#also it's interesting how many people think he's forgiving when he's simply moving on

[botanycrewmember]

List of Shen Qiao’s incredible violence that lives in my head

(spoilers throughout the entire Qian Qiu/Thousand Autumns novel)

I've seen people complain that Shen Qiao should go apeshit or that he's too soft and forgiving, so I've compiled an (incomplete) list of the times Shen Qiao canonically goes apeshit/shows absolutely no forgiveness.

Beating up a gang of thugs while blind and threatening to poke their eyes out so they become just like him.

Castrating a serial r*pist. 

Stabbing a man through the heart with a branch.

Taking a group of people hostage and forcing them (with threats of grievous bodily harm) to eat all the food they dumped on the ground because hello, people are starving to death literally one city wall away, assholes.

Pushing an opponent he just killed to the ground because he decided the guy doesn’t deserve a dignified death. 

Threatening to cut people into smithereens and demonstrating how he would do it.

Straight up killing two would-be child-murderers in the span of 10 seconds. 

Condemning a man to a fate worse than death as punishment (twice). 

[vechter]

was re-reading some pjo today and thought of youuu

due to our shared love for pjo i was thinkingg, what do you think the batfam’s fatal flaws would be? OOH or maybe even their godly parents. i always see basic answers like jason’s would be hades bc he came back from the dead but also i wanted to know what you would think on any of these 🩷

hi ivy <3

i have a few thoughts on this but i think the most interesting part of it is the similarity in the fatal flaws, and consequently the mindsets of bruce, cass and dick + how differently they can manifest:

for bruce- it would probably be his self-loathing that manifests as that desperate dedication to being batman, utterly subsumed in the role. he canonically doesn't think he's a good person and any life that he does not/cannot save- he takes it as a personal failure. and then he goes on a bender where he's emotionally abrasive and unavailable, lashing out at those around him while being wildly neglectful of anything and everything else, even his physical health (not even gonna touch mental health lmao).

it's somewhat similar for cass- she cannot forgive herself for her childhood so there's an unhealthy degree of self-loathing. but, that same childhood also manifests as her sheer perfectionism. she has immense faith in her skills (as she should!) but what she thinks she should and can do are not always perfectly congruent. in her eyes, her ability to see all means that she should be able to save everyone! and when she can't (bc no one person can be held to that kind of responsibility), she cannot forgive herself.

similarly, for dick- unlike cass, his childhood was joyful and warm but even as a kid, he was performing insanely dangerous stunts as an aerialist. mistakes meant debilitating injury and the possibility of death. this kind of thinking only worsened as robin at bruce's side. dick also has an insane level of perfectionism. but it manifests differently for him- he feels like he has to be the safety net for everyone. it is both his biggest strength and downfall bc while he saves as many people as he can, he's often burnt out. his own demands of himself, compounded with bruce's demands of him often leave him unhappy.

so, for all three of them- there's a really wonderful interplay of perfectionism, self-loathing and pretty often, absolutism- they all are prone to thinking they're the best person to handle a dangerous situation and they're all incredibly stubborn in this belief. and for all three of them, it manifests as that incredibly abrasive and annoying bat-brand control-freakism: cass will simply knock out steph if she thinks steph can't handle a situation, bruce will create surveillance networks that will end up being used against him, dick will manipulate his friends into doing what he wants so he can keep their moves contained. it's frustrating but it's often coming from a place where they all want so deeply, to do the right thing- saving/helping those who need it. in their eyes, if they can take steps that will guarantee success, why shouldn't they? and not only is it incredibly frustrating for their loved ones but it often ends up hurting them, too!

like dick once said- it's not paranoia if they're really out to get you (get help, freak!)

[bamboozledcorvid]

Also I am willing to explain in detail why despite being a massive dick spider is one of the shows best characters (not including cash, Quinni or Ant who are arguably perfect) if asked

would love to here about this !! dont mind me im just a rando scrolling through the hbh high tags

No worries I’d love to explain!

obviously Spider is an asshole that is the point of his character he was written to be an antagonist but he’s such a well written antagonist, the way he clearly loved or at least felt strongly for Amerie just to have her laugh in his face at a problem (erectile dysfunction) that he was deeply embarrassed of, even after she done this he still cared for her and is only openly rude to her as retaliation for the things she does and says that upset him.

His friendship with Ant is also incredibly cute, Spider is actively mean to everyone except Ant. Multiple times in the show he shows that he genuinely cares about Ant and their friendship. Which is made even more clear in season 2 where it’s shows that Spider encourages Ant to talk about his feelings with Harper, and Ant shows he feels the same way by following Spider blindly and defending him when he was accused of being bird psycho (as well as trying to stop Amerie from throwing a bird at him) because Spider has proven to Ant that he is a good person.

A bully without cause is impossible to feel empathy or compassion for, but we learn from season 2 that a big part of the way he acts is because of how he’s treated, his mother views him as a disappointment and a monster purely for being a man, she is a Middle aged single woman who has decided that all men are born to be monsters, she sits in front of her son and speaks about him being a disappointment pure for being a cis man as well as talking about how she feels hatred towards him based of dreams and feelings she holds towards men in general (things that spider has never proven her right in but she believes anyway) I think seeing this glimpse into his home life makes him much easier to understand.

With Missy he aims to make sure she is content and pleasured as well as making sure she’s never uncomfortable with what there doing, he listens to her interests and is willing to work towards being a better person for her. With Missy he finally begins to feel comfortable until she does the same as Amerie and laughs at the mere thought of the two being together. (However I do deeply appreciate that Missy was understanding of his bedroom problem as well as the problems caused by his home life) He understands that he is an asshole and he takes accountability for it and doesn’t expect people to forgive him.

Whilst he is easy to hate many characters in the show do equally fucked up things (Amerie and Sasha are both great examples of this) I don’t believe spider ever made any of his comments or jokes based of his actual beliefs I think he was acting out which whilst is still a dick move makes him less evil in my eyes, the fact he understands that people hate him and that they have every right to hate him also makes him more likeable in my eyes. (As apposed to Amerie who thinks she should be forgiven for simply feeling bad and Sasha who doesn’t think she’s done wrong)

That’s pretty much my entire rant on spider.

(I’m not hating on Amerie who I also think is a great character, I just think people ignore the things she’s done wrong because it’s from her perspective and it’s easier to sympathise)

(I am however hating on Sasha)

[norringtondeservestheworld]

Markus isn't boring, you are simply racist.

Hi. I'd like to tell you all my story with Markus.

I entered in the DBH fandom recently because I recently played the game for the first time when I finally bought a PS5 (I couldn't play it sooner because I didn't have the console) but I actually was curious about this game since it came out in 2019, but at the time (and before playing it) I knew next to nothing about it.

All I knew was that the three main characters were two males and a female robots, which one was the guy from Grey's Anatomy, one was a police officer and the female one wanted to protect a little girl from her abusive father (Kara's story was actually the one I knew better, I think it's because I watched some gameplays and I remember feeling really anxious about the chapters with Todd). I also remembered there was another female android which was North obviously, but I truly had no idea what her name was or what her face was and I had absolutely no idea about the existence of Josh, Luther, Ralph, Daniel, Simon (which is hilarious since he is my fave now) and literally any other character.

And now I'll be 100% honest with you.

When I went to the store to buy the game and I saw Markus in the cover, I was annoyed. Why you ask? Easy.

All I could see was Jesse Williams.

Do not misunderstand me, I never hated or disliked Jesse Williams, I have nothing against the guy, but to me he was the guy from Grey's Anatomy.

Tbh I always hated Grey's Anatomy but unfortunately one of my best friends love it as much as I hate it, and she has the biggest crush on Jesse Williams' character, Jackson Avery, and she made me watch, too many, oh god believe me, too many times his scenes that at one point everytime I saw his face all I did was roll my eyes and sigh. So when I saw him in DBH I thought "ugh this guy again".

So my first approach to the game was being very careful and being really interested in both Connor and Kara's storylines, but when a Markus' chapter happened I just sighed and wanted it to end it to play the other two.

Then the chapter of Markus in the junkyard happened. I was less annoyed by Markus at this point because he started to growing up on me but I still had too prejudice to admit it to myself, but that chapter moved something in me. I didn't know what, but it did something, and when Markus found Jericho and met North, Simon and Josh.. well, I was curious.

And then, finally, at the Spare Parts chapter, I started to realize how great Jericho's, and consequently Markus' storyline, was. As the story progressed, I started to realize how much I was beginning to love Markus, how everytime I looked at Jesse Williams I didn't see the Grey's Anatomy guy anymore, but Markus. Suddenly, the situation had reversed: there weren't enough chapters about Markus to me there wasn't never enough of him and at every chapter of Connor and Kara all I could think of was wanting to see Markus and the Jericrew again (I still found Connor and Kara's storylines interesting, but they were nothing compared to Markus). By the end of The Freedom March I had shivers and realized how much I cared for Markus and his story and I had the realization that if my choices towards the end would lead to his death, I would be really really sad all this while thinking what a great, inspiring character he is.

The way he is the leader of an entire species and the most important person of Jericho, and yet he is ready to risk his life for every broken single android. The way he worries for North when he heard shoots, the way one of his first thoughts when Jericho is attacked are Simon and Josh and wondering if they are okay despite being in risk himself in that moment. The way he forgives Connor without even blinking even if he is responsible of the destruction of Jericho and of the death of a lot of his people, and the way he still has no hate towards him even if he tries to kill him because despite everything, he is still one of his people. The way they are in a desperate situation and he has a lot on his mind and yet he promises Kara, an android who he just met, to help her because he can't possibly not help every android who need help. The way he is scared and worried and has doubts of what to do because he just wants the best for his people but they are getting killed and yet he never asks for help because he can't let himself to pass this burden to another android he is the one who has to deal with it. The way he accepts everyone in Jericho and let androids be themselves, never forcing them to join him or die for the cause. The way he cares. For everyone and everything. He cares he cares he cares.

Markus is all of this, and even more.

I started the game not being thrilled of him being there solely for a stupid, idiotic prejudice based on nothing, and I ended it being over the moon for this selfless, brave hero.

Despite what I was feeling at the beginning, I ended being totally in love with this amazing character and surely I won't let you all classify Markus as "boring". I won't let you. Not anymore.

I won't let you call boring a character who is nothing but positive.

I won't let you call boring a character who sacrificed himself for freeing his people.

I won't let you call boring a character for whom you would all simp for if he was white.

Markus isn't boring. Just admit you are racist and leave.

[allthatmay]

Two shanksace AUs, hot off the press:

Reincarnation AU??

gosh Shanks struggling under the weight of having a Second Chance to "do things right" in a new life

Maybe there's tension between him feeling obligated to pursue relationships that failed before, while maybe not recognizing that those things could have followed their natural course and still ended up where they did

OOOOO the AU could also change drastically depending on whether shace was established in their previous life, or if things strictly followed canon!!

Pirate Radio AU!!

Yes!!!!

I know you suggested it but I'd love to hear more thoughts there

the creativity/artistry really suits them both so much... Plus, the renegade swagger!! Shanks in some kind of loudly-patterned blazer, stubble, & colored glasses, as he sizes up the newest addition to their operation........ yes!!

This is longer than intended. Forgive me?? (Or not.)

Reincarnation AU

Okay, omg. Like you say, there's so many ways a Shanks reincarnation AU could go, so the whole idea is pretty exciting. A Shanks/Ace reincarnation AU in particular? Oh-ho!!!! So many possibilities, and yet I've never really considered it before.

I think you could write it two ways? One where Shanks dies after meeting Ace (he would find the reversal in their age gap hilarious!!!), and one where Shanks dies before they meet. Maybe he dies from blood loss after saving Luffy? Traumatising, lol. But that's potentially where I'd start, and go from there.

As for the kind of people he'd be born to, I think it'd be fucking hilarious if he was a Celestial Dragon (especially considering people speculate this about his birth anyway). Just some vague ideas:

During childhood, he'd take advantage of his position to find out incriminating military secrets he'd previously been unable to discover, including personal secrets. Just for funsies!!! (And, you know, blackmail.)

He doesn't stick around with his parents, setting sail as soon as he can fend for himself. I think he would, at first, go to Rayleigh. He can't go to Buggy—he wouldn't be quite helpful enough—and he can't go to Garp or Whitebeard (what if he makes him his son????) So, he spends a few years with Rayleigh (working with Dragon during this time) until he's 18ish, maybe?

He sets sail alone, seeking out Luffy, who of course ate the Gum Gum Fruit. That's how he meets Ace, who is reminded of another runaway high-born he knows, and invites Shanks to join his crew. Which, well, why not? He's Luffy's brother and son of the Pirate King. What better way to be in the centre of the action.

What's going on in the background? Why is Ace still alive? Well, Shanks' death was so traumatising for Luffy, and then Sabo's, that he became so terrified of Ace dying, he got incredibly protective. No way was he letting Ace hunt down Blackbeard, especially not when he finds out Whitebeard didn't strictly permit it. This is also assuming the timeline moves more slowly, which it does, because I say so, so there.

Having said all of that, I also totally think Shanks would try to make amends in his old relationships just by being a better person for them (and totally burns himself out doing so). However it goes, you're so right in that Shanks would totally struggle with the idea of getting another chance (because he's a fucking martyr who wants to fix everything). I do think a timeline where Shanks/Ace were previously a thing could be interesting, but I'm not as certain how I'd do that. (Probably I'd have Ace born earlier, while Roger's alive.)

(Also, Shanks would call himself, like, Stabby, as homage to Shanks. Or he gets Rayleigh to name him.)

Pirate Radio AU

This idea is underdeveloped but I love it. It just works for them/their relationship, and fits snugly with the OP universe. I imagine secret radio stations transmitted through specifically bred Den Dens. I'd prefer to write it that way than to write an modern AU simply because Den Dens are fun! (As you well know, Chromo... 👀)

So, the backstory would be like OP, just: Roger is considered the king of pirate radio. After his death, Shanks follows his lead and creates his own station, broadcasting from a ship, so he's harder to catch, of course. And, yes, Luffy and Ace join him when they're old enough!

"Shanks in some kind of loudly-patterned blazer, stubble, & colored glasses..." YES, exactly. I think Ace would be so, like, dazed by him, and angry about it. Then Shanks starts letting him choose songs, and dedicates songs to him, and they get more and more ridiculous in their outrageous, musical flirting, until one of the others (Benn, probably) plays a very passive aggressive song about it. Or something.

Also, love the idea of them running a timeslot together, only to get caught flirting live on air. (Or, having sex in the booth and accidentally broadcasting it. Oh, god.)

When they're not aggressively flirting, they're pissing off the government, of course, who are meticulously censoring all music. Maybe while sailing, they seek the legendary scores of Joy Boy, the first true pirate radio host, lol.

This was fun!! Thanks Chromo!! ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶

[alienssstufff]

Hello! Could you tell me more about Charlie being a heart player in your Homestuck AU? I'm really interested to see your thought process ahuu (P.S. LOVE YOUR ART IT'S ADORABLE!!! 💖💫)

Sure! I've already spoken about him HERE though consider this current ask as a deeper dive now that we know more about him.

SLIME AND THE HEART ASPECT

To define: the Heart aspect concerns itself with identity and emotional intuition, and how one views themselves. Ironically enough Heart concerns with the mind itself in contrast to its opposite the Mind that deals with rational thinking, and the persona that one consciously puts on for the world. Wwhwh which is why I like comparing q!Slime (heart-player) and q!Quackity (mind-player) so much because while they are in ways similar, their places of concern are very different.

"They simply want to understand the one thing we all are stuck with for our entire lives, i.e. our own minds." -- Hiveswap Extended Zodiac

About Slime he's a very emotionally driven person with everything he does he puts his all into it, and those motivations often originate from how he feels about the situation. Big examples being HIS love for his daughter, HIS resentment for his wife back during the trial, and while these motivations involve other people. If it weren't for any outside intervention, a lot of the decisions he makes are absolute, thinking if he were to do things like kill the other eggs out of love and sacrifice q!Mariana because he couldn't forgive what she did, not to mention send HIMSELF into eggxile because he hates himself - that these solutions were his only way out. His determination is both his strength and his flaw in the sense his thinking can be so clouded by the one emotion - and that's what makes him such a Heart-player.

"Forging an identity is extremely important to the Heart-bound, and every decision and action goes toward building a coherent narrative of their own story." - Hiveswap Extended Zodiac

A/N: these next parts as go more in depth about Slime and relationships with other people with a dash of classpect lingo in there. The answer is above you, you do not need to read anything below ToT [ more undercut ]

Other than his emotions, identity (like Heart-players do) to Slime's character is also very important when thinking about him and the problems that stem from his self-image. It is the reason why Gegg exists to Slime as this separate entity - similar to what splinters are to Dirk Strider, Gegg is a division of Slime. I've spoken about Gegg and Slime's roles in under THIS thread, an extract:

Gegg is not only a coping mechanism but the part of him that still wishes to be loved- and when he is it’s addicting but it comes at a price for his honesty (and his literal voice). When he is Gegg there is a unique way he carries himself - he’s confident, ambitious, and a little silly the kind of thing that draws everyone near and he does so because he’s new. Charlie has messed up so many times he feels like a lost cause, and becoming Gegg exists as his second shot at life crime-free. Gegg is the part of Slime that embodies his desires, and Charlie is the part that represents what he believes he needs…. Or smth like that.

SLIME AND THE HEIR CLASS

(debunk) Alternatively Slime could also be a Prince of Heart (one that destroys the self) though based on peer review on that classpect's goals, I feel pinning Slime's goal as 'destroying heart' is a little too morbid for his story. Mind, you being a Prince of Heart isn't completely a BAD thing - I just don't feel destruction of heart is neither the right message or answer for Slime's problems. Furthermore, Slime does not ghost his opposing aspect (Mind) like the prince class usually does, Slime is NOT a rational thinker -- he is moved by the heart more than anything. A/N: 'ghosting' in classpect terms means to appear as the player's opposing aspect on surface level. Eg from the surface Dirk elicits Mind characteristics when in reality he is Heart. (LOL I just learnt what this was today)

Which leads to Slime's association as an Heir of Heart instead. This is the ability to invite the manipulation of the heart, and in other words quite literally become their aspect (yknow typical Slimecicle PC behaviour).

Slime being an Heir of Heart means he is easily swayed by his emotion as it changes constantly to new situations like from the Trial, to Eggxile, to the Elections and so on. He is also very empathetic to others and it is the way that he cares about them is what influences the choices he makes based on what HE thinks is best for the situation NOT because someone else told him to.

Notes from outside sources: "An Heir of Heart would have an amazingly well developed sense of compassion and empathy, and in fact may find it hard not to empathize with even the most evil and hurtful of people." -dahniwitchoflight This part connects especially to his friendship with Quackity (both of them), that while he was suspicious of his intentions throughout the debate Slime still sympathises with Quackity because he is his friend and the history they share goes too deep to abandon (psycho4psycho solidarity). Same goes for Slime and q!Foolish during the election debates. He doesn't hold any grudges for him when he understands that his apprehension stems from fear (something Slime has felt many times before).

"ASURA: The Heir of Heart is naturally protected by their splinters. The Heir’s splinters would exist as unruly spirit-like guardians who look out for them. In times of need the Heir can make physical manifestations of their splinters" - creative-classpect I absolutely love this take on splinters and heirs! Especially with Gegg in a way he to Slime acts as a guardian Slime will turn to him on the defensive. Honestly the ideal relationship between Slime and Gegg we might not ever see u_u

"The Heir of Heart is one who inspires change in the emotions and souls of others. They cause people’s emotional state to change for the better. Bringing out good emotions and allowing people to express their inner and true selves." - classpector

Looking more into Gegg's story during the Election arc we see examples of this power through his debates. His speeches inspiring change and consolation amongst other candidate runners to rally against the Federation. Yet at the same time these speeches can evoke fear, bringing out their true nature - like Foolish trying to shoot him, ElQuackity despite being a political rival instinctually diving to protect Gegg, influence on q!BBH to push through his paranoia and support Gegg while he was still in the running thus making that care package. Gegg was able to inspire those around him, and in the long run inspire Slime to one day love and accept every part of himself.

DAPDUO and Psicologoier Therapy Session: An interaction I think often about being the interaction between Slime and q!Roier (Melissa) during the therapy session with Quackity and how well it represents the difference in interactions between two Heart-players (Heir and Witch) and also how well it's a juxtaposition on where these two characters are in life despite having the same aspect. [You can read about q!Roier's classpect HERE]

QUACKITY: Well maybe her (Melissa) more than anybody can understand us. SLIME: Melissa, do you ever think feel like you wanna be someone else? MELISSA: No :3 SLIME: Do you ever wish that you could ever get a fresh start? MELISSA: No ^_^ SLIME: Do you ever think you could be sexy Peter Griffin? I do... MELISSA: Nope! x]c SLIME: Do you ever feel like everyone hates you - because everyone like tells you that they hate you no matter who you try to be it's always wrong? MELISSA: Hm actually! Nope! :D

On one hand for personas such as Melissa, Roier is very attuned to them and works alongside them - whilst with Slime and Gegg it was a constant struggle to maintain control and cooperation until the very end as there were characteristics in both Gegg and Slime that Slime was struggling to accept.

SLIME: WELL MY HOUSE WAS ALREADY ROBBED. I GOT ROBBED OF A DAUGHTER. SO NOW I TRY TO FIND MEANING IN ANYWAY I CAN AND RIGHT NOW THATS FUCKING GEGG. SO IM SORRY IF IM NOT THE SON YOU WANTED ME TO BE!

SLIME: Everyone hates me. Every single person on the server I tried I tried and they all hate Gegg.

Oh shit and also:

SLIME: But... What if there's a chance Gegg really could make a friend, and that takes it away? QUACKITY: Gegg has one friend already - Quackity. SLIME: Then Gegg... Will help the friend that loves Gegg.

Evidence that as a Heir of Heart Slime's emotions can be easily swayed. This comes up again after the QSMP Dinner with ElQuackity showing the difference between the motivations between someone of Heart and someone of Mind who recognises the vulnerability of Heart.

I'm sure there's more things to unpack with that session, not just for Slime but for Quackity and Roier as well and 100% recommend watching it for yourself. Grabbed these from the QuackitytooVODS channel and the session starts at the 1:01:50 mark.

Did an analysis on Dapduo in THIS ask which while doesn't reference classpects it alludes to their dynamic as Heart and Mind.

If you made it this far: congratulations. I'm so sorry.

[tsukarysgrimoire]

Ranting of the day

Beware loooong rant ahead.

There are many things I can't understand, not because I'm stupid, far from it, but simply because I don't think like most people.

All my life I've felt strange, isolated, as if I didn't belong in the world around me. I still do, but at least now I know why, and that's been a great relief. I remember the first time I went to see my psychiatrist, I said to him 'Doctor, I'm not normal' and he replied 'What's normal?', which is a good question, because thanks to him I understood that there isn't a right way of thinking and a wrong way of thinking. We can't control how our brain, our mind, reacts and works. After more than fifteen years of therapy, I have an explanation for why I feel out of step, why I don't think like other people. It's called HPI, which, I've learnt from a little research, doesn't mean that I'm more intelligent than others, but that I'm intelligent in a different way. That my way of thinking doesn't follow the same path as 'normal' people. If a 'normal' person's way of thinking is a highway, then mine is a country road, slowly winding, with many stops to admire the landscape, the trees, the fields… And a lot of junctions leading to other places, other things.

Add to that the fact that I might also be borderline Asperger's and you can see why I'm not cut out to understand things like most people. I react differently to many things. For example, a situation that would move most people can leave me indifferent, and conversely, a situation that most people would ignore can send me into a state of incredible depression or distress. When I was little, my mother used to say to me, 'You'd cry over a dead leaf'!

Probably because of all this, or the fact that I was bullied throughout my schooling for being different, I've also become a hard person who doesn't forgive easily, either myself or others. Loyal to the bone, I can't stand betrayal, or at least what I perceive to be betrayal. And like many people in my situation, I can't stand injustice, or what I perceive to be injustice.

Of course, it's not just about my everyday life, but also about how I perceive the media.

That includes, of course, the show we all love, The Bad Batch.

When they first appeared in The Clones Wars, I can't say I was impressed. Their team was so full of clichés that it was a clichés in itself: the cheap Rambo, the nerdy guy with glasses, the big bully with big arms and a big heart and… the lone sniper. While I was indifferent to the first three, I was drawn to Crosshair, his design, his character, his outspokenness and the fact that he was a sniper. The world saw him as a selfish, proud, indifferent prick, but I saw someone who dared to speak the naked truth, the truth that no one wants to admit, but which is very real. I've read a lot of reactions applauding the fact that Rex punched Crosshair in the face for being so insensitive. But as I see it, it's not Crosshair's fault that Rex is so weak-minded that he can't handle the truth as it is. What Crosshair says may be brutal, but it's the truth.

Crosshair isn't a perfect character, far from it, and that's why I loved him. I'm bored with nice, fearless heroes who can do no wrong. … Even when I was a kid, I liked the 'bad guys' more than the 'good guys'. I seem to particularly like the dark characters, the ones who aren't afraid to do what needs to be done, even if you end up hating them for it.

I hated the first two seasons of the show for that reason. The good heroes running away from the evil empire for no real reason and thinking they're better than they are because they didn't fall into the trap… lol.

Not to mention that I had absolutely no interest in the kid they picked up along the way. She was just an extra we could have done without.

The only reason I watched the show was Crosshair. And I was very disappointed, not only by the show, but also by people's reactions. Of course, everyone's entitled to their opinion, as I am. I'm certainly not going to apologise for it. I'm certainly not going to apologise for thinking differently to the masses, and I'm not going to apologise for making my point like everyone else; the only thing I want to apologise for is arguing about it with other users of the site.

Here's a non-exhaustive list of opinions that annoy me and how I see things.

1- Crosshair's betrayal: Is that so? That's probably the thing I find most pathetic and laughable at the same time. The big bad Crosshair who betrayed his good brothers for an evil Empire…

I don't even know where to start.

If there are traitors in this mess, it's the Batch and Hunter in particular. They're the ones who chose to run off and leave Crosshair behind, they're the ones who decided to ‘forget all about’ Crosshair, thank you Echo, another point that pisses me off, but we'll come back to it later.

Oh yes, ‘but Crosshair was shooting at them’! They're soldiers, it's not the first time they've been shot at, it's their life. I can understand the surprise of seeing their brother turn on them, but I can't understand why they decided to abandon him like a dog. Tech can pride himself on being supra intelligent, he couldn't even realise that Crosshair's actions weren't normal. Like, he's been a pain up until now, true, but he was not dangerous. The empire takes him aside and half an hour later, he's turned against us… No, nothing, it's completely normal, it's part of his severe and unyielding nature…

And if it stopped there…

Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, is done to find Crosshair and help him. In fact, they get to Ord Mantel and it's as if Crosshair never existed. They start their mediocre little lives as errand boys for the lizard and are content with that. They don't even talk about making a plan to save Crosshair, which is strange since they have 99 plans up their sleeves.

In fact, they loved Crosshair so much that just days after abandoning him to his fate without looking back, they gave his comlink to his replacement, and if that's not a sign that they had no intention of saving him, then what is? …

'Yeah, but they don't know where he is'… they didn't know where Tantiss was either, but that didn't stop them wasting 6 months looking for Omega. Whereas for Crosshair… NOTHING! Not even for a second!

'They didn't know about the chips', at least not at first, because once they found out and saw what it was like … well, NOTHING, again. Crosshair was a prisoner of his own mind, and no one cared.

Speaking of the chip, they forgave Wrecker for trying to kill them and their precious Omega, while Crosshair had to prove time and again that he was indeed on their side. 'Yeah, but Wrecker apologised!' … Seriously, you kick your brother out of the house because he didn't apologise for making a mistake? … I don't know what world you live in, but it's definitely not mine.

And speaking of that, Hunter and the Batch never apologized either for abandoning Crosshair and leaving him to fend for himself in enemy territory.

'They had to protect Omega" Oh, really? And how did they do that? By dragging her along on their pointless missions? By exposing her to human traffickers, slavers, murderers, bounty hunters… If they'd really wanted to protect Omega, they'd have left her with Cut and Sue. Not to mention the fact that they put themselves and the girl in danger to save complete strangers who meant absolutely nothing to them, while their own brother… guess what… oh yeah, NOTHING!

2- Tech death is Crosshair's fault. Oh? And how? He was imprisoned and tortured on Tantis while his 'nice' brothers were having a good time on Pabu.

Crosshair risked his life to send his brothers orders to hide and lay low, and what do they do? They go to a council of Empire bigwigs and get caught like rookies.

But of course it's Crosshair's fault.

On the other hand, it's strange that I haven't seen anyone pointing the finger at Guerrera. After all, he's the one who rigged the place with explosives, the one who refused to back down because the lives of a handful of clones were less important than his own personal vendetta.

It's true that Guerrera is a good hero, fighting against the evil empire no matter how many hundreds of innocents he kills in his war.

3- Echo is such a good brother and a mother hen. Are you sure we watched the same show? Because Echo doesn't seem like that to me. He's a bitter, tired man who only stays with the Batch because he has nowhere else to go and feels it's his duty, but as soon as he finds somewhere else and a duty he feels is more important, oof! He's gone without a second thought.

Echo, like Omega, is the odd man out in the Batch, but unlike Omega, he gives no indication that he's really trying to fit in. He's just there, and on several occasions he gives the impression of bitterly regretting it.

Of course, he comes back to lend a hand, no pun intended, when the Batch needs it, but I don't think it's as a sign of brotherhood or belonging, he does it because he feels it's his duty, nothing more. If he really felt part of the Batch, he probably wouldn't have told the others to forget about Crosshair without thinking it through. He who was a prisoner and used against his will to kill his own brothers didn't even have the decency to insist on saving one of his rescuers when Crosshair found himself in the same situation. He didn't give a damn. His interactions with Crosshair are close to absolute zero and as warm and welcoming as the Barton 4 climate!

It takes a lot more than that for me to consider him a 'good brother'…

4- Crosshair is a murderer. I have to admit that this one makes me laugh.

Crosshair is a soldier, a sniper, trained to kill on command. How many soldiers do you know who have never killed? You make me laugh with your reductive value judgements. The Batch was an elite commando unit designed for secret missions that no one else could carry out. Do you really think they never killed? Hell, the first thing we learn about them in the Clone Wars is that they killed a Yalbec queen for a 'minor uprising'… That alone proves they've got blood on their hands, all of them.

Crosshair does bad things, I'm well aware of that. Inexcusable, perhaps. But who do you think is the killer? The one who gives the order, or the weapon that carries it out? Because that's all Crosshair is to the Empire. A weapon.

He orders his men to shoot innocent people in Guererra's camp, that's right, and kills one of his men for refusing. At this point, he's still under the influence of the chip, a good little soldier, loyal to the death. And yes, he kills that separatist woman, but what do you think would have happened if he hadn't? He and Cody and every clone in their unit would have been executed for treason. Not to mention, if that woman hadn't been killed, there's a good chance the Empire would have wiped out the entire planet. Is sacrificing one life to save millions of others such a bad choice?

He kills Nolan in cold blood. So? Don't tell me you don't die for it too.

He kills his unit on Kamino. If he hadn't, what do you think would have happened? Crosshair didn't want to kill his brothers, he wanted them to join him, and that wouldn't have been possible if the Imperials had stayed alive. Granted, it wasn't the best method, but it was his way of showing that he didn't give a damn about those men and only wanted his brothers.

For all the good it did him.

5- The Kamino Fiasco. While we're on the subject…

Again, I have so much to say about this that one post wouldn't be enough.

Yet another moment that many have summarised as 'Crosshair's Betrayal'. Once again, it makes me laugh out loud. For an entire season, the Batch ignored Crosshair, except when he was right under their noses. Kamino is the height of their stupidity. Not only did they never do anything to help Crosshair out of the mess they left him in, but now they're rushing to save poor little Hunter from the great danger of his traitorous brother… What do you think went through Crosshair's mind at that moment? When he realised that he wasn't even worth saving, but the whole gang was rushing to Hunter's rescue? That complete strangers who meant absolutely nothing to the Batch were more worth saving than he was?

I, too, would have taken it badly, and I, too, would have let my anger show.

Especially as the Batch's behaviour was far from stellar. They spend literally two whole episodes blaming Crosshair for everything, insulting him, showing him how much they despise him, how happy they are without him with his replacement, how useless he is to them.

"If you had come back to us, we would have taken you back" … yes, and how? when he was being watched day and night by Rampart and his gang. When the chip was still there to distort his thinking. How? When the first thing you do when you see him is point your guns at him?

The Batch treated Crosshair worse than a dog. That moment when he and Omega were freed from the flooded room and I-don't-know-who rushed in to hug Omega as Hunter stopped Crosshair's slide with a kick is still stuck in my throat. Is that how good brothers are? … Well, with a family like that, there's no need for enemies!

And when he saves the little princess from drowning and is thanked by having three blasters aimed at his back, that's family?

The Batch treated Crosshair so well, they were so understanding, so welcoming, so forgiving, that Crosshair had no choice but to stay with the Empire. Not because he wanted to - his reaction to the Marauder's departure proves he's disappointed in his so-called family - but because it's the only place he has left. I remain convinced that if those fools had done otherwise, Crosshair would have gone with them. But alas…

I too would have chosen the Empire in those circumstances.

By the way, I don't know if you noticed, but the ONLY time Hunter and the Batch take Crosshair at his word is when he claims he doesn't have his chip. It's the ONLY time nobody asks any questions or Hunter believes what Crosshair says and takes it at face value. No one is even suggesting that the Empire can lie, not even the ultra-intelligent Tech. No, they just take his word for it, and that's the end of it. They don't even try to see if it's true...

6- Hunter. I didn't like Hunter in The Clone Wars, he was too much of a caricature, but in The Bad Batch I really hated him.

Don't be fooled, Hunter and the Batch are not nice little heroes because they ran away from the big bad Empire. Their decision was stupid and nothing could support it. Tarkin sent them to destroy a rebel camp and instead they came across refugees. SO? Does that prove the Empire is evil? No, it just proves that Tarkin had access to bad information, and I'm sure that happened a lot during the war. Especially if you're a secret squad and you're probably doing illegal things in the name of the Republic, like the rebellion on Yalbec!

Crosshair's reaction, even though influenced by the chip, is the most normal in my opinion. At the stage where Hunter and his gang are running away like cowards, there's still no incontrovertible proof that the Empire is evil, and no proof that the Jedi are innocent. From the clones' point of view, of course. To conclude that the Empire is evil after a single mission that could have just been bad intelligence is unjustified. Sure, we know what it is, but the clones and the galaxy do NOT. At least not yet. It would have seemed a lot less artificial, a lot less "scenarium", if the Batch had stayed around for a while, maybe all the way to Kamino, until they realised the truth and then thought, "OK, that's it, we're out of here". But for them to decide on their own that the Empire is evil after only three days… No, that's just stupid.

Hunter acting like a complete idiot at the beginning of the third season sums up what's been going on all along. You can make excuses for his behaviour, he has none for me. He betrayed his brother, never did anything to save him, as the Kamino episodes prove. As long as Hunter is there, no one moves, but as soon as Hunter is gone, a rescue team is launched, not for Crosshair, but for the Great Leader himself. If that isn't proof that it was Hunter who prevented any rescue attempts…

Not only has he behaved like an idiot throughout the series, but he's got the nerve to ask for explanations… Crosshairs owes him nothing, and certainly no explanations. He did nothing, nothing, he just went with the flow, because with the Republic gone and no one to give him orders, poor little Hunter was so lost he didn't even know how to be a soldier anymore.

Hunter is a hypocrite, he claims he didn't want to put his team in danger from Crosshair, but he doesn't mind putting them in danger from everything else. If I had a sharp tongue, I'd say that Hunter was glad to get rid of Crosshair because he was the only one who dared to open his mouth and tell Hunter what he thought. The rest are just well-trained dogs.

He leaves Crosshair to his fate, just as he leaves the Regs to theirs. Basically, he's a free man and doesn't give a damn about the rest.

It's also funny to note that once Omega is with them, the Batch becomes almost useless. Gone is the 100% success rate, they no longer know how to fight, how to strategise, how to be soldiers.

And his favouritism towards Omega is just sickening. She's the little darling, she comes before everyone and everything, to the point where on several occasions she's the one giving the orders and Hunter follows them without batting an eyelid. Hunter does for Omega what he refused to do for Crosshair and many others. After Tech, the main instigator of a reaction in Crosshair's favour, is dead, Hunter spends SIX LONG MONTHS looking everywhere for his beloved Omega, but for Crosshair nothing, not even a minute of his precious time. He didn't look for him when he fled the Empire, and he doesn't look for him after Eriadu. All he cares about is Omega, the rest of the universe can die for all he cares.

Maybe that's normal for you, but not for me.

I don't expect you to share my opinion, far from it, and you can call me crazy or stupid, it doesn't matter. I'm not saying it is THE truth, but it is MY truth. Since everyone is so open with their opinions, I've decided to be too. I'm biased, I know that and I don't care. You may not like it, you may hate me for the way I see things, it's your opinion.

If you feel like arguing, know that you won't change my mind, just as my post probably hasn't changed yours.

[beehiveofblorbos]

Wait if I can ask you for any character breakdown, then can you break down Tsurugi Kinjo? No pressure ofc

Sure! I’m pretty glad you asked this anyway, in retrospect. I should clarify a few things.

When I watched DRA the first time, Tsurugi Kinjo was, for me, a fairly likable character. In the first chapter, he was simply the type who kept order, which was fine but not really a draw for me personally. After all, I don’t see him as adorably earnest as Taka is, and I was biased towards the Impostor from the start.

The second chapter is when he got interesting to me. I liked him going in, and his “preliminary criminal” concept, as well as how psycho/determined he was to stop the killing game. It added a layer of interest and conflict to the group dynamic that entertained me. To see him as a protective character was cool too!

But I couldn’t see how he would be allowed to continue on like this, and certainly not for long. So I thought he’d die (a lot, really, kept guessing it until ch4 began) and then he didn’t and got EVEN MORE INTERESTING with his conflict with Akane. I didn’t hate him for that, I actually liked him a lot for it.

Through ch3 and ch4, he gained my favor even more. I really liked this character who was earnestly offering his investigations, working very hard, and coming to intelligent conclusions. His special treatment of Yuki also grew on me, their relationship development is very endearing. Even when Tsurugi cut Yuki off in ch4, it was for a very understandable reason - he had been going against his principles by bonding with Yuki, so seeing them snap apart like that made sense for his character even as it was heartbreaking for them both. His commitment to preventing a murder, even losing his mind to that crazy point of killing everyone by suicide was kind of a point where I had to momentarily reconsider… but I forgave Teruya and Haruhiko, so after some time before continuing, I forgave Tsurugi too and viewed that scene as an interesting perversion of his beliefs, and somewhat revealing that he does think people should die before committing crimes.

When he tried to kill himself,,, well, I watched DRA back before the winter of 2022. I had missed him a lot during ch5, and was incredibly panicked and worried about his health. Then he woke up at the end of ch5, having grown beyond his previous principles. I would say at that point on the first watch, my favorites list looked like this: Yuki, then Rei, then Tsurugi, then Akane, then Teruya. Pretty shocking, right? Haha. I want to emphasize through saying this how high I viewed Tsurugi at that time. It was a great move for his character.

But then, “Yuki Maeda” is Utsuro after all. Because of that, Tsurugi became broken. I don’t know if you remember this scene, but Tsurugi returned to the path he’d walked before. Even though he knew it was wrong in his heart, he was driven into a “despairing hope”. Like “Yuki Maeda”, Tsurugi Kinjo is a true tragedy.

For me who had loved him so much specifically for his character development, I couldn’t accept this. I was unable to “root for” him anymore. It is easy for me to like characters who have morally wrong attitudes or ideals. But Tsurugi Kinjo is criminally frustrating for me.

To be honest, he’s probably the character you have the best chance of trying to convince me to like more. I understand that he’s a good story, a good “tragedy”. But I just. Gah, why did things turn out like that for him? It was even difficult trying to reconnect or retap into that time, I’d put up so many mental blocks without rewatching that I couldn’t take it down until now.

Ah, I’ll answer the rest of that post too. I’ll put it under a cut though since this was already quite long.

Forgive the big font below! I couldn’t figure out how to change it. And the poll is because I clicked the wrong button but don’t feel like doing the copy paste game.

[billpottsismygf]

So, I've just watched The Talons of Weng Chiang and I am somewhat surprised and conflicted because, in many ways, I absolutely loved it. All I knew of it previously is that it's infamous for being the most racist Doctor Who story of all time, so it would be nice and simple if I could just write it off as a terrible story, but I can't.

Addressing the good first, it's a very well told story with a lot of atmosphere and a great sense of location in Victorian London. The script is tight and witty and delightful, with so many bits of dialogue that made me laugh out loud. It's also particularly well-paced for a six-parter. I never once felt like it was dragging! It also has brilliant characters. Jago and Litefoot are delightful, as is Casey, and it's even got an adorable giant sewer rat! Even Chang is surprisingly sympathetic and I was quite saddened by his end.

It's funny that the origin of Jago & Litefoot as a Big Finish duo is about the only other thing I knew about this story, and they don't meet at all for the first 4 and a half episodes. When they do meet, though, their dynamic is extremely enjoyable so maybe I ought to listen to some of their audios. I also went down a rabbit hole because I was sure I recognised Christopher Benjamin (who plays Jago) and boy do I! Turns out that he has had two other roles in Doctor Who (Sir Keith in Inferno and the Colonel in The Unicorn and the Wasp), as well as being Sir Lucas in the 1995 Pride and Prejudice (the superior one imo) and was in three episodes of The Avengers (one I don't really remember, one I remember a bit, and one which is one of my favourite episodes of the whole show). No wonder he seemed familiar!

I love the Fourth Doctor's humour and charisma as always, and it's particularly enjoyable seeing him get to be a Sherlock Holmes insert here, and I also love how much action Leela gets to do. I actually think Leela is becoming one of my favourite companions in the whole show. She's not experienced in time travel or things that might be regarded as civilised (eg. cutlery), but she's quick on the uptake and principled and always ready for a fight. I love her getting to physically fight people, sharpen knives, practice swinging cricket bats, come up with tactical moves etc., all in Victorian garb. She straight up kills a dude this serial! She's such a fresh take on the companion, one which could have been done badly (sexy savage) but is actually extremely charming.

Unfortunately, the portrayal of the Chinese characters is... yeah, not great. There is a precedent in Classic Who of white actors playing people of colour and it's interesting that this story gets more heat for it than, say, Marco Polo or The Aztecs. It's obviously not okay in any of them, but I think there are a few reasons that this is the one that gets called out the most. One is simply that the 60s episodes are probably seen by fewer people nowadays, especially the missing ones like Marco Polo. Another is a suspicion I have that the nature of the 60s episodes being in black and white distances us from it, both in it being less visible and seeming like longer ago (eg. the slightly darker skin tone they give Patrick Troughton in The Enemy of the World as Salamander isn't as noticeable as it would have been in colour). Relatedly, perhaps we're a little more forgiving of the 60s for this, when by the late 70s we feel it should have stopped. Finally, though, it may just be because the way they go about it in The Talons of Weng Chiang is one of the more uncomfortable examples.

Specifically, the thing that makes it worse than other examples in Doctor Who is the fact that they use prosthetics to try and make this obviously white man look Chinese. The way his eyes and forehead bulge out so they could create epicanthic folds is positively grotesque. His performance, while relatively restrained when compared to other offensive Chinese caricatures, also includes a Chinese accent, which absolutely does not help. Additionally, although there are at least Asian actors playing the less central Chinese characters, the two masked characters who are not technically meant to be actual Chinese humans but are still part of the whole Orientalist thing going on (Mr Sin and Weng Chiang), are also played by non-Chinese actors.

Even if all the Chinese characters had been cast appropriately, there is still an issue with the sterotyped, exoticised and demonised portrayal of Chinese culture. I'm not qualified to dive into the intricacies of that, but when your villains for a story are Chinese and you have them portrayed mainly as exotic and scheming, and also have the white Victorian characters saying racist things about them unchallenged, it's not a great look. As I said above, at least Chang ends up as a pretty sympathetic character and, despite everything, I found myself somewhat moved by John Bennett's performance near the end, but it counts for very little when it's done through this pantomime mask of yellowface.

I don't know. It's very hard to have a definitive opinion on this one because it's for the most part a very good Doctor Who story, but that in no way excuses its racism. I think it's one of those your-mileage-may-vary situations with how much you can mentally separate yourself from the latter to enjoy the former. I totally understand why someone might decide that this one is irredeemable, but I am also very used at this point to watching and enjoying Problematic Media - including many old movies and tv shows - while simultaneously criticising its problems. Ultimately, my opinion matters not at all in terms of whether it is Morally Acceptable to enjoy this story, so I can only really decide for myself how comfortable I feel about it. Anyway, I can't recommend this one without a hundred caveats, but overall I had a far better time with it than I was expecting.

Misc small things There was a mention of time agents, which is fascinating. I know I haven't seen a chunk of the Third Doctor, but to my knowledge and memory this is the first mention of a time agency. I had no idea that was a thing before 2005! Positive mentions of my hometown, hell yeah!

[d0d0-b0i]

(SPOILER FILLED) alrighty, time for some more cohesive thoughts on prime for me (since my last one was written directly after finishing it and now its had time to sit in my brain) (long post btw, i ramble @w@)

overall, i very much enjoyed it! the animation had me positively salivating over the fact that its /actually/ using animation techniques and not just. moving characters from A to B without the time for proper stylization. the overall plot was enjoyable and i am excited to see what the rest of the season will offer.

the fact that it is only one-third of the whole season also makes me a lot more forgiving about certain flaws i found at first, like only showing three worlds and not giving the characters a lot of time to breathe. theres the very high likelihood that such a thing actually will happen, and we might even see more places and worlds, which is an exciting thought! nonetheless, going in i did not know this as i was sleep deprived and had forgotten how many episodes the season has, so i felt a little bit salty, ngl.

Devon Mack does a very good job as sonic, and it makes me feel warm inside hearing his portrayal! every actor does a great job honestly, and it truly feels like they all understand the respective character they voice act(especially considering they have to acclimate the character /and/ voice for each new world. very talented!). the eggman voice actor could use some rerecords at times honestly;; but he does a good enough job that i only notice it sometimes; and he is fun to listen to regardless, and is just a subjective thought of mine.

the different universes also intrigue me! :D i really enjoyed the first one the jungle one was interesting and had beautiful flora models, but it is with this one that a problem of mine arises (but ill get to that later). the waterworld was also interesting, but kind of boring worldwise, since its just. water. (i get that its a pirate world and thats fine! i just cant give a good description of my feelings besides just. water. yknow?)

ive seen that a lot of people think rouge shouldve been the captain in the third world and. honestly. yeah. i think we might get to see why later on? but idk. i hope they have a reason that makes sense as to why she isnt, like if the worlds stick around and dont fuse back, shed be the next captain? weh! (i do love knuckles in a captains outfit though, so bonus points for that!)

now. i only have a few “criticisms”, and although some can be attributed to not being intended for me(and i will therefore not include cus. duh), there is one thing i just cannot let slip by.

(CRITIQUE START) the issue i have is that it feels so empty. new yolk (i refuse the yoke) is populated, but later episodes only really reuse the same five models roughly multiple times and i think had at most like 30? of them at the same time, and obviously could not have had more due to budget and such (which is understandable, but that still doesnt mean i cant point it out).

the jungle episodes! THE JUNGLE EPISODES?? ONLY HAD 5?? CHARACTERS MINUS SONIC (froggy counts) AT ALL TIMES?? and even the flashbacks only show those, probably so as not to imply death but like. come on. not even a few background characters at all? am i meant to believe they will all die out anyway simply by being the last people on this earth? im sorry i just cant get over this. you can make sean mcloughlin, mr jacksepticeye, get a cameo and his own personal character model, BUT CANNOT EVEN FILL A JUNGLE WITH PEOPLE?? did i miss something? if theyd shown even /one/ bg character once in a single frame in the flashbacks, id forgive it but i. cannot. im sorry. im nitpicking but come on! this is like the only issue i have. you only have 11 of the original characters in the first place (sonic. tails. knuckles. amy. rouge. big. froggy. shadow. eggman. orbot. cubot.), and then half of them are pretty much gone most of the time.

i just. its so empty? DO NOT GET ME WRONG I HATE WHEN THAT HAPPENS. I DEEPLY ENJOY THIS SHOW! I LOVE THE CHARACTERS WEVE GOTTEN TO SEE !!! THAT DOES NOT MEAN I CANNOT COMPLAIN ABOUT SOMETHING I HAD TROUBLE PROCESSING. if its gonna be a show about sonic and his friendships. where the fuck are the rest of them? is all we’re gonna get homages to their characters? (jungle knuckles was just sticks. come on now. just put her in shes already canon to the mainline games now) sega, if youre going to make a show about his friendships, why wont you let his friends be there? why can you only license 11 of your characters to the show? please make me eat my words.

and yeah you could say that the reasons others arent there (in-canon, not because of legal issues) is because they werent hit close-up with the prism shatter, but neither was big? he was shown to be down by the hills when it exploded, and i dont know if that counts considering that orbot and cubot arent even in any episode besides the first one, and they werent visible in the blast, i do not know what the blast radius would be to affect anything else. eugh. idk man. this is like the ONE issue i have, and its so small it feels meaningless. yeah yeah the budget the tight grip on characters yadda yadda i get the reasons behind it but it still affects the endgoal and i should be allowed to point it out.                                                                                                                     (CRITIQUE OVER)

that being said. i am in love with the character designs! especially a big fan of sonics gloves and shoes in the pirate world. i fuck w/ that very much <3

anyway, thats it. show good. binge it if possible! we need netflix to know that we like this. and maybe theyll realize that one episode per week for this show would be perfect (im looking at you episode recaps)

[adogonstilts]

In the Shadow of Forgiveness

So I've started a new series before finishing my old one, as per usual. This one is based of off Hogwarts Legacy, because the Sallows deserved better and the game just leaves way too many stones unturned. I don't expect all the chapters to be this long, but the first two are. I might restructure them later but for now, I need to get it out of the vacuum in my head and into the world. If you prefer, you can check it out here on AO3!

Also, as this is Harry Potter related, I want to state that while I like the HP series and I really enjoyed the game, I am extremely disillusioned with J.K.R. as an individual. Her books gave her an enormous platform that she repeatedly uses to spread hate and transphobia, while also trying to gain brownie points by throwing in her character's sexual orientation as an afterthought. Her actions have hurt many people who may want nothing to do with the HP series for that reason. I completely understand this. Please do not engage with this fic if you do not feel comfortable. I simply wanted to write about a piece of media that I enjoyed, and I truly believe that the series has evolved and outgrown the bigoted views of it's creator.

With that, please enjoy the first chapter.

Chapter 1 - Harlow's Last Stand

Max has just stepped out from Olivander’s when Natty’s letter arrives.  

Meet me near Manor Cape after nightfall. I received an interesting owl from Johanna Bickle about Harlow. 

- Natty 

Max frowns, Natty’s owl perched on her arm. Manor Cape is a fair distance away – whatever lead Natty has must be big. Though, she wouldn't be surprised if someone had managed to catch Harlow with his trousers down; they'd been disrupting Ashwinder operations left and right, and Rookwood and Harlow had yet to deal a solid blow in return. She would've expected the two of them to be tearing up the countryside, looking for leads or people to extort, but they'd been oddly scarce. 

The owl flies off with a flap of mottled brown wings. Max tucks the letter into her pocket and starts down the street, heading for the nearest floo flame. She'll meet Natty at the cape tonight – something tells her Rookwood doesn't plan to stay quiet for much longer.   

•°•°•

“Lil’ Natsai Onai, isn’t it?” he rumbles, voice rougher than gravel. His eyes slide to Max, and his nose wrinkles like she's something on the bottom of his shoe. “And her excruciatingly loyal mutt, Maxine Masters.” 

The letter didn't come from Mrs. Bickle. Obviously. Max and Natty figure that much out before they go walking into a trap. In typical Gryffindor fashion, they decide the best course of action is to rush headfirst into it anyways– though Natty has the good sense to send an owl to Officer Singer first. 

A light rain has started, warm with spring but still wet, soaking into the ground and dampening their clothes as Max follows Natty up the muddy trek to the manor. While undoubtedly quite lavish in its time, it's clear that no one has lived here in years. Large sections of the walls and roof have caved in, and the front grounds, enclosed by tall ramparts, are overgrown with weeds and wildflowers. Despite the rain – or more likely, due to some enchantment – the braziers lining the walkways are all lit, and the manor's dilapidated windows glow with soft yellow light. 

Unsurprisingly, Harlow is the one waiting for them, perched on the landing leading up to the manor entrance. He regards them idly as they approach, rain dripping off the brim of his atrocious green bowler.

Max flicks him the fingers, heartbeat quickening in her chest. The fact that it's just Harlow is somehow worse than if the place had been crawling with Ashwinders. Her hand moves to the wand at her hip.

Natty glares up at him, chin raised. “I was beginning to think we had scared you off,” she snaps back. “How brave of you to finally show your face.” 

“Pleasure’s all mine,” Harlow says, mouth curling smugly. “After all, you two have done quite a bit of damage to my business interests. What was once a mere annoyance has become… remarkably problematic.” He chuckles, casually holding up his wand – a gnarled, bone-white thing. “Fortunately, I pride myself on my… problem solving skills.” 

Max takes note of the debris scattered about the yard – some crates, a few barrels. A solid-looking anvil, poking out of the weeds. More than enough to throw around with ancient magic. “I’m curious, Harlow,” she begins conversationally, “what ‘damaged your business interests’ more? When we freed those hippogriffs? Or was it when you lost your hideout in Hogsmeade?” 

The humor slides off Harlow's face. He snarls, showing the gaps in his too-small teeth. “I've not forgotten your escapades, Maxine. Mark my words, you'll regret crossing us  – ”

Natty takes a fiery step forward, drawing her wand. “You are going to regret what you did to Mr. Bickle.”

“And what you tried to do to Archie!” Max bristles. 

“Oh, for the love of – ” Harlow groans, pinching the bridge of his crooked nose. “This is why I can't stand children. Always banging on with your altruistic grandstanding. D’ya have any idea what it takes to run an empire?” 

Max scoffs. “Run it into the ground, maybe.” From what she's seen, Harlow’s about as much of a businessman as Headmaster Black is an educator. Three nifflers in a trenchcoat would be more efficient at their jobs. 

Harlow leans over the railing so he can better sneer at her. “I suppose this is all just a bit of fun to you, isn't it?” he asks snidely. “Wonder if you'll still be laughing when the whole fuckin’ world is run by goblins – ”

“Enough.” Natty cuts him off. She brandishes her wand. “I have been waiting a long time for this, Mr. Harlow. Let us settle things now.” 

Max braces herself, hand on her own wand. A tense moment of silence passes, during which Harlow glares at them like he wants nothing more than to eviscerate them for sport. But he doesn't attack. 

“Oh, come now, Natsai,” a new, gratingly familiar voice says. “Surely there's no need for such theatrics.” 

A stone drops in Max's stomach as Victor Rookwood steps to the front of the landing, silhouetted by his ridiculous top-hat and embroidered mauve coat. Natty makes a disgusted sound, and Max couldn't agree more – just looking at the pompous little slimeball is enough to make her nauseous.  

“We’re all wizards here, after all.” Rookwood gives them what he clearly thinks to be a charming smile as he saunters down the landing staircase, Harlow trailing behind him like a large, lumbering shadow. “In light of what Ranrok now knows, you must agree that our interests are… aligned.” 

Max blinks at him, baffled. There's no way he's doing this. She saw how quickly he turned on Ranrok in the mines. She pulls her wand from its sheath and points it at him. “Our interests will never be aligned.”

Rookwood’s brow creases. “You would let goblins take what is rightfully ours? The repository belongs to wizardkind.” He stops at the bottom of the stairs, smile turning strained. “We would be fools not to work together.” 

Natty shoots her a questioning look, probably wondering what the hell he's on about. That's a conversation to be had later. If this was Rookwood's genius plan, then she and Natty will have no choice but to fight. 

“We didn't come here to listen to your sales pitch,” – Max jabs the point of her wand at him, glaring – “We’re here to put an end to you.”

“Sales pitch?” Rookwood seethes, composure suddenly withering. “That repository is my birthright!”  

“Charles Rookwood wouldn't have wanted you near it!” 

Rookwood stares at her, nostrils flaring. He taps his wand against his palm, clearly trying to reign his temper in. “I should've known better than to try to reason with a child,” he spits, venom dripping from every word. “It's like I've always said; children should be seen and not heard.” 

Max pauses, wand lowering. She's heard that before. Where –

Her heart stops in her throat. Anne. Anne had heard those words, right before she was cursed. The Sallows had always assumed it was Ranrok’s Loyalists, but…

Max looks at Rookwood, and she knows. 

It was you. 

Her rage mounts, swelling like an angry tide. All this time, he was right here. Anne has been suffering pointlessly. Sebastian has been watching his sister die, chasing after goblins and useless relics, and Rookwood was right here –  

“Bombarda!” She fires straight for Rookwood’s head. A look of surprise flash across his face before he throws up a shield charm, but it shatters under the force of her spell, knocking him back against the stairs. With a burst of ancient magic, Max rips the anvil from the ground, swinging it behind her head in a deadly arc. 

In the edge of her vision, she sees Harlow, wand pointed at her. Max grits her teeth. She’ll take it, she doesn't care – 

“Depulso!” Natty’s shout comes  from beside her, and Harlow goes rocketing backwards into one of the ramparts. The anvil slams down just as Rookwood vanishes, smashing into the stairs hard enough to crack stone. Max curses. Damn apparition. 

“Thanks for the save,” Max says. Natty moves to stand behind her. 

“I have your back.” She bumps her elbow against Max’s ribs, almost playfully. “You handle Rookwood, and I will handle Harlow.” 

Max feels a surge of gratitude – and grim determination. She owes Natty a long explanation of everything, after this is over. 

The Ashwinders are upon them then, emerging from around the sides of the manor. A dozen, at least, clad in dark robes, their faces covered by an assortment of animalistic masks. Max spots Rookwood on the other side of the grounds, safely out of basting range. If she had to guess, Harlow is probably up by now, too.  

She presses against Natty’s back, blood rushing in her ears. It doesn't matter. Rookwood can hide behind as many bodies as he likes – sooner or later, every last one of them will fall. 

•°•°•

For what feels like the millionth time since this awful fight started, Max raises her wand arm, voice raw in her throat. “Confringo!” 

The Ashwinder doesn't react fast enough; a fiery bolt from the blasting curse throws him back against the gateside wall. He slumps to the ground and doesn't get back up. 

Max drops her arm to her side, chest heaving. Wet strands of hair hang in her face. Her robes are slick and heavy with mud. This is ridiculous. Where does Rookwood find these people? He can't possibly be paying them enough for this. She turns to see who's left, how many more they have to go, but she doesn't spot any more Ashwinders. 

What she does see is Natty, going blow for blow with Harlow in front of the manor, and her heart jumps to her throat.

Natty’s face is hard as she casts spell after spell, sparks flying in the air between them. “Why so quiet, Mr. Harlow?” she goads, nastier than Max has ever heard her. “You had so much to say when you had your men to hide behind!” 

One of her casts strikes Harlow on the shoulder, and the look he gives her in return is positively murderous. “Tenacious, aren't we?” he snarls. “It'll be a shame to see all that potential go to waste.” 

Oh, absolutely not. Max levels her wand at him. “Confrin – ” 

The hair on the back of her neck stands up, and some primal instinct has her rolling out of the way before she fully knows what's happening. There's a flash of light as something hits the ground where she'd been, splattering chunks of mud into the air. Max springs to her feet, looking for where the blast had come from  – 

“Ah-ah,” Rookwood tuts from a few paces away. The tip of his wand glows hot with magic. “It's rude to interrupt. Didn’t your mother teach you manners?” 

“Didn’t yours ever tell you she loved you?” Max hisses back – at least he's saved her the trouble of finding him. She steps into her dueling stance. “Fine, then. I'll deal with you first.” 

They both strike at the same time, their spells glancing off each other in mid-air. Max gives a frustrated yell and slashes at him with the severing charm, but Rookwood diverts it with a swipe of his wand. She tries again, casting several times in rapid succession. All of them bounce harmlessly off of Protego, and she only barely manages to sidestep the stunning spell he counters with.

Anger roils in her stomach. The rapid beating of her heart is so loud that she almost can’t hear anything else. “Confringo!” she shouts, wand etching frenzied patterns in the air. “Depulso! Bombarda! Descendo!” 

Rookwood, slippery eel that he is, slides out of the way of each attack. “You know,” he drawls in his slimy, disgusting voice, “for such a major thorn in my side, I thought you’d be more trouble.”

Max glares at him, breathing heavily. Every muscle in her body is taut as a bowstring. “Don’t worry,” she says, lifting a nearby crate with a flick of her wand. “I’m just getting started.” 

She raises her arm to throw, but Rookwood is quicker. A streak of light hurtles towards her, and Max can’t get herself to move in time. It hits her in the chest, knocking the air from her lungs. She lands hard on her shoulder – the left one, thankfully – her head smacking against the ground. Stars burst across her vision, and Max sucks in a breath. Merlin's bloody balls – 

Cold, wet mud seeps into her hair. Max sits up, wincing at the sharp ache in her shoulder. Her temple throbs. Distantly, she hears Rookwood laugh. 

“I had no idea you were so pathetic,” he says, sounding vaguely amused. “I was a fool to think we could work together.” 

Max digs her fingers into the mud, wand gripped tightly in her hand. “At least we can agree on that,” she spits, getting to her feet. 

You’re no help to anyone if you die being an idiot, she reminds herself. Fight smarter. For Anne.

Rookwood casts again. Max steadies herself, blocking with Protego. They go back and forth, spells flying in the air between them. Max weaves around Rookwoods attacks as she looks for openings, managing to slip a few spells past his defenses before retreating backwards. She can feel herself tiring, her movements becoming sluggish as she blocks and dodges around spells. The earlier fight with the Ashwinders had taken more out of her than she’d thought.

At some point, she becomes aware of Natty close behind her, vigorously shouting incantations as she battles with Harlow. Max backs up until they're almost touching. “Natty,” she pants in between attacks, breath scraping harshly down her throat. “How are you faring?” 

“Tired,” Natty says, and she sounds as much. Max hears the crackle of something hitting her shield. “But I am not done yet. We must finish what we started.” 

“We will,” Max promises. They don't have much of a choice. 

A spark of light races towards them, and Max barely gets a shield up in time. Rookwood glowers at her, face twisted up in anger. 

“What are you scheming over there? Have time to chat and fight, do we?” His voice grates against her ears, and Max can feel herself getting more irritated with every word. Rookwood raises his wand again. “You arrogant little – ” 

“Piss off!” Max launches a barrel at him. It must catch him off guard, because he doesn’t even try to block it – it knocks him off his feet with a hollow-sounding thunk and sends him skidding backwards across the mud.

“Arresto Momentum!” Natty shouts behind her, and Max can only trust that it stops Harlow. She winds up for another strike at Rookwood when Natty’s arm suddenly bars her shoulders. Max looks back at her, startled. 

“What are you – ”

“We are both letting our emotions get the best of us,” Natty says. She pushes Max towards Harlow, who is currently moving with all the terrifying speed of a glacier. “Time for a change.” 

She’s gone before Max can get a word in, diving after Rookwood like a hawk swooping in for the kill. Max leaves her to it, turning to face Harlow just as the slowing charm wears off. 

“Seems we're switching partners,” Max informs him politely. “Lucky for you, isn't it? Natty was giving you a proper arse-kicking.” 

Harlow looks past her, where Natty had run off to. Then his eyes settle back on her, and he scowls. “I'll show you an arse-kickin’.”

Max winces, and it's only partly for show. “Oof. May want to stick to your business interests, Harlow.”

He goes after her with a shout, but with her head back on her shoulders, she has no problem blocking and dodging around his spells. Which is good, because what Harlow lacks in finesse, he makes up for in sheer strength – she can feel the weight of his attacks as they crash against her shield, pushing her heels further into the mud. 

Harlow laughs in between slinging spells like a madman. “You fight like a Muggle,” he jeers.

Max breathes a snort as she deflects again, and the impact reverberates up her entire arm. “Then why are you having so much trouble?” 

“I'm not having trouble, you little – ” Harlow cuts himself off with an aggravated sound, sending a bolt of fire streaking towards her – and though he'd cast nonverbally, Max would recognize Confringo anywhere. She darts out of the way, biting back a smile. So easy. 

“Are you sure?” she asks. “Because it seems like you're having trouble. I can't tell if you're trying to kill me or if you just want to dance.” Max punctuates the last word by casting at him, mostly just to be irritating. Harlow deflects it with a little too much force.

“I can get serious if you want,” he says, “but I don't want to hear no whinin’.” 

Harlow flicks his wand in a jagged motion, followed by a shout of “Crucio!” A shock of red lightning arcs towards her, like deadly, grasping fingers. Max skirts to the side, using a burst of ancient magic to speed up her movement. Crucio. How crass. The memory of the Scriptorium has faded some, but that pain is something she'll never forget. Getting hit by that would mean the end of the fight for sure.

Another crackle of red light reaches towards her. She dodges, this time in the opposite direction. Harlow doesn't bother to hide his irritation. “Are you just gonna flash around the whole time?” 

Nope. Their fight has driven them back towards the staircase, where they first started. Max points her wand. “Accio!” 

Harlow’s shield comes up, but the summoning charm whizzes right past him. A look of surprise flashes across his face, quickly replaced by amusement. He turns to her with a triumphant guffaw, shield evaporating. “You missed, you fuckin’ – ”

His mouth is forcibly shut when the anvil she'd thrown at Rookwood earlier collides with the back of his head. Harlow staggers, but he doesn't fall. In one fluid motion, Max swings the anvil around her head, finishing its orbit by slamming it into his side, sending him crashing against the columns beneath the landing. 

Max regards him coldly as he rolls into his hands and knees, heaving. “Missed, did I?” 

Harlow glares up at her, looking royally pissed. “Don't get so full of yourself, you daft bint. You think you're the first to try and bring me to Azkaban?” He clambers to his feet, swaying slightly. A slow trail of blood runs from his forehead down the side of his face. “Prissy lil’ Hogwarts snobs… always stickin’ your noses where they don't belong. But you're in over your head with this one. Should’ve stayed in school.” 

Above them, thunder rolls in the darkened clouds.

Max raises her wand to the sky, magic buzzing beneath her skin. “You forget, Harlow,” she says, “on top of being a Hogwarts snob, I’m also an excruciatingly loyal mutt.”

She brings her arm down like a gavel. A bolt of lighting descends from the sky, tearing through Harlow’s body. The sound is explosive, like a cannon firing. Harlow’s back bows, mouth open in a silent scream as it arcs through him. The lightning fizzles out, and Harlow crumples to the ground, wand rolling out of his hand. 

Max slumps forward, all the energy rushing out of her. That had definitely been too much. She steps towards him, intending to finish the fight, when Rookwood staggers into her peripheral. 

A jolt of panic shoots through her. She goes to raise a shield, but he seems to be preoccupied with surviving Natty, who's onslaught of attacks has pushed him back against the manor. He's so covered in mud that his coat has completely changed color, and he's also – notably – hattless, which feels a bit like seeing someone without glasses for the first time. 

“I see now why you wear that ugly thing,” Natty says, cutting. She halts her attack and moves closer to Max, though her wand never leaves Rookwood. Max turns her wand on him as well, the sound of her breath harsh against her ears. Natty catches her eye, and Max nods. All good.

Natty gives her a small smile before her attention returns to Rookwood. “It's over,” she tells him. “You cannot win against us both.” 

Rookwood's eyes flick between them, then down to Harlow, clearly weighing his options. “Unfortunately, I suspect you're right. This has turned out to be far more trouble than it's worth.” 

“Do not get any ideas,” Natty says. “The two of you are going away to Azkaban for a long time.” 

Azkaban. That's right; Natty had sent for Officer Singer. She could arrive any second now. Rookwood has answers, and if Max doesn't get them now, she may not have another chance. No time like the present, then.

“Natty, wait,” Max interjects, and they both look at her – Natty with surprise and Rookwood with blatant disdain. Max returns his glare. “A year or two ago, you were part of a raid on Feldcroft with Ranrok's loyalists. But someone saw you, so you cursed her. Is that right?”

An unsettling expression crosses Rookwood's face. He hums blithely. “I'm afraid I don't recall. There were many raids on Feldcroft.” 

“Then you'd better think!” Max shouts, louder than she'd meant to. “You can't have cursed that many people, it happened by the estate – ” 

“Oh.” Rookwood draws out the word like he's had an epiphany. “That girl.” He looks her up and down, a slight smile curling his lips. “Yes, she probably would be around your age, wouldn't she?” 

Max's blood runs cold. She fighters her grip on her wand. “How do you break the curse?” 

“Personally, I'm surprised she's still kicking. Usually they don't last a year. How is she?” 

Max is going to kill him. She's going to rip him apart with her bare hands. She takes a breath. “Rookwood, tell me how – ”

“Is she still fighting?” he asks, and there's something manic in his tone. “Or has she given up?” 

It's a trap, more obvious than the letter Harlow had sent. Max knows this – he's trying to rile her up. But the thing is, he's done an incredible job of it. 

“Confringo!” A bolt of fire flies from her wand, but Rookwood has vanished before she's finished casting. He reappears a few yards away and looks at her with a grimace. 

“I think you need to work on your aim.” 

Max bares her teeth, taking a step towards him. “I'll kill you,” she snarls. 

Rookwood huffs, amused. “That so? I suppose you'll have to catch me, first. But in the meantime, you might want to keep your wits about you.” 

He's looking at something behind her, and that same chill ripples up Max's spine. She turns and is met with Harlow, on his knees, wand pointed straight at her. His eyes are dark and angry as he says, “Crucio.” 

There's a flash of red light. Before Max can think to lift her wand, to dodge, to do anything, Natty is already moving. Her body shifts into something larger, different, and it's the graceful form of Natty’s gazelle animagus that leaps to shield Max. 

“No!” Max shrieks. Natty, still in the form of a gazelle, drops to the ground, twitching. She makes an awful, guttural sound, and Max realizes with horror that she's screaming. She turns on Harlow. “Expelliarmus!” 

Harlow's wand goes flying out of his hand, but it's too late. Natty’s body shifts back to human form, her eyes rolled back into her head. Max rushes over to her, ducking under a spell from Rookwood before firing back. She doesn't see if it hits before she drops to her knees, pulling Natty's head into her lap. 

“Natty,” she hisses. Her pulse roars in her ears. “Natty.” 

Natty's eyelids flicker, but they don't open. Max squeezes her shoulder and wishes, for the first time, that she’d taken Sebastian up on any of his offers to teach her the Unforgivables. She points her wand at Harlow. “Incarcerous!” 

Golden chains lash around Harlow’s body, binding his arms to his side. He topples over into the mud, cursing. Max whips around, intent on doing the same to Rookwood, when her wand is suddenly knocked from her hand. It goes flying, landing somewhere she doesn't see. 

“So close,” says Rookwood. The scowl on his face is harshly shadowed by the dim light of the braziers. “And yet, you seem to have an unfortunate habit of coming up just short.” 

Max leans protectively over Natty, heart racing. This isn't good; she's no idea how to use wandless magic, and her apparitional ability is shaky at the best of times. “You'll never beat Ranrok to the repository,” she says, vying for some sort of leverage. “Not on your own.” 

“Perhaps not.” Rookwood shrugs like it couldn't matter less. “But I very much doubt you'll tell me where it is, either.” 

He raises his wand, green light sparking at the tip. Max's mind races for a way to save both herself and Natty, but she can't think fast enough, there's nothing she can – 

“Natsai!” 

The sudden wail makes Rookwood halt. Max turns to look, and standing at the gate to the estate is Professor Onai, closely tailed by Officer Singer. At the sight of Rookwood standing over them, both women draw their wands, and Professor Onai charges towards them with a vengeful roar. 

Harlow’s head, the only part of him that's not restrained, snaps to Rookwood, eyes wide. “Victor – ” 

Rookwood sighs heavily. “Apologies, Theopholis.” He flicks his wand. Max flinches, but he only summons his hat into his open hand, placing it back on his head with no sense of urgency. “It's nothing personal.”

The space he's occupying starts to fold in on itself. Panic rises in Max's chest. No. Can't let him get away. But she can't chase him – she's got no wand, and she can't leave Natty – 

“Reducto!” 

The shout comes from Professor Onai, who has all but closed the distance between them. Her spell flies into the apparitional swirl – disappearing along with Rookwood. 

Then it's over. He's gone. 

An odd haze settles over her – Max is distantly aware of Officer Singer moving to stand over Harlow, her face stricken. She's also aware of Professor Onai kneeling down beside her, gently prying Natty from her arms. I'm sorry, she wants to say, but her voice is stuck in her throat. She hadn't stopped him. She hadn't gotten answers for Anne, and Natty had been hurt. Capturing Harlow feels a small consolation in comparison – he’s only one head of an enormous hydra, after all. 

“We are going back to the school,” Professor Onai says. Her voice is firm, only trembling at the edges, and Max feels another stab of guilt. Something is shoved into her hands, and Max realizes it's her wand. 

Professor Onai takes hold of Max’s shoulder, her other arm still cradling her daughter. The world warps dizzyingly, the sound of the rain coalescing into incoherent noise. Even as the twist of apparition makes her stomach flip, Max finds she can't look away from Natty’s face. 

The last thought she has before they disappear from the manor is that the next time she and Victor Rookwood meet, it will be the last.

[hageny]

I think I agree with everything you said about Matsson. I have seen other people say he is a chameleon, and I think that speaks to your points as well. I think there is obviously a lot of overlap between his business persona and his personal, inner self, but where that overlap lies is always changing. Deliberately so. He is obviously intelligent, but I wonder how much of a "genius" he might be. Maybe he is actually a genius because he crafts so many different versions of himself and everyone believes in them. He is clearly very manipulative and obsessed with power, like most people on the show. I would love to know why he specifically always wants to win. Why he wants the sale to go through so quickly. Why he wants ATN now. Like Kendall, I think Lukas also has an inflated sense of self (who doesn't on this show?), but I would love to know the source of it. I also wonder if his intelligence, privilege, and influence cause him to be so empty and bored. Like, he seems to have no real purpose or passion in life. I feel like everything he does (the Waystar acquisition in particular) is done simply because he can. It comes easy to him. Like he is constantly pushing the limits and boundaries of what he is able and allowed to do, and he still has yet to find someone or something that can stop him. And because he hasn't hit that barrier yet, because he hasn't met his match, he is just rolling along, like a growing avalanche-gaining more and more power but living an aimless, destructive existence. It's almost like he is developing a god complex, and it makes sense why everyone and everything bores him. He is attractive, able bodied, relatively young, smart, rich. He technically has everything. When you are omnipotent, nothing moves you. I think that is why he said he was interested in failure last season. He wants a challenge. He wants something worthwhile. And taking on something a big as Waystar is that. But still, like...Logan was ready to sell very easily and Kendall and Roman are not competent enough to put up a fight in a significant way. They literally could not even succeed at ending the sale. He outmaneuvered them and seeing the pic Shiv sent was like a hit for him. He loved it, it got him off, but it will only last for so long.

But that moment on the mountain when he was with Roman, I think he deep down really liked that. He was furious and had a lot of energy. I think that's sort of the baseline of what he is looking for. For people to tell him no. For people to stand up to him. For people to parry and get a hit in, rather than always letting him win or losing to him in a predictable, unintelligent manner.

I also think he digs so deeply into things and people because he is trying to find someone equal or better and he just hasn't. He said everyone disappoints him and I think that's what he means. He is trying to find different avenues to rile people up so that they meet him where he is. So that they understand the game he is playing and say "Okay, let's go." I think when someone checks him, in the way that really overpowers him, then he will really come alive. But right now it makes sense why he is so lonely and such an oddball. He isn't interested in the conventional. He wants to be stimulated and wants a reason for being and despite all the wealth and access and everything and everyone available to him, he is a shell.

I'm a moron who checked my inbox and forgot about your well thought-out message, so forgive me, but I'm going to go ahead and share this so others can read because I like how you've dissected Matsson.

[gottalovef1]

I am not catching feelings - Part 1. watching you

So here it is, the first part of this story! I am quite new to this as this is the first time I have written a fic like this, and this is also the first time posting something like this online. Please forgive me for any grammar mistakes as English is not my mother language. Please let me know what you think of the first part! Thanks and enjoy!!

summary : You are new in the paddock, but that does not stay unnoticed by the rival team boss.

warnings: a little bit of sexual tension.

words: 900+

“Don’t telling you are sleeping with him.” Lois, your assistant nearly whispered, with big eyes that were fixed on you. All you could do was stare back, slowly nodding. “how long.” She couldn’t believe it, though you had not said a word yet.

“nearly 3 months. Few weeks after I started working here.” Her mouth fell open, surely not expecting that. “so you are telling me that you have been sleeping with Toto Wolff for nearly 3 months. Holy shit girl.” You simply nodded. “I’m not catching feelings, it’s just casual.” You spoke, looking around, making sure nobody could hear you and your PR speak.

“they always say that, just wait.” She chuckled. “you just don’t tell anyone.” You warned her. “you know me, I would never do that, you just make sure that nobody ever finds out about this or some people will lose their jobs.” Lois was right, and you were waiting for a big promotion next season, so it's a main priority to keep this a secret.

----

Toto Wolff had laid his eyes on you on your first day in the paddock, during testing in Bahrain “who’s that.” he had asked as you walked together with Lois, your best friend working on press, towards the garage. “that girl, I don’t know her name but they say she’s going to take over from Christian next season, I guess she’s just here to see how everything works.” The man walking next to him explained.

The first few weeks, you noticed him looking at you but it never came to more than a simple hi, a silly joke or a stupid discussion about the cars. he had not even asked for your name, yet he was looking at you all the time. as you saw him speaking to others, he would always look at you, nodding his head slightly. So many people in the paddock and you were the only one to notice, it was like a secret way of saying hi. You had looked back at him as you thought he was quite handsome and interesting, and he knew you were playing a game, a dangerous one. Luckily for Toto, the paddock was always filled with people, and he could not do anything without it being photographed or seen, besides, when it was late, and the paddock was empty.

After finishing work late, You were not paying attention walking into a darker area between the motorhomes, bumping into definitely a stronger person as you stepped back and he did not even move. “oh, I’m sorry I was not paying attention.” You spoke, not yet looking up, slowly recognizing the black pants and white shirt.

“don’t worry about it, you probably didn’t expect anyone to be here.” Toto smiled. “you are right, uh, sorry again and have a great night.”

But instead of letting you pass him, he stopped you. “not so fast, I think we have something to talk about, I see the way you are looking at me.” ah, he’s going straight to the point. “and that something is..?” you asked him, making sure to give him that look you always gave him. “you know damn well that you are playing a dangerous game with me.” he spoke, looking at you with his dark eyes. “I don’t know what you are talking about.” You smirked, knowing very well what he was saying. “I think you do in fact know what I am talking about, and I want you to stop it.” he voice slightly changed. “or what?” you were not going to give this up. “I don’t know if I will be able to control myself.” he said, taking a step forward. As a hot feeling starting to enter your body.

“you are doing it again.” his voice now came closer to you as you had to take a step back. The wall, great. “I’m not doing anything Wolff.” Once again, you looked into his eyes.

“you are driving me crazy, that is what you are doing.” his chest now was against yours, you could feel his breath near your ear. “what do you want me to do about it.” you teased, slowly moving your fingers down his buttoned shirt. He bit his lip and you saw it, as you were trying to hold back your smile.

“I’m telling you once again to stop that.” his voice was now low into your ear, before he returned to look into your eyes, his hand was on the wall and his arm right next to your face. “or what?” you smirked, he didn’t speak, he just starred at you and while you blinked he crashed his lips on yours, you kissed him back, hard, as his tongue asked for permission, leading to a hot passioante kiss. One hand on your waist, the other on the side of your throat, making out against the wall of the McLaren motorhome.

The two of you kissed until Toto was left out of breath. “or this will happen.” He smirked as he broke the kiss, but not the distance,. All Toto could think was that he had to control himself and remind himself of the fact that they were in a public space. “will I see you later.” He then asked as you were still processing what just happen, so you just nodded. “Good, good night.”

And he was gone. You just stood there, not knowing what to do. That was hot and, you wanted him to do it again.

[yuikomorii]

Why do you like Ruki?

// To begin with, Ruki is a really interesting character who stands out from the Mukami brothers and not only because he’s the family representative like Ayato. Many people think of Ruki as boring or perfect, but he's totally the opposite.

One of the few, if not the only DL character who still qualifies as sadistic is Ruki. We witnessed how hypocritical and deceitful he can be in MB, but later on he acknowledges that he is a snake, which is not at all a lie. While Ruki cares a lot about his brothers and occasionally sacrifices himself for them, as in Azusa's LE route, he also has no problem sabotaging them in order to achieve his goals *coughs* Kou's DF route *coughs*. Even more ironic is the fact that Kou is confirmed his favorite brother, lol.

He might feel a little bad for his brothers, but he wouldn't care if someone who isn’t part of his family got wounded. He only teamed up with Reiji in Ayato's LE route to diss Ayato while sipping tea and relaxing. While Ruki was only there for fun, Reiji, who was also jealous, at least wanted Ayato to learn from his mistakes. When Yui found out that they were both jealous of Ayato, Ruki literally was simply smiling. This guy finds satisfaction in other people's suffering. I know this makes him sound like a really bad person, but allow me to share what I find appealing in this situation: He isn't sugarcoated, in contrast to other characters. He is a morally grey Diaboy who, despite development, was not redeemed, and I can't stay mad at him because I don't have any high expectations coming from Ruki. He's not made to be kind, forgiving or supportive, you shouldn’t even be surprised if he suddenly decided to betray any of his brothers. A character who is nice, understanding, and reassuring but then acts mean and unapologetic towards someone else would irritate me far more than anything Ruki does. At the very least, he is not put in a very positive light in other routes.

Let's move on to something else. I like that he reads; I do that as well, and we have a lot of other interests in common. I also have to admit that he's quite knowledgeable, which I like in people. He's a smart guy who makes dumb mistakes, and while his brothers aspire to be like him, he's the one with the most mental breakdowns, as well as a really insecure guy who's afraid of getting his hands dirty. Ruki is also capable of kindness, despite not always displaying this. Aside from that, I absolutely love his voice and consider his perspective on life to be one of the most complex ones; this boy has really been through a lot, and the fact that he is from the same country as me adds bonus points JSJSJ Moreover he’s really handsome, dark hair x light eyes is my favorite combo 👉🏻👈🏻

[parchmentedpetrichor]

➳who cursed the bludger? ♡

in which the reader's dominant hand is injured badly after a rogue bludger slams into it and none other than fred weasley is behind it. who cursed the bludger?

fred weasley x fem!reader

word count: ± 2k

tw: serious injury, a little bit of swearing

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my masterlist:D

ft. penny clearwater

who cursed the bludger?

y/n was currently draped lazily over her broomstick, haven given up trying to teach penelope clearwater how to fly. said prefect was on the grass, smirking as y/n embarrassedly looked around.

"penny that's not ok to ask!"

"fine, fine," she pondered for a moment, "hey, what's up with you and fred weasley, huh?"

"nothing at all," y/n answered a little too quick for penny's liking.

"c'mon, y/n, you're younger than me, i should know all that happens. you two are very...flirty."

"yeah well, my dear pennysylvania, we have flirty personalities. duh."

"no, you don't."

"okay, i don't. he does."

"but he seems like he means it."

"of course he means it? he says it in a joking way? y'know, he means it as a joke."

"hmm, nope, i don't think so, y/n. he's looking your way right now."

"i'm probably blocking the space, let's move outta the way."

"you're not gonna play with them?"

"already play in matches, why now? let's chat."

fred was silently eavesdropping on their conversation as he heard his name.

"sooo you and perceeee??" y/n dragged out, grinning as she did loop-do-loops with her broomstick.

penny blushed, but looked disappointed, "he likes oliver."

"oh. well, f percy, what about marcus??"

"he's just marcus. we're best friends, y/n."

"my fav trope of romance is best friends to lovers," y/n wiggled her eyebrows suggestively and penny shook her head in amusement.

"my one is the opposites attract."

"hmm yeah, that's a good one too, it's really cute! say, aren't you and mar-"

"i was meaning you!"

"huh?"

"you and fred."

fred smirked as he listened, flicking back the bludger harshly at angelina.

"oh yes because we are totally meant for each other," y/n sarcastically replied.

"what's that supposed to mean?"

"yes."

"you're doing this on purpose!"

"hmm? what?"

"oh my goodness, merlin you're stupid bro!" penny said exasperatedly.

"and you just realised. congrats, penny."

"anyway, what i'm saying is you and fred are rather like opposites. although he's extroverted and you're extroverted, you're a cute little nerd," y/n huffed at this 'i am n o t a nerd for the last time!' "and he's a class clown in the most charming way. you like reading and he likes pranking people and quidditch. you're a goody two shoes, an adorable one, but he's this foolish jock," penny looked proud with her argument so y/n laughed, "you're modest and he's very confident. and you're both hot."

y/n smiled, "i am not hot!" she giggled, "that's stupid."

"oi, ange!" penny called to angelina who looked over at her in amusement.

"yeah?"

"is y/n hot?"

"oh, totally!" angelina casually threw the quaffle into the hoop, "10/10."

"guyyys you flatTer me," y/n stretched out as the three of them laughed, "i'm bLushIng."

"you actually are," angie quipped.

"it's a command thing. if she wants to blush, she'll blush," replied penny.

they burst into giggles again.

fred watched y/n. a rosy pink, sure enough, had spread across her cheeks. that was enough to get her blushing?

"oi, l/n!"

y/n's head snapped his way, her eyes narrowed as if expecting an insult being thrown her way.

"your lips are pretty!"

her form relaxed, "thanks! yours are too!!"

penny giggled as angie rolled around laughing.

"what?" y/n looked around.

"the way you return flirting is hilarious."

"a compliment for a compliment, isn't that what they say?"

angelina snorted, "no one says that."

"oh well i say it, so deal with it."

"hey, i have an idea!" penny brightened up.

"let's hear it!"

"let's teach y/n pick up lines, ange!"

"oh you're a genius, penny!"

"okay, so-"

a bludger came whizzing at y/n as she screamed, trying frantically to dodge it. it hit her hand and a crack was heard.

luckily she immediately hopped off calmly, taking out her wand shakily and stunning the bludger, before penny and angie helped her over to the hospital ward, fred lagging guiltily behind.

she was ordered to stay in bed rest and with drowsy eyes she drifted off.

fred watched her feeling so terrible as he saw her heavily bandaged hand, imagining how he was going to tell her that he was in fact the one that had charmed it.

the next day, she was out and about, gently cradling her hand which was broken.

"um, hey, y/n," he nervously approached her.

"oh, hello!"

"i might have jinxed the bludger to go wild," he confessed abruptly, "i'm really sorry i didn't mean to-"

"no, it's fine, really." she gave him a reassuring smile and walked off.

he noticed that she couldn't write in class. usually she was scribbling away, but she just sat awkwardly at her desk, trying frantically to get anything legible down with her non-dominant hand. the fact she was so courteous and forgiving about everything just made it worse.

by now, y/n was dying inside. she couldn't write notes, and even though she wanted to ask any willing person for a duplicate of their notes, she'd have to explain the whole broken hand thing.

"ange?"

"yep?"

"do you have history of magic notes?" y/n did puppy eyes.

"nope, you forgot i dropped out."

"oh."

"do you want mine?" fred asked, smirking as he looked y/n up and down.

"you take notes?!!!" y/n was shook.

"only for you, 'cause i felt bad."

"you didn't need to!"

"i did. you want them?"

"yes please, thank you so much, you're a lifesaver!!"

"you're acting like you're not the one the bludger hit," angie quipped and y/n frowned, completely forgetting fred was still there, browsing the notes.

"c'mon, it was just an accident. and i've always wanted to be ambidextrous."

"lovely, you were struggling. i'll take all your notes. my handwriting isn't neat but i owe you."

y/n ducked to hide the light blush she could not control at all.

immediately she got a confused look from fred.

and instantly she thought of something that might make the blush go away. he didn't mean it, it slipped out, she thought and she felt her face cooling down, a slight frown appearing on her face.

"o-okay, thanks fred."

"no problems, darling," he flirted.

"that's good, darling," she flirted graciously back, bravely tilting her head up and looking him in the eye.

he took it well.

"where did you learn how to flirt so well, my little love??"

"why, freddie," she joked flirtatiously, "from you of course!"

he coughed and excused himself.

"he should really be careful with who he's flirting mindlessly with," y/n rolled her eyes.

angelina laughed, "flirting mindlessly? do you see the way he looks at you?"

"personality," y/n stated simply.

"or not."

true to his word, notes in fred's flurry of handwriting appeared neatly stacked every day. they were far too thorough and consisted of stupid flirty notes by the side. sometimes a little note, written in class, was jammed in there probably by accident:

hello freddie!

i have a crush on you 0-o, hogsmeade at 7pm on sunday?

-jamie <3, boy who sits in front of you in arithmancy

jamie,

i already have my eye on someone :) not you, sorry, y/n cringed at the bluntness of his words

you are very nice, perhaps try trera rivera if you swing that way? or illinois ann if you swing all ways?

oh i'm so sorry, i didn't know that! i'll talk to both. was the gracious answer

-jamie

and again! the lucky boy! this time from a girl.

weasley-

i know we hate each other but give me a chance to explain myself? broom closet at 9 tomorrow ? it trailed off to something that y/n didn't even want to think about.

k.o

fuck off. i don't fucking like you, i like someone else, ffs.

was the reply as y/n laughed and made sure to give the note back to fred.

it wasn't everyday someone confessed to you, right?

she underlined all the words that simply weren't legible to ask fred about.

and aNOTHER ONE?? how did this boy have so many admirers? y/n had received 0 love letters from any boy, let alone people of the same gender. you knew you were good with the ladies (and the gentlemen) when everyone sent you these letters.

dearest frederick-

it droned quite sweetly on about him and loving him and the writing was really magnificent.

margaret perrer

hi marg

i'm really really sorry. you seem like such a nice person, and it's not you, it's me. i, however, have a friend who really adores you: kenneth. he'll be an amazing friend and maybe more.

i also already am interested in another girl, so it really isn't you. thank you for your beautiful letter, hopefully we can be friends!

fred

oh he was very nice. feeling like she had overstepped the boundaries, she put them aside, discovering more and more but putting them all in a stack. she felt slightly insecure, especially when they all looked relatively neW?? the perfume on the flowers still smelled fresh?? who was this guy?

she sighed, finishing her read through and being thoroughly impressed with the sheer quality of the notes.

but there were around 100 words she had underlined. she skipped down into the great hall where she spotted two gingers. as soon as one (she couldn't see which one) saw her, he got up, whispered to the other something, and left.

when she approached the one that was left behind, she saw it was george.

"hi georgie!" she greeted him and thrust the papers into his hand, "where's fred?"

george shrugs, "left, for a date or something."

"oh, okay, could you translate these for me, the underlined words?" if y/n was disappointed, she didn't show it.

"oh yeah, sure, his handwriting's rubbish, isn't it."

"yes it is, i can barely read half of it."

george finished scribbling words next to the underlined ones.

"oh! and give these back to him? i'm pretty sure he dropped them in, probably got mixed up." she gave him the pile of letters, now neatly bundled in rope she had found.

"oh, yeah sure," george smirked, "of course."

"nice, well that's it, thanks for the help!"

"anything else?"

"tell fred good luck."

"right, right, mhm."

"yea."

once she'd left, george took out his walkie talkie.

"got that, freddie?"

"crystal clear."

"you're pining, pffft, hahahahah," george smirked as fred sighed.

"it didn't even work?"

"which plan?"

"the one to drop the letters in."

"i'm pretty sure she read like two, she didn't seem that disappointed?"

"exactly."

"you're an idiot. just tell her."

"but that's boringggg."

"well drop the hints then, merlin fred you're terrible at this."

"i haven't dated a billion girls like you!"

"then learn how to date my goodness."

"true."

"come fucking back."

"hickies or no?"

"eh go for it. i wanna see her reaction and then we can decide whether she likes you or not."

fred strided handsomely in, neck littered with little hickies and his top had two buttons open, freckles and pale broad shoulders showing.

george rolled his eyes, muttering, "drama queen," as he subtlely watched y/n. she managed not to look so surprised, her eyes widening then looking down quickly at her hands.

he would have thought she felt nothing for his twin if a light pink had not dusted over her face and if angie had not nudged her with a concerned look on her face.

y/n was wondering what the hell happened, disappointment rising slowly in her.

"okay, she's into you," george whispered as fred began removing the spell, leaving the unbuttoned shirt unbuttoned.

"cool beans."

"oh and she gives these back," george smirked.

"oh look at how she bundled it! so adorable georgie!"

"you're disgusting."

y/n hurried to the library at 6pm. she had heard the book she had waited for was finally available.

as she settled down with it, a paper aeroplane hit her.

"ahh!" she screamed as she caught it.

it read:

forbidden forest, 8pm.

huh? was this meant for her? it was in neat handwriting and on the smoothest parchment, with a single flower that smelt like fresh rain.

[tnbc-thoughtsandheadcanons]

Long Live the Pumpkin Queen: Complete Review

Here’s my entire review of the LLTPQ sequel novel. In this, I’ll be comparing it to other sequel adaptations like Zero’s Journey, Mirror Moon, and Oogie’s Revenge. I’m also going to take a look at the characters, writing style, and plot. This will be a pretty lengthy review, so let’s get into it!

Spoilers to Long Live the Pumpkin Queen below.

As an overall summary, I adored this novel. I think it’s a worthy continuation to The Nightmare Before Christmas franchise, that expanded on the world-building and character opportunities. For a film that’s nearly 30 years old, we haven’t seen the other Holiday Worlds nor any new characters/villains(until the Zero’s Journey 2018 comic book.) LLTPQ finally sheds light on unexplored aspects of the film we haven’t seen until now.

I’ll be breaking into different segments, starting with:

The Writing

The novel is written in a First-person Point of View, from Sally’s perspective. First POV is not everyone’s cup of tea, but I'm personally neutral. Shea Ernshaw’s writing style is descriptive - she makes sure you know what the Holiday Towns look and smell like, while knowing what’s going through Sally’s head. I share a minor criticism that, since the text is so descriptive, we don’t really get into all that much action until the later portion of the book. It picks up -- but you have to read through a lot of setting description to get to that point.

(Also, Shea describing Halloween Town smelling like ‘black licorice and pumpkin spice’ isn’t the worst thing in the world. Places can have a variety of different smells depending on where you are - I’m sure it has different scents when it rains or the weather changes. This is simply her interpretation, that I felt got overreacted to.)

This is probably obvious, but my heaviest writing complaint is having to read the glorification of Queen Elizabeth II for seven pages(YES, I counted). Considering the controversies, it was uncomfortable reading Sally idolizing her. While Halloween Town is closely mended to the human's world, it almost hits a preternatural line with the Queen in here and the brief mention of climate change. I feel this was Shea’s attempt to throw Nightmare into a modern setting -- but in a questionable way.

There are also some odd choices in the writing, like referring to Jack’s sockets as ‘eyes’ and having Sally literally refer to her ragdoll body a few times (”my soft ragdoll hands” is not my FAVORITE thing I’ve ever read). While I’m not a fan of certain choices, the novel was overall beautifully written, where we get a good understanding of places like Dream Town and Valentine’s Town.

The Characters

Quick links to posts I’ve made, about Sally’s character, as well as her relationship with Dr. Finkelstein.

One of the flaws with this book, in my opinion, has to be Shea’s insistence with rewriting the backstories of Sally and Dr. Finkelstein. This could’ve been done thoughtfully, but she chose to separate her from the Doctor entirely. If you read the links above, you’ll understand why this was a mistake, from my perspective. He’s crucial to her character -- she freed *herself* from him, only to have that invalidated with a “new story”.

I would’ve love to read the difficult process of forgiveness between the Doctor and Sally - or delving into his backstory, explaining to us *why* he made Sally and was so attached to her. Their situation can be looked through the lens of abuse, which would’ve been interesting to explore, how Sally moves on from the Doctor, while he learns to better his ways with this new creation, Jewel. But he’s villainized instead, made into a kidnapper, which sits terribly with me, and many other people. Shea had the opportunity to look into Finkelstein’s character(’fix’ him, if she was insistent), but refused to, in favor of completely separating Sally’s story from him. :/

(Nevermind Jack's friendship with the Doctor being completely dismissed, chalked up to Jack 'never trusting him', despite asking for his help in the movie twice...)

--Besides that, we’re introduced to new characters, including Albert, Greta, the Sandman, and Queen Ruby Valentino. There are minor appearances from the Dream Town citizens and a leprechaun from St. Patrick’s Town. But I’ll focus on the main ones:

Albert and Greta are fantastic characters, governors of Dream Town who helped overthrow the Sandman from his cruel and demanding reign as King. They are also a rag doll species like Sally, explaining they’re Dream Weavers, who help human children fall asleep. However, they’re also presented as her ‘parents’ - which could be a fine idea on its own, if you ignore the whole thing with Dr. Finkelstein. They care about Sally, though I wish they had been held accountable for their actions.

Queen Ruby Valentino is the first new character we meet when Jack and Sally have their honeymoon in her town. I love the description of her appearance(someone taller than JACK) and how she rules her town - I’ve been waiting to see another Holiday Leader. <3 I only wish we could’ve met and seen the other Leaders in detail (besides the small appearance of the Easter Bunny).

The Sandman is the antagonist of the novel - based on a real folklore, except he steals dreams in LLTPQ. He was the King of Dream Town, but banished to the forest after overworking his people. I like his character and how he’s described - though I find it odd Shea decided to give him a redemption. It doesn’t feel like he was held accountable for putting all the Holiday worlds and humans to sleep. I understand the point of his character: he’s suffered the effects of sleep deprivation for a long time, that drove him to seeking dreams and getting rest for himself - so of *course* he felt better after Sally helped him. But why didn’t he face the consequence of his actions, while Dr. Finklestein had to? 🤔 The Sandman nearly wiped out the holidays, since no one could run them while they’re asleep. For something so major, it felt like he was let off easy.

Shea hesitating to do ANYTHING with Jack Skellington's character shows so badly. He doesn't serve much presence beyond fawning over Sally and being swept up in Halloween planning. The original movie was about Jack feeling unhappy with his role as Pumpkin King - surely, he could've offered more to Sally with her situation here..? His role could've been so much larger here, but the potential was never taken...

The Story

LLTPQ’s story is great, for what it is. I love seeing Jack and Sally finally getting married, going on their Honeymoon, preparing for the official role as Pumpkin Queen, facing her insecurities, and going on a journey to save her home as well as the Holiday and Human Worlds. This novel does a great job going into light of her character!

However, the story chose to derail into Sally reuniting with her ‘lost parents’, taking a good chunk of the novel. I feel like the book would be outstanding on its own without these parts/concepts - if you removed and/or replaced them. This major subplot has to be the biggest thing weighing it down. Other fans have come up with better alternatives for Albert, Greta, Sally, and Dr. Finkelstein -- that I feel would've ultimately made a better story.

I adore the new addition to the lore and worldbuilding - revealing Jack Skellington knows children’s fears by heart, and the Hinterlands Forest contains trees to many unexplored doors, that expand the further you go. There are so many holidays, celebrations, and concepts the humans have - it makes sense a magical forest dedicated to them houses so many, that have simply never been opened. I LOVE the idea that Jack and Sally Skellington are the ones to be exploring them - as it was Jack who uncovered the doors to begin with, and inspired their connection in the first place.

As a Sequel

LLTPQ brings us the most as a sequel to The Nightmare Before Christmas, that a continuation *should* do, imo. I go with the idea that follow-ups should do a few things: expand the universe, continue the story, expand on themes, and leave an impact on the franchise. Following these requisites, I think the novel delivers. Here’s why:

Zero’s Journey didn’t bring a new major villain to the franchise, while Mirror Moon introduced evil clones/copies that aren’t new characters. Oogie’s Revenge reuses Oogie Boogie as a villain who is resurrected from the dead(as do the Kingdom Hearts games). Long Live the Pumpkin Queen is the FIRST material to truly give us a new Nightmare villain(although this is up for debate, since The Sandman gets redeemed in the end...)

It’s also the only Nightmare media to show us another Holiday Leader not from the film, Ruby Valentino. If you play Oogie’s Revenge, the Leaders were stuffed in bags and held hostage, but there aren’t any dialogue/models of them, so they’re only in...bags. They return to their worlds, so we don’t see or spend any time with them. While LLTPQ only goes in detail about *one* - it’s more than what we’ve been given before.

(Also, this being the only media bold enough to establish Jack and Sally's martial status...taking the next step with officially crowning Sally...)

LLTPQ continues the story and spends time outside of Halloween and Christmas Town, which we’ve been given plenty of. We learn what the other towns look like and how things work in their worlds. The Epilogue alone expands on TNBC’s universe and gives us an impact to leave with - Jack & Sally exploring these unearthed Holiday Doors, and what that can mean for them + their world.

LLTPQ delivers what a Sequel should, with new world-building, themes characters, a villain and impact - though not being the best in quality, it's delivered more than other adaptations have in comparison. Take what you will.

Additional Thoughts / Comments

The Disney and Tim Burton situation with this book is still quite boggling to me. Disney has wanted a Sally POV sequel for years, and Tim + his team approved everything in this book. He read Shea rewriting Sally’s story, but didn’t step in to make any changes. Which means he must’ve thought the story was fitting or either didn’t care. Which is curious to me. But he’s not the writer behind Sally, so I can’t say I’m surprised. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

This book was once delayed due to supply issues, but has continuously sold out multiple times after its release and repeatedly made it on Best Seller's lists. LLTPQ is succesful. Only time will tell if this'll pass, or Disney feels bold enough to do/want more from this franchise. Tim Burton is caving in - so who knows what more may come.

Overall:

As I said, I personally LOVED this book, how it portrayed Jack & Sally's relationship, and delivered so much as a Sequel. It stands as my favorite continuation thus far - but not without my criticisms and nitpicking with it. I still feel like I have so much more to say about it. But, at the end of day, I highly recommend buying this book and reading it for yourself. I had a blast.

It's unfortunate the author didn't like a character, and had the power/freedom to simply write him off in her interpretation of canon. I'm convinced this detail is what is detouring so many people from the book - the insistence on a backstory rewrite in what's supposed to be a continuation. And that it's done with almost...ignorant intentions...?

This book will remain subjective among fans (hell, even I don't consider most adaptations as 'canon'). But I'm glad I got to read it and thoroughly enjoyed LLTPQ, despite its issues.