#and if he'd had more time he could have handled things with more nuance/i really believe he was just starting out with the whole theme

[weepylucifer]

glorious 25th makes me think again about that one idea i once had for a discworld spinoff set in the future that would deal with the natural conclusion to the industrial revolution arc: communism comes to discworld

[nordickies]

one thing about sufin that I've noticed is that sweden is not allowed to be angry/irritated at finland (fanon), he is always portrayed as this perfect ✨husband✨ Do the fandom really think that Finland never ever does something wrong? I'm just imagining sufin planning their anniversary, and then finland ends up staying out late forgetting he was supposed to come home to sweden, and when he does come home being like "I'm sooooorryyy but estonia insisted we take another round of shots!" and sweden is just;😑

THIS!!! YOU'RE SO RIGHT

I literally can't name a single negative trait people have collectively assigned Finland in the fanon. Granted, Finland is a boring character with not much going on with him. So he's not particularly interesting to explore. Though the fandom portrays him as having bloodlust or murderous intent, it's always just played for laughs. But that could be an interesting flaw to give him; commit to the bit! Make him fucked-up or even capable of violence if he's provoked. Finland should be way more awful than he is portrayed as. I want him to be self-centered, stubborn, and just painful to work with at times. He's petty and unpredictable.

But true. I don't feel like it's solely SuFin issue though. I feel like people never let Sweden be mad at anything. Or the only time he's allowed to be mad is at Denmark. Maybe it conflicts with his stoic/mysterious persona, but I feel like he'd be so easily angered, especially when he gets overwhelmed? We don't even see him annoyed or provoked!

If I had to guess as to why that is, it probably stems from the fact that in the canon, for a good portion of their screen time, Finland is either scared or nervous around Sweden. He's always wondering if he has offended him (needless to say, I don't like this). That sort of nervousness, combined with their power dynamic probably just makes people overcompensate to make Sweden the perfect person, a gentle giant who could never do anything wrong.

So, I get where it comes from and I can totally understand it. And it's not like everyone has to make their favs super fleshed out and realistic, and have equal amounts of positives and negatives. Sweden especially is a comfort character for many people in this fandom. But I personally like nuance, and I love shitty characters. And I love when the past comes to haunt them about it <3 Just torturing my fictional dolls, don't mind me

But I'm seriously interested to hear, especially from writers, how do you handle this issue! What kind of bad traits do you give Sweden and Finland? When do they have conflicts? Believe me, I have a long list, so I'd love to hear yours! I'm especially interested in Nationverse character-building

[roo-bastmoon]

Let's get into the Angel Pt 1 controversy

Summary of Roo's Point: Please follow your conscience but do not bash Jimin for other people's crimes.

More in-depth analysis of the underlying issues:

Let me start by saying I'm a musical theater geek so I have no idea who any of the other artists on the Angel Pt 1 track are, I don't know their music, I don't know their backstories, and frankly, I don't really care to. But yesterday a full kerfuffle kicked off on Twitter with many people ready to cancel Jimin (and by extension, ARMY) for working on a song with someone called Kodak Black.

Who is Kodak Black?

Well, apparently he's a rapper who brought a high schooler back to his hotel from a concert and then ripped her clothes off and bit her and raped her but he entered a plea deal and got probation for it. Not to be confused for the times he had illegal fire arms, committed armed robbery, possessed marijuana, and tried to evade police. Or the time he punched and kicked a woman at a strip club. By all accounts he sounds like a total asshole, and not someone whose pockets I want to line with my hard-earned money, even if I weren't a survivor, myself.

I think we can all agree that Kodak Black is not the kind of person ARMY would ever want to support.

So if at any point you feel like you cannot get behind the Fast X movie or soundtrack because Universal chose to employ that man? Please feel free to boycott and sleep easy at night. That's your value-based decision and I respect it. Don't let anyone call you an anti for it.

However.

There is another legitimate take on this with regard to Park Jimin, and it's a bit more nuanced than simply "don't work with bad people."

For a decade, we've gotten to know who Park Jimin is. He is kind. He is considerate. He is gentle. He has excellent manners. He gives to charity. He obeys and honors his parents and elder members. He has never been violent. He has never broken the law. He respects women deeply. He is a hard worker. He is a good human being.

I can't help but recall how Jimin had absolutely no idea that the song he made was going to be in Eternals. Like, he didn't believe it at first.

Clearly, this company has some serious issues with communication and the handling of Jimin's releases. I could say more but we don't have all day for that.

It is therefore plausible to me that Jimin was approached for this song, possibly by Jvke. Jimin has said he's seen all the movies so we know he likes the franchise. Maybe he said sure, he'd love to sing for Angel Pt 1. So he recorded his parts and moved on to the next amazing groundbreaking industry-shattering piece of work on his schedule. And then Universal brought in other artists and no one said a thing to him about it.

And you might think there's NO WAY Hollywood wouldn't tell you who all you're working with. Listen, I never worked on any big productions, but I lived in LA for years and worked in entertainment long enough to know you could make something and months later find out it's a whole other thing with people you've never heard of, and you signed off your work and likeness so it is what it is and you gotta live with it and not make waves, especially if you ever wanna work in that town again.

Then again, maybe Jimin met the rest of the artists during the filming of the music video. Maybe he knew Kodak Black was on this song. Maybe he, like me, had no idea of that man's past and never once imagined someone with a rap sheet that long would be in such a large-scale production in the first place.

Or maybe he did know, because it appears Kodak Black is billed as a "creator" of the song, but as an industry professional, he also knows nothing is ever totally clean or pure in this business. So oftentimes in entertainment, you will see people mentally separate the art from the business.

(Side note: To be honest, nothing is ever clean or pure that you pay to consume. The wage slaves sweating in the shops that make the clothes on your back or the device you're reading this post off of. The migrant workers toiling for pennies and living in communal shacks for the veggies in your salad. The animals crammed into horrific crates and slaughtered inhumanely that end up on your plate. The earth that's raped every time you write on a sheet of paper or put gas in your car. The plastics in all of our products are also in our landfills, our oceans, our blood streams. We all of us live and consume off the suffering of others. Doesn't mean we shouldn't fight for a better world--of course we should--I'm just saying, none of us consume anything that's "perfect" and cancel culture fails to acknowledge that.)

Which brings me back to the point about boycotting. If you feel like you just cannot support the business of employing someone like Kodak Black, that is a worthy choice and no one should bully you for it or label you an anti. But please do not consider Jimin "tainted by association." Because everyone is associated in one way or another with harmful people and practices. You'd never get to consume anything ever, if you could only consume things made by "good" people.

For my part, I don't believe Universal will see people refusing to stream or buy Angel Pt 1 and think "Gosh, we shouldn't have hired a man who batters and abuses women, it will hurt our bottom line on this soundtrack, we were very mistaken, let's do better." Maybe they will, but probably they won't. They have yet to even witness the buying power of ARMY anyway so they have no results to compare a boycott to. It's already a done deal and they will likely pull this shit again if it's expedient to do so.

On the other hand, this is Jimin's first OST for a major motion picture and I intend to support the hell out of it. I think it's a good song and I want Jimin to be seen by the industry as a safe bet to bring in numbers. I think the more projects he has, the more opportunities he has to promote good people and good music as alternatives. I say this AS A SURVIVOR OF SEXUAL ASSAULT who is no way making light of sexual assault. It frankly galls me that by association, Kodak Black (and numerous other unknown assholes) will benefit. But I'd rather that than, by association, Park Jimin suffer.

And I'll square with you: I think Justin Bieber, Charlie Puth, Park Jay, and others are opportunistic assholes problematic and it galls me that they will benefit by association with BTS members. But on a case by case basis, I will choose whether to support BTS members' collaborations. So far, I'm still all in. That's what feels right for me, according to MY conscience.

I cannot dictate to you what your conscience should tell you. That's between you and your soul, and it's no one else's business. Do your will and harm none. Trust yourself and honor your limits.

So if at any point you feel like you cannot support JK's Dreamers because of the horrible inhuman treatment of the World Cup stadium workers, abstain. If you cannot support Jimin with Angel Pt 1 because of Kodak Black's inexcusable violence, abstain.

But please do not lay the crimes of others at BTS' feet. They are responsible only for themselves, and we have seen they are sometimes not given complete information around their projects. I'm certain they do their best. When it's clear that a collaboration would go against their values (such as playing for their current president's inauguration), they decline. When they have the opportunity to make informed decisions, they usually decide well. But not always, because the members are human too.

I guess my point of this ramble is... human beings will be human. They are flawed. They inevitably make mistakes. Intention goes a long way. I can make a pretty clear-cut case that Kodak Black intentionally caused harm. So I'm happy to not support his art or business ventures and I hope after a lot of soul searching he becomes a better person but I'm not holding my breath. However, I cannot make a clear-cut case that Park Jimin endorses the harm Kodak Black caused just because he lent his voice to a song Kodak Black is also now a part of. Not yet, not without Park Jimin making a statement defending Kodak Black.

Until he does, I'm not going to hold Jimin responsible for anyone's choices except his own. I trust Jimin. He's earned it. So I'm going to support Jimin.

If you very strongly feel like I'm choosing to do harm here, that I'm anti-feminist, or a rape apologist, or a fan girl making light of serious crimes, please protect yourself and block me. You go ahead and do what you need to do to police your own experience. But I worry that eventually you are going to find yourself in a very lonely, very sparse and dull echo chamber, because that sad truth is... nothing and no one is pure. Certainly not in business, and rarely in art. Considering one out of four women will be sexually assaulted in their lifetimes, it's a safe bet that almost every song or movie you've heard of is somehow benefitting a man who was part of it and who has also abused a woman. I know k-pop idol culture heavily manufactures this PG13 image of artists but the truth is the world of entertainment is a cesspool and a viper pit, and we are very lucky to stan seven artists who are, by and large, truly good people. That's super rare.

My unsolicited advice is to take everything on a case-by-case basis and listen to your gut. Support Angel Pt 1. Don't support Angel Pt 1. It's a deeply personal choice what you endorse with your money.

But please miss me with trying to cancel Jimin, or any of the members, for other people's crimes.

Shunning, dogpiling, mobbing, shaming--cancelling people--those are Mean Girl tactics, designed to make people afraid to work with the "unworthy" and it doesn't work in the long run. (Extended, organized boycotts do work because money talks loud. So feel free to boycott if you want to.) But ruining people's reputations because of who their coworkers happen to be is in no way helping solve the actual problem.

If your goal is to make it so big studios don't employ rapists, keep the heat on the rapist and call out Universal and Kodak Black.

If your goal is to support Jimin, then trust and support Jimin and his songs.

Where those two goals conflict, trust your gut. That's all anyone can ask of you.

For my part, I choose Jimin.

Whatever choice you make--as long as you aren't bashing Jimin--I can respect it.

That's pretty much all I have to say about that. Feel free to disagree but keep it kind and respectful in the comments, please...

Love,

Roo

[narrativelysignificantturtleduck]

anytime there's harry potter discourse i think about the many times over the years that the veil was pulled aside, that the illusion of the books being a fun escape was shattered. bc jkr's transphobia isn't the first time this happened, it's only the most recent and the biggest. one of those moments that i remember wasn't really a specific moment - it was just a new thread of analysis about the series. specifically, it was about how dumbledore was actually kind of awful and manipulative, basically orchestrating harry's life so he'd be willing to sacrifice himself to stop voldemort. as kids, dumbledore was this cool wise mentor, but as adults, people looked at the text and saw an adult manipulating a child. though we are meant to see more depth in dumbledore over the course of the series, this realization shattered the illusion of comfort in a way i don't think jkr intended.

it's interesting to compare this to the treatment of iroh, another character from kids media who starts out as a kooky sweet old man and is later revealed to have depth and a great deal of power over the world. but realizing that iroh actually has an agenda, that he's working secretly to make sure zuko plays the role he wants him to play, doesn't feel as much like a shattering. it all comes down to the way the two characters handle abuse.

dumbledore places harry with the dursleys ostensibly in an attempt to give him a normal childhood, away from being treated as a celebrity in the wizarding world. but he's keeping tabs on him enough to know that he's sleeping in a cupboard, and yet he does nothing to remove him from that abusive situation. in fact, mcgonagall warns him in the first chapter of the first book that the dursleys are not good people, and he still leaves him there. the only implication we can take from this is that the dursleys' abuse was the normal childhood that dumbledore wanted harry to have.

meanwhile, iroh's machinations are all about getting zuko free of his abuser. yes, iroh has this grand plan of zuko defeating azula and becoming the new good fire lord who will end the war, but that can only happen once zuko's free of ozai's influence, and so that's most of what iroh does. he keeps offering zuko fun, pleasant things, like tea and good food and music nights, and he sabotages zuko's quest for the avatar by falling asleep in a hot spring and pretending to lose a pai sho tile. he's trying to show zuko that having fun is more important than a quest from his abusive father. he poisons himself in the earth kingdom so that zuko is forced to seek help, forced to interact with people of the earth kingdom and see that that the way the fire nation treats people is wrong. everyone in the earth kingdom will assume that a burn scar like zuko's is a sign of fire nation abuse, even if they're wrong about the details, and that could make zuko realize they're right.

neither iroh nor dumbledore are super upfront with their intentions, but iroh's playing it subtle because people trapped in trying to please an abuser can be resistant to people trying to remove them from that situation, while dumbledore doesn't tell harry because then he might not want to be the sacrifice he needs to be. iroh's secrets are because he cares about zuko and wants to help him as best he can, dumbledore's are about using harry as a tool.

it also reflects a more nuanced understanding of abuse. iroh can't directly remove zuko (or azula, for that matter) from their abusive situation because they are caught up in loyalty to their father and ozai wouldn't want to give up his control over them. dumbledore can't remove harry from the dursleys because...he doesn't want to? harry was pretty willing to leave and they seemed like they'd be pretty happy to be rid of him. plus, ozai has power over everyone - including iroh - as fire lord, while dumbledore is far more powerful than the dursleys. if a muggle authority had tried to intervene with harry, the dursleys might have resisted, but if a wizard wants to fly their nephew away, they can't physically or legally stop him. we're left to wonder if perhaps dumbledore has some old-fashioned "experiencing hardship is good for the soul" mentality, or if maybe that he thought harry would be more likely to sacrifice himself for the wizarding world if it was his escape from abuse.

but of course harry potter wasn't going to address the reality of what keeps people trapped in abusive situations. it was constantly marketed as an escapist fantasy - that you could be whisked away from your abusive family to a magical world where you were loved and powerful. getting out has to be easy, but we also have to keep going back to the abusive situation so that the wizarding world keeps seeming magical.

atla, meanwhile, is its own magical world, and the show is about bringing hope and childlike joy back to a world ravaged by war and colonialism. depicting the reality of abuse, how hard it is to break the cycle but also how essential it is to do so, reinforces the themes of the show.

and so the mastermind adult, orchestrating the defeat of evil and the breaking of the cycle, does it out of love for a child.

[skaruresonic]

idw sonic's nonsensical insistence that everyone wants to be good deep down is just stupid.

Everytime he tries asserting this dumb ideology it's with either people who joyfully choose to be evil everytime they have the option (eggman and the deadly six) or people who are literally incapable wanting or contemplating anything other than being evil (metal sonic and surge)

And the funniest part of all this? The one time idw Sonic DOES NOT preach about how everyone could have been good is when Starline dies. Starline the same guy who's biggest crime was an objectively smaller and less cruel version of Eggman's Metal Virus which corrupted/tormented every life form on the planet. According to IDW Sonic, Starline absolutely deserved death but Eggman who's objectively and frequently far worse is secretly a good guy.

This book should have never tried tackling themes of philosophy and free will. It is atrocious at handling the subject

Yeah.

In hindsight, it was rich of people to have spent all this time waxing poetic about how Sonic sees the good in everyone and omg do you want him to butcher his enemies, only to suddenly pull the "why are you feeling bad for Starline? he was a villain" card when it came to his death. Motherfuckers can't even be consistent on who deserves Sonic's compassion. Apparently he's just ~so merciful~ towards his enemies but he also picks and chooses, and it's like? Which is it? Sonic tells Surge he'd have been willing to give even Starline and Eggman a second chance, only to prove his words a bunch of hot air when he eulogizes Starline with "big oof." Because if he really believed that Starline was capable of becoming a better person, surely he'd have lamented the fact that Starline could now no longer change? Even if we examine the situation purely from an in-universe Watsonian perspective, it doesn't make sense for Sonic to be all "lmao rip" because he didn't know Starline well enough to make the judgment call that he was an irredeemable piece of shit. He only met the guy a few times. For all he knew, Starline could have been brainwashed, too.

Eggman, on the other hand, could say "I want to be evil" eight thousand times, no one gives a shit - his puppydog glance in 23 is all the proof Sonic needs to badger him to become "good" again.

Starline? Suffered a nervous breakdown and promptly died in a gruesome way? He was an awful person who had what was coming to him.

Make it make sense, bruh. Pick one.

Of course, as you've said, when you unpack the "Starline had it coming to him" sentiment, you find it really boils down to thinking Starline was somehow a worse villain than Eggman. Which we know to be bunk since Starline stole 90% of his shit from Eggman and doesn't even have a real body count, much less one to match Eggman's. People simply think he was the worse villain because we see the effects of his brainwashing up close and personal in Surge.

Speaking of Surge. :) Don't you love how Sonic essentially dismissed her pain with a shrug and a sigh? Here we have someone who, despite their destructive motivations, is fueled by genuine pain. And yet, because of the aforementioned inability to distinguish nuance, Sonic takes it as another "Guess I gotta whoop your ass until you stop being stupid and shake my hand" case. Which does not help Surge, to put it extremely lightly.

More and more you get the feeling Sonic doesn't care nearly as much as he claims he does, because his actions keep contradicting his words. Everyone is Good Deep Down, except you, Clearly Traumatized Girl. But I guess I'll give you a chance not because I actually believe you deserve one but out of the goodness of my own heart. Aren't I awesome.

The kicker, of course, is that none of this kerfuffle would exist were it not for Flynn's need to answer game questions that don't need to be raised. "Why does Sonic always let Eggman go?" Sonic doesn't really let Eggman go, for one thing; Eggman's good at escaping, for another; and for a third, maybe the games don't tackle this subject because it leads to this particular navel-gazing brand of bullshittery.

Flynn didn't like being called out on this, however. It was when issue 50 and the subsequent discourse rolled around that he decided to derail the subject by deflecting blame onto the audience.

He attempts a deep message, he bungles it, he gets mad when people point out how badly he bungled it, he insists folks should read "more adult material" because Sonic's just for kids anyway and why did you expect intelligent handling of the subject matter from him. When it's like. My brother in Christ, you are the one who brought the moral quandary to our attention to begin with. It's a copout to infantilize people for expecting you to have something to say about it lest you waste our time.

[thoughtfullyrainynightmare]

1, 2, 8, 15, 18, 20 and 23 for Nozel, if it's okay (since he was already asked).

MORE BRAIDBOY okay let's goooo

1. Why do you like or dislike this character?

The general theme of this post will be: I like him, because he makes one think, and is a complex, well thought out character. And I like exploring his softer side too, especially since we don't see it a lot in canon.

He's one of The Poor Little Meow Meows of this fandom, but I mean that in the positive sense.

You kinda wanna slap him and hug him at the same time /lh (or maybe nip that hairclip off of his braid, comb his hair back with one's fingers and kiss him, as he's looking surprised, a bit appalled, and confused)

Anyways... he's just neat. I'm writing this post from the last point to thee first, so I know what I've written into the following points ^^'

He's someone who deserves retribution, and is trying to own up to his mistakes. And I want to see how the Silva redemption arc plays out

2. Favorite canon thing about this character?

The complexity of his character. He's someone who... has had the very best intentions, but had no tools to handle the situation in which he was placed. He has done bad things, but he is a good person.

He just doesn't want to loose anyone else again

8. What’s something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you despise?

"Nozel deserves to die for how he treated Noelle!" "He's a shitty human being and he should [get treated in a horrendous way]" (sometimes including get treated horribly by Noelle) "He should think that Noelle died, so that he'd REALLY FEEL AWFUL"

Basically... just completely ignore the nuances of the story and write Nozel off as someone who is unworthy of redemption. There is a reason why I have a "Nozel protection squad" tag on my blog. As in, no one is saying that Nozel has done the right thing, because... he hasn't!? And his intention doesn't justify the means, but there is so much more to the story than just a shitty older brother.

He did bad things, but he isn't a bad person. And this is actually a rather complicated theme for a show that's aimed at teens/young adults (which is also why I suppose I shouldn't be surprised to see this phenomenon). But I'd wish that it'd make people think. To see different aspects of the story.

Tabs has written the Silvas very well, and to brush off so much of the narrative is just... I don't like it.

15. What’s your favorite ship for this character? (Doesn’t matter if it’s canon or not.)

Hm, hm... I mean, prefer my mutuals' OC ships with him over any other (including my own oc ship, which I created 'cause I thought Nozel needs cuddles). Because they hit that right spot for me, but if we talk about canon characters (the ship being non-canon ones still because... they just are, there's no proved canon ship for him), I guess I like... Nozessa the best.

Dorothy is more of a good friend to Nozel (or a therapist, of a kind) than a companion/spouse, and I think that the relationship (in the word's extended meaning) is important just as it is. So, out of the options, I'd say Nozel x Vanessa to be my favourite between canon characters. (As said, I, personally, like oc pairings for him the most)

18. How about a relationship they have in canon with another character that you admire?

I really love the mother-son relationship he had with Acier (but also the angst that comes/came with it, and I applaud Tabs for the decisions he made). Acier really was the best mom, and she was raising a little gentleman, who since then wanted to protect his siblings, since he couldn't protect his mom.

Poor boy...

But I really, really like the mother-son relationship between Nozel and Acier from the little things we've seen

20. Which other character is the ideal best friend for this character, the amount of screentime they share doesn’t matter?

I really do think that he's best friends with Fuegoleon. So their friendship parallels (in a way) that of Asta and Yuno. And I think that they really could connect in such a wonderful manner if Nozel just let down his guard a little bit. By which I mean: talk! Really talk. Discuss. About things that aren't work related.

They're of similar age. Come from similar places in the society, so they have a lot of understanding for each other's struggles. They have similar job descriptions. There's so many similarities in their lives that they could really lend an ear to one and another.

23. Favorite picture of this character?

Smiling Nozel, as a treat

[keicordelle]

Daily Inconveniences of an Au Ra: Alcohol

The whiskey burned all the way down Keshet's throat, a familiar sort of tingle that spread warmth through his chest and made his head feel airy.

"Damn, you can handle your booze better than I expected, to keep up with me this long."

Keshet’s gaze slid over to Thancred, perched comfortably beside him. He gestured with his mug, just barely not splashing them both with its contents when he got a little bit overly animated. "What, do you think we don't have alcohol on the Steppe? And anyway, we invented buuz. And this? This is not buuz."

Thancred squinted at him as if there was some linguistic nuance he was missing, but Keshet decided that was thoroughly a Thancred Problem and contented himself with another swig from his mug. He remembered belatedly to twist his hand out of the way of his damned horn, gouging himself on the point of it and sloshing amber liquid onto the bar.

"Besides," he continued. He was feeling rather chatty, might as well indulge in conversation too. What better time to reveal all his secrets than over a mug of... whatever this was. "Besides. I'm much larger than you. It's only natural I can outdrink you. In fact, I'm impressed you can keep up with me, you little-" Thancred's brow furrowed at the indecipherable word that followed. Something in Old Auri, most likely, and he wasn't entirely sure that it had sounded complementary.

Okay, so maybe Keshet hadn't actually been that big a drinker back home. They had alcohol, that was for certain, but it wasn't really all that like the stuff he'd seen in Eorzea. Eorzean ale was little more than piss water, as far as he was concerned, and though people assured him there were hints of honey in mead, he couldn't taste it amidst the acrid taste of the drink. And it was too weak to be good for much of anything. Proper arkhi would put some shine in your scales; ale and mead were hardly worth subjecting himself to the taste.

But he had to admit that alcohol was simply less common on the Steppe than it was here. Well, he didn't have to admit that to Thancred, but he could admit it to himself. Alcohol was just everywhere in the West. You celebrated victories with it, you signed deals over it, you drank it casually over dinner. Really, maybe it was a good thing ale was so weak. Xaela were known to do some rather peculiar things when soused on arkhi or kumis. On the Steppe, their drink was strong, but you also weren't especially likely to down four glasses in a single sitting. Kumis wasn't exactly rare, but it was a pain to make, especially among the more nomadic tribes.

Of course, once Thancred had introduced Keshet to Eorzea's stronger spirits, all bets were off. Sure, whiskey still lacked the body of the fermented milk he was used to, but it packed a certain punch. Enough to be satisfying, at least. And maybe enough to make his head ache something fierce the next day.

Thancred arched a brow, swirling the amber liquid in his glass, and when he spoke Keshet had to struggle to remember what it was they'd been talking about before he got lost in thought. "Alright, big boy. Let's see if you can keep up with this, then. Barkeep! Bring us two glasses of Mun-Tuy brew!"

As it turned out, size was not everything when it came to holding your alcohol -- a lesson that was deeply engraved into Keshet's mind after he spent the next day fighting Garleans with Azim's foul light trying to crack open his skull. Never again.

-

Read the rest of the series on Ao3!

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[goatpaste]

since ur fresh out of sbr hell I wanted to ask how u felt about Johnny getting 'healed' by the corpse bc while it didn't came out of nowhere it felt like a pretty ableist way to end a story w a disabled protagonist imo

yeaH its

Johnnys story is messy for sure

i really cannot speak about it fully as an able body person for sure

while i feel Johnnys whole complex issues with his disability is real as its can be for some people. But Araki, like most topics in SBR does NOT have the place or nuance to speak on these topics a lot of the time.

Johnny's writing on his disability is messy, i do think it being more about his self deprecation over a disability he had only within recent years gain in an act of his hubris coming back to get him. Him struggling with his own turmoil or the many ways his life changed and his ability to do everything the way he used to. Him having thoughts of wishing he was able to walk again. This isn't new in terms of writing a disabled character, this is the way many are written. But i think in terms of Johnnys character as a starting point it worked. Johnny character was like that before he was disabled. he's not one for moving forward emotionally without a push. He will wallow and be a sad sack shit head about whatever until he dies unless something comes along

Had his story insteed of just being miserable about being disabled and it a focus of his character and the end goal being that he can walk again and its kinda meant to be one of the only good things he gained from the end of the story. But instead been about his obsession with the spin and then later the corpse and believing it to be some magic cure all that would make him walk again. Thinking this was the path to making his life better if he could walk again. Then the story devolving into realizing this wasn't going to make him happy, and how far he'd come as he was and how his drive has led him to be able to do all the things he loved doing before his accident and choosing to wallow in his breaking point, and the way he'd become happier than he had been in so long because he was improving himself as a person. the person he'd become and grown into because of who he was then and there, and because of the connections in his life like Lucy and Gyro.

Johnny learning to love his body and grow into his new strengths and weakness. That his shitty feelings weren't all based in his inability to walk, but lots of other things that he let pile up in his heart. and stuff instead of a story where, "yay some magic corpse 'fixed' me/my problems"

like yeah again, maybe im not the best person to interperate the 'right' way to tell this story, or explain my full feelings on it. But i do feel that Johnnys whole character arc and story about his disability and goal to walk again could been handled better at the very least! idk, again. im sure theres gonna be a lot of different points to be had about Johnny's character in a lot of different ways ykno.

[helga-grinduil]

May I ask you for your honest opinion about the whole mutant discrimination plot going on right now and ch 372?

I just finished talking about it on twitter, so I'll just copy what I said there, sorry :'D

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Gonna be honest, I need to see how exactly this situation resolves first before deciding how I feel about this whole part of the plot. So far it's kinda… 😬 Hori is a strong writer, but like any writer does, he has strong and weak points. He's really good with emotional stuff and with characters' personal issues. With societal stuff?.. Not so much. Usually it's easier to look past that, because most of the time it's more of a secondary issue and isn't the focus of the narrative. The problems begin when he tries to bring society issues forward into the foreground - just look at how Lady Nagant and HPSC were handled.

I don't think Hori is racist or anything like that. But he's definitely being tone deaf here. It feels like he's trying to address a big societal issue he wrote into his story without going too deep into it because the story has to stay a 'feel good', light type of a story about kids being heroes.

(A person replied that they don't think he's being tone deaf or worried about "feel good" and that iscrimination wasn't going to be fixed in a couple chapters.)

Don't misunderstand me, Ii'm not saying that I outright hate how this is being written, I liked some parts, but Hori wrote that mutants were literally massacred for being mutants and then treats them forming a movement and snapping at society as something bad. Where's the nuance?

The person:

He's never said they were bad, they an oppressed minority being misguided and manipulated. Time and time again he's shown society as the bad guy and there's nothing different here.

The idea here remains that 'descriminated group is responsible for how they're treated by society'. Mutants shouldn't make themselves look harmless and peaceful and non-agressive in people's eyes to be treated like human beings.

Don't think that's the idea at all, Shoji isn't hiding his face. He's hiding his scars, if the case was he had to look normal he'd have to hide his arms. He doesn't want people thinking he's out for vengeance for his scars.

That's exactly what i'm talking about. About making themselves look 'peaceful' so people would treat them normally.

That's not the idea tho, he's clearly quite proud of his mutanism. He's not seeking revenge tho as it wouldn't help his cause at all.

He's literally hiding scars so people wouldn't assume that he's an agressive mutant who wants revenge. Horikoshi writes Shouji as someone who accepts this and complies by trying to hide his scars, which is not a good message. I get that shouji is a child himself and that he's not supposed to be correct about everything, and I support his goal to leave a positive memory about mutants, so people would become more accepting, but the thing is - mutants shouldn't be the ones doing all of that.

It all comes down to Hori's idea that 'individuals are responsible for changing society', which is the core of OFA ideology and isn't a wrong idea per se, but the thing is - society should be just as responsible for changing itself for people's sake. One for All and All for One and all that shit. And the problem here is that so far, Horikoshi validates the idea of individuals working for the sake of changing society, but continues to avoid validating the notion of government and society changing itself to help people, even though it should be both, not just one of these.

He's doing quite the opposite, as Shoji says you could kill the ones responsible but the issues would still be there. There needs to be systematic change, which can't be done by any single individual. Again we've yet to see it, just like when they changed fate it took multiple people not just individuals. Changing society as a whole is impossible as an individual. Even OFA vs. AFO isn't about individuals, it's a generational thing.

The conflict between AFO the person and OFA holders? Yes, it's about generations. But like. You know where One for All and All for One came from, right? There's meaning behind these words. An individual protects the group and the group protects an individual. Those are ideologies. In 'The three musketeers' that saying has a meaning, right? One musketeer will defend and fight for his friends and his friends will defend and fight for him. Or, an individual helps the many, and the many help an individual.

Which is similar to how fate was changed in MHA, Izuku made the biggest individual effort but without everyone believing in him it wouldn't have been possible.

This can easily be translated into an ideology and connects to many of BNHA's themes. Izuku and many heroes believe into sacrificing oneself for others, while Shigaraki (not AFO, Shigaraki) and many villains believe that society as a whole should be more responsible for people. But those ideas, just like 'One for All' and 'All for One', are just separate parts of a single unified ideology. On their own, they fail without the other. It should be both at the same time. Individuals fight for the sake of society, society acts more responsible.

I think at some point in this story, hero society and society in general will have to take responsibility. Seeing as how most villains were just citizens that society has failed Hori has made his intentions very apparent.

Anyway, I think this argument is over. Like I said, you kinda misunderstood me - I'm very hopeful that Hori will resolve this in a satisfying way and that the society will be changed, that's why I want to wait and see how this all ends, it's just that the way towards this resolution is… kinda bumpy.

[bitchfitch]

tbh i think i finally cracked a nut I've been teething in for a while.

For the story to work Pavo has to be Far more eager to radically change his relationship to Esti than I think a man as stubborn as him would be. He's practically raised Esti and has trained him in everything Pavo Could train him in. For over a decade Esti has been such a fixture in his life that people are surprised to see one of them without the other if there's not a Really good reason for them to be apart.

And the cracking came because like. Pavo is not a man who can handle nuance well. He needs things to be emotionally simple and uncomplicated and to fit neatly into his hyper-toxic masculinity poisoned view on reality. Things that don't fit are to be destroyed discarded or broken down until they do.

His relationship with Esti Was simple. Of course a mentor would be proud of their apprentice and want boast about them at every turn and to spend as much time with them as possible. Of course they would want to push themselves to be a better example for them and to protect them from everything and to devote a massive amount of time and thought to them.

Even if Pavo would never admit it, not even to himself, he loved Esti like a son. And that was easy when Esti was still a child.

Esti grew up. He needed Pavo less and less as he became more independent and a man of his own.

And that terrified Pavo in a way he would never be able to put to words. Esti wasn't his son. He was his apprentice. there would be a day they'd have to say goodbye and even if Esti Swore he would visit. Why would he? They didn't share blood. Esti had no reason to butter him up for an inheritance. No younger siblings to come be a roll model for. Why would a grown man spend time with another man when there was nothing in it for him? Pavo would never admit how much being alone scared him. He'd been Fine alone before Esti. He'd be fine again.

Why would he want to see Esti again anyways? He taught him everything he could. Esti had been a chore. Pavo should be happy to soon be free of the responsibility of raising another man's kid.

He told himself that but he still wasn't. and for a guy so scared of his own feelings that was unacceptable. It was too complicated.

And then the party came around. The last birthday Esti would celebrate in this village, and the first one Pavo would celebrate with him. Pavo had always tried to make sure Esti had a life beyond his training, friends and acquaintances and those he would get sweet on from time to time. People he could spend time with and celebrate alongside. So Pavo had never been to give him a space free of his mentor.

The night went well, Esti lost a lot of his nerves the further into a bottle he got. All that doubt just spilling off him. Pavo had never seen him properly drunk, only ever the hangovers after. He'd rarely seen him so unconcerned and happy and open with his thoughts. Impulsive instead of constantly wrapped up in a knot of indecision.

Esti would be leaving in a weeks time. Pavo waited for the clock to strike midnight to congratulate him on becoming a man. he'd been an adult for years, but not a man so long as he lived under his mentor's wing.

Esti had stared at him, cheeks flushed and eyes bright. And then Esti was in his lap. Gangly legs either side of Pavos and thin but still strong arms wrapped tight around his shoulders. Kissing him like they were too long separated lovers.

And that was it. That was what Pavo needed when his heart was aching. not necessarily the kiss, but the closeness and touch and Esti there with him and not leaving him behind. He hadn't really ever thought of his apprentice in a sexual light. the odd intruding thought but nothing he ever actually considered acting on.

But now. Now it was a way to twist and recontextualize things. It was a reason to cling to Esti and hold him close and keep him and never have to say goodbye. It fit right in with Pavo's view of the world. He was strong, and despite everything Pavo had done to train and teach, Esti was still so very weak. He always would be because of his half blooded nature. He was weak, Pavo was strong. The strong protect the weak, the weak serve and thank the strong.

This was how Pavo would justify refusing to let Esti leave and clinging to him for as long as possible.

[simptasia]

I was actually going to send an ask about that cause i was talking with a friend recently, and we were talking about how much we love that Charlie was Made Mancunian instead of something like a Londoner as I know they were going for the Britpop/Oasis 'troubled British musician' aesthetic, but Mancunians are like some of the nicest people in the UK, its gotta be that tram. We were talking about How they never met, but if they did, how Charlotte and Charlie could have formed a really funny friendship due to that North/South Divide. Like people joke but as someone from the UK that north-south divide is nasty, like you tell someone from the North you're moving to London they look at you like you've gone insane/Bonkers if you will. I cannot overstate just how snarky that friendship would be. Especially since Charlotte is from Sussex, a manc like Charlie is going to be bullying her as soon as she walks through the door. Like the poorest part of Sussex still gets more money than the most deprived part of Manchester, which also leads me to believe due to how it is, both Naomi and Charlie's snark might have a lil venom in it due to it really is a battlefield between Northerns and Southerners. Desmond also like Desmond is half Peruvian which is probably why he isn't like this, but I'm surprised he doesn't just full ham sarcastic talking to other British characters again that north-south divide is nasty, and he's a Scotsman everyone south of him is a southerner even Charlie and Naomi who were probably like a three-hour car drive away. My final point is i really think it would have been funny as to an American audience and every non-British character (Except people like Daniel who spent time in the UK ) it must look like a really advanced form of hate like imagine seeing people with nonsense accents bully someone else who lives an hour away with a nonsense accent cause they get their drinking water from caves instead of vast lakes.

miles: whoa naomi and charlotte really hate each other huh

daniel, who knows better: they're good friends actually

miles: [confused in american] ???

alas lost was written by americans who had no idea of the nuances of british culture. like, the only reason charlie specifically has manc energy is because it comes from dom's own brick soaked soul

like without being told, i am sure than it was dom's idea for charlie to coo over baffonee pie, a beloved northern dessert

(that's banana and toffee pie, babes!)

i woulda loved to have known how they woulda written charlie interacting with my beloved science trio. sure it wouldn't have been my delightfully indulgent internal fanfics but I Want it

i think des never made any playful jabs about charlie being english because he's not the type of person to give a fuck. yes i know the rivalries run deep but des is 1. pretty non-judgemental, 2. he has more important things to care about and 3. english pussy got him acting unwise. uh basically class and money divide fucks over des' mind, not country/culture divide

the show was never equipped to handle this so this is just my imagination but it seems more like charlie would be the one who cares about things like where you're from. not in a nasty way, but he'd at least think about it. his relationship with that posh girl lucy would have, deep down, made him feel worthless. espech with charlie's fixation on Taking Care Of His Loved Ones

and charlie being a manc really does add a lot to his character in ways i doubt the writers even realised. the dream version of megan pace cooing to charlie that he's going to save them with his musical talent, like he grew up with this need to make himself better than how he started. the punk aspects of him also tie into him being a manc because the Fuck The System and I Wanna Escape attitudes are super fucking common amongst northerners. it's a running joke that northerners suffer and whine all the time. charlie is a very northern character, almost stereotypically so. this is partly cuz of dom and partly cuz they based him on aspects of the northern music scene

i'm not saying all northerners are whiny angry little punk bitches. but charlie is and him being a manc adds like, a layer to it? also also the intersection between lower class english views of masculinity + the idea that charlie is bi and trans is utterly fascinating to me

but i digress. i don't get to talk about charlie being from the north enough, partly because like, i know most lost fans are americans who would just be smiling and nodding dumbfounded as i meme'd

but i do like to be educational. long story short, guys? manchester is a highly industrial part of the north of england and is riddled with poverty and violence and basically everybody who lives there are like the most depressed people in england (dom himself has expressed that he's proud to be a mancurian but happy he escaped)

so, like, manchester is the detroit of england. i hope that helps

[spaceorphan18]

So beside being invested what did you think about Rings of Power? I really loved it and I can't wait for S2! :)

Oh, hi Nonny! I'm sorry I'm behind on answering asks. I hope you're still around - because I do love talking about Tolkien, and I don't get to do it a whole lot here!

So - yes, I'm interested, and I thought it was much better than I worried it would be. I still has some issues though that I hope they work on.

Okay, story stuff behind the cut in case people don't want to be spoiled. And because I'm wordy, as usual.

****

I'm mostly going to break this down by character/story arc

Galadriel - I liked her a lot more than general consensus, but I do understand the concerns. There's a lot of room in Tolkien's canon to let Galadriel be whatever the story needs her to be. What they made her be, however, is mostly an angry, aggressive, and static character. I don't blame the actress -- she's doing great with some questionable script writing. I'm fine with her wanting revenge, but they're swinging wildly on this one note, and really need to give her more depth and nuance moving forward.

(Also /what/ was that dark scene where she threatened Adar? I mean why go that far?)

Halbrand/Sauron - Okay, I love LOVE the idea of what they did here more than the actual execution. This is one of those times where the show was trying to have its cake and eat it too. They were trying to walk this line -- making him seem like he could be a real lost king, or someone who was going to be the Nazgul, and wanted to play up the mystery of who Sauron was but... they could have spent a lot more time letting us in on the secret, and letting him be way more manipulative than he actually was. I feel like it was /such/ a missed opportunity to not have him just be sinister, or at least unsettling, the whole way through.

I also think there was a missed opportunity not to have him spend more time with the Elves (as he does in canon) teaching them how to make their rings. It was weird to me that it was, like, a half episode.

Loved the actor (kudos to having him have the whole Aragorn feel to him). Loved the scene between he and Galadriel in the last episode -- so, so good. And I'm really glad they didn't try to force some weird kind of romance there, and instead were opting for two sides of a similar coin kind of thing.

Again - interested to see where they go with this -- will they stick to canon and have him involved in the fall of Numenor?

Elendil, Ilsildur, and Numenor - Look, we know how this ends - with Numenor sinking into the sea and Elendil and Ilsildur creating the last alliance (with the Elves) to defeat Sauron. I think there's a good start here -- both with Elendil and Ilsildur and with the beginnings of the fall of Numenor. I can't say this was the most interesting part of the show, but it does have potential for getting some really fascinating fantasy politics going.

Celebrimbor, Gil-Galad, and the Elves - Out of all the places we've been, the land of the Elves feels kind of limited, and I wish they'd expand the scope here a little. Celebrimbor isn't like I thought he'd be, but that's okay -- I do wish we had more of him though. Gil-Galad feels so stiff and undeveloped. Let him expand his role a bit.

Elrond - Yes, I love him and everything about him. No complaints. Let's give him more to do in upcoming seasons.

The Dwarves - This was pretty well done. Even if there were some huge departs to canon (There should only be one Durin at a time) I think this might be the strongest story line in the show. I loved Elrond and Durin's friendship. I also loved Dessa - and how she's somewhat a Lady MacBeth character. The characterization in these plot lines feels like it was handled the best.

The whole Mithril being the Elves' savior thing -- *sigh* Look, I know they're limited because they don't get the Silmarillion, and it's causing some strange things to happen. And I'm not a Tolkien purist - I'm fine with changes but... wtf?? Mithril was somehow created from the Silmarils and a balrog and... no. Stop. Stop explaining it.

The Southlands - I was a little worried at first, because all of the characters here were original ones. While I really did not care about the romance between the Elf dude and the Southlander woman, overall, I think what they did here was pretty good. The tension during this story line was pretty well done, and the characters weren't nearly as annoying as I feared they might be.

I still feel like the kid has some part to play -- will he become a great king of men and become one of the nazgul? That'd be a twist, huh?

I also kind of loved the eruption of Mt. Doom -- though another missed opportunity not having the Southlands change to Mordor on the map.

Adar - I actually loved this character -- because he struck on some of the lore actually from canon, and made him a sympathetic villain. Idk, I just thought it was cool what they did with him. The orcs, too, were rather well done -- and much more menacing than in the original trilogy, tbh.

The Stranger - I love Wizards, I really do. I think they spent too much time making us wonder if it was Sauron, though, when it clearly wasn't. All signs point to Gandalf, which would be.. I get it, even if Gandalf wasn't in the third age. They have room to tell the story of one of the blue wizards, which would at least be a neat twist. I also kind of wonder if he's Saruman - because that'd be even more unexpected. I suppose we'll see. I do hope, though, he has more interaction with the others, though, because this plot line was so disjointed that it kind of felt annoying to go back to it.

The Hobbits - *sigh* This is where I'm confused - in canon, there are three factions of Hobbits and the Fallohides are the ones that are wanderers, not the Harfoots. Nothing about these Harfoots resembled what we know about them in canon, so why not make them Fallohides? I don't get it.

Anyway... when I heard they were bringing Hobbits into the mix, I kind of groaned. It was better than I thought it'd be, but still not great. They were just kinda dumb -- and it was their own fault they kept getting killed by the stranger. Nori drove me crazy. Oops. (Also - holy Elijah Wood look alike with this actress.)

Some other things --

The LotR references - as someone who loves Easter Eggs and callbacks, even I was getting a little bit tired of them. They were going out of their way to pay so much homage to the original trilogy that I felt like it was trying too hard.

the cinematography is gorgeous. It is the most expensive TV show ever filmed, and it shows. I hope that push back about the show doesn't cause Amazon (or who ever is funding it) to cut the budget on this - because omg, is it beautiful.

The score was fantastic - yes, good, goes in with the wonderful cinematography

The show has some pacing issues. Some plot lines drag on too much. Others are rushed.

Also, as reviewers mentioned - some of the dialogue is really awkward and just plain weird.

So.... are they going to show the making of the other rings? Are they going to show the downfall of men into the Nazgul? How's the fall of Numenor going to go? Will they expand into the east and south? There's a lot of story to tell yet -- I'm hoping they listen to some feedback about this first season and try to improve upon it. There's a lot of potential here, and I want to see it grow into an even better show!

Those be my thoughts! Thanks for asking Nonny!

[jheselbraum]

Injustice is dumb not because "Superman would never do wrong!" but because Superman isn't an idiot and would never blame himself so hard after Joker killed Lois. Like yeah Superman failed to stop the deaths but he has zero blood on his hands until he murders Joker later but both Superman and by extension the audience are expected to believe that he does?

"Superman accidentally killed Lois Lane" no you idiot she died when a criminally insane clown and his equally criminally insane psychologist girlfriend performed amateur heart surgery on her and shoved a nuclear bomb into her chest cavity. There's no way she wasn't already fully dead by the time Superman got within a hundred yards of her. All he did was pummel her dead body into space. Fucked up? Yes, very, but it's not murder. There is no reason for Superman to act like the situation is in any way his fault, let alone for his view on killing to go from "killing bad" to "in for a penny, in for a pound" that quickly

Furthermore, Supes is fast but he's got just enough "fuck, should I kill? Killing seems bad. Also, did I just kill? Like, I want to kill, but I haven't killed yet I don't think" to get through for Wonder Woman to beat him to the punch and just kill Joker herself. Like Joker shouldn't have even made it to prison. If you think Batman could protect Joker from Wonder Woman long enough to even get him into a squad car you're wrong.

Not to mention, like. Batman canonically has contingency plans for this. For this exact thing? Like he just carries Kryptonite on him, at all times. And like yeah yeah batman vs superman yadda yadda, but Batman either has enough kryptonite on him to stop Superman from becoming a dictator at the drop of a hat after one (1) fight or he doesn't, and if he doesn't there are very few reasons Batman should survive the encounter, especially against a superman who's this unhinged. Batman's resistance would not have been this long drawn out thing.

And the parademons, are you kidding me? Batman and Superman's codes against killing very rarely apply to parademons, and if they do for Batman it's usually "I can't kill them but that doesn't mean I can't use my batarang bombs to explode them into Wonder Woman's sword or that exposed rebar or off of this really tall building" and for Superman it's more like "officer they few into my laser vision, they flew into my laser vision thirty-seven times." Why does batman care if supes kills a bunch of them? Why is this decision to kill the parademons seen as further evidence of Superman's descent into just. Endless amounts of murder.

And none of it feels like Superman, it just feels like Zod in primary colors. The only person on Clark's side who really feels like themselves in all this is Wonder Woman, so why isn't she the dictator? You're telling me wonder woman, in the face of a nuclear disaster, wouldn't just go "okay y'all aren't responsible enough to handle this, I'm in charge now." A dictatorial superman is infinitely more likely to just go completely ham with the phantom zone, which is basically killing, they're basically dead, and you can do a lot of things about prison abolitionism with the phantom zone, but like, if Superman does start killing people, I don't think he'd go so far as to kill a kid, like Shazam. Batman, maybe. We've had a lot of precedent for Batman really wanting to murder people but choosing not to because of either his gun phobia or the whole "if I start killing I won't be able to stop myself" thing, usually some combination of both. But Superman? Superman getting really indiscriminate with the whole murder thing takes away the nuance of why half the damn justice league is siding with him. Wonder Woman kills, yeah, but she's got like, standards about it. This was also, coincidentally, one of my many problems with Wonder Woman in Flashpoint Paradox (why is she homewrecking Aquaman of all people, she can do better than that). Wonder Woman is the Justice League member most likely to try to take over the world but as far as her killing code goes she'd probably be a few more rungs up the ethical ladder than ancient Greece.

Not to mention, Injustice has both cop batman out in full swing, and "please get therapy I'm begging you" batman... but not for Superman, which is. An interesting take, because although I hate cop batman on principle, the only reason a story like Injustice holds any weight to it is because of the complete history of these characters. Injustice Superman could've had dickish tendencies the whole time but we know he didn't because we know this is generally "big blue boy scout" superman up until he kills joker. It doesn't hit the same way if it's not. So we have the implied narrative of batman, up until and even after the point where superman fucks up, being cop batman based on how he treats clark. But then we get "go to therapy" batman when he teams up with Harley, you know, the lady who's half responsible for nuking an entire city and by extension Superman's turn to authoritarianism. Oh, but Superman, he's beyond saving.

[hirazuki]

I AM LATE BUT BACK, sorry work ate my life |D but yes! camelot movies are a bit different; mostly in order of events and dialogue and how certain events happen, not the big stuff, but some stuff is shuffled around and altered for time purposes. i'm pretty sure they also added mordred vs sanzang in the second one, that wasn't in the game. but it's still good! it's very very good, it's just a bit edited down etc because they crammed a whole chapter into 2 ovas rather than a whole 24 ep anime.

the extra anime does sound fun! i absolutely fucking adore Robin and Drake, so om nom nom more content for them is always wonderful, and i like nero's route in the game best so i'm glad it's her starring-- i should definitely check it out at some point once i finish apocrypha.

(i...am very early on into apocrypha. i need to finish that. i love everyone in it, they're all delightful. especially astolfo and achilles, though honorary mentions for karna and vlad.)

kojiro BALLS honestly he's really cool and i hope he gets more stuff in future events, we do get a 'gudaguda' historical japan event every year and i think they finally ran out of sengoku shenanigans, so maybe he'll get to star in a future one? here's hoping he deserves it (or maybe he'll be in that new koei tecmo game, since musashi is in it!)

you have excellent taste tbh, everyone on that list is amazing, and i stan shishigou SO HARD you have no idea he's So Cool. waver too, i love him as small and dorky but also older and...still dorky. but hotter. Gil, Cu, Emiya, Robin, Merlin, and Dantes are some of my favs but honestly i can't name a servant i HATE 100% (okay yes i can, but that's just one of them XD)

No worries!! UGH I hate when that happens, I wish work was just. not a thing XD

Oh, yeah, that makes sense, with Babylonia they did a full anime season; I wish they had done the same for this, but I'll take what I can get! I don't really have the time/interest to explore the game chapter for myself, but I wonder if I could maybe find a let's play or something to watch, I'd be interested in seeing the content in full.

Haha, Apocrypha is also very differently structured in terms of Holy Grail War dynamics (14 servants on the field....... it's so many....) but I really, really liked it. Lots of pain, of course, but it's so well written and executed. Enjoy!! Astolfo is a gem <3 (Achilles I'm not a fan of, but I've never liked him in any form/media and idk why; I like to pretend we don't share heritage XD BUT that's just my personal taste and, as a Greek, the Apocrypha team did an absolutely excellent job with his portrayal! I honestly have zero complaints about how they've handled any of my culture's mythological/historical figures, they consistently produce some of the most intuitive and nuanced interpretations I've ever seen).

It's just my curse, always falling for the side characters with the least amount of screen time lmao. I hope so!! Fingers crossed! (though Musashi favoritism kind of abounds in sword/historical circles, so it that might not mean anything -- but I'll be very pleasantly surprised if he does turn out to be in it!!).

Lmao THANK YOU! You have excellent taste too, Gil is one of the best boys and Cu is amazing as well <3 Shishigou is just so badass (and a necromancer, so instant bonus points for me) and his attitude is so relatable, he'd be my number one pick for a Fate mentor figure, you know? YES I love both young Waver and older Waver, and can I say how much I adore that he's so completely and utterly out of shape? Wheezing when he runs? I love that about him XD

I haven't spent too much time with Robin and Dantes so I can't really say anything worthwhile other than they are awesome and I love their designs, but MERLIN is also a top choice, 10/10, he's absolutely irritating but also a delight and his relationship with Fou is one of the best things ever.

Same! There are definitely characters that I don't like, as in, they don't vibe with me, but no one who I dislike as a character in terms of their role/purpose in the story, everyone is extremely well written.

[champagnepodiums]

If the Williams announcement ends up being Oscar instead of Alex getting officially announced for next season I would honestly cry

I made a joke to my dad about Oscar to Williams, but if it actually happened I would not be at all prepared.

If he did go to Williams then I have to imagine it's because of an agreement with a different team, in which the plan would be to get him a seat with that team after next year but to keep him at Williams for now so that he has f1 experience, and to keep him interested in staying with said new team. Mainly because even if Alpine sucks I find it hard to believe you would choose a team like Williams over them. It is also possible Alpine sucks so much he'd rather go for the worst team on the grid in hopes something changes or becomes available in the future? I dunno.

If he doesn't have a current f1 opportunity lined up, then I can't fathom why he would turn down Alpine. Especially when there's all of the legal issues involved (doesn't even matter which one of them is correct about his responsibilities to the team. That's still time money and effort going into legal issues), and his public reputation and how that could affect how much other teams would want him. It would be kinda funny if he was leaving to go to a different series entirely. But I also doubt that, especially with the wording on his tweet. It's also possible that he's planning on going into f1 but pushing it back a year so that he can go directly onto a different mid team.

The whole McLaren thing is interesting, because they literally still have two drivers who have seats next year. Daniel has said he's staying, and Andreas has said he's staying. So if Oscar is actually linked to McLaren it wouldn't be until 2024 at least that he would actually get a seat in f1 with them. And then of course they also keep leading on fifty drivers at a time for no food reason so that's also just weird. (you would think after the second one everyone contacted by McLaren would be wary and yet...)

It's overall just a super weird situation and I wish I understood the nuances of it more, but alas we won't have full knowledge of the situation until it is actually over. Which is reasonable but also kinda sucks because now I'm all curious about the why and the who and the when and everything. Like is this the best career move ever or is it the worst decision ever. Mark Webber and Oscar Piastri keeping us on our toes

I also think what Alpine did was super weird???? It seems like they didn't even bring this up with him. I understand them believing he would take the seat, due to contracts or to a want to be in F1, but I still can't grasp how they just didn't chat with him and go hey seats open, it's yours. Because then this could have all been handled more privately. I feel like because of a want for a quote, or coordinated posts about it, or just general courtesy you'd tell him? And if they did tell him and he said no and they did this anyway that's even weirder! Because you'd think you'd sort it out before the announcement! Like there isn't any of this that isn't absolutely bizarre to be.

Okay, so now we know that the Williams announcement was not Oscar.

Which makes things so much murkier to me on what Oscar is doing?

But yeah, I really want to know what the heck McLaren is dangling in front of Alex Palou and probably Oscar to make them forget that they have two drivers contracted to drive next year (and even if they got rid of Daniel, that’s still one spot for two drivers?)

I’m honestly wondering if teams picking up options and not really telling drivers ahead of time is more common than we knew because no driver until Alex Palou had gone against it? Like it seems like a strong arm move and up until now maybe drivers just didn’t feel like they had the power to stand up publicly? It’ll be interesting to see what long term effects are of the Palou/Piastri situations

[one-boring-person]

Err so your bio says requests are open? Hopefully I’m not bugging ya! Could I request more t-800 fics? I.....have a thing where I see someone from random media and I immediately self insert myself into the show or movie or whatever. It’s a problem but I’m 20 now so it’s probably never going to end. ANYWAY sk could I request t-800 x a reader who has really bad anxiety, but she roughs it out? Just maybe he hears her crying in private or whatever IDK.

It’s so self indulgent but like what else is fanfic for?

Anyways, I love your blog (which I’ve discovered in the last hour!) and can’t wait to explore the rest of your master list!! I think it’s cool you write for the more obscure media, if that makes sense!! You’ve inspired me to even write some terminator fanfic of my own! Request aside, I adore your writing and blog. ❤️❤️hasta la vista, baby

Youre not bugging me at all! I'm so sorry I took so long to get this written! I'm glad I've inspired you, thank you so much for the kind words!😊

You Are Lying.

T-800 (Terminator: Judgement Day) x reader

Warnings: anxiety

Masterlist

Uncle Bob still struggles to understand the sheer complexity of human emotion. He had thought that he'd gotten a grip on the baffling nature of these creatures, but with hindsight he now realises he has very little. Skynet had only programmed him to understand fear, amongst other basic human expressions, so his CPU very often struggles to correctly interpret the emotions portrayed by his human comrades.

One in particular is (Y/n), who he'd taken special care to observe, so he may discern her feelings and state of mind better. Mostly, he's right about what his systems pull out, the accurate facial recognition procedures finely honed into her nuanced expression, though his following conclusions from these are often somewhat skewed. Like today, for example. 

An hour and a half earlier, she had returned home from work, slamming the front door behind her as she entered. He'd gone out to investigate the noise, just in time to see her throw her bag into the corner, shoes following before she stormed upstairs, barely sparing him a glance. Instantly, his HUD had begun to analyse what it saw: tightened lips, furrowed brow, narrowed eyes, slightly flared nostrils and flushing skin. The matches had been swift to follow - 25% fatigued, 27% angered and 48% frustrated. Unsure of how else to respond, other than how John had taught him before, Bob had simply called up a quick "Hello", only to hear her bedroom door bang against its frame as she went straight to her room.

Now, he knows he should've followed up on his previous deductions. She hasn't come out of her room in ninety minutes, not even to eat, something that has caused warning objectives to appear on his HUD. Moving up the stairs, he runs through possible scenarios in his CPU, keeping his pace slow and unhurried, so as not to worry her if he had mistakenly scanned her before. 

Getting to the hall, he heads towards her room, using heightened auditory processors to scan the floor for possible clues as to what he should expect. Sure enough, he catches something, a low sniffling his system swiftly reminds him is known as crying by the human race. Frowning, he quickens his pace, getting to her door much faster now, taking the door handle in one fist. He halts himself before he opens, however, remembering what she'd said once before about privacy. Humans preferred if you knocked first.

Rapping sharply on the wood, Bob waits for a response, stationary by the door. 

A feeble response echoes from within moments later.

"I'm busy." The voice is cracked and broken, thick with emotions too strong for him to discern from here.

It is this that leads him to disregard her words, opening the door to her room with no further ado.

Instantly, he scans the room, taking in the sight of (Y/n) hunched on her bed, pressed against the headboard, tear-stained face turned to him. Watery eyes are wide as they meet his, hands lifting to swipe wayward tears from her cheeks, struggling to straighten dishevelled hair to give an impression of normalcy. Once again, his processors scan her emotions, this time showing a stark difference: 32% frustration, 68% helplessness.

"What is wrong?" He asks, going further into the room.

(Y/n) sniffs, turning away from him.

"N-nothing. You can leave." She tells him, voice register markedly different.

"You are lying." The T-800's scanners list the telltale features he's learned to associate with her dishonesty, confusion welling up inside him; why won't she tell him what's wrong?

"No I'm not." She bites back, clearly frustrated now.

"My visual scanners have identified at least three indicators of lying from your body language." He says before he can stop himself, stepping into the room properly, closing the door behind him.

"And? I still don't want you to stay." She sniffs, and he tilts his head. 

(Y/n) is still lying to him.

Going to the bed, he sits, looking over at her with as gentle an expression as he can muster. 

"Please tell me what is wrong." He pleads with her, knowing that his more "human" attributes often win him favours with her.

Reluctantly, she looks up at him, wiping away a tear as she does so, looking dejected and helpless.

"I...I guess I should probably have told you, or Sarah when we first moved in together, but I've been diagnosed with anxiety. I found out when I was thirteen, but I never did anything about it. I can't afford to do anything about it." (Y/n) looks down at her lap, "It's pathetic, but that's how it is. Sometimes it just gets a bit overwhelming."

Bob takes a second to process this, his HUD bringing up all he knows about the mental illness. It's not much, but he knows enough.

"That is not pathetic. It is not your fault, either, so your shame is misplaced." He tells her, awkwardly reaching over to wrap an arm around her, "You should have told us, but I am aware of reasons why you didn't, and so I see no reason why either Sarah or I can get incensed at your decision. With the knowledge of your condition, I can work to make life easier for you."

She stares at him, incredulous.

"You...don't think I've been irresponsible?"

"No, I think you did what you thought was right. You concealed the truth to keep us from worrying, no?"

Slowly, she nods.

"Then you were not irresponsible. We can help you now, if you'd like."

Again, she nods.

Sighing, Bob reaches over and pulls her into a hug, crushing her into his larger frame. She stiffens momentarily, but soon relaxes into his hold, not protesting when he manoeuvres her into his lap. Gently, he rocks the two of them, knowing it is soothing to most, leaning back onto her bed, which creaks slightly under his weight. In his grip, he can feel (Y/n) going limped, her pulse and breathing slowing into the regular patterns accompanying sleep, her exhaustion clearly taking over. 

Content to remain where he is, Bob puts himself into standby, pleased that he may have helped her.