#also i am excited (kind of) to learn about new backstories i however am not excited to witness the absolute butchering of characterization

[ntaras]

i sure hope people analyze shang tsung’s backstory as a man living in poverty forced to deceive other people for the sake of his own survival and don’t start complaining that giving him this kind of backstory makes him lame!

[randomfanner]

Shadowheart Headcanons

I love Shadowheart, I love being her friend and I do plan on romancing this poor Sweetheart as a Selunite. But right now we are romancing the vampire(and bear) as a Moon Druid.

Going to be her friend in every play through though goddammit. Even the one I make everything go horribly, horribly wrong! (I am not excited for that play through but gods damn if I don't know exactly what kind of character I am going to play!)

Anyway, onto the headcanons!

TW: Religious Trauma, PTSD mentions and general warning that go with Shadowheart's backstory.

So there is not a person in this group who is not extremely touch starved and Shadowheart is the second most desperate to be brought in for some snuggles, right behind Karlach.

Shadowheart cannot and does not remember the last time she got a hug in her life. If you ask if she wants a hug she will deny it at first but "Wait actually it.... doesn't sound horrible I suppose."

(I want to hug everyone, I want there to be an option in friendships where you can ask if they want a hug. You can only do it after certain of their plot but god dammit let me hug them all. After I tell Shadowheart I think she did the right thing I want nothing more then to give her a hug every damn time.)

Shadowheart falls for puppy eyes so easy. Shadowheart will be eating her dinner and Scratch and the Owlbear will sit, stare with their big soft eyes and Shadowheart just gives them both some of her food. She vows it will be the last time.

It never is.

You can also pull this trick to get anything you want from Shadowheart. Whether it be a kiss when she is busy or to completely drag her away from other things, all you have to do is flash puppy eyes and any will she had to tell you 'no' breaks.

Shadowheart had a horse when she was a child and has a natural talent for horseback riding. It is something she long forgot about and her childhood horse did pass of old age, never knowing what happened to his rider. If you are able to save her parents, they tell her all about him.

It makes her cry, but she is glad to know this is something she used too. Shadowheart begins to learn how to ride as soon as she can and gets good at it instantly. It is like riding a bike and she begins to do it to clear her head.

After you both settle down she comes home with two horse calves and she is going to rise them and make it so you can go horse back riding together.

Shadowheart has begun to make a real effort to not pray to the Lady of Loss, however it is hard to stop doing something you have done in years and that has been ingrained into you. It is not as if she means too, and whenever she notices she utter her name, she instantly corrects them to try and follow Selune's prayers.

Isobel and Aylin are actually very good helps during the transition. Aylin knows what sort of disgusting habits the Wench of Loss instils and how hard it can be to shake off. She had seen it first hand after all. However Aylin does er... sometimes overdo it. Isobel is there to tone it down.

Isobel and Shadowheart become drinking and gossip buddies. I have nothing else to add here.

Shadowheart is bad at emotions and sometimes has no idea how to define how she is feeling. Even if it is a good emotion she doesn't always know the exact word for it... and she might begin asking you about it.

Talking about emotions is so beyond new to her she is nearly uncomfortable at first, but she likes to do it. She also begins to want to understand how you feel and hear how you are doing. She is bad at helping you if it hard times but she is going to try her best!

Content Warning for Below!

Shar brought back all the memories of suffering she had inflicted on others. And well Shadowheart doesn't think about it, she tries to not get lost in it... those memories plague her in her sleep. There have been multiple nights she has woken up screaming from memories.

She tends to hold onto your hand for as long as she will let her. She isn't sure if she wants to talk about it or not, sometimes she will sometimes she won't but whatever it feels like that night, by Selune is she glad you are there for her.

It means everything to her.

[dreamtydraw]

Back to ask for a character ramble! Character of your choice~! (And feel free to let this message sit until you feel like it :) )

-💚

OK HI HELLO YOU ARE AWESOME !! I’m taking this card to talk about my oc for the game Touchestarved, Eleanore

First off I gonna start by saying that a lot of things about her as a character in terms of story or design will depend on the canon of the story. I am taking a lot of liberty and her character will for sure be changed once the game is fully out and we get to learn more about the world-building and the backstories.

Starting with her symbolism: Eleanore is a metaphor for reincarnation and rebirth. One of her associations with reincarnation is her design linked to spring.

Her name Eleanore originates from Ray of light / shining light but her surname Eostre is a direct reference to the deity of reincarnation but also the deity of spring and light.

Her original design was inspired by paintings of medieval maidens mainly those:

You can sort of see it in her hairstyle when I take the time to draw her well.

Eleanore being associated with spring can also be noticed in the color palette of her design: Green and orange. Green is both a color associated with life and death nevertheless it’s a spring color, the color of a new nature, of grass and trees. However, green is also associated with the concept of jealousy, toxicity, and envy.

Orange is a warm color associated with energy and positivity, it’s also a color you’ll see associated with fruits or flowers. However orange is also a warning color, it grab your attention and can lead you to signs to be alert, it’s a warning. A red flag is here to stop you, an orange flag will warn you of a danger approaching.

She is also inspired by a parasite, the Cuscuta, an orange parasite flower that grow over other plants and drain them. This parasite is referenced with the shape of her marks taking over her body but also the dual color green and orange of the parasite on the host. This is the same reference as another parasite the Aphidoidea.

I think you can already start seing it from here, but her design is based on a lot of contradiction : in danger but safe / toxique nature.

Her backstory :

This part can be skipped but is really important to understand her as a character and some of her design choices

This part contain trigger such as child abuse, unhealthy coping mechanisms, ptsd

Eleanore never got to see what genuine affection is. As far as she can remember her life started when she was already a child, living with her teacher. She knew she was to be studied and so she was, her teacher knew what was best.

She wanted to impress her, make her proud by reading all the books she had in the basement, by being grateful for every minute she was allowed in the garden, not crying when she was stabbed with needles, not being too noisy, not complaining, not refusing. All was for the best, even if she cried and begged to be let out, it was childish tantrums, the days she spent in the cage were simply deserved for all the mess she could cause. Her body was for science, her mind was for knowledge and her feelings were worthless.

Her teacher could be as cruel as she was kind, warmly smiling, dressing her up, taking good care of her. She was so good she even found a way to lift the curse of the young child, or so she was told. It was partially lifted, she was still ill, she still needed to be fixed.

“Tomorrow you’ll be free” “Soon i’ll let you out”, she counted the days with excitement. Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months and months faded into years, so many years that her hope died with what used to be her childhood.

She had let it happen for so long, passive to her feelings, to the pain in her wrists and the rotting of her body. Her beautiful green hair slowly growing with a golden light of orange, everything was changing and looking at what she left herself became hurted. All the magic she had supported changed her, influenced her curse and slowly grew alongside her body.

Marks started to appear on her body and her eyes hurt for so long she thought she was turning blind until it all calmed and she could observe a reflective glow of orange settling on her pupil.

All of this changement scared her, but it couldn’t compare to the fright she felt toward her pleased teacher. When she begged for reassurance all she got was lies she heard thousands of times before. Eleanore realized that she would die in that basement. If she stayed here her curse would never be lifted, worse it would be increased. So for the first time she listened to herself and tried to save her life, Eleanore escaped.

Outside she was like a newborn taking her first steps, failing to grasp the reality she was in, incapable of doing anything by herself. She met people there and there, some kinder than others, toying with the naive girl.

One night she was asked to spend her night with a nice man charmed by her looks. She felt special, never in her life did she experience so much pleasure, so much love and adoration. It was all new and to her standart it was all she could ever ask, be special to someone. She tried to run after the feeling, obsessing with how she could silence the void of her worries when someone was next to her. Why look after yourself when someone else can do much more, when they can make you forget and give you the pleasing affection you cried so much for. Sadly her intensity was not met, it was scary, unhinged, it made love slip like sand between her fingers. She tried, she desperately tried, she felt like death was less painful than being abandoned again. So she continued, running after people to earn crumbs of affection, kneeling, begging for even an instance of love, she took everything she was given, she didn’t deserve it after all.

Love was painful and she would stab herself if it meant she could be loved.

Still with me ? Yay good !

Deep dive into her design then !

As stated before her marks are inspired by the thing orange plant parasite that is the Cusuta but some of the shapes are insect-inspired. The lower back shape is inspired by stag beetle horns, where the shape on her shoulder is a visual reference to a beetle opening its wings.

Her eyes are of two separate colors to show she has tapetum lucidum, the layer of the eye that some animal specie which helps them see in the dark but also have a phosphorescent effect that makes the eyes shine in the dark when facing light.

About her hair :

Eleanore’s natural color is green, she realized very late that her green hair will never grow back and this terrifies her. She is scared of letting it go and dosen’t cut her hair anymore wich resulted to the absurd length of her hair. Cutting it would mean letting the past go and she’s too afraid to do it, so she avoid it by improvising. She has a layer of braid under behind her neck to make the volume of hair lighter and more manageable. The green hair that never turned orange are worn in a half crown braid with multiple knots inspired by European medieval folklore hairstyles.

About her clothes :

The belt is here to make the silhouette of her top looks like the torso of a beetle with a clear separation of the two side, the up and the down. It has a butterfly design at it’s center and beetle design on the top. She wears a blouse inspired by old medical blouse that covered from the tip of the arms to the up of the neck. Her little cape is shaped as to fall like two butterfly wings. She has a perfectly symmetrical design again referencing a beetle top. She wears earthy tones and as much closes possible to hide her marks and limit contact due to her curse.

In conclusion :

Eleanore’s design is entierly based on being a symbole of reincarnation while also being stuck. Just like a butterfly she went trough a long process of physical change that hurted ( caterpillars body melt inside the cocon so they can reconstruct their body as butterfly ), sadly she’s still in her shell.

Incapable of moving on, on accepting the process of moving forward and starting new, she dosen’t let go of the past and still hold into it without confronting it ( keeping her green hair, chasing people’s affection, fall in abusive relationships ).

She has the potential of being the stray of light that will open the new season of spring, but her light is kept hiden under all the suffering she refuse to admit, creating a word of désillusion where she believes her way of acting is normal.

FeW that was long-

Thanks you for taking the time to read all of character explanation about Eleanore. I tried my best to explain the complexity i aimed when working on her, she was based of the concept of life draining parasite and this is how the idea got developed. I am very exited for the game to come out so i can apply all of this into the word building and or adapt my lore, and until then i will play with my little blorbo.

Lot of love ! Hope you’ll have a good day ✨

[neo-neos]

My BL journey so far

Okay kids gather round, get comfortable. This is a long one.

Disclaimer/background info: I started watching BL about a month ago-ish. I don't remember the exact date but I believe I started last month or maybe the end of the month before. So I am still a bit of a noob and trying to catch up with watching things. I am also a very chaotic person which you will probably find out by the way this is structured/written. Lastly, even though I do study/teach English for a living, it is not my first language.

Okay with that out of the way, let's dive in.

Backstory/introduction

Like any good story I feel like a bit of backstory/intro might be a good idea. Hi, on the internet I mostly go by the nickname Peach, however I created this blog when I got into BL and have adopted yet another fruit as a new nickname for this side of my personality/identity which is Lychee. I don't really mind which one you use. I'm 24 years old and I am Dutch (the Netherlands). As mentioned in the disclaimer I teach English but I am also still a student, I plan on studying more after this because I love learning new things and especially about languages and cultures. I am part of the LGBTQ+ community myself and mostly identify as Bisexual or Pansexual. I use she/her pronouns. When I was about... 13-14 ish I rolled into the K-pop fandom. I used to listen to bands like SHINee, Super Junior, EXO, BAP, Infinite, Girls Generation, 2ne1, Block B... I was a real fangirl if you ask me HAHA. In this time I also watched a Kdrama or two here and there. Favorites being: Heartstrings and Shut up flower boy band. (I was never too into Kdrama back then). I also used Tumblr back then, I have a literal 12 year old tumblr account with almost 50K posts that I used during my K-pop times. I stopped using tumblr quite a while ago too but that blog is still there. I would reblog gifs and pics and what not about my biases and ships. But as interests do sometimes, it faded into the background and I fully stopped keeping up and listening to K-pop. It has literally been 10 years now.

But then...

One random afternoon I was bored at home and wanted to watch something new. I randomly realized Kdramas existed and so my journey to find one began. I stumbled upon Semantic Error and almost by accident decided to read the little description and the tags that were with it. My eyebrows furrowed for a minute before I could feel my eyes widen: "WAIT THE TWO BOYS... IT'S... GAY???" I could almost not believe what I saw. Obviously back in my K-pop times every band had ships and pairings you fangirled over, Baekyeol or ChanBaek, 2Min, JongKey... You know what I mean...You fangirled over every random moment they were together but that was as far as that went. So you could maybe imagine my excitement when I realized that Korea has come far enough to actually make BL shows now. So without further thoughts I watched Semantic Error. And because it was the first BL I saw I fell in love with it, the story was good, the acting was good, the fluff was to die for. An all round great experience to start off with.

Little did I know...

After this experience I was obviously hungry for more. So, I turned to the internet to tell me where they had been hiding this secret stash of everything I ever wanted in Kdrama... And boy was I surprised with the results. This was the moment I found out that not only Korea but also Japan, Thailand, Taiwan and China made BL shows... And not just 1 or 2... The choices were endless. My journey continued with (either... I kinda forgor...) Don't say no and Love by Chance. This was my first experience with NC scenes too. I had no idea that Thailand already took the step to also go into a little more 18+ when it comes to BL and to be fair... I was kind of excited about it. Now that I have seen more BLs I guess you could argue that neither Don't say no and Love by Chance are the best BLs ever made but at the time I was completely hooked on them.

And so began...

An insane marathon sprint. By this time I wanted more more more and that's what I consumed. I watched some more Kbl, some Japanese BL and some more Thai BL's as well. Until I hit KinnPorsche and that's when I realized how hooked I actually was on this new comfort genre I had just discovered. KinnPorsche allowed me to put the shows I had watched for far into perspective. Most BLs have the university students falling in love drama vibe... KinnPorsche was something completely different and boy did I fall in love, and hard too. This show quite honestly changed a lot of things for me. I went from 'I'm just casually watching these shows' to 'Oh I might be a little obsessed now' and after finishing KP I realized I wanted even more and I could no longer deny that I was becoming a part of the BL fandom.

So where we are now...

In the past month I have spent every free second of my day watching shows. Binging one after the other. I was lucky to have a week off during this time too and I have managed to COMPLETE 32 BLs between then and now. 5 currently watching shows I try and keep up with and a TO WATCH list of 40+ shows. (aka: obsessed much?)

In the meantime I have made a BL twitter and a BL tumblr (this one) to find out more about the BLs I watched or am watching currently, but also to keep up with new ones coming out. I have realized that because of how badly I want to keep up with things I SUCK at remembering names. If the show did not leave a big impression on me I can also easily forget the whole storyline of some. This in addition to people talking about ship names but also IRL ship names using actors real names makes it quite hard to keep up sometimes.

The community...

I also made these accounts in the hopes to interact with the community. This part has been quite a challenge for me. I have never been the most extraverted person (both irl and online) but I am one of those people that is almost desperate to make friends (that sounds a bit sad but hear me out.) I love talking to people (< but you said you're introvert.. I know again, hear me out) but I have absolutely no idea how to behave in order to make friends. I am often too shy to interact with people so I just kind of pull myself back and hope someone reaches out first. As soon as they do there's a good chance I will latch onto them without mercy. I have realized that I am afraid I do not fit in sometimes within this community (mostly on twitter to be honest) I see a lot of very knowledgeable people when it comes to BL shows and I am too afraid to interact. Here on tumblr and twitter I also (after literally 10 years) realize how talented people are when it comes to making gifs, edits and translations. Something I did not really think much about when I was using Tumblr 10 years ago. I have so much admiration for what people make but at the same time I feel like being a cheerleader from the sidelines by reblogging/retweeting I cannot match up to them too. Now I am obviously very new to BL and the community and I have actually met some lovely people already. I guess I just want too much too fast haha!

BL as a whole... (Disclaimer: The things I talk about are not just directed at BL alone, the issues I list are VERY MUCH also alive in Hetero shows and I would like to see change there too. But to keep on the topic of BL I list them here with my reasoning)

Realizing how far these countries have come when it comes to even making shows about LGBTQ+ is an awesome thing to see. Like I said before I come from the time where all I could really do is ship two band members together and fangirl over them sitting next to each other basically. I am part of the LGBTQ+ community myself and I live in a country is supposed to be very accepting so it is nice to see the steps different cultures are taking as well. However I do feel we are not there yet in the way they portray things. Consent (this is obviously not only a BL problem) has been a bit of an issue for me in some shows. Power dynamics - My main issue show for this one was Cutie Pie (not very sure how to elaborate further) NC scenes - Still being quite unrealistic sometimes, you really cannot tell me that bottoming is something you do without preparation of any sort. Only gay for xxx -> Straight but gay for this one man is not exactly how sexuality works. I feel like it might kind of give off the wrong idea as well. I do see that some of these trends are turning to the right direction (Between Us being a good example for consent for example)

Now I obviously know that these are fictional stories so please don't come for my throat over this. I am just listing a few things I have noticed in my journey.

The shows...

Now I would like to use this last little section here to mention and give my thoughts (positive and negative) about some shows I have seen. Let's start with the good shall we.

KinnPorsche -> I have mentioned this show before but I would like to do it again. I fell in love with this show, the actors are amazing, the storyline is great, the chemistry between the couples, the diversity in the storyline, the humor, the serious moments... It has so much and the casting they did for this show is a legit 10/10 Apo is such an amazing actor, Mile is his perfect match for the role and don't even get me started on the rest of the cast I would probably pull up an entire powerpoint presentation.

Life-Love on the line -> Is a Japanese BL that I related to quite a lot. The entire story of how two boys fall in love and grow up together, one becoming more serious while the other stays quite 'childlike' hit me right in the feels (I don't want to spoil things) It was such a beautiful story to be fair.

Semantic Error -> My first BL and what a great start to have to be honest. Need I say more?

Bad Buddy -> I loved this one because of the storyline and the awesome chemistry between the characters. It showed an amazing story of how sometimes you need to put your prejudice thoughts aside to find something beautiful.

Blueming -> The way this story unfolds made me fall even deeper in love with Kbls to be honest. The way this was filmed was just so beautiful.

Roommates of Poongduck -> I was a little hesitant in the beginning of this one. The storyline description did not grab my attention and after seeing how KBL is often focused more on the story than on the passionate kisses for instance it took me a moment to get into it. But we have all seen the kissing scene (that they robbed us of to be fair) and the chemistry between the characters had me sobbing while having the biggest grin on my face.

I told sunset about you -> When I got a little deeper into my research the name of this BL kept popping up everywhere and it obviously got me curious. Boy oh boy this was such a beautiful story I cannot even begin to explain. The exploration of sexuality, gender, love and friendship in this one... Ugh ugh ugh.

Not me -> A masterpiece. The themes, the storyline. They touch upon heavy topics while also maintaining an entertaining series. It's so good.

Love in the air -> Okay so, MOST of the shows above have a lot of deeper messages or storylines and love in the air might feel out of place. WRONG. Sky's storyline shows quite a bit of deeper meaning and I think it was done really well. The other part of why I like this show is because of the actors. They really did such an amazing job with this one and I cannot wait to see more of them.

ChocoMilkShake -> (up until last ep) this was my comfort show. I kind of ignored the dark side of them leaving and just focused on all the cute stuff but I just love it. They better give me a happy ending though!

Between Us -> I have seen UWMA and I must say that although the story was very very beautiful and touching and heavy... I did not vibe with the insane drama as much as I would have hoped. I did however enjoy the WinTeam moments quite a bit. And then BOOM Between Us happened and I am having a blast with this one. Consent being a big plus. The storyline is good, there has not been (knock on wood) unnecessary drama (I was afraid this would happen with the overhearing half a conversation thing they were giving us but I am SO happy to see it was done in a mature way). I love it.

And now for some shows I would like to give a tiny piece of my mind. DISCLAIMER: These are opinions you can ignore, I am not shitting on actors whatsoever, this is mostly targeted towards writing/storyline. THE ACTORS DID NOTHING WRONG!! I am okay with people asking questions about it though (: I also do not JUST shit on the shows I talk about here, I point out some things and also say what I DID like about it

Lovely writer -> This show holds a scene that I find THE MOST frustrating one I have seen so far. "Let me explain" -Silence- "I can explain" -Silence- "Wait don't leave" -Silence-.... If you have seen the show you probably know what I'm referring to. This is what I mean with unnecessary drama. Characters being angry at each other for longer than needed or for a reason that does not make sense. The rest of the show was okay. I don't hate the show but it frustrated me more than that I enjoyed it.

Big Dragon -> The first episode had me screaming. The NC scene, the open kink representation on this one made me so excited. It felt like the next step towards representation for kinks within the genre... And then that slowly died off. The scene where Yai is with the girl that (I suppose) normally helps him with his kink and then the bathroom scene where Mangkorn orders Yai around were 10/10 too but then it was gone and we were back to quite the normal BL plotline again which I found very sad. In the later episodes I also missed the chemistry between Yai and Mangkorn. I fucking LOVE MosBank together like... They are legit amazing actors and I would love to see them again in something different. I am just a little disappointed in the storyline progression.

Cutie pie -> The power dynamic in this show was not really my style. The controlling BF type deal was a bit hard to watch at times. and I KNOW that this entire show is about breaking free of that but the fact that there it is needed in the first place and the lying and secrets.. it was all a bit much for me. However the casting was really good. The chemistry between the characters/actors is awesome and everyone played their role really well!

To my star -> NOW BEFORE YOU BEHEAD ME, HEAR ME OUT. I love this show. I actually love this show. It is really good. But there are some small things that made me frustrated sometimes. Talking about feelings is hard and I do get that 110% but it sometimes felt quite frustrating and left me with a little bit of a bad feeling. I really hope that this show teaches people that you can only really move forward by talking about your feelings instead of running away from them.

Together with me -> The controlling, dramatic, witch female role. Now again, hear me out. The show is great! The chemistry is there, the acting is 10/10 the casting is 10/10 but it has an element I would like to discuss that I have seen in multiple BLs as well. Now I get that the girl is mad, right. Her BF literally cheats on her (shame on u) but the entire master plan the girls come up with like... damn girls... That's all I really have to say about it. Not all women become murderous, petty witches.

TharnType -> From homophobic to being almost assaulted into a gay relationship. Again casting 10/10, chemistry 10/10. But I see this storyline quite a bit too in deluded forms. Consent is a BIG issue in this show for me. Then there is the "I am only okay with this gay guy" idea too that just kinda made me pull some faces at my screen at times.

If you have made it this far... I'm so sorry?

As for now, I think I have written enough about my BL journey so far, if you DID actually read this far and have any questions about it, feel free to ask. I am willing to discuss anything and everything as long as we respect each others views (:

This post is also an invitation to whoever wants to connect. I really do love making friends and my DMs (here and on twitter or if you want to connect on a different platform let me know) are always open. You can literally go in there without context and go: GIIIIRL LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT... and I will reply as if we've been besties for years I really do not mind skipping the awkward first stages of interaction.

My DMs (+replies) are also open for:

Show recs (dm me your fav show and a little description on why it's your fav show and why I should love it too!)

Questions regarding this post or me personally

FanFic recs (If you have written something pls show it to me I love to read!

Seeing my watched list, currently watching list or to watch list for the curious cats (: (っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ Thank you so much for reading and for now I cannot wait to see what the BL community has in store for me ♥

[vacantgodling]

Hi Ren I hope you've been doing well :) If you had to pick, who would you say your favourite oc is and what do you like most about them?

hey ish!!! i’m doing okay :’) i hope you’re doing well too & that the parousians is coming along ok!!

i have A Lot of ocs, so it’s hard to pick just one favorite however i’ll give u a couple that i’m really attached to!

hya & amon — i mean it’s kind of obvious i’m obsessed with the two of them lol. they’re kind of a package deal and their dynamic drives me insane in the best way lol. individually, i’d say that i just enjoy how the two of them are so so shaped by their experiences and the lives that they’ve lead, but neither of them will necessarily acknowledge that? it feels realistic to me in a way; messy people who can’t escape the chains of their past until they face it but they just don’t Want to face it. they both are scared of being weak, but it’s really emotional vulnerability that helps pull them out of this loop that they’re in and that’s powerful to me. also their bickering and general attitudes are so fun to write and think about haha.

darren — genuinely i love how his real strength in this whole story is his emotional maturity and his ability to befriend and make connections with other people. he’s not the strongest one there, not by a long shot. but he’s on of the most stable person there; at peace with himself even despite learning things about himself that he never knew before. idk i just want more protags that are defined by their emotional strength lol. also he’s just fucking funny to me. love that guy.

clear brightendale — i don’t talk about tcol nearly as much as i should bc y’all don’t KNOW how obsessed i am with clear mother fucking brightendale he is ONE OF THE BIGGEST BLORBOS. he’s got trauma, he’s struggling, he wants to be good and has a twisty backstory where he feels like he’s terrible, he’s got sexuality trauma, i am imprinting on him i am turning him in the microwave i am kissing him bc he’s my ANGEL.

lath — also a super huge tcol blorbo for me (and a fave of henrike bc they’re intelligent) i just love his perseverance. i love how he’s both revered and feared. how he singlehandledly made it so tcol could even be possible like agH. i also love how off he is. like myths have hero’s sure but those heroes aren’t always like charismatic guys like in his lifetime lath was actually seen as super weird and people didn’t usually like hanging around him (he rarely ever blinks, he’s super blunt, he only really cares about fighting and combat — so many of my characters are autistic coded bc it’s what i deserve) but he!! is a hero. i’m like mad excited for when he actually shows up in the main storyline bc i’m obsessed with him,,

di & toph — similar to amon and hya they’re kind of a package deal. i’ve had and been obsessed with the two of them for so long, part of me kind of mentally refers to them as the precursor to amon and hya bc they kind of are! the only thing is they actually have a much easier time expressing (especially now in this new iteration of them in lukewarm rejection) how they feel about each other and caring for one another. they’re better adjusted. if darren and gabe are on the “super loving and supportive” and amon and hya are the “toxic but they’re good for each other�� then di and toph are kind of the middle ground on that lol. toph was the biggest blorbo for the longest for me until hya came to mind lolol. but that punk rock boy will always reign supreme. i love how unapologetically himself he is, and his backstory with the chains no matter how i’ve done it is one of my favorite powers i’ve ever created tbh. di snuck up on me, but he’s similar to clear in the sense that he’s one of my horses for dealing with complex real world esque pain in a way. i love how hard he tries to forge a path for himself and to just be more confident in himself bc mood. and i love how he’s got many contradictions lol :’)

[hopefullystillatheatrestudent]

i'm so excited about you taking asks again ahhhh okay so. if you'd absolutely had to choose. what would be your top 5 cockles moments, and why? thank you ily <3

here’s the thing: there are so many routes i could go down with this, because cockles moments come in all shapes and sizes and formats. these include moments from their panels, their bloopers, the footage we get when they don’t even know they’re being recorded, stories being passed down from photo ops & autographs(one of my personal favorite ways to get cockles, tbh, because they’re all insane), and social media(tweets to each other, instagram posts & comments, etc.). 

SO! since many a list like this has already been made, and i want to stand out from the crowd, what i’m gonna do is definitively give the number one spot to each of these five categories.(i might even throw in honourable mentions because they’re so despicably in love that they warrant that. i really put my whole pussy into this, guys, i hope you’re happy.) 

disclaimer: these are my own personal opinions. but that also means i’m right. so. enjoy. 

number one: top cockles panel moment

so we’re starting off with a bang, because how do you even BEGIN to rank what atrocities jensen and misha commit at jibcon. every single one they’ve had is damning in it’s own right, for different reasons.

however, considering just how much unabashed fuckery they’ve given us to sift through, it’s a good thing i do have a personal favorite despite it all. it’s heartwarming, the sweetest thing i’ve ever seen, AND it’s jarringly cinematic - mainly because it has a whole ass arc to it that was years in the making. it might even be surprising to some people, but my favorite cockles panel moment, and what i consider the one that encompasses their entire gut-wrenching journey from 2008-2013 in the most sweepingly romantic gesture possible, is this one.

i want this burned into my retinas. i am not even joking. when i'm through with my explanation, let me convince you why this is thee most romantic cockles moment of all time.

first, some history: people call this the resume off, but many seem to forget the botched attempt at a resume off a year prior. and yes, you guessed it: it's during their break up. it's a juicy time period for a reason, guys. it came across as exceedingly one-sided and VERY awkward. let me refresh your memory as to just how bad it was, and just how hard jensen was trying and ultimately failing at winning misha over: the funniest part of the whole resume off in 2013??? every joke/bit had literally already been made/done. they were just going through the motions again, but the difference THIS time...is that misha reciprocated jensen's energy. it. is. fascinating. i want to get into it more detail in another post, and i'll link it here when i'm done, but the main takeaway, i think, and the main difference that showcases how much they've grown in a year, is that in jib 3, misha flat out refused to do an accent, and this time around, he indulges jensen for literal minutes. when i tell you they're crazy, they're crazy. i can't wait to actually dive into it later.

ANYWAY, the resume off culminates in this moment here. and, like, a million things happen in this gifset. actually, more like a million and one. the music starts playingneediremindyouthatthesongissingingintherain(h e l p), misha starts dancing, jensen 'perpetually fake grumpy' ackles lets misha think he's not going to join, misha sits down defeated, but no!!! that was jensen's plan all along(look at his stupid fucking smirk) and he offers his arm to his dance partner who immediately grins like a fool, jensen then leads misha into their kick step, they perfectly synchronise and let loose, and are then very clearly having the time of their lives, hanging off of each other with joy and ease. from their expressions alone i can tell that this moment is so. so. so. so! much more than what initially meets the eye. i mean-misha is fighting back the biggest smile i've ever seen. to me, it reads like jensen is offering something to misha, something that misha kind of gave up on expecting, and him offering his arm like that is like, a surprise to him in the best possible way(and it's so not platonic, let me just say that.) as soon as jensen did that, it ushered in a new era of cockles. this panel is jensen and misha's favourite for a reason, and i think this moment is the biggest clue as to why.

whew!!! ok. that took a lot out of me and that was only point one. moving on,

number two: top cockles blooper moment

cockles bloopers hold an extremely special place in my heart, because it shows just how fucking disastrous jensen and misha are. they are so goddamn infatuated with each other that they HOLD UP PRODUCTION ALL THE TIME TO FLIRT WITH EACH OTHER(???). let me repeat. let it sink in. jensen ackles; arguably one of the most professional actors on that show who puts everything he has into each scene, with mountains and mountains of notes to prove it: would rather hold up production to flirt with misha collins. this sounds fake. it's not. he does it. all. the. time. and here's the thing guys!!! i'm gonna let you in on a secret!!! misha loves it. he loveesssss it. on top of that-misha collins: overlooked because he's pranked and people assume he's unprofessional as well, but his only pranks are in retaliation/off-set, and he rarely if EVER causes problems if he can help it....lets himself get carried away when it comes to jensen making kissy faces at him!!! are you actually kidding me!!! i mean. misha. it's just a face. you've seen it a million times. i don't buy that it triggers something in you that strongly....you like it, and you like jensen's reaction. you can't fool me!!! lisa berry's face in that one gifset shows just how fed up the crew is with their gross, coupley boyfriend antics.

i could pull up so many examples. sooooooo many. but my favourite was sealed since the moment i saw it.

i actually already wrote an analysis on it but i can't find it :(((( which SUCKS because i really unpacked the whole thing. i'll try to summarise.

basically, a backstory is part of this too!!! jensen and misha both had a really really hard time with this scene(because it's explicitly romantic there i said it), they sat down for hours and poured over their scripts together, they were super super nervous going into filming, both of them, jensen especially, were super hard on themselves for their performances not being true to their characters but they both complimented the other's work(boyfriend moments fr). so, yeah. they weren't confident going into shooting. and how do they get themselves to feel better???? by cuddling each other, apparently.

a lot. a LOT. happens in this specific blooper. to the point that i saw it years before i knew about cockles and it raised all sorts of flags for me.

1) stop pulling my face towards your crotch(as a thinly veiled request that misha would, in fact, move jensen's face towards his crotch, considering it was jensen moving himself there in the first place. also, why so comfy down there guys???) 2) you're my baby daddy i know(in the most intimate voice i've ever heard please) 3) i know, i know, i love you too i didn't say i love you i know but you wanted to say it etc. misha's right, of course. that's what jensen meant.

it just reeks of comfort, familiarity and intimacy between the two, and it's a moment that is extremely sweet and silly at the same time. they're so <3

number three: top cockles found footage moment

WONDERFUL category. truly the culmination of the cockles experience. many people have said that shipping cockles doesn't work because 'they're just onstage you dummies!! they're playing it up for the audience!!!' here's the thing, love. i could not disagree with you more. once you climb your way up the cockles ladder, you soon learn that they are, in fact, playing their dynamic DOWN, not up. they really are just Like That™, and they could not care less about the paying audience, if we're being honest, considering how much time they take to giggle with each other and refuse to let the audience in on the joke. and i love them for it <3

anyway, my point is that this category is for all you naysayers out there, all you 'jensen and misha's relationship is just for show and is real life queerbaiting'(?????lordhelp???) oh yeah? ok, explain this.

he. he. he calls jensen sweetheart. literally enough said. there's nothing to really add here, except, misha and jared then immediately engage in damage control. jared's method is distraction and misha's is retconning('get out of the car, dude') this was what got me to buy into the cockles dumpster for GOOD good. you don't call your buddy sweetheart accidentally and sound so completely earnest while doing it! especially not when that buddy is jensen ackles!!! you think he would let any of his friends call him that? do you?

one more thing; if it was a slip of the tongue, little mouth thing or whatever, you think jared wouldn't have jumped on it immediately??? i can hear it now. 'did you just call him SWEETHEART???' yeah. that's what i thought. you know why he didn't? because it was too revealing.

number four: top cockles autograph moment

i mean, i think we all know what it's gonna be, and if you don't, well, do i have the piece de cockles resistance that is gonna send you over the edge.

if you haven't heard of this story by now, as a cockles, truther, i'm gonna go ahead and get you to read it, because there is no possible heterosexual explanation for any of it, and you're fooling yourself if you think otherwise.

spoiler alert: it's the story where phones weren't allowed in an auto session, jensen nuzzles himself in misha's hair, leans his full body weight onto him, holds his hand, etc. etc. i'm imploding just repeating this back, actually. also, just, the sheer amount of stories from photo ops where they tackle hug each other or slap each other's asses or sing romantic songs to each other or almost kiss is, frankly, a lot. if i could wish for anything, it would be to witness them in person.

and finally,

number five: top cockles social media moment

this one is super difficult, because there's obviously a lot to choose from. but you know what? full send, i'm going with this one:

i just. what to say about this. how often do misha and jensen watch sunsets together for it to qualify as ‘always’ ??? why are sunsets synonymous with their relationship??? that’s like??? a very romantic thing????? ‘this guy’??? the fact that it’s a CANDID??? i don’t know guys.

that could have been better but i am TIRED so. there you go rose ily

[beaudeanw]

Soldier Boy- What can we expect?

- Possible spoilers ahead

Gif credit : @justjensenanddean

The Boys S3 will have Jensen Ackles as Soldier Boy - A Captain America-esque Supe, also known as the original superhero.

In the comic books, there are three versions of Soldier Boy. Ackles will be playing the first one. According to Eric Kripke, Soldier Boy is like the Homelander before Homelander. He has a similar kind of ambition & ego. It will just come in a different way.

He was a leader of the Team Payback - a Parody of The Avengers.

In the show, Soldier boy was the only one to ever exist.

Soldier Boy as a Character

As said above, Soldier Boy is touted to be very powerful. His powers are almost on the same level as Homelander.

According to a recent q&a with Kripke, he mentioned that Homelander will be threatened by Soldier Boy. Soldier Boy is said to be very Charming and Funny.

He will have this charisma that attracts the public towards him. As mentioned in the first episode of The Boys Season 2, Soldier Boy killed Nazis by a huge amount and he helped the Allies win the World War 2 against Germany. After that he went on to become a movie star and a huge mainstay of American culture.

During the course of S2 we saw some Easter eggs like his movie posters on the wall. Kripke compared his character to somewhat like John Wayne. If you google search John Wayne, you will get to know that he was conservative, racist, homophobic etc. John Wayne although famous for playing Soldiers in cinema, never served in WW2. He also had a complicated relationship with women.

Soldier Boy might take some similar route considering the fact that he is in fact from the 1940s. The q&a mentioned that he will be involved in a lot of Sex, Violence & Swears. Needless to say, soldier boy can totally be a. One of the 2018 tweets of Kripke said that Soldier Boy was involved in drugs & stuff. This might also be a part of his personality.

Since it's also said to be a parody of Cap America, Soldier Boy a complete anti-thesis of what former stands for. Cap America is sort of a moral, altruistic, kind & good superhero. Soldier Boy might be completely opposite. That he has no shame in hurting people & possesses no morals in order to get his work done & his ambition fulfilled. He can be the reason for the war crimes that America did after the WW2.

How the character might fit in S3

Now The Boys Season 2 ended with Stormfront becoming Stump-front. We have Homelander who got blackmailed by Queen Maeve with the footage from the airplane back from S1. We have Starlight & A- Train back in the Seven. However, the most important part is how both Vought & Homelander are completely screwed in the public eye. As we know in S2, Homelander was getting boo-ed by the public for indulging in war crimes. Now Stormfront's Nazi reveal should have some serious repercussions. The public people might boycott Vought because of their alleged ties with a literal Nazi. Homelander might not get the same love & respect in the public because he had love affair with her. We also have a Federal Bureau of Supe Affairs to keep Vought into check by Victoria Neumann, who is also a supe but thats not the point. The point is Vought needs a good PR to get themselves out of this mess.

Enter- Soldier Boy

Now there is a common theory that Vought must have kept him in some kind of facility & have him trapped. This is a very good possibility since that will mean that he is basically has no idea about the modern world. During S2 we saw a statue of Soldier Boy which showed that he sort of died in the 80s. So it will be interesting to see how Vought brings Soldier Boy back in the public eye.

Now Soldier Boy coming back to Vought can help them with Good PR. I mean who better than a Supe who killed Nazis in WW2 can help Vought clean up the Nazi shitstorm. He is the golden boy of patriotism. He is like a blue print of how they wanted Homelander to be when they created him the lab.

Another common theory that spread which was also kind of agreed by Laz Alonso, the actor who plays Mother's milk said that only his character until now never had something personal against a supe. We also learnt sort of MM's backstory in S2 which mentioned his father working against Vought & how he fought until he died. We have an idea that there is a possibility that both Soldier Boy & his father might have existed at the same point & SB might have something to do with his dad.

This can also be the reason why he vanished in the 80s & Vought lied about his death.

This also makes sense because at the end of S2, we saw all the members of The Boys seperated. One of the major reasons why they come back together is to help MM. I mean MM has been kind of a backbone keeping all of them together. A moral conscience. He is a good friend of all. So if he is in problem, the boys will come back together to help him for a change.

I am pretty sure that with Soldier Boy we will get to learn a lot about the dirty past of Vought & metaphorically, America.

Soldier Boy and Homelander

So first of all, Ackles' Soldier Boy & Homelander didn't have any sort of sexual relations. What happened in the comics was a sexual assault. That was Solder Boy #3. That character was a bumbling idiot, subservient to Homelander who got manipulated by him. It's also not logical for the show to have that kind of relationship of SB & HL. Homelander doesn't have that kink that is shown in the comics. Also, soldier boy in the show looks like has a dominating personality as opposed to of an idiot.

What Ackles is playing is Soldier Boy #1, the one fought in WW2 & as mentioned above, he is the only one to ever exist in the world of TV Show.

However, both of these characters have a lot of similarities. They are both powerful, egotistical, narcissistic, pathetic male superheroes. The difference is the situations they will be in. Homelander is currently in a problematic situation as his issue with wanting validation are bare open. He is emotionally at its weakest point. He wants to be loved. He longs for validation from the public which Maeve uses to threaten him. As he was made in a lab, he didn't have a normal childhood. He didn't have friends or anything. However, Soldier Boy was given Compound V when he was an adult. That means he might not require the same kind of validation. He is a very self-assured man. Also, since he was around in public life for decades, he has received love for years. So he not only he is physically strong, he might be emotionally capable against Homelander.

S3 might create a problem of Power Struggle.

Homelander might struggle to keep his head strong & possibly be threatened by Soldier Boy. Since the latter seems very confident, he might be able to take his position in Vought back. In the S2 premiere, we get to see how Homelander thinks of himself as indispensable for Vought as a company & how Stan Edgar shuts him down. Now think about how Homelander will react when Vought's original golden boy comes back & takes his what he thinks is his. There is a power struggle here. It's likely that Soldier Boy might corner him because of how popular he is in the public and how Homelander wants that same love that SB is getting. S3 might present a situation in front of him when a supe who might almost be as powerful as him & emotionally stronger than him kind of threatens both his power and position.

Soldier Boy and Stormfront

Speaking of Stormfront, Eric Kripke mentioned in a TV guide article that Soldier Boy had a connection with her when she was Liberty. Now both of them were created at the same time by the same man. Liberty was married to Frederick Vought but he then joined the Allies & injected Soldier Boy with Compound V. Now they are basically two sides of the same coin.

Some of this is from articles with Kripke's description of the character, some of them are common theories that have floated around & some of it is my predictions about what direction the character's storyline can take. This is majorly based on everything I have read, heard or watched. It doesn't mean that any of it will turn out the way it's written here. But I still hope this is helpful.

Anyway, I am very excited to see Jensen in this new role. I know he will rock it and I can't wait.

Some Articles I took into consideration -

[chidoroki]

ahh i’m so mad for forgetting it was tpn’s 6th anniversary today.. i dunno how i can never remember that date. i don’t have anything planned though, which sucks because it’s kinda the most important day of the series ya know?? HOWEVER! i already finished my edit for emma’s birthday last week, so that’s pretty darn early for me! okay so it’s like 99% done, i gotta figure out one final touch, but yeah. and then isabella’s should be next but that’s not til september anyways. i remember very few birthdays..still upset i forgot about today though! i know i can always post something later this week but then it’s late! and that’s even if i get an idea in the first place hhmmm..

but in my defense it was an important day for me for a completely different reason though.. little Kona turned one today!!! love her. she’s too cute. she actually shares a birthday with my late great grandmother so that’s kinda sweet. (maybe now i won’f forget tpn’s anniversary either)

aside from that i feel like last week was real busy/eventful. dad had actually tested positive for covid tuesday so since we had dinner together the day before i worked from home all last week just to make sure i was okay (which i am thankfully). i don’t mind working from home, it allows me to sleep in a bit but having two screens instead of three is always a troublesome adjustment, and annoying if things get too stressful. every now and then there’s also some nights where i can’t even fall asleep and just feel incredible anxious..why i dunno. it feels random honestly.

it hasn’t been all bad though. i decided to read ahead with the paripi koumei manga and oh my god, the love i have for eiko is IMMENSE!! i honestly wasn’t expecting to get more of her backstory, but i’m so happy we did. i thought we were just gonna focus on the summer sonia concert stuff next, but it seems that is gonna be the final goal. so i’m really loving the direction the manga is going now with creating more songs and learning more of eiko’s past/family. it just makes sense. i debated in writing a whole post on it but idk yet, we’ll see. i dunno how often the manga updates, but i’ve only seen sites have up to ch49? but aahh i want her to succeed so badly! i really hope we get another season because i need to hear more of her lovely voice! THEN i forget what day i read ch113 of ft 100yq but MMHHMM that gruvia body swap! their reactions were great and i loved every moment and of course i’m looking forward to see how gray fights with juvia’s magic. i’m eagerly waiting for the day we get a trailer for the anime too.

then finally.. FINALLY the black clover manga is back! and i still think it’s hilarious that the three month hiatus started right as i finished the anime, like of course that’s just my luck! i think i caught up for just two new chapters then poof! break time! my friend has been begging me to watch since the anime started so i pushed it off for years, til something just.. clicked within me? i remember the movie trailer was announced months ago and friend was excited about it and naturally tried to convince me to start the series once more and i dunno exact words, but i’m pretty sure he compared it to fairy tail (which i sorta figured from the start anyways) but then said everyone from the squad got more focus/backstory, and i was like.. oh? so, that kinda did it for me. and damn it, i ended up loving the series. a lot. but better late than never i suppose! (and he totally has the right to say “told you so,” he deserved it. he even predicted that vanessa would end up as my favorite. so he’s right. again.) so sorry not sorry for all the spam. my queue was filled over 250+ at one point and stayed like that for weeks because i just kept adding more to it. it’s finally back around 50ish now because i FINALLY gone through the whole anime yet again (why do i queue all the gifs chronologically? i dunno!! i forget which series i started doing this with but now it feels necessary for me to do so! lowkey kinda hate it, makes it seem like i’m insane ahaaa. but now all that’s left is artwork that i can fangirl over, thank god!)

but now that the manga is back i’m debating on writing chapter reviews for it, though i doubt they’ll be as long as those i’ve done for tpn, but hhmmm. it’s just funny how i decide on doing such a thing whenever a series enters their final arcs. well, i say that but i haven’t done any for mha in.. years. probably won’t start those up though. i still read it sure but the story is meh to me sometimes. i enjoy the characters more and unfortunately those i really love don’t get much spotlight, maybe just a moment or two recently. always debating on reading ahead for no guns life too since i have no clue if the anime is gonna continue, but i definitely won’t for fire force since season3 has at least been confirmed, whenever.. same with tokyo revengers even though i’m getting real tempted with that one. and for the love of god i have to remember to read the psycho pass manga still! or however much i can find of it anyways!

what else is happening in my world right now, umm. almost a month away from splatoon3 thank god. i haven’t played my switch in a hot minute but once i got that then mmmhmm it’s over. then. scarlet & violet a couple months after too. OH! pokemon.. the masters 8 tournament has been bittersweet for me. the battles are rushed, even most take one episode, some of the moves and outcomes are just.. upsetting and strange. like i’ll never get over how dirty the writing handled the leon vs alain match. my boy deserved so much better. lance vs diantha was okay i guess and ya knew cynthia was gonna win against iris no problem. but then that battle with steven and ash.. idc what people say but there’s no way he should’ve won. after all that damage pikachu took from mega-metagross, he wins by one z-move and an iron tail of all things?? what?? (i think? i dont remember, i was annoyed). only bright side are all the cameos we’ve been getting. they only last a few seconds but they grant me SO MUCH happiness! seeing mairin, the johto trio, drew AND harley?? my heart was ecstatic! and i’m sure they’ll save all of ash’s traveling companions for his final match with leon, or at least i’m hoping so. i better see may and serena again darn it!

oh, and no joke but i swear i actually had a fucking contestshipping dream last night, which isn’t too surprising since i do indeed love them very much, but it was just randomly timed? like why now and not last month around their actual day when i rewatched all their episodes ya know?? but whatever. all it was was drew calling up may after some contest lose (in johto im assuming) to cheer her up. then some light teasing of course. that’s all i needed.

sometime during my incoherent rambling i did get an idea for an tpn anniversary edit. so i’ll definitely start on something for it tonight or tomorrow, unless i get caught up playing more pmd sky.. i started a randomizer yesterday and i’m enjoying myself. nostalgia hitting hard. but i would seriously love a new mystery dungeon.

[hopeymchope]

I finished World’s End Club

The hardest thing about completing a Kodaka or Uchikoshi game is always that bereft feeling; the knowledge in my heart that there’s nothing out there that will fulfill me as much as these guys’ stories do, and now I’m fresh out of their stuff once more. Y’know? It’s like “Well shit, now I have to settle for something lesser.”

Anyway. I finished World’s End Club. The whole thing took about 16 hours (according to the in-game clock on my save file), and I’m currently redoing a couple of stages for stickers that I missed. I doubt that’ll last me more than another hour, though, so I should be 100% finished at 17 hours. Granted, that’s with me bypassing the first hour because I’d already completed it in the demo... so that makes it around 18 hours long in total. Much shorter than the average Uchikoshi or Kodaka work, clearly!

And man, they sure do pack a lot of twists and turns into those 18-or-so hours. Admittedly, there is time to slow down and talk to the characters to learn more about their backstories or what they’re thinking (typically during “Camp” scenes). But the other two types of scenes — “Story” and “Act” scenes — are chock-full of new reveals or weird plot developments up until like, hour 15. It’s all of the usual twistiness of an Uchikoshi story compacted into a shorter timeframe. 

In addition to this being shorter than Uchikoshi’s or Kodaka’s most notable prior games, it’s also much lighter. Despite somewhat dark themes cropping up at a few points, this is a far kinder and more uplifting game than Zero Escape or Danganronpa ever were. I mean, hey, it’s about a group of 12-year-olds, so it almost necessitates that lighter tone. 

I’ve mentioned this before, but I love the core cast of kids. Sure, there are a few of them who remained thin enough that I never got very attached to them, but I mean, it’s a pretty big cast. Most of the storytelling time is spent on the central plot, so I understand the shorthand of using some stereotypes in there. Some of them do get mined for depth. If there’s one problem with them, it’s that they’re too young for me to feel comfortable shipping any of them. :P They’re BABIES! 

The bottom line here is that I loved the latest Uchikoshi-penned ride. I will remain in the tank for his works for a long time to come. But now, In order to actually list and go off on some of my (relatively few) gripes with the game, I have to get into Spoiler Mode. 

MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW THE CUT!

SPOILER MODE  ACTIVATED

Look; I didn’t love all of the twists thrown at us. I can come up with workarounds for some of the ones that bugged me, but let me go off on which twists most irritated me and why, okay?

 First off, the reveal that all of the strange monsters and creatures were just “illusions” doesn’t make any sense. If they were just illusions, there’d be no physicality to them. So there’d be no way that a giant pillbug could abduct Pai, or that some Yetis could run off with Pochi or Yuki. So they’re very obviously NOT just illusions. Hell, while we’re at it, maybe we should inquire as to how we got “Game Over”’d by a bunch of things that weren’t there. Some of the available deaths are even specific to the exact form of the monsters we see, like if Reycho gets snapped up and chewed up by one of the large flytraps in Kagoshima. You’re telling me an illusion did that?! Maybe they’re some of MAIK’s robots that are projecting illusions around themselves or something? That seems like the best way to accept this. It keeps the basic spirit of what MAIK said to be true while also justifying how it could operate. And yet..... the game even goes so far as to claim that Pielope’s transformations are just illusions. For some, that makes sense, but we clearly physically interact with at least one of those transformations — the kids actually grab onto the Train Pielope and hold onto numerous individual parts of his transformation while riding the train. So again: That CAN’T be an illusion if you can grab onto all the parts of it. So... what gives? If Pielope never physically transforms, then how’d they grab all the pieces of her transformation like that?

The twist with Reycho doesn’t quite work logically, either. For starters, if you go back and read his “inner monologue” dialogue from the game, there are numerous instances where the dialogue doesn’t seem to fit with it being the thoughts of the “Otherworlder” OR Pochi, the two parties supposedly controlling him. The thoughts in question only work if Recyho was somehow thinking for himself already, so I guess we have to fanwank it and just assume that his “self-awareness” was starting to come through early? (I didn’t care for the reveal that Pochi was controlling Reycho either, because it has this whole tone of “You were controlling someone who never mattered because they were just being controlled by somebody else who wasn’t even the player character, ha-ha!” But the later twist that the “Otherworlder” was actually controlling Reycho made it better for me, so I’ll let it slide.)

The other thing that didn’t work for me is the reveal that Pochi is a robot. Even events that come AFTER this reveal are made more problematic as a result of it. First off, it makes it confusing as to how/why certain “X-Type” robots exist. I guess MAIK created the X-Type robots? Because he somehow reached the ability to communicate with another world? If so, where are the other X-Types? We know there have to be some others if Niyan and his gang are already familiar with the whole concept. What was their purpose? Did MAIK also program his own robots to have emotions?  Because Pochi is clearly very emotional. Even though MAIK hates emotions... ? Perhaps this game isn’t meant to answer everything, and they’re setting up for some kind of sequel. I find that pretty unlikely, but I can’t say it’s impossible. However, the big reason I don’t like the Pochi Robot reveal isn’t really the logic problems with it. It’s that they knew we’d like Pochi because he’s an introverted gamer, but then the reveal of his true nature takes all that away. He was never a gamer at all. He wasn’t even all that shy. He was just keeping to himself to hide his true nature... and his “gaming” was just him controlling Reycho. So the things that your players were most likely to dig about him are utterly erased. So in the end, who is Pochi? He’s a compassionate, heroic, self-sacrificing protagonist. Which makes him a lot more generic. 

A closing thought: If, by some miracle, this game ever gets a follow-up sequel or spinoff, I see a lot of potential in how they could mix and match the various characters’ abilities. I understand that the platforming isn’t really the point of the game, and that’s why it feels undercooked... but that also makes it the area that could most easily be improved upon. I was initially excited for the chance to be able to swap between characters so that I could have Mowchan turn into iron, then Reycho would throw him onto a ledge. Or maybe Pai could block an attacking enemy while Tattsun shoots it! Alas, this is a simpler game than that. And while I am ok with that, if they ever take another shot at it, it doesn’t have to be this straightforward and simple. They can have more fun with the platforming side. Let’s go ahead and mix and match our powers!

[evwuniverse]

Mischief Managed Sim - Second Life RolePlay

Credit: Beginning Photo taken by Mischief Managed Sim and  Photo of girl with book on her head is also from Mischief Managed and can be found on the same Instagram page. The Instagram page can be found at this link~https://www.instagram.com/hogwartsmischiefmanagedsl/

Let’s be honest, there are very few people who aren’t fans of J.K. Rowlings Harry Potter Series. What if I told you there was a Roleplaying experience where you could play the role of a Hogwarts student? I’ll be honest, I’ve been trying to get into this Roleplaying sim for years. I’ve always loved and have been immersed with the Harry Potter book series and the movies. I found myself reading and watching Harry Potter often as a kid loving a world that is filled with magic and experiences relevant to each individual. I was so excited to finally be accepted into this Roleplaying sim experience through Linden Labs Second Life platform (for reference I use the Firestorm viewer). This post as always will be labeled by sections so you’re able to choose what you want to read after the initial post below. 

To begin, Mischief Managed is unlike any RP sim I’ve ever been in. Being a complete nerd and having a full love of the series this is truly an experience. When you first enter the sim you are welcomed at the starting point which is platform 9 3/4 with the Hogwarts train at Kings Cross Station. From here you can learn all about the sim, go through the application process, grab a HUD if you're new, or if you are coming onto the sim as someone new on Monday’s is what they call Open Sim Day. Typically the sim is closed to members who did not apply and are not apart of the RP. However, on these days at the front you pick up a tag that says OOC this stands for out of character and you are able to experience and explore the entire sim without the need for commitment to the RP experience. Typically you will find bloggers, photographers, and explorers alike coming and enjoying the scenic views and learning about the RP community and everything Mischief Managed has to offer. Otherwise the sim is closed off all other days. This sim keep in mind is a complete replica of the Harry Potter Universe this includes but is not limited to; Hogsmede, King’s Cross Station, Diagon Alley, and Hogwarts. 

I’ll be honest, I went through the application process because I really wanted to experience and be apart of this RP. Finally an RP I felt I would truly enjoy. The only RP sim I am a part of inside of Second Life is the 1920′s Berlin sim which is truly a hidden gem and a lot of fun. My post on the 1920′s Berlin RP sim can be found here: www. 

The application process asks for a lot so be prepared you can read more about this later on in the posts by looking for the title that says “Application Process.” There is also a HUD that enhances the overall RP experience for everyone involved. To keep myself rather anonymous since that’s what I do best even though if any of the members read this they will most likely know who I am, my character traits are listed below:

House: Gryffindor First Year Student

Age: 12 years old

Wand: Phoenix Feather, 10 inches, 

Character Traits:

Backstory:

Characteristic: Red hair, small, average weight but more on the skinny side, with light blue eyes.

On my first day on the sim I decided to take part in the open sim day to see if this would be an RP sim I would enjoy. I fell in love with the scenic views and how everything was created as an exact replica of the Harry Potter Universe. I enjoyed walking through the sim and experiencing everything there was to experience. That day everyone was so nice and introduced themselves as their RP characters and out of character. Everyone is so kind, respectful, and fun to chat with. I found a lot of photographers taking photos of couples in front of the castle and others taking scenic shots. I saw bloggers who were walking around and gaining information to partake in creating. post. There were so many different people who were enjoying everything Mischief Managed had to offer. 

On my first day after my application was processed and accepted I fell in love with the RP I was already creating with my character. This was my first time RPing as a child avatar which I typically would not do. However, this was an exception I wanted to experience every year in order and wanted to start from the beginning and work my way up. Especially since this is what is seen in the Harry Potter books and movies and is communicated within Harry Potter lore. The sim has a Discord server to join if you have a Discord. This was a little confusing to me but everyone was so nice once I entered. I was automatically placed in the Gryffindor server. In each server there are specific events for each house, and the RP is truly unique. I fell in love with the RP, the kindness and helpfulness of the people, the experience that is created with everything involved, the sim scenery it is the perfect place and RP for any fan of Harry Potter. 

In conclusion, I highly recommend becoming a part of the RP or even just exploring the sim during open sim days on Monday’s. The experience is truly unique and there is so much to discover and explore. There are so many people who are drama free and respectful to all and there is no need to be afraid to be yourself. Everyone is super accepting through your visit whether you are a member of the sim after the application process or visiting out of character. If you have never checked out this sim before please do. Below you will find the location link, the Mischief Managed website link, and social media links.

Application Process:

This specific Roleplaying sim is highly sought after, because of this there is a full application process. Crazy right? Ahead of time you should have an idea of your character, their background story, interests, wand - size, length, and wood, character traits, and make sure you are able to compile a well written role-play post or they may not accept you in. The application process this time around for me took about 7 days. I used the Pottermore website now called www.WizardingWorld.com to complete my characters profile such as the house they are in, their wand size, length, and wood, and my characters Patronous. You can apply to be a student, adult, part of the ministry, a professor, etc. The sim is a non-profit and giant money through their donations to keep the Roleplay sim running. For more information you can go to https://mischiefmanagedsl.net . Keep in mind there is a dress code. Also there are classes throughout the evening. All of the activities are on SLT and PST (PST is Second Life Time = SLT). If you are interested in applying please make sure your RP skills are okay and you can effectively create an RP post and communicate as a character and not just yourself. If you don’t have at least beginner level RP skills you may not be accepted. Also you need a beginning spread to an RP character ahead of time when you apply with an idea of character characteristics, personality trait, when the first time magic was seen from your character, school house, school year/age, parental history, and small bio. 

Open Sim Day:

Monday’s are considered open sim day. The sim is primarily only open to RP members every day except for Monday’s. On Monday they have a day where OOC (out of character) avatars can explore and experience the sim before considering applying to the RP. This is a way for people to experience the sim on their own, take pictures, and enjoy the sim itself without having to be a member of the sim or having the need to RP. These are great days to experience especially if you are a fan of Harry Potter but don’t want to commit to creating a character and RPing once or more a week to keep current. 

RP HUD:

Yes! there is an actual HUD created by the creators of the sim. The HUD is an added component to enhance the RP. In this HUD there is a link to bring you to the schools paper which is through your external browser. It opens up a link to the webpage with all of the information for classes, RP opportunities for the week, and events. Another added component is your bio. It tells your RP name, your house, and your wand information as well as what you are for example, I’m labeled as a first year student in Gryffindor. Yes I am a Gryffindor! There is a button on your HUD for your stats. In each location you have the opportunity to interact with objects and different things. An example of this is, if you go to Hogsmede and your RPing as an adult you can get an alcoholic beverage and it will fill up your food and beverage meter. There are different bars you need to keep full throughout your RP experience. It makes it more real and can kind of remind of the The Sims 4 health bars. The different bars and what you need to do is listed below to keep them full. This RP is truly a whole experience. 

Communication - When you RP inside of the Mischief Managed Sim you will fill your communication bar.

Food/Beverage - When you drink or eat in the dining hall or anywhere else on the sim you will fill your food/beverage bar.

Bathroom/Cleanliness - When you clean yourself in the showers or use the bathroom on the sim you will fill up your bathroom bar. 

the only way your bars will fill up is you you use your HUD on the sim you can’t use it off sim. 

The HUD and RP is beginner friendly to those who are fairly new to RPing but were accepted or for those who are fantastic at RPing but not the best at working add ons inside of SL such as HUDs in general. 

There is also a button for your inventory. Yes, you can interact with everything inside of your inventory. This HUD is a simple point and click interface. When you are in world paying for your school supplies inside of your inventory there are coins to help you buy things. Weekly an allowance is given to all members through your HUD. I currently have a cauldron in my inventory and the money I need to buy and interact with stores and objects inside of the Sim. This is very brief information about the HUD but I really love how it adds to the overall experience. It definitely immerses me more into the sim and the overall RP with others. 

The pics below are part of the HUD there is a skills section and more. They really went all in with providing the best Roleplaying experience. To learn more you can visit their website. 

Avatar Profile:

Inventory:

Skills:

My First Day Experience:

I’ll be honest with everyone I recently joined this RP sim but have fallen in love with the sim, experience, and how helpful, kind, and fun the people who RP on the sim are. It’s very drama free and the story is always developing, you are the story. This is something I’ve always loved about virtual worlds, the RP experience. Right after being accepted I needed to join the Discord server, I was so nervous but everybody was so nice and welcoming. Everyone who RPs and saw I was new and joined welcomed me with open arms and asked how I was. The people are just so friendly, in character and out of character. The group is close knit and you slowly develop your character and join the others. It is so much fun. Being able to go to different areas of the sim and see something new in each area is so much fun. The creators of the sim created an exact replica of Hogwarts castle and honestly the amount of creativity and time that went into this sim is simply amazing. You can tell how much work truly went into making this experience unique. If you love Harry Potter and enjoy virtual worlds and Roleplaying this is definitely the sim for you. The experience is unlike any other and I could spend hours just chatting and developing my character in this world inside of a virtual world. If you are unsure as stated before there is an open sim day on Monday’s I highly suggest participating and taking a look it is worth taking in the scenery. 

Other Photos of Scenery Explored in the Sim:

Please note that all of the photos are not edited. I wanted everyone to get a feel for the sim for how it is in it’s natural form. However, my avatars photo is definitely edited slightly. But all other photos that are mine and put into this post are RAW. I like producing RAW images inside of SL it shows how the place truly looks. Don’t get me wrong editing photos can improve the beauty in each and every place but everyone should see the place experienced for what it is. 

Diagon Alley:

Front of the Hogwarts Castle:

Grande Staircase (also the staircases do move and portray the staircase in the movies accurately):

Outside of the Dining Hall:

Dining Hall:

Outdoor Courtyard:

[sailorgreywolf-legacy]

First Meetings

My entry for the second day of @historical-hetalia-week . This one is aimed more at giving the sweet backstory to one of my favorite ships.

Plot: Scotland accompanies his mother to Francia to negotiate trade. He is expecting to prove his maturity, but ends up distracted by a handsome stranger.

Characters: Scotland, Britannia (Albion), Francia (Gaul), France

Ships: ScotFra (The Auld Alliance)

Word Count: 2K

No Content Warnings

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

Scotland was overjoyed to be at sea on the way to somewhere new and exciting. It was the first time that his mother had decided that he was old enough to leave their islands. Albion had told him that if he was a good boy this might even be a usual occurrence, since he was the heir and needed to learn the ways of trade and alliances.

He was determined to be good and make his mother proud. He knew that one day she would trust him with more responsibility and trust him to look after his brothers.

It was even more important than ever now that he had an infant brother who would need him. Arthur, Little Wessex, was so young and he would need protection and guidance from his eldest brother. 

At the age of fifteen Scotland knew that he needed to prove himself to her as a boy on the verge of adulthood. During the voyage, she explained the whole reason for this visit. She had trade ties with the Franks on the Northern coast of the continent, and made these trips to keep the bonds strong. It was easier to go herself than to trust a messenger to carry her words, and she wanted her son to see the process.

The only reservation that Scotland had was about the Danes. There was a possibility that their sails could emerge from the fog at any moment, as they often had in recent years.

The short passage from the Anglo-Saxon land to the kingdom of the Franks was not completely safe. He had asked his mother what they would do about the Danes, but she had given him a mysterious smile and said that she had found a way to deal with them. Scotland wouldn’t dare ask what she meant, but he took comfort in her certainty.

The first sight he had of the continent was the white sand of the beeches. Behind it there were impressive cliffs that seemed to be lush and green. How beautiful it was.

Scotland was certain from the first look that he would quite like this new place. Albion turned to him and asked, “What do you think of it?" He responded in a hushed voice, like he was afraid he would scare away the beauty, “It’s lovely.”

Scotland followed dutifully as his mother walked into the courtyard, where a tall blonde woman was waiting for them. There was a scar on her cheek that spoke of battles fought long ago. It was easy to guess who had given her that scar, since the stories of Cesar in Gaul were legendary.

He knew that she had once been called Gaul, and was now known as Francia. It was not so strange that one would cast off the name that Rome had called them, as his own mother had by refusing to be known as Britannia.

The two greeted each other warmly while Scotland tried to decide if he was supposed to introduce himself or not. His mother and Francia were old friends and it explained their familiar greeting.

Scotland mulled over what he was supposed to do. In his father’s absence, he was the man of the family. But he also knew that he was there on his mother’s permission, and he would never speak over her.

To his relief, she solved the conundrum by saying, “This is my eldest, Alasdair.”

Scotland took this as a cue for him to bow, to show due respect. Francia gave him a smile and said, “You are such a strapping boy. I think you’re almost a man.”

He felt a glow of pride at that, and nodded enthusiastically. He so wanted to be the kind of man who his mother would be proud of. Albion responded, putting her hand on his shoulder, “I’m very proud of him. I hope he won’t have to be a man too soon.”

Francia said, “I have also brought my eldest. Francois, greet our guests.”

A young man forward, and Scotland realized that he had not noticed him behind Francia’s cloak. He had been too busy thinking about how to impress his mother’s friend and it had not even occurred to him to look.

He drew in a breath as he realized how beautiful the young man was. There was sunlight glinting off of his golden waves, and it made him look ethereal.

Scotland felt his own cheeks growing hot, and he hoped that it was only the warmth of the sun on his face.

The boy said, “I am very glad to meet you.”  He smiled, and it felt like he was radiating warmth and light.

Scotland could feel his heart beating quickly, like he was nervous. But he could not think of a reason, since he had not felt this way before. His mother said, “Shall we go inside and talk?” Francia nodded.

Scotland could not focus at all; his mind was fixed on the blonde boy across the table from him. The more he looked, the more he was convinced that he had never seen a person so beautiful and so elegant.

He was trying not to stare, since he was sure that it was rude. He kept glancing at his mother, hoping that reminding himself of his duty would get his mind back on the reason he was present.

However, it was not working. He was watching the other boy’s slender hands as they fidgeted with the corner of a piece of parchment. It seemed like he was bored of the discussion. Even in his boredom he looked incredibly elegant.

Scotland glanced back up at his face, hoping to steal another look. To his surprise, he met the other’s blue eyes directly. It had not crossed his mind that France might be looking at him too. The eye contact made him feel like something fluttering in his stomach.

He quickly glanced away, and tried to calm his heart. It was such a strange and disconcerting feeling, but was not at all unpleasant. He had never felt this with anyone before, and he could not put a word to what the feeling was.

Francia noticed that her son was fidgeting, and threatening to tear the edge of whatever the document was. She said, “Francois, you should take Alasdair for a tour of the grounds. You’ll be less bored that way.”

Scotland looked up at his mother, trying to make it clear that he wasn’t bored. He said, “I can stay if you want me to.” Albion shook her head and said, “Go make a friend. I don’t mind.”

He glanced back at France, and couldn’t think of another good excuse to avoid time together He wanted to spend time with the boy, but he was also not certain what they would do once they were alone.

The very thought made him feel flustered and hot. His heart felt like it was pounding against his rib cage as he stood up to follow the blonde outside.

France pointed to one of the towers and said, “And that is the tallest one. It’s where my mother built the nursery.”

Scotland hardly heard a word he said, and he hardly looked up at the castle. He was too busy looking at the delicate curve of the other’s neck. He was not certain what was wrong with him, and he was sure that he had never felt that way before. He supposed he should pretend at interest, but it was hard to drag his attention away.

France stopped and said with a charming smile, “But you don’t really care, do you?”

Scotland was taken aback by the bluntness and the smile that it was delivered with. He scrambled to find an answer, but only managed to say, “Why do you say that.”

France turned completely to face him, his golden hair swinging around his face as he turned. He answered, “You’ve been looking at me since you got here.”

He stepped closer, and Scotland could see all the shades of blue in his eyes. They were like a mountain lake, clear and very expressive. He responded, “You’ve been looking too.”

He didn’t know what he expected, but the other responded without the slightest bit of guilt. He said, “You’re handsome, and I enjoy looking at you.”

He leaned in and Scotland thought for a fleeting moment that he was trying to make him blush. If he was, it was a success. But then France clarified his intention by saying, “I was thinking about what you would look like with a beard. You’d be so handsome.”

He paused and looked at Scotland with the most unfathomable expression, like he was measuring how far he would go. Then, he tilted his head to the side and said, “Can you grow one yet?”

Scotland was certain that he did not want to back away or tell France to stop looking at him. He felt strangely comfortable once his nerves started to fade. He chuckled and answered, “Only a little bit. My father says to give it a year.”

The blonde said proudly, “I can already grow some.” Scotland said, without thinking to hold his tongue, “Really? I don’t see anything.”

He squinted to see if there was light stubble on the boy’s cheek. Blonde hair could be so difficult to see in this kind of sunlight. He still wasn’t sure if there was anything there. France said, “Do you want to feel it?”

Without thinking about his response, Scotland said, “Yes, I do.”

He put his palm to the other’s cheek, and was amazed to feel that there was light stubble against his hand. The position that they were standing in didn’t occur to him until France leaned into his hand and nuzzled it slightly.

He knew that if he was not blushing at first, he was certainly blushing scarlet after that little gesture. His heart was pounding so hard that he could hear it in his ears.

He said, sounding slightly panicked, “What are you doing?”

France leaned forward and planted a quick kiss on his cheek. Then he said, “I like you.”

Scotland’s mind felt like it was free falling as he stared into the other’s deep blue eyes. He was thinking of all sorts of things that he was not supposed to know about. Things his mother told him he did not need to know about until he was old enough to have children. Things that people did at Beltane.

It was just a kiss, and it could still be chaste, but his mind was running several steps ahead. He followed his instinct and put his hands on the blonde’s waist.

He didn’t realize how rich the fabric that France was wearing was until he touched it. Then he felt distinctly that he was holding something beautiful and delicate.

He replied, trying to keep a distance that he had already conceded with his actions, “We’ve just met.” The blonde nodded and replied, “And yet I like you. I feel like we are meant to be.”

Scotland was not going to disagree with him, because he also felt certain that he was attracted to the young man. He said, “I like you too.”

France smiled in a way that looked almost shy. Then he leaned forward and pressed his lips against Scotland’s very softly. It felt like he was hesitant, even scared.

Scotland felt like he had to reciprocate to tell him that it was acceptable. He deepened the kiss, and pulled France against him. It all felt clumsy, and he was not certain if he was doing anything right.

He had never kissed anyone before, and he felt so flushed and hot. He was not even certain that he was kissing well, but it felt good.

France broke the kiss and laid his head against Scotland’s shoulder. He couldn’t see it, but Scotland had a feeling that the blonde was smiling.

France hugged him and said, “You smell like a rainstorm. It’s nice.” He nuzzled into the Scot’s neck, and said, “I’ve never done that before with anyone.”

Scotland asked, genuinely shocked because the other seemed to be so confident in himself. He replied, “Am I really your first?” France said, his voice slightly muffled as he spoke into his shoulder, “I told you. You feel right to me, like we’re meant to be.”

Scotland found the sentiment incredibly touching and he said, “You’re so sweet. I want to get to know you better.”

France took took one of Scotland’s hands in his own and entwined their fingers. It felt like their hands fit together well.

France asked, “How long are you staying here? I can come to your room.” Scotland pet his blonde hair and said, “A week at least.”

He planted one more soft kiss on the other’s forehead. He had a feeling that his mother would be very surprised when she found out about this.

[tailsisfluffy]

Heyo!! How are you dear? I am so glad to have found your blog as there are so few active Soutaku blogs that I know of :(( And you are a fantastic writer, I speedran a few of your books these past nights!! I wanted to ask you, since your characterization is 10/10, what are a few of your Soutaku headcanons like as a couple?? Hope you have a lovely day <3

Thanks! I’m not going to lie that I was very surprised to see my blog as one of the top SouTaku ones the other day even though there isn’t a single piece of visual art originally from me. And thank you very much for checking out my stories as well! Your comment made me very happy!

As for my SouTaku HCs, I have quite a few of them. I won’t be able to remember them all, but I can list my bigger ones, which is quite a list as well. I hope you like them!

·       If they go anywhere that has food, Soma will share with Takumi. He will either request to try what Takumi is eating or feed Takumi from his own plate. Like Soma would put the utensil he was using or the food in front of Takumi to prompt him to take a bite, or Soma would poke and whine until Takumi pushed his plate over, feed him the same way Soma does, or if it’s a food that they are holding in their hands and Soma gets impatient he will literally reach over and take a bite of it himself. (not too big, though.) This habit was actually started by Takumi during the train arc when they ran off to try different foods in Hokkaido and Takumi shoved his food in Soma’s direction for him to try it. After that, it was free game for Soma. Takumi doesn’t really mind unless someone else points it out and Takumi puts an end to it out of embarrassment until the next time they are alone. (He doesn’t care at all after they are married, though.)

·       I mentioned this before, but Takumi teaches Soma how to use the mezzaluna. Soma asks how to use it one day and Takumi was happy to teach him. There were many days that Soma spent in the kitchen by himself trying to get the motions just right.

·       If Takumi starts telling Soma about Italy, there is a very high chance that he will start to lapse into a mix of Italian and Japanese, something he does at home. Especially when he talks about his family. Soma doesn’t stop him to tell him that he can not understand half his words. He thinks it’s cute to see Takumi that relaxed. It gets to the point where people ask him if he knows Italian, where Soma says no. Takumi is so embarrassed when he finally finds out what he does.

·       Soma starts taking Italian classes. When he is finally able to, he starts speaking simple sentences to Takumi. When Takumi asks why he’s trying to learn Italian, Soma tells him that he is learning so he could understand him better. Of course, Takumi is embarrassed yet pleased by the gesture.

·       Takumi is a person who doesn’t care for physical touch. He always looks uncomfortable when someone touches or jumps him. (Isami knows this but does it to bother him, anyways.) Soma, however, is a person who can’t help but to touch everything in sight. It gets worse when he’s excited, and he gets excited when he sees Takumi. Soma often drags Takumi around by the wrist or hand. Or he’ll sling an arm around his shoulders. Or shake him.If they sit together for long lectures or rides, Soma will fiddle with Takumi’s jacket or playfully tap or softly punch Takumi himself. Once they become official, Soma become a lot more physically affectionate. One of Soma’s favorite positions is to sit behind Takumi and have him lean against his chest.

·       Takumi was the first one to have feelings for Soma. It was after Soma had won his mezzaluna back from Mimasaka. Soma started to see Takumi in a special light after they got into the Elite Ten. He loved that Takumi was the only one who could keep up with him. Soma also began to try to consider Takumi’s overall feelings and made sure not to ignore him as much as he did in their first year. Soma even feels bad about those incidents and apologizes, which Takumi says that it’s alright.

·       I have an ever-growing list of who asks who to date/marry first and the scenarios to go with it. (I wrote about one in my OTP post, actually.) But the common theme in all of them is that one asks for the first date and the other asks for marriage first. I kind of favor Soma asking Takumi out on a date in front of their friends and Takumi just shuts down from elation and embarrassment. And Takumi just blurting out “Marry me.” to Soma one day.

·       Going off with Soma making the first official move: Soma asks Isami how to say “I love you” in Italian.

·       Soma loves pet names. He will call Takumi “Sweetheart” the most. He only does it when they are alone or around family and close friends, though, because he knows Takumi gets super embarrassed if they are in public. Takumi does do pet names as well, but only at home. He doesn’t have a favorite one for Soma, though.

·       Takumi leaves the Trattoria to the rest of the family as he and Soma travel the world. Sometimes together, sometimes separate. They start off by living at Yukihira.

·       They keep their personal life to themselves for the most part. They also keep their rivalry in public as well. The public does not even know that they are married at all for a couple of years because they wear their rings as a necklace because they are chefs. Even when the news comes out that they are both married, the public thinks they are married to other people. It takes several more years for the fact that they are married to each other to be out there. (They usually answer questions with “my spouse” or “my son” or other vague/possessive answers.) It’s not because they don’t want to tell anyone. People outside their main circle just perceive them as rivals.

·       They both get really jealous if the other one gets flirted with for a certain amount of time. Takumi will just stew in emotions until Soma comes to calm him down. Soma will come up to the person trying to seduce his man. If it’s not a formal event, Soma will even wrap an arm around Takumi possessively. If it is, Soma would just make up an excuse to take Takumi away or just hover around him. But he’s always glaring at the other party.

·       When it comes to intimacy, they are both switches. But Takumi is more into brat territory. Soma doesn’t mind the challenge, though. Also, Soma loves to tease Takumi, which Takumi pretends not to like.

·       Takumi was raised in a richer environment than Soma. Even though his family was not as rich as the Nakiris, he could afford to buy fancier clothes and ingredients without looking too much at the price tag. As shown in the series, Soma is a bargain hunter. It bothers him when he and Takumi go shopping and Takumi is just placing expensive stuff in the basket. Several arguments and compromises have come from that.

·       They both love children and would not mind adopting a child, but they don’t because they travel a lot. The main reason why they adopt Ciro is because of an emergency. (Long backstory that I might write about one day.)

·       Because of the adoption, they severely limit their travels in order to be better parents to Ciro.

·       They also adopt a Mastiff/Great Dane mix that Ciro found as a puppy in the streets. Takumi loves dogs as well and they were able to convince Soma to let them keep her. (Her name becomes Coffee, by the way.)

·       Eventually, Soma brings up the suggestion to move to Italy, even though he would be moving away from his beloved restaurant. But he sees how big Coffee is getting, the rest of the Aldini family pressuring them to move, how much easier and better it would be for Ciro to be closer to family, and how happy Takumi is every time they visit his home country. (Soma really loves making Takumi happy.) They end up moving not too far from the Aldini trattoria, visiting the Yukihira during school breaks and a little more often when Ciro finally goes to Totsuki.

·       As the years go by, Soma and Takumi slowly stay more and more in their Italian home. Soma grew to love the country and he did not have the heart to move Takumi away from Italy.

[draco-kasai]

Hero Collaboration Program

Chapter 2 pt. 1: Welcome to The Program! --> 

Chapter 2 pt. 2                                            Find Chapter 1 here!

Story Summery: High School Hero Collaboration Program! Helping Sophomore hero students connect with others around the world! Come join us for a two-week-long trip to one of our schools for an amazing once in a lifetime experience with students of Yuuei! Only a lucky 40 students will be selected for this program. They will be split into two groups of 20 and sent to different schools to have completely unique experiences!

AKA; A very bitg crossover fanfic I started because I can’t help myself. I adore all of these characters and hope I had done them justice, though I did take many backstories and threw them into the meat grinder to remold them in a way that fits this universe. Also, I love 1-A but I also want to take them down a peg or two... I also just want to see them get their asses handed to them.  

A/N: Here it is! Chapter two! I hope anyone who decides to read it enjoys!

Alfred Freedom Jones practically bounced out of his bed in excitement. All the exchange student’s had arrived around 7PM last night in hopes for them to receive enough rest and get used to any sudden time change and jet lag. He and Valerie - a teacher of the school where they conduct part of the program - had wanted to be the ones to pick up and welcome all the kids. However, They were tasked with any last minute decorating to make the dorms presentable and welcoming and preparing dinner, that way the kids would have food in their bellies before they headed to their dorms and began unpacking and going to bed. 

The dorms of the school are located right behind the school itself. Although they were especially made 15 years ago since the program had begun, they are used for other purposes throughout the year to not go to waste. When students find themselves in situations where they need a place to stay, they are welcome to speak to a counselor to explain the situation, where they are given a room key and a ‘job’ as a tutor or teacher's assistant as well as have mandatory counseling to ‘pay off’ their stay. Sports clubs are also welcome to apply and stay in the program dorms during the summer for training camp, and many clubs even enjoy having sleep-overs for a few days as a bonding activity. 

This year has been one of the few where nobody has found the need to stay in the dorms throughout their school year. Alfred could almost cry for joy at that fact. Not only is there no student in the school facing such problems, but there won't be a random kid trying to sneak into all of their activities. It’s endearing when it happens the first few times, but the moment you have every one of those students trying to sneak into amusement parks and other field trips with the exchange students they’d become attached to, making you buy them a ticket on the spot to not just send them back, it becomes a little of a problem. Needless to say, he and Valerie have started carrying extra money with them on field trips.

Last year was a new one. Instead of them just buying a ticket on the spot, the two seniors that were with them had been snuck onto the bus and into six flags. They had somehow convinced the shy Brazilian boy to use their quirk to turn them into mice for an hour, so they could sneak in.

Everyone that enters a theme park nowadays are given quirk suppressant bracelets, that are custom-made for each theme park with designs, shapes and looks, that they must wear during their stay and return when they leave. The senior students were somehow able to get their hands on some when they transformed back, inside the theme park.

 Everyone was very smug when they explained to Alfred and Valerie how exactly two seniors not in the program and without tickets got into the theme park. Even the shy boy seemed proud that so much was accomplished with their quirk. As illegal as that is, he couldn’t help but feel a little proud of how they had just outsmarted the system. Although that didn’t stop, he or Valerie from lecturing them. His kids were very apologetic, and tried to make up for it by paying the teachers for the two students tickets by all pitching in.  He had avoided Aizawa’s questioning stare at the two students the whole day and allowed Valerie and the kids to keep him busy.

All things considered, Alfred and Valerie might not be the best choices as chaperones for the students, since they let them get away with shit when they know they’ve been outsmarted. Their superiors don’t have to know. Although the teachers praise them for being so innovative, the two teachers always make sure to drill it into their brain how important following the law is and how they shouldn't abuse their quirks in such ways. They also make sure to explain what kind of consequences such actions can cause, especially if they were pros. 

The reason they don’t kick them out of the program or anything, though, is because they are kids in training for a dangerous profession. They deserve the opportunity to have fun and act their age every now and again. Sure, they usually end up realizing how idiotic many of their ideas turn out to be, but it’s best they start learning now than mess up later and have their careers ruined for it. He and Valerie have kept in contact with kids who had graduated too! They have all become wonderful heroes, even if they had pulled quite a few pranks during their time in the program.

Adjusting the prescription glasses on his face, Alfred grabbed all the lanyards with cardholders attached to them and made sure each of the students program ID’s, room and key cards were there. He was going to hand them out last night after dinner, but all the kids seemed too exhausted, so he and Valerie had led them to their rooms to go unpack and rest. Once he was sure all of them were there, he grabbed his own lanyard. Wrapping it around his jeans' belt loop, he grabbed a folder and stepped out of his dorm. 

Looking at his watch, he realized it was 9:01 AM. They had told the kids to set their alarms, so they should be awake and getting ready by now. Going over the schedule he had memorized, he noted that they all had to be in the cafeteria at 9:45 for a late breakfast. After, they would head over to the large field separating the two dorm buildings for group activities. Since the students are all jet-lagged, they are free from classes till Friday, tomorrow. It may be a program for training, but they're students, can’t let them all fall behind.

 Making his way down the hallway, he began knocking on doors to the boys rooms on his floor. “Head down to the common area in ten minutes! Wear something comfortable for physical activity!” he called out as he made his way down all 12 doors. He could faintly hear Valerie doing the same downstairs to the females. 

As he walked towards the stairs, he spotted a few students already following behind him. He had even spotted a few of the girls walking behind Valerie, already attempting small talk. Once in the common area, he and Valerie smiled at the kids that followed them down.

“You kids are free to enjoy yourselves with anything you’d like while we wait for the others.” Valerie’s chipper voice practically sang as she spoke. “The remote to the TV is on the coffee table, the pool table racks are on the wall over there, the ball for the foosball table should be in one of the goals, and you are free to explore the field, just don’t go too far.” 

Both adults watched in amusement as the students stared around in awe. By the time the ten minutes had passed, all the students were scattered throughout the field, or common room. It hadn’t taken long for the two adults to gather them all up outside. One of the students had been quite sociable, going around speaking to everyone.

“Alright students ~!” Valerie sang as she closed and locked the sliding glass door behind her, “Since we still have time before we have to head over for breakfast, let’s all introduce ourselves properly to one another.” 

Alfred gave the kids a two finger salute as his partner took her place next to him, “Wassup guys! I’m Alfred Freedom Jones! Call me Mr. Jones! I’m a representative of the Hero collaboration program! I’ve been to both schools and have been doing this for 6 years! I was actually a student of this program when it was established! I hope you all enjoy yourselves while you are here!”

“Hello~! I’m Valerie Felicity Frizzle! Please, feel free to call me Miss. Frizzle or even Frizz, as many of my kids call me. I have been teaching in Marina high school for 19 years now. I was actually the teacher that had convinced my coworkers and the district to sign our school up for this lovely program! Truly, it has been a wonderful joy to meet and work with such wonderful children! I hope you all have a glorious experience and take home with you something new~!” The woman curtsied, showing off her dark purple dress that depicted outer space in beautiful patterns and colors.

“Now then! Your turn guys! Anyone want to go first, or shall we popcorn it? Maybe left to right? Choose someone and let them choose after? Whatcha guys up for?”

Both teachers watched in amusement as they watched the kids glance around at one another. They had seen some of them already starting to make some friends. Five of them seemed to get along well while playing foosball. Two had played 8-ball while conversing with two other students that watched with interest. Some of the others kept to themselves while watching TV or hanging around outside. Hopefully they are able to make some friends too. Just as Miss. Frizzle prepared to call on someone, a green arm raised up.

“Me! Me! I would love to go first!” The boy’s grin widened as everyone's gaze landed on him. Everything about him was a different shade of  green, from his skin to his hair and eyes. He wore a white tank top with an unbuttoned short-sleeved button up that has Disney dogs printed all over it, and loose, knee-length jean shorts. A boy at the other end of the crowd of students with green eyes and a serious face jolted in surprise and sank a little into his seat once he noticed him. 

“I like your enthusiasm, kid! Alright! Let’s hear it! Ah, don’t share any quirk information, though! We have a little activity planned later, and staying anonymous would be the best course of action.” Alfred grinned just as wide in response. 

“Okay!” He bounced over to stand between them. It was unnecessary, but it looks like it’s a thing now. Both teachers could see the discomfort that had settled on a small handful of students at the thought of standing in front of strangers to introduce themselves. “Hi! My name is Garfield Mark Logan! You guys can call me Gar! My name can be quite the mouthful. My hero name is Beast Boy and I came from San Francisco, aaand oh yeah! I’m Vegetarian! It’s nice to meet you all -! Oh my gosh, Damian! Hey dude!!” 

Said boy groaned as he facepalmed. A few people in the group held back their laughter as best they could as Garfield rushed over to him. Grabbing the sleeve of Damian’s jacket, he dragged him to the front of the crowd, “You practically ghosted us, dude. This is your punishment. Introduce yourself.” 

Damian almost stumbled when Garfield pushed him before retreating back to his spot next to a boy with green highlights in his hair. Letting out a heavy sigh, he fixed the sleeve to his hoodie and straightened his black V-neck shirt. Clearing his throat, he spoke, “Hello, I am Damian Wayne. It’s a pleasure to meet you all. I suppose if I am going off of Garfield’s introduction; my hero name is Red Bird, I came from Gotham in New Jersey, and I am also Vegetarian.” Green eyes scanned the crowd before pointing to a boy with light brown hair wearing a tie diy shirt. “You go next.”

“O - oh! Um, okay.” The boy stood to his feet from his place on the concrete, “Hi, uh, My name is Rudy Tabootie. I live pretty close actually, Burbank, to be exact. Uh, I’m not vegetarian… sorry? Uh, my Hero name is Snap. It’s really cool to meet you all.” and just like that, all the introductions went, and the group found themselves in the cafeteria for breakfast with their new lanyards. It wasn’t long till all the student’s exited the cafeteria and made their way to the field between the dorms. 

“Alright guys! We want to explain a few things with you before we start today’s first activity!” Mr. Jones clapped his hands together, excitedly. 

“I’m sure you have all noticed how the special guests, the main reason for this program, Yuuei isn’t here yet. Well, they will all be arriving tomorrow. However, you will not be introduced to them until Monday.” Miss. Frizzle smiled widely, the students before them began murmuring to one another in confusion.

“Um, Why?” A girl with pearl white skin asked. She wore light gray joggers, a sky blue tank top and had her cobalt blue hair tied up in pigtails. Jenny Walkman.

“The answer is simple! The students of Yuuei have had the whole school year to train and get to know one another, as well as their abilities. Needless to say, they all know how to work together.” Miss. Frizzle explained, “For this reason, our program is set up to allow all the exchange students to have time to get to know one another as well as each other's quirks and skills, so you may be able to work together when needed. This way, when we do battle training, everything would be on as equal footing as we can get.”

Mr. Jones nodded beside her, “Which is why all weekend, as they rest from their long flight, get accustomed to their surroundings and have fun sightseeing, we will be doing a bunch of group activities to get to know one another better. That way, when we begin battle training…” He trails off, hoping someone would finish for him. He wasn’t disappointed. 

“We’d at least be on equal footing against them.” A girl with long red hair that she had tied up in a ponytail responded. Wearing a green crop top, and dark blue cargo pants, she crossed her arms over her chest, a smile crossing her lips slightly at the plan. Kimberly Anne Possible

“Precisely!” Miss. Frizzle and Mr. Jones sang together.

“Today’s activity, drum roll please,” Miss. Frizzle happily made the sound effect for her coworker. Mr. Jones held up a dodgeball, where he got it, nobody knows, “Dodgeball!”

Chapter 2 pt. 2  

[moiraineswife]

Jasnah Meta - The Importance of Context

AKA: PLEASE stop saying that Jasnah is pro-genocide when she is. Not. At all. In any way. Shape or form. Whatsoever. 

TL;DR: Nowhere, at any point, in four ginormous books of text, does Jasnah ever say ‘you know what’s great? Genocide.’ She never even implies. It she never even actually, seriously, suggests it. Please stop saying she does as though it’s canon I lose 12 years of my life every time it’s mentioned. 

AND NOW FOR THE LONG VERSION BECAUSE Y’ALL KNOW I CAN’T LEAVE IT AT THAT!!!!! 

PLEASE NOTE! THERE WILL BE SOME MINOR RHYTHM OF WAR SPOILERS IN HERE. PLEASE AVERT YOUR EYEBALLS IF THIS IS A DISTRESSING CONCEPT TO YOU.

So first things first, let us discuss The Scene Itself: 

“Yes. The answer is obvious. We need to find the Heralds.”

Kaladin nodded in agreement.

“Then,” Jasnah added, “we need to kill them.”

“What?” Kaladin demanded. “Woman, are you insane?”

“The Stormfather laid it out,” Jasnah said, unperturbed. “The Heralds made a pact. When they died, their souls traveled to Damnation and trapped the spirits of the Voidbringers, preventing them from returning.”

“Yeah. Then the Heralds were tortured until they broke.”

“The Stormfather said their pact was weakened, but did not say it was destroyed,” Jasnah said. “I suggest that we at least see if one of them is willing to return to Damnation. Perhaps they can still prevent the spirits of the enemy from being reborn. It’s either that, or we completely exterminate the parshmen so that the enemy has no hosts.” She met Kaladin’s eyes. “In the face of such an atrocity, I would consider the sacrifice of one or more Heralds to be a small price.”

“Storms!” Kaladin said, standing up straight. “Have you no sympathy?”

“I have plenty, bridgeman. Fortunately, I temper it with logic. Perhaps you should consider acquiring some at a future date.”

So the only time Jasnah actually brings up this concept it’s to, hyperbolically, point out that asking the Heralds to return to Braize and trap the Fused may not be the worst idea.

She’s not actually suggesting this as a valid or legitimate tactic. It’s to contrast the plan Kaladin just called her ‘insane’ for suggesting (I bet that’s gonna hurt a million times more than it already does in 900 years when we get Jasnah’s book and backstory but hey. Back on topic) and point out that, in the face of the apocalypse, this is the kind of level they have to think on. 

I’ve already talked about the nuances of this scene at length here, so I’ll just do a quick summary: Jasnah is not as composed about any of this internally as she makes out to be - even what she suggests with the Heralds. 

When we see her alone with Ivory, reading Taln’s repeated mantra, Ivory notes that she’s troubled. The words (and where he was/how he was being treated when they were recorded) is enough to trigger a twenty year old flashback in her. 

This scene is one of the clearest moments (along with the Kharbranth thug scene, I suspect) where Jasnah’s outward projection of her internal feelings and thoughts least matches up with reality.

In spite of the inflammatory remark that sparks this all off,  she doesn’t want to assassinate any Heralds. She quite clearly says she wants to “see if one of them is WILLING to return to Damnation.” She wants to have a conversation with them, understand the Oathpact, and see if any of them would consent to buying them some time. She is not suggesting they knife one of the Heralds in a back alley. That’s Moash’s job.

This is supported by what she does in canon. Jasnah is actually the one who recognises Taln and Ash and, somehow, manages to persuade them to join her at Urithiru and help. She treats them with nothing but dignity and respect in her scenes with them in Rhythm of War, and tries to find out more about the Oathpact and their options - as she said she wanted to do.

But since Jasnah is a Kholin, which means the ‘D’ in her DNA stands for DRAMA, she doesn’t say that, instead she says: “let us find the Heralds and kill them.” (I love her so much y’all. Ahem. Anyway).

But there’s method to this madness, too. Please click the ‘keep reading’ button to discover why! (have to turn my own posts into clickbait bc they’re so long I have to put in a cut to spare ur dashboards). 

Jasnah likes to push people. She likes to force them to think, and consider all angles of a problem, and come to terms with their own thoughts and opinions. This is one of the things that frustrates Shallan about Jasnah in TWOK: 

Shallan caught a victorious glimmer in her eye. She wasn’t necessarily advocating ideas because she believed them; she just wanted to push Shallan. It was infuriating. How was Shallan to know what Jasnah really thought if she adopted conflicting points of view like this?

-TWOK 36

Jasnah doesn’t want to brutally murder the Heralds and force them to return to their maddening idea of hell. But in phrasing it as she does, she can get an insight into Kaladin. Despite the fact we know him very well at this point, this is, this is the first time Jasnah has interacted with him on-screen, and only the second time she’s met him ever. 

“That Windrunner. What do you think of him, Shallan? I find him much as I imagined his order, but I have only met him once. It has all come so quickly. After years of struggling in the shadows, everything coming to light—and despite my years of study—I understand so very little.”

Oathbringer, 33

Jasnah in that scene is deliberately being as exaggerated, ruthless, cold, and harsh as she can get away with. She’s trying to push Kaladin. She wants to bait responses from him, to get an idea of what kind of man he is, and what he stands for. She focuses entirely on him on that scene, and the reactions we as readers get see that as well. 

“If you wish, Captain,” Jasnah snapped, “I can get you some mink kits to cuddle while the adults plan. None of us want to talk about this, but that does not make it any less inevitable.”

“I’d love that,” Kaladin responded. “In turn, I’ll get you some eels to cuddle. You’ll feel right at home.”

Jasnah, curiously, smiled.

 Jasnah likes to be pushed as well. She likes to have people push back with her, and stand up for themselves, assert themselves, make their arguments. She all but encourages Dalinar to publicly do so in RoW. 

Socially, in spite of Kaladin’s rank or status as a Windrunner, it’s probably 100% Not Acceptable to ask an Alethi princess if she wants a basket full of eels to cuddle because she is one, effectively. But Jasnah’s unphased - and even pleased - by Kal’s response. She likes that she’s seeing this from him, that he’s unguarded, and passionate, and more than willing to go toe-to-toe with her, which few people are.

Also, because I foresee potential problems in this meta that I would like to nip in the bud right now, I don’t think that Jasnah is doing this to play with people? That’s not really in her nature or who she is. There’s a purpose to everything she does, and there’s a purpose to her doing this, too.

With Shallan it was to encourage her to think for herself and form her own thoughts and opinions. Just before in that scene, Shallan asked why Jasnah couldn’t just tell her what to think and what was the right philosophy to have in life. Jasnah replied it was something she had to discover for herself - and that’s how she approaches all of their studies. 

Jasnah never teaches Shallan what to think, or even what happened, despite that being the meat of her study. Instead, she teaches Shallan how to think, how to study, how to learn, how to critically reason, and how to form and argue her own thoughts and conclusions. 

With Kal, I think it’s a quick and brutal way of quickly getting to grips with a new, very important, element in what’s going on in her world. Remember, too, that one of Jasnah’s most obvious aims, aside from protecting the world, is protecting her family. And Kaladin is very close to everyone that she loves and holds most dear, while she knows nothing about him. 

However, something else that’s important to note, which, for me anyway, RoW all but confirmed: Jasnah has low cognitive empathy.

She’d come to realize, early in her youth, that she didn’t approach relationships the same way everyone else seemed to. Her partners in the past had always complained that she was too cold, so academic. That had frustrated her. How was she to learn what others felt if she couldn’t ask them?

Chapter 99 really was an absolute fucking gift, I mean really. Asexuality AND low empathy, all in one go. What a delight.

This little snippet can be read as her being asexual, potentially, but I actually think it reads more heavily and obviously about her being neurodivergent? And specially low cognitive empathy. Brandon says that, to him, Jasnah is not autistic spectrum, but you just keep giving me more evidence to say she is buddy!! Anyway. Diagnostic debates aside. 

I would guess some of y’all don’t know what the heck I mean by ‘cognitive empathy’ (I didn’t before I researched all of this a couple of years ago). 

There are two types of empathy, in strict psychology terms (and then there’s the colloquial way we use it to just mean ‘a good person with feelings’ which drives me BANANAS but that’s a rant for another day): 

Affective empathy - which basically means ‘this person around me is happy/sad/excited, I am also now feeling that way. Because emotion is infectious like a cold! How thrilling’. 

Cognitive empathy - is the ability a person has to pick up on/know what others are feeling without having to be told. Using tone/body language/facial expression etc etc. It’s something I, and a lot of other autistic people, are bad at. 

So is Jasnah! 

Her previous partners disliked her probably verbally vibe checking them every other week to find out where they were at. Jasnah was frustrated because how the heck else is she meant to know wtf?? What an absolute mood this woman is. Anyway. 

This revelation/confirmation makes a LOT of Jasnah scenes make a lot more sense. Including: chapter 64, and her insistence, to the point of it almost being illogical, that she fight without her Surgebinding to try and get as clear a picutre of what her soldiers are facing as she can. Jasnah starts off that chapter by saying she’s never actually been in a war before, and states throughout that she wasn’t prepared for what it was actually like. 

Her low empathy means that, without a personal context/experience to relate to and draw emotional experience from, she struggles to understand exactly what her troops are going through. 

Obviously she knows that ‘war is bad, battles are scary and not fun’. But she has no way of emotionally relating/truly understanding what they’re feeling. This is one of the reasons I think it’s so important to her, despite Ivory’s chiding, to do it that way so that she can understand. 

Similar thing is happening here with Kaladin. Jasnah struggles to instinctively Get Vibes from people, so she goes about things in a very scholarly way. 

She does research and makes notes (see: her little folio on the highprinces (which, by the way, misses out on several important aspects of them Shallan picks up on pretty quickly by the power of Intuition), she asks questions - and she sets up scenarios that push people into blatant emotion so she can observe and get an idea of what makes them tick. 

TL;DR TAKE TWO: Jasnah does not want to murder all of the Singers. Jasnah never says she wants to. Jasnah only uses it as a ‘see, asking the Heralds to go back to Damnation isn’t actually that bad now is it?’ hyperbolic counterpoint after Kaladin asked her if she was insane. Jasnah is not actually what she pretends to be in that scene. She is but a hapless gay who cannot detect emotions so she has to conduct her Vibe Checks differently from other people. She is highly valid in every way and i stan her.

[allthegoodusernamesaretakenagain]

hey, just read all ur fan fiction so far in one go! just finished the update and I can’t tell you how excited I am for Quentin and link’s relationship to start blossoming romantically! I also love so many of your original characters. All the siblings are so interesting so me, I especially like Denzel, idk he just seems nice.

Will we learn more about them, and their own stories? If it’s not relevant to the plot I’m definitely up to reading it on here or something! Anyway, great work, keep it up!

Hi, thank you so much for enjoying my fan fiction!

I’m glad you like the new chapter with Quentin and Link, I really struggled near the end. I’m looking forward to writing their growing relationship :)

As for the other OC’s, I love them too. Denzel like you mentioned is a good boi, I can’t wait to delve into his character more. As the story progresses I’m including memories from Quentin’s childhood and chapters in which the siblings are in them, like the Clorissa chapter that’s already been done. They definitely all have their own stories however I’m not sure how much I could fit into the plot without it seeming out of place. I do have drafts on here that kind of details their backstories, however I would only publish them after they’ve made an appearance in The Curious Minds.

I guess if you wanted the Clorissa Story, I could publish my post about her life so far, but it would be mere extra information that wouldn’t impact the main story line.

But thank you for your interest, I’ll be happy to post more about the OC’s if you want :)

[madamewriterofwrongs]

I mean, I want buddie to happen but I don’t think “the writers have never written a good female love interest” is fair because most fans don’t even give those love interests a chance. it’s actually kind of vile to see that some people actively hope that Chris’ teacher was dropped because of the fandom reaction when we didn’t even get to know her yet and see her relationship with Eddie develop before judging

(I'm answering this on my phone so I apologize for the shitty formatting)

That was why I clarified that this had nothing to do with Buddie. I absolutely agree that disregarding a female love interest simply because she gets in the way of your potential gay pairing is super shitty behavior and I refuse to condone it.

My comment about being disappointed in the idea of a new love interest for Buck is based on my experience with their past characters and not with the fan reactions (since episodes are filmed well in advance and Tim has shown himself to not be a pushover for stans).

The characters that immediately come to mind are Abby, Taylor, Ali, Shannon, Bosko, and Ana.

Briefly:

Abby has a ton of red flags that would not have been okay if she were a middle aged man getting a firefighter's number off an official report and constantly disregarding their partner's growth in the relationship (calling their S/O a "boy toy"). Her ghosting Buck was incredibly out of character and could have been avoided by rewording the airport scene a little - which was possible since they knew Connie was leaving at the end of the season.

I have a problem with some fan fics that portray Taylor Kelley as a negative character (abusive, manipulative, overly-sexual, etc) because I do enjoy seeing an ambitious woman with distinct goals. However, referring to her as a "Buck 1.0" - which has been shown to be a negative descriptor - is sus and not a single one of the characters is shown to like or respect her (except for Hen but that's because Hen actually understands). For me, Taylor's character is a tool for Buck's journey realizing that he is no longer interested in casual sex, and less of an actual personality - in fact, all of her scenes are there to serve a man's storyline.

Ali was introduced as an independent woman with a sparkling personality under stress, and then left for so long that I genuinely forgot who she was when she was reintroduced. They might as well have brought in an entirely new character. She was then only referred to in passing once or twice before her return in Buck's apartment. For a man who was so interested in and excited to start a new relationship, he certainly didn't like to mention his second long-term girlfriend ever. We learn nothing about her goals, her personality, her character. Nothing. And then to have her break up with him off screen (over something with a lot of emotional weight) seems like they were trying to sweep her under the rug so they didn't need to put any work into her.

--

I am well aware that this is an ensemble show with a lot of characters to get through every episode, on top of the actual crisis being dealt with. I know that not every minor character can have a fully formed backstory and arc. This is me clarifying why I'm skeptical of introducing a new female love interest.

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I cannot get into why Shannon sucks. And to be honest, it's actually kind of tricky because I can't read if Shannon's shittiness was intentional, or if they were trying to paint her as an empathetic character and failed miserably. Regardless, the woman also goes through the most random arc, where she plays the victim, gaslights her way into rejoining her family, gets scared, backs out of that family, and then dies.

Bosko was never introduced as a potential love interest (in fact, I see her as a temporary replacement for Buck in Eddie's life) but she was in several episodes and did have a bit of an arc. KIND OF. Watching Bosko in 3a feels a little like meeting a new character every single episode, which again, indicates to me that the writers didn't put a lot of work into her personality.

Ana is, again, a tool used for the male story arc (Eddie realizing he might be ready to start dating again). Her reaction to Eddie after Christopher's accident and into "Eddie Begins" tells me she longer sees him as a potential love interest and we will likely see little of her in the coming season. But she was thrown away so quickly, I wouldn't entirely be surprised if she showed up half way through the next season with a new hair colour and started dating Eddie. Or maybe they'll meet a bar and almost have sex in her classroom.

I might have been projecting a bit of bitterness at the end, there.

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My point is: my lack of enthusiasm isn't about wanting Buck and Eddie as a romantic couple, it's an apprehension at seeing another female character introduced to give her male counterpart something to do and little agency herself.

I hope this clarifies things.