#When the episodes are done I will post the link and then just tell people to stay tuned for the movie

[nugatorysheep]

not me being in the process of getting frames of the SU movie, setting it to 1 fps so my PC doesnt explode, only to realize that at that low of a frame rate it didnt capture the connverse kiss at the beginning, then deleting the frames and doing it again at 2fps to make sure i grabbed that frame (I am Very Normal about fictional characters)

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

Since you've mentioned Scarlet Lady in one of your posts, what's your opinion on it?

I've mentioned before that I'm a big Scarlet Lady fan, which is the only reason that I'm comfortable answering asks like this one. I don't publicly criticize the content of hobby creators. That's wildly inappropriate! Punch up, not down.

The linked post was a general discussion of the adaptation process and how @zoe-oneesama did a fantastic job, so for this one, I'm just going to do some general gushing because I do actually like praising and enjoying things!

Scarlet Lady's chosen format (comic) allows it to have this wonderful conversation with canon where it can rely on the framework of canon to tell it's own story while also using canon for jokes and meta commentary. This means that Scarlet Lady is about as close as fan content can get to a direct reboot because it's able to have moments like this one from the comic's first post:

[Image description: Adrien standing in his room after transforming into Chat Noir for the first time. He is beaming and his eyes are shining with excitement as he exclaims, "This is gonna be awesome!"]

A single picture that communicates everything we need to know about Adrien getting his miraculous. When I've done this same thing in fanfic, I had to write out the full scene because that's how novels work. You have to give the full picture. With a comic, you can just quickly acknowledge this thing that we all already know and then move on to the new stuff. A picture really is worth a thousand words! (Or, in my case, more like two thousand...)

This allows Zoe to keep the same akumas that we get in canon without her story feeling like a boring rehash because she can focus on what's different in her version. A novelization of the same content would have to show both the stuff that stays the same and the stuff that changes for it to be coherent. That's a lot less fun to read and write. It's why I basically never revisit canon akumas in my own stuff. It's just too derivative for the written word.

This is one of the big reasons that I loved Scarlet Lady. Because it was able to have that more directly conversation with canon, it was able to take canon and say, "hey, why don't we embrace the tone that you established in season one and retell the story with that vibe?" That's something that I desperately wanted to see, but that is totally unsuited to my chosen artistic form. It couldn't be a novel. It had to be a comic.

If you want to know what a true formula show version of Miraculous would look like, Scarlet Lady is it. It does everything that Miraculous should have done:

Sticks to a lighthearted tone where nothing is ever super serious

Keeps Gabriel entirely unsympathetic

Has slow character development and background hints at a bigger plot as the only serial elements, allowing the individual episodes to be their own story while never feeling incomplete or rushed

Allows characters other than Marinette to shine while keeping Marinette as the clear main character

Makes Adrien narratively important

MAKES THE LOVE SQUARE CUTE SO I CAN ACTUALLY SHIP IT

Understands that Lila and Chloe can't coexist as antagonists

Reverses the love square, which is the best way to tell their story. Yes, I will die on my "love diamond" hill. It's a good hill. Come join me. I'll bring cookies.

I could keep going, but you hopefully get my point. While Scarlet Lady is certainly not the only way to do a formula version of canon, it's proof that a formula version does work! You don't have to go the serious route for Miraculous to be successful.

I want to take some time to gush about the ending, but I don't want to spoil it, so I'll put that gushing under a "read more" in case anyone hasn't seen it. I'll finish out this less spoilerish section with this:

I feel like some people are surprised when they learn that I love Scarlet Lady because - as some of you have probably picked up - it is quite different from my ideal version of canon. I'm not sure why that would stop me from enjoying a thing, though. It's important to remember that our personal ideals are not the only way to tell a good story. There are lots of ways to take what canon gave us and make something wonderful! It's part of the reason that I enjoy being in a fandom.

If I only wanted to see my ideal take on canon, then I'd stick to writing/imagining my own stories. But I don't want that! I like seeing alternate takes, too. Scarlet Lady is one of my personal favorites. It's completely different from anything that I'd ever think to write and that's why I'm so glad that it exists! I like being entertained just as much as I like creating my own entertainment and I don't want to only read stories that look like something I'd write. That's boring!

Spoilers below:

I've mentioned before that there are many, many ways to properly handle Chloe's character and Zoe did such a good job with her take on that! Chloe isn't absolved of all the things she did wrong, but she's also treated as a young woman with the ability to change.

While the comic bares the name of Chloe's alter ego, she was the never the main character. She never went on a journey. The story kept her to her shallow season-one self: a petty brat who just wanted attention. It did this because that's who Chloe was in canon and who Chloe needed to be for the comic to work.

The first time we see any complexity from Chloe is in the comic's final few episodes, which was absolutely the right call for Zoe to make! In a recent post, I talked about how the end of a formula show is the only time when you can break the formula in catastrophic ways and that's what Zoe did. She kept Chloe static until it was time to end the story and that's when the formula breaks. That's when Chloe gets depth because, once she has depth, the formula doesn't work.

That depth is not used to redeem Chloe, but to show us that there's hope for Chloe. That this petty brat who we've been dealing with has some serious issues and needs help. Help that she's going to get far away from the people that she's hurt because her issues aren't an excuse for what she's done. They don't erase the harm that she caused. At the same time, understanding her issues makes us hope that she can be better now and Scarlet Lady took a moment to give us that hope. To show us the START of Chloe's true story.

That is the kind of ending that I have wanted to see in so many properties!!! It was so wonderful to finally get one that did this right. A story that understood that full redemption to the team and damnation to death/suffering are extremes on a scale of possibilities. You don't have to go to extremes! You can fall in the middle and the middle is a perfect, natural place for Chloe to land in this kind of story. Fully redeeming or even fully damning Chloe simply doesn't work in lighthearted formula content. It's too big a lift as canon has already demonstrated.

I also loved Zoe's take on Emilie. I've mentioned that I don't like evil Emilie in part because it makes her revival feel like the start of a new story. She's back and she'd bad, so we have to take her down now! But I don't want that. I want the story to end when Gabriel is stopped. Zoe does this by giving us an Emilie that is another perfect middle ground. She matches canon's uncomfortable implications without feeling like a true villain who is a threat to society.

[kanmom51]

Please help 😅 I think there is something or some conversation l have missed in JIKOOK’s timeline. Something about our Jimin getting so upset that he left the members and went home to heal from some trauma caused by V & Jk ?? The next we heard about him was when he was hospitalised suffering from covid?? Please fill in the blanks for me if you know any deets.. l would be grateful. No pressure though😂🫶🏽

Idk what fan fiction this is from, but WOW.

JM healing from trauma caused by V and JK?

The next was when he was hospitalized with covid?

Bull bloody shit is what I can tell you.

But let's look at the timeline why don't we?

At least what we know of it.

JM was hospitalized end of January 2022. Not because of covid but because of his appendix, and when in hospital tested positive for covid.

This followed the group going on a break after their 4 concerts in LA in November 2021.

Last time we had all three together was in their live on 28 November 2021. That was a chaotic super happy live. Only bullying I can think of, jokingly, would be Tae constantly mentioning brand names he wasn't supposed to, lol.

You can find many links to posts I wrote about that live here:

Then JK and JM returned to Korea with Jin. Just the three of them. They were supposed to go into quarantine as they returned, separately, as the government rules stated, and yet JK waited for JM at the airport upon their arrival thinking that they will be sharing a car only for the two to be separated.

There is absolutely, and I repeat absolutely NOTHING to show that there was anything wrong between JM and JK at that place and time!!!

JM and JK were fine, and there was no bullying going on from Tae and JK. What AO3 fanfic is that even?

As for the stupidity I've been hearing of since Ep. 3 of Are you sure? JK and V bullying JM, like wtf is wrong with people?

Every time I think people have reached the limit of being the worst they just prove that they can surpass themselves.

I think people lack basic ideas of human interactions if they claim that the playfulness we saw in that episode can be called bullying. If that's bullying then every single time those three played throughout the years would also be. These are 3 young men who grew up together and at times roughhouse. Like men do.

I've kind of lost hope in trying to explain to these people, who love to see JM as a victim, and therefore think they are his knights in shining armour, that JM is a grown ass man who knows exactly how to put both JK and Tae in their places if he wanted to!!! He's got the physical strength to do so, not to mention the personality too. He's known to have done both, when he wanted. And here's the news flash. Maybe he didn't want to! JM knows how to be assertive. Being such a nice human being doesn't make him a weak human being. I think that many of those that claim to love him and want to protect him either don't know him at all or want him to be weak so they can show up as his great protectors against the big bad JK, whom they would love to get rid of, cause he's just not good enough for JM, in their warped reality. Perhaps because they want JM for themselves.

JK is the person that JM loves most in this world.

The person that stood by JM's side and supported him when he was going through the turmoil he was experiencing during the pandemic.

The person that JM wanted to go on these trips with and came up with the idea to create this show so that they can go on these trips together.

The person that he flew from Korea to NY to be with for his solo debut.

The person that he can't stop talking about and bringing up in conversations that have really nothing to do with him, like during the Minimoni album exchange.

The man he chose to write a song for and write these lines to:

Baby, don't leave Just stay by my side, yeah To you, who see me bigger than what my little self is (to you) So that I can give as much as I’ve received (oh-oh) So that I can keep my word (oh-oh) Don't worry, just stay by my side, yeah (Yeah) We don’t know what the future holds (holds, yeah) And that’s scary and makes us afraid (oh-oh) But don’t forget that we’re always together (don't forget)

The person he chose to enlist with and be with for the 18 months of their military service, even though it meant a more difficult placement, even though it would raise eyebrows and questions marks seeing that the two are the first ever idols, both in their late 20s to do this!!

I've said this once I've said this a thousand times. People need to go live their lives and stop looking for drama where it doesn't exist in JM and JK's life.

They are together.

They are good.

Even if they are idols and public figures.

Even if they are two gorgeous young men who happen to love each other and are, god forbid, in a queer relationship.

Even if being in a queer relationship in their industry and society is frowned upon.

All those don't mean that their relationship isn't just a normal stable long term relationship with everything that such a loving relationship entails, including the struggles.

Enough with trying to insert drama where there is none.

[nyerus]

🎧A Guide to the TGCF Audio Drama🎭

With the release of the new season of the fabulous TGCF audio drama, I wanted to make an updated guide on how to make an account, purchase, and listen (with English subs) to it! Hopefully, this will help more people enjoy it and join in on the fun!

As a quick reminder, the audio drama is based on the revised version of the novel! It's a very faithful adaptation, but if you're a new fan, that might throw you for a loop! If you need an overview of the different versions of TGCF, check out this post first!

Part One: Making an Account & Purchasing

The process is a lot easier than you may expect! The site where the audio drama is hosted is "missevan.com," also known as "MaoerFM." They are one and the same!

Check out these infographics to create an account and buy the audio drama. (Due to tumblr compression, they may be difficult to read. If this is the case, please view these images in full-screen and preferably on a web browser for best quality!)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

General Info:

It costs 319 diamonds for the first season, and 359 diamonds for the second season of the TGCF audio drama. This was less than $5 USD, for each season. Future seasons will likely be similarly priced.

Episodes typically release weekly. Mini-episodes/bonus content releases intermittently, and often continues after the main season "ends."

This guide will work for any other audio dramas you want to purchase and support (such as MDZS)! They obviously have different costs, but the process of buying is pretty much the same.

Account/Registration Info:

If you do not see your country/region code listed when making an account, it is unfortunately unavailable there. I do not know any workarounds at the moment, apart from asking a friend/relative in a different country to help you out! If anyone does know other options, please let me know!

Step One of the guide is technically optional, as logging in on the app for the first time will automatically create a new account, if there’s not already one associated with your mobile phone number. I recommend doing that step anyway, as it will ensure that you have a password linked to your account. Several people in the past have reported that they sometimes cannot receive the verification code to log in. (Especially from South America and SEA for some reason.) Having a password bypasses this, if it happens to you.

Unfortunately, it seems that you MUST register with a mobile number to begin with.

Otherwise, you can use an existing Bilibili/QQ/WeChat/Weibo account if you have it. They all require a number for registration too, as far as I know, so you may run into the same problem. They may still be worth trying if you have no other options! Once again, if anyone is aware of other workarounds, do let me know.

Additionally, it’s possible to link your account to an email AFTER you register with a mobile number. (There’s no escaping that, from what I can tell.) You can then use that to log in.

It seems useful to have your email and a password associated with your account, especially in case your country code gets nixed from availability -- which has been known to happen without warning in the past.

The mobile browser seems to prefer you log in with a number/email and a password, rather than a verification code.

LINKING AN E-MAIL TO YOUR ACCOUNT (Optional)

This must be done via web browser, or with your mobile browser set to desktop mode. It’s VERY easy if you use a browser with an auto-translate feature like Google Chrome:

(These images are the MTL translated versions!)

Unfortunately yes, you will need to receive a verification code via mobile number to enable this. The second verification code gets sent to your email, though! (Try not to lose your password, because I'm pretty sure you'll still have to use your phone to verify and change it.) Don't forget to check your spam folder if you don't see it. It will be from "猫耳FM."

Once again, this is optional! I just wanted to include it as an extra avenue for people who may struggle with the verification codes, as they can be finicky. And it happened to me while I was making this section, so I knew I had to....

Part Two: How to Enable English Subtitles

First things first: there are no official English subs for the TGCF Audio Drama. Though I'm fairly sure this applies to all dramas on MaoerFM.

However, there are Chinese (Simplified) subs for each episode.

OPTION ONE: MTL

The main method that non-Chinese speakers have been using to understand the Audio Drama is via MTL (machine translation) on those subs! Browsers like Google Chrome not only have auto-translate, but it works in real time as you watch/listen to the episode.

Make sure that it's turned on and that you've selected English -- or your preferred output language!

Be aware there are TWO types of subtitles on MaoerFM. There are the official subs, and the temporary subs.

At the bottom of the audio player, there is a button labelled "字幕," which is circled in purple in the image below. If it is there, it means that episode has official subs available, and you can toggle them on/off. Meanwhile, the "弹" that the green arrow is pointing to is known as the "barrage." That's the scrolling text that you will see filling the screen. It's other fans screaming and crying in chat. You can turn it off if it feels overwhelming!

New episodes may take anywhere from a few hours to a day or two to be officially subtitled. (The bonus episodes don't have official subs for whatever reason.) In the meantime, there will be subtitlers working on adding temporary subs! I'd advise waiting a little while before listening to a new episode so they have more time to work, and you'll have better coverage!

While official subs are entirely separate, the temporary subs are part of the barrage. So you will have to keep the barrage turned on. (Notice how there is no "字幕" button next to it yet!) Unlike the rest of the barrage, the subs will be stationary, color-coded, and at the very bottom of the window -- so they're easy to differentiate.

However, since the barrage can be a lot if you aren't used to it, there is a way around it.

Hit the settings menu (blue circle) and block the scrolling comments. You can also turn off the top ones, but just make sure not to turn off the bottom ones -- because those are the subs!

DO NOTE that this all works best on desktop! If everything's gone correctly, you should have something like these:

Right -- regular view, temporary subs Left -- full-screen, official subs

It's possible to get this to work on mobile if you enable desktop mode in your Chrome app. You will probably need to refresh a few times after that, or open the page in a new tab to have it work properly. Then it's the same steps as above!

You should have something like these:

Right -- landscape mode Left -- portrait mode

The scaling on mobile can be troublesome, and I have noticed that the auto-translate is slower than on desktop. It seems to take an extra second or two to work on each line -- whereas on desktop it's pretty instant -- and that can get annoying, especially in fast-paced scenes.

Additional Info:

This does not work for the mobile app! It is for the website ONLY!

If the translation stops working, refreshing usually fixes it.

There are potentially other options to using Chrome. Any browser that has an auto-translate will work, assuming it's as quick as Chrome's. If anyone has tried other browsers and seen success, please leave a reply!

OPTION TWO: FANSUBS

TreasureChestSubs here on tumblr have been doing high-quality fansubs for several audio dramas, including TGCF as of recently! However, at the time of making this guide, their TGCF translations currently only cover the first few episodes of season one. You will need to request an invite to their Discord server via the form in their posts. Please do check them out if you're interested.

I don't personally know of any other fansubbers who are actively working on the audio drama right now. But I do want to mention that Xyra_Rei on twitter has a Discord server where they share some translated snippets from various episodes. There are other great resources by fellow fans, too. Links and more info about the server can be found in the pinned post on their profile!

Part Three: Enjoy!!!

I hope this updated guide helps more people experience the wonder that is the TGCF audio drama (or really, any audio drama)! I cannot overstate how good it is in every aspect, and I think every TGCF fan deserves to be able to hear it for themselves! 💖

[winterdaphne2]

Gay Easter Eggs in BBC Sherlock

(I trust the above requires no explanation.)

Perhaps someone has done this before, but I wanted to put together a compilation of gay easter eggs in the show that I’ve seen other people point out and/or have thoughts on myself. So here it is!

When I say “easter eggs,” I’m thinking of small clues that the show creators included in the set designs, music choices, and other details of the show to reference that Sherlock and John are in love. I’m thinking of things you could miss at first, especially little clues that often require a bit of extra information or require observations across episodes to understand.

Of course, there’s also lots of subtext woven into the show, moments where interpreting the dialogue or visuals in a certain way tells us something about Sherlock, John, and/or the state of their feelings for one another. I’m not sure if I can clearly define “subtext” versus “easter eggs” and explain what distinguishes them, but at least to me, several of the things I’ve listed here seem a bit different from what people often refer to as subtext. Maybe subtext is about uncovering the layers to a piece of dialogue or an action that takes place in plain sight and seeing how that impacts our interpretation of the story, but easter eggs are about spotting smaller, hidden details. I’m not trained in literary or film studies, though, and I’m not trying to be doctrinaire about this at all! This list is just for fun, anyway. (The above image might not actually count as an easter egg, but I couldn’t resist including it here. Indulge me.)

The more I read about this show and the harder I look, the more I think that hardly anything is there on accident. All these easter eggs must have been included on purpose. The creators knew they were telling a love story all along.

I’ve linked to the posts where I initially saw people point these out or to other good sources, and for some of these I’ve added my own commentary/observations/interpretations. I’m sure there are many other easter eggs that I’ve missed! What have you spotted?

John’s PIN in TBB – When John tries to pay for his groceries at the beginning of the episode, we see that his PIN is 743. In ASIB, Irene’s code to unlock her phone is SHER, which would be 7437 on a phone keypad. So, John’s PIN is a clue that he is or will be in love with Sherlock. Source: @loudest-subtext-in-tv, here.

Shaftesbury Avenue, 20m from Piccadilly Circus in TBB – While investigating in Chinatown, Sherlock and John bump into each other at what used to be a cruising spot for gay men in London. Source: @the-signs-of-two, here.

Archer the American in ASIB – In the scene where the American CIA agents try to get Sherlock to open Irene’s safe, the head CIA agent pressures Sherlock by threatening to have one of his men shoot John. The agent says: “Mr. Archer, on the count of three, shoot Dr. Watson.” Ordering someone named “Archer” to shoot John could be a reference to Arthur Conan Doyle’s poem “The Blind Archer,” which is about Cupid and describes Cupid shooting two men who sound an awful lot like Sherlock and John. Source: couldntpossiblycomment, here.

“¿Dónde Estás, Yolanda?” in TEH – The song that plays during the scene with John and Sherlock’s disastrous reunion at the Landmark restaurant is a cover of the song “¿Dónde Estás, Yolanda?” performed by the band Pink Martini. The Spanish lyrics to this song are about searching for a long-lost lover, which is fitting for the scene where John sees Sherlock again for the first time since his fall. Notably, the creators didn’t use the first of the two versions of this song that Pink Martini has released. The band’s first version appears on their 1997 studio album Sympathique and features a man singing about a woman. Instead of using that version, the creators used the version from Pink Martini’s 2011 compilation album A Retrospective, in which China Forbes performs most of the vocals. So, the creators deliberately chose a remade version of the song in which a woman sings about a woman. They chose a gay song about searching for a long-lost lover for Sherlock and John’s reunion. abrae (@tea-and-liminality on tumblr) has a meta with more to say about the use of this song here.

John’s “oscillation on the pavement” in TEH – In TSOT, John observes a potential client standing outside 221B and trying to make up her mind as to whether to come in. Sherlock tells John “I’ve seen those symptoms before. Oscillation on the pavement always means there’s a love affair.” In the previous episode, John came to visit Sherlock at 221B but hesitated on the pavement outside, staring at the door and trying to decide whether to go in. Sherlock’s comment, “I’ve seen those symptoms before,” is a hint that we, the audience, have also seen those symptoms before—with John in the previous episode. Source: @bidoctor, here. (I saw someone else point out that last part about Sherlock’s hint to the audience, but I can’t find that post, sorry!)

Lilac dresses in TSOT – While planning John and Mary’s wedding, Sherlock chooses lilac-colored dresses for the bridesmaids. When John tells Sherlock that he likes the bridesmaids in purple, Sherlock pointedly corrects him by stating that the dresses are lilac. Apparently, “In Victorian times, giving a lilac meant that the giver is trying to remind the receiver of a first love.” So by dressing the bridesmaids in lilac, Sherlock is trying to remind John of his first love: himself, Sherlock. My heart breaks. Source: @asherlockstudy, here.

Putting the horns on Mary and Janine in TSOT and HLV – In TSOT, there’s a shot where Mary gives Sherlock and John a thumbs up before they head out on a case. The way Mary is standing, the horns on Sherlock’s cow skull thing on the wall behind her are placed right over her head. (I always thought this shot looked pretty weird, but now I see that it must have been intentional!) In the HLV scene with Janine at 221B, there’s a moment when Janine steps in front of John in the frame to kiss Sherlock, and her movement positions the horns right over her head. “Putting the horns” on someone means cheating on them. So in both cases, placing the horns right above Mary’s and Janine’s heads indicates to the audience that Sherlock and John are the real relationship in this show. Source: this post from multiple users on the @sherlockmeta blog.

The architecture of Sherlock’s mind palace in HLV – In the mind palace scene after Mary shoots Sherlock, the architecture of Sherlock’s mind palace is based on locations from ASIP. Sherlock literally built his mind palace out of places from his first case with John, illustrating that his relationship with John is what grounds him and that it means everything to him. abrae has some very helpful screencaps of this here (and I would recommend that whole meta, btw!)

The glasshouse scene in TAB – In TAB, the Victorian John tries to ask Sherlock about his sexuality and sexual history while they’re sitting in a glasshouse. In Victorian Britain, “glasshouse” was another term for a military prison. So John, a military veteran, asks Sherlock about his sexuality in a setting that represents where he would have been sent if he had acted upon his homosexual desires at a time when homosexuality was criminalized. Source: @haffieliesel, here.

What do we say about coincidences? The universe is rarely so lazy.

[lutiaslayton]

Did someone ask for more scans? No? Too bad, have more scans.

Emmy's letter to Professor Layton, post-Curious Village. The fabled letter, which can only be accessed properly if you rip open your copy of the Japan-exclusive Azran Legacy Guidebook (more or less).

Years ago, there were photos and a fan-translation floating around on tumblr. Now, I give you the new and high quality version, as well as a full transcript. You're welcome :>

It's been literally eight years since your post, but since your tags say that you wanted to be warned if a better scan were to be made, well... Here you go @puzzilitis x) I'm also tagging @the-azran-legacies, but I'm pretty sure your blog is completely dead since this translation post seems to be its latest sign of activity, and that was ten years ago.

Seriously though, just in case you get to see this -- thank you both so much for what you did all these years ago. Without your posts, I might never even have heard that this letter existed in the first place! Or, well, I likely would have heard of it by now given the fact that I've been documenting every single Layton media I can find -- but I would have lived through an entire decade of ignorance by that point.

The translation below has been done exclusively with DeepL because my free time is limited, sorry for that ^^' If you want another one in order to compare, you have the one linked above, and I will likely make another one later (much later).

みんなのエピソード２１｜レミからの手紙

Everybody's Episode 21: A Letter from Emmy

親愛なるレイトン教授へ Dear Professor Layton,

あれから数か月になりますが、教授、お元気ですか？ It's been a few months since then. Professor, how are you?

一緒に仕事をしている仲間からレイトン教授が遺産相続騒動を解決したという話を耳にして思わず手紙を書いてしまいました。 When I heard from a colleague I work with that you had solved an inheritance dispute, I couldn't resist writing to you.

タージェントから世界を救ったあのレイトン教授が単なる遺産相続のナゾトキの依頼を引き受けるなんて。まさか…と思いましたが、ナゾには目がない教授ですし、きっと知的好奇心を刺激される不思議な出来事だったんでしょうね。 How could the very same Professor Layton who had saved the world from Targent, now accept a mere inheritance puzzle request? I could not believe it… But you always had a penchant for puzzles, so I am certain that it had to be a mysterious event which truly stimulated your intellectual curiosity.

ルークはしっかりと役目を果たせたでしょうか？ Has Luke fulfilled his role well?

実は…私はいま、ワールドタイムズでカメラマンをしています。教授の活躍を教えてくれた仕事仲間って、ボストニアス号で世界を旅したときに出会ったドリスさんなんですよ。 By the way... I am now a photographer for the World Times. The colleague who told me about your activities is Doris. We met her when we were travelling around the world on the Bostonius.

教授のもとを去ってから私がワールドタイムズで働き始めたきっかけは、教授との旅がとても楽しかったから。 I started working for the World Times after I quit my job as your assistant, since I enjoyed the journey with you so much.

世界各地でのいろんな人との出会い、見る者を虜にする美しい景色…。それを世界中の人々に伝えたい、いっしかそんな気持ちになって、自然とワールドタイムズ編集部に足を運んでいました。 Meeting all kinds of people in different parts of the world, finding beautiful and captivating landscapes… I wanted to tell people all over the world about these experiences, and this is how I naturally came to visit the World Times editorial office.

今の仕事は、本当に楽しいです！ I really enjoy my current job!

ムスロッホでリボの滝と鍾乳洞の取材をしていたら、長老のシメジイさんから気になるうわさ話を聞いたんです。 While I was reporting for the Ribo Waterfalls and the limestone caves of Musloch, I heard interesting rumours from the elder, Mr Simejii.

そんな話を聞いたら、調査をするしかありませんよね！ After hearing such a story, I simply could not resist investigating!

村人たちの情報を頼りに鍾乳洞の奥を突き進んでいったら…幻の｢神秘の密林｣を発見しました！ After going deeper into the limestone caves, by relying on the information the villagers gave me… The fabled "Mystical Jungle" has been discovered!

ワールドタイムズの大スクープとして一面に大きく取り上げられたので教授もご存知かもしれませんが、これは私の初スクープなんですよ。 You may have already known of it since it was featured as huge news on the front page of the World Times, but this was my first scoop.

記事には書きませんでしたが、密林の奥には古代遺跡が隠されていました。 We did not mention it in the article, but there were ancient ruins hidden deep in the jungle.

ここにもたくさんのナゾが隠されているはずなので、いつか教授にナゾを解いてもらいたいなぁ。 There must be a lot of puzzles hidden there. I hope you will solve them one day.

もしかして、アスラント文明とは別の考古学史上に残る大発見がある…かも？ Maybe there is another major discovery in the history of archaeology that is unrelated to the Azran civilisation… maybe?

そんなスクープを追いかけて世界中を飛び回る毎日ですが、いま追いかけているのは、スラム街に現れた｢ナゾのマスク男｣です。この話、知的好奇心をくすぐられませんか？ I spend my days travelling around the world, chasing this kind of scoop. What I am chasing now is a "Puzzling Masked Man" who has appeared in the slum quarters. Doesn't this story tickle your intellectual curiosity?

お金持ちから金品を盗み、スラム街の子供たちにお金を与える現代の義賊｢マスク男｣。 The Masked Man is a modern-day righteous bandit who steals money and goods from the rich and gives it to the children in the slums.

最初は、この｢マスク男の正体｣をスクープするためカメラ片手に追いかけていましたが、スラム街の子供たちを見ているうちに、１人の記者としてそこに暮らす人々の現状もじっくりと取材したい、と思うようになりました。 At first, I followed this "Masked Man," camera in hand, in order to get a scoop on his identity. But as I watched the children in the slums, I began to think that, as a reporter, I should rather take the time to cover the current situation of the people living there.

スラム街にはたくさんの孤児がいます。私たちを無垢な笑顔で迎えてくれる子、まったく目を合わせてくれない子など、いろんな表情を見せてくれます。 There are many orphans in the slums. We see many different faces, from those who greet us with innocent smiles to those who don't make eye contact at all.

そんな彼らの姿を見ているうちに、昔のことを、ふと思い出してしまいました。 As I watched them, I suddenly remembered something from the past.

私も子供のころ父を失い、孤児になってしまうところでした。しかし、それを救ってくれたのは、おじさまだったんです。 I lost my father as a child and almost became an orphan. But Uncle Leon saved me from that.

あの頃、父を失った私をおじさまはまるで娘のように育ててくれました。 Back then, I had lost my father, and Uncle Leon brought me up as if I were his daughter.

だから、あの場所でおじさまを裏切るわけにはいかなかった。優しかったおじさまを裏切れなかった…。教授に嘘をついていたことは、申し訳ないと思っています。 So this is why I couldn't betray him in that place. I couldn't betray my kind Uncle Leon... I truly am sorry that I lied to you, Professor.

でも、こういうことがあったからこそ、教授に出会えた。人の運命って不思議ですね。 Still, it was because of these things that I met you. The destiny of people is a curious thing, isnt' it?

あ…、今の私を伝えたいと思ってこの手紙を書いたのに、過去の話になっちゃいましたね。私の話は、また教授に会ったときにお話ししますね。 Ah... I wrote this letter in order to tell you how I am now, but all this is about the past. I will tell you my story when we meet again.

というわけで…今は楽しく仕事をしています！ So, all that to say... I really am enjoying my work now!

そうそう、長かった髪を思い切ってばっさり切りました！ Yes, I also cut off my long hair in a very drastic way!

これまでタージェントの一員として生きてきましたが、いま、ワールドタイムズでカメラマンとして働く普通の女性として歩み出すことができた、そんな気がしています。 I have lived my entire life as a member of Targent. But now, I feel that I have been able to step forward as an ordinary woman, who is now working as a photographer for the World Times.

きっといつか、あなたにまた会える、その日まで。 I am sure that one day, we will meet again. Until that day.

ＰＳ．取材中の写真をドリスさんに撮ってもらいました！あっ、後ろにマスク男が…！ P.S. Doris took photos during the interview! Ah, the Masked Man is in the background...!

Emmy Altava

Important translation note: Emmy calls Bronev "oji-sama," all in hiragana, which makes it unclear whether she is related to him by blood or not (おじ means "uncle," but can also just mean "man who is older than the speaker" (at least from what I know)).

The Eternal Diva novel introduces Emmy as "a beautiful woman of Asian lineage" (and yes, I know, Asia is huge with a lot of different lineages, and I don't know either which corner of Asia is being talked about here), so make of that info what you like. In order to leave it as ambiguous as I could, I replaced all instances of "oji-sama" with "Uncle Leon."

There might be a few other translation changes I made, but I think this was the most important one to take note of.

By the way, I actually scanned the whole guidebook, and I will share it when I can (though don't hold your breath, as you probably know I am currently juggling between way too many projects). The scans aren't ready to be shared yet because they were basically done with me not really caring whether the pages would be perfectly straight, upside down, etc, and as such they need some editing.

(I checked and the resolution of the scans is high enough to make it so that editing doesn't hurt the quality in the slightest. I swear that when the scans are finished editing, you won't even realise it and they'll look just as good as what you're seeing above with Emmy's letter).

The editing also includes linking the pages together for aesthetics purposes. Some pages have artworks that spread over both pages, so I'm doing my best to make it look seamless! Here, have an example for the first double page in the book that really does it:

As you can guess, editing each of the 128 pages in order to get this result is time-consuming, and translating that is going to be a doozy. But let's just appreciate how awesome it will be once it's done, eh? :D

Anyway, next up on the blog is going to be the Eternal Diva novel translation. I'm still working on getting some buffer done, but hopefully the first "chapter" will get out soon! I'd like to post on Saturdays. Let's cross our fingers for tomorrow. Or next week, if today's translation is enough to satiate you all for now!

[kynimdraws]

INFO POST

Name: Kylee (they/them). 30+

A totally normal Korean American mostly known for my drawings, specifically my Pokemon nuzlocke comics. But I will talk about other things on occasion because I do have periods of being fixated on certain topics. I also am a doctor!

Interests: Pokemon, League of Legends (everything except the game lmao), Fire Emblem, Advance Wars, Animal Crossing, Mother series, Korean history/culture, character design

General FYIs: 

General inquiries/commission work/etc should be sent thru kynimdraws [at] gmail [dot] com! Tumblr messaging/asks/etc is not 100% reliable

I will not follow NSFW accounts but I am fine talking/interacting with them. There may be suggestive shitposting but I like keeping my content on the SFW side

I am VERY picky about who I follow/interact with online. Fandom content in particular is a minefield for me aka I have many things I dislike and don’t want to see, even if it might be a popular thing in media that I otherwise enjoy. Therefore, I will unfollow/block/mute liberally. There are times I accidentally block a blog bc I mistake them for bots. So if you got hit with that, just send me an ask or email me

I am very open about what I like and dislike, and none of those things are a direct attack on your sensibilities. I have never gone out of my way to directly send hate or whatever have you if I end up seeing shit I don’t like. My complaints in my little online space ain't a personal attack on you.

My ask/submission box/DMs  are open for criticisms if you have any issues you want to resolve in private. No one is perfect and I may have done ignorant shit that needs to be pointed out. I have deleted or edited posts in the past if people tell me what I did wrong. PS I get that some of my stuff may upset you, but try to act civil when pointing shit out please.

I try to tag all my things whenever I can. Again, send me a message if anything bothers you. I am all for good debate but if you send me excessive hate or threats bc I have different opinions about matters that are trivial, I will block/delete them.

If you wish to use any of my hcs, please credit me. And if you are comfortable with it, send me the works so I can check them out! Or @ me if that is easier.

---

FIRE EMBLEM FYI: Specifically for 3Houses/3Hopes because I need a separate one for this franchise specificially given how many crazy things I got due to being involved in this fanbase via my fanworks:

DO NOT try to convince me to like or tolerate Byleth/student ships, ESPECIALLY the ones with the lords (aka CIaude, Dimitri, EdeIgard). I already summarized why I don’t like FE3H Byleth ships with student chars here. While the spinoff game FEW3H has now removed that teacher/student problematic situation, the fandom keeps putting the FE3H elements into the FEW3H fanworks (i.e. remembering Byleth from “another life” trope)...so no thanks!! DO NOT SHOW ME IT!!!

As for the Byleth ships with faculty members, my response is here so don’t try to bait me about that topic either thanks.

I do not care whom you ingame S-support. 3Houses limits the dating-sim part of the game to that character, so I cannot care less about how you play the game. The main issue I have is when people treat Byleth the “character” as a legit ship material when I personally think they are a cool character ruined by fans who are too obsessed with badly executed self insert otome tropes bc they self-project super hard onto them. Just to be clear, any FE3H or FEW3H OC/Canon >>>>>>Byleth ships personally. Even Byleth-sonas that remove the teacher/student aspects are better than canon FE3H!Byleth

Please don't drag FE VA statements as some sort of “gotcha” on my opinions like this post here. IDC what other people prefer with ship shit, that’s their problem and not mine. I am not gonna bother them about it. So don’t bother ME about it.

---

Links to check out:

Myths of Unova + Episode Grey (Pkmn White/White2 Comic)

Tales of Sinnoh (Pkmn Diamond Comic)

Art Site (Portfolio)

Twitter 

Instagram 

[major-comet]

The Best Red vs Blue Watch Order Guide Ever. Of All Time.

So. You want to watch Red vs Blue, huh? Maybe you read my long post about how it's so weirdly incredible yet impossible to recommend and now you want to give it a shot. Or maybe you have seen the show before, but it's been a long time and/or you didn't watch any of the mini-series or anything and want to give it another go. Either way, looking at a show with a 21 year history is kind of daunting, and you have no idea where to start.

Well luckily for you, I've done the work for you.

This watch guide will cover all 19 seasons of the main show, most of the mini-series, and some of the PSA's and other such bonus content. There will be links provided for where you can watch everything I talk about. This Google Drive (from reddit u/Exitity, unsure if they also have a tumblr) has all of the individual episode uploads, and most of the stuff I'm going to be talking about, although I'm trying to use YouTube links wherever I can. Any links will be colored in light blue for additional visibility.

Couple of quick things before we begin.

When possible, watch the individual episode uploads rather than the "complete" editions. The "Completes", while they may provide a more streamlined viewing experience by cutting out all of the bumpers and outros and such, accomplish this by cutting out a lot of jokes. RvB has a lot of jokes that happen during the fade to black at the end of an episode, and a lot of those get lost in the edits. There's also some things that just straight up get cut for seemingly no reason. Side note, the DvD/Blu-Ray versions seem perfectly fine, and honestly are even better to watch than the individual episodes if you have them. They're like a best of both worlds - adding some extra music and such (ESPECIALLY in the first 5 seasons) that really helps make a nice presentation of the show. If that's an option available to you, I recommend it. Otherwise, stick with the individual episodes.

At the end of each entry in the list, I may present a Side Quest section. This will include anything I feel you should watch that isn't necessarily canon, but helps add some extra life to the series. This may include some behind the scenes stuff or a selection of the PSA's and the non-canon mini-series. This stuff can be really great for building out the characters in a way that doesn't necessarily affect the greater story, and can especially be good for interactions between characters that maybe don't interact much in the main show. Anything I put in a Side Quest is strictly optional, but will add to your viewing experience. Obviously, there's a lot more bonus material than what I'm putting here. I'm just putting down some of the highlights. And if you end up liking the PSAs and such then just know: there's so much more for you to explore.

Early RvB is very much a product of it's time, and sometimes you'll get hit with a line that stops you dead in your tracks. Adult-oriented comedies can always be a minefield, and RVB's roots as a show made for Halo fans in 2003 definitely don't help. However, while this is the most common in the first five seasons, it never really stops being an issue. The purpose of this guide is simply for watch order, but if you have any specific trigger-related questions about any season of rvb please feel free to shoot me an ask or even a DM - i'm more than happy to help.

Okay, let's begin, breaking it down by arc.

The Blood Gulch Chronicles

You may hear people telling you to skip the first five seasons of the show and just pick up with Season 6. Those people are lying to you and do not have your best interests at heart. The first five seasons are pretty much strictly comedy, and from Season 6 onward the show starts to explore deeper themes and stories while still falling back on that comedic foundation. Skipping straight to the deeper stuff doesn't work very well IMO, because those five seasons are spent getting to know the characters we're going to be following for the rest of the show. The stuff that happens in Blood Gulch never stops being important - whether it's side characters showing back up again later on, or laying the foundation for a lot of the moments and story lines that make some of the later seasons so special.

Anyways, the watch order.

Season 1

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Out of Mind - Mini-series

Season 5

Blood Gulch Side Quests

Tattoo Point/Counterpoint - Season 1 PSA

A Message to the Science Community - Season 2 PSA

Real Life VS. The Internet - Season 2 PSA

All of the deleted scenes, honestly, but This One in particular because asphodel and I quote it all the time.

The Outtakes/Bloopers - I'm not gonna put the link for these and the deleted scenes for every arc, but just know that you should watch them after every season/arc. There's some great stuff in there.

The Season 5 Alternate Endings

Either watch it Now, or after you watch the finale, but I highly recommend the 2003 Season 1 DVD Commentary. It's just Burnie (Church/Lopez/Vic) and Geoff (Grif), and it's really nice.

If you've ever watched any behind the scenes stuff for RvB or even rooster teeth as a whole, you have almost certainly seen This Clip, which is a behind the scenes of the voice recording for Grif and Simmons' lines in episode 1.

The Recollection

Recovery One - Mini-series

Season 6 - Reconstruction

Relocated - Mini-series

Season 7 - Recreation

Season 8 - Revelation

Recollection Side Quests

First! - Season 6 PSA

Small Rewards - Season 6 PSA

Rock the Vote and Rock the Veto - PSAs made to encourage RvB viewers to register to vote. Which at the time you could do on your xbox 360. These are here mostly as a "wtf" historical piece.

Halo-Ween - Season 7 PSA

Valentine's Day - Season 7 PSA

Fire Safety: Where There's Smoke... - Season 7 PSA. genuinely one of the best.

Holiday Plans - Mini-series

The Reach PSA series - Three parts total, only part one is linked.

Project Freelancer Saga

Season 9

Technically there's two mini-series that take place during Season 9 - being M.I.A. and Where There's a Will, There's a Wall. I really love them, and would recommend watching them after S9, but if you really want to roll into S10 you won't miss much. Weirdly there's a place later on that would be a great spot to circle back to these, but I'll save that for later.

Season 10

Project Freelancer Side Quests

This is a great spot to circle back to older side quests you may have skipped, btw.

The Season 10 Table Read BTS - Season 10 was the first time they ever did a full cast table read for the show, and it's cool to see a few snippets from it and hear the crew talk about it.

Matt Hullum Talks to Himself - watch this after M.I.A. it's a live table read of part of the script, with a focus on a conversation between Sarge and Doc (who have the same voice actor)

This 10 Year Retrospective that was put out around Season 10. Watching it now, knowing that they were about halfway through the lifespan of the show / company gives it a whole new perspective.

RT Oz - PSA

Remember Not to Forget and Voting Fever - PSAs made to promote the launch of Halo 4. Voting Fever is one of the Best Ever (and listen to the full version of That's How Voting Works afterwards!)

This Interview between Burnie and Trocadero talking about the music the band has done for the show. This playlist also has a bunch of other behind the scenes and other such bonus stuff from the DVDs and Blu-Rays, it's great to keep around.

The Chorus Trilogy

Season 11

The Chorus Journal Entries - Only three have fully machinimated versions, the last one is just the log entry. Bridges the gap between 11 and 12

Season 12

Season 13

Chorus Trilogy Side Quests

#1 Movie in the Galaxy - PSA

Getting Away From it All - PSA

#1 Movie in the Galaxy: 2 - PSA

Uh. I think the RvB Holiday Special goes here

Matt Hullum (Sarge) reading an excerpt from 50 Shades of Gray at a book signing.

Season 14 - Anthology

I get it: not everyone loves the Anthology format. I truly do recommend watching all of it at least once - or if you haven't in a long time. My only Side Quests are to say that this is the perfect time to go back to M.I.A. and WTAWTAW if you skipped them after season 9, and that if you skipped the #1 Movie In the Galaxy PSAs during Chorus, watch them now before the third one, which is in this season.

The Shisno Trilogy (seasons 15, 16, and 17)

Season 15

Season 16 - The Shisno Paradox

Season 17 - Singularity

Shisno Side Quests (this is taken from our survey data because it's been so long since I've watched much of any shisno-related stuff)

Hard Truths - PSA

Diversity - PSA

Cultural Appreciation - PSA

Lopez's Technical Guide to Empathy - PSA

Unreal Estate - PSA

Caboose's Guide to Finding Your Home - sequel to the Guide to Making Friends from season 14

RvB: Zero + Family Shatters

okay so here's the deal. If by this point, you're really just interested in the characters you've been watching for the past 17 seasons and not so much the story or anything - you may not get much from watching Zero. I do think it's interesting to watch, if only because I think it's got a lot of missed potential. Zero is not served well by being a season of RvB, I think I would have liked it a lot more if it were stand-alone, though that doesn't fix all of my issues with it. If you wanna jump straight to the series finale, you absolutely can. It's a pretty short watch, though, and I've heard that Family Shatters was better. I'll watch that one at some point.

Zero

Family Shatters - spinoff

Restoration

This is it! The series finale.

I'm not doing this with an other season (though I do recommend going back and watching all the teasers and trailers at some point), but before you watch the finale you should watch The First Trailer For It. I think it sets up the season really well, and helps make some of the rushed set-up exposition in Restoration make a little bit more sense. honestly this should just be considered the first scene of the finale. Then watch the finale, and then you are done with all of the main show of Red VS Blue. Go forth, and be free.

Final Side Quest

I'm putting anything that came out in the nebulous time between Zero and the finale in here. I'll come back and edit this once we find out what on earth is going to be on the Blu-Ray.

Offensive Driving

First Person Tutor

Moving Out

The Video RT Made to Announce Master Chief and Blood Gulch Were Coming To Fortnite. This played at the game awards and my soul almost left my body

This is also where I'll put QvsA, which is the Grimmons mini-series, though I haven't actually watched it myself yet. They're all on youtube.

My all-time favorite RvB fan edit - doesn't actually have any clips post-anthology, but I think the end is a great time to watch it.

If none of this makes sense, or you just have any questions at all - I am More than happy to help answer your queries. I hope this helps :) Also if any of the links are broken please let me know.

[iamfitzwilliamdarcy]

As a coda to my post from last night, this goes both ways for Zuko and Katara. We see Katara tell different boys about what happened to her mom - Haru is sympathetic and he gets it, but his dad is alive and he is, frankly, a pretty undeveloped background character, Jet is sympathetic too-- "Katara I'm so sorry"-- but then uses that to manipulate her into hurting innocent people, Aang is very dismissive (I'm sorry! he is! it's not his fault he had bad writers) and Zuko-- is the one to say exactly what she needed to hear.

In the Southern Air Temple:

Katara [Close-up of Katara.] Well, I just want you to be prepared for what you might see. The Fire Nation is ruthless. [Sadly.] They killed my mother, and they could have done the same to your people. Aang [Ponders over her words for a bit. Hopefully.] Just because no one has seen an airbender, doesn't mean the Fire Nation killed them all. They probably escaped!

This is the first time Katara has mentioned her mother to Aang, and he just completely skips over that comment. Obviously Katara's intent is to try to warn him, and Aang is optimistic because that is a pretty big horror, to think of your entire nation wiped out -- but he doesn't even offer a word of acknowledgment to her before skipping to his optimism.

The other time this is brought up with Aang specifically is the Southern Raiders. I'm linking to @catie-does-things 's excellent analysis here of how Aang's moralizing is both dismissive and immature.

Meanwhile, the first time Katara tells Zuko about her mother, they are still enemies, and he offers an olive branch -- "I'm sorry, that's something we have in common" -- and they're able to tentatively build up a trust around each other. That's of course betrayed, and leads to him trying to make amends in the Southern Raiders episode. This is when she tells him about how her mother dies (something, notably, she never tells anyone else in detail in the series), and he, very intuitively, says the exact thing she needs to hear:

Katara: But we were too late. When we got there, the man was gone. [Voice begins breaking.] And so was she. Zuko Your mother was a brave woman. Katara [Clutches her necklace.] I know.

Katara doesn't get this level of consolation from literally anyone else in the entire series. Her grief and anger isn't taken seriously by anyone else, not in this way.

So it's not only Katara doing the work in her relationship with Zuko-- Zuko is also very supportive of her, in a way that she needs and her canonical love interests are not

[genericpuff]

I WANNA TALK ABOUT THE FUCKING EISNERS-

i've been finding lately that there are so many topics i still wanna talk about concerning LO and its development and they just don't happen because i get distracted or busy and my brain is like "ok we're just gonna pretend we've already talked about it even though we haven't" JFKDLSAJFDASKLFJSLKA

Let's talk about the Eisners and LO's recent 'win'.

I've already briefly mentioned in previous posts that LO has had a lot of its awards and accolades bought for it. This is especially true for both the NYT Bestseller label (seriously, none of those labels are ever earned, it's not some top 100 list that you compete on, it goes to whoever is willing to pay for it or whoever an editorial column wants to highlight) and, of course, the Eisner Award, which is not exactly an award judged by the industry's finest (the judges this year were made up of largely comic book shop owners and librarians).

But we're not here to talk about that. I wanna talk about what happened after LO won its second Eisner.

First off, the fact that it can be nominated at all when it doesn't even really fit the criteria for their submissions is sketchy at best:

see: "new, professionally produced long-form original comics work posted online in 2022." LO is not 'new'. Sure, it has new episodes, but I don't think that really follows the spirit of what they meant by 'new'. The Eisner doesn't seem like an award that should be granted to the same series twice, is my point, and that's one of the many complaints brought up in the absolute dressing down that LO got in its announcement post on the Webtoons Official IG page.

Of course, you can see for yourself right here.

But for the sake of fun, let's share some of the excerpts here.

(and yes I'm sharing a LOT of these because frankly I don't trust WT to not delete them in an attempt to hide all the shit that's being thrown at their precious "baby")

While names have been censored to protect the users involve, I will say one thing - this isn't some attempt from antiLO/ULO members to brigade the series' win, there are other comic creators in this discussion as well from the Canvas section who aren't pleased with seeing LO win another Eisner when there are multiple new series from this past year alone which deserve more attention than they're getting. Again, see for yourself if you click on the link above, the vast majority of comments on this post are expressing their disappointment and you can tell from how they've been sitting at the top while all the positive comments are being 'pushed' to the bottom - the like counts say it all.

All of this, paired with the fact that LO didn't win a SINGLE user-voted award during the Webtoonies, goes to show that the Webtoons audience is over LO. They're done with it. It's not relevant anymore, the only ones who still keep up with it are the stans and those holding on in the hopes that the story gets around to resolving the SA plotline and gets its TV show (which I've also mentioned has a real possibility of not happening, at least not now when it would count the most LMAO)

It still gets more likes than any other series on the platform (for now) but you can tell during its current hiatus that when LO is out of sight, it's out of people's minds - despite many of these episodes now being weeks old, their like counts aren't going up, no new readers are being pulled in. And the fact that a series with over 6 million subscribers can barely scratch 100k likes nowadays is... really something.

And that's on its free to read episodes, it's FP episodes - where views count the most because it's where LO makes its money and initial views - aren't even a fraction of what the free episodes often take well over a week to gain at this point.

Episode 252:

And the midseason finale, 253:

Compare it to Down to Earth which gets 70k likes on average on its free episodes (though its current new FP is sitting at the 1k mark), is LO still bringing in higher numbers than other series? Yes. But it's clearly falling to a point where it's going to be on par with every other comic on the platform in no time. I can't even imagine what it's going to be like after it comes back from this poorly-timed hiatus, when all of its official fan groups have also been shuttered preventing people from staying in touch within their own fandom.

Awards like the Webtoonies are, while largely just for street cred, still audience-based, and I really hope the fact that the people have spoken not once, but twice through their engagement with the platform - both through the comment section on LO's Eisner win and the votes in favor of other series in the Webtoonies - will be a major wake-up call to WT that they can't keep trying the same things over and over again expecting different results. They can't keep stuffing money into LO as if advertising or awards are the reason LO isn't pulling in the numbers it used to. They can't keep pretending that LO still has the merit and credibility that it once had 5 years ago.

It's like that comparison from Super Eyepatch Wolf talking about why you shouldn't take advice on how to be "successful" from Youtubers who got famous 5+ years ago:

"Say you decide you want to become a carpenter, and particularly, how to build a nice chair. Think about the kind of person you'd want to learn that skill from. Would it be from someone who has built nice chairs every day for 20 years? Or would it be the guy who built one nice chair five years ago out of a special kind of wood that doesn't exist anymore, who has no experience with the kind of wood available to you now?"

LO is a byproduct of a version of Webtoons that no longer exists. It was fortunate enough to join the Canvas section when the Canvas section was still only lightly populated, before WT started trying to sell the idea that anyone could become "rich" on their platform (an idea largely perpetuated by creators LIKE RACHEL who only became big because WT threw all of their money at them), before Greek myth comics became commonplace (again, something that's a consequence of Rachel/Lore Olympus) and before the romance genre became largely filled with problematic "dark" romances (again, see Lore Olympus).

Do you see the pattern of what I'm talking about here? A lot of what Webtoons became known for was a byproduct of Lore Olympus and series like it, because those series did phenomenally well, due to being in the right place at the right time, so WT went "hey, cool, this makes us lots of money! Let's do more of that!" Obviously this isn't to say that Lore Olympus is the root of all evil here OR that it didn't have its own merit back in the day, but if you make a series that blows every other series out of the water in stats, it's only natural for a company to want to pursue more series and story tropes like it in the hopes that it'll replicate exactly what comics like LO did, completely misunderstanding why LO did well in the first place. At the time, LO's art was unique for the platform, and it was tackling a story that was extremely popular on platforms like Tumblr so it naturally gained a crowd.

But that was five years ago. Since then, the WT audience climate has changed dramatically, as it always does every few years; and LO and WT haven't kept up. We went through a phase of BL, isekai, and now WT seems to be in an odd limbo because it's still clinging to a series from three whole lifetimes ago, especially now with so many of its other signature series either finally ending (True Beauty) or walking away from the platform entirely (Let's Play).

At this point, Lore Olympus is a chair that was nice five years ago, but has since started to fall apart - its paint is chipping, and its legs don't stand up so well anymore - and WT is still trying to sell it you as the exact same chair - with cheap new paint and a few bits and bobs attached to try and convince you that the chair is new - but it's long past its prime. This isn't to say that the chair itself doesn't deserve to exist, just that it shouldn't be given so much proprietary advertising and attention when there are so many other works on the platform that deserve to be uplifted and seen.

LO was good for its era, it was successful for a reason, but we're halfway through 2023 and it's painfully obvious that the comic and the platform's audience is ready to move on to new territories. Webtoons just needs to learn to let go.

[thesparkling-diamond27]

The Second Bridgerton And I: Part 7

Benedict Bridgerton x Reader

Summary: Y/n Clearwater is named the “Sparkling Diamond” by Queen Charlotte herself, but she doesn’t know what to do with all this attention. Of course she has her family, but sometimes that doesn’t seem enough. But what happens when she encounters a specific Bridgerton, which changes the course of her season.

Author’s Note: I am so sorry for not posting sooner. I posted an update and said a chapter would come in the next couple of days and then a week passed. I’m finally back and I wills definitely have more time to write since I’m done with work for the summer.

Author’s Note: This chapter includes scenes from season 3 episode 4 of Bridgerton. Down below is the link to the part 6 and part 8. I hope you enjoy!

I sat on the windowsill in my room and stared out the window at the people walking down the street. They seemed so carefree. Not having a care in the world. I wish I could be like that.

My eyes drifted to the Featherington household where my friend resided. Lord Avcott’a ball was yesterday and I was still digesting the news that I have received last night.

Penelope was Lady Whistledown.

It was a lot to take in. I never would have thought of it on my own, but her being the infamous Lady does make sense. Before this season, Penelope rarely brought attention upon herself, which was perfect for her to sneak from balls and social events to the print shop when no one was looking. She was a self made woman and I felt proud to call her my friend.

However, I thought about all the lives she has ruined with her quill. Her words were usually calculating and had bite, which caused the downfall of most of the people she wrote about. Specifically Eloise last season, although she did bounce back from the scandal.

I wonder why she wrote such nasty things about her best friend. Did she write about her in order to get revenge after she found out about her identity? If so, I hope she doesn’t do the same with me. But she did tell me she was Lady Whistledown herself, so maybe she won’t write badly about me. Eventually my eyes wandered from the Featherington household to the Bridgerton household.

Benedict and I still haven’t fixed our issue and I hope we will soon. I wanted to fix it as soon as possible, but my pride made me hesitate. My mom once told me that “Sometimes you cannot fix a relationship. If you put effort and the other person did not, then it is not worth it.” I offered the olive branch and he did not take it, so if Benedict wanted to talk then he will have to come to me.

I looked at the handkerchief, from Benedict, that was still placed on the side of my vanity. I stood from the windowsill and walked to my vanity. I picked up the soft white cloth and brought it up to my nose to smell. It didn’t really smell like much anymore, but I can still imagine. My fingers traced along the initials that were stitched along the corner of the handkerchief.

B.B.

I missed him. I really did. I did not want to admit it, but I did. I have only known him for a short period of time, but it feels like I have known him forever. It was never awkward between us and conversation became easy like walking. And kissing him was like oxygen. It was as if I did not know how to breathe until we kissed. That one kiss brought life within me and I wanted more of it. I wanted him to introduce me to the world that I just discovered. I wanted him to teach me everything I did not know about.

I heard a knock from my door and turned to see my maid Alexandra with the door cracked open.

“You have a visitor Y/n.”

I placed the handkerchief on my vanity.

“Who is it?”

“Miss Penelope.”

“Send her in.”

I wanted to speak with Penelope. Although I was a little hesitant to do so, she was still my best friend. I told her that whatever she tells me will not change how I perceive her and I meant it.

Alexandra fully opened my bedroom door and Penelope sheepishly stepped into the doorway.

“Thank you Alexandra.” I said.

“Of course.”

Alexandra closed the door and I was left alone with Penelope.

“Hello Pen.” I said with a smile.

“Hello Y/n. I was surprised that I was sent up here. I did not think you wanted to see me.”

I walked up to Penelope.

“If I am to be honest yes. I was hesitant to let you in, but you are my best friend. Even though I disagree with some things that you wrote as Lady Whistledown, I still consider you the kindhearted Pen that I know.”

Relief settled on her face and she instantly brought me into a hug.

“This is a much better reaction than last time.” She stated.

“Did Eloise not take it well?”

“It was a screaming match.”

“She did not even try to hear you out?”

“Sadly no.”

“Well I am glad I can make this secret reveal easier for you.”

It was a shame the way Eloise responded to Penelope. I do understand why Eloise would be upset, but to cut someone out of your life is a new level.

“Can I ask you a question?” I asked.

“Anything.”

“Why did you write about Eloise. You two were best friends at the time. What happened?”

Penelope stared at the ground as she thought of what to say. I could tell that she was choosing her words carefully.

“I had seen Eloise in the rough parts of town talking with a boy of low class. I thought that it would be a terrible thing if someone caught what she was doing, so I wrote about it. I realize now that that was a mistake and I should have confronted her, but at the time I believed I was doing her a favor. I was too naive to see that my issue would do more harm than good. When she found out that I was Whistledown she was furious and rightfully so. I wish I can take it back and it can’t. I am terrible friend and I do not know why you can forgive me.”

I grabbed the sides of her arms.

“There is nothing that you did for me to forgive and do not say such things of you not being a good friend. You are a wonderful friend and I would not trade you for the world.”

“You are too good to me Y/nn.”

“I am good to the people who are good to me.”

We shared a smile and then I plopped onto the head of my bed. Penelope smiled and joined me on the other side.

“The real reason I came here Y/nn was to check on you.”

Check on me? Why would she need to check up on me? My instead thoughts seemed to be showing on my facial expression because she answered my questions.

“I noticed that you seemed a little off when you saw Benedict with another woman. Did something happen between the two of you?”

The kiss happened two days ago and I haven’t told anyone. I cannot tell my brothers because a) they will kill him and b) Alex and Benedict are best friends. Noah would be livid, but Alex would be ten times worse. My dad has the same ideals as my brothers, so that is a no. I do not know how my mother would react, but I am mortified to even think about that.

Pen was the only logical answer. She has shown to be a true friend and I know she will not share such information, even if she is Whistledown. I have felt the need to tell someone and Pen was the perfect person.

“Please swear to never tell another soul.” I said.

“Of course.”

I took a deep breath.

“Do you remember when you told me, not too long ago, that you and Colin kissed?”

“Yes I do recall.”

“Well…Benedict and I sort of did the same thing.”

Suddenly Penelope’s expression showed something that surprised me. A smirk appeared on her lips and her eyes showed amusement.

“I knew it!” She shouted.

Her statement surprised me even more.

“You knew?! What do you mean you knew?” I questioned.

“Well I was not aware that the two of you had kissed, but I knew that there was something going on with you two. When the balloon almost crushed you, he was the first person to reach you. He ran in order to get to you. And he never took his eyes off of you, even when you said you were alright.”

I never knew Penelope was so perceptive. I wonder if she was the only person to realized something was going on. I also did not realize Benedict had did all those things. That could also be because I was extremely startled from the balloon, but Penelope’s words made me realize that he did not have to stay with me after the situation was over. He chose to spend time with me and make sure that I was alright. At the time I thought it was purely due to our friendship, but could it have been something more?

“I thought his intentions were because we were friends.” I said.

“To someone like your brother probably, but if you payed attention closely you could have seen that his touches lasted a little longer, his eyes held more worry than a normal person, and other little details. You definitely did not know at the time, and maybe he did not either, but I could tell that he had feelings for you. I knew only time would tell. You telling me that you two shared a kiss only supports my suspicions.”

Her words made me think even deeper into the rabbit hole. At Lord Tremble’s estate, Benedict ran after me in the middle of my panic attack. He gave me his handkerchief, with his initials stitched in the corner, which is still sitting on my vanity folded neatly. He did not have to do so, but he did anyway.

When my family and the Bridgertons had dinner together, he told the cook himself that my favorite desserts were raspberry macrons and lemon cakes. He did not have to do so, but he did anyway.

I looked at the painting that was sitting on top of my dresser. The one that Benedict gave me later that night. I was the first person he showed his artwork to. He trusted me enough to show me his finished and unfinished work when he did not have to.

Benedict had gifted me the bouquet of flowers. He brought me three books from my favorite book store because he knew I liked to read. Well our book store. The book store where we exchanged books for each other to read. I have read to about half way through the book he recommended me and the poetry was beautiful. He was right about giving poetry a try. Suddenly all of his past actions started coming together. Did he like me from the beginning?

“If he has feelings for you,” Penelope stared. “And you too kissed, then what happened between you two?”

“That I do not know.”

“What happened before and after you kissed?”

I took a moment to remember what exactly happened. He showed me his art, he gave me my books, we kissed, I pulled away, and then he seemed off. I told Penelope what happened.

“I do not understand why he would act in such a way.” Penelope stated.

“I do not understood either.”

“There is only one way to find out.”

“Which is?”

“Ask him yourself.”

“I have already tried. At Lord Avcott’s ball, I smiled when we made eye contact, but he walked away and I do not wish to chase after him. I do not want to seem desperate.”

“Yes we do not want that. But we will have to figure out something soon.”

“What do you mean by that.”

“You two have feelings for each other and it is time that both of you see that.”

“I do both have feelings for Benedict. I only miss him as a friend.”

Penelope gave me a look as if she was sarcastically trying to tell me “Really”.

“Alright I will play along.” Penelope said, “You do not have feelings for Benedict. But just imagine that you had to pick between Benedict and Maxwell and you had freedom to choose. Without the influence from your family, or the outside world, who would you choose?”

I thought about what she had just asked me. Maxwell was an amazing guy. He is sweet, kind, and thoughtful. I have enjoyed the daily letters that he has been sending me and they have always brought a smile upon my face. Not to mention that my family approves. I imagined what my life would be like being married do Maxwell. I could see myself being well taken care of, content and happy. But would it be enough?

—————————

My family and I were currently entering Lord Fuller’s estate along with my aunt and uncle and cousins. I looked around as we continued walking. The interior had a grandness to it, but also some familiarity to it. The color scheme kind of reminded me of the Featherington household. We were currently following Lord and Lady Fuller as they guided us to their library.

“I have been building my collection since 1790. And thought it only fitting to share it after all these years.” Lord Fuller said.

I looked above and noticed all the paintings of past Fuller’s. It reminded me of the hallway in my house that shows generations of Viscounts in my family.

We entered the library and I was blown away by how many books Lord Fuller had in his collection. The bookshelves started on the ground and reached all the way up to the ceiling. The walls were completely covered by books, upon books, upon books and it did not stop there. There was a doorway that led to more rooms that weee filled to the brim with books. I was stepping into one of my wildest dreams, but it was reality.

“Alex pinch me now.”

I felt a sting on my arm and looked to see Alex laughing. I slapped his arm.

“I did not mean literally! It was an expression!”

“I know.”

He ran up to catch up to my parents in the front before I could kill him. He is lucky we are in public and not at home. We ventured further into Lord Fuller’s library to a less populated era.

“Mama I think I see Lord Harvey.” Adeline said.

I rolled my eyes at the comment. I was happy for my sister, but I was not a fan of Lord Harvey. He was rather vain and only talked about himself, so I could not see how Adeline could possibly like him, but it is her decision. It is her marriage and her life.

“I shall chaperone Adeline and Lord Harvey. You all should be fine by yourselves yes?” My mama questioned the rest of us.

“Yes we will Aphrodite now go.” My aunt Athena said. She motioned with her hands to usher my mama and sister along.

“I am going to see if I can find Penelope.” I said.

“Alright we’ll be here dear.” Aunt Athena said. “Come back here when you are finished.”

I nodded and walked away to search for Penelope. It did not take long for me to find her. I walked into a nearby room and there she was, but she was not alone. Penelope was occupied with her mother and Lord Debling, so they might be busy for a while.

I looked around for a familiar face and found none, so I decided to walk into another room. For all my family knew I was with Penelope. I went from room to room and the population of people in each room decreased little by little until I encountered an empty room. I turned to see if anybody was looking before slipping in and shutting the door. Even though we were visiting Lord Fuller’s library, I had brought a book for myself to read.

The room was rather cozy, but small. It had a long couch, with two soft plush looking chairs on each end. There was a small wooden table in front and a fireplace across from it. The drapes were open, which allowed for sunlight to course through the windows.

I found a spot on the couch and began to read in the spot of the book where I left off. The book was the book that Benedict recommended me. I did not realize how diverse and complex poetry could be until I started reading this book. One poem that stood out to me was about sunsets. It describes how even though you can go through a terrible day, it can end with something beautiful. It made me reflect on the day and to appreciate life more often.

I got to a part of the book with a tone shift to something more dark and somber:

“Ever night I crawl

In and out of my grave

Clutching the illusion of us

So when I die,

It might be

With my last piece of you.”

It was quite a vast contrast from the inspiring poems earlier in the book and it reminded me of a specific someone. I closed the book before I could read anymore and I had to take a deep breath in order to not let my tears spill. He is not even here and just the thought of him sends me into a spiral.

Thinking about him brought me back to the conversation I had with Penelope. According to her he has feelings for me. But did I have feelings for him? That was a good question. I saw him as a friend, but could I see him as someone more? Then I thought of Maxwell who has been missing this whole time. Ever since he left I have been in a state of confusion. Maybe my questions shall be answered when he returns.

After a few moments of silence. I decided it was time to head back to my family. I went back the way I came from and noticed the Bridgertons. They seemed to have already noticed me, so I decided to join them instead of walking on by.

“Y/n it is a pleasure to see you!” Violet said while giving me a hug with excitement. I returned the hug with an equal amount of excitement.

“The pleasure is all mine.”

I pulled away from the hug and noticed Colin, Eloise, and Francesca accompanied by Lord Samadani. No one else was with them. Violet must have suspected I was looking for a specific Bridgerton because she said,

“Benedict did not wish to attend, but I will inform him that you send your regards.”

I did not wish for her to do so, but I nodded in gratitude nonetheless. The next time Benedict Bridgerton is mentioned I might just break down and I would rather not do so in front of his family.

“I actually have been meaning to speak with your mother. Francesca and I were planning to attend the modiste this weekend and I was wondering if you, your sister and mother would like to join us.”

“That sounds lovely!” I said towards Francesca and Violet. Francesca nodded in agreement.

“Where is your family?” Violet asked.

“I was on my way to them already. I shall take you there.”

Violet nodded, but then seemed at a dilemma when she noticed Lord Samadani. She probably did not know if she should have him leave or have him join us.

“Lord Samadani. Do you care to join the Clearwaters?”

“I would love to, but I do not wish to intrude. I also have some errands that I need to attend to. Thank you for sharing your afternoon with me.”

He turned to Francesca and grabbed her hand to kiss the back of it.

“Miss Francesca.” He said and walked away.

“Well then.” Violet said. “Shall we?”

—————————

“If the Marquess asks you to dance a second time at the queen’s ball, it is a clear declaration of interest.” Violet said.

“We shall see if he even asks me for a first dance this time.” Francesca responded.

At Lord Fuller’s book collection event, Violet and my mama made plans to visit the modiste this weekend, which was today.We had already visited the modiste and were currently walking out and about town. I have brought a selection of new dresses and I could not wait to wear them to future balls.

Eventually our conversation switched to suitors this season, then to Adeline and Lord Harvey and Francesca and Lord Samadani.

“Oh something tells me he will. But if that interest is not shared, and…” Violet’s words soon trailed when she realized that Francesca was no longer listening. I noticed her eyes locked on something else, or rather someone else.

“There is Lord Kilmartin.” Francesca stated.”

Violet looked confused at the sudden change of subject and attitude from Francesca, but spoke nothing of it.

“Do you know his family?” Francesca asked.

“Oh not well.” My mama said. “They’re a rather reserved bunch, known to keep to themselves.”

“Are you interested in him?” Violet asked.

Francesca ignored her mama and started making her way to Lord Kilmartin, and we had no choice but to follow after her.

She curtsied when she approached him.

“Good day, Lord Kilmartin.” Francesca said.

“Miss Francesca. Lady Bridgerton.” Lord Kilmartin turned to Adeline, my mama and I.

“Miss Y/n. Miss Adeline. Lady Clearwater.”

We all curtsied in response. How he knew my sister and I’s names I did not know. I do not think I even seen him at any social events, but Francesca surprisingly seemed to be aware of him.

“You left quite abruptly the other morning.” She said.

“Well…you had another caller.” He replied.

Francesca face showed awkwardness and she tried to hide it by continuing.

“I hoped I might see you at the opening of Lord Fuller’s collection yesterday.”

“No. I do not often attend society events unless I am required to by rules of good manners.”

It now made sense. His rareness in society would explain how I have not seen him before until now.

“I see.” Francesca said. “And so, are you stopping to speak with us just to…be polite?”

“I…believe you stopped me.”

Francesca looked even more awkward and now defeated due to him being correct, which he was. She was the one who stopped him and not the other way around. The music from the man playing the fiddle in the street became more prominent when there conversation died down and Lord Kilmartin used that to keep the conversation flowing.

“Enjoyable music, yes?” He asked.

Francesca timidly looked down on the cobblestone road.

“If I am being honest, no. The pase is too fickle. Just as you think you are starting to comprehend the melody, the song is over. A song like this would be sweeter if it were played in 3/4 so one could, in fact, feel…the music.”

I would not have thought of that solution if I were in Francesca’s showstopper. I did not think the music even needed a solution. Although I love to play the Piano forte, I do not love it as much as Francesca. Her explanation of the time signature change further proves that. Music is her passion and she definitely knows what she is talking about.

Lord Kilmartin seemed to have an Epiphany.“ That is helpful. Uh…if you’ll excuse me.” He slightly bowed before walking away. His departure was abrupt and odd, but I guess that is just the way he was.

Francesca turned her gaze from Lord Kilmartin and to her mama.

“To answer your question no, I am not interested in him.”

Francesca grabbed my hand and led me further down the road.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“Yes.”

I did not push it, but I could tell she was lying.

—————————

Benedict

I walked into the Queen’s ball arm and arm with my mother, while Eloise, and Francesca followed shortly behind. Colin was not feeling up for tonight’s ball and decided to stay home. Something has been off with him and I do not know what it is. He has been odd as of late and I want to talk with him when the time was right.

We entered the ballroom and began to ascend the stairs to reach the Queen Charlotte on the other side. The ballroom was different from most that I have seen. The dance floor was elevated marble and there were pillars standing on each side like the Romans from my studies. Guests mingled around the dance floor and I greeted a few familiar faces as we made our way to the Queen. Mother looked perplexed as if she was hesitating, so I decided to wait for her to speak.

“Benedict.” She said.

“Yes.”

“I would like to discuss something with you.”

“What is on your mind mother?”

Although I had an inkling about what she wanted to address I let her ask regardless.

“You have been acting odd lately. You are mostly normal, but you appear slightly sad. What is the matter?”

There was a lot that was the matter. But the one thing, or person, that caused a dip in my mood was Y/n Clearwater. When we first met I had already known who she was. The Clearwaters are a well off family and I would be surprised if no one had never heard of them. I especially knew who she was because her brother Alex is one of my closest friends. I knew of her existence based on the stories Alex would share with me and I was curious about how she would be in person.

When I first met her at Lady Danbury’s ball she was a breath of fresh air I never thought I needed. Ever since we encountered each other at Thomas’s book store, she has been on my mind for most of each day. Throughout the days I would see things that reminded me of her, or I thought she might like. Y/n fully consumed my mind and I let it happen.

After we exchanged books at the bookstore we crossed paths at Lord Tremble’s house. Y/n was in a panicked state and all I wanted to do was hold her in my arms and make sure she was okay. I gave her my handkerchief as a way to clean her face, but also to comfort her. When I was little, the handkerchief used to belong to my dad and he would use it to comfort me as well when I was upset. When I got older, he had my mother stitch my initials on it, so he could give it to me as a gift. I hope the handkerchief was able to comfort her in some sort of way. I would think so, because she still possesses it. She could keep it for as long as she needs to if it makes her happy.

The balloon was coming towards her and I was terrified as it reached closer and closer to her. My biggest fear was all of us pulling the balloon and not being strong enough to stop the balloon from hitting her. That is why I made it my mission to rush to her right away when we secured the balloon from harming other people. Y/n said she was alright, but I still wanted to stay with her to make sure she was safe and unharmed.

At the bench she mentioned how she wanted to receive a bouquet of flowers. I was going to get her a real bouquet of flowers, but I stopped by Thomas’s bookstore first. After I selected my books, Thomas showed me the new spring books that he received for his collection. The titles all included flower names and the idea to give her a flower bouquet of books was born. I was nervous about how she would react, and I’m pretty sure she appreciated it. She did hug me after.

The day before we had dinner with the Clearwaters I snuck into the kitchens and told our cook Y/n’s favorite desserts. By then I knew that I have fallen in deep. I was going out of my way to change my cook’s already set menu in order to make a girl happy. It was a big gesture and I do not regret it.

I rarely show people my art, but I showed her after dinner. Usually when I show people my art, I show it when it is completely finished and I make sure there are zero flaws present. However, I was comfortable enough with Y/n to show her everything. My finished paintings, unfinished paintings, sketches, etc. It shocked me how I wanted to show her my artwork. Looking back now I think I wanted to impress her. And based off her expression and her wanting to keep the painting I gifted to her I think I did.

That same night we shared a kiss and I would be lying if I said I never thought about that moment beforehand. Several times I caught myself staring at her lips and wondering what it would be like to feel them against my own lips. When we kissed it was as if my biggest dream came true. Holding her in my arms I felt warm and at home. I wondered what took me so long to get to Y/n, but I realized that that did not matter. We still found each other in the end.

But then something weird happened. She pulled away and I was taken out of my ecstasy. I looked upon her face and she looked confused and not pleased, which is not the look you want on the girl you just kissed. I was hurt that she did not enjoy the kiss like I did and I was starting to think that maybe I read the signs incorrectly. I thought the feelings were mutual, but her reaction was telling me something else.

When I saw her at Lord Fuller’s ball, she smiled at me. I wanted to smile back and probably walk down the stairs to greet her, but decided not to. Y/n was acting like everything was alright and acting like nothing ever happened between us when it did. We kissed and we cannot take it back. I do not want to, but I am not too sure about Y/n.

That is why I tried to forget about Y/n. At least in a way where we were more than friends. That same night, I found comfort in Lady Arnold and have been going to her ever since. Spending my nights with her was a way for me to forget about my feelings for Y/n and maybe one day I could get rid of them completely.

My mind wandered from my thoughts and finally back to my mother and I answered my mother’s question.

“Nothing is the matter mother.”

When she looked up at me I could tell that she did not believe me. I did not do a good job of concealing it either.

“If I can say a few words.” She said.

I urged her to continue.

“I have realized that you and Y/n have grown quite close with one another this season and it has been lovely to see you two getting along so well. You are a great friend you know that right. She must be so lonely with Lord Tewkesberry being away in Paris. It is nice that she found a companionship with you, while he is away. I can see you made her really happy.”

She smiled at me and turned to tend to Eloise and Francesca. What my mother said struck a nerve.

I had completely forgot about Maxwell Tewkesberry. They were supposed to courting. At least I think so. I have never seen them out in society with one another, but maybe that was because he has not been here in London for most of the season so far. It made a tiny part of me hope that Y/n and I might have a chance if I tried. But the other part of me was telling me to be realistic. Y/n only sees you as a friend, so you should only see her that way. It was like the angel and the devil were both on my shoulders telling me what to do. I was conflicted and-

“Benedict come on!”

I turned to see Eloise calling me and I quickly walked to meet up with her.

“I have been calling you. There is supposed to be a show, so mother found us a spot.”

“Sorry I did not realize.” I answered.

“Benedict Bridgerton apologizing? Who are you and what have you done with my brother?”

“Keep on asking more questions and you will find out.”

Eloise shook her head and linked our arms together. She led us to where our mother was where we could watch the ballet duet performance according to my mother.

————————

Benedict

“Did you enjoy the ballet Mr. Bridgerton?”

Lady Fuller asked me.

The ballet performance finished and although it was quite beautiful, it was also upsetting. All I could think about was how much Y/n would enjoy this. While, the two dancers were dancing I peeped at the surrounding crowd to see if Y/n was amongst them, but I did not spot her. Matter of fact I did not notice any of the Clearwaters which was strange. A family like them would definitely be invited to this ball and there was no need for them not to be here. Unless something happened. I could not think about that right now, because I was currently being asked a question.

“Very much. So much so I wonder if I missed my calling.” I said

Lord and Lady Fuller both looked puzzled at my response.

“As a dancer.” I concluded.

My joke caused the both of them to exclaim with laughter. Society talk is not that hard to master. Say the right thing and you could have the audience go nuts in a good way.

Lord Fuller motioned for someone else to join us. “Ah Lady Arnold. You must join us.”

When she notices us she gives a face of recognition and walks over to greet us.

“Lord Fuller. Lady Fuller. A pleasure seeing you both.” She said.

“Have you met Mr. Bridgerton?” Lady Fuller said as she gestured to me.

“Indeed.” I said.

“Briefly.” Arnold said.

What Lord and Lady did not know won’t hurt them.

“Quite so. It is a pleasure, though. We were just sharing our thoughts on the ballet.” I said trying to involve her in our conversation.

“I must say, I do not know that the male dancer needed to be in such a state of undress.” Lady Fuller said.

“He certainly could have put on a shirt.” Lord Fuller added.

“Could not agree more. Nothing worse than a state of undress.” Lady Arnold said, while looking directly at me. I noticed the hidden jab directed towards me that obviously went undetected by Lord and Lady Fuller. Lady Arnold’s words were definitely society talk because they did not match her actions behind closed doors.

Lord and Lady Fuller’s attention was pulled elsewhere and I tried to see what they were looking at and my jaw hit the floor when I saw her walking down the stairs.

—————————

It was a loose screw according to my favorite footman David. My family and I were on our way to tonight’s ball when one of the wheels of our carriage ran over a large rock. According to David, a carriage in its pristine condition would have been able to withstand such little impact, but since the screw was loose it fell off and caused us to tilt downward.

Because of this accident we were late to the ball. My mom was stressed because we were going to arrive late to the ball and the Queen is supposed to be in attendance tonight. If the Queen was not attending there would have not been a problem. People arrive late to balls all the time and no one bats an eye when someone struts in a little later than usual. But this was the Queen we were talking about and she did not take these things lightly. She expected to you to be on time, and that was not going to happen.

David rose after inspecting the broken wheel and turned to us.

“Lady Clearwater if you leave now you can arrive only a few minutes late to the ball tonight. You and your two daughters can join Lord Clearwater and your sons in their carriage. You will be here all night if you wait.”

Mama thought about it for a few moments before deciding.

“Alright thank you David.” My mama said.

“Come along girls.” She gestured for me and Adeline to follow her to the other carriage with my father and brother. After we all climbed in, the carriage continued its way to the Queen’s ball.

“Well this is cozy.” Alex joked.

I laughed in response, but my mama still showed a worried face. My father tried to console her, but she was still concerned about being late and I couldn’t blame her. I too am anxious to see how Queen Charlotte shall react to our lateness.

We passed the modiste and at the corner of my eye I noticed Alex staring at me. I met his gaze and gave him a questioning look. His expression did not change, and he looked out the window. That was odd. But I decided to shake it off.

We arrived at a Queen’s ball and David helped me out of carriage. Mama quickly grabbed Alex’s arm, but he refused.

“Go with father. I will take Y/n.”

Mama nodded, not wanting to argue and prolong our lateness. Alex looped his arm with mine and as we walked I could tell something was on his mind. I tapped his arm with my fingers three times. Something we used to do when we were kids when we were wanted to talk. Alex laughed in response with his head down.

“You have not done that in so long.” He said.

I thought about it and realized that he was right.

“You are correct. I did not realize.”

He nodded in response and we continued waking in silence. I know he wanted to share something, so I prompted him to speak his mind.

“Are you alright Carina?”

“Of course Felis why do you ask?”

He thought for a moment before speaking.

“I know we all have been telling you this, but you seem off. I remember when you used to come to me for every little thing. You would tell me everything. Now you do not do that anymore. All those days you spend cooped up in your room, I was waiting for you to come to me, but you never did. I know something is wrong and you are not obligated to tell me everything, but I miss you. I want you to know that I can still be your shoulder to cry and lean on.”

My brothers words made me want to cry. If only he knew how many times I wanted to spill what was on my mind. To confide in him and tell him all my worries. There are some things that I can discuss with him, but I cannot share my biggest issue with him. If he found out about what happened with Benedict I do not know what he would do and I do not want to find out. However, I have been shutting him out more than usual and I needed to change that.

“I know I have been off lately and I am sorry I have been so closed off. It was never my intention to shut you out the way I did and I am sorry for all the pain I have caused you. I did want to reach out and tell you my worries, but I was too caught up in my own feelings. From now on I will tell you what is on my mind if you promise to do the same.”

Alex smiled at my response and kissed the top of my head.

“I just want to make sure that you are all right. It is not alright to keep all those feelings bottled up. Sometimes you need to release them by talking to someone.”

I nodded my head at his words.

“Now let’s hurry up, we have fallen behind from mother and father.”

Alex and I reached the doors of the ballroom and we noticed our parents and sister were still waiting outside for us.

“Okay we are all here.” Mama said.

Before we walked in, I grabbed my fan tied around my wrist and opened it up to cover my face.

(A/n for this entrance scene I am imagining it like when Daphne entered the ball after she ended things with Simon and dropped the fan in front of the prince)

My family and I entered the ballroom and as we walked down the stairs, I traced the railing with my white gloved hand. The majority of everyone’s eyes landed on all of us, but that could be because we were late. My attire, as well as my persona, tonight was very different from my previous ones. Instead of the usual family color purple, or my spring like hues, my dress tonight was purely white.

The sleeves were puffed out with a tule material and my dress was a silk satin material with pearl accents scattered around. Alexandra added a sheer silver glitter fabric overlay to add a wow factor to the ensemble. My hair was tied into a high pony and my hair was curled to accentuate my hairstyle. A crown was placed on my head which made me feel like a princess, or as close as I ever would get to feeling like one.

In my right hand I held the feather hand held fan and shook it in front of my face from time to time to add for effect. What I was doing seemed to be working because several suitors began to make there way to the bottom of the staircase.

Even though I was secretly courting Maxwell, and the only other people who knew were my family and the Bridgertons, I wanted to show Benedict that his actions did not affect me. I was moving on with life and if he wanted to talk he would have to initiate conversation.

I reached the bottom of the stairs, and a suitors stood in front of me. I believe he was Lord James.

I dropped my fan purposefully, a trick I learned from my mother, and Lord James quickly picked it up from the ground. He dusted it off before handing it back to me.

“Miss Clearwater.” He bowed. “May I have the pleasure of being your first dance partner?”

“The pleasure is mine.” The said.

I separated myself from Alex and offered my dance card to Lord James. He signed his name for the dance that was coming up right now, so I handed my mama my fan and followed Lord James to take our places.

—————————

Benedict

I could not believe what I was seeing and I had no intention to look away. There Y/n was looking ethereal in an all white gown as she and her family walked down the stairs. I was entranced as she ascended the stairs without a care in the world.

Her appearance taunted me as if she was telling me you can look at me, but you cannot touch me or have me. It reminded me of the words my mother would tell me as a child: look with your eyes, and not with your hands. But I did not want to just look at her I wanted to do more. I stopped my thoughts before they went somewhere I did not want them to be.

She dropped her fan, which was definitely on purpose, and a man nearby picked it up. They exchanged a few words before they made their way to the dance floor and I could not help but feel some type of way. His hand should not be on her waist like that. He should not be smiling down at her like that. They should not be that close to one another. They were too close for my comfort and it took everything in me not to walk over there and cut in to be her dance partner.

That should be me dancing with her on the dance floor, me holding her in my arms, me whispering in her ear. I grabbed a glass of champagne from a nearby servant and downed it in one go and I placed the glass back on the plate before he could leave.

Seeing her dance was agonizing, but finally the music came to a stop and the man she was dancing with bowed as she curtsied in return. I needed to get to her now and fast before someone else does.

I dashed across the ballroom to where she was near the dessert table. Y/n was eying the different ice cream flavors, but she was also with her mother. I took this as an opportunity to make myself known because I knew her mom will know something is up if she dismisses me. I approached Y/n and her mother and her mother was the first to recognize me.

“Benedict! How lovely to see you dear!”

“It is lovely to see you as wall Lady Clearwater and you as well Y/n.” I replied.

Y/n’s mother gave me a look, “What did I say about calling me Lady Clearwater Benedict.”

“You told me to call you Aphrodite.”

“Correct! There is no need for formalities when you are with me.”

“Understood.”

Y/n’s mother looked at Y/n and said, “You are rather quiet Y/n. You are usually quite the chatterbox when you are with him. Are you alright?”

Y/n was staring ahead, but quickly broke from her trance after hearing her mother’s words.

“I am alright. I was just thinking.” Y/n tried to muster a smile, but I could tell it was forced. Her mother did not seem to buy it either, but she remained quiet.

“I actually came over to ask if Y/n would like to join me on to the dance floor. It has been a while since we shared a dance and she is my favorite dance partner.” I said.

“Oh that sounds wonderful! Y/n has some time before her next dance! You two go on ahead!”

Y/n’s mother turned around to look at the ice cream and I extended my hand for Y/n’s dance card. Y/n started at my hand and then up at me. After contemplating for a few moments, she finally slipped her dance card off her wrist and handed it to me. After I signed my name, with the attaches writing tool, I reached out my hand toward her and she accepted it with a sigh. I then gently guided her to take our places onto the dance floor. The music began and we eventually fell into a comfortable stance that felt familiar. Y/n had said nothing, so I decided to get the conversation rolling.

“How are you Y/n?” I asked softly.

She did not respond and instead looked somewhere else over my shoulder. Now she was completely ignoring me. What a great start Benedict.

The dance required to have her with her back facing towards me, so I waited until we were face to face to ask,

“Are you well?”

Still nothing.

But I wasn’t going to give up. Before this ball was over I was going to clear the air with Y/n and that was a fact.

The music slowly came to an end and I slightly bowed and Y/n slightly curtsied in return.

“Thank you for the dance.” she said quietly before quickly leaving the dance floor.

“Wait!” I shouted, but even if she heard me, which I know she did, she still kept on walking. My only solution was to follow her. Y/n made her way up the stairs and up to the second floor. I followed her closely behind. Y/n found her way to the doors that led to the balcony and she quickly walked through them. When I approached the door, my hand touched the door knob, but I hesitated to open the door.

I wanted to talk to her, but did she want to talk to me? She was going through all this effort to avoid me and I almost walked away from the door, but then my mind went to the night Y/n had a panic attack. If I did not come to comfort her she would have been struggling alone. I did not know if she was suffering from one right now, but I did not want to take that chance. I took a deep breath before opening the door.

—————————

Why won’t Benedict just leave me alone! He knows that I do not wish to talk to him, I have made myself quite clear, but her either does not seem to get the hint or simply does not care. Yes. Eventually I wish to have a conversation with him about our situation, but not tonight. I am not ready just yet.

I wanted to walk away when he approached my mom and I, and I would have, but of course my mom had to agree upon Benedict dancing with me when he proposed the idea. I wanted to reject his hand when he held it out for me, but I could not do that in front of my mother, so I took his hand.

I thought I would flinch from his touch, but my body reacted differently. When he placed his hand on my waist my body instantly relaxed. As if my body knew it was home. When he pressed my back against his chest, I felt his breath against my head and it reminded me of when his family came over for dinner and his face was in kissing distance of mine. And then later that night we kissed. The kiss.

Maybe it was a good idea to talk tonight. To find out what he was thinking, but then I remembered the way he reacted when I tried to talk with him. He flat out ignored me. So it was only fitting for me to do the same.

My eyes wandered to the view below me. From here I could see the beautiful garden. It held an array of different flowers and plants and I couldn’t help, but admire the beauty. There was man made trail that led from the garden and into the woods that was nearby. Overhead the trail were white arches that were covered in flowers and it acted like a tunnel. It must be so wonderful to walk through the tunnel.

I looked to my right and noticed vines with light pink roses. I was always fascinated with flowers, so I approached the roses to inspect them further. I was about to pluck one off the vine for myself when I suddenly heard the balcony doors open and close.

I already knew who it was. I did not even need to turn around to know.

“Y/n.”

Hearing his voice only confirmed my claim. I knew Benedict would follow me.

“Y/n.” He said again.

I retracted my hand from the pink rose and turned around to see Benedict looking down at me.

“Benedict.” I said coldly.

He seemed hurt with my tone, but I did not care. If he wanted to gain back my trust he would have to earn it.

“I wanted to talk with you.” He said.

“You are talking with me now.”

I wanted to walk away, but there was nowhere to go except back to the ballroom and I would like to stay thank you very much. For awhile it was silent and none of us dared to move until he tentatively reached for my hand. When he noticed that I did not move away my hand, he took that as a chance to gently grab it and I let him. The pad of his thumb gently caressed the side of hand and it took everything in my power not to smile. I wanted to continue giving him the cold shoulder, but he wasn’t making it easier.

I could tell he was nervous, but I waited for what he had to say.

“I’m sorry.” He said.

I was not expecting him to say that. I thought he was going to start with explaining why he was acting the way he was.

“Sorry for?” I tried to act uncertain, but I had a feeling I knew what he was sorry for.

“For ignoring you the other night.” He said. “I was upset and I took my anger out on you. When you smiled I ignored you and I am truly sorry. I now realize you were only trying to be kind towards me and I repaid that kindness by being rude. I was just…”

He paused and it looked like he was trying to figure out the right words to say.

“I thought you wanted nothing to do with me anymore.” He finally said.

“What do you mean?”

“After we kissed…the expression on your face showed that you did not like it.”

Now I was shocked and more confused. I do not remember showing a face of disgust after we kissed, but then again I do not know what my face looked like at that moment. Maybe I did show disgust, but I did not mean it. I was mostly confused. Confused on what our kiss would mean for us and wondering if he had feelings for me like how I have them for him.

“I did not feel that way at all.” I said.

Now he was the one who was shocked and confused.

“In fact I enjoyed it a lot. I was scared about what the kiss would mean for us. I did not want to ruin the friendship that we have, but a part of me wanted more and I was afraid about your feelings on the matter. I know you do not possess feelings for me and I respect that, but I want things to be the way they used to be. You and me as friends.”

I looked at Benedict. Awaiting his answer. Suddenly his face broke into a smile.

“That is where you’re wrong.” He said.

“What do you mean?”

“I wish for us to not be just friends. I wish to be more than friends.”

This was very shocking to hear. So all this time Benedict had feelings for me. He reciprocates the feelings that I have for him. I could not tell if this was real or just a figment of my imagination, so I asked.

“Is this real?”

Benedict chuckled at my question.

“Yes. Yes this is very real. My love for you is real and I want to be given the chance to show you how much I love you. If you will let me.”

I lost my will to speak. All I could do was simply nod at his words.

“You do not know how many times I dreamed about this moment happening.” He stated.

“Oh yeah…so what happens next?” I replied after I found my voice.

“Well after I tell you of my feelings, you confess your undying love for me.”

I playfully roll my eyes at his choice of words. He looks at me as if he is waiting for my answer.

“Oh you want me to answer?”

“Yes that would be much appreciated.” He chuckled. “I want to make sure this is real as well.”

I took a deep breath and stared into his crystal blue eyes. His eyes that make me feel safe and at home. The pair of eyes that wrap me in a warm comforting embrace when I’m feeling upset. That’s why the next sentence I said was as easy as breathing.

“Benedict I am hopelessly in love with you.”

Benedict’s smile grew bigger if that was even possible.

“What happens next?” I asked playing along.

“Next. I come to you.” He approached me slowly as he said so. Our faces were now inches from each other. “Then…” he grabbed a nervy rose that was behind me and carefully placed it in my hair. “…I tell you how beautiful you look tonight.” His words make my cheeks color and I step back in embarrassment.

My back made contact with the balcony and Benedict had me trapped. There was nowhere to go, but I did not feel like a prisoner. I felt comfortable and I knew that Benedict would let me leave if I wished to do so.

“I grab on to your cheek and look into your eyes.” Benedict continued as his hand found its way to the side my face and his blue eyes stared into my e/c eyes. “And then…”

“And then?” I ask.

“I think you know what happens next.” He said.

And before I could say anything back, Benedict grabbed both sides of my arms and moved me so that my back was against the wall next to the balcony doors. There was a pillar between us and the door, so no one would see us if they see walking by. We were completely alone and out of sight from the ton.

Benedict slowly inched closer towards me and used his pointer finger to lift my chin up.He looked into my eyes silently asking for my permission for what was about to come next and I gave it to him.

Benedict then closed the distance between us and placed his lips onto mine.

[cyclopssun]

thinking of trying my hand at writing a fanfic

like rise leo deals w psychosis post invasion..

tw/cw for these topics/symptoms i plan to touch on: delusions, visual auditory and tactile hallucinations, disorganized thoughts and behavior, confusion, paranoia, feeling of superiority, intrusive thoughts, mood swings, isolation, incoherent speech, self harm, amputation(not diy)

i’ve never written a full fledged fic but i’ve actually been working on a plot for it and i have done research on psychosis itself just to make it more accurate. i don’t want to create stigma around psychosis and i don’t want this to come off as romanticism.

i’m not a writer or at least not a particularly good one so please be nice ill post segments here (maybe,, if it seems enjoyable? i might scrap this idk) tell me if it’s cringe or just generally bad. what would make it more interesting or suggest plot add ons.

I’ve heard from statements of people who have experienced psychotic episodes sometimes have fact and fiction confused like having a superhero moment that they are gifted or can save the world by committing some action. i’ve also heard there’s no truly identified reason for psychosis but has been linked to trauma, substance use, sleep deprivation and connection to mental disorders.

(geez it’s like i’m writing my extended essay all over again)*

leo has a distorted reality, everything looks as it should but there’s something off, he feels off, don acts too fidgety, mikey doesn’t play with his hands nearly as often as he used to, raph isn’t as spatially aware, dad is trying too hard to be present, they all have a glint of something in their eyes when they look at him. To anyone else these behaviors are explainable, but not to leo. He believes they aren’t his real family that he has entered some wrong state, his portals sent him where he shouldn’t be, his siblings have been taken and replaced, or cloned? leo is overall paranoid, believing he is in a universe or *something* where he is pub enemy número uno and his mind will have him believe he must commit some extreme act to get back to his real* family.

those are some of my thoughts,, kinda hardcore. I am trying to handle the subject with care. lmk if something should be changed.

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

Watching Miraculous, I feel that the show is written that no matter what Marinette decides to do, she would be in the wrong - she is in the wrong for not telling Chat about Chat Blanc (ignoring her own trauma in the matter), but if she told him, the show would make it the wrong choice...

The head writer has publicly stated that one of the show's guiding rules is that Marinette has to do something wrong in every episode, so I'd say that you don't just have a feeling. You've actually picked up on one of the show's not-so-subtle core tenets. It's also a core tenet that I strongly disagree with because - as I said in the linked post - when it comes to shows like Miraculous, the only characters who are always in the wrong are the villains.

If Miraculous was a different type show and Marinette's blunders were more comedic, low-stakes, sitcom-type stuff, then it could work. Two examples that come to mind are:

That's So Raven - this is an old Disney Channel show where the main character was a psychic who randomly got visions of the future. A lot of the episodes focused on her having a vision, interpreting that vision wrong, and then doing something foolish as a result. So Raven was usually in the wrong, but she was wrong in a way that rarely hurt others. If memory serves, she most just caused herself unnecessary stress.

Phineas and Ferb - another Disney Channel show about two imaginative and inventive young boys who have fun doing crazy things like building a roller coaster in their backyard. They do these things without parental permission so their older sister - Candace - is always trying to get them in trouble. In spite of this, the general viewer feeling towards Candace seems to be one of amusement, not hatred. This is probably because she never causes pain for anyone but herself, making it hard to look at her as a negative force. If Candace was written more like Marinette, then people would probably hate her, too.

While we're on the topic, it's worth pointing out that, while Candace isn't a villain, she is the antagonist. Her presence causes much needed tension. Since she's always out to ruin her brothers' fun, every episode has the low-key stakes of, "Will the boys get caught this time?" Without Candace, you lose those stakes and Phineas and Ferb becomes a lesser show because even sitcoms need stakes.

Semi-serious magical girl shows don't need characters like Candace to add stakes to the story. This is because semi-serious magical girl shows have built in stakes from the presence of villains and evil magic. It is the height of absurdity to make a rule like "Marinette is always wrong" in a show with an evil villain who is out to steal Marinette's magical earrings and use them to rewrite the universe.

The presence of the "Marinette is always wrong" rule shows a fundamental misunderstanding of the type of show they're writing. You only make rules like that in low-stakes shows like the ones I listed above. And even those shows understood that, if you have this rule, then you also make sure that the only person who usually suffers is the one making the mistakes. The writers of Miraculous really haven't done that because of course they haven't! This isn't a low-stakes teen drama. Marinette has too much for responsibility and the narrative stakes are far to high for her mistakes to come across as minor.

This is especially true because they keep picking mistakes that should lead to character growth and then not actually writing any character growth. Once again, that style of writing can work in sitcoms*, but Miraculous has way too many serious elements to be written like a pure sitcom. That doesn't change the fact that the writers are writing it like one, but it does explain why the writing leads to so much frustration for fans.

*I wanted to note that even sitcoms often make the audience hate the leads because it's hard to write anything where the leads keep making endless mistakes without making the leads look awful and sitcoms run off of every episode containing a mistake. This is why long running sitcoms tend to have a good number fans who hate at least one member of the core cast. Ted and Lily from How I Met Your Mother are great examples of this and it happens because the mistakes they make usually effect others. If the show had only been two seasons long like originally planned, then they would have been fine.

[conanssummerchild]

i was watching meeseeks and destroy today and in the beginning of the episode when morty tells rick that he's done with their adventures i couldn't help but remember a similar situation with evil morty and his rick in the flashback at the beginning of unmortricken and i think its very notable to see the difference between the two scenes:

(please forgive the shitty pictures, theyre taken straight from my laptop 😭. blue is morty prime and rick c-137 and orange is evil rick and morty)

both scenes start with the mortys having an objection about the adventures

"Wow, another adventure where I went up an ass."

"I just killed my family! I dont care what they were."

and both ricks act generally dismissive about it, although evil rick does go for more of a kind of mocking approach while c-137 is just plain dismissive, almost distracted kind of like hes not really paying attention to what morty is saying

"Oh, good, are we having this fight again?" Let me guess, you're gonna leave or throw a sulking fit?"

"I don't know, Morty. Some people would pay top dollar for that kind of breakthrough."

dismissive at first (like i've repeated 3 times already, sorry i cant think of another word 😭), but his face changes when he realises morty's being fr

evil morty's response is, justifiably, to insult his rick, but morty primes response is not meant to be insulting, and its kinda more telling rick how he feels (traumatised) and showing rick his frustration with their adventures as they are

"You think you know everything, Rick, but you're basically just a giant 8-year old." (accurate and also not the only time evil morty has expressed this sentiment)

"You know what, Rick? Thats it! I'm done with these insane adventures! That was really traumatising! I quit! I'm out!"

It's also notable that morty prime is the one who says he's done with ricks stuff, while evil rick is the one who challenges morty to leave

"I'm not doing this anymore! Either you're in or you're out, Morty. I'm tired of you weaponising this half-assed threat. You want out, then fucking quit!"

so evil rick's reaction to morty complaining is to challenge him to leave, but, while initially dismissive, as soon as c-137 realises morty's serious, he immediately tries to stop him

"Woah, woah, woah! Come on, Morty, don't be like that. The universe is a crazy, chaotic place."

look at him, he's so worried about morty leaving

and lastly, evil morty agrees and apologises (ofc we know it isnt sincere, but still, he doesn't even try to get his rick to understand his perspective because he likely never has before), while morty prime doesn't back down and stands his ground

"You know what, you're right. Sorry to be such a high-maintenance Morty. Why don't i get you a drink?"

"You're the one that's crazy and chaotic! Adventures are supposed to be simple and fun."

evil morty then goes on to kill hundreds or thousands of ricks and torture their morties and do a bunch more unspeakable shit, all to escape his rick and the cfc, while rick c-137 and morty prime continue to argue for a little bit longer, but eventually come to a decision together and go on the very first Morty Adventure (which is definitely quite a rocky road, but establishes morty being allowed to pick some of their adventures, which is what he wanted)

also very notable is when evil rick starts shouting and leans into evil morty's space, morty flinches and falls back, shielding himself with his arm (which is something i didnt actually notice initially but that @/fandomwe1rd0 pointed out in this post right here) and he makes a small noise that sounds like one of fear (a video of the scene is in the post i just linked if you want to take a closer look at the interaction). at no point during c-137 and morty prime's little argument does morty flinch/seem afraid of rick physically harming him, granted c-137 didnt really yell at him like evil rick did, but evil morty flinches away when rick leans towards him, not when he starts yelling, and c-137 doesnt just lean towards morty, he actually puts his hands on his shoulders, actually touching him, and morty seems in now way deterred or afraid.

apologies for any spelling mistakes its 2am lol, i hope this made any sense at all! :)

[naranjapetrificada]

Maybe I've just curated my dash well but anecdotally, I haven't seen almost anyone express disapproval of the Izzy arc in this particular way, which I would agree is judgy and unproductive. The main concerns I've been seeing (and hopefully expressing, although maybe not effectively) have been from:

People reminded of traumas/relationship dynamics reflected in Izzy and Ed's s1 relationship in general, or specific parts of it like Izzy telling Ed he was better off dead than acting so f*ggy.

People who feel like point number 1 is being retroactively minimized by the narrative (not the characters, the narrative) not acknowledging the role Izzy played in setting off Ed's Kraken era.

People who have seen their abusers get to control the narrative around harm they caused, which the narrative silence around points 1&2 seems to underline.

People who have been gaslit about their traumas and/or felt like the only person in the proverbial room who remembers that something harmful happened.

People who see Izzy suffering and then being granted grace, and walk away concerned that the message is being sent that suffering is the path to forgiveness, which would be a dangerous message period but is especially perplexing from this show in particular.

(I'm not here to argue with any of those interpretations if Izzy or his actions so save us both the energy, I'm here to talk about the post I linked.)

I can understand how, from any of those perspectives, the Izzy arc has felt like a sour note in an otherwise great season. I certainly haven't been able to engage with it as fully as I had hoped to do when I first saw hints of where things might go while watching the first episodes of the season.

I don't need a big speech or conversation about it all or even that much screen time devoted to it. But if the narrative wants me to buy a redemption arc for Izzy, the narrative needs to acknowledge what he's being redeemed for in the first place. When I talk about what's "earned" I'm talking about what the narrative has earned, not the characters. And right now, the narrative doesn't feel like it has earned more than me holding my nose to get through Izzy redemption scenes. And that's sad for me, because I've never felt like that about this show before.

I don't believe you earn forgiveness, or that you atone for your actions for someone else's sake. True forgiveness is something that the wronged party grants for their peace of mind. True atonement is something you do for yourself to make peace with yourself what you have done. Neither is "earned", much less through groveling or suffering. But both require acknowledging and reflecting on the truth of what happened, and that lack of narrative acknowledgement is the missing stair so many of us are having to learn how to work around when it comes to watching this season.

[starilicious]

mere haath mein (echo x gn!reader)

》 summary: reader and echo's love story from strangers to friends to lovers throughout the clone wars (a 4+1 type of story)

》 series masterlist: (please read the masterlist before continuing on!)

part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | part 4.5.1 | part 4.5.2 📍 (you are here!) | part +1

click here to read on AO3

》 part 4.5.2 word count: ~1.9k

》 part 4.5.2 warnings: none

》 part 4.5.2 spoilers: bad batch citadel episode

》 a/n: so sorry i disappeared! college took over my life like a storm but the semester is over now which means back to posting! i hope you all enjoyed the last season of our favs... it was such a bittersweet ending and i'm going to miss watching the show. :(( but in other news, here is the original a/n i had of this part of the fic sitting in my drafts: i lied, 4.5.2 is a longer part than i thought it would originally be LOL but enjoy!!! also, instead of fives dying, i had him disappear off the face of the galaxy. he tells anakin and rex about the chips, but he’s able to get out of that warehouse place alive because i truly despise the fact that echo is the only one left of domino squad… it makes me sad ksdfhgksdf

४.५.१ (4.5.2)

Your personal commlink crackles to life. A staticky voice comes through as you struggle to hear the message. You swiftly link it to your monitor, boosting the long-range signal the best you can.

“–stro? It’s Rex. Can you hear me? We… –und him. Come to dock...–bay six at 1600.”

The channel closes, and the static disappears into silence. You furrow your eyebrows in confusion as you glance at your chronometer. 0900, it reads.

After Fives disappeared, you became especially close with Rex, often accompanying him on missions where your skills as an engineer were needed. Times were getting rough and the GAR needed all the help they could get out in the field. You were first to volunteer.

For the rest of the day, you’re distracted. Even Arjun, one of the newest engineers on your team as a replacement for Prauf and Sonia, notices it. Dropping tools, tripping over supplies, forgetting your train of thought. You’re just so baffled. Rex has never done this before. And what in the galaxy could he possibly need you for right after a mission?

You’re at the hanger ten minutes early, the anxiety of just wanting to know eating away at your sanity. You tap your foot incessantly when you stand still and pace frequently from one side of the bay to another when you’re in motion, still attempting to decipher Rex’s cryptic message.

And finally (right on time, you vaguely register), two ships dock and disembark. One of them you don’t recognize as being a standard GAR ship–rather, it’s an Omicron-class attack shuttle. Is that what Rex wanted you here for? Some starship? A flash of irritation crosses through your mind as you strain to see the people getting off.

You recognize the Generals facing away from you: Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Windu. But they’re blocking your view of anyone else. You drop your gaze and see Rex’s legs in their classic blue armor as well as someone standing next to him, but you can’t tell who.

The Jedi turn to walk away and finally you can see who they were talking to. You make your way to them quickly. You don’t recognize any of the men but Rex, making you even more confused as to why he called you here.

“Rex?” you call tentatively and he turns around from his conversation to acknowledge you.

Your jaw drops as you take in the sight. The cybernetic legs instead of skin and bone, the scomp link as a replacement for a right hand, the red skull on his armor, the implants dotting his head, his face tired and haggard. His face is exactly like the clones you see everyday, but something about the recognition that lights up in his sunken eyes tells you that it’s still him.

“It’s you,” you whisper in shock, staring blatantly at the man you fell in love with during the midst of a galactic war. The man who found you, the man you lost.

The man you couldn’t save.

Echo gapes at you in surprise, clearly not expecting you to have turned up. He glances behind you at Rex in question before meeting your eyes, seemingly finding his answer.

“Hi, Astro,” he murmurs, voice deep and unused as if he just awoke from a restful night of sleep. For a moment, everything is at a standstill. No one dares to even say a word as you stand in front of each other, unsaid conversations hanging in the air. The wind breezes across your face, a gentle caress as if to say it’s okay. He’s real.

“Echo,” you breathe and throw your arms around him tightly, the shellshocked tears finally streaming down your face. You don’t give a damn about who’s watching, too wrapped in the fact that he’s home, Echo’s home, with me, in my arms.

I will never let you go again.

Echo curls his arms around your waist in a tight embrace, burying his face into your neck as he mumbles your name in what sounds like relief. You hear a choking sob, but whether it’s ripped out of you or out of Echo, you don't care.

“I’m back, I’m here. I’m here,” Echo chants it religiously, pressing his quiet promises into your searing skin and engraving it within. Whether he’s reassuring you or himself, you can’t tell. The plastoid armor cuts uncomfortably into your arms as you hug him, but the pain grounds you from cloud nine.

When Echo died, you and Fives became inseparable, always accompanying each other in quiet support. Both of you were your closest connection to Echo. And then when Fives disappeared, you felt like you lost your fragile tether completely, just floating along like broken space debris. No purpose, no happiness. Just existing within a vacuum void with no life, no resolve, no motivation.

You gently push him away then, taking his gaunt face into your hands to examine him. Your fingers hesitantly touch the implants in his head, and you let out a pained sigh at the slight frown his mouth curves into. Echo’s eyes are sullen, exhausted, but you see his determination as clear as day.

“What have they done to you, Echo?”

He doesn’t respond, instead observing you himself, noticing the darkness under your eyes and your slightly unkempt look, very unlike the prim and proper person he left behind. The brightness in your eyes has dulled, and he sees his own fatigue mirrored in your soul. Echo’s heart aches at the thought.

You take a step back from him, and he loosens his hold on you. You look behind him to see four men–clones, you realize in surprise as you peer closer.

“This is Clone Force 99,” Rex introduces you to them as Echo steps to your right to let you see them fully. “They helped rescue Echo.”

You study each one of them in curiosity as they introduce themselves to you. Clearly, there’s something different about them–you can see it in the way they carry themselves. You shake each one of their hands, reiterating your gratitude again and again.

“Thank you, all of you. I wish I could repay you in some way for rescuing him. You really don’t know how much this means to me,” you say, genuine appreciation coloring your voice. Hunter gives you a knowing smile.

“Anytime! Busting those clankers up is our speciality,” he grins and you can’t help but laugh at his happy demeanor. It kind of reminded you of Fives. A shadow of sadness passes over you, but you push it away quickly.

“Actually, there is something you may be able to do for us,” Tech pipes up. Your eyebrows raise and you gesture for him to continue, noticing Crosshair’s smirk that he makes no effort in suppressing. You weren’t exactly expecting a request at this very moment, but you don’t mind fulfilling it. It’s the least I can do. You hear Rex and Echo quietly laugh behind you.

“You’re an engineer, yes?” Tech inquires, adjusting his goggles to study you. You nod in affirmation.

“Good. I am in need of your services. We seem to be having a slight problem with the suspension support system…” he moves towards the Omicron-class attack shuttle and you follow in his footsteps, leaving the rest of Clone Force 99 and Echo and Rex slightly behind to talk amongst themselves.

You examine the blueprints on the datapad he hands you as he talks at what feels like breakneck speed. “When I pilot the Marauder–” ah, so that’s what it’s called. “–the steering feels quite sluggish and is difficult to handle when we’re in the midst of battle. I deduced it’s due to the suspension, but I can’t seem to pinpoint the exact location nor the nature of the problem even after looking over these schematics for a few hours.”

You hum in response as you scan the diagnostics before finding the issue easily in a matter of a few moments.

“Ah! Don’t worry Tech, this is a very simple fix. You need to realign the thrusters and make sure they’re properly connected to the steering shaft. I suggest taking a look at the control arms too–the thruster hinges that connect to the frame look like they’ve been through a lot, so maybe consider replacing them? I think I’ve got a couple of spare ones in my shop if you want,” you advise, handing the datapad back to him. Tech stares at you, mouth agape as he absentmindedly accepts the datapad.

You simply smile and turn around to see everyone else losing it after watching the exchange. Even Crosshair has cracked a smile, something clearly rare based on his aloof attitude. Puzzled, you ask, “What’s so funny?”

Hunter, bless him, takes mercy on you and explains dutifully. “Tech has been trying to fix that for at least two hours and you figured out the problem in thirty seconds. No one has ever been able to beat Tech at something he knows practically everything about.”

You huff out a light laugh of surprise. “Well, it is my job to fix and repair starships. It would be pretty bad if I wasn’t able to diagnose issues as soon as I got them,” you point out. Hunter nods in agreement as the laughter slowly begins to die down.

“So, I’m assuming you all are getting medals, right? I mean you’ve clearly pulled off an amazing and incredibly difficult mission,” you ask, glancing from one clone to the next, your gaze landing on Echo.

“Not… really our thing,” Tech shrugs.

“Accolades,” Crosshair concurs, mouth moving around the toothpick that seems to be permanently present.

"Yeah, we're just in it for the thrill. Yo!" Wrecker grins, pumping his fist into the air.

Hunter turns to Echo. "You sure it's… your thing?"

You steal a glance at Echo as the confusion dances across his face. "What do you mean?"

"Your path is different," Hunter elaborates before letting out a chuckle. "Like ours."

You can practically see the gears turning in Echo's head as he processes Hunter's underlying message. You stay silent.

"If you ever feel like you don't fit in with them, well… find us.” Hunter inclines his head to the team, and Tech, Crosshair, and Wrecker give you all a nod of goodbye. And with that, you watch Clone Force 99 retire back to their ship, leaving you, Echo, and Rex behind to watch.

“Those are some of the finest troopers I’ve ever fought alongside,” Rex states. He pauses for a moment before placing his hand on Echo’s shoulder, shaking him out of his train of thought.

“Echo.”

He turns to look at him.

“You and I go way back. If that’s where you feel your place is… then that’s where you belong,” Rex asserts, eyes roaming Echo’s conflicted face. You can’t fight the sad smile that appears on your lips. Even through all the pain he’s gone through, Rex always puts his friends–his brothers–first.

Rex rotates slightly to face you. “And if you would like to accompany him, Astro… I can make it happen.”

Your eyes widen in surprise, not believing your ears. Is he serious? You and Echo glance at each other then, an instantaneous unspoken agreement settling into the space between you. Rex pats both of your shoulders and departs.

You and Echo follow Clone Force 99’s path, each step of yours carrying you closer and closer to the unknown. You’re about to leave behind everything.

Your right hand brushes against Echo’s left one.

Well, not quite everything.

And when you all turn around to see Rex one last time and salute to him, you know that no matter what, it will be okay because Echo’s beside you. Right where he should be.

---

part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | part 4.5.1 | part 4.5.2 📍 (you are here!) | part +1

please consider reblogging! it really helps me and is super encouraging ^_^