#because so far it's like. ok main characters just somehow know all the answers in every mystery door and move on to the next door

[aroacehanzawa]

Started reading Kaleidoscope of Death and i'm about 1/3 of the way through but hmmmmmm it's not filling in the hole in my heart left behind by Global Examination and Mist in terms of unlimited flow webnovels :/

[i-wiggle-i-squirm-bc-i-am-a-worm]

Unnecessary discussion about Chat Noir and the Drums

There’s something I love so much about Chat playing the drums in Horrificator. This is something that’s been on my mind since I was 13, so hold on here.

First, obviously, Adrien also plays the piano - which obviously still has a lot of meaning!! - I’m not here to diss on the piano, there’s a lot of freedom of expression in every instrument type and music expression in general, but there’s a reason why some people are more inclined to different instruments, and I think there’s a lot more to it than just sound, but feeling as well. The role you play. How it feels to play it alone vs. playing it with others, if it’s typically something that you can play alone vs. in a group.

So first, the piano, and how I think it relates to Adrien’s character, plus how it relates to those points.

The piano, let’s be real, is something that a lot of us were forced to take lessons for at some point. It’s something that has ties to high society (there’s a HUGE discussion and so much more to say about that, but let’s not go there) and honestly?? I think it works pretty well with symbolizing the obsession with perfection that Gabriel shoves onto him. I’ve known many piano players, and while some genuinely loved playing it, it was always easier to somehow stumble onto someone with a deep hatred for it after being forced into lessons. Whenever I asked them why they hated it, I got almost the same answer every time: “I need to be perfect.” (Along with people saying that they were forced to lol)

Then there’s the role you play. You can play with people in a band, an orchestra, as an accompanist, a duet, at a bar with a bunch of people singing - whatever - music has many forms, and many different connections. But the piano is something you can play solo, no need for anyone else. It isn’t what you can do with other people that I’m focusing on for this, it’s the fact that you don’t need anyone. You can play alone, and it’ll still be fine. You can be alone, and you’re still fine - perfect even - which is something that Gabriel shoves down his throat, resistant to him playing with his friends by touching on this ideology.

Which is a glimpse into how he sees Adrien, and how Adrien experiences life. He can be alone, in fact he’s more perfect when he’s alone. And when other people are added, the attention to his perfection is taken away bit by bit, until he’s not good enough. He has to play solo in concert halls, on stage for everyone to watch, not in the back of a bar, playing with his friends.

Alright, so now we move to Chat Noir and the drums. The main play of this fake essay. 

It would be so easy to just ignore everything and just go “haha, he’s the energetic one, so ofc Ladybug gave him the drums! And they’re an easy instrument to play, etc.” but that’s far from the truth.

Ok, so I’m not a drum player or percussionist in any way, but I am a bass player, and genuinely love the drums so much because they’re incredibly important, and here’s my cheesy analogy: the drums are the heart of the band, keeping everyone on beat, it’s what you feel at the centre of it all. The band is nothing without the drums, without the percussion (The bass is what connects the band to the beat of the drums, kinda like the blood vessels, but sadly this ain’t about bass).  Like do you know how easy it is for a band to fall apart if they don’t have a drummer??? You need a drummer. You literally can’t survive without a drummer, because even if you manage to work together, use the bass as a backing, whatever you try, there’s still not much of a heart left.

But besides that, do you know how hard it is to play the drums??? You can’t just throw someone crazy, or energetic there just because “crazy drummers lol” you need someone who listens. Who can set the beat. Someone you can rely on, because they are the person in control, even if they aren’t as flashy as the guitar player. Reliable is the word that comes to mind. The drums can make or break a band.

And wanna know who that reminds me of?

Yeah. I highly doubt that the writers put this much thought into a random five second scene in an episode of season one, but it fits with Chat Noir SO well. 

Unlike the piano, the drums are almost solely played in a group setting - you need other people, and other people need you - he needs other people in his life, his friends are needed, but they also need him. Ladybug needs him, along with all the other heroes in Paris, whether he sees it or not. He seems to get in a state of thinking he’s not needed, but i do really think he’s the emotional glue that keeps the team connected, the heart that keeps them beating. If he’s isolated, he can’t quite reach his full potential that he can when he’s allowed to be around others, just like they can’t reach their own without him.

But on top of that, I think the stereotypes of the drums actually works in his favour for the next part. 

Breaking free from his dad, and being his own person, letting that fame go and embracing what he wants... well, to some that would look stupid. 

Relating it to music, the piano is flashy, you can play it solo, it sounds impressive, looks impressive, and people won’t think you’re just hitting pots and pans in the garage when you say you play it. But the drums are underestimated, a lot of people think you don’t need much practice, that they’re just the guys who sit at the back of the stage, not doing much, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Just like Adrien finally being who he wants wouldn’t be stupid, it could never be stupid, but there’s a stigma. But letting go of his flashy, solo life, and being the heart of his friend group is something that I think makes him truly happy as Chat Noir, and hopefully he gets to be like that as Adrien too.

Like Plagg said, Chat Noir and Adrien are both the real him, and I think the drums capture that perfectly. The heart and freedom, the meticulousness (rather than perfection) and steadiness, those are good qualities of a drummer.

I dunno, I just think it fits.

(sdfghjklkjhgf again I should state that acoustic versions of songs exist, and you can play songs without a drum and it sounds fantastic, but I’m not going into that today. Just talking generalization, and playing in a group setting). 

[lorillee]

you should think about von karma-edgeworth piano au forever and then talk to me about it forever. nudges your shins with my nose like a small cat hi. hello. hi.

-karmaicperfection

ok thank you for indulging me @karmaicperfection 😭😭😭 i started answering this and then got IMMEDIATELY interrupted for like a good solid hour but anyways. obviously this is like spitballing concepts for an au but i think the easiest way to take this is frankly just . incredibly adjacent to your lie in april (an anime which, if you have not seen, you should absolutely 10000000% go watch because im clinically insane about it and it is quite possibly my most favorite anime other than one piece . speaking of i should rewatch it again soon. anyways) except without the romance (which like. To Be Honest i think ylia would have done better without but WHATEVERRRR i suppose the romance is the hook for the average viewer) and obviously adjusted for character dynamics.

so obviously manfred is like world famous virtuoso classical pianist, born a prodigy baby, got private tutoring from some insanely famous pianist, and never lost a competition - plays always 1000000% to the score and never deviates an inch and to even entertain the idea is nothing short of heretical. since generally competitions are going to be judged by how perfectly the pianist plays, manfred always wins even if somebody else has a more interesting or frankly better interpretation of the piece. the main problem here is how the heck he's supposed to cheat since the thing with piano competitions and performances is like you either know the piece or you dont you cant cheat on that so maybe he's just like bribing the judges to favor perfection as opposed to their personal preference. i think he'd be a huge tchaikovsky & rachmaninoff & chopin kind of guy like tell me the revolutionary is not EXACTLY the kind of thing manfred would be playing (like those ending chords ??? you cannot tell me you cant just see him going absolutely ham)

naturally then gregory is another world famous virtuoso classical pianist, but instead of following the score 1:1 he puts a lot more emphasis on personal interpretation - he's very very popular with the people, but in competitions he's always divisive with the judges since some of them are real sticklers for sticking to the dynamics written on the page while others are more open to whatever he's doing. im thinking his taste probably falls more under beethoven & bach & mozart & chopin. i guess during some competition he somehow finds out that a few of the judges were being bribed & reveals this to the public and the Elevator Incident goes as per canon.

miles is like eight i think at that point so he's been taking piano for a few years but since when youre like eight your hands really arent big enough to be playing anything terribly hard, gregory's influence hasnt been set in stone yet - manfred obviously begins imparting the "The Score Is Absolute" mentality onto him. i think he'd also be a lot more strict on teaching music theory (something admittedly i never actually learned like anything about because i was huuuuuge brat and blatantly refused to do the workbooks my teacher gave me and i guess she just gave up 😭😭😭) than gregory. as far as miles' personal preferences go i think hed like chopin & debussy & tchaikovsky & bach. franziska is obviously also baby prodigy girl - she's absurdly competitive and very much a "practicing 8 hours a day minimum" kind of girl. her preferences are anything loud fast and difficult (1) more fun to play 2) gives her the opportunity to show off 3) much more rewarding upon mastery) so very very much a beethoven & rachmaninoff & chopin kind of girl, but also i think miles would give her an appreciation for slower & more sensitive pieces

anyways so i guess in this au phoenix would also be a WAIT LOLLLL hes already a pianist in canon. sorry the fact that that stupid pub he works in literally has a steinway baby grand in it and all phoenix does is complain about having to play it like. grabs you. throws you to the side. scoot over and let me PLAYYYYYYYYYYY .anwyays. anyways ok this is literally the premise of your lie in april but i guess phoenix was inspired to take up piano after hearing miles play when he was like 7 at some school talent show thing and like keeps tabs on him as he rises through the piano world but is distraught to find out miles has abandoned the art of actual interpretation in favor of sticking religiously to the script and through competitions teaches him the value of making the piece truly yours to impart some actual message and feeling to the audience instead of playing like a robot. of course this au isnt about him so thats like all im going to say on that

wait oh theres a problem here. if manfred kills gregory how in the world does that get resolved . ummmmmmm . hm. ok whatever lets just table that for now its not important. actually objectively the funniest way for this au to go is to give it the exact same amount of murder and melodrama and stakes as in the normal series except everybodys a pianist for some reason. this is incredibly tangential im getting wildly off track here but like klavier has the exact same huge fanbase of hormonal teenage girls except hes just like playing schumann. godot is like a jazz pianist that they keep letting enter into these classical piano competitions for some reason. the detectives are their accompanists? many thoughts. okay side tangent over lets get back to the main point here

franziska's arc in aa2 would probably still be the same re: even after manfred's gone she still sticks rigidly to the dynamics written on the score to the point of technical perfection, but completely lacking in personal emotion & interpretation - phoenix's repeated wins over her not due to his sticking to the score but rather to the brilliancy of his interpretations keep rooting up the beliefs that have been absolutely ingrained into her from birth, and miles helps her realize that to be honest actually having something to say when playing a piece is an artistic improvement over being The Most Accurate To The Score. and now i just want to draw everybody at the piano

[natashas-girl]

If you’re happy part 2

A/n: part two to if you’re happy

Summary: y/n is not ok

this was requested by @daddynatasha and @smallworld1234

You slammed the door of your small house shut. Well, legally it wasn't yours, you had found it fully furnished in the middle of nowhere. If the owner showed up you would leave of course, but you didn't think that they would. 

You had been doing pretty well without n-a-t-a-s-h-a, you had somehow managed to bury all of your complex feelings. You still felt happy when it rained, or annoyed when you had to drive four hours to go to the store for milk, but as long as you kept her out of your mind, you didn't actually feel sad. You just. . . Were. It was like, you were still sad but sad wasn't bad anymore unless she crossed your mind. 

Hopping into the car, you cursed when you realized that it was low on gas. Now you would have to drive through town. You usually avoided that and got your groceries from a lil shop on the edge where you were known as a blocked-up writer named  who had moved here after a scary wildfire. 

Driving through town and grumbling to yourself, you tried not to look at the billboards. Unfortunately, the bright red hair and radiant smile on one of them caught your eye. 

Stopping the car immediately, you stared up at the billboard through the glass. It was one of the electric ones that showed ads and sometimes breaking news, if it was big enough. In the billboard, Natasha hugged Maria with one arm and showed off a. . .

A-

A sparkling diamond engagement ring in the other. Maria had one, too. And the emotions only got worse when she turned to kiss Maria and Maria kissed her back and-

You were falling.

You could feel the drop in you stomach as you went down.

Where would you land?

You didnt know.

You were falling.

-time skip-

You woke up in a hospital with stiff paper sheets and baby blue walls. The air smelled like hand sanitizer and blood, a horrible combination. A nurse with pulled back blonde hair walked in. 

"Oh good, you're awake." She said. "I'm going to need you to answer some questions for me."

"Um. . . Okay?" You said.

"What is your name," she asked.

"Y/n l/n" you answered.

"Who is your closest relation," she asked.

"Uh. . ." Natasha. "I have none."

"None?" She asked, clearly none at all.

"None. In fact, i have a dog at home, and i should probably get back to her." You said, dismissing her bluntly. 

"I'm sorry, i can not release you from the hospital until you have given us at least one emergency  contact."

Gritting your teeth, you reluctantly wrote down yelena's number, because that girl would seriously kick ass for you. In fact, if the hospital called she would probably think it was a scam. 

When they finally let you out, you drove straight home. You hadn't given them your real address, you had put the billing for tony. Hopefully they wouldn't notice.  

When you got home, you locked all of the doors and windows. Stupid, stupid you. When you were dating natasha, you had always been far away from the news. That was probably why you didn't recognize her as Black Widow when you started dating her.  You had met them all, of course, but you tended to read the news, and oh my god did those cameras do insane things to their faces. Honestly, you probably would have scolded yourself for being a main character if you thought that they were the avengers. Because meeting the avengers was something you heard about, not something that happened to you.

or so you thought. 

Oh, how could you have been so stupid. Tony was going to talk to be here any minute now. Or worse, yelena. 

Whoever showed up would obviously try to talk you back into moving back. Oh god, what if they sent Natasha. . .

You could not do this. 

The urge to go and cry in bed was overwhelming, but you knew that this was more important. Slamming your groceries down on the counter, you started making grilled cheese. You knew that tony loved those, and he would probably be here first. Shit, he was probably tracking you down right now. 

As if summoned by thoughts, there was a sudden banging on your front door. Flipping the grilled cheeses a final time, you slowly made your way to the front door. When you reached it, all too soon, you opened it just a crack. Yep, tony. You sighed and flung it open.

"To what do i owe the pleasure," you drawled sarcastically. 

"y/n, we need to talk." He said seriously. "You are not okay."

The words hit you hard. You stood there gasping and slightly recoiled. Tony noticed and shoved past you. Walking to the kitchen, he grabbed a grilled cheese. Entitled bitch. You sat down on the couch, you weren't hungry. When tony was decidedly done with his grilled cheese, he sat across from you.

"Y/n, we need to talk." He said.

"So talk!" You said, really not caring. "There is nothing that can break my heart any more than it is already broken. Trust me." You hadn't meant to sound pathetic, but. . . Yeah, you did. You looked away. 

"Y/n, you need to come back. You left your life behind  when you left. What about your friends? What about your job? What about Natasha?" Oh my god, he said her name.

Her name.

Her name.

Her name.

You stood up.

"I left those behind for a reason. Now get out of my house."

"Y/n, this is-"

"Get. Out. Of. My. House."

"Okay. Fine. But, please. . . Try to come back."

"No."

Yay! My first request!

Should i do a part 3?

[peachjagiya]

https://www.tumblr.com/peachjagiya/749306621843456000/i-wonder-how-far-this-jikook-bh-narrative-runs

I don't know, maybe they were "portrayed" this way because both things, the drama and the book, are being based on the years before 2021? Back then Jimin and Jungkook were actually close. If two members were spotted hanging out together, it was them. Starting from hanging out during the tour by going out together with Jimin's friends, to hanging out in South Korea on multiple occasions, to actually spending nights together like during Jungkook's birthday in 2020. Staff even said they never saw them separated in 2019 and they called each other all nighter buddies. So they're probably portrayed like this because that was the case back then. At least from what we saw and heard from them. That undeniably changed after 2021. After them hanging out in March 2022, there's nothing that points to them hanging out again or seeing each other much outside of the company until Chuseok 2023. Actually it seems like Taehyung and Jungkook spent a lot of time together and grew even closer during that time. I'm not a shipper, so I have no horse in this race. But sometimes there's no conspiracy going on and it's just what it looks like. Taehyung and Jungkook were very close since debut until like 2015, then somehow Jimin and Jungkook grew closer but then started to grow apart in 2021 and Taehyung and Jungkook got way closer again. I know this doesn't fit what you believe as a shipper and that's ok. But sometimes it's healthy to maybe take a step back and see everything from a more neutral pov. Not everything has a second meaning. And that goes for both sides, on case some Jikookers are lurking here. They also have trouble with accepting reality which is that Jimin and Jungkook barely saw each other for a long time period.

Besides isn't it also very possible that the actors of Jimin's and Jungkook's characters are just actually friends and that's why there's more background stuff about them in the drama? And it's only been 4 episodes so far, 8 are still missing. And looking at the trailer the main duos of the actual BU will get a huge chunk of screen time. And I honestly don't get how the book "portrayed" Jimin and Jungkook as anything when the members were interviewed for that book. The Tokyo trip was obviously very important to Jimin due to them going on that trip because Jimin wasn't doing well at that time, so obviously Jimin (or Jungkook) would mention that trip in the interview for the book. And I mean they were not the only duo mentioned in the book. Sometimes things just don't have any deeper meanings.

I see your points and thank you for making them.

I actually think "the book" really confused things here. I thought the "book" the ask referred to was the BTS Universe which is obviously fictionalised. That's why I referenced Yoonkook.

Media releases plus the official website confirms:

So we're thinking it's based on Behind The Story? Did we get confirmation of that? I'm puzzled. It continues the story but tells another story too? Actually that sounds about right for HYYH 😂

You're right, we don't know how it progresses from here.

Regardless, even if it turns out to be a Jikook lovefest, that's ok! Ultimately I did say in my answer that it was a mild hmm and I'm not taking much from it.

No, not everything is a conspiracy, I agree. But as I said, H√be and other corporate entities are really showing their asses right now. Never trust a corporation ☺️

[nostalgia-tblr]

Ok, I love reading your asks and your replied to them (never thought of Sylki Darkfic before but you are so right, selflessly possessive Loki being low-key creepy would be fitting). So I want to hear your two cents about this:

Sylvie has no reason to learn how to trust or suddenly be able to trust in S2. As you said, Loki doesn't give her a reason to trust him, it's almost like he just nags her till she gives up. The TVA are still pruning the Timelines (Dox) and they are still indifferent to the Timelines being pruned (Mobius). Sylvie could have seen the chance of the TVA agents redeeming if she had any interactions with B-15, but she doesn't. After trying to hope for the best, they failed at accomplishing whatever they dragged her from her life on the Timeline for.

So, does Sylvie get any development at all, or is she there to be the hysterical anti-cop mouthpiece as the other anon said?

okay first of all my disclaimer on this one is that while i have indeed come to appreciate the male sylvie loki as a character i did first get dragged in by sylvie so i tend to take her side on things because she is the superior blorbo.

(i put this behind a read-more thingy cos it got a bit long)

my feels on sylvie this season are that she's been demoted from 'her quest for revenge is the main driver of the plot' to 'isn't it awful that she makes the man upset by understandably-yet- foolishly disagreeing with him?' she's not had a pivotal moment with B-15 because sylvie in s2 is (so far) primarily there to make loki feel sad. she had that lovely end-credits bit of discovering the McDonalds Burgermatic Universe but then we didn't see that after all, we just skipped to her working on a till apparently established in her new life. there's two episodes left so this could all change but the first half has not been that great on the sylvie front :'(

even the fact that (someone correct me if i'm wrong pls as it is very possible) loki shows up at mcdonalds mostly because he saw her in a lift in the previous episode and assumes this means she will know about... her own future? somehow? or possibly because he knows she's one of the main characters and so she needs to be brought into this new plotline. or for emotional reasons but he obviously can't so much as hint at that to her in case they resolve their relationship issues too early. (how can sylvie expect him to tell her the truth about these things? it was only the second episode and that's far too early! what a daft bint she is!)

people get mad at sylvie for not being nice enough to loki but she's got a normal-seeming life now that she appears to enjoy, and him turning up (in a TVA uniform with his cop buddy AND THEIR PRISONER) demanding answers she doesn't have and telling her to just accept that The Cops Are Good Now Actually, Apart From All The Ones Who Aren't so like... why would she go out of her way to be polite and helpful about keeping the TVA running?

i don't think she's intended to seem like a hysterical rebel, but we're not being shown things from her perspective as much as before and we assume (we could be wrong about this but we do assume) that as the main character loki is going to turn out to be right about most of these things and we don't really get a balanced set of arguments, which seems to be partly because we need to hold off on these characters actually discussing anything so that we can ensure that loki stays sad about her until such time as he can be rewarded for his work on the time loom by the lifting of that sadness (or whatever).

there's still two episodes left though, which is enough time to turn this around a bit, perhaps by showing us a bit of sylvie's new life or by having some proper discussions/arguments about whatever the fuck the TVA are supposed to be doing now. so my feelings are currently mixed. could turn out fine, could end up crap. OH THE TENSION D: D: D:

[mostlymaudlin]

🧿🕯️💥!!! (@stabbyfoxandrew's main)

omg HOW DID I NOT REALIZE YOU WERE YOU... this makes so much sense hahahha. ty for ur ask!!

🧿what steps do you take to not take things personally if a fic doesn't do well, or if your writing/posting/sharing experience isn't going how you'd like it to?

ok i talk a big game abt writing for myself and ITS TRUE but im also a sensitive baby. and tbh what actually happens most often is that i get IRATE when people leave comments that i feel bridge too far into feedback that i dont want to hear -- and i don't want to hear it bc the damage is already done! like, i published the thing, i wiped my hands of it, i don't want to hear anything bad abt it because i learned what i wanted to learn from it and i want to be happy with it as it stands. DONT TELL ME if you're not happy i dont careeee!!! hahaha. so basically it's a lot of me giving myself that exact lecture & remembering why i shouldnt care abt negative feedback.

in terms of "not doing well" i can usually clock when something wont do the numbers on AO3, and i don't really mind it. my fics with the most hits etc are not the ones im most proud of, but i totally get why theyre the ones w those stats -- theyre simple, accessible, and quick. and you know what ?? im glad ppl are getting on ao3 and just kinda reading & resting. i also read a lot of fics just to escape into something easy. and so if a fic isnt doing well statistically, but im proud of it, im usually pretty good at reminding myself why most people go to ao3, and why the thing that ive written doesnt really align with that.

🕯️how do you think engaging with each other through tumblr, twitter, comments, kudos, creates healthy fandom experiences? How do you deal with that if you're not a social person/experience social anxiety?

well first off i am lucky in that i am not shy at all hahaha. clearly i love talking to people/talking about my wriitng. i think all of this is fun!! im actually really bad at taking compliments, so i dont reply to many ao3 comments unless ppl are opening a conversation somehow. but i love asking questions and answering questions and all the fun sharing we do. i think a lot about writing original fiction, and the main thing that holds me back is that its just SO FUN to share characters. im such an Andrew Minyard Enjoyer, and whenever i write him, i feel like im in conversation with everyone else who loves him and writes him and reads him! and that's such an incredible experience.

💥find your least kudos'd fic - say something wonderful about it.

this is a cute one omg. my least kudosed fic is a Simon Snow/Shepard Love fic, which makes sense, because the audience for them as a true romantic pairing is VERY small haha. closer to the sun is one of the coolest things ive written tho, tbh. i think i did something fun with the dragon lore with the series, and i also gave Shepard a lot of my own personal experiences/skills as he went dragon hunting. there's also dragon fliritng. and dragon sex! idk man LOL it's really weird for a fanfic, i know this, but i think it's pretty good FICTION? theyre pretty removed from the canon in this, i was just kinda doing my own thing.

[letstalkabouttvshows]

Hot takes, (un)popular opinions, and other thoughts of RNM season 4

[Fernanda from the future here. This is gonna be a long post. I guess I really wanted to take this off my chest, and I promise I really think this season can end on a high note, even if some bits in here feel like I'm very grumpy, especially towards the last part of it HAHA]

Ok, I'll probably write one of these once more after the season is done. I just wanted to get this out here before Monday's episode.

I try not to dwell on what if's regarding Roswell because the truth is, this story could have gone into so many ways, the mythology is there, and so are the storylines and characters (props to the writers for creating the base for it), but trying to understand why some story arcs were not explored or characters weren't used as much, it's an impossible task.

It's just what it is.

Should we mourn the potential story arcs we are never gonna see? Yes. Definitely.

The love for this show is real, so it makes sense to be upset when the potential for so much is there and sometimes, it's just not met.

But, with that said, I still think the stories we did get, in the end, are pretty good.

It's way more positive than negative as some people make it out to be. Honestly.

Especially if we isolate some stories and characters from the rest of the main arc of the show. There is intention and connection and little details that make it great.

In all honesty, this is how I view the show: it could be way more, but, in the end, for me, it's still a damn good story.

So, here's my honest opinion about this season so far:

Episodes 1-5

I LOVED the first 5 episodes. Honestly, for me these 5 eps had a solid pace to them, it built tension for the story, it felt like they were going somewhere.

They felt connected.

We had the dark triad, we had Tezca that seemed to be 10 steps ahead of everyone. All of her actions got us asking: why is she doing this? How does she know so much? Why did she take Alex? What is the alighting?

We had the heroes clueless about how they were being roped into the new aliens' plans. The tension was built.

Again, it felt like it was going somewhere.

Episodes 6-9

But then, episodes 6 to 9 hit, and the story got stuck.

We had 4 consecutive episodes that were circling around the same thing and the thing still didn't give the audience anything.

If we put together all the real information we got from 6-9 that is relevant for the story in general, it could be summed up in 15 minutes of screen time or even less.

The rest of it? It was all waste of minutes.

In my opinion, these were supposed to be the episodes to give us some answers, you know?

To move the story along.

To make the audience know what the hell is the main arc of the season. What is the Alighting? Where's Alex? Why does Max have all that power?

For me, episode 6 was the worst of them all.

Even Tezca's shapeshifting revelation lack the twist because the episode compared to the 5 prior, felt so out of pace, place and connection.

Out of the four of them, episode 8 still was the best in terms of pushing the storyline ahead even though the cuts were terrible.

This block of the season felt dragged. I will talk about the drag aspect of it little down below of this.

Episodes 10-13 (fingers crossed)

Even though I am annoyed with the previous episodes, I still believe the writers left all of the revelations and twists for the season for these last 4 episodes.

I honestly believe things will somehow make sense.

And, depending on how the explanations go, this might turn out to end more as a good season than a bad one.

GUEST STARS

The main reason episodes 6 to 9 felt dragged it's because of how much attention the guest stars of this show got.

I get we need guest stars to create a plot. I totally get that.

BUT, why waste so much time on them when you are not balancing it out with the rest of the main characters?

I'm sorry, I don't care about Bonnie. I care that she can be used as a plot device, beyond that, I really don't give a damn.

Shivani? A great addition to the plot. But all of the reasoning behind her actions? Could've been explained in a three-minute scene and not spread across how many episodes again?

Eduardo? I love him. He's the only guest star that makes sense to have more scenes and not only be used as a plot device.

Now him and his daughter? That whole plot felt out of place. Disconnected from everything else.

Will it have a point? Well, I hope so. We still have 4 episodes to try to make sense of that. If it doesn't, again, WHY?

Tezca felt like a worthy substitute for Jones, but then, the lack of explaining what the hell is her endgame dragged her character down.

The same thing applies to Clyde.

Anatsa? Cool character with good potential, but her story arc as it was, could've been done using one or two episodes, tops.

NOW, with that said, what's the story arc for Isobel this season? Maria? Kyle? A-L-E-X?

We don't know because the better part of this season and most importantly, the whole middle of the season, we spent with these characters we really don't care about and the ones we do care, were sidelined.

Again, I feel like Alex's story arc will have a big plot twist connected to the main story arc, whatever it is because we still have no idea what is it, so I can excuse the lack of info on him if there's gonna be a great pay off to it, but the rest of the characters?

Why???

ECHO

Talking about dragging the story down, I'm sorry for Echo fans because what they are getting this season it's not good.

Can we honestly look at this season and say that Echo helped make it better? More likable? Compelling?

Because it feels like it did the opposite.

I'm sorry but season 4 so far is going circles around the same issues, the same problems, over and over and over again with Max and Liz, for the love of God, if I have to hear one more time about their issues, I think I'll throw my screen out of the window. Oh, hearing they are each other's turquoise, will make the trick too.

Malex with only two episodes worth of scenes this season so far had more growth and development than Echo 9 episodes in.

HOW???

Max and Liz's scenes are taking up way too much screen time they actually need IF the scenes are going to be the same each and every episode.

The amount of time wasted on every single character having to be a therapist for Liz and Max or the amount of time wasted to include the same scene interaction but in a different setting, just to, what I now think is force-feeding us that they are the main couple, it's annoying.

Echo is stuck in a never-ending loop of trust issues because none of them are willing to face their individual faults and let go of control for each other's sake.

They love each other.

But to make a relationship work they have to want the same things and aside from how they feel for one another, they aren't on the same page.

The only time Max was interesting this season was with Jenna and when he was caving to his powers.

The only time Liz was interesting this season was when she WAS MAKING THE SAME MISTAKES AGAIN but hey, at least it gave us something else beyond her struggling to find common ground with Max.

Do you want to know when they weren't interesting? Every interaction they had with each other (except when Liz called Max out about him willingly losing his powers. That's good. It felt like they were breaking the cycle and actually addressing an issue to move forward [which they didn't]).

For a season that set up to bring about the Alighting since episode 1, I want to know more about that than 9 episodes dwelling on Max and Liz's love problems.

The Alighting should be the main arc and then, the other stories should have fallen into place around it. Including Max and Liz's and everyone else's.

But episodes 6 to 9, where we should have given us the answers, it should've pushed the storylines along, and built even more tension and risks for resolution in the last 4 episodes, didn't happen.

What have we got? Three hundred Echo scenes that, basically, are the same.

Ok. I'm done now.

As you can see, my issue with this season has been mainly about what we got from episodes 6 to 9.

Do I believe this season can end on a high note? Yes.

I believe it can, especially if they focus the rest of the season on the Alighting and how all of these characters have a part in it. Because from the little we got so far, it seems like they are all in it.

So, let the resolutions, revelations, plot twists, and explanations come in episodes 10, 11, 12, and 13.

FOR THE SANITY OF THIS FANDOM.

[snoopdoodle]

Hello, Snoop :] Can I have a M! reader that is like the "Main Creative Big Builder" of the SMP. Like helped build the "Pandora's Vault" [ + redstone], "Las Nevadas", and ect. But only Wilbur, Dream (+ Sam), and Big Q know about reader because reader usually builds when no one is on other people [Bench trio, Phil, ect.] Mid-Lore stream, when C! Philza, Bench Trio, & Sam go to visit Dream and the redstone for the vault is mess up so they have to get Reader on the SMP to fix it. Anarchy :]

i think its concerning how I listened to "true crime in America" while writing this wholesome write :,)

======

[Name] to the rescue!

platonic!benchtrio x male!reader, platonic!philza x male!reader, platonic!awesamdude x male!reader

pronouns: he/him

summary: pandoras vault? broken? not for long, call for [name]!

======

You were known as one of the “gods'' on the server. It was due to you rarely being mentioned, but also having so many landmarks, like in the prison, the main builds of L’manburg, and a few helpful builds in Las Nevadas, like the casino. You also did a bit of redstone early on in Eret’s castle as a surprise. It was funny to see his reaction, as he was shocked to find a secret room in one of the main rooms in the castle. Your “godly-ness” was just operator powers and somehow, not being seen by anyone on the SMP so far….. Besides Sam and Dream.

The main people who mentioned you lore wise were dream and Wilbur. Dream had mentioned you after he used his revival book. It was strange for everyone else, but the rest of the viewers and the people on the SMP thought that it was just lore that they hadn’t read. Maybe, it could have been some surprise improv that he had thought of a couple minutes before. But anyway, the one time you had been seen by anyone, was a bit funny, to dream at least. You had tried so hard to stay as this “god” that was just a myth to the SMP, but of course, nothing can stay the same.

Phil, Tommy, Tubbo, and Ranboo were walking to the prison. Tommy was taking shallow breaths, trying to stay in character. Sam had messaged the lot earlier, saying how some of the restone had been broken for some reason, and he had struggled to fix it, but he tried his best. Tubbo’s character turned to Tommy and gave him a little punch, causing Tommy to give a shriek. “What was that for, man?!” he yelled, his voice booming with annoyance and hints of fear to stay in character. Tubbo and Phil gave a laugh as Ranboo stayed silent to be in character. 

“Hey, don’t be sweaty about this man. It… It’s just a small visit to a “homeless man” as Technoblade would say. We got this!” Tubbo spoke, shakily, but cheerful. Ranboo gave a sigh and looked over to Phil. “Hey Phil,” He started, causing Phil to look over to him. “D-Do you think everything will be ok? Like after this..? We know what happened with Tommy before…” He spoke, staying in character as best he could. But really, he was more concerned with the fact that the Prison was down. The question and reasoning cause Tommy, Tubbo, and Phil to stop and stare at him. 

“Wow mam, way to stay positive.” Tommy huffed in annoyance. Phil stifled a laugh and Tubbo gave a “pft” to the comment. They all continued walking, getting closer to the Prison block by block. They stared into the nether portal at the front gate as soon as they got there. The men froze. Phil took charge and walked into the portal, leading Ranboo, Tommy, and Tubbo to do the same. Tubbo and Ranboo ogled at the prison, having never seen it before. Tommy scoffed at their awe, and Phil gave a huff trying to be content with their bullshit.

“Welcome to the prison. I’ll need you to sign these books,” Sam spoke as a greeting, not caring about the rudeness and tiredness in his voice. Tubbo and Ranboo were taken back in surprise at how well he was in character. Philza was the first to walk up to Sam and grab a book. Tommy was next, due to being closer, then Ranboo, the Tubbo. They all grabbed the books and signed their names, walking back to Sam. He walked off, causing the others to follow. Sam pulled a lever on the wall, hoping it would work. His hands were sweaty as he didn’t know how much redstone was broken.

“Wait a second…” He mumbled to the group, walking over to another lever. He flicked it, and this time it worked. “Damnit,” He spoke, realizing he’d have to call someone, that someone being you, on your off day. “Everything ok, Sam?” Ranboo spoke in a hushed voice. In reality, he was trying not to laugh, but he had to stay in character. He was determined not to break. Sam sighed, “Well, now I have to call him,” Phil gave a confused face to his camera, not processing the situation. “Who?” He spoke, asking the question everyone was asking, whether they were viewers or the others in the call.

“You know the.. ‘God’ of the server? Yeah, It’s him,” Sam spoke, and you could hear the dialing of a phone. The ringing of the phone started and then stopped, prompting everyone to be quiet and listen in. “Hello? You need something, I was sleeping,” You spoke, your tired morning voice shocking everyone. “For someone who's asleep, you answered pretty fast,” Sam retorted, and you could hear the giggle of others in the call. You gave a scoff. “Har, Har… anyway, you need something?” You spoke, viewers swooning for you even more.

“Yeah, some of the redstone in the prison broke and I need you to fix it. I tried earlier, but it didn’t work,” Same spoke, sort of revealing that you worked on the prison, you had the ability to be on the server, and that Sam knew how to contact you. The other men in the call just had shocked faces for the fact that they didn’t know about you, and had been given no hints about who you were. Tommy jumped to the DreamSMP discord server and scrolled through the list of people. He was shocked to find a name that he had never seen before with the “admin” and the “builder” roll.

“Wait-wait-wait!” Tommy started after hearing the call end. He assumed you would be opening your computer and hopping on to help with the server. “Was this the guy who helped build L’manburg while everyone was offline? W-Who even is this guy?” He said the last part with a laugh. At this time, you had joined the voice call, and you decided to put in your 2 cents of lore. “Well… I guess you could say that I’m god,” You spoke, your voice still sounding drowsy as one thing came up in the server’s chat.

[Your Username] has joined the game

Others didn’t know who you were and thought you were  a hacker, immediately going to the other’s streams to find out. Some even went to Dream himself to tell him that there was a hacker on the server. Dream ended up sending a server-wide ping out to say that no, you weren’t a hacker, and no, he wouldn’t kick or ban you. You ended up becoming a part of pure lore. The main part was that you were a god, the God of Redstone and creation, and you were known to be summoned by certain people. Your lore became so used that you ended up being in even more lore streams and creating friendships with other people outside of streaming. You're really glad that the redstone broke that day.

[pedropascalunofficial]

Pedro Pascal and Lena Headey

Head to head interview

Hunger Magazine, Issue 6. Released December 28, 2014. Photoshoot October 15, 2013.

Thirteen million. That's the number of people, on average, who tuned into each episode of the third season of Game of Thrones. Among them was Chilean actor Pedro Pascal, who was as enthralled by the sex and slaughter as the rest of us. But little did he know that within a few months he'd be pitching up on the shores of Belfast to join the cast as Oberyn Martell, affectionately known as the Red Viper. Sound ominous? It is. The Red Viper is GoTs newest anti-hero, “sexy and charming but driven by hate”. Sounds like he'll be right at home.

Pedro, on the other hand, though he looks good on paper, wasn't the obvious choice for the role. Expecting a big name to ride into King’s Landing, the show's fans took to forums to express their concerns as soon as the news broke. So is he worried? Like hell he is. “The fans had the part cast in their minds already. They knew who they wanted and it certainly was not me. But I'm not stupid, | presumed that people were going to say ‘who the fuck is this guy’. Since I anticipated the reaction it didn't throw me off.”

“There are so many different ways to go into battle with yourself when you're trying to get a job. I felt a certain amount of pressure because I wanted to make everyone happy. The fan base is so specific and, as a fan myself, I understand the relationship that they have with the show. The Red Viper is the best part I've ever played, and in season four shocks come at the most unexpected times. You might think you know, but you have no idea,” he explains.

Looks like the Red Viper could be in line to fill a Walter-White-sized-hole in television, but to test the theory we pit Pascal against Lena Headey, aka the Queen. Because if you can come away from Cersei unscathed, you can handle anything.

LH: So, Pedro, you come into Game of Thrones in season four, playing a pretty major character. Does that fill you with joy or dread?

PP: I'd say it fills me with joy because it’s a really fucking fun part. He’s a badass. He comes up against a lot of the main characters in the show. I'm very aware of the show. I watch it like a fan.

LH: Were you a fan before you arrived in Belfast?

PP: Yeah, I was a proper fan. I was caught up in the drama of it before I even auditioned for the part. I was already up to speed.

LH: I remember meeting you and thinking, “he fucking loves the show’.

PP: I kissed your ass.

LH: Well, it worked. We're friends now.

PP: I was like a tourist visiting the set, and yet I had to act with you and be in a scene with the characters that I had such a specific association with already.

LH: So you’re saying it’s boring?

PP: No, it wasn’t boring at all. It was extremely, relentlessly surreal.

LH: And who were your favourite characters up until that point?

PP: Not you.

LH: I realise that!

PP: There are too many characters to have a favourite, but I was fascinated by the Lannisters because they're so frightening. They scared me and then you would come in and pull sympathy from your audience somehow, and I found that rather fascinating. The Northerners were so easy to like or get behind, but it was quite something to see people sympathise with a Lannister, after you made people see things from their perspective.

LH: Speaking of being slightly ambiguous as a character, you come in as a major player and a very well-loved character in the eyes of people who read the books, and he’s somewhat of an anti-hero. Did you base him on anyone?

PP: What does an anti-hero mean exactly?

LH: It means he doesn't wear deodorant, doesn't it? [Laughs]. Someone you shouldn't champion, but you do, like Walter White in Breaking Bad.

PP: No, | didn’t really base him on anyone.

LH: Did you take anything from classic movies that you thought you could use and spin to your advantage playing the Red Viper?

PP: God, that’s a good question. I probably did subconsciously. Now I feel under the spotlight because I need to think of somebody, and I have so many in my mind! I think that’s something that is happening a lot in TV today: the anti-heroes are central to these television shows, and people are really getting behind them, even though they're not necessarily the most moral characters. So I'd say that ‘ve become more familiar with the character who's obviously very flawed but gets you on their side — you have complicated feelings about them. But I think I saw the story too much from this character's perspective to perceive any flaws.

LH: He has some.

PP: I know, from the outside. But I don't see any of them. What are his flaws?

LH: His flaws? He's a dirty bastard!

PP: Why is he a dirty bastard? He likes to fucking fight, for sure.

LH: Back to you as an actor. You've done it for a long time and, as we all know, the path is not always golden, and sometimes you think, “fuck it” and you want to leave it and do something else. Have there been moments where you wanted to give up?

PP: Yes, there have been moments where I came very close to giving up. But I never had anything to fall back on. I think you can understand that.

LH: Because were stupid?

PP: We're stupid.

LH: I can't even make pizza!

PP: We don’t have any other skills.

LH: None at all!

PP: And that’s the odd conundrum. You get to a point where you think, “This isn’t going to happen. This isn’t sustainable. I'm too exhausted, and it can't be good for me.” There were moments where I truly did try to formulate an idea of what I'd do. I thought I'd go back to school, start pre-med again and go to medical school or something like that.

LH: But that didn't happen, you just thought about it?

PP: Yes, I'd have thoughts, but it was still fantasy really. But at the time it felt like a practical life plan. Do you know what I mean?

LH: Yeah of course, you need to pay the fucking rent.

PP: Exactly. You just try to escape from the chaos of what you're feeling by trying to create order in your life. Order seems like a solution to save you from the pain of acting!

LH: It's a mental pain. Who was the first person you called when you got the role?

PP: My sister.

LH: Does she watch the show?

PP: Yes, she does.

LH: Pedro Pascal... or Pablo as I called you when I had too much wine, which was deeply insulting.

PP: Even family members have done that to me! Do I look more like a Pablo? Because it happens with about ninety-five percent of the people I meet.

LH: No, I think I’m just an ignorant drunk person.

PP: No, you were an ignorant drunk person that night is what you're saying.

LH: And now I’m educated.

PP: [Whispers] But | want you to call me Pablo.

LH: Ok, Pablo! When you first arrived on set in Northern Ireland, what was your feeling showing up to a bunch of British actors? Did it feel different to doing an American project?

PP: Yes, but I loved it. It wasn’t intimidating. I found it surreal because I’d watched and loved the show. I hadn't had the opportunity to work on something that I was really familiar with before, so it was overwhelming. But it was far more delightful than intimidating. Also you guys were really cool. Everyone was friendly.

LH: Oh, that’s just fake.

PP: Well, you guys were good at it!

LH: We know Game of Thrones is very popular obviously. Do you have any thoughts, or fears, about what this is going to bring you in terms of exposure?

PP: I have hope.

LH: Oh, God. I don’t mean to shatter that, but give it up.

PP: I don’t know really. It’s all been filmed, and now I'm back to my normal routine, so I haven't really thought about it. I remember when we finished filming and we were on our way to the airport, you asked me, “How does it feel you're all done?” and I couldn't really answer.

LH: You were quite emotional that day.

PP: I was very emotional because I’d had such an amazing time doing the part. Also just being there immersed in the experience... You described it to me best. You told me how I'd be feeling.

LH: We don't know your character's backstory when you enter the show, and you have some rather brutal scenes. Anyone who has read the books will know what I’m talking about.

PP: My character comes in, he stirs a bunch of shit up, and then he makes this fucking enormous exit. Now can | ask you a question?

LH: What is it? I’m not going to sleep with you. Give it up.

PP: Oh, come on! This has gone to shit and it’s your fault, so good luck to whoever has to edit it! But anyway, sometimes I'd hang out with the cast members and we'd go to dinner and they would get stopped constantly. There was no denying who they played because they were so recognisable, but you got away with it because you have this beautiful blonde wig on in the show, and in real life you are...

LH: Grey?

PP: {Laughs] No! You have beautiful chestnut hair! Is it liberating to not be recognised the way some of the other cast members are?

LH: Yes, it is liberating.

PP: Liberating being able to walk down an alley in Dubrovnik without being stopped?

LH: Yes, except sometimes | get recognised in the weirdest places. A woman was emptying my bag at Heathrow Airport's security gates and just went, “Are you the Queen?” while rummaging through my underwear. It was so fucking weird.

PP: It seems they're more respectful to you?

LH: Because they're frightened. Wait until they meet the Viper.

PP: Well, that covers it.

LH: I think we're going to get our own show out of this, you know

Interested in learning more about Pedro? Check out Pedro Pascal Unofficial on Pinterest!

[firelxdykatara]

gods, ok, apparently i’m not done.

atla fandom? we need to have a chat.

(....ok that made me sound pretentious as fuck. and maybe i am, but this needs to be said, cause i’m getting....real, real tired of a Certain Corner of this fandom and as a result, this is gonna be a discourse-heavy post so feel free to scroll past if that’s not your bag. as always, my salt posts all carry the catch-all #salt for ts tag, which you’re free to blacklist/filter at your leisure. i’m Very Annoyed at the moment, which will probably come through in the following post, so just. yknow. be prepared for that. or ignore it, that’s perfectly valid too.)

under a cut bc i do care for my followers and their sanity i swear lmao

there’s a real serious issue in this fandom with not understanding what queer terminology actually means or implies, especially when applied to a fictional narrative.

i’m specifically talking about ‘coding’, here. (if i were in a more meme-y mood, i might have said ‘the atla fandom found out about the term “gay-coding” and haven’t shut up since’.)

to the people who say ‘zuko is gay-coded’, i have this to say: you keep using that word. i do not think it means what you think it means. because he isn’t. i’m sorry, but he’s not! and the fact that this is such a prevalent claim in this fandom is distressing, bc it says to me that none of y’all know what gay-coding is or when and how to apply it! please, i’m begging you, go and look up these terms and what they mean and when they should be used before actually trying to plug them into your critical analysis, because when you misuse them and then call other people delusional for disagreeing with you it casts a pall over the entire fandom and is, i think, the root of some of the worst toxicity this fandom has to offer.

and the thing is, there are cases where gay-coding would apply--for instance, a couple series that are famous for queerbaiting their audience by coding their main characters as being attracted to one another (sometimes even despite their openly stated sexualities) come to mind, but those shows bare no similarities at all to atla and how zuko was written and portrayed! (and it would be funny, if it weren’t so obnoxious and infuriatingly wide-spread throughout the fandom, because the only queer couple we actually seen on-screen in either show wasn’t even queer-coded in any respect, and they’re canonically bi! [yes, i’m shading korrasami, or more accurately i’m shading bryke for refusing to give ka the build-up and development they deserved].)

this absolutely isn’t to say that headcanoning zuko as gay is a bad thing or invalid in any respect. (although the tendency for zukka shippers to do this specifically to keep zuko away from katara and/or invalidate his canon relationship/attraction to girls is more than a little eyebrow raising. especially since sokka is usually allowed to be bi, bc fans have no problem letting sukka stay in the background bc it’s no real threat, while jetko shippers are happy to have both boys be bi. [possibly bc katara is less a threat to jetko bc jetkotara is every bit as valid as any single ship between the three, but zukka can’t exactly let katara join in, and if the potential exists for zuko to be attracted to her then canon giving them the far deeper emotional bond becomes a threat to zukka’s existence? idk for sure--you be the judge.]) i prefer to hc zuko as bi (and always have, long before the atla renaissance), bc i don’t think zuko being attracted to boys is outside the realm of possibility, and it isn’t a threat to my ship since zuko&katara had a deep and emotional bond in canon that is very easy to develop further into something that becomes explicitly romantic--but the headcanon itself isn’t really the problem (although what it’s often in service to can be).

it’s the strange insistence that this is the only way to read his character, bc he was coded that way and so anyone who doesn’t see it must be too straight to understand--and i really shouldn’t have to say why and how that is so incredibly fucking insulting. (the ‘hetero lenses’ comment wasn’t cute when it came from bryke six years ago, and the same sentiment being repackaged and delivered by zukka shippers ain’t cute now.)

calling zuko gay-coded not only demonstrates ignorance as to what the term actually means, and how to usefully apply it in critical analysis, but also validates the frankly bullshit insertion of institutionalized homophobia in the world of atla where it was neither needed, nor wanted, nor ever hinted at in canon. as a queer woman i’m still infuriated by one fucking comic panel shoving institutionalized and systemic homophobia into a world where it was entirely unnecessary (and doing this in the first installment of the franchise showcasing a queer relationship??? making korra and asami worried about ‘coming out’ when they could have just gone on to have cute adventures together and tell people ‘hey we’re dating’ and have everyone else be ‘that’s awesome =DDD’ [because it is, in fact, possible to just have a world without homophobia i promise!!!!!] double yikes, i’m still pissed at bryke about it), and i doubly hate that ‘zuko is gay coded’ has become so widespread that ‘ozai hates him bc he’s gay’ has become a staple in that part of the fandom.

not only does making zuko gay and implying (or outright stating) that ozai hated and abused him because of it completely undermine zuko’s character arc by making his abuse about his sexuality rather than ozai’s toxic pride and anger at seeing himself reflected in his ‘weak’ son, but it comes very close to outright stating that abuse and trauma are inherently gay experiences, and they aren’t!!! they really aren’t, i promise!!!

abuse and trauma narratives exist outside of ‘my dad hates me because i’m gay’. and, quite frankly, there are MORE THAN ENOUGH queer trauma narratives out in the world. we do not need to start trying to retroactively make them canon in a series where they didn’t exist! if you’re gay and see yourself in zuko and project your own experiences on him, that’s understandable and valid. that does not make zuko gay-coded. and honestly, the insistence that he is makes very little sense to me, because you’re essentially trying to give the show credit for work you put into interpreting the characters! why would you want to do that? why not own your own headcanons and take credit for them, rather than insisting they are canon and everyone else is wrong for not seeing them??? like, i’ve said before that i’ve always headcanoned zuko (and katara) as bi, and even support it with my interpretations of evidence from the show, but the difference between ‘i think zuko is bi’ and ‘zuko is definitely gay-coded’ is that i know that bi zuko is my interpretation of canon, and that it is work i’m putting into the show that wasn’t actually intended by the creators/writers, no matter how much sexual tension i read into the jetko swordfight.

and like, zuko’s character arc doesn’t actually parallel a queer one all that well to begin with. it’s easy enough to do the work and twist it sideways just enough to make the general points fit, but the fact is, zuko’s arc is not one of self-discovery. it’s not one of coming to understand something fundamental about himself that he can’t change, that he was hated for, and coming out to his father in a dramatic confrontation where he shows that he understands himself and doesn’t need his father’s acceptance to be fulfilled.

zuko’s arc is actually one of trauma and healing. and those can (and often are--like i said, there are more than enough queer trauma narratives in the world, atla really doesn’t need to be one of them) be part of queer narratives, for sure! but they aren’t uniquely queer. and zuko’s confrontation with ozai during the eclipse doesn’t read like a ‘coming out’ at all. (yes, i’ve seen that post. yes, i rolled my eyes and moved on, bc unlike some people, i’m capable of not clowning on correctly tagged posts i disagree with.) zuko is specifically confronting ozai over his abuse, because his arc wasn’t about discovering anything fundamental about himself (and therefore realizing that ozai was hating him for something he couldn’t change)--it was about realizing that he was not at fault for the way his father treated him. it was also about realizing that the fire nation was broken and corrupt at its core, and that his father was an aspect of that he needed to break away from so that he could help the world begin to heal.

he says it himself:

Zuko: No, I've learned everything! And I've had to learn it on my own! Growing up, we were taught that the Fire Nation was the greatest civilization in history. And somehow, the War was our way of sharing our greatness with the rest of the world. What an amazing lie that was. The people of the world are terrified by the Fire Nation. They don't see our greatness. They hate us! And we deserve it! We've created an era of fear in the world. And if we don't want the world to destroy itself, we need to replace it with an era of peace and kindness.

making this about zuko being gay and rejecting ozai’s homophobia, rather than zuko learning fundamental truths about the world and about his home and about how there was something deeply wrong with his nation that needed to be fixed in order for the world to heal (and, no, ‘homophobia’ is not the answer to ‘what is wrong with the fire nation’, i’m still fucking pissed at bryke about that), misses the entire point of his character arc. this is the culmination of zuko realizing that he should never have had to earn his father’s love, because that should have been unconditional from the start. this is zuko realizing that he was not at fault for his father’s abuse--that speaking out of turn in a war meeting in no way justified fighting a duel with a child.

is that first realization (that a parent’s love should be unconditional, and if it isn’t, then that is the parent’s fault and not the child’s) something that queer kids in homophobic households/families can relate to? of course it is. but it’s also something that every other abused kid, straight kids and even queer kids who were abused for other reasons before they even knew they were anything other than cishet, can relate to as well. in that respect, it is not a uniquely queer experience, nor is it a uniquely queer story, and zuko not being attracted to girls (which is what a lot of it seems to boil down to, at the end of the day--cutting down zuko’s potential ships so that only zukka and a few far more niche ships are left standing) is not necessary to his character arc. nor does it particularly make sense.

(and before anyone brings up his date with jin--a) he enjoyed it when she kissed him, and b) he was a traumatized, abused child going out on a first date. of course he was fucking awkward. have you ever met a teenage boy????)

anyway, uh, that was a lot of words, so have a tl;dr: zuko is not gay-coded. there is nothing uniquely gay (or even uniquely queer) about his character arc or characterization, and he was certainly not coded gay in an attempt to sneak a queer character past the censors. if anyone involved with atla was gonna try that, it would’ve been in lok, and as established, they didn’t even manage to queer-code the actual queer relationship before the last few minutes of the final episode. headcanoning zuko as gay is absolutely fine (though if it’s only done to keep him away from female characters he may otherwise be attracted to, that smells more like misogyny than anything else), but insisting that this reading is the only one that makes sense, and anyone who doesn’t agree must be straight (hello, queer woman here making this insanely long thinkpiece) is very much not.

ship what you like, but stop trying to invalidate other ships and other interpretations of characters just to make your ship seem more plausible. it’s really not a good look.

[bxngchxn]

mr. big shot || s. changbin

characters:  seo changbin + female reader

words: 3.2k

genre:  smut, some fluff, angst if you squint

warnings: dom!Changbin, brat!reader, slight degradation, orgasm denial, oral (both parties giving + receiving), unprotected penitrative sex (use protection always!), general hard dom themes, Changbin is kinda conceited at first but it’ll be ok don’t worry

This is a piece of fiction and is not suitable for anyone UNDER THE AGE OF 18.

summary: You run into the hot shot producer on campus at a frat party, who seems to take a liking to you, the only person who doesn’t care.

You don’t even like frat parties.

The LED lights that are somehow always a dark blue, the more than slightly used furniture that has no doubt been passed down a generation or two, not to mention the obnoxious antics of drunk, stressed college kids? Not your thing. In fact, the only reason why you were here was because of your roommate Rose, who had her eye on Bang Chan, a member of the frat who’s kitchen you were currently sitting in. By yourself, with a drink in hand. It isn’t even good alcohol, either; just some sad excuse of an Amaretto Sour that was not even giving you a nice buzz.

It’s around midnight at this point, and the party is in full swing. Couches in the living room were pushed against the walls to ensure ample room for dancing, sweaty bodies clinging to each other and grinding to the beat playing out of the speakers set up in the main room. You look around the room and you see a few people you recognize from your classes, but most remain unfamiliar to you.

ADK (Alpha Delta Kappa) was one of, if not the biggest (and most popular) frat on campus. Their parties were always crowded, mixing top 40s hits with some original music that the music production majors of the house compose themselves. The parties almost always ended up lasting until sunrise, and you can only take pity on their neighbors, who have to deal with the noise so late into the night.

You, however, had no intention for staying that long. Getting annoyed, you pushed your way through the sea of people in search of Rose, to let her know you were going home. As you walk through the crowd, finally spotting your roommate and heading her way, someone grabs you by the arm and spins you around to face them.

“Can I help you?” you ask, attitude through the roof as if someone thought they could just grab you like that. “Well, you sure seem to be in a hurry. I’m just trying to keep you company,” the man says with a charming (read: aggravating) smile. You look up at him in annoyance and also confusion. You’re pretty sure you’ve never seen this guy in your life.

He looked to be one of those snobby rich kids; his hair dyed silver and styled oh-so-perfectly, complemented by a button down that you could clearly tell was designer. His shoulders were broad, and his skin a glowing tan that actually would’ve made him look like the sun itself, if his smile wasn’t so kniving.

“I’m..sorry, do I know you?” You ask, and his expression goes from smug to shocked in under three seconds. 

“You don’t know who I am?” He asks, unconvinced. You couldn’t believe the arrogance coming from this guy. Who even is he?

 “Yeah, I have no idea who you are. Sorry, maybe you mistook me for someone else.” you say. You try to leave, but his grip is still on your wrist, and you’re forced to turn back round. Wanting nothing more than to clock the man standing in front of you, you huff and give him a piercing glare. “Let go of me,” you insist.

 He smirks and let’s go of your wrist, but for some reason the look he’s giving you makes you freeze on the spot. “My name is Changbin. Give me one dance sweetheart, that’s all I’m asking,” he says, his eyes never leaving yours.

Changbin...you were racking your brain trying to figure out why that name sounded so familiar to you. And then it hit you.

Seo Changbin is a member of AKD, and a friend of Chan’s. You figured he must be the Spear B that everyone on campus raves about, and now you know where his cocky demeanor is coming from. Girls and guys alike fall for all 3 members of 3racha. You had never met Changbin before, so it was no surprise you didn’t recognize him right away. Up until now, he was almost like a piece of folklore; everyone had a story about him but you were pretty sure he didn’t exist.

This would be a bad idea. Giving into him. You knew it would be. But regardless, he was attractive, and it doesn’t hurt to have a little fun every once in a while, right?

He watched your resolve slowly crumble as he stuck out his hand. Taking it, he pulls you onto the dance floor (well...the spot of the living room that was turned into one anyway) and doesn’t hesitate to turn you around, feeling your back come into contact with his broad chest.

There’s an upbeat pop song playing through the DJ speakers, and you start to sway your hips along to the beat while trying to distract yourself from the arousal that's starting to creep in as you feel Changbin’s arms snake around your waist, pushing your hips against his. “I’m Y/N, by the way,” you say, remembering that you hadn’t even told him your name. 

You can feel his breath ghosting against your neck as he brings his mouth to your ear. “So, Y/N,” he asks, “you really didn’t recognize me did you?” he asked, the feign hurt in his tone making you roll your eyes. “You know, you’re not all that special Mr. Big Shot,” you say, chuckling under your breath.

“Hmm and how can you say that? This is the first time we’ve met, doll. Can’t think you’d know everything about me just yet.” he says, and the use of the nickname sets you on fire. His hips have started moving to match your own, and you would be lying if the pressure you were starting to feel on your lower back didn’t spur you on to tease him a little, moving your hips away from him now and again only to have him pull you right back, turning you around to face him this time.

 “Aaanddd where do you think you’re going?” He laughs, and you roll your eyes at him. “Does it look like I’m going anywhere?” you say as you start moving your hips again.

“Better lose the attitude baby, it’s gonna get you in trouble if you’re not careful,” he says, his eyes darkening as you wind your arms around his neck. “Will it now? No offense, but I don’t think you’ll be able to do much damage,” you say, although you can feel yourself breaking already as you have less than innocent thoughts running through your mind.

“Is that a challenge I hear?” he questions, raising an eyebrow at your antics. “Does it sound like one?” you snap back, anticipating his next move.

Before you know it, Changbin’s lips are on your neck, his grip tightening on your waist exponentially. “Just remember: you asked for it.” he says against your ear as he pulls you from the living room and down the hallway of the AKD house.

Once Changbin has you in his room, door locked, it’s game on. He immediately pushes you against the bedroom door and begins his attack on your neck once again. You want to keep your composure; make him think that you’re not that easy to break, wanting to make him work for it, but the way he moves his lips up your neck and finally to your lips is already making you want to surrender and let him have his way with you. He bites your bottom lip, asking for entrance which you immediately grant him. Kissing Changbin was different. It was red hot and every movement was making the knot of excitement in your stomach tighten.

His hands slip under your shirt, and the feeling of them on your bare skin has you letting out the tiniest whimper. He pulls away from your lips with a smirk. “There it is..I know you’re starting to break baby, why don’t you just be good for me and do as you’re told, huh?” He teases, lifting your shirt up to touch more of your skin. “Not a chance,” you tell him, although your voice is already sounding breathy. You move to touch him over his jeans, his cock already hard.

Changbin groans quietly and moves to grip your hair. He pulls your head back harshly, and laughs at the expression of pleasure on your face. “All I had to do was use a little force and you’re putty in my hands, baby.. I knew it. You like being bossed around don’t you?” He says, fingers moving under your skirt. “Answer me, slut.” He says, pulling your hair once more for good measure. “Yes sir,” you gasp, feeling every ounce of brat you had in you leaving your body.

 “That’s more like it,” he says, releasing your hair. “On your knees,” he orders, pushing your shoulders downward.

You immediately oblige, looking up at him with wide eyes as you undo his belt and pop the button of his jeans. Pulling his cock out from his underwear, you’re pleased with what you see. Changbin is surprisingly well endowed; long and rather thick, and you can’t help but imagine what he’ll feel like in your mouth.

Grabbing the base of his cock, you give kitten licks to the head, pink and enticing. You hear Changbin groan and you make eye contact with him. “Stop teasing doll, you won’t like the outcome,” he growls, and that’s enough for you to take him as far into your mouth as you can, tip hitting the back of your throat.

 You make sure to run your tongue along the underside of his cock, tracing the vein and making sure he feels you on every inch of him. You start off a steady pace, Changbin’s fingers pulling your hair into a makeshift ponytail. You suddenly relax your throat and take all of him, gagging slightly as he slides down your throat. “Jesus Christ,” the man says as he feels your throat around him. “You’re so good at this,” he says breathily and the praise spurs you to continue.

 Before you even get the chance, Changbin is setting the pace, fucking into your throat. Tears stream down your face at the roughness of it all, but the moan you let out around his dick lets Changbin know that you’re doing just fine.

Pulling you off of his cock, he sighs. “As much as I would love to cum down that pretty throat of yours, doll, I have other plans.” He says, picking you up and immediately making his way to his bed, laying you down on the soft pillows rather roughly. He’s over you in an instant, taking your shirt off as well as his own, and letting his eyes roam over your chest and the pretty pink lace that adorns you.

“Hm, pink. It’s cute.” he says quietly and you blush, the compliment soft in contrast to the situation. You take a second to admire him, and it was just what you had imagined. Tan skin, muscles flexing as he’s moving over you. He lets his lips wander your collarbone, taking the skin into his mouth and sucking a dark purple spot that will definitely leave you thinking about him for days to come.

Taking one of your breasts in his hand, he enjoys the feeling of the lace under his hands. You arch your back slightly as he takes the nipple in between his fingers, twisting and pulling until it’s hard. He does the same to the other, and you almost want to start begging. It seems like he can read your mind as he moves you to sit up so he can take your bra off for you. He gets it in one try, and you’re not surprised. Once the piece of fabric is removed he replaces his fingers with his mouth, circling his tongue around your nipple and biting on it teasingly.

His kisses start trailing down your abdomen, sucking random marks into your skin that you know will end up bruising. You buck your hips up instinctively, silently begging for him to just touch you. Placing a hand on your stomach to hold your hips down, Changbin settles in between your legs, leaving kisses on your inner thighs as he pushes your skirt up. 

“Changbin,” you breathe, hoping he’ll just get the hint. “Yes, doll? What is it?” he says, opting to just take your skirt off, revealing the matching panties underneath. You lay there, refusing to beg and trying to hold onto whatever resolve you had left. “I won’t know what you want unless you use your words, baby. Come on,” he says, continuing the kisses on your thighs, fingers playing with the elastic of your underwear. Huffing, you finally give in.

“Please Changbin, I need you” you begin to beg, and he looks up at you. The look on his face set your insides on fire, you don’t even mind the embarrassment you feel in the pit of your stomach as you beg for him. 

 “You need me? Need me where, baby? Here?” he says, his lips moving closer to your core but not where you truly want them. “Need your tongue on my clit. Please,” you ask quietly and he finally pulls your panties down, throwing them somewhere. “I don’t know doll, doesn’t sound like you really want it,” he chuckles, and your cheeks go red as you realize just what he wants to hear.

“Please Changbin, I need your tongue so bad. I promise I will be so good..just..just please,” you basically whine the latter half of the sentence, hoping it’ll get your point across.

 “Now, was that so bad?” He says and finally licks a stripe up your clit, you moan out loud at the sensation, finally getting what you want.

Changbin is relentless, lips and tongue moving in a way that you have never experienced before. Switching from flat licks against your heat to small kitten licks against your clit. You can feel the knot in your core tighten impossibly tight, and you almost can’t take it anymore.

Changbin knows your close, and pulls away from your pussy. His lips are glistening and he looks up at you with a smile when he hears you whine. “Please Changbin don’t st-stop,” you say, feeling sad as your high ebbs away slowly. “Mm I don’t know if you deserve it, you need to be punished for how bratty you were acting earlier..you realize that acting up means punishments, don’t you doll?” He says, fingers tracing patterns into your thighs, moving closer to your core to tease you even further. 

“Yes sir I understand.” You say, just hoping that he’ll eventually give you what you want.

“Good. Now, you’re not allowed to come until I tell you to. Understood?” He says, moving back to your clit. “I understand sir,” you say, throwing your head back as his tongue finally comes into contact with your core again.

Changbin edges you two, maybe three more times after that. Honestly, you stopped counting, just trying to focus on every ounce of pleasure that he’s giving you. It was truly torture. The only thoughts in your head were him, him, him, and you knew he was set on making sure that wasn’t going to change any time soon. 

At this point he already has two fingers inside of you, and you’re sure you’re going to explode until Changbin slows his ministrations at the last moment, edging you for the fourth time. He trails his fingers to your mouth. “Open,” he says and you immediately comply, cleaning his fingers off and sucking on them once for good measure.

“Are you ready for me, baby?” he asks, taking his jeans and underwear off, leaving the both of you completely naked. You nod your head furiously. “What’s your color doll? I need to make sure you’re okay with this,” he says as he runs the head of his cock through your folds. 

“Green, Sir fuck, just plea-” your sentence is cut off with a moan as Changbin finally pushes himself into you, going slowly to let you adjust. Once he’s bottomed out he leans forward to capture your lips in a kiss. Once the slight sting of the stretch has dissipated, the fire igniting in you grows stronger and you move your hips, signaling to him that you’re okay.

Changbin pulls all the way out and slams back in, your eyes rolling into the back of your head almost instantly. The drag of his cock against your walls is enough to have you seeing stars, finally satiating all of your desires. He sets a rough and steady pace, and it’s hard to keep yourself together. The room is filled with a mix of sounds; skin slapping against each other, your breathy whines and a grunt from Changbin every so often.

“Look at you doll, taking me so well. You were really made for my cock weren’t you? All mine to ruin and destroy.” he says in your ear, one hand going around your throat and applying slight pressure. It’s bringing you closer to the edge and Changbin knows it, snaking his free hand down to your body to rub harsh circles on your clit. “Go ahead baby, cum for me, let the whole house know who’s making you feel this good” He says as his pace quickens.

His permission was all you needed, the knot coiling tight and finally breaking. Your vision goes white, and your legs are shaking as your orgasm finally washes over you, stronger than ever due to the four denied orgasms you’ve already had tonight. 

“Oh my god, Changbin,” you repeat over and over, riding out your high as he continues his rough pace. He was getting close too, the feeling of you contracting around his cock bringing him to the edge. He pulls out and flips you around, helping you get to your hands and knees before he inserts himself in you once again, the new position letting him fuck you harder than before.

“I’m almost there baby, you think you can cum for me one more time?” he says with a grunt. You’re still sensitive from your first orgasm and you can definitely feel a second one approaching, babbling nonsense as Changbin starts to lose control. His thrusts become more erratic, and his hand is around your throat again, pulling you close to him as he fucks you into the mattress.

Your second orgasm washes over you and the only thing you know how to say is his name. The feeling of your own orgasm finally pushes him over the edge too, groaning as he spills into you and helps you both ride out your highs. Once you’ve calmed down he pulls out of you, and you both fall to the mattress.

Changbin pulls you into his arms, bringing your back against his chest, just how it was when you first met him earlier in the night.

 “That, was…” you say, “Amazing.” Changbin finishes your sentence for you and it makes you giggle. Snuggling into you a little closer, you hear him laugh under his breath.

“I know this is a little backwards, but I was wondering if you’d let me take you to dinner tomorrow,” he says hesitantly.

 You turn around in his hold and place a gentle kiss to his cheek. “I..would love that, Changbin.” you say right before you succumb to the desire to sleep. The last thing you remember is a kiss on your forehead.

Your dreams seem to be filled with him, and when you wake up the next morning, seeing him bathed in the soft morning light, you feel content for the first time in a long time. And you welcome the change.

Maybe Seo Changbin is all that special, and then some.

taglist: @dom--minnie @sparklemin @minholuvs @hanflix @mochinnie @moonlit-lixie @formidxble @chaangbin @jisungiesbunnie @es-kay-zee @jinned

[gb-patch]

Ask Answers (February 22nd, 2021)

Hello! Here’s another collection of anon ask answers all put together in one big post.

This might be strange considering how upbeat yall are about the fandoms for your games in general, but is there any particular trope or ship you WOULDN'T want us writing/drawing/etc. in relation to your stuff? (IE, any canon you don't want us 'overwriting' or something like that?)

Of course we would want the fan content people make to not be racist, sexist, homophobic, bigoted, harmful, etc. But in terms of generally doing non-canon pairings or adding in headcanons or stuff, we really don’t mind that. People are welcome to have fun and explore their own ideas.

for the 1.2 Android update was it meant to download as a  separate app? I really want to keep my previous save files but they don't show up (also thank u for the updates I'm really excited to get back into the game!!)

We had to change the name of the file and unfortunately for some phones that meant it’s treated as a brand new game. I’m sorry your saves didn’t transfer over to the new version. You can try to look up your specific phone and see if there’s a way to access save files for games on your device and then transfer those saves over to the new build manually. It may or may not be possible.

I'm having some trouble figuring out how to get the update from Itichio without losing my save files? Is it the same game or a folder I can put in the properties? Sorry if this question is not worded well or if this isn't the avenue you'd want to take technical questions on

Are you using Android? If so, the above answer may apply to you. If you’re on PC or Mac, the save files will automatically still be included.

Hey. I really loved playing our life. It was a fun experience and I never thought I would like it this much. I do have a question, I am currently replaying the game and I am choosing choices I never chose at first. In step 2 during the road trip arc, I decided to ask Cove about what he liked to see on people. One of his response was anklets and black eyes. My MC have just happens to have black eyes. Do Cove say black eyes cuz my mc have it or it was just a coincidently programmed into the game?

He uses your eye color intentionally! If you changed your eye color he’d change what he said.

Will step 4 have 10 moments like steps 1-3? 

Step 4 is only an epilogue. It plays like the openings/endings of the earlier Steps where it’s a bunch of scenes all in a row, there aren’t any individual Moments.

hi! who was/were the artist(s) for our life? 

&

who is the artist for Our Life: Beginning and Always?

Main Sprite and CG Artist: Addrossi

Main Background Artist: Vui Huynh

Main Interface Artist: Winter Slice

Other artists who helped out can be seen in the credits of the game.

In the new ol, there are two main love interests... Would it be possible to pair them together or is that weird? 

You can’t stay single and pair them together. If we are going to add all the extra content to have a route where the two LIs get together, it’d be a full poly route where them and the MC were all dating. And that’s not a for sure option yet because it’d add a lot of extra complications. But either way, in OL the relationships all gotta be about the MC, haha.

In OL2, there will be extra LIs in form of DLCs? Like Dexter and Baxter. 

Maybe! We’ll see how it goes.

Since Cove will have 2 diff body types in s4, will the storyline and dialogs reflect this? Or all of it will be the same? Btw love the game and sorry for bad english. Hope this doesn't sound rude 😅 

Some descriptions and pieces of dialog will change, but it won’t impact the story really. And you don’t need to apologize! It’s all good.

Will you ever release the transparent sprites of the Our Life characters? 

Probably not, I’m afraid. They’ve got a lot of pieces and it’d just be kind of hard to deal with, aha.

Something I was curious about, what was your inspiration for making a game with so much customization?

Initially, the idea was just about having a romance where you actually grew up with the LI. But it was pretty stressful to try deciding how fast the relationship would progress with it taking place over such a long period of time and with no real storyline carrying it. People might not wanna play a game where the characters don’t get along as kids, but other people might not bother with a game where kids immediately liked each other. So the obvious answer came, just let the player pick themselves how it goes. From there we simply continued to add more flexibly with the MC due to the same thought process of wanting to make sure people were onboard with how their life was going.

What made you decide to change the artstyle for ol 2 so much? I of course respect all your decisions and will buy the shit out of everything related to ol 2, but i love the original style and i m honestly not a fan of the styles shown on patreon, despite me liking the painterly style in general. (I don t mind the style being changed, just that the examples shown so far all feel like there s something wrong with them.) 

We’ve always used different art styles for each of our projects. They all have distinct looks from each other. It’s just nice to do something new. I’m glad you really like how the first game looks, though. And those samples were only general concepts, rather than the exact options being decided between. We wanted to see reactions to different options. The art style we’re going with won’t be exactly like those, though I personally like all of them. I think players are gonna enjoy the style Our Life: Now & Forever when it’s revealed.

Hey! Is it ok to ask what gender ourlife2 protagonist will be and if we'll be given the same opportunity to customize an MC? Totally understand if you're keeping this under wraps for now if u don't wanna say! 

OL2 will have the same type of MC customization as OL1, but even more refined! So their gender will be up to you.

Hi! I happened upon Our Life on Steam by pure chance. It is such a great game, I am super excited about the DLC, and I just want you all to know that you are awesome! :D I have a question, and I'm sorry if it's been asked before. Do you have plans of making more games similar to Our Life, with customizable player character? The customizable player character was probably the one thing I personally have been desperate for in romance VNs. So glad there finally is one and would love to see more.

Thank you! And yep, we do have plans for more games like Our Life, most notably is another game in the franchise- Our Life: Now & Forever. We’ll also likely have other, non-OL, games with customizable MCs, though we may still have some games with set MCs in the future as well.

On the patreon dlc just curious but is it possible to play it without actually sleeping together/getting the nsfw content? I just want to spend more time with Cove 

Yeah, you can still choose not to go that far. Though the event is shorter if you pass on the 18+ stuff.

At the beginning of Step 2, did Cove end up accidentally falling asleep in your bed? Or did he fall asleep on the floor? 

He fell asleep sitting on the floor with his body/head leaning against the side of the bed.

This may seem like a weird question, but what exactly is the difference between "direct" and "relaxed" on the comfort scale?

Direct is blunter and more teasing, relaxed is lighthearted and goes with the flow.

can the MC have tattoos in step 3? 

Not in Step 3, but you can in Step 4.

how would Cove react if he visited somewhere like North Carolina in winter where it can get in the 20s(F) at night sometimes? 

He would be shocked and unprepared for what serious coldness is really like, haha. The poor beach baby would wanna go home.

Hello! I just joined the PATREON!! It’s amazing! I love your games! I have a question, approximately how much after will the nsfw be out? After or before the dlc 3 and step four? Sorry my English isn’t the best!❤️❤️❤️ 

Thanks so much! The NSFW DLC will be out after the Step 3 DLC but before Step 4. And you don’t need to apologize for that ^^.

This might be obvious but, will step 4 have dlcs? Also, where will the nsfw dlc happen? Won't bother me at all if it s in in our or his house but i do think it d be moderately funny 

Step 4 will have the Cove Wedding DLC and the Derek and Baxter romance DLCs each add a lot of new content to Step 4, though they’re also partially set in Step 2 and Step 3 respectively. The NSFW DLC happens in Cove’s room.

I keep wondering what would've happened if Mr. Holden met Lizzie first instead of the MC. I can't see that turning out well somehow lol. 

It wouldn’t have made a difference. He met the MC’s parents first and they told him about their two kids. He wanted the MC specifically to be Cove’s friend because the two were the same age.

Even though we have a way to go I'm really excited for OL 2! I was curious though, is the next main character going to be adopted again? I thought it was really clever to make the first main character adopted so when players are customizing,  they can make them look how ever they like without worrying about pesky genetics. Just wondering! 

The OL2 MC is not adopted. We wanted to go for a new dynamic. Instead their parents are their biological single mother who is partially customizable and an off-screen sperm donor father. So the mom will look generally like the MC and any other traits not from her can be assumed to come from whoever the father was.

—– —– —–

Thank you so much for all the asks ^^

FAQ   If you prefer to just see the main posts without all the asks/reblogs, feel free to follow our side account instead: GB Patch Updates Blog

[simpingforsoftboys]

The Odds of Us All

CH 3 Part 2/5: The Foxes Burrow

You stood beside Kita, facing the starting members of Inarizaki’s team. Your soulmates were pretty surprised to see you here- but that was a given since you may or may not have neglected to inform them that you would be their new manager.

“This is Ushijima Y/n. She was previously Nekoma’s volleyball club manager- I’m sure some of ya’ have heard of them before. They’re Fukurodani’s main rival- aside from Itachiyama.” Kita introduced her formally, before allowing Y/n to say a few things herself.

“I look forward to getting to know you all! Please take care of me.” You said with a bow. Kita nodded in approval at your brief greeting- concise yet polite- just as he liked it. 

“Today’s extra practice for the senior and starting members. So take yer time with gettin settled in. If ya need anythin just ask me or Aran.” A tall male in a #4 jersey strode up to you, a welcoming smile on his lips as he stretched out a hand for a handshake.

“Nice to meet ya Ushijima! Welcome to the team!” You accepted his hand and shook it firmly.

“Glad to be here Aran-senpai- but please just call me ‘Y/n.’ Ushijima is my cousin-”

“Course- ain’t gonna lie- made me double take the first time I heard it.” They shared a quick chuckle. “Why don’t ya go talk to the other’s? We’ll be right here after.” Aran stepped away to speak to Kita, luckily you didn’t need to go seek out anyone else to speak to- since someone walked up to you.

*Apologies in advance ya’ll, I’m only an anime watcher so I DO NOT have a grasp on Akagi, Omimi, or Ginjima’s characters AT ALL... so please- if you guys have tips please comment. Also I have no idea if Akagi or Ginjima was raised in Hyogo so I’m going to give them a normal Tokyo dialect for now- but Ginjima will have hints of Hyogo dialect- this is subject to change if I get advice. 

“Hi! I’m Akagi Michinari, you’re new right? How’s Inarizaki so far?” Akagi was fairly cheerful- almost like a breath of fresh air compared to everyone else. Sure, Kita and Aran were plenty nice but they were more like a parental/older brother sort than friendly.

“Mhm, I just got here two days ago! Everyone here is so friendly- I love it.”

“Hey... this is just between me and you but,” Akagi leans forward, hand covering the side of his face like he’s telling a secret, curious, you lean forward to hear better. “It’s kind of refreshing to talk to someone without the Hyogo dialect. Sometimes I still have trouble understanding what people are saying so I smile and nod.” You two look at each other for a good moment before bursting into actual giggles. 

“Me too actually, I was so lost in Japanese literature- so I just pretended to know what was going on when Kenji-sensei was lecturing.” You whisper back- sending the third year into a fit of laughter. The two of you were oblivious to the jealous stares from the nightmare trio, and the curious looks from the others. 

“Haha- I think we’ll be fast friends Y/n!” The libero says, turning to look at the last two people. “Hey Ren, Hitoshi- come say hi!” A super tall, scary dude with a blank expression walks over, along with a stereotypical alt obsessed looking guy. “The super tall one is Omimi Ren- and the grumpy one is Ginjima Hitoshi!” Omimi doesn’t say anything- instead opting to nod in greeting.

“Hey.” Is all Ginjima says, looking like he’d rather be anywhere but here. 

“Call me Y/n! I was meaning to ask earlier but are there any allergies or food preferences you might have? I was going to bring homemade energy bars but realized someone might be allergic.” 

“Uh, nah I don’t have any allergies.” Ginjima looks pleasantly surprised, though it’s barely noticeable on his face, “I don’t think anyone here has allergies so ya don’t need to worry.” He turns to look at his seniors for confirmation.

“No one has any.” Omimi agrees.

“Great! Thank you... how about food preferences? Any dietary restrictions for you three specifically?” You’re slipping back into your old managerial habits, pulling out a notepad and scribbling down notes. You may not be of any help on the court directly, but you pride yourself on being analytical and taking care of your team. An example of this was how you’d watch Nekoma’s next rival team beforehand, chatting up their players by starting off with simple conversation- and estimating what makes them tick based off their answers. 

“So professional- Shinsuke picked a good one.” Akagi praised, before giving his own preferences (along with Omimi’s), Ginjima spoke after him. Something told you this years team was going to quickly be added to your list of friends.

“What’cha talkin bout over here?” Atsumu slinked over to stand at your side, inserting himself into the conversation. The two third years were unperturbed at his interruption, meanwhile Ginjima looked a little irritated. 

“Just dietary restrictions.” You replied showing him your notebook. “Speaking of which I have to speak to you, Osamu, and Suna about yours. Excuse us-” After politely excusing yourself and Atsumu, you walked over to join the other two.

“Enjoyin yerself?” Osamu questioned in greeting, taking a bite of his senbei cracker. “Never seen Akagi so chatty with someone he just met.” 

“That’s because they were gossiping.” Suna snickered, shooting you a knowing glance. “It was something about the dialect right? He said the same thing to me when we first met.” He laughed at the scandalized/busted expression you wore.

“What d’ya mean?” The vegetable oil color haired twin questioned, tilting his head to the side- Osamu said nothing, content to munch on his cracker. 

“Thank you so much for exposing me.” You ‘thanked’ Suna with a saccharine sweet tone, before answering your faux blonde soulmate. “It’s Tokyo dialect things. That’s it.”

“Oh ok.” He seemed satisfied with your answer, not seeing any reason to doubt you- much to his twin’s, and Suna’s amusement.

“Alright everyone, practice now!” Coach Kurosu called, the gym doors slamming open as he strode in alongside Coach Oomi. “Ushijima- er I’ll just say Y/n yeah? Come over and I’ll give you a rundown on how things work around here.” While the boys began running their warmup laps around the gyms interior, you made your way over to the coaches. “So... says here you were manager of old Nekomata’s team huh? Interestin’ well, it’s the same as any managerial position. Keep the bottles filled, maintain our players morale when you can, and launder the towels and practice jerseys... sound good?” You nodded, already used to the burden of managing a boys volleyball team. 

“Yes, thank you.”

“Oh and here,” he hands you a hefty, sealed envelope. “Your budget for the next two weeks. Anything you don’t spend will be subtracted from the next allowance.” Your eyes widen at the weight of it, but you nod along nonetheless. Money is a friend of yours- the Ushijima’s being a very well off family. “Well the bottles are in the locker room hallway.”

“Right, of course.” Then you left, going to begin the familiar tasks that had somehow become an important part of your daily high school life.

Oomi looked at Kurosu. “Why’d you give her cash? We’re supposed to give her the card?” Kurosu is silent, watching his players with a scrutinizing look. 

“She reminds me of a boerboel.” 

“I don’t follow?”

“I have a feelin that we can trust her.” 

Facts/Trivia

This takes place the very next day after CH3 pt1, ignore the 4d mark on that one cut off tweet please

Tendo has this uncanny ability to tell when someone is trash talking either Ushijima 

Sakusa still doesn’t know that Y/n is Inarizaki’s new manager

None of her soulmates follow her private twitter- or know of it’s existence

Y/n is very efficient at doing laundry/filling water bottles within a small time frame- she has Nekoma vbc to thank for that

Nekoma didn’t have a allowance for their team- so Y/n just paid for everything out of pocket

Yes their budget for TWO WEEKS is about $270 

The only things she can bake well is granola/energy bars, scones, and cookies. Anything else she attempts turns out horribly

A boerboel is a extremely dependable dog breed 

Sometimes when the teachers speak too quickly, Y/n can’t tell what they’re saying so she just stares at them, acting like an attentive student so that they’ll be less tempted to call on her during class

I have no idea how to write for Omimi, Ginjima, Akagi, and both coaches so I’ll just do whatever

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[gold-kobold]

Can I ask how you write Angor Rot so well? As in, how do you manage to still make him feel so true to his canon character even though he's gone through so much personality and character growth in your fic? I just can't wrap my head around how so well in character he feels even though he's gone through far more different avenues of character development in HTFaS than he ever did in the actual canon. And the way he interacts with characters he's barely even spoken to in canon just feels so natural somehow. (Sorry for being so long winded. >.<) Any tips on how you do it?

"sorry for being so long winded" they say, after i just get back from rambling a massive mess of incoherent lovechild thoughts DSFGHJKHJG-

(it's ok anon lol)

hhhhhhhhh, this is another tough question to answer tbh, as someone with basically no writing experience fdgdfhgdfjhgj--

i've just kinda been winging it?? like, planning how i wanted everything to go at the start kind of helped, since i have a full outline of how i want things to progress and it kinda helps me pace out angor's development through each part of the fic. as for like, the characterization part of it, i don't really know... i've watched trollhunters so many times (specifically the angor episodes *sobs*) that i feel like i have a pretty good 'memory' of his canon personality, if that makes sense? like, i like to consider every little detail about what kind of a person he's been, both on and off-screen. i think the fact that he used to be a really good person helps in making it feel 'natural' that he's been getting to that point again. like, if you think about it, he's always had a LOT of goodness at his core, what with his backstory and all, so i don't really have to put a lot of work into making THAT part of him believable, it's more like... applying the current part of his personality (the bitterness and anger and trust issues that developed post-morgana incident) TO his old personality (the caring and just all-around GoodBoiVibes he had going on) that's the difficult part? like, i went pretty in-depth about how i see angor rot from a moral perspective in this post here, so that might help put things into perspective better, idk, i'm just rambling at this point-

but yeah, it's kinda hard to answer as a whole... if there was something specific about writing him that you're struggling with, i might be able to help with suggestions better?? like, with him interacting with other characters for example, you gotta take into account his histories with each of them (like how i write his strickler interactions more on the awkward/tense side, or how with barbara, he kinda gives her more 'space' when they're talking, both literally and metaphorically, since he knows he right freaked her out in the past lol, and with the kids he can be a little more casual since they're more accepting of him and they're all kinda in the same boat of "welp, we all tried to kill each other (and succeeded in some cases) but it's chill, happened with EVERYBODY at some point-" lmfao, idk how to explain *sobs*)

hhhh i'm really sorry for my difficulty in answering this, i'm a kinda bad person to ask for writing advice because i don't really know what i'm doing half the time, i'm just going off of my personal theories on how i see a redeemed!angor au playing out?? it's hard to put into words, i'm sorry if this wasn't very helpful, i'm not great at this sort of thing fghdfgjfhkgj-- i guess my main point of advice would be to rewatch the angor rot scenes in trollhunters a lot? (and that one clip of him in wizards is really important too if we want to consider HOW ABSOLUTELY GOSHFREAKIN' NICE AND PURE OF A PERSON HE WAS, oh my gosh protect this idiot) but yeah, i'd say just roll with whatever ideas you got and try to consider ALL parts of his personality, not just the nice bits, not just the mean bits, but all of it, he's a really complex character after all!

[sometipsygnostalgic]

adventure time wizard city liveblog

 well here we go

my last adventure time liveblog, i havent actually done one of these in MANY years... probably not since 2014

this takes place at the same time as obsidian?

DID-- DID CHOOSE GOOSE JUST DIE

DID BUFO JUST KILL CHOOSE GOOSE

yeah i know that’s bufo, they only made it enormously obvious, tsk tsk

@spaceacepearl​ joked about us seeing choose goose get sent to hell but i diDNT EXPECT IT TO HAPPEN

This music is i assume by one of the many musical artists Adam Muto listed on twitter, it rocks. It’s not as hardcore as Obsidian’s intro, but it’s suitably chill for the scene. 

“get offa my bus kid”

Those wizards in the left and far right groups appear to be new! 

OH MY GOD--

HELP?????? NEW PROFILE PIC TIME

HAHAHAHAH

THE MUSICAL CON DID ME GOOD, I DID REALLY LOUD AUDIBLE LAUGHTER

i bet hanna and co had fun making these signs

my favourite is the cat with “FAMILIARS HAVE RIGHTS”

cadorka..... wow

We’re not even four minutes into the ep and peppermint butler has already killed someone in front of a large group of witnesses

“this smells of DARK MAGIC” “yall kids know thats illegal right” peps watches the other kids nod before later joining in, LOL

i cant believe pep started the great gum wars and got killed by golb

SOMEONE has been playing Overwatch... 

i-- i still cant believe choose goose is fucking dead

how long was he stuck in hell for, or was that recent to together again after new death showed up 

i have to admit im not a big fan of spader, too perfect, and not in that funny way either. i hope they give him some characteristics that make him stand out. 

im getting flashbacks to OK KO and Owl House here...

Cadebra using music is a reference to Abracadaniel’s love of interpretetive dance in Play Date. 

“they only laugh because youre different” “i know” “SO STOP BEING DIFFERENT” oh my god it’s like talking to my own parents cadebra is actually... a LOT like me, less in her hyperactivity but more in her nonchalant enthusiasm and almost acceptance of the inevitable bullying because it means more time in people’s consciousness

ahhh - it’s quietly revealed here that she is responsible and a skilled magician, she is just bored of magic! i like that she parents abracadaniel instead of being downtrodden by his ramblings. 

PEP NO--- oh i see the problem, he hasn’t got his Bug Milk... sorry Martin Olsen fans, no Hunson today. At least we get one more Phil Face for the road! 

candy people in their natural habitat

Ahhh that’s Doctor Calidoneus! The voice actor was at the recent Distant Lands panel alongside Pep and Blaine’s actors. 

“pretty sure hes just trashcandy” - i like you, sassy antler lady

the mystery of how he gets clothes

and once again spader is proving to be the most irritating distant lands character of the lot, there is no subversion here. where is the subversion?  

NANI

what is going on here? are pep and peppermint the same person or not? im sure they must be, but there is something going on here with peppermint butler’s soul being trapped in the body of his child self who hasn’t got the same memories. 

OH, HYNDEN WALCH DID A NEW LINE yes this is what im here for, special over 

peppermint butler cursed himself... of course he did - Shado was correct!!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA WHAT THE FUCK

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA WHAT THE FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK

ROCK STUDENT, BLESSED ROCK STUDENT, WAS THAT POOR GUY WHO LOOKS LIKE A JAWBREAKER

love the reference to astral plane, of course pep cant astrally project because cursed pep is still inside of him 

wow, blaine, wow

they have a crush

LITTLE DUDE! COLE SANCHEZ!

i love the dynamic between cadebra and abracadaniel, imo so far it’s the heart of the special. im not really gripped by peppermint butler’s school troubles. i imagine someone else probably will be but i want to run past that shit as far as possible. 

TRDGFYGHJH

WE

WE MADE  A PREDICTION THAT WAS JUST LIKE THIS

PEPPERMINT BUTLER GETTING TURNED INTO THE FOUR COMPONENTS OF PEPPER MINT BUTT LURE WAS IN THE WIZARD CITY PREDICTIONS ART DRAW THAT HASNT BEEN POSTED YET

ILL SHOW YOU WHEN NICK POSTS THE VIDEO and then ill tell you who made the prediction because i... think it was nick himself, insanity 

who plagiarized finn’s signature???

turns out pep really DID take over wizard city!!!!

i love this band

i understand your pain peps

you probably have a bit too much in common with your mother, and i imagine it isn’t easy being turned into a kid and not being able to do stuff that came so easy. you’re disappointing yourself! (he’s literally disappointing himself)

I’m less than halfway through the special, what the fuck. I wasn’t wrong when I said Wizard City had a lot on its plate. It’s noit that I’ve been particularly gripped up to this point, though to be fair I didn’t pause at all during the other specials barring Obsidian. 

that... that poor kid is still a rock

and then the preview happened and bufo casually revealed to the audience that, yes, he killed choose goose

i dont know whats happening with pep but it seems he needs to be exorcised of... pep. which is a shame. i hope they learn to coexist. 

i have to say the background work in this special is really good! like, really damn good. 

WH

WHAT

DID SPADER JUST DIE

IS THIS WHY PEOPLE THINK PEPBUT KILLED HIM 

oh thats right - abracadaniel is cadebra’s uncle! this must be abracadniels sister. sorry, folks, he doesn’t fuck. 

Where are they? Is this anywhere near Wizard City? It’s an unpopulated prewar wasteland. 

THESE ARE JUST HUMANS

OF COURSE SHE WANTS TO PERFORM TO MILQUETOAST HUMANS

my child

is this an art style choice or did they get the people from that one studio to make this

HANNA FINALLY GETS TO FULFIL HER DREAM OF INSERTING KANEDA INTO ADVENTURE TIME

the red jacket he wears and his head pill shape is a big kaneda reference actually, which i suppose makes sense considering he’s a rival to our protagonist, but it’s a bit on the nose

bufo killed one of his own students? but why????

“MY UNCLE’S A COP”

“no one likes a rat”

i actually really like blaine, though im confused. did their VA change halfway through the special?

HOW NATURAL, NO WASTE, IT IS AN ENDLESS CHAIN

did doctor caledonius steal the trophy,,,? 

EVIL SNAIL EVIL SNAIL

MONMSTER HUNJTER DISCOVERY NOISE, this time it’s a tetsucabra

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

I HAVE QUESTIONS

god i wish this is what this special was about, i miss adventure time

these remind me of the comics with their art style :) i wonder who designed them? the one on the right with pb and pep, in particular, very comics-y. 

fdgfhgf because he’s like 500

“pep can be kind of a jerk but he wouldn’t kill anyone”

sorry, cadebra, i have news for you

is doctor calednoius the true villain? if bufo’s out of the picture, she MUST be, 

ANTS

oh no, he might gbe stuck in wizard city :( 

HELP

the writing on the wall...

SPADER LITERALLY FUCKING DIED OH YM JESUS CHRIST

PEPPERMINT BUTLER’S OWN CULT????

THIS IS JUST OK KO NOW

okay im not surprised all the teachers at wizard city are cultists in worship of peps, maybe they killed spader and bufo because they bullied peps T_T

wait no, they thought spader had the potential, but sadly not

HE FUCKING KILLED HIMSELF

sorry, i was distracted by the pretty dope fight sequence and now the special is over????

fucking jesse, hes probably at least partly responsible for the cult nonsense

This credits art is by Maya Petersen!!!! Holy shit it’s adorable!

LRETGFDRGTFGMHGFHFG

LEAF MAN

DO YOU THINK THEY PUT HIM IN RETROSPECTIVELY

DO YOU THINK MAYA PETERSEN DREW THIS AND ADAM PUT IT IN THE EP RETROSPECTIVELY

HE LIVES

MAYBE THIS IS WHY CHOOSE GOOSE WENT TO HELL

okay, it’s over :) 

first thoughts out of the way: not a big fan of this special. it’s like watching a completely different show. it’s not got the PZSHAHH of the normal wizard city stuff and there weren’t a lot of funny jokes or even hearty moments in the thing. 

it suffers from a lack of invested character interactions, much like BMO did. there was not a single main cast member in the whole thing! and like i said before, much of peppermint butler’s character in the show is based on his very sweet relationship to his mother, princess bubblegum, so when they showed a single (hilarious) photo of them together it made me sad we didn’t get any scenes with them together. it would have STOLEN this episode. and they teased the hunson golf photo, and death!!! and jake appeared in a photo T_T last jake appearance. 

it also suffers because Peppermint Butler is clearly not himself, imo he was way more entertaining in the Together Again special, where we seem him back to his “normal” self. 

i dont think peps being a dark wizard was something to “kill off” exactly. i wonder what was going on there? was that actually peps, or was that a spirit he cursed himself with based on himself? we at least know in the future he does become a dark wizard again, and even princess :) this special didn’t answer those questions but lol. 

THE GOOD STUFF, because yes, there was a lot of good stuff! 

God, I’m with Aracle and Maya on this - I LOVE Cadebra and her relationship to Pep. I wish she was even in more of this - I would love to watch the adventures of Cadebra and Pepbut in their first year of school, like in the end credits.

That, imo, is where the heart of the special lay - Peppermint Butler’s attempts to impress himself, versus Cadebra’s self acceptance and desire to follow her dreams of being a goofy goober, no matter what other people thought of her. 

It turned out that Cadebra is a responsible student and family member. I really liked that. Her scenes with Abracadaniel were, somehow, my favourite in the entire special! 

I like that theres a lot of cool magic towards the end of this special, and a lot of HORRIFYING DEATH. It wouldn’t be adventure time if you didn’t randomly kill off child characters. Poor Spader, I hated you but damn, what a grim fate. 

I like that Bufo and Caledonius had this crush/hatred thing going on, but they were part of the same cult in the end. 

I didn’t like the giant peps scene at the end, the monster was extremely milquetoast compared to the madness we usually get in AT. Obsidian, for example, had the awesome Larvo design. Nemesis had some INSANE dark magic!!!!  I wish they drew more from that episode. 

Considering how much Steve Little appears in this special, I do feel bad for Mace (little Peps). He said he would have really benefitted from coaching, but recieved none. He had to re-record his lines 3 times! Judging from his description of events, Wizard City was a hard time for him. 

The wizard school did remind me, heavily, of both The Owl House and OK KO. Personally I was hoping AT would offer me something more insane, but I do love both of those shows, and I know Wizard City was on a really tight schedule. 

I think they should have spent less time on the school bullying plot, and skipped straight to MURDER. 

We did have a cold opening, not on par with Together Again’s at all, but damn!

I am wondering where I would put this in the watch list? I do think it should sit after Obsidian as the third special. The intro scene makes it clear this takes place at the same time as Obsidian!!!

Well, that was it, the last ep of AT for the next few years at least T_T

i think together again was the better finale, definitely. but wizard city feels pretty detached from AT for me, despite the familiar characters it tonally isn’t like the show other than the awesome brutal death scenes. I thought the last 11 minutes was easily the best in the special! Which, honestly, is how it should be, though I do wish it gripped me more. Maybe I’m just not the target audience for Wizard City? It feels like something I would find very compelling if I was a bit younger!