#also bc i can i added some traits to them bc i love doing character design to well established characters

[hacksplatter]

smoke break

[officialspec]

can you pleeeeease post your dm sexuality/gender hcs on here.... 🥺 i don't have a twitter but i wanna know. it's like a pandora's box to me now i'm like scratching at the door. let me in

heres the link 2 the thread (mild spoilers btw) ill post a transcript under the cut for ppl who dont have twitter

first off i think laios relationship to sex is super removed for like 50 reasons without even getting into his actual sexuality

he grew up in a place with very repressed ideas about sex and has a lot of fear about asserting his presence in situations

his special interest takes precedent over any social interactions he has and the level of closeness he feels towards people

he has a hard time figuring out his feelings towards other people both bc hes autistic and bc he has freaky deviantart fetishes that make sex in his mind a very abstract concept <- this one is me projecting mostly

that aside, i feel like gender-wise hes attracted to ppl so infrequently it may as well be entirely case-by-case

the idea of him being gay appeals to me from the 'raised with traditional values he Does Not fit into/hasnt begun to question it yet' perspective, i lauve characters who put a lot of stock into performing a role thats expected of them and fail miserably for unknown (gay) reasons

from his perspective tho i dont think he would ever really label himself anything. hes going to pride parades in the shirt+shorts Ally Fit to clap for his friends

hes also 'cis by indifference' imo... i love tmasc laios hcs it just doesnt mesh w his personal history to me. i do think hes got some kind of therian gender thing going on (not trans or nb but a secret third thing) but i cant see him changing anything abt his appearance/pronouns to accommodate that post-canon. hes just doin his thang

falin is in a similar boat for gender. i LOOVE tfem falin but the village repression thing has been bugging at me so i dont think i subscribe to it anymore (canon purist sorry) BUT if u hold that hc i am clapping and cheering regardless

instead i was propagandised to a while back and i LOVEEE the idea that being fused w a male dragon and the residual traits she has after being revived have given her a type of gender euphoria she didnt realise she was missing. a little boygirl swagger if u will

sexuality-wise i also dont think she would care to label herself, shes a lesbian by virtue of only being interested in One woman and zero other people. without marcille i do think shes still exclusively attracted to women, and i like to imagine she might experiment around a bit during her travels post-canon (pre-relationship). hearing abt it might put marcille on the news though

marcille is very simple That is a transfem lesbian. she cant get pregnant, shes obsessed w being femme and all that combined w her half-tallman struggles to be seen as 'properly feminine' by elf standards reads very transfeminine to Me. also her bookboy crush REEKS of comphet its not subtle

i think a more comfortable marcy might have the space to experiment w being elf butch like her manga boys but thats mainly self indulgence for me. utena could have saved her

senshi is gay his whole thing is abt not being able to perform dwarven masculinity to a proper standard (soft hearted, not as strong or rugged as his peers) which is like gaycoding 101. also hes a bear. homosexuality be damned by boy can work a grill

adding onto this i rly think senshi got some type of euphoria from being an elf in the changeling chapters. he was feeling himself so much i think he was using it as an outlet to have fun being a little fem and fruity without needing to justify it. do u understand

i dont have any particular opinions abt him gender-wise beyond that. his bulge is an essential part of his character design but i also saw a transmasc senshi a couple days ago that made me nod my head thoughtfully so i could go either way

chilchuck is cis and bisexual this is just canon. not even just his old man crush on senshi altho i do think thats very funny but they put his ass on a cover themed like hes in a dating sim with all the men and women in the cast and then slapped it in front of a chapter called "bicorn". i simply cant pass up that kind of overt signaling. its so fucking funny what else is there to say truly

izu to ME is a transmasc aroace lesbian (this one has the least basis in canon i just know it to be true) shes a little genderfluid with it nd uses he/she i think. i like to imagine she consistently uses masculine personal pronouns to refer to herself either way tho (boku, ore)

i think izutsumis gender/sexuality is entirely secondary in priorities to her body dysphoria. she has a lot of learning and acceptance 2 do before that kind of self discovery is on the docket and in my mind eschewing gender on some level is part of that. get sillay

shuro is cishet but at least he feels bad about it. next

kabru is a transmasc bisexual this is also practically text. his whole thing of being treated like a doll by milsiril to put in pretty dresses, plus i think it would be pretty easy for him to stealth in the west since tallmen are seen as inherently more masculine than elves

(i also think changing genders is just more common for elves. theyre androgynous enough that it wouldnt be hard and like who in their right miiiiind would be the same gender for 500 years. dwarves too)

i think he started presenting as male socially in the west but didnt need to consider medical transition until he moved to a more mixed culture where other races might see him as a woman

i dont have to explain the bisexual part. have u seen him

namari is a butch bisexual this is just canon straight up. shes not transmasc but i think the default settings for dwarven women is like 4 years of T regardless. shes a hit at all the local cruising spots despite her renfaire nerdisms i know this

and just bc im thinking abt em kiki and kaka are identical and kiki is tfem :} theyre both attracted to women but kaka is a sub so i forgive him

THATS ALL 4 NOW theres a lot of characters so i cant have thoughts abt all of them at once but i hope this was good. im right about everything forever as per usual

[rescue-ram]

Now I'm curious, how would you adapt a modern version of Mash?

Oh man thank you for giving me pretext to ramble about this. I have too many thoughts about Cursed Hypothetical MASH Reboot.

Genre Change MASH is from the golden age of sitcom and is one of the best examples of the genre. Tragically, really good sitcoms don't get made, and the shorter lengths commissioned mean we wouldn't get space for the sillier or more experimental episodes that make MASH so charming and memorable. This is also why any remake or reimagining could never replace the original. There's also less "suspension of disbelief" with modern audiences, so I think modern MASH would have to have a more grounded setting and consistent time line, so RIP time loop. I think the modern genre that would best fit MASH is dramedy. Classico MASH already had elements of "get 'em laughing so they cry harder" and Hypothetical Remake MASH would play that up. Basically, we're gonna "Better Call Saul" this bitch.

In writing out my ideas below, I realized hitting the main plot beats I imagine makes this sound like. Depressing. Which it kind of would be! But I want to emphasize that in my mind's eye this would still tonally be a comedy right up until It Isn't. Similar to BCS, characters encounter obstacles, handle them in very funny ways, but things Keep Happening and compounding and at the end you realize all those funny things have added up to something horrific and inevitable.

General Thoughts In my beautiful mind, this is five twelve episode seasons, each corresponding to a roughly six month period- the first two seasons are 1951, climaxing with Henry's death, first episode or two of season 3 is Trapper leaving/BJ arriving and then 3/4 is 1952, and the final season is 1953 and the ceasefire. Fortunately, because the characters in MASH are pretty well fleshed out with a lot of traits I think they could be turned into dramedy characters pretty easily, and you can take the Big Things that happen to them and play them straight/expand on them into proper arcs. Also, pulling in more historical details could be really interesting, and an opportunity to unpack how Fully Evil the war in Korea was. In reading more memoirs from doctors who served in MASH units, I was struck by how much contact with international forces they had, and the surprising amount of contact with their Chinese/Korean counter-parts. I think more of both of those things would be fun to incorporate into Hypothetical Remake.

Expanded Roles for Nurses We need more women. And fortunately, we got them! Even though there is Not A Lot of existing canon, I really do think we have enough on the recurring nurses to act as seeds for fuller characters. I would love to see Kellye developed as a supporting character from the start. Struggling to articulate this, but I think a deeper perspective on anti-Asian sentiment could be explored through her, possibly with some connections to the history of colonialism in Korea in particular. The character was described as Chinese and Hawaiian, but given her credited surnames of Yamato and Nakamura getting a little into her Japanese heritage and the resentment of Koreans towards the Japanese could be interesting as well. I also think "Dish" Schneider's conflict, torn between loyalty to her husband/fiancee and her attraction to the handsome funny guy who relentlessly flirts with her, could be a source of drama. I also really like Ginger's recurring "thing" with Trapper in canon, and expanding that into an actual friendship and digging into the racism and taboos against interracial relationships of the period would be interesting. You can take Margie Cutler as a young and inexperienced nurse and give her a little coming of age arc. I would also love for Knocko McCarthy to be a foil for Margaret- as the second most senior nurse, she chafes under Margaret's command and kind of collaborates with the Swampmen to subvert her, culminating in Margaret calling her out that if she didn't side with them against her, they'd hate Knocko too, and them growing closer over the series.

Ho-Jon and Expanded Roles for Korean Characters Many have written about the shitty representation of Koreans in MASH, and Hypothetical Remake could remediate that significantly. I think giving Ho-Jon (or a similar new character) an expanded role would be good, with more ties to his family out of camp and conflict over whether or not supporting the occupying American forces and the south is the right thing to do or the expedient thing. I also think there's some dark comedy to be mined from a slightly subversive Ho-Jon taking advantage of racism and being seen as ignorant or interchangeable to get away with shit. Would love for Black Market Guy to be a recurring character. There's also a great real life story I read where a MASH surgeon formed a bond with a Chinese doctor after accidentally connecting to a PLA radio channel, and I think that could be adapted into a really fun source of comedy (bonding with "the enemy" over shared indignities, surprising similarities, etc) and ultimately drama (Hawkeye finds out about a US or ROK attack that will cripple that doctor's unit or put him in danger- does he say nothing, knowing hundreds will be injured or killed including maybe his new friend, or does he commit treason and risk prison or death to warn him- and how does he live with not knowing what happened when he has to choose inaction?) Any of the Very Special episodes could be adapted and expanded. And of course, Hypothetical Remake would have Korean writers, or consultants, or at the very least a goddamn baby name book so we don't end up with a dozen characters just named Kim, or worse random syllables.

Radar I would love to keep Radar as one of the main POV character throughout the whole series and use his unique position to bridge between different storylines- he's an enlisted man so he has that perspective, he's close with Hawkeye and the surgeons, he's assisting Henry/Potter so he has ties to command, give him a friendship with a nurse and you're set. Given the comedy-to-tragedy arc of dramadys, I would love to take the book detail that he enlisted with dreams of glory and becoming a general and lean fully into that. He starts out season 1 as a sweet naive farm kid flying by the seat of his pants to figure out his job, he gets more and more enmeshed with the military over the course of the series, currying favor with the brass to pull strings to help the unit/his friends/himself, and it ends with Potter giving him a recommendation for officer school- an outcome fully framed as a tragic loss of self to a corrupt institution.

Hawkeye I think Seasons 1 and 2 in particular could be driven by the Hawkeye and Trapper committing outrages and crimes in the name of justice/not giving a shit, and then having to spend the rest of the season engaging in more outrages and crimes to Bugs Bunny their way out of consequences. The central tragedy arcing through the series is the Destruction of Hawkeye Pierce. He starts out determined to stay himself, stick to his principles, and not let the army change him. The glimmer of hope at the end is that he has survived and gets to go home, but At What Cost. I also think making him bipolar makes the most sense- early season Hawkeye hints he's had highs and lows before, but always managed to cope, but under the increasing stress his mental health gets worse. Insomnia due to overwork triggers a manic episode (adapting Dr Pierce and Mr Hyde) about halfway through S1, with a major change in his relationship with Trapper associated with that, and his first on screen depressive episode triggered by Henry's death, which gets him his week of R&R he goes AWOL from. He holds it together through S3 with increasing amounts of self-medication for BJ's sake, and S4's overarching storyline for him is a fully Catch-22 expansion of The Late Captain Pierce with increasing levels of franticness to resolve it, and S5 is a full blown "I'M NOT EVEN SUPPOSED TO BE HERE" crisis culminating in the equivalent of GFA, and a brief psychotic episode triggered by his mood dysregulation and moral injury. An expansion of The Late Captain Pierce would be a great source of absurdity and drama, the ultimate consequence of his alienation of Everyone In Bureaucracy or Command (they all dislike/hate him for his antics and disrespect in S1-3 and no one wants to help him in his predicament, with a few spitefully refusing to help outright), and necessary to explain his presence in Korea in 1953 since his enlistment should've ended by then (since key members of the bureaucracy Hate him they refuse to count the months he was "dead" as part of his service, and his father is in too poor of health/financially strained from his cancer scare to advocate for him successfully stateside). I also think "playing straight" all the nurses breaking up with him after Ceasefire could be interesting. Like, S1 Hawkeye is a ladies man who's saying all the right things and juggling multiple relationships, but after they realize he doesn't Capital L Love any of them they start to distance from him- not unfriendly, but less a source of support. That alienation from others, first with the nurses at the end of S1 then others in camp, causing a vicious cycle of increasingly erratic behavior leading to less support etc culminates in his breakdown towards the end of the series.

Trapper My beloved boy ♥️ who has less of an arc and more of a vibe in existing canon, so we get to make some shit up whole cloth. Either keep the book/movie canon they were friendly in college, or make them childhood friends- not close, but some kind of pre-existing relationship. First episode is them stealing a jeep and bonding as they get into Shenanigans and Danger on their way to camp. Some people have the headcanon that Trapper lost a brother in WWII because of Wayne Rogers' acting choices, and I think a backstory like that could be interesting. He starts out a little ambivalent about the war, not wanting to be there and very aware of the human costs, but also feeling he has a duty. As he and Hawkeye get into more and more Situations trying to expose war crimes or fix injustices and even basic supply issues and are met by indifference or incompetence, he gets disillusioned. After Hawkeye's manic episode, he decided the one Actually Good thing he can accomplish is keeping his friend sane until they can get back home, since he starts to increasingly see his medical work as futile and the UN intervention as hopeless/harmful. They get closer and rely on each other more and more in S2, and in my based and gay pilled vision this is explicitly romantic and sexual, albeit with serious ambiguity if they would've had this relationship outside the trauma of war. Towards the end of S2, Trapper starts to get sick, and it turns out stress and increased alcohol & tobacco use contributed to an ulcer- it almost seems like he'll be sent home, but as in Classico MASH he begins treatment at the 4077th- and then Henry dies. Hawkeye spirals and they have to send him away, and then Trapper has to help pick up the increased work load. His symptoms get worse and he tries to cope and hide it, and develops peritonitis. When he realizes he's going to be evacced to Tokyo and then back to the States, he has a bit of a fucking meltdown. Mission Failed, he can't be there for his friend, and he blames himself because it was partly caused by his alcohol abuse. This is not just me being a Trapper simp, he has to go home before his enlistment is up for plot reasons since we no longer get the benefit of fuzzy timeline, and the genre convention of dramedy is you always Reap The Whirlwind at the worst possible moment.

BJ Ironically, I don't need to change anything about BJ to turn him into a dramedy character. He already has a "negative character arc", and you just take the major beats of that, set them in a linear escalation, and tighten them up. He starts out bright eyed and idealistic, determined to keep his head up, do his duty, and get out. Hawkeye meets him at the air field, having missed Trapper. Hawkeye blames himself for Trapper's health problems, and wants to do better by the new guy, offering him support and guidance. BJ bonds with him through the craziness, but as stress increases he starts acting out in small petty stochastic pranks, and then Peg's letters and missing his family build his anger, and he lashes out at Hawkeye because he suspects (in that "he's not right but he isn't wrong either" way) that Hawkeye's friendship isn't really because of BJ himself but because BJ is Trapper's Replacement. He suspects Hawkeye and Trapper were more than friends and he's simultaneously jealous and repulsed- he wants to totally replace Trapper and for Hawkeye to like him best, but he also loves Peg and misses her terribly and resents Hawkeye for "making" him want him. His chaotic unhinged repression is funny until it's briefly terrifying, then sad. As Hawkeye's mental health deteriorates, he tries to be supportive, but is ultimately overwhelmed by the intensity of Hawkeye's crisis and pulls back, though they mend things somewhat at the end.

The Hawkeye/Trapper/BJ Nexus In summary, our core duos are codependent trainwrecks, but while TrapHawk are more of an enabling and felonious "Thelma and Louise" style folie a deux, BJ and Hawkeye are more of an epic highs and lows "if you can't be with the one you love love the one your with" "hand in unlovable hand" mess.

Margaret Don't have nearly as much to say about our girl because I suck and have been writing this for almost 2 hours now because I'm insane but she has one of the best character arcs in MASH and Hypothetical Remake would really just intentionally start laying out her conflicts and growth from episode 1. She would also have more independent story arcs of trying to manage the nurses, and navigating advancing her career in the face of sexism. I would love to see her messy and complicated relationships with powerful men explored more fully. She bonds with Frank first to have a relationship where she's more in control than with her superiors, then as an ally to push back against the TrapHawk Chaos, then as she grows more confident (and TrapHawk get in over their heads) she is able to let go of the cloak of power military pretensions give her and be more herself.

Henry and Potter Henry remains a lovable incompetent. The one headcanon I have I'd like to use in Hypothetical Remake is that he's pretty severely dyslexic- I base that off his mispronunciations and malapropisms and canonical issues with reading (in Classico MASH doing things like holding a paper upside down or not being able to read maps and the words on them). He got through med school by having his wife read his textbooks out loud and type his papers, and brute force memorization. This is part of why he over relies on Radar to manage his paperwork and is easily scammed into signing off on things- he really can't tell what he's signing unless he uses all of his focus to decipher the text, and he's a trusting person so he rarely does. @marley-manson I LOVE your take that your ideal Potter is the exact same character in the show but the narrative treats him as an antagonist, and that is the vibe Hypothetical Remake would have.

Frank and Charles Again not a lot to say here, secondary characters and minor antagonists, but they would remain big sources of commentary but their pathos would be played up more in a dramedy.

Mulcahy Again, not too much different from canon, just more intentional building of a tragic arc. A smart sensitive guy who grew up poor and thought the church would be a path to respect or maybe even greatness got told to be a math teacher by his diocese, enlisted as a chaplain when the war broke out as part of his personal quest for meaning and significance, is confronted by the horrors and damage to innocent lives but still tries to believe in a greater purpose and good to what's happening, struggles with feelings of powerlessness and futility, and when he's finally able to do something heroic loses his hearing, which costs him his vocation- he's permanently disabled and would be unable to return to his old role as a parish priest/school teacher.

Recurring Characters Sidney my beloved ♥️ We bring back Sam Pak as a returning character. Also General Hammond and other members of the brass. I think Oliver could work really well as a recurring character.

Klinger Whole bundle of thoughts on this guy I wanted to save till the end. Because I adore Klinger, he's incredibly funny and one of the kindest and most principled characters on the show, and he's also incredibly 70s and I don't think could work as he was in a 21st century dramedy. I can see three potential paths to adapting him. A) Lean into the young, brash, hustler side of his personality, and he's a straight guy who thinks the craziest thing someone could do is wear a dress. B) An explicitly gay character who refuses to admit to being gay for a discharge because he finds the idea of being judged less than or broken for his sexuality incredibly offensive, but did drag back in Toledo and also refuses to stop being himself just because he got drafted. C) Principled pacifist serving as an orderly because of the draft who refuses to wear the uniform and started wearing dresses as a protest against bullying/abuse- oh, your gonna call me a sissy and steal my clothes because I refuse to use a gun? I will not only wear a dress, I will zhuzh it up into something amazing, because I would rather wear this outfit you intend to humiliate me with than that damn uniform.

[lazaruspiss]

i enjoy a lot of your metas and i'm curious, what is your opinion on writers who aren't familiar with or care about canon?

it depends on if you're asking about fan content or actual DC writers. with fan content i do think its fine for people to engage with content however they want to. i don't really like content that contradicts established canon, but i do defend its right to exist in the first place. OOC fanfic doesn't usually* effect already existing canon.

adding a read more bc i started to rant a bit. TLDR: fan content creators can do whatever they want. separately, i really wish DC held itself to a higher standard. both as a company and in terms of the actual comics that they publish.

(*i say usually, because a lot of newer canon content has felt... off. like DC took a short shallow look at how fandom simplifies characters and decided that must be what people actually want to see/what will sell more product. never forget that DC is a corporation, not an actual person who cares about the artistic integrity of what they're producing. and many of the actual creators of the comics they sell are mistreated and beholden to exec decisions based off of. y'know. marketing.)

in canon comics. it sucks. Talia is the most prevalent example of a character who was rewritten by someone who refused to read or engage with any of her preexisting canon. but it comes up a lot that sometimes a character is used by or given to a writer who doesn't care or might just straight up hate the character they're supposed to be writing. I have characters that I don't like and don't really care to learn about, but if i decide that i want to write something with them involved i consider it a matter of personal integrity to at least try to understand the characters already established personality and background.

it doesn't matter when it's independent fan content, or even a published AU series, but for mainline comics it is important to account for the fact that most of these characters have been around for decades and you shouldn't, nor do you need to, just make shit up about them.

also! an idea that i try and maintain for any kind of story is that every character is somebody's favorite. i think i got that from someone talking about how every pokemon is some kids favorite, but i think it can be a useful framing for a lot of fictional content. especially with something as widely known as DC, the chances are that much higher that every character you see is going to be someone's favorite. and i want to be kind to that. like, i don't care about Punchline in the slightest. i'm still putting off this fic with her involved because i want to learn her character a bit first to at the bare minimum acknowledge that there are people who might love her. i don't want to explicitly contradict some major trait of hers just bc i don't like her.

again, i don't really care if fans don't go through the trouble. but it's upsetting when DC itself doesn't seem to require any understanding of their characters in what they publish. in older comics, even when i think certain comics are poorly written, i can still see when the writer cares about the character they're writing. but so much of the newer stuff just feels hollow to me. i dunno, i stopped reading any n52 stuff bc of it so maybe it'll improve and i just won't notice.

[moe-broey]

AUGH Pokemon Scar/Vio DLC spoilers below bc I'm NOT gonna have anyone to talk about this with for a little while LMFAOOO

God I wish when Kieran ran off with the mask, challenged you to a battle to get it back, and lost that battle. I DESPERATELY WISH he just ran off with the mask again anyway. LIKE. For one could you imagine how fucking funny that would have been LMFAO but also!!!!! I think something like that happening would have absolutely raised the stakes, AND would have given you a reason to be mad at him. I think, what Kieran needed MOST as a character and the development they're taking with him, is for him to have moments where he doubles down and is stubborn and bratty.

LIKE. This is going to get SO incoherent LMFAO but I'm thinking about Hortensia Fire Emblem's whole character arc, where you meet her and she's bratty right off the bat. But the thing that GETS me about her is that she doubles down. She's stubborn. And you see Why, you see her scared and hurt and traumatized as she's trying to figure out what to do next. And what REALLY makes her character to me, is when not even Ivy being on your side is enough for her to join you. She still needs time. And by "time", I mean needs to keep digging her grave deeper because she just can't stop yet. LIKE. She's acting out. Which isn't me invalidating anything, like, I'm struggling to find the words for it but she's just 14 about it you know. Something SO horrible has happened and you feel SO MUCH about it that not even your older sister can talk sense into you, at least not right now.

I THINK. The connection I want to make here is that I think Kieran has SO MUCH POTENTIAL as a blooming antagonistic character, he just NEEDED a moment like Hortensia has with Ivy. Where she doubles down on her path. And I think Kieran, maybe initially planning on keeping his word... when you defeat him, and everything just wells up inside and overtakes him. I think THAT would have been a fantastic and shocking moment, if you could see him make that decision to Make Things Worse in real time. And I can only IMAGINE the reaction that would have gotten out of Carmine too!!!

AND. CARMINE. CARMINE. I FIND HER SO FASCINATING. LIKE. Yeah yeah overheard a conversation/misunderstanding tropes are cliche and can be super annoying as a storytelling device. AUGH BUT I FEEL LIKE IT COULD ACTUALLY WORK FOR THEM..... with how both of them Are. I think Carmine and Kieran have SUCH incompatible personalities and there is SO much to explore there. Like. It's established as soon as you meet them, that they must be close and care for each other. You see it in how Carmine looks after Kieran, speaking up for him when he's struggling to, and you see how Kieran admires and looks up to her as he cheers her on in battle. But you ALSO see that Carmine has the emotional intelligence of a brick and she is naturally just. Abrasive and temperamental, with an ego. ALL. HORRIBLE TRAITS TO HAVE IN ONE REALLY HAHAH (I love her though). And you see that Kieran is EXTREMELY sensitive, shy and mopey.

BUT ALSO. WHAT GETS ME ABOUT KIERAN ACTUALLY. Is how you See those traits evolve and twist into more detrimental versions of themselves. AND you start seeing some Similarities he has with Carmine. He also is temperamental. He also has an ego. THIS. WAS SO COOL TO SEE TBH!!! Espppp seeing the uglier aspects of being "shy" and "sensitive". Traits that are really easy to make endearing and to woobify. It's easy to look over just how destructive these traits can get, when you take things too personally and then shut yourself off completely. AND. THE EGO. ADDED ONTO THIS. The fact that he IS a sore loser, the fact that he DOES get bratty about it. Like, I think another thing I really appreciate about Kieran is he acts his age. He quickly starts to feel like the entire world is against him AND he's 14 about it.

In turn, I think I really appreciate how Carmine is so much just an older sister. Like. Yeah, she has a temper and an ego. But also, I think you see that she's a pretty good sport actually. She's competitive, but she's not actually holding anything against you (beyond like, her frustrations about her home town feeling like a tourist spot -- which like! I think is reasonable actually, to dislike that). Like. She's abrasive, she's prideful, but ultimately she does have an air of maturity. She is Not 14 about it. On account of not being 14, unlike her little brother LMFAOOO (ALSO!!! I think it's clear how much she Does care too, how she does end up looking out for you, how she congratulates you and hypes you up... like!!! She's just a little bit of a jackass LMFAO but I love her for it)

And like ultimately maybe all this is just set up for a slow burn, as Kieran goes sicko mode LMFAO but I REALLY wish. There was at least ONE moment where he did something that's just a dick move. And REALLY digs his heels in. Makes it clear, compromise is NOT an option for him, not right now. That, for a while, no one is going to be able to reach him, not even his sister. He just needs to get it out of his system.

Plus, I think it would be incredibly useful for the player to have a reason to be mad at him, because GOD. I HATE. MORE THAN ANYTHING. When Pokemon gives you rivals you just feel bad for!!!!!! Like I just pity him!!!! I think he's right to feel the way he does and I think he has every right to act out. And like, I think I'd Still feel that way actually, if he did actively make bad choices that just makes everything worse and Isn't particularly palatable about it LMFAO. BUT. At VERY least, if he pulled a dick move, I can have something justifiable to want to fight him over. Lowkey Takumi feelings actually, where one of my favorite things about him is When he's an asshole, and it IS entirely on him, like... it's vindicating to see other characters push back. I, as the player, want the characters to get his ass for it. And it's rewarding, when he does come around (either immediately or after some time), and tries to make up for it. Like.... give me a reason to WANT to get Kieran's ass. Piss EVERYONE off in the process, ESPECIALLY your sister for the angst and drama of it all!! I just feel like I stomped on a little autistic boy's dream and stole away the object of his special interest HSKAHKSHA dude THIS SUCKS 😭😭😭😭😭

AUGH!!!!!!!!!! Anyway misc thoughts

The townspeople's turnaround about the ogre off screen was SO STUPID LMFAOOO LIKE. Like yeah yeah Pokemon game......... but you know what else was a Pokemon game. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Sky. LIKE AGSJHSJSJSJJ I FEEL LIKE SUUUUCH A CRAZY RAMBLY OLD MAN but Pokemon Scarlet/Violet HAD THE POTENTIAL. TO BE ON THAT LEVEL. I THINK. PERSONALLY. ON A STORYTELLING FRONT. And AGAIN I feel like there could have been potential here.

Like I think the main issue is the story even in the canon itself took place in too short of a time to develop in the way I think it deserved. But I'm thinking about the whole Process in PMD2 of returning from the Future, you, your partner, and Grovyle. How the three of you Can't just go back to the guild, especially Grovyle in tow, a wanted outlaw in this time period. How it takes days, of laying low, planning carefully, gathering intel, and hitting a wall, before finally deciding you really have no where else to turn BUT Wiggletuff's Guild. AND. AND. THE WHOLE PROCESS. THAT WHOLE THING CHATOT PUTS YOU THROUGH. AFTER TELLING YOUR STORY. Where Every Single Guild Member Individually has to decide, no, Chatot, I'm with Hero and Partner actually. Up against The Great Dusknoir's reputation, Grovyle's reputation, and your standing as the most recent additions to the guild versus Chatot's standing, Wiggletuff's right hand man, second in command, a respected authority figure.

LIKE........ I just think. With the folklore surrounding Ogrepon and the Loyal Three. Even if they didn't have That Much Time to build up to it exactly like that (speaking canonically, school trip constraints), I think. Even just a scene where You're part of trying to tell the town the truth about Ogrepon and the Loyal Three, AND you see the inital pushback, especially from an authority figure (maybe the Caretaker?) would have been enough. Especially would have been nice to see, instead of every NPC talking about how they got things wrong -- if there was divide and conflict, some believing you and feeling regretful towards how Ogrepon was treated, and others not believing you at all, ESPECIALLY as an outsider, who are you to tell us our history? AND even a few NPCs who are on your side, but are still in a state of disbelief or feeling betrayed. Like. Make us feel the weight of Why Carmine and Kieran's family kept this a secret for generations. (ALSO LITERALLY DIDN'T THEIR ANCESTOR TRY TO TELL THE TRUTH AND WAS HARSHLY DISMISSED AND CRITICIZED???? Why would Kieran be treated differently now for doing the same thing???????)

I guess last thoughts about Carmine and Kieran I didn't get to earlier but. I think you can See, as the story plays out, where there is this building frustration that turns to resentment from Kieran, towards how Carmine treats him. How, while she does speak up for him, she also speaks over him. What she sees as probably tough love or standard older-sibling teasing, HE takes it just. So personally. And it festers. It seems he feels ignored, dismissed and invalidated -- and his dialogues where he is mopey, and Carmine (almost on the right track), calls it for what it is -- her baby brother just being a baby. Like, I say "Almost on the right track", because in a way she Is Right. He's Very Loudly sulking and pouting, she sees this and sees he's being 14 about it. But she fails to consider just how much Kieran internalizes this treatment, of being teased and having others around you be told "He'll get over it". WHICH... even if he does. Even if he will. Something that JUMPS out to me IS how loudly he's moping and sulking, how dramatic it is. To me, it's like a cry for attention, for someone to listen to him and take his feelings seriously.

THIS. IS WHAT I MEANT BEFORE. When I talked about how the misunderstanding trope actually lends itself SO well to these two characters, as siblings who do love each other, but there IS this emotional distance. Where Carmine looks over Kieran's feelings, and doesn't know what to do with them, and Kieran is going to internalize all of this until he implodes. And when he DOES implode, when it feels like his entire world is crashing and burning around him (in a way, it IS his whole world!)... he doesn't trust her at all. Whether Carmine meant to or not (which, I don't think she has ever meant to hurt him, I do think it's the incompatibility), Kieran has been made to feel like he's an outcast, like his feelings don't matter, and no matter what he does, no one is going to listen to him or care about him. WHICH IS. AGAIN. WHY. I THINK HE NEEDS TO FUCK SHIT UP MORE. That is the GO TO thing to do when you're a kid and you feel this way LMFAOOO

Aughghhh........ Pokemon Scarlet and Violet you have so much potential I just wish you'd FOLLOW THROUGH and PUT YOUR WHOLE PUSSY INTO IT (AND MAYBE THEY WILL. IN THE FUTURE. THIS IS THE FIRST DLC. HOWEVER. I do think there are certain areas in general, like the ogre ordeal, where they just dropped the ball 😔)

[motifcollector]

I hope you loved the novels!! What was your favourite part? Do we need to keep you from messaging a long lost friend?

HIIIII i did love them!!!! it's funny bc I read the first one last year and was kinda ehhh about it but then I read her other book the lying life of adults and really enjoyed it and since the series is so acclaimed, i decided to give it another chance and i fell in love w the second book onwards! some spoilers mentioned below and I ramble a bunch so adding a read more :) Tagging dear mika @meerschweinchen1993 bc u said you wanted to hear what i thought as well !!

Oh also funnily enough I too had a friend I used to write stories with as a kid!! Get ready for the US american neapolitan novels ;)

there are so many fascinating elements of the books--from a narrative perspective it's so interesting to me that since you only see Lila through Elena's eyes, it's never clear whether Lila is as manipulative as Elena thinks or if Elena's misinterpreting her (and same w/ other character traits.) for example there's the part when Elena becomes convinced that Lila has been orchestrating the political violence in their community which seems like her imagination, but then at the very end when she visits Pascale he suggests that she's responsible for the Solaras' killings (but is Pascale reliable either??) I love books that emphasize subjectivity like that <3

And another element that I really enjoyed was the discussions of women's experiences and relationships w men and motherhood... the parts when Elena writes her book about women being shaped by men and gives talks about her work in very politicized environments but is simultaneously soooo obsessed with Nino and willing to do anything for him felt so painful and real. I think Ferrante really captures the complexity of political action (esp when it comes to things that are so personal, beyond just the more obvious political sphere.) Also this might sound odd, but I think the books have given me more appreciation for the older women in my life and their complexity & the careful and difficult choices they have had to make. At the end when Elena realizes her books seem dated and irrelevant to her daughters, it's so devastating </3 As probably many other younger women can relate to, I've had conversations w/ my mom and grandmother in which they take more conservative opinions on feminist issues and there's an impulse to dismiss their views as outdated, but I have more of an appreciation for the context in which they've lived their lives and the compromises + pragmatic decisions they've had to make.

[icedmetaltea]

Why do you like yandere stuff so much? No judgement, I'm just wondering cause I noticed a lot of people like it and I just can't wrap my head around it, so I wanted to ask a few people who enjoy it

WELL it's a bit of a loaded answer... I obvs can't answer for everyone, so this is just my personal take:

(pretty long and also just ioewjgfuireuiver kinda emBARRASSING so ima put it under here)

A bitch be lonely. I think that's the most common thing that draws people to the trope. Like, if you're someone who grew up without friends like me, the idea of being solely idolized by someone, like given their complete attention is just rlly appealing to me. To be loved, to be wanted, to be worshiped no matter how much your brain has convinced you that you're not worthy of love is just *chef's kiss*

The attention. This is kinda the same as the first answer but for me a big thing I love in the trope is when I- or well y/n, more correctly- gets praised a lot and treated like they're the most important thing in the world. I already have awful self-esteem so I like being told I'm perfect and wonderful as I am (TヘT) I think most people also have this mindset.

Being taken care of completely. No more worries about bills, food, shelter, etc... cause it's all taken care of for you (whether u like it or not so you don't have to feel guilty about it lol)

The whole power dynamic. I don't rlly have a sub/dom kink or at least not the mainstream kind (?) but I do enjoy the idea of being able to let go and just be myself without having to worry about judgement or societal norms- because, well, said character has already broken out of what's considered acceptable by kidnapping you or whatever so we're already past that lol.

Kinda adding onto that, being able to be flawed without, again, worrying about putting someone off. You can be ugly, socially inept, talentless, fuckin' stupid, whatever, and it's all okay. You don't have to fit in with anything society deems attractive- said character is flawed enough themselves to find you perfect.

The danger aspect. I love horror in general, so it's kind of like that for me. I have severe anxiety so being able to just feel scared for a while can be incredibly cathartic for me.

The "reframing" thing. In case you haven't noticed, yandere stuff for me tends to be pretty light-hearted. While I'm totally cool with people enjoying yandere stuff with tons of blood/violence/etc, I usually go for "softer" stuff, like stalking, kidnapping, etc. In a way, I'm taking something that makes me feel helpless and scared and making it something that brings me an odd sort of comfort. I suppose this is a way I can cope with anxiety- by taking some form of fear, like how I often feel helpless and trapped during panic attacks, and putting it in the context of when I'm helpless and trapped but in the arms of someone who wants nothing more than to protect me and would literally crush anyone/anything that tried to hurt me aaaAAA ❤️

The fact that it it's fiction! Fiction is a beautiful thing, where you can tackle potentially traumatic things without irl consequences. Would I want anything like this irl? NO!! Stalking/kidnapping/what have you is absolutely vile if it takes place in real life. Even stuff like be very controlling of a partner (unless you have their complete consent and have talked this stuff out ahead of time/have a safe word and all) is entirely unhealthy and toxic. In fiction?? Go for it. It can also be a great way to cope with intrusive thoughts if you suffer from those as well.

That being said, it's absolutely not for everyone, and I imagine most people would find the trope to be disgusting and horrific- and that is completely understandable and okay! It's up to people (who I'm assuming and HOPING are 18+ bc if you're a minor it can be way harder to distinguish reality from fiction and lead an immature person to believe any of these traits like being controlling/ultra possessive are okay irl and maybe even encourage them to seek out abusive relationships/yandere stuff tends to be thrown in with stuff like violence, sexuality, really disturbing stuff in general, etc so when I say all these things, it's coming from my ADULT perspective) to be discerning of what they can handle both mentally and emotionally. If it leaves you feeling gross, creeped out, or disturbed in some way, stop and avoid it.

Alright, sorry for the ramble! As you can tell I'm pretty passionate about it. I hope that answered your question somewhat! ✨

[ni-kol-koru]

KnB 30-Days Challenge

Day 10 : Favorite Team

Shūtoku High School BC 🏀🧡

Another very difficult choice for me. Every team in this show has unique characters, an interesting dynamic and their own unique playstyle and something special, like a quirk. I kind of know what my TOP 3 teams are, but choosing one of them seemed like an impossible mission... So, I made a little system that will help me pick my favorite team. When I added and substracted some points, Shūtoku won!     

Shūtoku, as a team, has some of my most favorite characters ever. It is also the only team (after Rakuzan) in which I love and adore absolutely every member! Since I rambled about Shintarō and Kiyoshi, and am going to ramble about Kazunari very soon, let me just talk about the forgotten two of Shūtoku: Taisuke Ōtsubo and Shinsuke Kimura. A lot of people seem to forget that these two guys exist. They don't look super flashy, like Shintarō and Kiyoshi for example, because they have dark brown hair and dark brown eyes and generic hairstyles. They don't have prominent personalities either, like the other 3 members, who have their own very distinctive quirks and personality traits. But, that is just the surface. I was very curious one day and decided to scratch it and dive a little more into the lives and personalities of these two handsome boys. Well, after researching about them, they turned out to be very interesting, and dear to me.    

Taisuke Ōtsubo. He is a serious, responsible, determined captain and a great sportsman. He is the pillar of his team on the court and is there to cover up the mistakes of his fellow members by saving every rebound he can. Everybody seems to think he is just tall, strong and scary and rough, but seriously, this guy is just a teddy bear. Other than being very kind and showing it in form of great sportmanship, he has some really surprising hobbies. It's cooking, cleaning, and knitting! In Extras, he is shown to be really skilled with needles and yarn, knitting a scarf almost 2 meters long during a boring class! He also carries things he made in his bag all the time, like mittens, hats... These things he does are not usually something that men do, and I just love how he looks like the manliest man ever and has these hobbies, breaking the patriarchal norms. He also really loves his team and always takes care of his teammates, knowing how to motivate them and cheer them up when it's needed, and tending to them when practices get tough and they feel sick. My favorite thing about him is that he likes spending his free time with his little sister, Ōtsubo Tae! Her age was never confirmed, but she is somewhere around 15, or maybe even 16, if we think about what Yūya said. Now, a lot of big brothers seem to, for some reason, find it boring, and even embarrassing, to hang out with their little sisters, but no, not Taisuke Ōtsubo. This guy loves it, we know it because he chooses to spend his free time in her presence! Taisuke is 18 years old, a grown man, basketball player, graduate student, preparing for college and adult life, and in a busy time like that, when he finds free time, he still spends time with his little sister. I can totally see them cooking together and cleaning together, but another activity that I can see them doing is just, talking. Taisuke can sit and talk with his sister all day, listening to her without feeling the need to interrupt her of mansplain anything if she just needs to let things out, or offering honest advice and support when she needs it. He is also surely protective of her, making sure to let everybody in her life know that if they hurt her in any way, he will find out and they will pay for it. He is just ready to do anything for his sister, I think. Another little detail about his character, that I really love, is that he is part of the Library Committee, which means he likes to read, and help people find books they like! Not only that, but his favorite subject is physcis, which means he is good at it, and that only reveals how smart he actually is! This man literally has the words 'Perfect Guy' on his forehead, how can people sleep on him like that? The only thing he can't do is kill a cockroach (actual canon and his actual only shortcoming).   

Shinsuke Kimura. Calm, hard-working, doesn't like the spotlight and prefers to stay out of trouble. That's pretty much the only things people know about him. Though, reading between the lines of his behaviour, I found a couple of really endearing character traits! I He is a really supportive person, but he is doing it rather quietly most of the time. In games, he sets up solid screens to give his teammates freedom to move and opportunities to score, though. He also brings delicious fruits when practices get exhausting, and he is there to help his teammates if they ever feel sick, like when he was rubbing Kazunari's back and called for help when he felt like throwing up. He is even supportive in the strangest way possible, by always offering a pineapple to Kiyoshi when he is irritated, supporting his dear friend's anger issues. When times call for it, he knows how to motivate his teammates and give them a reason to stand up on their feet and continue fighting. He is extremely hard-working and he proved it by practicing harder than everyone until he finally reached the starter line. That's a thing I really admire him for. Something that caught my attention when reading his Wiki page and exploring his character was how he likes to spend his free time. He spends it by helping at home. Now, if you know that his family owns a convenience store and grows their own fruits, it probably means that he helps with taking care of the said plants, carries heavy boxes, cleans the store, helps in organising new arrivals, works as a cashier and so on... However, if you ever happened to notice the fact that he doesn't have a mother, it adds another, whole different meaning. Having only a father means that all the house and store responsibilities fall onto him when his boys are at school, which is difficult to balance. So, taking care of the house, cleaning it and cooking meals, probably sometimes falls onto his two sons, and very likely Shinsuke, as the older brother, takes care of most of those things. This boy is another level of hard-working. We can even gyess that he gave up college to continue the family's bussiness, because he is never shown worrying about any college entrance exams, like the other two Third Years. He is just, wow. The moment I completely fell in love with him was when I listened to a Special CD. In the said CD, he reveals such a beautiful side of himself and he tells us about something really important for him. He talks about wrestling. He has been doing it since he is 8 years old, it's something that he loves a lot and is extremely passionate about! I wish you guys could hear his voice when he talks about wrestling, he just sounds so happy and passionate! Oh, and he gets so excited when he finds out Shintarō knows a thing or two about his sport! Listening to that part of the CD always makes my little heart melt! Shinsuke is so precious to me and I just love him so much!

If you get into typology, Shinsuke and Taisuke both have a Kanji in their names that means 'Support', showing how important they are for the Shūtoku team. Also, they are really handsome, and it's a hill I will die on. If anyone disagrees with me on this one, I am willing to argue until the end of time.   

Now, the characters aren't even the best part of this team. What I endlessly love is the chemistry and all the different friendships between all of them!

Three Third years and two First years in a single team is a really interesting combination itself. Almost like parents and children. Getting along with each other, as two separate generations, was probably something that they had to work on a lot, but in the end, they did it! Since the beginning, the First years had respect for their Seniors by listening to them and respecting their opinions. Sometimes, the Third years had to pick their younger members up and give them motivation to keep fighting. They are also there to tend to the boys when they feel unwell and are always willing to offer their help when they get in trouble, like in the Midorima's Unlucky Day Extra! An important step towards the team working well was Third years getting along with the fact that the First years, were indeed, special, and needed to be cut some slack for such behaviour from time to time. Honestly, realising that they will be on the same team only for a single year breaks my heart every time, it breaks theirs as well... The moment Shintarō and Kazunari pointed that out in their game against Rakuzan was the only time I cried in the show. Seriously, I love these guys so much.     

Shūtoku has some really interesting friendships as well, one of the most precious friendships being the one between Kazunari and Shintarō. It is obvious that these two are inseparable! After all, they are always there for each other, on the basketball court, in school and even in private life, offering support and having fun! Kazunari cares for Shintarō really deeply, and he shows it by carrying some of his neccesities, such as tape for fingers and sometimes even lucky items with himself, and always being there to cheer him up and protect him if the upperclassmen are picking on him. Shintarō is pretty tsundere, usually trying hard to not show how much he actually appreciates Kazunari and his thoughtfulness, but every time he softly smiles and relies on his dear friend he reveals to us how much he appreciates him.

Another friendship that is very dear to me is the one between Kiyoshi and Shinsuke! These two share the same story on how they got their well deserved positions as the starter members of the basketball team. They worked harder than everyone, stayed late to practice and got close because of that, possibly practicing with each other a bunch of times. But that's not everything, The Extras really reveal just how close these two are! They are actually classmates as well! Being in the same class with someone surely brings two people together, so these two being in the same classroom for 3 consecutive years surely did its wonders! Now, their personalities might clash a little, because Shinsuke is calm and Kiyoshi is rather uptight, Shinsuke prefers to stay out of trouble while Kiyoshi attracts a lot of trouble, but they are also similar in their determination, seriousness and hard-work, which is why they can probably get along. In the anime, we can also see these two tease each other sometimes, in the besties way, of course. The Extras also show how sometimes, when paired up, these two know how to 'have fun' by poking at their underclassmen (which is a little mean, but they never really hurt anyone, as far as I know, so they are forgiven). Oh, and of course, they have this famous pineapple/pick-up truck deal, where Shinsuke always offers his fruits or vehicle to his dear friend when he is irritated. It is just so iconic, like their own little inside joke!

There is also something very interesting going on between Taisuke and Kiyoshi. At one point in the anime, Taisuke reveals to Shintarō and Kazunari that they go to idol concerts together and that idols are actually their common interest! As someone who is into idols myself, I can see them collecting albums, CDs and photocards and trading them with each other all the time, which is something that is fun when done with friends! But that's not quite it... Remember when Taisuke said he was really used to seeing Kiyoshi work so hard? Well, I somehow came to an idea that they practiced basketball together, more specifically, that Taisuke helped Kiyoshi with polishing his fundamentals and mastering dribbling against an opponent with good defense. This duo kind of makes sense, because Taisuke is just supportive like that, he is the type of a guy who would help others in need with no hesitation, and Kiyoshi just screams 'someone help' as a character and a person, and especially in that period of time, I think. So, naturally, they were kinda drawn to each other, and later when they realised they have some things in common, they became good friends! I can kind of see Kiyoshi always feel so grateful for Taisuke because he supported him and helped him in some really tough times, and probably even picked him up when he fell. Also, before Taisuke revealed their shared interest to his underclassmen, he was about to say something about Kiyoshi, but he cut himself in the middle of his sentence and never said it. I can feel that he was about to say something really nice about him, groundbreaking for their relationship even, and I am still mad he never finished it...

Shūtoku is also a team with a lot of brothers and sisters, where every regular memeber we know has a younger sibling! Shintarō, Kazunari and Taisuke have younger sisters, while Shinsuke and Kiyoshi have younger brothers! Sadly, we never got to truly meet any of them. We only know something little about Yūya, only know Tae's name and looks, and the appearance of little Kimura. Unfortunately, we have nothing for little Midorima and little Takao. Well, still, it's really something interesting to think about, all the possible big brother tropes that the regulars of Shūtoku might be! It's sad that we don't have almost anything for some of these younger siblings, but that doesn't have to be all that bad! It leaves room for our own imagination and creativity to shine, we can make up our own fun headcanons for their looks, ages, personalities and relationships!

I just love this team so much! 🧡

[the-avaricious-meddler]

Hi! this is kinda a broad question but i am just getting back into fl after years away from it and i was wondering if you have any tips for early game players, especially wrt fun character building? i feel like the game suggests a strong path with making your name and I am struggling to figure out when i should make 'in character' decisions vs. following this kinda tutorial vibe of early game. are you expected to do all four MYN or do people focus on just the ones that make the most sense for your character?

i thought i'd ask you bc you have some really cool fleshed out characters but if you know of other blogs that have more early game tips and stuff i would really appreciate it. i am also a little unsure about the social aspect of the game, is that for interacting with friends from real life who also play or do people contact random people through the game?

i love your blog and hope you are having a delicious day

Putting this under a readmore since I wrote a lot more than I thought I would-

MYN storylines are good for early game stat gains, but they can be rather tedious and are by no means a strict requirement (I myself have never fully completed every single one). MYN storylines do, however, permanently open up certain areas- some of which can be accessed through other means (wolfstack docks, the flit), some which can't/can't without fate (the shuttered palace, mahogany hall, the foreign office, the university, the labyrinth of tigers, etc.) which are required for ambitions or later game content.

Personally, I do whatever storylines are most beneficial for my current gameplay, but pick and choose as to what I actually consider canon to my characters.

-Wolfstack docks is unlocked via the Dangerous MYN, but I believe you can buy your way in with items. The Labyrinth of Tigers is unlocked at the end of the MYN, but the only way to gain permanent acccess outside of the storyline is via spending Fate, and most of the things you can do there are unlocked via MYN. Out of all of them, at least in my opinion, Dangerous is the most worth doing. It's also one of the least annoying. It also later opens up dock brawling, which is good for getting certain hard-to-get items.

-The Flit is unlocked via the Shadowy MYN, but can be unlocked via a skill check (albeit an annoying one). Mahogany Hall is unlocked via either the Shadowy or Persuasive MYN, and I believe there IS an option to gain access via fate? Don't quote me on that. Mahogany Hall is a good place to have unlocked, as it's required for a certain storyline that can get you useful items.

-The Forgotten Quarter is unlocked via the Watchful MYN, but you can buy in with items. The University is, again, only otherwise unlockable via Fate, and similarly to the Labyrinth, most options are locked until you reach a certain point in the MYN. Depending on your actions in the storyline, you may also temporarily be kicked out of the University. The university is required for some later game content, such as getting your own laboratory. The Watchful Storyline also grants you the trait "Scholar of The Correspondence", which is necessary for some ambitions.

-Writing a Short story is unlocked via the Persuasive MYN. The shuttered palace is as well, though you can buy in via fate, as is The Empress's court, which has no other way in. Completing the Persuasive MYN grants access to the foreign office, which also has no other means of entry. And as stated before, it is one of the two ways to gain access to Mahogany Hall.

As for social actions, it's hard to contact random people, as you need access to someone's profile to add them as a contact- but it's not required you know them IRL either, as plenty of people online have linked their profiles to add them. I myself don't know anyone IRL who also plays, all my contacts are from online.

Once you have someone added as a contact, you can send them a calling card through your social engagements (shown below), and they can choose to accept or deny to become an Aquaintance.

Some social actions only require you have them as a contact, others require you be acquainted.

[grendelsmilf]

would you mind elaborating on race + how sashanne is depicted within fandom gender-wise?

i feel like we’ve already discussed this ad nauseam tbh but ppl portray sasha as masc and anne as more feminine than sasha (anne is fairly feminine but she’s not as feminine as sasha) and i think it’s due to a combination of ppl associating their personality traits w gender roles (perhaps unconsciously) because sasha is strong, aggressive, commanding, a leader, has military experience, etc. so she must be masculine presenting, right? even though she only ever wears skirts and her favorite color is pink and she’s a cheerleader etc etc. like the fact that she presents in a feminine way doesn’t negate her strength, nor is her strength negated by her femininity. which is kind of the whole point. and then because anne is associated with “heart” people assume that she must be really fem bc she’s associated with caring and empathy and love. even though she’s a jock who wears suits and is shown to present in multiple ways. for some reason in fanart she’ll be drawn in a skirt and sasha in pants even though sasha is always very deliberately shown to be wearing a skirt, and anne wears pants or shorts pretty much every time she’s not in her school uniform.

and yeah i think race is a factor. i think fans are wary when it comes to portraying the brown girl as more masculine than the white girl because it can play into harmful stereotypes, so they counter correct even though it betrays the characters in the process. even though obviously sasha is a lot more aggressive than anne is (anne can also be fairly aggressive, but sasha’s anger is a defining character trait for her in a way that it isn’t for anne) and that doesn’t mean that she isn’t feminine. like sasha’s entire character is an interrogation of the feminine blonde popular girl archetype, so her femininity is integral to her character and i do love that it’s not something she loses even as her physical strength becomes more and more central to her character. she’s a buff femme bi dyke! and anne is a very mutlifaceted, human character with so many sides to her personality, but i wish people wouldn’t neglect how much of a jock she is. she’s great at all things athletic and is extremely competitive and that’s a big part of her! i think it’s important to keep in mind that the last time we see either of them, sasha is wearing a long purple skirt (the sashanne skirt, if you will) and anne is wearing cargo shorts.

[marciabrady]

Hi, I really love your crits ❤ but I'm wondering why you dislike Frozen so much? I'm a huuuge fan of Aurora and Mulan myself, and I hate more and more every 3D/live action film and terribly miss 2D animation, but I must say I really loved Frozen (only the first one!!), I saw it together with my sister, who's also my bff, so maybe that's why it appealed to us, there were also some traits we felt like we had in common with these characters... and maybe it's also the thing we didn't see the film with English dub, which didn't the best (totally agreed with your take on K Bell! I'm not a fan of her personally). And I know this movie has a lot of flaws, but at the same time it was really easy for me to ignore them - until F2 I guess, it brought up all of my problems with this franchise lol Anyway, I just wanted to ask - bc I think it can be the problem with all of the new (3D) princesses - aren't they a bit bland? I was thinking about it the other day, what's characteristic for Anna and Elsa and... well, he's extrovert, and the other introvert I guess? And Anna is romantic? But there's no hobby, no distinct personal trait, nothing. On the other hand Rapunzel was briefly shown to can/like literally ALL! You make candles? Play guitar? Sew? Sing? No problem, she's just like you, you can identify with her. And the bland princesses? You can easily project yourself onto them if you will, it's not same they like to, it's say, paint - but it's not said they hate/can't do it either, right? Sorry for my rambling, it's quite late, and I've just finished my weekend Disney Princess movie marathon. Anyway, love your blog and take care xxx

So I wouldn't necessarily say I hate Frozen, I just strongly dislike certain tonal elements to it but I generally don't really think about it because it didn't resonate to me. Frozen to me doesn't really feel like a film but rather a commentary on other films? With all of the "you can't marry a man you just met" lines and how all of the plots that occur were clearly planted in order to combat criticisms of the Disney Princess line: ie them not being active, or physical, or being too naïve, or lovesick which is why I think Anna is treated as a joke pretty much. So I feel like I'm watching a commentary track where this film is retroactively beating up the previous films on which it was based on and whose success made that endeavor possible? And honestly...I think that's what a lot of people like about it. At the time it came out, I never really heard anyone talk about the value of the characters- rather the emphasis was on "Elsa's the first Princess who didn't need a man! She's independent! Unlike the other princesses, she's a BADASS" or them applauding how Hans killed the Prince Charming trope (which I think is largely reductive, and not even inventive as Gaston had accomplished that previously, but I digress). In general, most of the elements people find revolutionary about this film are anything but- this film essentially just takes elements from other films and infuses it with a lot of meta-textual criticism and added in some sparkly magic to divert toddlers. I even read a book about women in animation and the author said that a woman contributed the idea of Anna being gassy (which I hate btw, it's not charming it's uncouth and I don't think men or women should openly act like that lol) and how it was game changing for how women were depicted when Princess Fiona already did that over a decade earlier?

Apart from the elements I mentioned above, as I touched on in my previous response, Kristen Bell's voice gives nothing to me. I don't like how Anna is treated as a joke, I think it's visually very boring, I don't like the 3d design, and I have no object permanence for the plot because it feels like there's just a lot happening to keep people from being bored without any weight behind it. I'm also not a fan of the universe, with the trolls and just none of it makes sense? Like they go through hoops to try to hit us over the head with how strong Elsa and Anna are as female leads and how men are useless but then Elsa runs away from her own kingdom and Anna leaves it to the attention of Hans while she goes off in search of Elsa??? I don't know, it just all isn't for me lol I know a lot of people like it and they're certainly entitled to, I just think it isn't to my taste.

[dysaniadisorder]

In regards to the "paladins and bards are at their core xyz", I'd love to hear your opinions on the rest of the classes as I struggle to have individual options about things and my ideas about classes are just a chaotic collage of things I've seen and read which can lead me to only being able to think of common tropes.

And I like having a springboard to come up with other ideas especially cos I'm coming up with a DnD PC and I liked what you were putting down.

yeah ofc !! to be fair i get a lot of my thoughts on dnd classes through d20 because they have so many cool genre twists (warlock pacts being marriage pacts, a druid whos a total stoner & environmental activist) but generally i just think people have kind of small minded ideas about dnd classes?

ive noticed something strange which is. weirdly enough, people who dont know almost anything about dnd are likely to have some of the most fun campaigns. and i think its because they dont have an already preconceived notion of like... what a wizard can and cant be, what a barbarian can and cant be, ect

subclasses are some of my favorite things in the WORLD and i think they contribute sooo much to the character. Like- yeah, Barbarian has Berserker or whatever, but theres also a subclass that can make you summon wind and snow, theres a subclass that gives you animal traits, theres a subclass that connects you to giants and makes you huge, theres even a wild magic barbarian subclass !!!

and i think adding that one more level of depth to a class just breaks way to a billion other ideas- i have a friend right now writing a character whos family are total hippies, and hes kind of a skater kid, but hes a cleric of peace.

the stereotypes are SO frustrating because no ones having fun anymore, and suddenly you have a dozen elf wizards who are tall and quiet and elegant, and suddenly you have a dozen half orc barbarians who hit hard and dont like having friends. I currently play an Artificer Alchemist, largely acclaimed to be thee most boring class, and theyre fun as hell. i cant do much but what i can do has helped me & the party immensly. my friends and i found charts of all the least popular classes & subclasses, and all the ones least used were cool as hell.

i currently have so many ideas for characters its not even funny !!! my favorite is a cleric who doesnt know theyre actually a warlock. not to mention- theres plenty chance a warlock was some other class before they were a warlock. i love in The Seven, Sam Nightingale has some Bard levels because she was a tv show star and had to take some Bard training because of the program. and like,, yeah! Bards that are not just about music but other points of charisma, honestly you could probably make a Bard politician crazy easily.

to be honest while i said passion is at the core of paladins and bards i think passion may just be at the center of all of them, but it could easily Not Be. Barbarians who hate being angry and struggle with it, Clerics who struggle with their religion (these are both d20 tropes), Monks have all SORTS of junk that I love,, look. when it comes down to it the stereotypes arent bad, they just end up making fairly 2d or boring characters most of the time, which they dont have to. alot of the (annoying) comments on that post are people talking about their characters that ARE this or that stereotype, and thats fine, they clearly love their character and it sounds like they do all sorts of fun stuff with them. but they can do sooo muuuuch moooore

i fun exercise thing i like to do is take characters from other things, either my own or a tv show or game or something and try to spec them as a dnd character. its incredibly fun

my personal favorite classes are Druids and Monks, especially bc i think Monks dont get enough love (also Druids are kind of overpowered) and multiclassing is also so so fuckign fun. my best advice is just like. i dont know. think outside the box & try to be weird about it. i had a friend with a character who was a barbarian bc he had anger issues, but his passion was in food, and as such he was literally a cleric of food. he would level up his classes based on how he had acted in the time sicne he last leveled up and it was always fairly sad when he'd gain a level of barbarian because he didnt want it. i hope this all helps i really love dnd classes

[crackedpumpkin]

“Chicken and croffles” I had flashbacks at that man. There’s this person I watch and they were telling their story of trying to rizz someone through food, and by rizz I mean they tried to impress an attractive waiter, but fumbled a bit and ordered chicken and waffles. He got so nervous they ordered the first thing he saw, which was chicken and waffles. How attractive was this waiter? So attractive that his friends literally had to warn them and also tried to clean him up a bit to look more presentable LMAO

Really liked this chapter!!! Love the sceneries and how Miles and “Ray Paynt” interacted!!!! Something about how you write feels real, like even in the little things with Miles’ “It’s a choice.” And when dragging him along to the cafe at an unexpected notice. Stop writing food so deliciously it’s nearly 8am for me and I’m wanting some nice fruit-ade or something!!! 😭/pos

From one Michael to another, MICHAEL STAHP WITH THE TOUCHING YOU’RE GONNA GET YOUR WILLYIAM CHOPPED OFF FR

omfg i felt that fr im not even kidding. what i would give to be on the receiving end of that starstruckness.... okay in all honesty I'd probably be that very dude dropping my utensils.

WAIT OKAY STORY TIME BECAUSE IVE GOT ONE OF MY OWN:

So i recently went to korea in june and i went with 2 other friends who went to queue up at the NIKE store in the morning for their customization stuff right? So I wake up later and i go grab a coffee first at this store my friend recommended because it's cheap + rly good.

As such, I casually stroll along the street with my earbuds in bc im cool and swag and feeling myself right? I finally find this coffee shop and step up to the counter to order, except what do i see?

A GORGEOUS, STUNNING GIRL MANNING THE CASHIER.

At this point i am in full blown panic. I have never met anyone so pretty in my life. Her hair was silky smooth and dyed a light platinum-ish shade, and her makeup was flawless. her skin? dewy like a morning glory in bloom. Her entire figure and being? goddesslike.

at this point i am sweating buckets just from the thought of talking to her. but it's fine, right? its just a cup of coffee. i can do this.

i then proceed to ABSOLUTELY FUMBLE MY WORDS.

I just wanted this pretty drink called a franobe guys. thats all i wanted. but i got so shy and she couldnt hear me saying franobe so she kept going 'ah, latte?' and guys. i almost died on the spot.

I repeated it like 2x before she got what i was trying to say. Quick PSA that i am not fluent in korean at all, and understand more than i can speak. she asks me something in korean and i just go 'ne?' with wideass eyes like id just seen my newborn child or some shit.

anyway i finally manage to pay and get my drink and i walk away with my head practically in my hands. up till this day i am paranoid she thinks im an idiot. this is my chicken and croffles story for all you guys out there.

also im straight but this is one of the rare exceptions i lost my composure fr. what can i say? im w e ak.

im really glad you liked this chapter !! if it's one trait i could've given my characters or reader oc its the endless funds to go cafe hopping. cafe hopping is so, so fun, but so, so expensive like goddamn let me live my main character life in peace fr....

it's euphoric to hear that you liked the little moments !! i enjoyed thinking through those and just going like ah yes, he would say this! i really love writing or thinking about the small moments that lead up to the big picture. (also @buthowboutno-spamming gave me such great advice regarding this, and i wouldnt have been able to flesh out my fic and vision if not for his advice)

michael deserves to get his dick chopped off fr. but it's okay!! I plan for all my characters to go through developmental arcs lmfao, ive gotten too attached to the two idiots to let go of their potential now :)

Go get some fruit-ade or make some yourself bro it's super easy super good. lmk if you want a recipe and im more than happy to provide~

[linalilia]

I'm kinda late but yeah :D

For fandoms: Soukoku, Jade x Trey, and Leona x Ruggie

For your ocs: Akio x Ichiro, Aimi x Akane, Kei x Daisuke (Now that we know more about them, I'd like to see what you think of these skips, hehe. :DD)

it's okay it's okay! i'm surprised to see no bllk ships here /lh

LISTEN. AGAIN. i'm just not really a fan of this dynamic in general? like, i really like the concept of 😠😆 characters being a couple, but ehh, for some reason soukoku is just.. not it for me. it's like, i can see the "hating each other" part, but i can't see the "secretly in love with each other" part?? also i just got too tired of seeing it everywhere and the "this ship killed my grandma, okay" part is like. i've told this story to my other friends before, but long story short, back when i was like 13-14 years old and i just got into bsd, i was a part of this gc and all members liked skk, but i didn't, so they came up with this great plan: THEY JUST KICKED ME OUT OF THE GC EVERY TIME THEY MENTIONED SKK AND THEN ADDED ME AGAIN WHEN THEY CHANGED THE TOPIC. like. i get it, they were even younger than me and they said that "they did that for my own comfort", but also.. yeah, i kinda get ptsd every time i see them now /j

i just.. don't really get it?? like yes, i know about their interactions and i know about the whole "oh, trey thought jade is just like him fr but it turned out that jade likes working for azul" (??) thing, but also.. idk, i just don't really care about this ship :'D maybe it's bc i'm kinda neutral when it comes to these characters too (i'm like a magnet for trey and jade simps though. i have too many mutuals/friends who like them JDJSKSALSL) so that's why i don't really care about shipping them too?

tbh the age gap makes me feel a bit uncomfy? like, listen, i'm not the type of person who goes "IF THESE TWO CHARACTERS ARE NOT THE EXACT SAME AGE, YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO SHIP THEM", but ehhh, idk, i think leona is a bit too old for ruggie. i think i like the concept in theory, since i enjoy dynamics where character a has more power and character b is their servant/follower/etc, but ruggie is like.. basically, i think he deserves better jdkdslsdls

WELL. UH. NOW LET'S TALK ABOUT WHAT I ACTUALLY LIKE. okay, i love both platonic and romantic versions of akio x ichiro. they're just so cute, but so toxic at the same time <333 like, hear me out. they have a very cute dynamic bc akio just wants someone to listen to him and admire him and just do what he says, but also recognize that he's more than just his intelligence and he has other good qualities too and if ichiro needs attention and someone to guide him and answer his questions, well, akio would be glad to do that! but also, there's a lot of angst potential since akio still misses arata to a very bad and obsessive degree as it will be shown in season 2 and he may also see ichiro only as a "second option" because he would like to reconcile with arata if he's able to go back home and also, unlike riku, ichiro probably doesn't really share any traits with arata? but hey, maybe akio should just stop searching for guys who look and act exactly the same way and try something new? also i can definitely see them as, like, that type of ship where someone talks a lot and the other one just listens and nods. but yeah, i think they should go to therapy together once they're out. if they're able to leave milgram that is (also hi i'm typing this while thinking about t2 akio and I'M THIS CLOSE TO CRYING)

AIMI X AKANE IS SUCH A CUTE SHIP (both platonically and romantically) IT LITERALLY MAKES ME MELT. like, their t1 version is so heartwarming, aimi finally gets a friend (maybe something more?) and akane finally gets someone who won't look away and give her all the attention and love she needs! also matching bandaids!! brushing each other's hair!! aimi saying that she can hug akane if she's too cold!! (and aimi is very soft and warm and her prison uniform is just like that as well) but also man. i'm thinking about the fact that i've actually never revealed much about aimi's backstory and what kind of person she was before milgram and like, why she was bullied by everyone.. and again, her undercover lyrics, if someone is not her friend, they don't deserve to even breathe. would love to see akane's reaction to t2 aimi, hehe <3 (don't worry, aimi is still cute, but now we get to know how messed up her morals can be) (also the fact that their love languages go together so well makes me go insane)

AGAIN. i love them both platonically and romantically. two angsty boys who have some love-related problems, how cute <3 but also, i think daisuke deserves someone better than kei jdkslsls. kei's morals are literally non-existent and he genuinely enjoys hurting people though one of the reasons why he likes it is because he thinks it's a normal way to show how much you love them. their love languages go together surprisingly well too (the masochist bit made me laugh so hard like if kei found out HE WOULDN'T LEAVE HIM ALONE AND WOULD TEASE HIM NON-STOP). this is also that kind of ship that really makes me wonder how your ocs would react to the t2 versions of my ocs, though in this case it's more about, well, kei's t2 mv and more info about his crime because IT'S GONNA BE SAD.

[everythingsinred]

Hi hii!! I hope you're having a nice day 💜💜

Ok I'm gonna be really mean with the 50 questions ask-

Whichever ones you want, with Ruka, Natsume, or Mikan

(i find it mean bc i am tragically indecisive)

i am doing great!

(i think that u sent this again, adding mikan... so i'll answer this one instead of the other one, if that's okay)

ur ask is so tempting so i will do as many as i can for all three, thank u <3

Ruka-pyon <3

1. Canon I outright reject? he would NEVER leave natsume not EVER. i know tsubasa had to basically drag him out of there but i hate that he left i HATE it

2. A canon or headcanon hill I will die on? i don't think he would ever date mikan after natsume's hypothetical death. i don't think either of them would be able to.

3. Obscure headcanon? his favorite disney movie is fox and the hound.

4. Favorite line? "Meeting you, and coming with you here to the Academy... I never even once regretted it." (chapter 146)

5. Best personality trait? his loyalty. he's very sweet and i love that, but his loyalty is what moves mountains, what fights wars, what transcends the rules of time and space.

6. Worst personality trait? i must have mentioned this at some point but he's perfect. but really i think he shouldn't feel like such a burden when he brings so much to the table.

7. Age/height/weight headcanon? i don't need a headcanon when i have character profiles! 140 cm/4'6 and 35 kg/77 lbs at his debut, 173 cm/5'8 and 66 kg/145 lbs in the last chapter. also i believe he's the youngest of the main four? he turns 11 in march, after natsume, mikan, and hotaru have all had their 11th birthdays.

8. Unpopular opinion about them? i've already said i only like his relationship with mikan platonically, so i'll say something else.

9. Scene that first made me love (or hate) the character? "bird meets tori!" where we see him using his alice with piyo. though it's been so long since i first met him that i really can't remember ever NOT loving him.

10. Best moment on screen (or in the book)? my favorite ruka moment is when he's waiting for natsume in the backseat of the car to go to the academy with him. makes me cry every single time.

12. Crack headcanon? i like thinking of him growing little flowers on his windowsill in his dorm and that he very much likes baking... again "crack" i use loosely.

13. Dumbest thing they’ve ever done? this...?? maybe? i dont think he does many dumb things...

14. Most heroic moment? i just think there's so much strength in ruka's actions in the new year's arc, even if he feels like such a burden the whole time. though i also think this one is very brave.

15. Worst thing they’ve ever done? very tough to say because he's a well-meaning child! i don't like to be negative abt the kids. that being said, this might be natsume AND ruka's worst moment lol. ruka was complicit in that.

17. Quotes, songs, poems, etc. that I associate with them? zoe and i do have a ruka playlist, but it's private right now because it's unpolished. that being said, here are some songs from the playlist.

18. What they’d go to see a therapist about? his self-esteem issues, namely his feelings of being a burden and his apparent social anxiety that stems from a lonely, isolated childhood.

21. Drink of choice (not just alcoholic)? lemonade!

22. Best physical feature? his pretty blue eyes! he's so beautiful!

23. If they were a scented candle, what would they smell like? YOU ASKED THE RIGHT PERSON. i imagine he would be a lovely, simple floral scent, as well as something a little sweet and refined.

24. Most annoying habit? he's done nothing annoying??? tho for real i think people might get annoyed by his natsume-apologism (especially in story lol)

27. Their guilty pleasure? i think he'd probably like musicals but get very embarrassed abt it. tho i might just be projecting winston bishop on him based off his one musical performance as snow white that he obviously didnt even want to do.

31. If they had a tumblr what would it look like? VERY aesthetic, sweet, with lots of photography, poetry quotes, and pictures of animals.

32. Something guaranteed to make them smile/laugh? when he finally lets himself poke fun at natsume and mikan! they make him laugh a lot, when he puts his walls down <3

33. Something guaranteed to make them cry? when he thinks too hard about his family, because of how much he misses them.

35. Their idea of a perfect day? spending time with his friends and snuggling with an animal... i think he'd be content with simple pleasures.

36. Their favorite season? i associate him with spring! with flowers and baby animals and gentle weather. i think he'd like it too, for lots of the same reasons.

37. What they really think about themselves? he thinks of himself as a burden, obstacle, impediment, that he holds the one person he loves most back when all he wants is to help. as a result, he withdraws and hides himself away bc he doesn't think he's capable of contributing much anyway.

38. Favorite holiday? maybe easter? i'm not familiar with japanese holidays so i cant say for sure but the easter aesthetic suits him.

39. Favorite game? card games!!!

40. Favorite book? i have a predominantly western understanding of literature because i have a degree in english literature, so forgive me. i think he'd like romantic poets, like whitman, wordsworth, byron, and dickinson. he'd like romanticism for it's emphasis on the natural world and on emotion and justice. i think he'd like classic children's books too, like peter pan or alice in wonderland.

41. If they could have lunch with anyone in the world (living or dead, from any fictional universe or the real world), who would it be? he'd wanna eat lunch with his parents because he misses them <3

42. 3 comfort items? i had a long and nice answer for this but tumblr ate it (which pisses me off so much u have no idea) so i dont remember what i'd said. the earbud transmitters hotaru left him, but i cant remember the other two. ill reblog again if i remember.

43. 3 favorite foods and 3 they despise? i think ruka would like bread and pastries, lots of desserts. i dont have much of an inkling what he wouldn't like except that i believe he's a vegetarian so he wouldn't eat meat. i just dont understand how he could have such connection and empathy for animals, genuinely love them as friends, and have the animal pheromone alice on top of that, and eat them. i dont think he'd judge anybody for eating meat, but he wouldn't be able to himself.

44. Their happiest memory? meeting natsume <3

46. The person they most admire? natsume, mikan, and his mom. people whose strength he admires and maybe covets.

47. Their dream job? he wants to be a vet!!!!

48. Scariest moment of their life? poor ruka has gone through a lot of scary moments but i think he's managed to be brave each time anyway, which is very admirable. i keep saying natsume for all his answers, but i think natsume's death would be the scariest moment because he genuinely couldn't do anything to stop it. i think not only was it the moment he lost his best friend, but also a moment that made him feel like he really couldn't be of any help or support to natsume after all, that he really was a burden.

49. Favorite toy as a child? rich boy ruu-chan had a lot of toys and while i'm tempted to think he'd like stuffed animals, at the end of the day i think he'd be way more interested in playing with real animals. i think they made him feel accepted and understood and less alone.

50. A memory they’ve blocked out? i think the memories of the time between natsume dying and coming back would be a bit blurry. he wouldnt have been holding on tight to that period of time, to put it lightly.

Natsume <3

1. Canon I outright reject? I will never accept him dying young. sorry higuchi but i just cant listen to you.

2. A canon or headcanon hill I will die on? natsume LOVES chocolate and sweets. why do so many people insist on him hating sweets just because he's "cool" i dont get it???

3. Obscure headcanon? he listens to rap and rap rock. im sorry i just. cant imagine he wouldn't love rap. whatever.

4. Favorite line? i love when one of the kids asks him to tutor him when the whole class is in study mode, saying, "i thought if i went in with a 'do or die' attitude then maybe..." and natsume replies, "then die." (i know it's hard to see but it's at the bottom, where ruka's face is.) ALSO on a more serious note, "can you wait for me?" because it KILLS me.

5. Best personality trait? how sweet he can be!!!! no but seriously natsume acts cool but he's the most hopeless romantic of the bunch and i live by that.

6. Worst personality trait? martyr complex.

7. Age/height/weight headcanon? who needs headcanon when we have canon!! natsume is ten (a couple months away from eleven) when he's introduced and the second youngest (only older than ruka) in the main four (the boys being younger than the girls is so cute). he's sixteen at the epilogue and in kageki <3. he's 140 cm/4'6 and 34.5 kg/76 lbs when we meet him, and 175 cm/5'9 and 72 kg/159 lbs at the epilogue.

8. Unpopular opinion about them? i think the popular opinion is that natsume is a baby boy who deserves peace and love after a childhood of rage and agony but if you disagree, i'll throw u off a cliff myself.

9. Scene that first made me love (or hate) the character? im gonna be real with u. he was my fav from the start. i never ever had negative feelings towards him ever from the beginning. is that weird? idk. i dont really care. i saw him with his mask and was determined to watch the whole anime just bc he was in it.

10. Best moment on screen (or in the book)? it's really hard for me to answer this but i think my favorite natsume moment is when he finally rebels against the ESP and persona... something he'd always wanted to do but couldn't, finally given the chance through the knowledge that he'd rather be dead than allow mikan to live through the same suffering that he does.

13. Dumbest thing they’ve ever done? getting mikan to play the prince. he's so fucking stupid.

14. Most heroic moment? he wishes it was his death scene! i think his most heroic moment was when he decided to go to the academy for his sister. i pick this scene and not any others bc when natsume risks his life later on, part of it is motivated by suicidal ideation so it's kinda hard for me to think of those moments as anything but.

15. Worst thing they’ve ever done? same answer as ruka's. yes i say this even knowing that he might have killed people during DA missions. those other ppl arent real to me; mikan is.

17. Quotes, songs, poems, etc. that I associate with them? again, zoe and i made a killer playlist for the main 4 ga characters. natsume's is the best though, we both agree. since, again, the playlist is still under construction, here are some tracks from it that suit him. (lots of them are triggering, particularly regarding thoughts of suicide, just as a warning.)

18. What they’d go to see a therapist about? everything? trauma, self-image, martyr complex, suicidal ideation, dealing with terminal illness... there's a lot.

19. Vices/bad habits? he has a lot! the worst is his overuse of his alice.

20. Scars? i'm sure he has some. DA missions are not safe and although natsume is canonically immune to his own fire, he's not immune to flying shrapnel and rubble. i like the anime showing us some glimpses into what his missions might look like. we even got to see him get shot, an injury he (presumably) patched up himself instead of going to the hospital for, which is VERY in character. the anime NAILED that episode (chef's kiss, best episode ever, hands down).

21. Drink of choice (not just alcoholic)? cherry dr pepper (this is just a ridiculous joke zoe and i made that is now serious. what a sickening beverage)

22. Best physical feature? his eyes! so pretty. i also love his silky hair. he is SO pretty and has sUCH pretty eyelashes. most beautiful boy ever.

23. If they were a scented candle, what would they smell like? he'd be a lovely scent, very woody and foresty. not floral or sweet.

24. Most annoying habit? martyr complex.

31. If they had a tumblr what would it look like? it's hard to imagine natsume having a tumblr tbh but i think if he did it would be a little anticlimactic. he'd mainly just reblog stupid self-deprecating jokes and edgy music.

32. Something guaranteed to make them smile/laugh? jokes with ruka <3 teasing mikan <3 :)

33. Something guaranteed to make them cry? sadly, natsume rarely cries. but he cries when he loses someone, so leaving his father, and i think he must have cried when he woke up after dying just to find out mikan was gone.

35. Their idea of a perfect day? a good day would probably be if he doesn't have to go on a mission. a perfect day would be the two christmases where he got to kiss mikan. i think he went to sleep very happy those nights.

36. Their favorite season? spring <3 though i always associate him with autumn and winter.

37. What they really think about themselves? BAD. not worth the trouble. exists for others. similar nonsense.

38. Favorite holiday? CHRISTMAS

39. Favorite game? playing cards with ruka! also its easy to imagine him being into video games, particularly violent ones.

40. Favorite book? i think he'd prefer manga to books but if he were to read books i think he'd like fucked up shit. maybe horror like stephen king or something.

41. If they could have lunch with anyone in the world (living or dead, from any fictional universe or the real world), who would it be? his mom

43. 3 favorite foods and 3 they despise? i base this off of official art (thus, canon), but pasta, chocolate, and strawberries are his favorite foods. i think he wouldnt like coffee (thats why he always drinks it in my fics lmao....) and i like imagining him as being a childishly picky eater. i dont really have any evidence for his dislikes. just vibes.

44. Their happiest memory? meeting ruka and both christmases <3

46. The person they most admire? i think he would admire his mother and yuka a lot. obviously, he also admires ruka and mikan, for being unlike him.

47. Their dream job? he simply does not dream of labor. it's really hard for me to come up with a job he'd love bc of how he's been forced to work as an actual child. he likes manga... maybe something involved with that?

48. Scariest moment of their life? when aoi burned down the village, though i do think he's had lots of scary moments after that too. i just think that was probably the moment he realized how powerless he really was, how much he was at the mercy of others simply bc he was a child.

49. Favorite toy as a child? i think he'd probably be a big fan of matchbox cars? or maybe im saying that bc i liked matchbox cars. (and also cuz theyre called matchbox cars). he seems to like basketball too!

50. A memory they’ve blocked out? natsume is a big ball of trauma so i wouldnt be surprised if there was plenty. i think he's kind of forced to compartmentalize a lot, since his experiences in the DA class are so gruesome and different from his school life, so he'd be forced to pretend like he didn't just go on a terrifying mission last night, which leads to unprocessed trauma and maybe even blurred memories.

Mikan <3

1. Canon I outright reject? if higuchi tachibana doubting that "natsume won" is canon, then i reject it. mikan MADE A CHOICE. in your manga, higuchi!!!! she even says, "these feelings i have only for you", which means the only person she loves romantically is natsume. higuchi YOU WROTE THIS.

2. A canon or headcanon hill I will die on? ^^^ that one. also she's not a masochist.

3. Obscure headcanon? even though natsume can have a potentially atrocious taste in fashion, i think mikan would find his fits cute nonetheless, maybe just bc it's him!

4. Favorite line? I love when she tells natsume to join her team before the sports fest. she NEVER asks for anything from natsume or tells him how she feels but she takes a risk this once and it's wonderful until he rejects her and she takes a long while to recover from that moment where she finally put herself out there only to get turned down.

5. Best personality trait? perseverance, in regards to difficult times and difficult people.

6. Worst personality trait? toxic positivity

7. Age/height/weight headcanon? we have canon!! she is (unbeknownst to her) eleven years old when she first comes to the academy and is turning seventeen when we see her again in the last chapters. she's 138 cm/4'6 and 33 kg/73 lbs at her debut and 158 cm/5'2 and 47 kg/104 lbs at the last chapters.

8. Unpopular opinion about them? it's okay that she's stupid! i dislike when mikan is made so much smarter, or when they significantly alter her personality, in fics. i think she's pretty great the way she is!

9. Scene that first made me love (or hate) the character? HARD TO SAY. regrettably i wasn't always a huge fan of mikan, especially in the anime, bc i thought she was annoying. but i think when i matured just a little, it was hard to keep it up. i think i fully loved her on the second rewatch/reread. i couldnt tell u the specific scene bc it was too long ago.

10. Best moment on screen (or in the book)? i reread just this little moment so often. i'm not saying it's a healthy moment, hiding her feelings until she's alone, but it's so her and it's so heart-crushing and tragic. i love it.

13. Dumbest thing they’ve ever done? she's frequently stupid, but i really enjoy this moment, just bc of how naive she is, both to natsume's situation and to her own feelings. (mikan, girl, you're in love with him.)

14. Most heroic moment? is there anything more heroic than this?

15. Worst thing they’ve ever done? mikan rarely does things out of ill-will. i could say one of her well-intentioned blunders, but that feels cheap. i'll say this, then, when mikan tells natsume that him worrying about her is a bother. i'll talk about it during my essay, but mikan says that, against her urges to keep him with her, because she remembers the pain of him choosing luna over her and she, in that moment, reacts in a kneejerk way to make him hurt a little too. it's the only moment i can think of where she hurts somebody without at least meaning well. (and YES i know that this is right after luna told her to keep their encounter a secret, but mikan chooses to be cold to natsume in a way that she isnt towards hotaru or her other friends for asking similar questions.)

16. Deepest darkest secret they won’t even admit to themselves? mikan never admits anything to herself! that she loves natsume sticks out the most though.

17. Quotes, songs, poems, etc. that I associate with them? AGAIN, zoe and i made playlists for the main 4 but they're unsuitable for consumption right now, so here are some mikan flavored tracks!

18. What they’d go to see a therapist about? her little useless complex as well as her toxic positivity and all the trauma she had to endure in a very short time frame.

19. Vices/bad habits? "keep smiling, mikan, no matter what!"

21. Drink of choice (not just alcoholic)? orange juice and orange soda

22. Best physical feature? her smile, allegedly! i love the way her eyes are drawn (my answer for everyone is eyes bc i LOVE the way higuchi draws eyes...). i, like natsume, also LOVE when her hair is down.

23. If they were a scented candle, what would they smell like? she'd be like her name, and have a fruity, floral scent! very sweet!

31. If they had a tumblr what would it look like? i think it would be super cute with lots of bright, fun colors, desserts, and positivity quotes.

32. Something guaranteed to make them smile/laugh? she smiles a lot. i like her genuine smiles, when she hears something she likes or spends quality time with people she loves.

33. Something guaranteed to make them cry? mikan is sensitive! thus she cries a lot! she cries when people around her are hurt, she cries when she doesn't get what she wants, or when things get hard. i think it's sweet.

35. Their idea of a perfect day? spending time with her class b pals with some light antics and shenanigans, or hanging out with her senpais in the special ability class would make her happy. later, going on dates with natsume, too. <3

36. Their favorite season? summer, but the lovely thing is how happy and awestruck mikan seems to be by every passing season. she loves them all! it's very sweet, how much love she has for life.

37. What they really think about themselves? despite her tendency to see the beauty or value in everything, she doesn't see much in herself. she thinks of herself as ordinary, boring, useless. she knows that people love her smile but she thinks that's all she has to offer so she hides her negative feelings away. ;-;

38. Favorite holiday? new year's!!!

39. Favorite game? she loves all games, but especially sports and high-activity games

40. Favorite book? she'd like high-spirited books with wacky characters, like pippi longstocking, anne of green gables, or matilda.

41. If they could have lunch with anyone in the world (living or dead, from any fictional universe or the real world), who would it be? her parents and jii-chan

43. 3 favorite foods and 3 they despise? obviously she loves oranges and she eats lots of oranges in the manga. i like to think she shares hotaru's love for seafood, bc seafood reminds her of hotaru, but hotaru is so insane abt it that mikan seems to have a tame love in comparison. and HOWALON, obviously. i dont think mikan would dislike much food or be a picky eater bc she loves to eat <3

44. Their happiest memory? i think her school memories with her friends, particularly lighthearted moments, would stick out as happiest. the culture fest or the dodgeball game or swimming class.

46. The person they most admire? hotaru, natsume, ruka, etc. she admires lots of people. she has a tendency to see the good parts of people and to focus on them until that's the main thing she sees.

47. Their dream job? i like to see mikan in people-oriented, caring-based roles, like as a nurse or a teacher, where there's emphasis on helping people. i think she'd really thrive in a career like that. i especially like imagining her as a teacher. (her husband can share some pretty decent benefits from such a career afaik)

48. Scariest moment of their life? probably the whole night of the escape arc. no part of that was easy. the entire night was stressful and scary

49. Favorite toy as a child? she makes her own mikan dolls! mikan is awful at homemade things, like cooking or sewing, but she loves it anyway! i think she liked making her own toys and seeing the beauty in her ugly little creations.

50. A memory they’ve blocked out? i think mikan would try and remember the hard moments so that she can get stronger, just based on the way she talks about such moments, like after pengy dies.

[rinbowaman]

OH HELL THE LAST CHAPTER OF DOUBLE TROUBLE HAS GOT ME DOWN SO BAD LIKE HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY!!!!!!!!!! YOURSO GOOD AT WRITING SMUT IT REALLY IS ACTUALLY AMAZING BECUZ I NEVER THOUGHT SMUT WAS RELLY WOULD CARE TO READ UNTIL I STARTED READING YOUR FICS. I M ALSO CURIOUS ABOUT WHAT YOU WROTE WHEN YOU SAID THAT HEETHAN WAS BASED OFF YOU IS THAT LIKE NORMAL FOR WHEN YOU WRITE YOUR FICS? IM VERY INTERESTED IN YOUR YN'S AND MALES CAN YOU TALK MORE ABOUT IT?? I'M SUPER INTRIGUED NOW. LUV U!

<3 lol! thank you! i'm glad the last chapter of DT got you feeling some type of way, it was a good chapter. i was pleasantly surprised by how many reblogs it got just over night, which makes me pleased bc i love seeing my work spread out, it gives me hope that many other people will like it and help me create more content. and i love writing smut, it really is fun bc it adds excitement. like writing can sometimes be a drag, but writing smut never gets boring bc there are so many dang ways you can describe and outline the scene, it makes it fun. not to mention i'm sure yall enjoy it ;)

and yes, heethan....actually all my hee-leads are pretty much inspired by myself. like i often think to myself "if i was a dude and in this situation that i'm drafting, how would i react? what would i do?" and that's usually how i end up drafting out the male characters. ofc a bit of inspiration comes from the man himself, the real HS, so certain attributes (aside from his looks and features) but like heethan's ability to dance and do sports, that all is based off the real HS. also the obsession, that's kind of based off the vibe i got from the real HS. to put quite frankly, when i learned who enhypen was and when i first watched their videos and saw their photos, i just got this vibe that the real HS would be the type that would be somewhat obsessed and possessive of his partner. so i just used my gut feeling and expanded that to make the hee-leads as insane yandere lovers. i dont htink the real HS is yandere but i do get this vibe that he would be the type to be somewhat clingy and territorial with his loved one.

i actually love this topic bc i never really got the chance to go into great detail about the hee-leads and how they are created, much less the y/ns. so if you guys want to know more, see below the line for all the details on my y/n and heelead inspirations ;)

for heeleads, they are all based off me in a sense like...their reactions to y/n. all their reactions to y/n is based off my initial reaction i had with a girl that i met at the college i enrolled in, during orientation. now i myself am straight, but i can appreciate beauty when i see it. and the y/n i saw...she was actually in her last year of college at the time and was finishing up...so i assume she was around 23 or 24, so older than me, but she was gorgeous. her hair, her skin, her voice, just...everything. she took my breath away, and it was funny bc i heard about her before seeing her, and i just kind of thought ppl were just hyping her up for no reason but when i saw her i was legit like "whoooooooa." so my reaction was used as inspiration for the heeleads in that aspect, especially heethan. everything else as far as their character is a mixture of "what would i do?" and the vibe i got from real HS, not to mention, adding the yandere influence and traits that are somewhat common in the yandere community. that's the biggest challenge, is to outline their traits as insanely obsessive, possessive, sadistically loving lovers. like i want them to be insanely in love with you guys to the point where the selfishness is wrong but its like....sexy at the same time. bc of how much they want and need you.

now for the y/ns....you know it's so hard to leave the y/n's less descriptive bc i so badly want to describe each one of them in great detail but in order to do that, i'd have to know the attributes of all my readers bc my y/n's really are based off of you all. like i do know its' common for most writers to insert their own image, personality, or their own traits as the y/n, which i find that to be a big no-no as a writer. i feel like if you insert yourself as the main lead when creating, it kind of takes away from the readers in allowing them to fit into the story. so when it comes to the y/ns and who inspires me, it became way easier to imagine a y/n once i got to know my readers and some of them even have PM'd me selfies (just to show love) and it kind of motivates me to draft the chapters and outline y/n's. most of the time, i leave y/ns just a blank face and with somewhat a dull personality bc i dont want to get too narrow with her. i want you all to fit the y/ns. that's the hardest part of drafting the stories tbh. i think the only times i've kind of maybe inserted myself with the y/ns is like....their reactions, like "what would i do if i was her in this situation." so like for instance, when y/n in HHP got kidnapped, I thought to myself "how would i feel? what would i do? would i cry? would i go into shock?" just to try and bring some life in her emotions and personality.

I will say the only y/n that i might of inserted myself a little bit more, as far as sense of style, would be the MT y/n. just the style, like her accessories and attire. so that y/n probably reflected me the most just because when i outlined her outfits, they literally were outfits that i do have or maybe my mom has that i really want to wear....but she wont let me lol. my mom is a fashionista. also heethan's y/n, the bond she has with her dad was influenced by the bond i have with my dad, i placed that in there bc i wanted to include heartfelt moments of y/n with her family, but i also wanted to do the same towards her mother, which is why in DT, the y/n has that similar bond with her mom, so that way i can try to expand the fitting concept to all readers, bc some of you all may be closer to your mom or your dad. i was fortunate to have a tight knit bond with both of mine.

each series has a y/n that will be different from the next so that it can appeal to the wide variety of readers i have. as far as her appearances, i just always have a blank face, although the one thing that is consistent, is that for some reason, my mind always imagines the y/n's (all of them) with longer hair....which is weird bc i personally think that real HS would actually prefer shorter hair (like shoulder length or mid chest length) but for some reason my y/n's always pop up with like really long hair and i have no idea why. probably bc i can imagine the heeleads playing and running their fingers through their hair. that might have been inspired by my cousin, she has super long hair..like mermaid long. its down to her lower waist and its beautiful. I would always watch her swinging it over the arm of a couch and my family members playing with it, so that's probably why i always imagine the y/ns with longer hair. lol.

as far as her personality, again, its dull bc all my readers have different personalities, so i want them to dictate the y/n based off their own traits. to a degree, i will add some personality traits to them. so like heethan's y/n is a gentle, carefree, kind, very submissive and nurturing (good girl next door) type. while MT y/n is immortal, and she's older and her personality type is very witty, smart, a bit standoffish bc of her secret, but caring and just kind of a loner type. she has lots of trust issues bc of her secret lineage.

Heelel's y/n is one that has lots of prospects in life, follows her own gut instinct, and is just one of those that strays from the herd type, as evident in the series. she is confused by the entire events of the cult while she watches her friends and family joining it, but doesn't become influenced to join, which is why she never became a part of the cult. heelel's y/n is just one of those "i'm going to do me" types.

Heebros y/n is kind of like a career gal, she is driven and has lots of potential to be a very successful person, not to mention she's got kind of a slight bit of boldness and attitude to her persona, as seen when she introduced kurt to the parents and the brothers at the wedding.

Heeler's y/n, as you can see so far, is a very calm, no drama type. She's very kind and is the sympathetic type, and will do anything to help others. she's a very nice and quiet type of girl. in fact, all the y/n's are pretty much the quiet types lol.