#and instead of trying to fix that magical ability as the problem it was; I amplified it to the point where I hated reading

[theres-whump-in-that-nebula]

I just realized that I hate being directly talked to (in most situations); but if someone is talking to their friend at the same table as I am, and we’re all working on separate projects, I love listening to their conversation? Like, in art class these two gamer kids would go on and on about Sonic and Overwatch to each other and it was amazing; because I like reading Wikipedia articles on things I have no personal interest in just to know what it is enough to talk about it if someone brings it up in conversation.

Call that benign eavesdropping.

[cy-cyborg]

Writing disability: The Super-Crip Trope, and how to avoid falling into it's harmful elements

The "Magical disabled person" or as it's often called in disability circles, the "Super-Crip" is the name of a trope in which a disabled character has some kind of magic or special abilities, which is used to mitigate or erase the impact of their disability. While not a mandatory part of the trope, many super-crip characters are also stronger than their peers, specifically because of their disability's impact on their powers. So why is this trope so unpopular among many disabled people? There's a few reasons. The main one is because more often than not, Super-crips who are written by non-disabled people are often treated as an easy way out of actually having to deal with a character's disability, and a shortcut out of having to do the research into how a disabled character would deal with certain situations. When these writers encounter something they think their disabled character can't do, instead of actually talking to people with the same disability as their character and doing research, they just write that its not a problem because "magic powers go!"

In some cases, but not all, their powers all but erase their disability completely, at least from the perspective of it's relevance to the story. While, to my knowledge, this was never in the comics or movies, A good example of this is a "fan-theory" I've seen among non-disabled X-men fans who claim professor X could use his telepathy to walk, functionally bypassing his spinal injury (Or his leg injury, if we're going off some of the comics' timelines). This would functionally erase his disability, making it an example of both the super-crip trope and the miracle-cure trope.

ID: An image of Professor X from X-men, a white bald man wearing a suit, sitting in a silver wheelchair, and another unknown man in a suit standing beside him, framed by a circular doorway, both their faces are partially obscured by shadow. /end ID]

Another reason this trope is disliked is because writer's often have good intentions when using this trope, but they actually end up undermining the points they were trying to make. Often, super-crips are portrayed as badasses in an attempt to show that "you can still be a hero/useful to the plot and be disabled", but the way they portray it usually implies that disabled people, as they exist in real life, aren't useful unless they have something that compensates for their disability or have impossible powers.

So should super-crips be avoided entirely? Some folks in the community think so, but personally, I don't agree. Despite all of what I've said so far, I think there are ways to write characters who technically fit the definition of a super-crip, without it being harmful. There's an argument to be made that "super-crip" specifically refers to harmful version of the trope, so not everyone will consider characters who aren't part of it, but I do, and I think it's important to discuss both the harm this trope can bring, and how this trope can be used in non-harmful ways. Humans (and creatures with human-level intelligence) are adaptable creatures, and in a world where magic exists and especially in worlds where its common, disabled people will find ways to use it to help themselves. but help is the key word there. So let's talk about some ways you can write super-crips, without it crossing the line into becoming harmful. The following are some things for you to consider about your character's disability, how their magic/powers interacts with it, how they interact with the world (and vice versa) and more:

Are your character's powers an aid or a cure?

The first, and one of the most important things to consider, is if your character's powers function like an aid or piece of assistive tech, or a cure? If you boil it down, is the magic helping them or "fixing" them? This can be a cure in the literal sense, as in giving an amputee the ability to shape-shift to get their limb back, or a functional cure, meaning the power essentially by-passes the disability, like the above mentioned professor-X fan-theory. It's not literally curing him, but it might as well be. In a world where this magic or super-powers exist, it's perfectly natural that a character might use the magic to lessen the impact of their disability, but it shouldn't erase it entirely. Give the magic a trade off, make it imperfect. You character can cummon a magic prosthetic, but there's a time limit on how long it lasts for, or their magic needs to recharge it. A wheelchair using mage might be able to engrave magic runes on their chair that allow them to pass over rough terrain, but only to a certain extent. It might allow them to go up-stairs, but it can only be used so many times per day (and make sure you show the times where they need to get up the stairs, but have run out of uses!) Things like that.

Is the power directly tied to their disability?

Is the power you're giving the character directly tied to their disability? There's 2 ways you could read this, and both should be considered. 1. The power is something you, as the author, gave to them specifically because it would help mitigate their disability (e.g. giving a character without arms telepathy so they can still pick things up/hold things because you couldn't figure out how they would be a badass swordsman without it) or 2. Does this character, in universe, have their power specifically because of their disability? e.g. Did our arm amputee develop telepathy through sheer-force of will because they really wanted to be a swordsman, and their determination manifested as telepathy/A god gave them the powers because they felt bad for them/a wizard taught them how to do it because they were inspired by the person's perseverance? If the answer to the first one was yes, perhaps reconsider and do more research. If the answer to the second one is yes, proceed with a lot of caution. Generally, if the powers originate from someone feeling sorry for your character, being inspired by them or anything to do with their determination and perseverance, I'd recommend changing that. However, if the powers came from your character having to adapt something to to their disability, that is really a case-by-case basis thing. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. your success with it will depend on the character, the setting and the specifics of how.

Is this power common, or is this character the only person in the cast/only person we see with this ability?

Is the power you're giving your disabled character rare, or even unique? It's fine to give your disabled characters powers that are common within the world, but if they're one of the only people who has that ability (or similar abilities), ESPECIALLY if it directly helps mitigate their disability, you might want to reconsider that choice. In a world where everyone can fly, it would be weird if your wheelchair user couldn't without an explanation. But if no one else in the story can fly except your wheelchair user, it starts looking more like you just gave them that power so you don't have to think about accessibility in your world. If you really must give your disabled character the rare/unique power, consider making another character with a similar disability but no/more common powers so you aren't just avoiding the issue, or making the power not related to/impact their disability directly (e.g. giving your leg amputee super-hearing.)

Does this power solve a wider access issue in your world, or does it just make it easier for your character alone?

As a general rule of thumb, if you are writing a story where you don't want accessibility issues to be a thing (e.g. a story set in a utopia), focus on fixing the environment, not the characters. Instead of giving your wheelchair user the ability to fly upstairs, give the buildings ramps and lifts. That way, its a solution for everyone with that disability, no matter their access to things like magic or technology. When talking about super-crips, this is especially important, doubly so if your character's power is rare! I made a (mostly joking) post ages ago about an idea for an earth-bender character in the Avatar universe, who gets fed up with republic city being inaccessible and starts earth-bending all the stairs into ramps. This solves the accessibility issue for them, but also makes their environment more accessible for others without bending to get around. Of course, not every disabled character will want to help/care to help others, but often when non-disabled people write disabled characters with powers, they kind of forget that their character won't be the only disabled person in this world. It often feels like they honestly think fixing things for their character means there's no problem anymore, and that's not the case.

Avoid, "I may have [insert disability here] but I can still do stuff because of my power!"

By this, I mean give your character other ways to address issues relating to their disability than just their powers. One funny example I remember reading in a writing group I was a part of was this author who was bragging about how their paralysed character could still drive a car because they had electrokinisis (the ability to telepathically control electronics). Aside from the fact that wouldn't work on all cars - including the one their character drove, since not all cars have electronic components controlling their acceleration and brakes, the way they described it was extremely complex, and overall not worth the effort when the real-life solution, hand controls, was much, much easier and the setting allowed for easy access to that kind of tech. When I pointed this out to them, they said they had no idea hand controls were a thing, and they had no idea that real disabled people could drive. They thankfully changed it, but there's 2 things to take from this: 1, double check that disabled people can do the things you assume they can't, your magic solution might very well not be needed, and 2. variety is important regardless. No one device, or in this case, magic power, should act as a one-size-fits-all solution. IRL disabled people have lots of tools to help us, I have 2 sets of prosthetics for different tasks, a wheelchair, a grabby claw (for reaching things on high shelves when using my short legs and wheelchair) and hand controls in my car (or at least I used to but we won't get into that lol). My prosthetics won't "fix" all my problems, I need other tools too. keep this in mind when it comes to magic too - it shouldn't be the only thing at your character's disposal.

There's nothing to compensate for.

Remember, don't treat your character's disability as something they need to make up for (especially if they "make up for it" using their powers). Your disabled character is allowed to make mistakes, they're allowed to have flaws both related and unrelated to their disability, they're allowed to not be good at some things, and they don't always have to be the best at whatever their roll in the plot is. In most stories, they should be on par with the other characters, or at least in the same ball-park, but as I mentioned before, a lot of stories don't let disabled characters fail. In order to justify them even being present, they are often made out to be the undeniable best, almost to mary-sue levels of perfection and super-crips especially fall into this issue a lot. They can be good at things, but balance it out, like with any other character.

You don't have to use all of these points, but they are still worth at least considering. For example, Toph fails all of these points except the first three. Despite that, she's still one of my favorite disabled characters in media, even if she's not perfect, and I'm not alone in thinking that. I've seen lots of other disabled people say the same about her. Which of these points you should use will depend on your story, character, setting and tone. As I've mentioned a few times now, the key is striking a balance. At the end of the day though, these are only general pieces of advice and a lot more factors go into making a character like this work. only disabled people will be able to tell you if you've pulled it off, and that's where beta-readers and disabled sensitivity readers come in!

Also, remember, these kinds of tropes don't just apply to the more common/well-known disabilities like amputations and wheelchair users, that's just what I have experience with! Be sure to research any disabilities your character has to ensure you are not falling into these tropes.

[tanoraqui]

Dungeon Meshi Liveblog: Of Ghosts & Griffins

What do they worship? The Winged Lion, whom they mistake for a god?

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It's so interesting how Izutsumi's cat is dominant in this place. I don't understand enough about soul magic or the spell that maintains this to know why. It FEELS right - this is a place for monsters, and that's the part of her that's a monster? But I bet there's worldbuilding that explains it...

WAIT, OR: that couple pages I reblogged with hte werewolf clearly implied that Izursumi isn't a human with a cat spirit put in her, she's a cat with a human spirit put in her. So maybe whatever enchantments shield and maintain the Golden Country bring the cat spirit to the fore as part of their preservative properties, doing their best to remove this curse upon the poor cat? Izutsumi doesn't change shape, just mind, because the souls are so mixed and/or the human soul is so much stronger than hte cat.

Who the fuck took a human soul and put it in a cat. Why would you do that I wonder if we'll ever know.

(The question of the comic is thus, of course: did Falin's soul get put inside a dragon's, in which case she'll be stuck with a dragonoid body at best, or did the dragon's get put inside Falin's, in which she should be able to shift back and forth at will once the Mage isn't forcibly holding the dragon's soul dominant?)

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This is the most hobbitly we've seen Chilchuck. I keep expecting him to start talking about how his old gaffer used to drink down at the pub.

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shadkjsh Chilchuck get your mind out of the gutter!

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These would unironically do numbers at the right Met Gala. I unironically really like the middle, floral one. And specificially the crossed-antlers brassiere on the third.

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They're dead! They're under a spell (a curse) of immortality so they can't change and they can't leave and nobody knows they exist and they can't make an impression on the world and nobody even really knows they did exist, not as individuals beyond a vague collective legend; and most of all they don't hunger, they don't want for anything in their bucolic life (except freedom or death) and they don't hunger for food, they don't eat and even if they do eat it they can't enjoy it, because they're immortal but in every single way that matters they are d e a d !

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Alright my current theory is: this kingdom always venerated a winged lion deity, for whatever reason. Myths happen. Then one day, a demon slipped in from wherever demons slip in and disguised itself as the winged lion in order to be easily trusted by the populace. It started offering the fulfillment of desires in exchange for the consumption of other desires.

It tricked the Mage somehow, so that by their powers combined they turned the populace of this city into a feeding pen for the demon - safe and happy forever! being slowly drained of all their desires.

But as the people's desires started to run truly dry, until they were functionally dead, the demon grew hungry - and maybe greedy. So it sent the villagers this "prophetic dream" about one who would save them, motivating Delgal to get to the surface - probably with the demon's help, covert so the Mage wouldn't know; still pretending to be a god if Delgal himself knew. It let the dungeon be opened, drawing all sort of greedy and desperate people down into its feasting range.

...whatever trick/bargain it made with hte Mage, it's probably going to try to do much the same with Marcille, with her terror of loss.

:D

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P.S. I love how Yaad keeps calling him "Sir Laios" like he's a knight, instead of just some guy with good intentions who thinks monsters are neat. Also, Chilchuck literally just shaking his head at Laios.

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Needless to say, the contrast between Laios's blind panic at being told he's a prophecied hero and king and Kabru's "If I had the ability to take over this dungeon and kingdom, I'd fix absolutely everything and no one would have any problems ever again" is hilarious and wonderful.

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Laios basically just told that orc chieftain that he'd think about what he'd do as king, right? ...Well, I guess it's time for him to think about it.

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THEIR HANDS ARE COLD BECAUSE THEY ARE D E A D.

Btw in a just world, Yaad would be a woman. Princess in a Tower vibes off the charts. Thank you for coming to my ted talk.

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I'M FINALLY PAST WHERE I GOT IN THE SHOW!!

I see this translation is calling the Mad Mage "Sissel." Just as its decision to call her the "lunatic magician", I deem this to be a stupid-ass decision and have elected to ignore it in favor of "Thistle", which is a much better name for a weird elf orphan turned mad mage.

Ah, damn, they corrected to he/him pronouns. So much for women's wrongs... I STAND BY it making perfect sense in-universe for our protagonists to get it wrong from their first, confusing meeting, though!

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Takin' a moment to appreciate Thistle's fucked up pupils, which I'm given to understand indicate the demon's influence. I'm having so much fun! Are you having fun? I'm having fun.

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...does the famous dwarvish sense of direction derive in part from secret dwarvish trail markers that they put in all dungeons and mines and never tell other species about? That's great. That's so good. They clearly do ALSO have sensitive inner ears, and secret cultural practices.

Btw I adore every time someone calls Chilchuck "Chil." NICKNAMES ARE A SIGN OF LOVE.

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SEEING SENSHI IN DISTRESS MAKES ME IN DISTRESS, AND THEN YOU DROP HIM LIKE THE FOOTBALL ON A CHAPTER CLIFFHANGER?! JAIL! JAIL FOR AUTHOR! JAIL FOR 1000 YEARS!!!

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This map is 10/10 desired detail. I want to know the difference between dwarf-style, gnome-style, compound and I bet elf-style dungeons so bad.

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Marcille just cut off one of her braids for Senshi! She didn't hesitate at all! Her hair!!!

And they're risking basically all their food on this! (Man I love how all life, including revivification and creating familiars, literally requires heavy caloric input. I love love love how this comic starts with the simple premise "food is essential to life" and says it over and over in infinite ways.)

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This is just very cool art to represent what's happening. I don't like looking at it, it makes my eye hurt.

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This visual is just so good.

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Brotp: In-Laws on a Mission

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unironically this panel fucks so hard. I need to name something after this. I also need to watch this episode just for the intense energy of this whole sequence.

(I Love how they're just squeezing and re-shaping these things like playdoh. Good familiars best friends just to tolerate this shit.)

Btw I also really like that, while Marcille has started teaching Laios some simple healing spells, that's kept clearly distinct from this sort of advanced magic. Multiclassing takes levels just like the rest!

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TWO-SHOT KO ON A GRIFFIN! Have I mentioned how fun it is that these guys are fucking good at their jobs? We love a little competence porn on the side.

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CHILCHUCK WAS THE FIRST TO START TALKING ABOUT HIS PAST! Yes, of course, he had to be. He's the one who's most aggressively closed-off about it, as opposed to passively closed off like the rest. Mulitple good panels here fo Chilchuck being the emotionally intelligent one, too.

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oh my god Senshi's story.

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I'm so glad she keeps putting them in full-body animal suits.

(And I feel Hiromu Arakawa's cowsona in the Chili's tonight...)

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P.S. OH, LAST MINUTE EDITION as I open the next chapter: They all changed species before they stepped in hte circle of change-your-species mushrooms!! Oh man I can't wait to see a) shenanigans and b) how this gets woven into the ongoing subplot of interspecies conflict, and any other greater themes. Fuck me uuupp Ryoko Kui! (...tomorrow, bc I have to go to bed now :( )

[theminecraftbox]

to be honest, I think fandom exaggerating dream's analytical and intelligent abilities dream's plan is literally so stupid, like, many refer to it as "ignoring feelings for the sake of strict calculation, the end justifies the means blah blah blah a smart, logical plan that will nevertheless lead to psychological dissatisfaction", but the plan is literally the most ill-conceived thing I ever heard, like, that's not even a plan?? they're testing the revival book in hopes that one day it will somehow help them achieve immortality and restart the server - that's just ridiculous and I also have no idea how dream expects that restarting the server will solve his/their/servers problems, like how is that supposed to work? and this “if we are immortal, no one will have to suffer and we can live forever and know and blah blah blah” such naive crap, honestly I could ask a thousand probing questions or give a thousand reasons why this plan wouldn't work in any reality, and I doubt dream wouldn't have asked these questions in the months they've been running their tests; the plan is literally just his feelings: afraid to die → need immortality, lost everything and it's killing me → need a restart and so on - there's no analysis behind this shit

I literally find it strange not the fact that punz allows this, although the plan harms dream, but the fact that he really believes in this plan and follows it, like, come on, punz is +- fine, there is no trauma that can overshadow his ability to think, why is he indulging in this stupid idea?

strongly agree / agree / ambivalent / disagree / strongly disagree / don’t care whatsoever

I think you're conflating a bunch of things. Dream's plan is not the same as his methodology. His methodology is not the same as his motivations. Having emotional reasons for a plan is not the same thing as that plan being stupid. "lost everything and it's killing me → need a restart" isn't a description of a stupid plan, that's a description of an over-emotional motivation for a plan. Just because you disagree with what his goal was trying to achieve doesn't mean that the strategies he took to achieve that goal were stupid.

Like, take staged finale as an example. I can argue that it's overkill or a poorly considered goal to imprison himself in dangerous circumstances chiefly to achieve a) protecting his close ally b) getting the server off his back and c) getting a sick base. But I won't claim that the steps he took to set up and execute staged finale aren't evidence of someone successfully using strategic thinking to accomplish his goals, which is generally what people are talking about when invoking strategist!Dream.

Dream expecting that his plan will fix his emotional problems isn't stupid in that it's a failure of logic. It's stupid in that it's a failure in identifying that his problems are actually emotional. Which gets covered pretty handily in the genuine finale! Tommy didn't say "your plan is stupid because you neglected to consider these reasons that curing death won't actually work." Instead, Tommy said, "your plan is stupid because you're failing to see that you're hurting people here and now and you could have the friends you want here and now if you just put down your damn book and make peace." which, I'm gonna be honest, also sounds a bit like naive crap to me.

Also, you're acting as if his plan is based simply on an unspecified fear of death when all signs point to it literally being a reaction to the existence of the revival book! Like, sure, when you phrase it like "hur dur maybe this magic book will fix my problems" it sounds pretty stupid. But what actually happened was more along the lines of "permadeath didn't exist on this server as a concept, now it does. revival didn't exist on this server as a concept, now it does. maybe one of these can be used to fix the other." Which is pretty damn straightforward to my eyes!

I really, truly don't see what the problem is with "plan fix death" when you literally have a necromancy book. (Like, logistically, not ethically or whatever.) It seems like the supernatural complications with the balance of life and death, whatever XD's deal is, the server reset, Foolish and the experiments upsetting the balance, all of that, came later (and lacks its conclusion for doylist reasons). but WHY the complaint that fixing death doesn't make sense????? that's like. thing numero uno when you have a damn revival book. sorry if I'm getting carried away but I've seen this argument before and it genuinely makes no sense to me. Reads the same to me as "if you have a hammer and some wood and nails why are you trying to build a table." maybe because I have the tools for the job?

Not to mention that even if we pretended that Dream's only motivation was trying to stop conflict, the plan "learn how to revive people" is still a really obvious solution! Make conflict not have permanent consequences? that's like. an easy mitigating solution.

Also, there's a more general conflation happening here between Dream's unwellness and a more general notion of stupidity. Which I also disagree with. His paranoid spiral led to him locking himself in a prison, but that doesn't mean it was stupid for him to conclude he needed protection, and that his allies needed protection.

The thing with Punz is a separate question, but it's one that I think Punz has answered handily himself: Punz wants knowledge and power, he says so outright, in simple language. He's not indulging a stupid idea: he's in cahoots with a guy who's brought him a ton of knowledge and power. The revive book is real, it's got real results, and it's shown Punz a glimpse of a world he clearly thinks is achievable: a world in which the supernatural shit has indeed been solved. And I don't see why you think he's silly to believe so, given the evidence he's seen with his own eyes.

[triviallytrue]

I'm trying to write this post about identity-blind admissions/hiring vs affirmative action and I keep running into the idea that this is mostly just lipstick on a pig; I care about fairness and diversity in the abstract, but equalizing the racial makeup of the US ruling class just isn't a political priority to me.

It's good to try and eliminate the explicit racism in the system, but as long as a racial gap in socioeconomic status exists, a racial gap in ability will as well - between two equally talented student populations, the one with greater access to resources, less proximity to violence, more stability and support, etc will always perform better, even in the absence of explicit discrimination.

Even if you construct a perfectly "fair" system, it will ultimately just replicate the material inequities that exist in the broader society. If you construct an equitable system (ie, one that creates a ruling class that matches the racial distribution of society at large), you still won't have fixed the underlying issues that caused the discrepancy in the first place, and by fiddling with the system, you'll piss off a bunch of other people (in this case, Asian Americans) in the process.

The liberal theory seems to be that if we find the Barack Obamas of the world, who would've been denied admission to elite institutions due to racial discrimination, and elevate them instead, the material problems will work themselves out. But I'm just not convinced this is true - it seems to be operating on a sort of pseudo-ethnonationalism where minorities in power will work to the benefit of "their people" and eventually even things out.

But with the way ruling classes work, it seems like most of the time the ruling class becomes "your people" for new inductees, and everyone else becomes, well, everyone else. Without leaning too hard on a Marxist framework, it seems like the ruling class empirically has a strong sense of class consciousness.

And even when this isn't true, when you encounter people in power who seem to genuinely want to change the world for the better, it's hard to imagine any racial divides being magically healed without some engine of economic redistribution behind it, and this is a task that requires more than just individuals who care about it.

None of which is to say that it makes sense to just throw up your hands and say "society is racist, so I guess it's okay for Harvard to be racist too." By all means, hold their feet to the fire as much as you can. But it's hard for me to write about this without feeling like it's all downstream of the central goal of the leftist project, making a more equitable world.

[m-jelly]

The Crow's Song - Chapter 1

Prince Levi x Witch Reader

Royal Romance with magic.

Plot: Prince Levi works and trains too much, which concerns his parents. After trying everything to get him to rest and enjoy life they reach out to you as their last resort. Many in the palace thought you'd have a hard time working with the prince, like many before you, but instead, the Prince is very taken with you. Levi learns to relax and you learn to trust and together you learn to love. Things are never easy. While the two of you learn many things together and unlock love and powers in Levi, many things are working against you. Greed can appear in many ways, from power to attention. Both you and Levi have to face demons together, the rich and powerful want to stop you, a greedy ex wants to stop you and bitter rich ladies. When a witch hunt is started, Levi must do what he can to save the woman he loves before it's too late.

In this chapter: The king and queen show their concern for their son. You confront and ex and move on with life. You accept your job and meet the handsome prince.

Ao3

Part 2

Levi was uncomfortable.

He was sat in a meeting room on a sofa with his parents staring at him. The gentle scent of warm tea and cakes drifted through the room, but it brought no peace to him. No matter how much they tried to make it a comfortable meeting, it was never going to be. This meeting was all about how Levi was living his life.

It’s not like his parents, the King and Queen, were disappointed, they were just concerned about his well-being. All Levi ever did was work and train, he had no time for personal things or to relax. Levi had friends and social things to do, it’s just he chose to work hard because he wanted to create a life for his parents where they had nothing to worry about. He wanted to be strong and fix his country’s issues so his father could pass the crown on and have zero worries.

The problem with Levi’s thinking was he was working every second of every day, he was barely sleeping, barely eating and had no time for his friends and family. The life Levi was leading was going to be a very lonely one. Levi had tried to have a relationship, when he was a bit younger and just became an adult he romanced a noble lady, but it ended because she was not his priority. Levi wasn’t deeply hurt by the breakup because he wasn’t fully invested, but he did have his firsts with her so there was a slight pain and sadness to it.

“Levi.” Kuchel’s voice was so soft and gentle. “We’re not having this meeting to tell you off.”

“Far from it.” His stoic lovesick father interjected. King Sebastian was a devilishly handsome man with well-tamed stubble, shoulder-length black hair and the most charming smile but his eyes were slightly cold no matter how happy he was and Levi had inherited them. Sebastian had a very big heart. “This is a meeting to talk about how concerned we are about you.”

The two of them held hands and gave Levi a sad gaze. Even though the room was full of light and reflected so beautifully on the polished wood floors generating a warm look, the room seemed heavy and dark. A nice cool breeze drifted into the room from the two open double balcony doors, it provided some relief to the moment.

Levi was agitated and annoyed; normally at this time, he was practising his magic abilities to ensure he was a deadly knight. The problem was he struggled to say no to his parents, so no matter how much he wanted to escape the room and practice his magic and sword skills, he remained in the room with his overly concerned parents who loved him more than words could describe. Due to Levi’s deep love for both, he let them keep him in this meeting.

A light tink from Levi lifting his teacup from its saucer cut the silence in the room. “You’re both always so concerned about me.” The light flavour of Earl Grey spread in Levi’s mouth, he adored this tea. “What is it this time? I’m sure I can fix it.”

Kuchel leaned forward in her delicate flowing dress. “Levi, you work too much. You barely eat or sleep. You are exhausting yourself.” Tears filled her eyes. “You’re always working so hard and never have time to spend with us or your friends.”

Sebastian wiped his wife’s tears away. “Son, we love you so much.” He turned to him and smiled. “We understand you are working hard for us and our country, but you have to slow down. We’re a blessed family. We live longer than most humans because of our magical abilities and a powerful God has blessed us.” He rubbed Kuchel’s back. “Your mother was accepted with warm arms by our God and now she lives for a long time like us.” He released a long sigh. “Levi, if you keep doing what you’re doing you will be working for a very long time because you have an incredibly long life. Yes, you’ll have policies to your name, but what about other things? Friends are important.”

“Levi Ackerman.” Kuchel slapped her hand on the table. “Have you ever had a girlfriend? Or had sex?”

Levi slammed his cup down, he was not expecting his mother to ask that. “Ma.”

“Don’t you Ma me! I know that being with someone makes you happy or being with someone is the only way to be happy, but damn it Levi I want to be a grandma!”

He placed his head in his hands and huffed. “I have had a girlfriend before, yes we had sex and no we're not together anymore because she left me.”

“When…” She paused a moment as her frustration went and she was slowly comprehending her son’s words. “When were you in a relationship?”

He lifted his tired head from his hands and pushed back his soft raven hair. “A few years back when I came of age. We were both adults, it was a silly simple relationship with light feelings. She took all my firsts and I hers. It lasted just over a year, but she didn’t like that I was always working.” He rubbed his jaw. “I know, I know, I’m just proving your point.”

“You know what we’re concerned about, you can see it for yourself.”

Sebastian kissed his wife’s cheek. “Dove, give him a moment.”

She gazed at him with pure adoration. “Sorry, my bear, I just worry.”

“I know you do.” He nuzzled his nose against hers. “My beautiful dove.” He kissed the end of her nose before turning to his son. “You’re young. You can take your time and enjoy yourself. Please, spend more time with your friends, go on trips and go on dates. Just, be happy.”

Levi understood where his parents were coming from, he did need to relax a lot more but his goal was to ensure his parents and people were safe. For everyone to be safe, he had to make sure he worked hard so he was strong and smart. “I’m doing all this for you.”

Kuchel covered her mouth with her hand as she felt so touched. “That’s so sweet of you, but we never asked you to do this. You work too much and too hard.”

Sebastian smiled. “What your mother is trying to say is we love you deeply, we’re so damn proud of you and you’re an incredible example to Princes.”

Levi’s brow raised. “But?”

“But you are pushing yourself too hard. We might be stronger than your average human, but we can still get sick. You’re on your way to being very sick and you might cause irreversible damage.” He opened his hand to show red and black smoky magic dancing above his palm. “Our magical abilities rely on us being centred and healthy. The more you neglect yourself the more you will suffer at the hands of your own magic.” He clenched his fist and sighed. “We are trying to stop you before you get sick.”

Levi rose to his feet. “Thank you, both of you for caring so much about me.” He moved over to them and kissed both on their cheeks. “I’m touched that you care so deeply. I will try my best to behave.”

After exchanging some concerned and unconvinced looks, the couple hugged their son and let him go. The royal couple remained in the meeting room while the Prince went right back to the endless duties he set for himself. While the Prince practised with his magic and sword, he had a moment that concerned those watching. He came to a stop as a dizzy spell hit him and blood dribbled down from his nose.

Whispers started and soon the event that Levi quickly covered up soon made it to the head butler. Charles rushed through the halls and into the meeting room. He bowed to both. “Your majesties, I come with a report about the Prince.”

Kuchel clasped the hand of her husband. “What’s happened, Charles?”

“The Prince went right to training and I am sorry to say he has bled from his nose.”

She dropped her head into her hands. “Oh, Levi.”

Sebastian rubbed her back. “What are we to do with him…”

An idea struck Kuchel, she was shocked that she had never thought about it before. For a long time, she’d been trying to set Levi up with beautiful women but none of it worked and he rejected them. She came from a magical background and knew that often influential people would have a magical assistant. “I’ve got it!” It was the perfect plan and she knew just where to go and who to see. “We need to get him a magical assistant. He will work with them, but they’ll secretly be working for us! They’ll help us get him to rest, take care of himself and they’ll report to us.”

Sebastian hummed. “I want to be honest with our son. We’ll tell him the magical assistant is there to help him relax more.”

“Okay, we’ll do that!” She grinned. “Thank you for supporting me.”

“Anytime.” He frowned a little. “Where to go and who to see though.”

“Well, I know where we can meet them, but I don’t know who the best is at the moment.”

Charles bowed. “I will gather the information for you.”

“Thank you, Charles.” She stood up and made her way over to the butler. “I know of a few places you can go to find good magical users.” She read out a few as Charles noted them on his little notebook. “They have to be someone who will grab our son’s attention. They have to be powerful, strong, smart and funny. You know the Prince well, you helped us raise him.” She leaned closer and whispered. “Pick a witch. Make sure she’s curvy with a good bust on her.”

Charles chuckled. “Yes, Your Majesty.” He bowed before leaving the room and checking his list. “Hmm, I’m sure I can find someone that meets these requirements.”

“Requirements?” Levi’s tired voice echoed down the hall. “What’s going on, Charles?”

He smiled at the Prince. “Your parents are looking to hire someone, that’s all.”

Levi dabbed under his nose. “Really? I thought we were fully staffed.” He pondered for a moment. “I’m curious.”

“Really?”

Levi nodded. “I would like to meet them, whoever they may be, even if it is a small role.”

Charles smiled fondly at the prince. “Well, you do like meeting all the staff. I will notify you when they are hired.”

“Thank you.” He winced a bit. “I’m going to rest. I think I’ve pushed myself too much today.”

“Rest well, Your Highness.”

The deadpan look you gave could not be played off or excused, it was clear to everyone that you didn’t want to be in the hall in front of the King and his slimy advisor. You were a strong witch and people admired that, but it wasn’t the only reason people took notice. The way you dressed was in a very confident manner. You wore mostly black, but your dresses were always low cut to show off your large cleavage and sometimes your dresses would flash your legs.

The King wasn’t the one that really wanted you there. King Rowen was known to be a bit of a gullible idiot who wanted only money, booze and women. People mocked him for being weak and a puppet because the real leader of the country was his warlock advisor. Since the moment his advisor slithered his way into the palace, he had King Rowen under his thumb.

Vance Noir, the warlock who put a bitter taste in your mouth. The two of you had a history and he was not going to let you forget it. Before he lost himself to his powers, he was a wonderful man who wanted so badly to be strong so he could help, but something corrupted him. He was tall and lean, which was incredibly attractive to most. His nose was slender, his lips slightly plump and his eyes incredibly intense that drew you in and you’d become lost in the purple colour. His was very pale but seemed to be a bit off in colour, you could never put your finger on it. The black soft wavey hair, which was parted in the middle, always seemed to frame his beautiful face. His voice was a silken smooth deep one that would lull you into a hypnotised state.

As you stood listening to the King, you could feel Vance’s gaze on you and you had eyed him too. He was in all black with dark gold and black armour clasped on parts of his body and a deep purple cloak with a collar and a broach to keep it in place. He had a firm grip on the top of the throne to assert his dominance. When you took in a deep breath, which caused your breasts to almost spill out of your dress, Vance gripped the seat harder.

It was a few years ago that you and Vance met. At first, you were friends with each other but you did become romantic and physical. The relationship was passionate and full of fire, but that fire burned too bright too fast. After a few months of deep feelings, Vance developed a deadly ego and became a bit of an egotistic dick. So, when it got too much and it was all about showing off and being stronger than others and not about helping, you kicked his ass out of your life. The problem was, no matter how much you tried to get away from him, he always seemed to pop back into your life.

You yawned a moment before huffing. “Look, Your Majesty, I appreciate the job offer but I’m not interested. I like being a free witch doing odd jobs. I mean…” You spoke in a mocking tone. “You have the great and powerful Vance Noir.” You smirked and held back a laugh. “What more could you want?” It seemed that no one picked up on your rude and sarcastic tone, which was good for you. “I’ll be on my way.” You bowed deeply. “Goodbye, Your Majesty.”

The moment he waved you off you raced out of there like your ass was on fire. You skipped down the hall feeling a lot better. As you moved down the long hall thinking about a meat-filled bun at the local baker you liked a cloud of dark purple smoke formed at your side. Vance strolled out of the smoke, his long legs allowing him to catch up with you easily. Although he looked a little fragile he was incredibly strong and was the object of many women’s affections.

Vance looked desperate and irritated, but he managed to hide it well behind a charming smile. “My sweet doll, can we talk?”

You flicked your gaze over to him before holding your head high and looking away. “What’s there to talk about? I said no to the King and that’s that.”

He stepped right in your path causing you to come to a sudden stop and almost slam into his chest. His gloved hands gripped your upper arms. “Think this through.”

You looked up at him and couldn’t believe that you used to look at this man with deep love. “Vance, I said no because this wasn’t the King’s idea, it was yours. There is no value to me taking the offer.”

He rubbed his thumbs on your skin as if he was trying to arouse you. “I’m the value.”

Your face dropped and you gave him a deadpan look. “Gods you’re such an egotistical dick.” You took his hands off you. “I’m not interested in your offer, Vance. Now, let me leave.”

He said your name sternly but had a smile on his face. “Please, reconsider.”

You smiled at him as you shimmered and turned into little sparkles of light and passed through him. Your sparkles danced until you came together outside on the grand stairs making the guards jump. “Sorry gents, didn’t mean to scare you.” You wiggled your dress up a bit. “Mm, time for a meat bun.”

The double doors behind you slammed open. Vance’s hair was a little messy, his eyes a more toxic purple and his teeth a little sharp as he gritted them. He almost shouted your name. “I wasn’t done talking to you.”

You smirked at him. “I was done though. There’s nothing more to say, Vance. I’m not staying here.”

A guard sniggered a bit before talking under his breath, but it wasn’t quiet. “Women can reject the warlock.”

Vance flew towards you, his cloak flowing around you with his magic. He lowered his voice. “Stop this childish behaviour. You know you and I belong together. Come back to me.” He reached up and lightly held your neck as he said your name. “Please. We need each other.”

You laughed and stepped back. “You need me. I don’t need you.” You turned and jumped off the steps and floated down to the floor. “Vance, you need to accept we’re over. There are a lot of other women out there you can be with romantically. The time we had together was lovely, but I’m done.” You blew him a kiss. “See you around.”

As soon as you left the palace grounds Vance no longer followed you. The man loved money and power too much, so the idea of leaving the grounds repulsed him. So, you were happy and safe now from your frustrating ex. You turned into your sparkles of light and moved over the land until you reached the bakery. You became your normal self and bought a freshly made meat bun.

After getting your food you made your way to your magical carriage. You climbed inside and ate your delicious meal in the comfort of your large home. You relaxed for a while before using your magic to set your carriage on its course to the next country, one that you knew was ruled by rather nice people, was a good size, by the ocean, by the mountains and was just so perfect.

A loud knock on your door woke you up from your deep sleep indicating you had arrived in the new country. You sat up, fixed your dress and hair before shoving the wooden serving door open. You rubbed your eyes as the sun shined brightly in the sky. “Mm.” You winced a bit before looking down to see a sharply dressed man. “By the looks of you, you are a butler.”

Charles smiled at you. “Indeed I am.” He gripped a piece of paper in his hands, as it crumpled a bit you could see it was an advert for your services that the good people of this country handed out when you arrived. “I heard a lot about you from the people. You’re very popular here.”

“It’s probably because of my infectious smile.”

He chuckled. “Possibly, you are a very beautiful lady.”

You hummed a laugh. “Buttering me up, huh? What might I call you.”

“Charles.” He bowed to you. “Wonderful to meet you, my lady.”

“You too.”

“May we talk? I have something rather important to discuss with you.”

You eyed him a moment and noticed the pin he had was the coat of arms for the Ackerman royal family. “How about you come in here and chat? I can imagine it’s something you want to talk about in private, hmm?”

Charles smiled softly. “If that is okay?”

You opened a door. “Come on in. I’ll pop the kettle on.”

He climbed inside with a soft frown, he wasn’t sure if there was enough room. As soon as he got inside the door closed behind him and the tiny carriage was huge inside. He admired the room full of blankets and cushions. Everywhere there was a place to sit was full of comfort. Plants hung from the roof and others were resting on tables and sides.

You walked over from your old kitchen area and handed him a cup. “Make yourself comfortable.”

“This…this is interesting…it’s so small on the outside.”

You hummed a laugh. “Magic is fun.”

“Thank you for the tea.” He took a sip and hummed in delight. “This is divine.”

You sat down and grinned. “I make my own tea.”

He eyed you and almost choked on his tea because of how you looked, you were an incredibly beautiful woman. “I ah.”

You reached over and wiped his face with a hankie. “Too hot?”

“You could say that.” He was talking about you. He flinched a moment when he realised why he was there. “I have a letter for you.” He placed his cup down and pushed his hand into his inside breast pocket. “King Sebastian and Queen Kuchel are in desperate need of help.”

Your shoulders slumped at hearing those words because you couldn’t help but feel like this was another royal who wanted your power. “Right…we’ll I won’t fight in any battles or wars.”

Charles gasped as his eyes widened. “Bat…oh! No, no! This is different. Please, read the letter.”

You took it from him and read it slowly. “Oh…oh you’re right…” You lowered the paper. “How old is the prince that you all need to do this?”

“He is in his mid-twenties.”

You stared down at the letter. “Hmm…I…I…wow…the poor man needs to have some fun.”

“So?” Charles shuffled closer. “Will you aid us?”

You tilted your head. “So, all I have to do is just look after the prince?”

“Yes, and you get paid a lot of gold for it.”

You released a long sigh. “Okay. I’ll do it.”

He released a long sigh. “Thank the Gods.”

Two beautiful royals stood before you with pleading looks in their eyes. Your heart went out to the two of them. They loved their son so much that they wanted him to get better and have some light in his life. They had tried everything to get him to relax and have fun, but he was so focused on being the best Prince and future King that he neglected himself.

Prince Levi was a strong and smart man. He gave everything he could to those around him to prevent the loss of life. Every second of every day he worked hard. No matter what was said to him he continued to push himself beyond what a human should be doing.

As a strong witch, you could enchant people and heal as well. It made sense to you that they would request help from someone with your talents. You were a little embarrassed when you met them because your attire was a little on the revealing side. The dress you wore was a low cut to show off your chest that was held up by a corset. A slit went up the side of your leg as a nice peek-a-boo.

You smiled brightly at the beautiful couple. “So…Charles told me all about this…job.” You cleared your throat. “I am rather happy to help out. Do you need me to prove my magical abilities?” You turned into light sparkles and appeared above them and floated around. “Oh! I could grow some plants…” You hummed in thought. “Maybe I could create something!”

Kuchel giggled. “You don’t need to.” She offered her hand to you. “You’ve just shown your abilities without realising.”

You floated down. “Sorry, I tend to fly when I get excited.” You smiled brightly. “I would love to help your son out.”

Sebastian shook your hand. “Wonderful news!”

Kuchel eyed you, you were a stunning woman and the power flowing off you was incredible, but she could see a dark mark on you and it concerned her. Something bad had noticed you and she wasn’t sure if she could let her son near that. “Mm, perhaps you two should meet first? Levi has to like you.”

“Darling dove?” He moved her to the side. “What are you saying? She’s perfect. I think she could bring out Levi’s hidden ability.”

“Sweet bear.” She held his hands and whispered. “Something dark has touched her. It’s not strong, but I’m concerned.”

You leaned closer. “It’s probably my ex.” You smiled when both jumped. “Sorry, I’m a quiet thing. I used to be romantically involved with a warlock but he turned out to be a dick. I saw him yesterday but it was for business reasons. I rejected his offer. He grabbed my upper arms, so you’re probably sensing that.” You smiled. “I promise he’s no longer involved with me and I am a good clean witch.”

Sebastian smiled. “Let’s give her a chance.”

“If I suck, I will give you back all of the gold you pay me.” You landed and bowed to them both. “I can give you daily reports.” You stood back up and smiled again. “Maybe you could put me on a month trial period?”

Kuchel sighed. “We won’t put you on a trial period. I trust this will go well. Just know that if I think you are dangerous, we will force you to leave.”

“Of course.”

“I’ll take you to him.” She softly smiled at you. “Come with me.” She moved out of the room with you. “You really are a beautiful thing.”

“Oh, why thank you.” You fiddled with your dress. “Not as beautiful as you though.”

“You’re too kind.”

Queen Kuchel led you down a grand hall as she told you all about her son. At first, you thought the Prince was someone young and this was a nanny thing. However, that was very wrong. When the Queen opened the study door you saw a handsome man in his mid to late 20s. He was so beautiful to you.

Kuchel released a long sigh. "Levi? Son? You know how your father and I have been very worried about you."

Levi ruffled his hair as he scribbled away. "I told you, I am fine. You have nothing to worry about." A gasp escaped him when his papers began to float up away from him. "Tch, shit, come back!" He jumped up to grab it. "Damn it!"

You hummed a little laugh causing Levi to glare at you. You gave him a playful wink and saw him slowly take you in. The glare he gave you slowly turned into a strong blush, his pupils dilated and a shiver ran right through him. He stopped jumping and just stood there and stared at you with a longing look in his eyes. Your aura, presence and looks instantly tamed the Prince. This had never happened to you before, so you were very interested in the Prince. Perhaps he was your soulmate.

You returned his papers to his desk and introduced yourself. You moved over to him and offered your hand. "Pleasure to meet you. I'm your witch. My job is to make sure you keep on top of your health and to also have a bit of fun."

Levi took your hand and kissed the back of your fingers with his soft warm lips. "The pleasure is all mine. When do you start?"

"Right away!" You glanced over at Kuchel. "Right, Your Majesty?"

Kuchel smiled brightly, which just lit up the room. "Yes! I'll leave you both alone."

You floated up and sat on Levi's desk. You made sure that your ass was right on his work. "So, what do you want to do? Do you want to read a book? Go on a walk? Take a long relaxing bath?" You leaned forward and pressed your breasts together. "How about a massage?"

Levi shivered. "I...I...I...uh..." For once in his life, Levi couldn't function or process any thoughts. You had truly captured him in a spell without the use of magic. "Boobs."

You blinked a few times before you started laughing at Levi's face going pink. "They are very nice, huh?" You reached towards him and grabbed his tie. With a gentle tug, you pulled Levi towards you. "Why are you so far away, hmm? It's okay to get close." You played with his tie a little. "You're so handsome."

"I...uh...um...th-thank you."

You took his hands and started massaging them. "So much tension in your hands." You pressed his hand on your chest above your breasts. "I need to work a lot on your body."

Levi whimpered a little as he became overwhelmed by your beauty and your warmth. "You...you do?"

You ran your hands up his chest as you read his aura. You cupped his face in your hands and hummed. "Yes, yes, you are rather unwell. I need to work hard on fixing your aura, mana and your body." You floated off the table and grabbed his hand. "Come."

Not a single thought went through his mind as you pulled him down the hallway. His eyes locked onto your ass as it moved with each step. He felt like he was drooling at the sight of you. Something was between the two of you, he could just sense it. There was this magnetic pull and he wanted to keep you close to him, always.

With your powerful magic, you filled his large pool bath with water and special fragrances that would help him out the best. Once completed you ushered him towards the water. After turning your back, Levi removed his clothes and walked down into the water. It didn't take Levi very long to relax. He was almost out like a light.

Levi released a long moan as his body relaxed. "This...this is incredible."

You pulled your dress up and sat on the edge of the bath with your legs in the water. "My special healing magic."

Levi turned his head and gazed at your thighs. "Uh...umm." His eyes trailed up your legs to see your dress just about covered your underwear. He gulped hard before looking up at you. "Th-thank you."

You reached over and began massaging his shoulders. "Let me heal you. I have an incredible touch."

He shivered and moaned as your hands moved against his skin. "Mm."

You leaned closer. "I want to get to know every inch of your body, your highness." You pushed your fingers up into his hair and massaged his scalp. "What you crave, desire and need. I want to give you everything."

“I-I don’t n-need much.”

You pushed your hands down onto his pecs. “Do I make you nervous?”

Levi pulled your hands from him. “This is just a lot, that’s all.”

You got up and stretched. “Shall I leave you for now then? It is rather late and you should get some rest.”

“Rest? But I have work to do.”

You crouched down next to him and leaned closer to him so he got a face full of your breasts. “If you don’t go to bed right after this bath, I will lock you up in your bedroom and treat you like a silly little bratty princess. Is that what you want?”

He gulped hard. “N-No.”

“Plus, if you do as I say I’ll give you a reward.”

His brow raised. “Reward?”

“Yep.” You jumped to your feet. “Exciting, right?”

“Mm. I’ll go to bed.”

You hummed a laugh. “Good boy!”

Levi watched you leave and felt a lot of joy go with you. He released a long sigh and ruffled his wet hair. He thought about going back to work, but a part of him really wanted to see what his reward would be. “Aaaaah…fuck me.”

[snackleggg]

I feel like a big part of Allura's character being done dirty and feeling inconsistent comes from the writers just not really being able to write female characters very well.

What do I mean?

Well, Voltron's cast has always been primarily male (which makes sense since the og show was from the 80s) but vld gives us quite a few "strong female characters". The problem comes when you notice most of those characters are minor like Krolia or Acxa or Veronica. This means the characters can be depicted as strong and badass with any more indepth characters moments being conveniently off screen (like Krolia & Keith's time on the space whale, Veronica's time worrying over Lance's disappearance & trying to protect earth, Acxa's redemption)

But there are still female characters within the main cast and the contrast between how they are written really gives an insight to the struggle the vld writers had. The contrast between how Pidge and Allura are written is alarming.

Pidge, even after her reveal, is still written in an androgynous masc-leaning way. The characters don't even refer to her with any pronouns for seasons after her "reveal", its only in the last few seasons that the writers seemingly remember Pidge is supposed to use she/her pronouns. This is probably a byproduct of the fact that the archetype Pidge fills (the smart guy) is commonly a masc one.

Meanwhile, Allura's characterisation is butchered because as the designated "main female character" the writers just threw every single character trope at her, probably trying to make her feel "deep" and multifaceted but just made her feel inconsistent, busy, and butchered instead.

She's "the leader" initially when the paladins are first starting out but Shiro fills that role quickly so she is put in a more "support" role. She seems to be some type of "chosen one" considering her ability to connect w/ the balmera, negate haggars magic, and her natural talent w/ alchemy (the explanation seems to be that it's because of her lineage, as Alfor was the best alchemist of his time, but we never seem/know enough about Alfor or his own abilities to get a tangible grasp of what Allura's capabilities are. It's just whatever is convenient to the plot like bringing Lance back to life). She falls into the "damsel in distress" trope at the end of season 1. She's made the center of a very disingenuous and forced feeling love triangle. They try to give her a racism arc??? But fail spectacularly bc they never have like a proper heartfelt conversation about her bias, where it comes from, her recognising the damaging affects it has (the conversation she has with Keith abt it at the end of season 2 feels very "You're one of the good ones" coded which is very icky) and then the writers seemingly forget it ever happened (also it lasts like 3 episodes and consists mainly of her just glaring vaguely in Keith's direction instead of any actual confrontation/conflict between them)

Her character is all over the place. One second she is being put in "traditional" female character tropes (which she as a princess trained in combat, diplomacy, and running an entire society of people, should not be put in/have trouble with) like the damsel in distress and the love triangle. The next, she is depicted as unstoppable and a fix-all maggufin like with her alchemy & connection to quintessence. Then they also try to have her work through personal issues/flaws (which I think is what her racism arc was supposed to be???) But they never go into detail & explore said personal issues (which btw were never really alluded to before hand, kind of came out of nowhere)

TLDR: Allura's character was butchered because the writers thought mashing together a bunch of random character tropes without any deeper thought/development = interesting characterisation when really it just made her inconsistent and confusing.

[quibbs126]

if you havent yet, could you do an almond x latte fankid? i love that ship a lot :)

Here we are, this is Almond Milk Cookie

Funny enough, I was actually trying to go back and find this post after editing something, only to realize I never actually posted it and left it in drafts. Only for one day, but still

Anyways, so on to him

So Almond Milk here is a healer, using almost exclusively milk magic. He started out in Parfaedia, and spent a good portion of time there, until he switched over to the Vanilla Kingdom to learn healing magic, where he now works as a doctor

He’s a very friendly and kind sort, and he’s very dependable. Also, despite what some may think from his profession, he’s quite physically strong as well

However he is self conscious about not being made of “real milk”, instead being made from almonds, and he wonders if his false ingredient hinders his healing abilities. His mother has told him that whether or not his ingredient really counts as “real milk” doesn’t matter, but it’s never been something he’s able to let go. He doesn’t really make it that known anymore though, preferring to keep it to himself

Now on to design things

So I’ve had the name Almond Milk as an almondlatte kid idea for a good while now. Lattes are made of coffee and milk, and there exists a form of milk made of almonds, so it’s the obvious choice

Almond milk:

I made the initial rough sketch some months ago, so I don’t entirely remember the thought process behind it. But it looks nice, and like Latte’s but with one of Almond’s hair colors

I’m not sure why I gave him a thicker body type, but whatever, he has one. It’s not like I’m that good at drawing super skinny Cookies anyways

His outfit was originally going to be more hospital like, and probably somewhat closer to Butter Roll’s, until I decided that maybe I should make it more fantasy looking. Especially with all of my Almond kids generally having more modern looks to them, or at least in the way that Almond is “modern”, I don’t know the right word

The small cloak thing was a bit of a struggle, especially with his smile, but I eventually got something

In the sketch I gave his almond brooch something around it that looked nice, but I wasn’t really sure what it was going into the lineart, so I made it leaves. They probably shouldn’t have lines and should instead be solid green, but whatever

I gave him that spoon last minute in the sketch, since I remembered that as I said prior, I tend to not give my fankids accessories or tools anymore, and I wanted to rectify that. Unfortunately his pose didn’t really lend me well to putting it in his hands, so it’s just slapped on to the back. I’m also noticing now that the spoon itself it too small, at least on the bowl thing. But it’d be a big hassle to try and fix it, so I guess I’m stuck with it annoying the crap out of it

Oh yeah, so as mentioned earlier, I came to edit something in his design, that being his colors. Originally he looked like this

I liked the blue, and it does give him a color scheme unique from his parents, but my big problem was that the colors reminded me of Marcille from Dungeon Meshi. I don’t know if the outfit is exactly like hers, but it was bugging me, so I changed it. I think overall I like the new color scheme better, but I just wanted to mention the old one

I’m actually quite satisfied with how he turned out. Though granted I did have ideas going in about what to do with him, so that probably helped

Anyways, so that’s Almond Milk. I hope you like him

[wrengrif]

You know what we haven't done for awhile?

That's right. It's WHAT IF time.

Okay, but let me preface this What If with saying, I don't believe in the coffee theory. That it was poisoned or held some mystical juice or whatever. I believe Aziraphale went to Heaven because one, he really didn't have a choice and two, he thinks there is some way to really turn Heaven around. To make it an actual Good Place.

However ... I have read some compelling theories lately about not taking the Final Fifteen at face value and I got to say, it's gotten me to wondering.

I keep coming back to Neil and the other Good Omen creators saying, nothing in the story is accidental. Which got me thinking about themes. Themes that interwoven all throughout Season 2, emphasized in the background. One of the main themes was, in fact, subterfuge.

Hiding Gabriel from Heaven and Hell.

Saving Job's children.

The bullet catch, the photograph, the 'magical words' caught being lipped through a shop window.

Even Edinburgh, where they pulled a couple of flim-flams on the surgeon and on Elspeth. If Season One was about the power of them coming together, Season Two was about their ability to out-smart both Heaven and Hell on multiple occasions. Not always perfectly, as seen by Crowley getting dragged back down to Hell, or in fact the entire Armageddon plan.

The point is though, that Crowley and Aziraphale are old hands at subterfuge. They were able to carry on a friendship, for over 6000 years, without getting caught by Heaven or Hell (note, I don't think they pulled a fast one on God. I'm pretty sure She knows and she's all for it. Number one shipper, Her.) They trust each other, implicitly.

So, when the Final Fifteen happened ... how are we to know that they weren't already communicating on an entirely different level? What they said, I have no real proof. However, I do think that Crowley and Aziraphale perhaps knew, from the get-go, that they were saying good-bye to one another. That Aziraphale was going to try and fix the problem from the inside, not Heaven itself per say, but the issue of them finally being free of Heaven and Hell so they could be together.

The whole fight was Crowley not arguing with Aziraphale about 'taking a new job', but instead about Aziraphale going alone. Begging Aziraphale not to go into the lion's den, that they could figure out a different way together, there, on Earth. Escape the Metatron, regroup, make up a plan. Aziraphale knew, though, that they were being watched and there was no way for them to get out of the Bookshop without both being destroyed. They went through the motions of fighting about one thing, while fighting about something else entirely.

They nearly made it through the whole fight within a fight, until Crowley cracked. He was scared he'd never see Aziraphale again and he had to let his angel know how he felt. Thus, The Kiss. The desperate, 'I love you, don't do this, don't leave me' kiss. Aziraphale kissed back, half-apology, half-confession, 'I love you too, I have to, they'll kill you'. When he pulls back he's mouthing, 'do it again', and he nearly says 'I love you', but says 'I forgive you'. Perhaps, I forgive you for making this even harder for me.

Crowley's mad, to be sure, but he plays it to the hilt. 'Don't bother'. 'No nightingales', perhaps code letting Aziraphale know not to to contact him until they knew it was safe, really safe. He walks out the door and then stands by The Bentley. Another message letting Aziraphale know he'll be there, on Earth, waiting. Aziraphale pausing, perhaps mouthing, 'Trust me', before disappearing into the elevator with the Metatron.

Honestly, this is all conjecture, but What If? What if they're already playing Nefertiti and the three shell game? Look here, at Aziraphale, but don't look over here, to see what Crowley is doing. Magic! Smoke and mirrors!

Aim for my mouth, but shoot past my ear.

What if?

(Note, NO ONE SHARE THIS WITH NEIL GAIMAN. This is just brain thoughts. Leave the man to his creative process and don't fuck with him.)

[spider-jaysart]

Jon Kent week Day 4 (the day that this whole thing was actually meant to be posted on, but I missed it)

Kryptonian culture or Alternate universe

Okay, so this au of mines is called Bed boy au

It's about Jon and the Superfamily being these special beings called "Dream saviours" who live in another realm. Their job is to visit the dreams of many humans everynight to give them joy and good sleep, especially to those who are very sad or depressed and are going through hard times as well

One day Jon is given his first ever assignment to go into Damian's dreams on his first day of the job and is very excited about it. Once he finally interacts with the Boy Wonder in the dream, he can see that he's not really doing so well because of certain things that are currently going on in his real life, so he does his best to cheer him up by using his abilities to create a wonderful dream for him to enjoy that night. After that, they both end up bonding well with eachother, and in the morning Jon goes back home feeling proud of himself at a job well done, while Damian is able to wake up with a smile on his face

Days later, Jon is curious to know how Damian's been doing now and sneakily tries going back to visit him again to check up on him and asks Chris to fill in for him on his other current assignment this time as a favor, which his brother thankfully does for him

Jon meets up with Damian and sees that he's not doing so good once again, so out of concern, he decides to continue visiting Damian's dreams everynight instead to make sure that he's always doing okay, causing himself to not pay attention to his other assignments later on in the future after this decision

In Damian's dreams, they both always go on imaginary adventures together and do many other fun things with eachother as well, and become best friends. Jon begins to wish that he could hang out more with his new friend in the mortal realm, but his kind aren't allowed to visit there though due to the rules in his world, which is a problem for him

And Damian begins to start wishing that Jon was actually real, since he thinks he's only someone who's just apart of his imagination (which is what he actually thinks at first), so he starts to become saddened about it

So after Jon tries escaping the Dream saviours realm one day to try and hang out with Damian in the real world, he unexpectedly gets caught in the act and is banned from visiting Damian anymore after that

Though, after a good while, Jon, not being able to put up anymore with this punishment getting in the way of his friendship, later somehow meets up with Damian again in his dreams and reveals to him about what he actually is and whats going on and they both figure out how to fix all of it in the end. After that, they both have a happy ending where they get to hang out together in real life all the time like they had wanted, without any kind of restrictions holding them back like before

Fun facts:

For the Superfamilies abilities as Dream saviours, they all have the magical power to do many creative things in a persons dream, they can also all float/fly, they never have the need for sleep, so their energy or day schedules are never messed up by their night job because of that, but they could do it if they wanted to, and they can also physically heal others as well, especially humans when they visit them in their dreams, actually healing them in real life while they're asleep so that they can wake up feeling physically better again

While Jon's suit is all pink, especially in his skin and hair, Lois is purple, Clark is light blue, Conner is a greenish blue, Chris is orange, Kara is yellow themed, and Krypto is the lightest blue

[Image ID: Two images of two digital drawings for day 4 of Jon Kent week, which is for the prompt "Alternate universe". The first image is a reference sheet of Kid!Jon Kent who is a "Dream saviour" in an au called "Bed boy au". He is standing in the middle of the drawing with a happy smile, wearing a Superboy suit that is in the colors pink and red instead of his usual red and blue color scheme. He has a gittery pink, see through cape on. The sleeves and collar are also pink and see through with glitter on them too. He also has a yellow, glittering belt on with a red, round jewel as buckle in the middle, along with long red fingerless gloves on both hands, red boots, and the Superman symbol on his chest. He also has pink, glittering skin. His eyes are still blue, but with pink sparkles and his hair is still black, but has pink shine in it now. The background is pink and has little notes about his outfit, which were just described. There is also a white text box on the right next to Jon's head, saying "Jon and the Superfamily are these special beings called "Dream saviors" who live in another realm. Their job is to visit the dreams of many humans every night to give them joy and good sleep, especially to those who are very sad or depressed and are also going through hard times as well.". The artist's signature @spider-jaysart is written next to Jon's left foot. The second image is a digital drawing of Dream saviour!Jon in Damian's dream. Jon is in the left corner of the drawing, happily pointing at himself, greeting Damian, who is standing in the right corner facing his back to the viewer, saying "My name is Jon! I'm here to bring joy to your dreams!". He is wearing the same suit from his reference sheet and Damian is wearing a black sweatshirt. The background is colored light black and the artist's signature @spider-jaysart is written above Jon's right shoulder. /.End of image ID]

@jonkentweek

[rudnitskaia]

Just finished to watch Wish. Have thoughts. A lot of.

Actually, I have a lot of not-so-pleasant thoughts about the modern scriptwriting in general, and for a long while already, but Wish made me sigh so incredibly deeply that I woke up my cat. The concept of Wish is wonderful, brilliant even. But in my opinion, unfortunately, it wasn't developed right. At all.

So, I decided to share my usual mental gymnastics in fixing the script. It's only my personal try, nothing else.

There's a very wordy text under the cut.

I warned you. Very. Wordy.

For the start, in the original script there was no motivation for Magnifico to become a villain. His ability to make EVERY wish come true ANYTIME is a HUGE hole in the plot. Instead, the gaining of this ability must have been Magnifico's main motivation. It immediately sets the conflict with the Star, who has such an ability, but uses it improperly (in Magnifico's opinion).

At the same time, make Magnifico the man who will be extremely dutiful and tired ALREADY in the beginning of the story. A wizard who lost everything once and wants to build a safe haven full of happiness for everyone so desperately that it twisted his nature.

Don't make the main problem in him taking away others' wishes. Set the main problem in Magnifico's twisted rationality and the fact that the weight of responsibility broke him. Remember this passage: this will be important later. For that let me slightly change the concept: instead of Magnifico's rule of taking away the wishes to set the rule of forbidding to tell it aloud to anyone except the King of Rosas himself. It also gives us a wonderful parallel with the “wish upon a star” concept, a wish that you should make silently and not tell anyone after that or it won't come true. Like, if you live in that country and tell the wish to Magnifico, it casts a spell on you that forbids you to talk about the wish. It's explained by the fact that it forms a bond between the wish maker and the wizard, and that bond is the seal for magic to work, since the creative source of the wish itself gives the wizard the power to fulfil it. But Magnifico can fulfil only one wish at a time and it takes a lot of his own magical powers/lifetime/[insert any other difficult ritual], so people must wait in line. Simple. Sets the logical boundaries to his powers and explains why there’s a rule of “one wish per person”. Optionally, maybe there can also be Genie-like rules of “no wishes to make someone to fall in love or to be killed/revived” etc. People can come to the King and change their wish if they want, they can still make attempts to make other wishes come true if they want, but they're just happy with the fact that if they wait in line long enough someday their dream will be fulfilled with a 100% chance without ANY effort. So why bother?

Make Asha Magnifico's dutiful apprentice for a while, a year or two, already at the beginning of the movie. Give her some magical powers and make her struggle with the fact that Magnifico can't fulfil any wish at any time, too, make her desperately wanting to fulfil every wish without waiting for that for a long period of time. She helps people, she's in contact with them, she gives them minor magical things daily, like to help someone with gardening or wiping away dust with magical broom. But she wants more. She wants to be as powerful as Magnifico and to serve people. And her curiosity when she searches for a way to gain powers to fulfil any wish, her desperate desire to make all people in the Kingdom of Rosas happy summons the Star, who can't go back to the sky until he fulfils Asha's wish.

Show us the Star as a carefree eternal being; a trickster because of their lighthearted attitude. I saw the concept arts for Wish where the Star was a “Jack Frost”-type young man, and still think that's a pity they changed it. I get that by such a change scriptwriters eliminated the romantic subplot with Asha, but I guess many would be much more intrigued with the silent young man who's curious to everything around him and isn't attached to the real life on Earth due to his god-like nature. So, further I'll refer to the Star as a young man.

Asha truly believes that fulfilment of her wish can be reached only if the Star fulfils all the wishes of people in the Kingdom of Rosas. And the Star truly carelessly fulfils any wish of anyone he meets on the streets, and so far, we see a good fella in him. But soon enough Asha and the Star see the consequences of their wish-fulfilment raid. In a short while people seem not so happy. The people of the Kingdom of Rosas start to suffer with jealousy to each other, start to become greedy. For example, there were two guys who wanted to become the best bakers of all, and they become ones, which causes them argue and ruins their friendship, since there can't be two "the best of the best". Others start to fight, to be anxious about their own wishes, to constantly ask for more and more in a way of “they have it and I want it, too!”, and so forth. The more wishes are fulfilled without any effort, the more people wish for. And such scenarios are everywhere. Literal chaos on the streets.

Moreover, the “fulfilment” of Asha’s wish seems to not help the Star to return home. That's why Asha goes to Magnifico in search for his wisdom and help and acquaints him and the Star fella. Magnifico convinces Asha and the Star that everything can be fixed.

With the Star’s help he performs his magic and makes people of Rosas to forget their wishes, returning them to their “normal state”. That's when we and Asha will accidentally know that Magnifico's rule not to tell anyone but himself about the wishes was because he didn't fulfil the real wishes: using the power of the wish he fulfilled something that he considered safe instead that won't harm anybody and made those people forget that they wished for something else. Asha is horrified by the revelation, at which Magnifico tells her that this is the necessity and the ruler's duty, since wishes can be dangerous and controversial, just as he does in the real animated movie, but now with the evidence that Asha sees herself on the streets. People fight with each other and wish each other bad things. Some could wish to destroy the country. Some could wish to harm someone. Moreover, wishes can argue with each other, just as it happened with those two bakers before. Someone will inevitably be miserable in the end. And the only way to prevent that chaos, to make everyone truly happy, is to make the fulfilment of the wishes controllable.

Asha is utterly broken, thinking that maybe Magnifico is right. Maybe it is better for people to live in a happy controlled oblivion. She leaves the Star with Magnifico, telling the Star to listen to Magnifico since he knows better how to make everyone happy, and walks away.

Meanwhile Magnifico goes through his final arc. What happened on the streets because of Asha and the Star makes him remember how he lost everything in his childhood because of some intruders, and gets the horrifying idea to make the whole world similar to the Kingdom of Rosas. So, he finally decides to take away the Star’s power. Magnifico convinces the Star that he can arrange a magical ritual: that a spell can create a portal in a magical mirror that reflects the sky on a sunset, and that portal will lead the Star home. The Star asks (in gestures) to invite all the people to see him depart, since he got attached to them. Magnifico agrees to that, since no one will suspect that the Star will vanish and not depart.

That's how we get a villain with a God complex: a villain whose greatest desire is to make everyone happy, but in a way he sees happiness himself. Good intention at the beginning, that was awfully twisted. But it's a real motivation. That's why he wants to take away the Star's power. He wants to make everyone in the world happy. In exchange for their free will.

To make everything what I stated above work properly there must be ONE supporting character who silently works to fulfil their dream themselves during the whole movie. And they become the one who'll tell Asha: “I can make it on my own. I don't need any miracles. What's entertaining in gaining what I wish for so easily? Will it be a wish if I get it so easy? It gives my life the sense, the taste; the goal is good, but the way itself is as much valuable. The small help you and my family gave me, Asha, was enough.”

And for Asha, suddenly, it clicks. She understands that people don't need all of their wishes to be immediately fulfilled. They just need to have some support on the way. To share their wishes. To be together through thick and thin. That’s the happiness. That’s what was wrong with fulfilling her wish and why it didn’t help the Star to return home. She gains information from the supporting character about the ritual on the square and rushes back to Magnifico's castle, since she is Magnifico’s apprentice and she knows that the ritual with the mirror is not what it’s seems. It's the evil magic. The one who charmed the mirror gets all the magical powers of the one reflected in it, and the reflected person will be trapped in the mirror forever until the death of the mirror’s creator.

That sets “the final fight”. Asha runs to the square in front of the castle and stops ritual. She reveals what Magnifico was about to do and what Magnifico did the whole time with controlling their wishes. She tells them a heartfelt speech about her revelation of true happiness and asks people how many times they wanted to share with each other what they wanted the most, but were supposed to stay silent, how many things they could have done together, but didn’t because they simply waited for the wish to come true in complete lonesome instead of making memories on the way to fulfil it themselves. No one believes her, since everyone loves Magnifico, but the Star opens the hearts of the people, making everyone’s wishes visible, and everyone see their own wishes and Magnifico’s cruel wish, too. Frightened with the rebellious crowd, Magnifico quickly sets a magical barrier and tries to finish the spell he started to perform to take away the Star’s powers, but Asha interrupts and turns the mirror to reflect in it Magnifico himself on the last words he says.

Magnifico becomes trapped in the mirror (yeah, yeah, I preserved that reference :D). The Star grants Asha with access to his powers through the magic wand, showing her that he trusts her and believes that she’s the golden middle between careless himself and “the control freak” Magnifico. That she has wisdom “to give people the rod and teach how to use it”. Then the Star can either stay on Earth, because he simply enjoyed the life there, or walk away to the sky. Optionally, with Asha herself. The End.

All of that sets the main idea and the final moral: there are good wishes and bad ones. Not every wish can come true. You must work hard yourself to make your wish come true, and the harder you work, the more valuable the result is to you. The true happiness is not only the final destination, but a journey to it through the life itself. And no matter what, there's always a place for a miracle, even a small one.

If you read it to the end, first of all, WOWIE, THANK YOU 😳, and second of all, sorry, it was truly wordy. It's just... I don't tell what I wrote is flawless, but at least I tried to do my best to fix the literal holes, eliminate lack of characters' motivation and make the characters work for the story, because God knows how tired I am to see good-but-underdeveloped concepts in the modern media.

I wish it changes someday.

[ilikelookingatthings]

Thoughts on Miraculous Ladybug : A Comment from YouTube I'm proud of about themes and Gabriel

and don't get me STARTED on Gabriel. the undercut and sabotaged any nuance this man had for 5 freaking seasons. every time he showed nuance or good feelings, they undercut it by forcing him to do something worse to snuff out any sense of sympathy or complexity, so we know who the bad guy and good guy is. yet they try to ham fist a last-minute redemption?!

don't get me wrong I actually DO want a redeemable complex Gabriel but its VERY confusing and just BAD how they handled it. at the very least they could have made it better if they literally said he was good and genuinely had good intentions to save his wife. after all she was 'missing' which means the plan was to use the wish to wake her up and she could come back using going missing as a cover. He wasn't raising the dead as she was in a magical coma.

he has a fix it as he knew if he lost that the ladybug miraculous would fix things and if he won, he could use the ladybug miraculous to fix any damage he did. by making 'hawkmoth' the villain it means people would have a target outside of the victims and the victims technically have to agree to the powers, so Gabe has the illusion of consent. and his plan to make a villain was to lure the ladybug and chat miraculous out of hiding by forcing them to activate to fix the problem since he couldn't track it down otherwise.

Overall, yes, it's not 'good' but his plan made sense in a way of minimizing damage for just wanting to save his wife. play up the fact they had no one to ask for help since the guardians were gone...from his view he was 'acting' as a villain. he had no training and didn't even have a properly translated book and wasn't chosen for his role.

just point to the fact Gabe has been using his miraculous of emotions wrong. he has been amplifying his own negative emotions to feel others negative emotions and forcing a fixation on the miraculous to get his victims to try to steal them. we have literally seen how even being a little emotionally off can have consequences.

Feast with fu was a rouge Senti-monster that sensed Fu's negative emotions, negative emotions that weren't even a part of why he made the Senti-being (which was to get him some snacks, Marinette's miraculous immediately timing down when she used it to separate Adrien and Chloe instead of attacking bubbler due to her jealousy, how Tikki's snack attack affected Mari when Mari transformed. and how Akuma Victims are prone to making dumb mistakes and you literally can't reason with them properly and act more fixated and aggressive.

they could have fixed the situation by just pointing out as a side effect from using his miraculous the way he was...his personality was literally getting twisted like his Akumas due to using mis miraculous in a way it wasn't supposed to be intended. Even more with how they mention using multiple ones can cause a strain on you and literally make you insane.

that way it would validate the times Gabe was reasonable or genuinely cared as the real him while also validating and explaining all the times he became SO much worse and cartoonishly evil.

while I would have preferred Adrien actually being there in the final battle with hawkmoth..... if they just played up that Mari being more willing to sympathize and see the villians genuinely needed help and weren't just evil was due to adrien's/chat's influence because that is adrien's strength in the show. his sympathy and ability to think deeper on motivations and not just punish and how he helped teach mari to not take things entirely at face value and be more patient.

heck the final battle could have worked if they played up the Mari and gabe are actually genuinely VERY similar. they have LOTS of parallels in the show...

like I think they were going for a parallel to collector/the end of collector when mari went to him to give him the book she took(even if lila took it first) where gabe surprised us by him admiring ehr stepping forward and not being mad at her, even answering her questions and agreeing not to tell adrien when she asked him to keep silent. and a reminder about how gabe did give a genuine apology to adrien at the end of collector when he could have gotten away with not doing so since adrien DID steal the book from his locker...Gabe genuinely apologized in depth.

but because the show had spent most of the season undercutting any goodness in Gabriel again with no explanation to cover it like saying it was the influence of him going insane like his victims due to how he had been using his miraculous....it just feels unearned and messed up. even more if he was going to use the wish...why couldn't he had used it so Nathalie and the mom would be okay? if his plan had always been to use himself in case there was a price how would Mari have reacted?

like I still don't get why she trusted him at all. and because they never mentioned Gabe going insane or his behavior was due to how he handled the miraculous (like Akuma victims)

...it just comes across as Gabe just being genuinely terrible and abusive as him as a default for most of the show which makes the redemption/him fighting his choice WEIRD.

like please for the love of GOD WHY did they not just make it a side effect of using his brooch the way he did literally! it would have used the fact they primed us to sympathize/not judge what people do under the Akuma influence/in the deepest throes of their negative feelings because its prompted by them being twisted by the magic to at least give Gabe a BUFFER(for the audience).

It would make him 'fighting' so to speak, literally him fighting how he had twisted himself literally with the way he used the miraculous...like how people can fight drugs or the fought akums before. and the tragedy that Nathalie thought Gabe was just bad...not realizing her enabling him using the brooch the way he did twists someone she genuinely cared about.

like, it is easy to notice at judge the physical effects of the peacock broach, but the mental effect of the butterfly is HONESTLY terrifying/scary and has so many implications if their plan was to hint that original Gabe was more similar to Betterfly.

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

I think it works even more because it would also explain why Gabe seemed different in this specific fight because he didn't know Adrien was chat noir. people often use Gabe's reaction to Adrien being Chat Noir to validate seeing Gabe as just an abusive horrible person...but what I've also seen is if Gabe actually talks or is around Adrien for enough time Gabe WILL soften to some degree...pointing to how Gabe does care for Adrien and that it grounds him more in his original motive/personality.

So, the change might be because Gabe has been amplifying his negative feelings so 'hawkmoth' is more focused and fixated on the miraculous and defeating ladybug and chat...finding out Adrien is chat makes the 'hawkmoth' affects take over more.

like how we saw Nate and others relax at times around certain people that breakthrough the delusion (like when Nate was actually convinced to leave Chloe alone to go hang with Marinette) but he snapped back into his villain mindset when Mari's actions echoed Chloe.

I think what's worse is it's not even a rewrite since all the blocks are THERE but the show just never acknowledges it.

[panlight]

Hello 👋 I like your stuff you are amazing ❤ I wanna say something . So every one is talking about how toxic Edward and belle's relationship but the only relationship ship that I can't tolerate is Sam and Emily. OK he imprinted on her and has no other choice because of his nature .he left leah and SM says that he still has feeling for her it's just that the connection with Emily is stronger like WHAT it's like saying he loves leah but he is forced to stay with Emily no matter what the reason is .and as for Emily she has no supernatural nature that force her to be with him so why is she being with him especially after he attacked her . For me this relationship is the most toxic and weird

I tend to believe the Sam/Emily problem is that SM wanted to show us an example of how 'random' imprinting can be, that it can force someone who was in a happy relationship to be with someone else, and also to demonstrate how risky it is for humans to hang around people with supernatural abilities.

I don't think she was trying to make a point about domestic abuse or toxic relationships and I would bet cash money in her mind Sam and Emily are soulmates and beautifully tragic and blah blah blah.

But, phew, man, she stepped in it with this.

If she wanted me to be happy for Jacob for finding his imprint in Renesmee (which, lol, was never going to happen but bear with me), then she absolutely should not have made this whole disaster our first taste of imprinting. Because why on EARTH would I think it was a good thing when the first example of it we see leaves the shifter wracked with guilt, his imprintee covered in scars, his ex-girlfriend heartbroken and bitter and, oh, HARRY CLEARWATER DEAD. In the books he died of a heart attack from the shock of seeing Leah phase; Leah being upset about the Sam/Emily situation was part of the reason she phased when she did, therefore, the imprint indirectly cased Harry's death. This is not a happily ever after to me, I don't care how 'perfect' Sam and Emily are supposed to be for each other.

I don't think she meant that Sam 'attacked' Emily; I think she meant it as a tragic accident; the consequence and risk of a human being involved in the world of 'monsters and magic.' Sam didn't try to hurt Emily, he just was too close to her when he phased and the wolf-form is bigger than the human-form so he kind of . . . instantly took up more space and his claws were in Emily's space. But I understand why people often see it as a metaphor for abuse or a partner's anger, that whole "he becomes a different person when he's mad" or something. I don't think SM MEANT that. But she certainly made it all too easy for people to read it that way.

I think Emily's fate is meant to be a warning to Bella. But this falls flat in a couple of ways--firstly, lol, like Bella is going to listen to anyone's warnings about being involved in the supernatural world. Edward has been warning her away since the get-go and she's just like NOPE so putting Emily, Sam and Leah through this to teach Bella a lesson that Bella is not going to take to heart AND won't even apply to her anyway (Bella gets to be a vampire in the end which erases all HER scars and even fixes her emaciated body) is just kind of a waste of everyone's time.

And secondly the optics of using her indigenous characters and their trauma to teach her white protagonist a lesson is not a good look at all. It also brushes up again the real issue of missing and murdered indigenous women, and in making Sam seem violent (even if she meant it as an accident), plays into harmful stereotypes about brown men generally and Indigenous men in particular.

Should have made Jared and Kim as our first look at imprinting instead.

[itsybitsybatsy]

I've been lurking in the G/t community for long enough, so I figure it's about time I introduce my OCs! They're the main characters of my current WIP called "Dwindle and Diminish".

Basic premise? Sizeshifter protagonist participates in a fantasy heist, with the catch that he's cursed to slowly shrink away into nothing so long as he has these powers. Now he's on a quest to find the cursed contract that gave him these strange abilities and destroy it, before he completely shrinks away into nothing altogether. In the meantime, he learns how to not only accept his situation but take advantage of it, utilizing every new shrunken size to its maximum potential in his quest to become a master thief.

Anyway, meet Emory Bloom (shifter) and Lucy Fox (normie), the two main protagonists of Dwindle!

(Apologies for using a Picrew instead of drawing the characters myself 😔 I unfortunately lack any real art skills, so hopefully this will suffice instead!)

A few years ago, Lucy got into a car wreck that killed her entire family, leaving her as the sole survivor - unfortunately, that same accident also left her in a heavily vegetative state. Emory, one of her only living relatives, took charge as her primary caregiver, and has sacrificed his life and happiness to give her the best quality of life he can. But with little to no support system to help, Em consistently feels inadequate and wishes he could do more.

One day, Em is presented with the chance of a lifetime: accept a curse that will steal away about a foot in height, and in exchange receive the magical powers needed to restore Lucy's health to her pre-accident condition. This seems like a pretty sweet deal on paper, but it quickly becomes apparent that the contract is trying to steal a lot more than just twelve inches.

Determined to put a stop to his shrinking curse, Em and Lucy put together a team of thieves to help them steal the contract draining his soul before it's too late. All the while Emory finds new and inventive ways to take advantage of his dwindling state to help him become a better thief.

Basic personalities:

Emory (initially 6'3" but gradually shrinking) - responsible, mature, and very polite to strangers, but with a profoundly sharp wit and deadpan/sarcastic sense of humor around loved ones. He's very patient and empathetic, and strongly characterized by his intense loyalty to Lucy (as well as everyone he cares about). Has a problem with being self-sacrificial, associating his worth as a person with his ability to care for others. As a result, he can be a bit of a pushover at times. He used to have a passion for his aquarium hobby, but gave up a lot of his own personal interests in order to invest more of himself into Lucy's care. Now that her health is restored and she doesn't need a caregiver anymore, Em is slowly rediscovering all those passions again.

Lucy (5'4") - fierce and passionate, very artistic and creative and pours herself into everything she does. Can be loud and abrasive and impatient, but that's how you know she likes you. Because when she's genuinely mad, her rage is cold and silent and terrifying. Loves reading, writing, art, and cooking. Any kind of artistic pursuit is something she will gladly experiment with. However, she's also burdened by a strong weight of guilt. She blames herself for the car accident that killed her family, she blames herself for Em giving up his happiness to take care of her, and most of all she blames herself for Em taking on the curse to restore her health. She sees this as her fault, and therefore her responsibility to fix - no matter the cost.

For years, Em acted as Lucy's caregiver. But as Em becomes increasingly smaller, that dynamic switches - now, Lucy is the one responsible for taking care of Em instead of the other way around. And for Em, who considers his existence to be a burden and that he must always take care of others in order to prove his worth (and also has a boatload of trust issues)...well, you can imagine that he doesn't handle this change very well.

Anyway, I'd be happy to elaborate on the story and characters if anyone is curious! I understand things are a lot less interesting since I don't have any visuals to show you (curse my lack of art skills!), but hopefully this gave you all a good sense of their personalities and dynamic!

[lunarlegend]

Hope you don't mind more questions about Stella! The more I learn about her through your blog, the more endearing she becomes :) In Stella's backstory, Ardyn kills her mom and sets their house on fire. Did he have any particular motive to do that? How did he know Stella was his descendent? Did he ever learn of the existence of Stella and Ignis's child? Lastly, did Stella ever tell the boys, or at least Ignis, about what Ardyn did to her mom, or was it too painful for her to talk about?

i don't mind at all! i'm glad you've taken such an interest in her, she's my baby. 😊💜

in my AU, Ardyn's descendants are a line of healers using powers similar to what Ardyn had when he was originally alive, and they access their magic by channeling the Crystal. except, since Ardyn was rejected by the gods, none of his descendants can use their powers without the blessing of the current King.

over the centuries, this caused a bond to form between the two sides of the continuing Lucis Caelum bloodlines, but Ardyn's bloodline no longer shared the last name.

Stella's mom Salvia was a prominent Lucian healer and had been good friends with Regis for a long time. despite being unaware of their actual blood relation through their ancestry, the two had a sibling-like relationship, and that's how Noctis & Stella grew up being told they were cousins.

Salvia was well-known in the region not only for her healing abilities, but also for her charisma and upbeat personality. as the years went on, and the situation between Lucis and Niflheim grew more tense, Salvia became more outspoken in her defense of her homeland and used her favor with the public as sort of a platform to speak out against the Empire. this put a target on her back, but nothing happened until Ardyn noticed who she was.

back up and wandering Eos again after 2,000 years, Ardyn obviously had questions about this mysterious line of healers who worked so closely with the Lucian Kings. once he figured out where they came from, it disgusted him to see his own descendants supporting the Lucis Caelums as they were. he decided to fix the "problem" by murdering Salvia, because he considered it justice and knew it would be taken as a political attack, keeping him anonymous.

he didn't expect Stella to get home from school before he left the house. her grief over her mother only angered him more, so without ever making himself known to Stella, he simply dropped a fireball to the floor and left. Stella should have died, but after trying unsuccessfully to drag her mother's body from the burning house, she luckily had the clarity to run and find a window so she could jump outside to safety.

after Salvia's death and Stella's temporary disappearance, there was a media frenzy. the murder was assumed to be a political attack; retaliation from the Empire, just as Ardyn had predicted. but no one knew that Salvia didn't die in the fire, only Stella saw that she'd been stabbed already. that fact haunts Stella to her core; not only that she had to find her mother's corpse, but the reality of knowing that whoever set the fire did it so they could kill her, too.

Stella keeps the truth to herself for a long time. she eventually tells Ignis about it before the journey while they're still living in Insomnia, but is adamant that no one else needs to know because she doesn't think anyone would believe her. her only focus at that point is figuring out who did it so she can get her revenge.

skipping far into the future, Stella doesn't give birth to Lucina until after the Dawn, thankfully, so Ardyn is already gone by then. her pregnancy is the reason Noctis insisted she didn't come with them into the Citadel for the final battles. had she gone in, Ardyn was planning to kill her when they reached the throne room (and he had Salvia's body strung up with the others, in place of Aldercapt in my AU). he sent a Red Giant after Stella outside instead, but she was able to fight it off thanks to Nyx's spirit, which rose up to help her.

the fact that Stella, another member of the Lucis Caelum bloodline, was still alive, is what prevented the prophecy from coming true and allowed Noctis to survive the Dawn. in canon, Noctis and Ardyn cancel each other out at the end, but in my AU only Ardyn is laid to rest. the bloodline is able to continue without the weight of the Crystal or the interference from the gods, and Noctis & Stella get to live in harmony in the rebuilt city with all the people they love, the way Somnus & Ardyn should have.

[coastxlwaters]

Since art ideas and motivation has drained away, here is a little ramble since I can’t stop re watching some episodes

Btw I’m not fixing the typos, I don’t have the thought process to do it rn-

Idea 1.

So we all know moon is starting to fall back into old moon’s ways? Whenever monty said, “I thought this would happen.” It could mean that when with meeting the original owner of moon’s body and (most) of the code, it may or may not have messed with the memory issue slightly causing some of the more emotional responses to come back to this new moon. Let’s remember he did not enter his mindscape while in a stable emotional level, as he was both grieving for Solar and blaming himself for several problems and not being able to fix those several problems. Let’s also remember, (so much remembering wow) that part of moons code had to be regenerated which caused the reset in the first place. This feeling of holding himself back subconsciously could be that new part of his code trying to stop him from turning out like the old moon.

Idea 2.

Old moon after being woken up by monty and moon has regained some control over thoughts, reactions, and mental stability. We all know old moon was clearly not the most emotionally stable person, like at all, so this insanity that is happening with moon could be old moon having slight control of his mental stability. Reactions would be him almost strangling ruin, and the thoughts would be if he is this is real or not. Since I swear in one episode old moon said, “I can’t tell if this is real or not, if I’m imagining all this happening and driving myself mad.” Could also be from one of my many weird ass dreams.

Idea 3.

Ever since killcode died I have seen people in the comments saying something like, it’s starting to seem like old moon again. We all know killcode was taken out of moons mindscape and since old moon being in there with magic could have messed something up and kept the two codes between the two animatronics tied closely even if not connected by body anymore. So when killcode died it could have transferred part of his homicide code back to moon and since moon did not know it has just been festering and growing, leaving him to act more like old moon. (I’m not saying this was a conscious decision made by our lovely killcode I’m just trying saying with the magical stuff messing with code and death and bodies a lot it could be related)

Idea 4.

Moon has access to tumblr and is traumatized (joke please don’t take seriously you guys do what you wanna do-)

Anyways, actual idea 4.

Solar was a lot closer to moon than we actually thought, keeping him in mentally stable through all the shit that has happened recently and now that solar is gone moon is starting to slip off the edge. We all know he woke up to eclipse immediately trying to murder his whole family, he doesn’t have time to recover since ruin is being annoying. Then ruin nearly kills both him and sun and now are stuck in a dying dimension, they are running for theirs lives every second. Way more than in the actual dimension, don’t get me wrong they are in danger a lot but ruin’s dimension is different. They come back, rebuild, stichwraith is becoming more annoying, earth nearly dies, and lunar gets death threats from astrals. He has not had any time to mentally recover, I hate to say it but Earth’s therapy sessions might not be enough.

Moving onto my one idea with solar and moon.

Everyone is making jokes about sunburn (evil sun) wanting to be alone but continuing to annoy the celestial family. Let’s all remember that he has his moon’s smarts, ability to plan, and definitely a lot colder and more calculating. He could have returned ruin to make sure moon takes even more time to find him. This time giving him time to bring back Solar but instead of the nice and sweet Solar we love, Solar is turned evil. Moon ends up snapping to whatever insanity is taking over him right now and just wants his brother back. Even though sun try’s to stop him moon goes to join solar. Moon still deeply regrets leaving sun and does not hurt him, but whatever this insanity is doing to him is keeping him with solar. Let’s say Solar got a killcode from sunburn (evil sun) and is still there but is slowly getting as traumatized as sun is (not trying to make fun of sun here but seeing yourself do something that you are not controlling and seeing one of your favorite people collapsing to insanity is a hell of a lot to see after just being brought back to life) also remember evil sun is still in the picture and every now and then will step back in to make sure Solar loses even more control of his body. Slowly taking his limited abilities taht sunburn left there on purpose away so solar is going almost as insane as moon.