talk about the corn book that this guest on this twitch chat was thinking about renting from the library about the different types of corn mutations inherent in freakin Indiana. Therefore, Joey’s fear of birds and dogs is same.

So they use Dark Magician to save them from the statues, and Yugi busts into the pantheon again because they got to open this casket before a time limit that I kind of forgot about, tbh.

And inside the casket, is...this thing!

(enjoy this line on the bottom of the image I don’t feel like fixing it)

And you may say to yourself...it looks like it’s just floating in mid-air, that’s silly, and so I want to introduce you to the next panel where you can see that it is...quite literally...just floating in the air like a video game.

and it just slurps itself onto Yugi before he can be like “nonono.”

Wasn’t there some horror movie where you were stuck in some sort of body brace that slowly tortures you (was that Saw?) This has that vibes. Like man that looks uncomfortable to wear over a jacket and two belts and a collar that is another belt.

That and I...I gotta appreciate that Yugi popped his collar while wearing body armor and chunky necklace. What 00′s fashion appreciation right there.

Bit like...this isn’t breathable, right? Like Yugi’s gonna finally take this thing off and his jacket will just be completely soaked in sweat?

Anyway, that’s it for this post, next week we’ll see if Yugi can walk through a doorway in that thing.

Also, I can’t bring up the ostrich dance without sharing the vines of my generation

[jauneda1]

RWBY

The New War

Jaune's First solo Mission

One year after the initial attacks

War changed Remnant after the attacks one year ago. The kingdoms are all against each other Vacuo in a constant battle with Vale due to the leaders of Vacuo being taken out by the terrorist group know as the Black mask. They instilled a system in there kingdoms laws that makes it impossible for people to go against the military. Innocent men, women, and children are forced to live in poverty. While the men and women who took their nation get to live without a worry. Until the combined forces of Vale and Atlas military tried to invade and save the once beautiful kingdom. The only problem is that there are Grimm new kinds of Grimm no one has ever seen. Not to mention the White Fang are and still are a threat to both sides. They're force had grown exponentially due to their attacking and ultimate destruction of Mistral and the Huntsman Academy of Haven. Even with all this change and destruction of the peace our heros burst forward in hopes of finally ending this conflict.

Desert's of Vacuo

Jaune had just to touched down on a mountain range, from where the two where standing he could see the inner city, all the way up to around the capital. He wouldn't be able to do much just sitting here. Jaune's mission was simple sneak behind enemy lines and escort and evacuate a defecting White Fang lieutenant, her name is Ilia Amitola and she served directly under commander Adam Taurus. She is a valuable asset to say the least.

In Jaune's ear piece he can hear Raven checking in. She being his main mentor for the past year she would be kind of walking him through this mission of his.

Raven: How is it on your end?

Jaune: Clear. How everyone doing up there?

Raven: Don't worry about that you have a mission. Hop to it reminder you have a limited time window.

Raven: Not to mention this is your first solo mission so stay hidden and try not to cause a scene.

Jaune: You know your to serious about this I'll get in get out and be done. By the way what do we call this mission?

Raven: Jaune you have to be serious if your captured that's it. We can't come and save you. You'll be treated as if your acting on your own terms.

Raven: Ruby and Yang are gonna be heart broken if there best friend doesn't come back. Plus Summer will blame me for the rest of my days.

Jaune: Okay okay. Serious

Jaune took this short moment to remember everything he has learned in the past year. Then the people who are counting on him right now. Blake was the one who begged Ozpin to send someone in. He volunteered he was gonna keep his promises to his friend. It's what Arc's do, they'll never go back on there word.

Jaune: (Inhales) (Exhales)

Jaune: Commencing Virtuous mission now.

The Grimm in the surrounding area of Vacuo where a lot different from any of the ones Jaune is used to seeing. But they are still easy to sneak past especially with the gear Jaune has on.

Jaune: I gotta hand it to the tech guys this is supposed to hide my body heat and give me a near invisible camouflage.

Raven: Well not a hundred percent. It's more to give you the look of transparency but really your suit uses the surrounding area to automatically change and conceal you.

Raven: So don't thinking it'll get you out of trouble all the time.

Raven: Again try not to be seen. The target is supposed to meet you on the south west side of the city.

Jaune: Yeah and that means I need to go through the capitol. Should I plant bugs around or just stick to my main objective?

Raven: Stick to the main objective your on a 2 hour time window.

...

...

Raven: Jaune?

Everyone in the observation room back at HQ where shocked Jaune had encountered plain of some type of burial site but some of the people hung up on poles are still breathing they are just dehydrated and starved. There were soldiers, civilians, and children. What shocked everyone even Jaune as he can hear Blake shout out over the mic.

Blake: ILIA!

Jaune looked up to one of the poles to see a naked dehydrated and beaten women Jaune could tell she was alive but he wouldn't be able to fulton extract her, not in this condition. So mission complete he'll just call in a chopper and put her on it and do what needs to be done. Jaune wasn't obligated to do what he has intentions on, but if someone doesn't do something to weaken the Forces of Black Mask and White Fang here in Vacuo then the war to reclaim the kingdom will never come.

Jaune: Send in a chopper and make sure medical is on it.

Raven: You got it, Jaune I know what your thinking. Please don't do what your gonna do. Everyone saw your vitals spike.

Raven: But I've known you since you where a boy. I've been like your second mother please be on that chopper when it arrives back at HQ.

Jaune stayed silent and continue to stay silent as he climbed up the pole to cut down and carry Ilia she wasn't making the trip unless he did so. But the reason Jaune kept quiet wasn't because he was worried about what Raven said. It was because if Ilia was secretly defecting from the Fang why was she out here and for how long who knew she was a mole and was trying to defect.

But the answer was a red laser that pointed at Ilia's head. Jaune instinctively got in front of her and a loud shot rang out as it hit Jaune in the back. Jaune at this point was able to jump down and bring Ilia with him to keep her out of harm's way. This was a trap and Jaune had just been caught in it.

Raven: Jaune! Are you okay?

Jaune: Going dark until I can take out this sniper.

Raven: Jaune no your mission is complete you just need to get out of there.

Ruby: No that sniper could bring down the evac chopper.

Yang: So he's forced to deal with the sniper.

Yang: You've got this Jaune.

Jaune: Mhhm.

Two Minutes later.

The sniper was beginning to feel bored. Questions like how long is he gonna sit behind that rock, or is he still there and if so what is his angle. He's stuck and can't move. She then she had an sudden urge to check behind herself as if something that was life threatening to her was right there about to strike. When she looked there was nothing. But then her semblance hit her hard as she was nearly cut in half, she jumped back with a lot of force because she got hit but her gun took the damage.

Looking now it was the man she thinks was behind the rock. But how could that be he was more then 150 meters away he wouldn't have been able to have got this close to her this fast unless he knew where she was the second the bullet went off. It makes sense now the second the laser of the rifle tagged the traitor he glanced back eyes widen and scanning. Remembering it because it was odd he sensed danger evaluated it and reacted in under a second. Not to mention he took a bullet for her. He has aura does that mean he's a Huntsman.

The sniper had little time to think as Jaune's eyes focused and he rushed forward and was now behind her and chopped her in the back of the head knocking her out. Jaune wasn't going to let her live at first but he wants to send a message. After calling for a chopper. Jaune set the female sniper up on the same pole Ilia was left on. Jaune didn't strip her like they did Ilia but he was sure the Vacuen heat would do enough. If she doesn't return they'll come and find her later.

(Jaune's Mind)

"Make better choices next time cutie."

(Ricky)

"She is a liability, can't just let her go."

Jaune: Huh, Raven did you say something?

Raven: No all's quiet on our end.

Jaune had no idea what that was but he gave it little thought as Ilia's condition was worsening. It's a good thing to chopper 31 showed up right then and there. Jaune was gonna be honest Ilia was cute but he needed to make sure she was safe at HQ.

HQ Time 8PM

Ozpin had spoke to Jaune alone about his mission and the two of them where unreachable for an hour. All the while the rest of JNPR and all of team RWBY where bed side of where Ilia was recovering Blake had her friends hand clutched and hoping begging she would fight through this. Jaune had came into the room and seeing the mood of the room. He was sure that Ilia was fighting for her life. But the Arc had other plans he took a bullet to the back of the head for her. She wasn't gonna just die on him after all this work he put into saving her.

Jaune: Yeah no this mood is just not doing it for me.

Jaune: I didn't go through all that for you to just die infront of me.

Jaune put his hand gently against the side of her face giving her some of his kinetic energy. It was enough to boost her aura levels.

Jaune: So sorry but not sorry, your not dying today.

Everyone looked to Jaune everyone except Blake looked to him as the only thing keeping them all going. Jaune just brings light to the darkness wherever he goes. As Ilia's heart beat grew stronger everyone could hear the faint sobbing from Blake till she jumped up and wrapped her arms around Jaune's neck and cried into his shoulder.

(Yang's mind)

"He may be the reason we all keep fighting, but what is his reason. But what is your reason for fighting on Jaune, I know this all has to be effecting you. You don't even come to me anymore. Maybe Lady Killer doesn't need his Dragon anymore? Yeah no that changes tonight."

Jaune was not aware of how much trouble he is in later on tonight.😁

End of part 6

Teams and they're roles

RWBY: Alpha Team

JNPR: Bravo Team

Spies: Blake, Ren, Jaune, and Yang

Spies are top 4 who have high covert ops training, master's at close range and trained directly under Raven and Qrow Branwen. They're main objective is to be ghost in the shadows gathering info and all around espionage tactics.

Solo ops: Jaune, Yang, Blake, and Ren

Solo ops are simply the same as spies but they have been cleared for solo operation. These ops are espionage and covert only. If they are caught on solo ops they will not be given help from any outside options everything is on them.

Omega: Jaune, Yang, Pyrrha, and Ruby

This team is comprised of High-grades only of given orders to take out an entire compound this team makes sure of it. No matter the difficulty they get shit done. Not even they're friends know there mission details only Ozpin and Ironwood know.

[kellyvela]

The ones who know the ASOIAF ending

I’m not talking about D&D

ANNE GROELL George R.R. Martin Editor

Question: We know that the producers of the TV show Game of Thrones know in broad strokes the ending of the main character arcs of A Song of Ice and Fire. Without giving anything away, do you know the ending, too?

Anne Groell: No. George is a very secretive fellow, and guards his secrets well. I do know a few things from AWOW, but mainly because we had to shorten a few elements in the book as it was already getting too long, and he had to reveal a few secrets so I could help him redirect parts of the plot a bit. I do know the endpoint of Bran’s story line—and Daniel Abraham, who has been adapting the graphic novel of AGOT for me, knows where Tyrion ends up. (I am jealous of that!) But much in the way all of you have been keeping secrets from show watchers who have not yet read the books (and I continue to be impressed by how secret you all kept the Red Wedding), I also will never tell what I know. George has somehow managed to swear us all to this amazing conspiracy of silence, which I admire and appreciate and fully participate in! I had a very amusing lunch with Daniel in which we very pointedly did not tell each other what the other one knew. In short, like you, I Keep George’s Secrets.

—Q & A with George R.R. Martin Editor, Anne Groell - May 2014

***

DANIEL ABRAHAM  'A Game of Thrones' Graphic Novel Adaptor

Geek: What were some of the other challenges of bringing this work to the comic page?

DA: Prying spoilers out of George. There are times when I need to compress some bit of action or reduce the number of characters in a scene just so that the page isn’t confusing to look at, but in order for that to happen, I need to know what’s critical plot and what’s not. As a result, I know a few things about how the series ends and what some of the prophecies in the text mean that I would be shot for telling.

Geek: Who are some of the characters you’ve gravitated towards during the writing of the book?

DA: Hard call. I liked all the characters as a reader years before I started the adaptation. Who doesn’t like Jon or Dany or Tyrion? The thing that adapting the books has made me appreciate more is the smaller characters. Old Nan, for instance, is actually a fascinating and eerie character, but she’s a part of a huge tapestry. It’s easy to overlook her and folks like her.

—INTERVIEW: DANIEL ABRAHAM ON BRINGING 'GAME OF THRONES' TO COMICS - 08/01/2011

***

Question: Have you collaborated at all with George R.R. Martin in the process of adapting the novel to comics? If so, what's the creative process there?


Daniel Abraham: I've spoken to George a lot in the process.  The biggest issues we have are continuity questions.  There are things about this story that only he knows, and they aren't all obvious.  There was one scene I had to rework because there's a particular line of dialog -- and you wouldn't know it to look at -- that's important in the last scene of "A Dream of Spring." For that kind of issue, there's no substitute for just talking to the man himself. 

That said, it's very clear that George isn't writing the comic book. He's put a great deal of faith and trust in me on the actually working out of the scripts.  And God forbid I get in the way of his writing "The Winds of Winter."  If I get a reputation for holding that project up, I'd be hung from the trees.

—ABRAHAM PLAYS "A GAME OF THRONES" - September 2011

***

I know some details about A Dream of Spring because of the conversations we had about A Game of Thrones. I mean, there were things he was setting up in early chapters in A Game of Thrones that are references to the end of the series. He had a very clear view of what of those were negotiable and what weren't and he had something he was aiming for at the end.

—Episode 31- Daniel Abraham AGOT Interview - Ranking Thrones By James Kelly - September 2019

***

(...)

There are certainly long-running comic book series that have succeeded brilliantly without a strict continuity or foreshadowing that began years ahead. I’m thinking of ongoing serial (even soap-operatic) titles such as Batman or Spider-Man. But A Song of Ice and Fire isn’t open-ended. It does have a conclusion it moves toward, and in fact, the last sentence of the last book is already decided.

(...) 

Charting our best course depends on what A Game of Thrones in particular and A Song of Ice and Fire in the larger scheme is.

And we don’t know that yet.

For me, the single most important fact about A Song of Ice and Fire is that it will end. Daenerys Targaryen will have a last scene and a last word. Because of my participation in this project, I know the fate of several major characters, and have a good idea of the final plot arc. Even so, the details of where the many, many characters end—where, in fact, Westeros itself ends—aren’t all available to me. They may not even be available to George.

My experience writing my own novels suggests that even at this late stage in the project, the best writers are in an ongoing process of discovery. Even with the last scenes firmly in mind, the process of reaching that place is full of surprises. Some of the ideas and intentions for The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring will change in the telling of the tale, because that is the inevitable process of creation. Especially as we near the end, the events at the beginning will take on new significance. Prophecies will unfold in ways that may be as surprising to the author as they are to the reader. Things that are foreshadowed will come to be, or else they won’t. Until the ending comes, recreating Westeros—adding new characters, remaking old ones, taking action from perspectives different from those already in the books—isn’t an act of translation or adaptation. It’s just making things up.

—SAME SONG IN A DIFFERENT KEY - Adapting A Game of Thrones as a Graphic Novel - 
Daniel Abraham [In 'Beyond the Wall: Exploring George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire, From A Game of Thrones to A Dance with Dragons' - James Lowder  (Editor) - June 2012]

***

So, it seems that everything is hidden in the pages of “A Game of Thrones” and as I said before: “the person who knows everything in ASOIAF” is Old Nan...