#but I can't say they're NOT relevant tags either

[descendant-of-truth]

So, these two pages from chapter 88 have been causing a lot of confusion due to inconsistent translations, and I've decided to set the record straight as best I can with the knowledge at my disposal.

Starting with the first page, this is where Mitsuki says that he and Eida are similar. In the next panel, he says: 「どうしてカワキを好きなのか。。。その理由が自分で分からない」

This is the first point where fan translations and the official VIZ translation differ. Fans generally seemed to agree that he's saying he doesn't understand why Eida loves Kawaki, while the official version has him say that he doesn't understand why he himself loves Kawaki.

And unfortunately, both of those are understandable translations. The first part of the sentence contains no indication of whether he's talking about himself or Eida; the most literal translation I can do is "Why is Kawaki loved... that reason, [I/you] don't understand."

The reason it's "I/you" is because he uses the word 自分 (jibun), which depending on context, can be equivalent to either "my" or "your." It's not really the same deal as 僕 (boku), Mitsuki's primary first-person indicator, which makes it extremely annoying to translate.

So, which is it? Well, as vague as it is, my best guess is actually based on the dialogue of the second page.

Thankfully, this one is much easier to answer. In the largest panel, Eida says: 「あたし達。。。超恋バナしてるね」

The conversation around this line seemed to be, "she clearly said they're talking about romantic love!" "No, she's just using a slang term akin to 'girl talk,' so she only means that they're bonding!" And guess what? They're both right!

I consulted a friend of mine who speaks Japanese natively on Eida's word choice, and he said that while "girl talk" is closer on the basis of it being a casual/slang term, it's gender-neutral and is more about people "talking about their love."

In other words, "we're both chatting about love" or "we're having a love talk" would probably be the most accurate ways to translate it.

At this point, I want to bring attention to Daemon and Mitsuki's reactions to what Eida just said:

Daemon is flabbergasted, only able to say "Huh...?" while Mitsuki blushes for a second, then turns away and says "Well... I guess it didn't matter."

What exactly would Daemon be surprised about, if not the implication that Mitsuki loves someone who isn't Eida (and a guy, no less)? Why would he be showing that surprise now, instead of when Mitsuki allegedly announced that he loved Kawaki a few pages ago?

Likewise, while Mitsuki blushing around Eida isn't unusual, he actually spent the vast majority of this conversation remarkably composed. He only blushed for a single panel when he first noticed Eida was in the area, so having it come back after he's basically called out for being in love (real love, as it was already established that they both knew his feelings for Eida are fabricated) is a very deliberate choice.

While Mitsuki doesn't always emote very much, we can assume he was taken a little off-guard here - and again, if he was already confident enough in his love for Kawaki, why this reaction? Why all the talk before now about how he wasn't sure he'd know what romance felt like without Eida's ability?

The only conclusion I can make is that, in the first page, he's not saying "I don't know why I love Kawaki" like in the VIZ translation. It's much more likely that he's saying "I don't know why you love Kawaki." That's the only way that Mitsuki's feelings for Kawaki can be treated as a reveal, to both Daemon and himself.

And given that his love for Kawaki stems from his love for Boruto, due to the memory swap... yeah, if his side of Mitsuboru wasn't canon before, I think it's safe to say that it is now. Now excuse me while I go be extremely sane and normal about this information

[bcbdrums]

Given the fact that we were talking about our perceptions of certain kinds of ships in regards to Stein and how they suit or do not suit his character, how do you feel about smut/the relationship dynamics within Stein x character smut fics?

All righty then...! Here comes a very long rambling of my headcanons about Stein, his two primary relationships, and his relationship with those deeper intimacies. This takes some turns before it gets to the main point but well, I love talking about this man. Extremely long post under the cut.

Also - there are two blogs I tag at the very end of this post - you two feel free to ignore all my ramblings, just know I praise you both at the end and I still re-read your Soul Eater stories VERY regularly.

I'm truthfully still trying to reorganize my thoughts on this specific topic because 1) I have listened to many a headcanon from others on the subject and I always try to give validity to their thoughts even when they differ from mine, and 2) I've also read tons of smut fic with Stein out of sheer desperation for...well, Stein fic. (Come on Stein fandom where you at? Write me some gen fic too, lol)

I have not read too many fics of him with Marie cuz those always contain manga spoilers so I'm skipping those for now until I finish reading (exactly halfway through!). So what I've read is mostly Stein/Spirit smuts and just a couple with Marie, and I want to say….almost zero?? I think zero of those fics (and boy I've read plenty) have "hit the spot" in terms of what I would want for a Stein smut. They're good stories, in some cases great stories, well-written and thoughtfully conceived, but they're not fitting my headcanons and interpretations of who I see onscreen (and who I see in the manga so far).

All that said now… Some of my own relevant headcanons for him, and then I'll get more into fic of others.

I go back and forth toying with the idea that Stein experimented with intimacy just a little as a teen. He's not immune to puberty and hormones; he's human whether he likes it or not, which isn't to say mind over matter doesn't work for him. (Clearly it does, in staving off madness among other things.) But he's a scientist. He's curious. And I can see him justifying an experiment or two in his teen years. But they would in fact be just that, experiments. It's still a big maybe. I can't say for certain he would, it's the sort of thing like…if all the dots line up just right, he'd attempt it. If not, he wouldn't. And it would only be with those two people: Marie and/or Spirit. He doesn't trust anyone else enough. (Yes, I'm on board with the popular fanon that Marie was one of his other weapon partners after Spirit.)

Another teen headcanon... I can also easily see a sort of angsty distraction possibility for him. When he loses Spirit to Kami, I can see him getting into a "romantic" relationship with Marie as sheer distraction, and even misguided retaliation. Spirit "cheated" on him with another meister and abandoned him, so why shouldn't he do the same with another weapon? Which sucks for Marie but well she's not healthy about relationships any more than Stein or Spirit are. But this is just another sort of maybe-thought; another situation where all the dots would have to line up just right for him to go for it. But I can see it, no question, just like the prior thought.

As for Stein as an adult, at the point we see him in the show… While I think relationally he and Spirit have the most interesting dynamic to explore, the one he shows more openness toward is Marie. It's clear that he cares for her. And he doesn't fully understand that either. Now I don't think he wants to get into bed with her, or marry her, or anything traditional to a romance. But I also don't think Marie is going anywhere. Thinking post-anime now…. Unless he gives her a sign that there is nothing between them, I think she's staying put. But sadly for her, I think there is something between them... Sadly because, Stein doesn't know what it is, and it's not "love" the way that Marie wants it. It's just something he's unfamiliar with. Meanwhile she's devoted to him, poor woman.

Now, end of the anime… Let's talk about this…. Marie helps him back to sanity with her healing wavelength. But…then he's just "okay"? No he isn't. Look at that man. His dark circles are darker, his eyes are more haunted. That man has been living off madness and cigarettes for weeks. When is the last time he ate anything? Showered? Legitimately got any sleep?? How he's even standing up let alone fighting Medusa is beyond me, and then he performs freaking major surgery and then waltzes into the death room afterward like he's fine. Because...that's who Stein is.

Stein will fight until he is incapable of fighting anymore, to serve those he loves. Yes I said loves. And it is agonizing how much he strives to show his love for others, and it's something he doesn't even realize he has within him. He thinks he can't understand love? It's because he feels it so deeply and passionately it's beyond definition. Part of this however I'm also certain is motivated from his deep desire for purpose as an adult. The manga shows that aspect of his character even more-so than the anime (in what I've read so far). That man is desperate for purpose and to belong somewhere, with someone. He can't escape his human nature even if he doesn't understand it, can't define it, and even though it drives him crazy all on its own…

So bringing this back to Marie… End of the anime. I don't think Marie is leaving. She's gonna stay, help nurse Stein back to health and sanity despite his pretending he's fine (or perhaps even sheer ignorance of his condition), and Stein…is gonna be confused the whole dang time about his feelings for Marie. He knows he feels something but he has no idea what it is or how to process it. But "love" in the romantic sense he doesn't possibly consider, because well...his conceptions of that sort of thing aren't based in anything healthy (see: Spirit's relationships).

So yeah… She's not leaving. He won't reject her attentions because he does care about her, just not in a way he understands and also not in the way she wants. And as she starts to realize that he has some kind of feeling for her, I think she'd turn up the romance and she'd make a move on him. OR…she'd play the extremely...long...patient game, and wait for him to make a move on her, when it's within his comfort zone. And let me be clear… This man still does not know what love is in this traditional sense, does not understand love. He knows what physical attraction and hormones are and darn him he can't shake those either, but as an adult he wouldn't act impulsively on them nor would he confuse them with love. Stein is the ultimate master of mind over matter. If he were to sleep with her, it would be a choice; a decision he makes consciously and deliberately. I see this within the realms of possibility. But if he chooses it himself, if he's the one who makes that decision simply out of his wanting to…it would be a long, long time that that woman is waiting for him. But I do think it possible. The question is simply, how long will she wait. And she's also the type to try to stir things up (see: her behavior toward Joe in the manga). So who knows when they may end up in bed together... These dots are more complicated to align than those of his teenage years. And if Marie made the move first...I think he'd accept it. Because, see again, his wanting to belong with someone, and he knows he feels something different with Marie.

As for Spirit, well... Stein sees that Spirit likes women. And Stein sees that Spirit can't commit. I think Stein "loves" Spirit more than he loves Marie. First love, young love... Spirit is the relationship of his life, even though that's yet another thing he cannot possibly understand. I think that while part of him, the mad obsessive part, and the curious part, does want to be close to Spirit in the intimate way…it's not out of a healthy desire or even typical motivations. It would come from a desire to possess, from his deeply human but inexplicable yearning to be closer to the one he loves even though it's not the right type of love for that type of intimacy. Not really sure Spirit would be all-in if Stein were to make the move... I think Spirit would take persuading. It's another circumstance where all the dots have to line up just right, and in this case probably more while caught up in madness than in sanity. Because as previously mentioned… In his right mind, Stein knows that Spirit likes women and more importantly that Spirit cannot commit. And he's ironically smart enough to know not to attempt a traditional human romance with someone who cannot commit. I don't think Stein would himself attempt intimacy with Spirit in his right mind at all, unless something happened to make him utterly desperate not to lose the man... Another instance of, all those dots have to connect.

But ugh, the angst. Spirit abandoned him after five years... Stein is not going to willingly subject himself to possible heartbreak again. Plus, he does not think Spirit has forgiven him for the "experiments." I think he thinks Spirit only hangs around him now as an adult as his handler, despite desperately wanting his friendship again. But I think he figures it's a lost cause so he just takes what is offered and never pursues more.

Okay but before I digress further into my endless thoughts about Stein's and Spirit's relationship (I'll do another post for that maybe), back to the point of your question.

I am really not one for labels, partially because I don't understand them but also because I think the spectrum is just so deep and too much defies definition. But if I were to label him, I guess I'd go with...gray ace with demi leanings…?

The man is driven only by curiosity, about anything and everything. But the level of intimacy we're talking about is more than he ever wants to trust anyone with. It's always gotta be on his terms, and more often than not…his terms would be unhealthy.

So let's talk about what shows up in fanfic, since that was what the original question was about. And once again, I like to lend validity to everyone's interpretation. Just because it isn't mine doesn't mean it's wrong or shouldn't exist. But you did ask about MY thoughts, so that's what I'm sharing here.

Once again, I've barely touched Stein/Marie fic because I'm avoiding manga spoilers. In the one or two I've seen, he comes across as not connecting emotionally in the typical way, but knowing that there is indeed something different about being with her. He knows she cares about him, and he cares in return. But it doesn't come across as anything intimate on his side of it. This isn't a characterization I particularly like, because Stein as an adult... As I said, I think he'd choose that intimacy if and when he wants it. In the stories, it comes across more as him just doing her a favor, just going along. It doesn't sit right. But like I said, that's only two stories. For other Stein/Marie, I reserve opinion for later.

Stein/Spirit... Okay. I've noticed a great many commonalities in the fics I've read. And this isn't a taste or preference thing; like I said I have devoured almost every smut fic just in desperation for any fanfic of them. Would prefer more gen fic less smut personally, but anyway.

Most fics have Stein in the dominant role, Spirit in the submissive role. I understand that interpretation but it's not how I see them. I see them as equals if they were to get into that type of intimacy. There is often a lot of bloodplay, frequently madness on Stein's part, major instances of non-con, pet play, BDSM, sometimes light cannibalism... It all suggests an impersonal and unhealthy relationship most of the time, which again...is not at all how I see them if they were to become a couple. Could such things come about? Unhealthily, possibly. But darn me and my desire for happy endings.

These two men are so broken, that if they were to become a healthy couple...I feel like it would be slow, cautious...extremely hesitant. There is extreme distrust on both sides, and also misconceptions about how the other feels. Which...I will save that analysis for later. Focusing back on smut fic.

I have seen only a few that touch on the give and take in a trusting relationship (all by the same author) that come closest to what I feel is accurate to the characters onscreen as I see them, but still the emphasis is too much on lust. It still isn't hitting the spot for me due to a lack of that relational development... Make no mistake, the stories are great, but I personally am hoping for something much deeper.

In my view, Stein just does not seek out physical intimacy in that way. I don't think he can fully escape the innate human need for touch, but in terms of a drive to get into bed with anyone... I think the occasional human desire for it crops up, and he easily ignores it/packs it away because it's not useful to him. It doesn't bother him. He doesn't think about it.

So this is where that...gray-ace, demi vibe comes into play for my view of him. Talking about Stein here as an adult and in control of himself, not consumed by madness... This is I supposed a bit of a summation of my thoughts.

If he did get into a relationship with anyone (and again I think his only choices are Spirit and Marie), it would not be based on the physical at all. I also don't think he would rush into any relationship. It would be a long process before he trusted the person enough to consider them a romantic partner. And really, we could get away from the word romance entirely... Life-partner is a better word, in Stein's case. If the person wanted physical intimacies, I think he would be responsive to that. The other person would be in the lead, but in no way dominating. It would have to be an equal trust thing or else Stein would nope out hard. Stein would gradually learn what it is he likes physically, and how to give his partner what they want. He can come to enjoy it because this is his life-partner, the one he belongs with, the one who needs him and is part of his purpose. But again...the physical is not something that drives him at all. Not in how I see him portrayed onscreen or in the manga.

So, overall, in my point of view nearly all smut fics miss the mark. Now...the stories I've seen where I think the physical intimacy is nailed don't even get to smut. Those are the stories by @asymmetryestablished (AO3 NothingSoDivine) and their characterizations of Stein and Spirit defy description in any words I have. The other author who nails it is @wispforever (same on AO3) and the closest to physical intimacy they get is dancing, but my gosh still the characterizations are utter perfection. I will be re-reading y'all's Stein/Spirit stories forever.

I hope I did in fact answer your question, but overall, I was delighted to just spill out so many of my thoughts about Stein even if in summary form. Yes this was a summary... Okay. I'm done. Thanks.

[ivy-plays]

We'll be alright Ch.3

Summary: you've been married to Owen Grady as well as training a pack of velocsrapters at the New Jurassic World for two years now. So what happens when the two of you are asked to check on the paddock for a new dinosaur only for things to go sideways and send the entire park into chaos?

Pairing: Owen Grady x Reader

Warnings: death , blood, cursing. If I missed anything let me know in the comments.

Raiting:pg13

A/n: If you would like to be added to the tag list you can either message me or just ask in the comments down below so that you are alerted when new chapters are up!

<previous Ch.2

The car ride to the new paddock was for lack of better words. Extremely uncomfortable. None of us spoke a word which in the long run only made it more awkward. Owen was in the front passenger seat while I sat directly behind him. By the time we finally pulled up to the enclosure we were all ready to be out of the car. I swiftly unbuckle my seat belt and get out of the car closing the door behind me.

As we began to make our way to the small monitor room I noticed all the construction was still being done on the paddock." Well that can be good. What kind of idiots put a dinosaur in an unfinished enclosure?' I think to myself.

" We've been pre booking tickets for months." Claire began as we began to climb up a set of stairs. Claire was in the front with Owen behind her and me behind him. " The park needs a new attraction every few years to rejuvenate the public's interest. Kind of like the space program. Corporate felt genetic modification would up the wow factor" she continued before I spoke up from the back," they're dinosaurs. That's wow enough"

Claire looked back at me for a moment before she continued to explain . "Not according to our focus groups. The Indominus Rex makes us relevant again "

Owen chuckles as he repeats the name of the new dinosaur," the Indominus Rex" . It really is a weird name for a dinosaur.

" we needed something scary and easy to pronounce. You should hear a four- year -old try to say Archaeornithomimus . " Claire retorts as she comes to a stop at the top of the stairs before she walked into the building.

"you should hear you try to say it" I say under my breath which makes Owen huff out a laugh as he holds the door open for me to go in before following behind . It was a small room with a wall made completely of floor to ceiling windows which allowed visitation into the jungle like enclosure. " So what's this thing made of?" I ask as I walk up to one of the windows, to the left of where Claire stood tapping away at a tablet,and look into the enclosure trying to see if I can spot this "Indominus Rex".

"The base genome is a T.rex the rest is" Clair begins before making a small pause as she turns to look at Owen and I," classified."

I raise an eyebrow at this as I turn away from the window to look at Claire . Owen turned his head to look at the woman with a face of confusion and slight disbelief." You made a new dinosaur but you don't even know what it is?" He asked and I nodded my head in agreement.

" yeah Claire. That sounds kinda off to me. Who makes a dinosaur but won't even tell people what's in it " I state as I run a hand through my hair.

"The lab delivers us finished assets,and we show them to the public. " She rushed out in an irritated tone before looking to the security guard at his desk off in the corner of the room," can we drop a steer please. " She quickly ordered before turning back to the enclosure.

We turned back to watching through the windows as a crain began to lower a piece of meat internally too small to feed a dinosaur of its size.

" how long has the animal been in here?" Owen asks as we watch the crain continue to lower in the piece of meat .

"all its life" Claire replied.

"never seen anything outside these walls?" I question and I can see Claire look at me in my peripheral vision.

" we can't exactly walk it ----" She retorts in a matter of fact tone.

" And you feed it with that?" I continue as the crain finally drops the meat to the ground.

Claire turns to look at Owen and I ," is that a problem?" She asks and I look at her in disbelief. How can she look at a dinosaur made from T.rex DNA and think that a small piece of meat would be enough to satisfy it. I only look away from the red head when Owen begins to explain why this is so concerning.

" Animals raised in isolation aren't always the most functional." He states. I notice how eerily calm it has been and the fact we have yet to see any sign of the animal.

"you're raptors are born in captivity."

"with siblings" Both Owen and I point out at the same time," they learn social skills" Owen adds," And we imprinted on them when they were born. There's trust" The two of us walk over to Claire but for some reason I feel as if I shouldn't take my eyes off the jungle on the other side of the glass.

" the only positive relationship this animal has is with that crane " I continue as I pointed up at the crane. " At least she knows that means food."

"so she needs a friend. We should schedule playdates. That sort of thing?" Claire replies in a mocking tone as she too turns to look into the enclosure as well.

"probably not a good idea" I quietly retorted as Claire tapped on the glass like it was a fish tank. "Where is it?"she whispers.

" Is it in the basement? Is there a down stairs? Maybe it's in the rec room. " Owen jokes as Claire rushes over to the guard.

"it was just here. We were just here" I hear her say as I closely examine the inside of the paddock. I squint my eyes as I walk to the other side of the room to get a close look at the paddocks walls and it seems that Owen had noticed it as well as he was soon standing right beside me.

" Am I seeing that right?" I ask him quietly to make sure I'm not just seeing things. He shakes his head and says with a confirming "yes" before he points up through the glass as he speaks loud enough for Claire to hear ," we're those claw marks always there?" He asks, before Claire silently walks over to us.

"do you think it," she began but paused for a moment as if she was afraid to even ask the full question. " God" I heard her whisper underneath her breath before she rushed for the door "She has an implant in her back. I can track it from the control room. " Was the last thing we heard before the door slammed shut behind her.

A very uneasy feeling began to bubble in the pit of my stomach. Something seems off about this but I can't quite wrap my mind around what it was. " There's no way it could have cleared that wall. " I whispered underneath my breath as I couldn't tear my eyes from the clawed up wall.

Owen , the security guard and I decided to enter the enclosure to get a better look at the markings. The entire time I stayed right next to Owen as I kept my guard up while I surveyed the surrounding area. I haven't felt this kind of uneasy feeling in my stomach since we decided to leave the Navy almost four years ago.

"That wall is forty feet high. There's no way she could have climbed out " the construction worker said as we approached him and looked up at the wall.

" It depends." I begin but am cut off as the security guard asks," on what?" . And I pause for a moment before continuing. "What kind of dinosaur they cooked up in that lab"

A few moments a lady's voice began to brokenly come through the guards walkie-talkie and my uneasy feeling only grew as the hairs on the back of my neck stood up as I turned around to look into the jungle behind us.

" yeah, what's the problem?" I vaguely hear the guard ask but I very clearly heard the answer that came back as the lady screamed," it's in the cage! It's in the cage with you!!"

Next: Ch.4

Tag list:@kaykinotic ,@rubyxx16

[jacksprostate]

Was just wondering how you manage to replicate palahniuk’s style so well and also obviously write his characters?

Love your blog btw!

There's a few things that go into it!

Firstly, I have the advantage of, according to my friends, before I read any of his stuff my style was already kind of Chuck adjacent. I tend to be very rhythmic in my writing, I do like to have little repetitions, I like fun descriptions — similar to how he focuses on things reading aloud well, and favoring offbeat descriptions, his little ritual words, etc. That's my biggest secret, I just already wrote pretty close to it without knowing, so I didn't have a whole lot to change. Similar dog learning new tricks sort of deal. That said, there IS stuff I actively think about, especially with regard to character voice:

There's some things I'd call window dressing — minor changes that make it more recognizable. This would be things such as: the narrator does not get put in quotes, slips into 2nd person, using a rhythm where the dialogue tag goes in front (generally Tyler says, blah, not blah, Tyler says). That also makes it feel more active and present. I also like to outright include the occasional line from the book as a referential repetition, or a spoof on a line, I think that's the fun of fanfiction. But if those lines stand out glaringly it can be a sign you either need to change your style or maybe you're just trying to stick it somewhere it doesn't belong.

There's some bigger things: sentence variation is another thing I've invested pretty heavily in on my own and something I highly recommend any writer get in the habit of, but in trying to match his character voice I do consciously feel for when something is getting too long, specifically. The key with Chuck is he can have long sentences, but they're made out of short ideas. Long sentences often become grammatically incorrect as they're separate ideas jammed together for rhythm and sense.

He also shies away from adjectives; I kind of ignore this because I love a good adjective, but I've learned from it by making sure each one is impactful in its own way. Avoid superfluousness, keep things moving. He also shies away from stereotypical descriptions, I enjoyed building my confidence making weird ones. It's something I'm keeping going forward.

Another thing with his style is he loves fun facts. Fortunately I also love fun facts. To do those you have to keep it relevant, symbolic/metaphorical, purposeful, and simple. You can totally get complex, but only using simple building blocks. It's not to show everyone you know something, it's to build a little cliff to push the narrator off of. People don't need the detailed rockwork.

He often has little... almost like an aside? The narrator will ramble or think about something else for a little bit before getting back to the present. That shaky hold on the Now contrasts with how action focused everything is and allows moments of rest even if its still action.

As for character voice, the narrator; by following the above, you can get most of it, and then remembering his general view of the world to keep things in theme. He shouldn't be happy. He should have a lot of surpressed rage. Etc. Good character writing starts with a good understanding of the character, and that's real important for whoever your pov is. Always important to check if stuff passes the "he wouldn't fucking say that" test. When I have dialogue for him, it's almost an extension of his thoughts. I mentally read it to myself with the dull affect Ed Norton used for the movie monologue, really that shit was perfect. I usually can't keep a voice in my head like that but that one... yeah.

Tyler on the other hand I have to be pretty conscious about, sometimes I'll go back through the book and read some of his lines. He tends to be very direct. Very rarely uses names, it's tempting to use psycho boy or ikea boy all the time but it's the devil speaking. Tyler is direct, always serious even when he's laughing, his statements are not mitigated at all, if he is saying a pet name it is for its own impact not to soften any sort of statement. Rhythmically I find this directness difficult sometimes, but the 'Tyler says' dialogue tag makes it feel like a religious call and response on the narrators part and serves to soften things — but have that be the narrator's perspective and choice, not Tyler's. It's pretty heavily repeated in the book. Tyler also requires a "He would not fucking say that" test and I think I've gotten better at his dialogue over time (ex: retroactively, Tyler's dialogue in my psychoactive fish story s u c k s. I mean, it works, but I didn't really have a strong grasp on him at the time and while the actions sound like him, the words and delivery don't. Now though I think my snippets and the dildo fic are pretty strong!) A lot of it is just practice and tuning your ear. Reference the original material and try to dissect it.

Hope this makes sense :) if there's anything specific where you're like "how'd you write that" I can try to answer. Glad you enjoy my blog!

[zhouxiangs]

10 BL Boys I Want Carnally

or as close to that as i can get, tagged by @bunnakit !

i had to look deep in my soul and tumblr gifs for this so please enjoy the boys, under a cut to keep the mystery alive for two more seconds

i am very ace so the concept is nebulous, let's just say i feel some type of way... and if you see me call these men my sons it's bc they are, ty for your time <3 also the order is kinda eehhhh general idea, i don't actually keep a mental list it took me hours to make this one 😭

10. pete (kiss me again/dark blue kiss)

do not ask me why idk either... there's just Something i can't explain. also it was between him and knock from together with me so i'm choosing the one that committed less crimes, anyway *holds him up like a potato* i just think he's neat

9. vegas (kinnporsche)

my little meow meow,, my explanation for most of these is just "do i not have eyes", but some (like vegas) are special jsjs in his case kp was the first thai bl i watched, as soon as he became remotely relevant i was obsessed with him and then a rewatch made me finally fall into thai bl as a whole so... thank you for your service

8. gong gil (the king and the clown)

my baby my darling my angel and the reason i even know about lee joongi, the actor i've been following the longest that i remember. i haven't watched tkatk in a while so i don't remember the details that well but i've always loved him, pretty sure he's my first bl boy too

7. xie'er (word of honor)

does he count? is this cheating? idc he's staying either way, MY XIE'ER 😭 will never get over him or his killer eyeliner

6. gaipa (moonlight chicken)

possibly the cutest 30yo man out there, that alone endeared me to him but also the way he is with his mother is just so 🥺 he's so special to me (also the fact that he's 30 AND cute as heck it's just so personal to me)

5. wen (moonlight chicken)

god i wish i could explain what he DOES TO MY BRAIN. some of it is the mix effect but i was normal about mix before wen so... he's so beautiful so magnetic i want to bite him

4. black (not me)

listen- he's my lil murder raccoon i know there's plenty of reasons for him to be as angry as he is for the 90% of his screen time and they're all sad but he's just so attractive like that (even though i'm more of a white girlie most of the time)

3. karan (cherry magic th)

i've only had him for two eps but if anything happened to him i would kill everyone in this room and then myself, etc. he's perfect and a nerd and i would love him for any of those two things alone, but they're combined into such a gentle beautiful (inside and out) and sensitive character i jsut love him so much

2. way (pit babe)

so i am definitely not babe, here supporting way's rights and wrongs from day 1. is he pretty? yes. is he evil? quite possibly. do i still want him? also yes. he hasn't touched me so pretty sure his big sad eyes are doing something. to me.

1. sand (only friends)

The Only Man, which is how my non bl friends know him bc i've apparently called him 'the only man i would like if i liked men' more than once ? HIM

special entry: tharn (the sign), yeah this one is definitely cheating

(using the only gif i've made of him so far which isn't great for this but...)

he's so tiny and efficient... like a fiat 500

if you see this and want to do it consider yourself tagged by me <3

[xenonmoon]

Some last note before moving to MK 2016 volume 3:

Pros:

I really like the subversion of the "it was all a dream" trope. It being "all a dream" doesn't actually solve things, it makes them even worse and messier

Pacing is great, using switch frequency and entity of the bleedout among each one of them to build tension towards not the final act of this volume's plot but what appears to be the middle one, turning instantly in a moment of surprise when all parallel stories instead of converging with each other drop out into Marc's. The second part with the confrontation instead of escalating again it de-escalate step by step from action to calm, heartfelt moments until only Marc is left, alone. Nice

I keep thinking using different artists and scenarios for each character is a BRILLIANT way to have a visual rendition of how different alters filter the situation through different lens

Despite being a bit cartoonish/exaggerated I liked how frustrating the police interrogation felt with its ableism towards Jake. Makes you feel the character's powerlessness in that situation

Leaving Vengeance (and the latter part of the 2006) aside, since they only features Jake and in a very ambiguous way that's very passable as Marc With A Different Name, Steven and (proper) Jake hadn't had a real active role in the narrative outside when Moench was writing them. It's nice and refreshing to finally see them back as being part of Moon Knight as they should be.

Steven's narrative is how the Bendis run should have been and you can't change my mind

Love love looooove how Lemire recontextualised the dubious writing the character's had over the years into Marc's point of view - how he thinks about his condition and how to deal with. He also does a plentiful of acknowledgements that are a HUGE step forward to stop considering having alters as something bad - despite still thinking he need to get rid of them to be "sane". But will get back at this with the volume 3

Cons:

Jeff Lemire possibly only read the first volume of the Epic Collection, so he knows the basics of the Oldies but not enough to use them effectively inside the plot. They're either "extras", background stuff, namedrops, or very vague and/or ooc. This leads to their appearances being one of those cases when the callbacks are best enjoyed if you're in the middle of the spectrum between not knowing the characters and knowing them fairly well: you either just heard of them (and/or seen very marginal stuff) or remember them by long faded memories. One of those cases where elements and/or a product holds itself up for most part by nostalgia or a very shallow knowledge of the source.

This also lead to potential thematically relevant characters to be cut out of the narrative, like Morpheus.

Jake's characterisation is. I don't know how to describe it. It was fine and fairly coherent with Moench's up until the confrontation scene, when by the way Marc talks to him it seems backbuilt almost from scratch to fit Wood's heavy drift (or switch with Marc's, can be also seen as that). That resulted in a weird superimposition between him and Moon Knight and while he is not identified as "the evil alter" it flies dangerously close by being at least the violent one. This is 99.9% what inspired MCU Jake's (I can't really say characterisation since we see him for like 2 seconds but. actions?). Detaching itself even from the last bits of Moench that the 2016 still kept the MCU incarnation took a long turn away from the comics' original concept and well. I think the moon knight tag is full of self-explanatory examples of the domino effect it caused on the long run. Sighs

Despite this run's approach to MK's condition being revolutionary in the context of the history of how this character has been written after the original run closed, there are some bits that are still based on misconceptions around how the condition worked - meaning, the core theory according to which there is one "real" or "original" identity in the system and the others all formed later and- ugh that they are or used to be childhood imaginary friends. Surprisingly, the original Moench run which was written back when people knew next to nothing about the condition is more accurate on this point since it treats all three (four considering MK) more or less equally as different identities of the same individual

Let's talk about Commander. I get it, Lemire needed an alter to function as a "placeholder" to Marc for the tripartite altered narrative that dominates the heart of this volume, but you can feel by the way he's treated that's kind the throwaway one. Or, at least, the most throwaway one once its purpose in the narrative is fulfilled

That's all I could cook up for this volume! Moving to the third and final one!

[writingquestionsanswered]

My protagonist is an assassin who has to infiltrate a place to get close to the people she needs to kill. She obviously has to lie a lot to make her story believable. Over the course of the story though, she starts to slip her real life experiences into conversations. How do I make it clear when she lies vs when she tells the truth without beating readers over the head with "She lied"?

Conveying to Reader That a Character is Lying

There are a few ways you can do it, and generally you want to do a little bit of all of these...

1 - Providing Context Ahead of Time - The very best way you can do it, whenever possible, is to give the reader the information ahead of time so they have the necessary context to know something is a lie. This is one reason why showing the character's "normal world" at the beginning of the story is so important. It provides context for what a character's life is like before things change, which can be helpful later on when they're so different. If there are things that happened a long time ago... aka "backstory"... you can show those to the reader ahead of the lying moments by having the character be reminded of those things, having them dream about them, or tell them to other characters. For example, if you need your character to lie and say they've never been in a relationship, at some point before that, you can have a scene where something reminds them of their ex, or maybe they tell another character that they were almost married once. Maybe, the night before having to tell the lie, they have a dream about their ex. Obviously, you'd want to tie these things into the moment in a way that's relevant so they don't feel totally random, but you can do that with a little forethought.

2 - Provide Context in the Moment - Sometimes it's a detail you can't work into the story at an earlier point, either because there's no way to make it relevant or it's just not that big of a deal. In that case, instead of tagging the lie as " they lied," you can have them remember the truth in that moment. So, something like:

"Tell me, do you like oysters?" Cresta selected one and offered it to Mol with a sly smile.

"Love them," Mol replied, trying to hide the fact that they were choking it down. "Always been a fan."

Alternatively...

"Love them," Mol replied, remembering the first and last time they ate oysters and was sick for hours afterward. "Always been a fan."

3 - Use Exposition to Explain the Truth - Once in a while, you may have a truth that needs to be exposed in the moment. Maybe the character has just realized the truth, or maybe they're not sure.

"I remember you," Cresta said, folding her arms. "Surely you must remember me?"

"Of course." Mol's tone was confident despite feeling anything but, though there was something familiar about the eyes staring back at them. The truth hit Mol like a kick to the gut--Cresta was the pleasure house madam on Hypatia Station in Proxima Sector. "How could I forget?"

Cresta's mouth pulled into a broad smile. "Good. No need for formalities, then."

...

I hope that helps!

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[illarian-rambling]

Thanks for the tag @mk-writes-stuff, these questions look fun!

OC Question Game

My questions:

What would you wear to a fancy party?

If you could time travel and talk to your younger self, what would you say to them?

What’s the nicest thing someone’s ever done for you?

I'll answer for the Outcasts crew :)

.

1) What would you wear to a fancy party?

Izjik: "...clothes?"

Sepo: "If I had my pick, I'd wear a Shuari-style suit. The fashion compliments my features. Blue is overdone for seafolk and purple makes me look sunburned, so suppose I'd go with a forest green shade. That, paired with some silver hairpins that I could stab someone with in a pinch and a tasteful amount of pointed rings for punching, should do nicely."

Twenari: "I always love a good sundress. They're so elegant without being restricting. I'd go with copper jewelry as well - it sets off my eyes."

Djek: "I don't know - I'm not really the type to get an invite to a fancy party. If I could wear anything though, I'd go with a cape. They just seem so swanky! And you never see someone unimportant wearing a cape. Plus, just things of all the loot I could hide underneath!"

2) If you could time travel and talk to your younger self, what would you say to them?

Izjik: "It gets better, kid. It's not gonna be all sunshine and butterflies, but it ain't gonna be all doom and gloom either, even if it seems like that sometimes. You're gonna go on to meet some incredible people, and do some incredible things. Just keep your chin high and don’t ever give up."

Sepo: "Stop being such a dick. Surface people are sentient. Spend more time with your brother. And go brush up on your Halawema’ishi. It'll be relevant, trust me."

Twenari: "FOR THE LOVE OF THE GODS, STOP FUCKING AROUND WITH ROTTING MAGIC!"

Djek: "Alright, the canal racket numbers in your year were 14-77-85, with a jackpot of half a million tuec. Get a ticket to Hazipili, buy in, and we'll be swimming in coin for the rest of our life. I'm counting on you, man!"

3) What’s the nicest thing someone’s ever done for you?

Izjik: "Other than Sepo saving my life half a dozen times and the humans matching that number between the two of them? I guess that time Djek kept talking to me when we were captured by the church. I wasn't myself. I wasn't acting rational. I'd let End turn me into a beast without it even being all the way in my head. But Djek never gave up on me. He talked and told me stories. He laughed at his own jokes when I wasn't able to. I don't think I've ever been so hopeless, but he never faltered, never let me slip. He's a good man, Djek is; better than he gives himself credit for."

Sepo: "It was within our first week together that Izjik and I had our first argument. I was completely in the wrong and acting like a racist jackass. She gave me what for, as I deserved, but the next day, she also gave me a gift. A little bone flute, carved from a scavenged kill. I think she understood that I was a Singer-Priest stripped of his song. I can't play the flute, of course. I don't have a tongue. But her kindness helped me understand that sirens are wrong about their ideas of a 'superior race.' What uncivilized brute would've done something so perfectly kind for a stranger they knew was hurting? She gave me that flute, yes, but she also gave me the truth of the world."

Twenari: "Izjik and Sepo could've left me to die in the Vay wilderness where they found me. They could've returned me to my mother for a profit. It would've been so easy - I was exhausted and without magic. But they didn't. They took a chance on kindness and risked their lives to keep me out of Undeta’s clutches. I don't think I can ever repay them for that. They gave me the gift of freedom itself."

Djek: "Ok, so you can't tell him I said this, but Sepo is the one who's done probably the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me. We were in an abandoned dwarven temple, interrogating - or trying to interrogate - a cultist. Twenari and Sepo.... They're not really cut out for delicate chit-chat like that. So you know what Sepo did? He took a step back and said I should handle it. Said I was the best man for the job. Me! I know, right? I've never been the best man for any job in my damn life! He trusted me to do it, and to do it better than he could. Everything was riding on getting info outta this lady, and Sepo trusted me."

.

Well, these were fun! Very good questions 👍

I'll tag @elsie-writes @kaylinalexanderbooks @jakkon-and-rose-topic @scribble-dee-vee @steh-lar-uh-nuhs and anyone else who wants to play :)

Your questions are:

What's a childhood fear you had?

What's in your pockets?

Ever considered therapy?

[nyxraex]

Guess what I bought! (*SPOILERS*)

+ my two cents on it.

Ok, so I read this thing in about an hour or so, maybe half or even less, can't tell since I didn't pay any attention to the clock.

OVERALL:

Overall I think it's...meh. Not amazing but not horrible either. It's an ok book with a simple, easy-to-understand storyline and great art. I especially liked how the girls' powers were shown, since, y'know, it's something that's barely shown in-game.

It's pretty clear while reading as someone in my early 20s that it's meant for younger audiences, with how Alex is constantly going like "BUT WHAT ABOUT FOOD?!" even if they're on a mission (or maybe I'm just too serious of a person, idk. I d o u b t it.). The book also tries it's best to not get too serious by putting jokes and humour that can be either a hit or miss depending on what you find funny. Personally, while not funny enough to make be laugh, it did make the atmosphere more light-hearted.

The pacing in my opinion is a bit too fast, not giving the reader enough time to breathe so to say, meaning that there's a lot of dialogue instead of scenes where the characters are having a break from travelling (ok there is but they're a rarity).

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

In my opinion the Soul Riders act how you'd expect them to based on how they speak and act in-game.

Surprisingly enough, while no one character is given the lead role, Lisa was the one with more relevancy, but considering that the plot revolves around a sickness/plague/withering, having the healer of the group more front-side makes sense.

Linda and Alex were the next most relevant, with Linda having a vision about what would more-or-less happen & figuring out what the creature chasing them is, with Alex mostly serving as comic(ayo)-relief until the end fight. Both of them being the more vocal ones (Alex especially) of the group also contributed to why they were more relevant.

Anne on the other hand was kind of just...there. She didn't really have much else to do other than tag along to unravel the mystery with the others and have her angsty moments about having been stuck in Pandoria and having (almost) lost Concorde. Like Alex, Anne had her time to shine during the end fight since their powers are more suited for combat than Lisa and Linda's.

The Guardian horses also are kinda just there, doing what horses do, except with more sentience. Heck they didn't even speak in the book.

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

Bryann, one of the Keepers, serves as the main antagonist of the book and is the one who caused the sickness-plague thing, although accidentally, having tried to get back her horse after he was turned into a Lignos by her desperate attempt to save the dying horse.

Although I get where she was coming from, I have a hard time forgiving her. Not only did she willingly sacrifice Kora for the tree, she also almost killed the Soul Riders in an attempt to also sacrifice them AND their horses for the same tree to get her own horse back.

The biggest reason why I dislike Bryann is the same reason I disliked Anne after she was saved from Pandoria (up until the most recent quests). Selfishness. While it's easy to understand that both were/are in pain over the loss of they beloved horses and that it's going to cause trauma, it's the fact that they both were like 'I'M in pain. I want my best friend back.' and seemingly never thought about how their horses feel about what happened that drives me up the wall!

However the biggest gripe I have about the books ending in regards to Bryann is that while she does admit that she was wrong for not letting go & seemingly sacrifices herself to the tree so that Caliban (Bryann's horse) can be free, she never actually receives any consequences for her actions that put not only the Soul Riders but all of Jorvik in serious danger. The Soul Riders IMMEDIATELY forgive her (except Alex, but she doesn't really reprimand Bryann either...) and are like:

( Direct fin to eng translations by me; all 4 quotes are in succession in the book. )

"Bryann? I...We understand. You only tried to save your horse. Right?" - Lisa

"We understand, how it feels...Desperation is familiar to me too." - Anne

"The loss must have hurt, and it's okay. We are the only ones, who can understand that." - Linda, with tears in her eyes. (*bish W H A T???)

"Tell that to KORA." - Alex, looking annoyed. (*T H A N K Y O U!)

Like, I get that they want to say that 'Not all bad people are bad for no good reason' or something along those lines, and even I myself tend to be very forgiving to the point where all I need to hear is someone say sorry and visbly feel guilty to make me forgive, but what Bryann did warrants more than just a 'sorry' with the Soul Riders saying that they would have done the exact same thing. We needed more than a self-sacrifice.

If the Soul Riders had been rightfully mad at her whilst remaining understanding, telling Bryann just how majorly she screwed up, followed by her apology and self-sacrifice, THAT would have been enough for me to be happy with how the story ended. But no.

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

Well, that's that. My brain can't handle anymore thinking.

[frostedpuffs]

wip challenge

Rules: “post the names of all the files in your WIP folder regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them and then post a little snippet of it or tell them something about it! And then tag as many people as you have wips. (You can make your own post or reblog this one!)  I have deemed that this isn’t just for writing either. Sketch titles? Comics? Dnd campaigns? If you have an unfinished project, it counts!!” tagged by @izanogi

i have so many art wips and a few fic wips so feel free to ask abt any of them though i can't promise they're all coherent lmfao

fic wips:

peach time

adrien sentiments

prpr fic beginning

The Hotel™ sexual tension prpr the fuck idk

drunk convos that reveal too much (a simple suggestion)

babyfic

obligatory horny fic (sorry in advance if u ask about this one bc im not sharing much outside of friend servers LMAO, but it's barely considered a wip and mostly just bullet points anyway)

art wips: (gonna preface this by saying that most of these are just sketches that i will most likely never finish so idk if they count as "wips")

bite

potty humor

boy vs boy

relevant doodle

tall

kissy

i frew up

beans

babyhold

she haveth baby

angy

ur my kitten

fluffy

idj

cat and bug team yayyyyyyy

marinette redesigns

a doodley

cat and bug

tagging some mutuals off the top of my head (no pressure to fill this out if u dont want to/dont have any wips tho and also sorry ifu have been tagged already im not keepin track)

@gentil-minou @miabrown007 @ladyofthenoodle @heartfulselkie @chatonnoir

[grabowskibeepboop]

Btw, for the anons in my askbox who keep harassing jegulus, I don't have a new ask to answer, but I just wanted to say one more thing:

It is completely correct to be annoyed about unrelated posts being tagged with your tag, I understand that, I wouldn't want that to happen to me either

But

My post was related. I tagged it jily because I was talking about jily and I ship it too

Just because I also ship jegulus and also talked about it (I wasn't even talking about either one, I just mentioned them) doesn't mean that it is an unrelated post

And my problem with how you've approached me is the way you're treating jegulus, you're calling it anti-jily which it isn't, (a person can fall in love multiple times with multiple people and sometimes even the same time, and also a person can ship multiple things at the same time) you keep harassing Regulus (and jegulus) which you're free to do in your own community, they are fictional characters and there will always be some you hate, but you're doing it intentionally in my face while knowing that I ship jegulus and value Regulus more than you do, which is very rude

There will be posts with ships you don't like that show up in one of your tags, that's unavoidable, but you can't just jump into someone's askbox and harass their ship, demanding them to take the tags out of their posts, that's not how tumblr works (since you're so serious about how tumblr is supposed to work, which, it doesn't btw, tumblr doesn't work, there is no algotythm, you get what you get, you have to deal with it, and there is still the block button, and I'm not talking about blocking tags, I'm talking about blocking blogs)

I don't wanna start describing what tags are for, they're used for a lot of stuff actually, but if someone mentions something in their post that they feel is relevand to it, they're going to tag it accordingly

Exept ig the people you're trying to get out of your tag, I haven't seen them when I looked your tag up, but I'm sure you're telling the truth, if there are actually people who aren't even slighty mentioning jily, or mentioning it but it's not relevant at all, maybe the post isn't even about the marauders, god knows maybe it's not even about harry potter, but they still tag it jily because they want more recognition or what, that's asshole behaviour, I admit, that would be really annoying

But so is harassing someone's ship in their askbox anonimously

[indignantlemur]

New chapter nearly done!

I've been writing for almost eight hours instead of sleeping, like a champion. A very, very tired champion.

Every now and then, during the last eight-ish hours, I've paused and wondered to myself if I should find a beta reader. Then I've argued with myself, saying I can't use the 'No beta we die like redshirts' tag on my work if I have a beta, and that would be a tragedy. How could I possibly give that up?

But, also, counterargument to my brain's argument - where am I gonna find someone who wants to listen to me rant about Andorians and how they're profoundly under-represented for a founding member of the Federation, which is bullshit? I have a lot of thoughts and feelings on the subject.

Anywho, new chapter will be up soon. I need a nap and to look over it one last time to make sure it's coherent.

Heads up for future posts about Émigré: I'm always going to tag relevant updates with the first two tags below in case someone, somewhere wants to follow either.

[aslanscompass]

Ahsoka 1.1 & 1.2

As a side note, my tags for the show will be "sw: Ahsoka" and "ahsoka spoilers." I will also use the "Ahsoka" tag for general references to the character, as well as the character tags for the Rebels characters.

So, onto the actual review:

I've been hesitant about this show from the beginning, mostly because the promotion is so heavily weighted in favor of Ahsoka. I've watched all of The Clone Wars and read some of the tie-in novels as well, but I never really latched onto Ahsoka as much as some of the others. I mean, I don't hate her or think she's overpowered; I just prefer the Ghost crew. I've been waiting for Ezra's return since the season 4 finale. And I don't want Ahsoka to overshadow it.

On a purely practical/effects level, it is /so weird/ to see the familiar characters in live-action. Some shoots are identical to the original--the speeder route outside Lothal's capitol, the communication tower, and that mural.... On the other hand, the characters just feel off. Previous complaints about Ahsoka's appearance in The Mandalorian seem even more relevant here, as Hera's lekku and skin marking look rather too smooth for live-action. Maybe it's just the long hair, but Sabine doesn't look right either (NOTHING against the actors involved) She does look slightly better after the haircut, but I have so much trouble with age for all the leads. It's so hard to tell what age they're supposed to be.

Don't have any feelings one way or another about Houyung, but I would have loved to get even a glimpse of Jacen. I mean, sure, I have Feelings! about how he was included, but now that he exists, he needs to have screen time.

The Ahsoka-training-Sabine element kind of strikes me the wrong way too. I mean, sure, things would have happened between the battle of Lothal and the 'present day,' whatever that actually is. But I don't think Sabine is a good choice for Jedi training and I actually don't WANT her to have Jedi training. I think her style as a Mandalorian is interesting, a contrast from other rebels, and an important part of her heritage. She doesn't /have/ to be a Jedi to be special, or even to be on the right side.

The fight sequences felt wrong too. I mean Ahsoka's fights were okay, but I don't think Sabine got to show enough credit or skill in her fights. Sure, her preferred weapon in Rebels was explosive paint, but she did her fair share of hand-to-hand, and was pretty good at it. When she got grabbed at the tower, she didn't show any evidence of her formal skill or training.

Plotwise.... eh, too early to say. But the emphasis on Thrawn as a potential threat to the New Republic as opposed to the promise of finding an old friend.... and this is part of the reason I'm skeptical about bringing the Ghost crew into the broader universe. I mean, of course, Kanan and Ezra had to be out of the picture for the original timeline, otherwise Kenobi wouldn't be the only remaining Jedi, but now.... you can't retcon Ezra or Kanan into the film, because they would have had an impact, but I don't want to draw attention to that fact. In my imagination, Kanan and Ezra are both still alive, hanging around and playing games in some remote corner of the galaxy.

I guess we'll see

[orange-orchard-system]

We got what we're pretty sure is a bait or trap ask today. We will not post or answer it, but I just want to repeat something we've said (or at least implied) before:

This isn't a discourse blog. Occasionally, we will talk about discourse here, but it's not a serious interest or hobby of ours. In fact, for a lot of discourse (including the specific discourse you were talking about, anon), we might spend some time trying to understand it, eventually decide "not my circus, not my monkeys", and leave. Have you seen internet discourse? This shit gets specific and complicated fast. And due to the nature of discourse, a lot of it is little more than a giant clusterfuck. If there's some discourse you can't find our public opinion on, it's probably either because it's not relevant to our blog (which is system and alterhuman focused, if anyone has forgotten), or we don't feel comfortable or confident speaking on it (usually due to lack of knowledge or lack of interest). While we do sometimes interact with people who have their own opinions on whatever discourse it is, this doesn't mean we necessarily agree with them, or that we've even read what they're saying. We have a lot of discourse tags blocked for our own mental health.

Also, if you're going to send asks trying to provoke discourse, maybe don't make it sound as if your support of all systems (not even just us, but all systems and headmates) is conditional based on how we respond. Just a thought, since that kind of gave it away that you didn't really care about our thoughts on the matter. Anyway, everyone else – and anon, if you truly had good intentions – have a good day.

[roseicicles]

Looks at Aki. I have no idea how they do it. They can keep the KING JACK ATLAS at KING level but they still cant keep a competent female through arc-V. They either die, are humor only, or fade into obscurity sadly

Yugioh doesn't, and never has known how to write badass female characters. They either start out strong, or can be good, but all end up just being either non existent, or as you said, fade into obscurity.

Like lets go series by series.

OG Yugioh: Mai? Mai? The girl who basically lost most of her duels, was pretty much used as canon fodder. As in just to showcase Ra, and give reason for Joey's epic duel vs Marik. To then join up with the whole Dartz thing, only to then STILL feel like a poor duelist. Sure, she and Joey had an epic duel, but then after that....Meh. Then after that season she was g o n e.

GX: Alexis could've been a great character. She had links to the shadows through her missing brother, she was best friends with the school's top duelist. But after her good start, she gets captured lol. Sure, she does get her payback, but I swear, after that it's mostly downhill for her development. While everyone around her goes down a major path of development and character.

Another point going to Blair, cause what could've been for her. When you consider her Tag Force 3 deck. Imagine if she had Lightsworns in the show. She'd be a unit, but nah, she just became a cheerleader sadly, and a damsel during the Yubel later stages.

5DS: Honestly, the Blackwings are at fault here LOL. Akiza had such a grand opening, and then the second half/rest dropped the ball SUPER hard. Hell, you could argue all the females here had great starts, only for it to go downhill, or just nothing. Carly, Misty, Luna even((Mina doesn't count as she's just more a proper side character)). Of course later we had Sherry, whom we should've had a epic Sherry vs Aki duel one on one. But what did we get? Shery vs Aki AND Crow. Like least Jack having Leo and Luna made sense, as it was to set up Life Stream's birth from Power Tool, but jfc.

Zexal: Rio huh. Honestly like I said, she has a good opener, but then later just becomes basically worth nothing. Even when the big reveal happens. She's not threatening, or important. We also have Anna who had fucking trains, yet was barely used.

Arc-V: OK. Now here is where I first talked about it. Cause honestly, THESE FOUR GALS DESERVE BETTER. Yuzu has a good growth period, but after basically Serena takes her spot, Yuzu basically becomes NOTHING. While Serena kicks ass like a true badass, and becomes a great character. Her duel with Yugo is honestly one of my favorites. It helped her realize that maybe dueling can be fun. But what do we get after that? Oh, she's taken away in the most bullshit plot armor way, and mind controlled lmao. Rin and Ruri? We get told they're great through flashbacks, do we get to see it? Nop, they're controlled. Then the end, only Yuzu gets to be free basically. What a mess.

Vrains: How many times do you want to fuck Blue Angel/Aoi did you say? Like, what important duel did she win? Every important duel, she loses. She came off as a really good character, and everything good and cool they threw at her, they then decide to make her LOSE. I'm not saying she has to win to become relevant and good, but it just felt like she became a punching bag, and only Playmaker and later Soulburner COULD save the day.

Sevens: Sevens is more of kid Yugioh honestly, so I can't really expect too much from it, as comparing it to other series, yeah. Sevens isn't bad, just...Alright. Though I will say, it had some pretty good female characters. But like the dudes in this show, pretty average gdigsdidg. Will say though, Romin surprisingly had a positive dueling record. With 11 duels. One not shown, three loses, and SEVEN WINS. There are some notable characters too, like Luke's sister, and the construction crew girl. But in terms of what my post is mainly following, can't put that there.

Go Rush: Same can be said here tbh. Might be some 'nice' characters, but none fitting the mold.

I'm not making all this to say, 'oh the female characters are complete shit' when they're not. I love em for a reason, I just get so sad when their writing goes to sour shit, as if they get the rug pulled from under them, while the dudes continue forward, and get the lime light.

It's why if Yugioh ever goes serious again, I'd love a female lead. A female lead that would kick ass, and not go down a more forgetful or poor writing path like these have before.

[lemonhemlock]

Hello! What do you think of alicent being physically harsh with ty tennant's aegon? She abuses him (it felt like that to me) and then tells aegon that his sister is a dangerous person (which she is), but at that point rhaenyra hasn't done anything, and otto is not there to advise her also but she sees rhaenyra rightly as a legitimate threat. Then when we come to tgc aegon it's like she forgot that her children's lives are in danger and fights more for rhaenyra than her own children. By then she has seen first hand how dangerous rhaenyra is with aemond, vaemond, laenor etc.

Also olivia had told somewhere that alicent is thinking in eggs coronation how rhaenyra will not reconcile with her anymore. I mean why would you care about rhaenyra then. I dont mind people having affection for childhood friends but when said friend doesn't give a shit about your kids or your own mental and physical well-being then it becomes really pathetic and an unhealthy obsesion.

Im saying I'm so confused why she keeps flip-flopping. Why the heck is she on rhaenyra's side when her kids are more into protecting her than rhaenyra. She even forced aegon to accept his crown when he said no. (If they make her poison him for rhaenyra, she will be just so terrible)

The writing is making me insane. I want to get some clarity and i thought to ask you since you have such well thought out responses. Sorry for such a long question.

hey there. thank you for having faith in my abilities to make sense of this mess. i do take it as a compliment that you guys think to come to me for help whenever you're confused by smth or pondering an issue. 💌

so, i hope you won't feel too upset, but i'm going to redirect you to the relevant tags as i've been ranting about this quite a lot already and would just end up repeating myself.

long story short: it's inconsistent writing. each episode usually had a different writer & director, each with their different take on the characters. that's fine and all, but something happened there bc the people in charge (miguel??) didn't do a good enough job to smooth things over chronologically and make sure everyone is on the same page and that the character developments are linear.

that's why alicent is antagonistic and out to get rhaenyra one episode, then the next episode she wants to be bffs. that's why the showrunners say one thing to the media, but the actors say another. look at this through the perspective that they're not going to come out having a go at each other in the press because that would be unprofessional. so we're never gonna find out what miguel actually did for sure and who's responsible for all this mixed messaging.

as for alicent being physically harsh with ty's aegon. she is, as you said, alone at court, experiencing first hand viserys' indulgence & favouritism towards rhaenyra + his unwillingness to sanction her even for grave illegalities*, so that only increases her paranoia that her children are going to suffer the consequences of this. on top of /that/, aegon himself doesn't take this seriously and she has just found out he also colludes with rhaenyra's children (the people who will order his execution in the future, but he's too blind to see it now) and bullies his own brother (aka the one he could actually trust and support, but instead alienates). she goes to viserys first but he ignores her concerns again.

so i think she just snaps in that moment and loses patience with aegon. him wanking in the middle of the day in the tommen window doesn't help his case. now, alicent is not a modern mother living in the 21st century, with a whole literature of child development & psychology at her disposal, therapists and specialists to guide her. she also has her own trauma to deal with, no help on that front either. she can't "educate" herself. she is not going to be gentle parenting aegon lol. she uses what tools she has at her disposal: first talking nicely, that doesn't work, then she starts yelling and grabs his face so that he'll listen, bc what else is she supposed to do? she literally isn't conceptually aware of any other way to get her message across

*again, that's placing your bastards in the line of succession against their trueborn relatives, not having bastards in the first place