#but takes advantage of gaps between arcs

[villainsandvictimsalliance]

The only relationship I've watched in anime that has absolutely convinced me that big age gaps can work out romantically is the one between Barnaby Brooks Jr and Kotetsu T Kaburagi in Tiger and Bunny.

12 years age gap. Barnaby is 23 and Kotetsu is 35. They're literally the newest rookie and the oldest veteran in the hero scene. And you can say "they are not canon" as if the creators hadn't gone out of their way to state that they pretty much don't care how you interpret it, a romantic reading of their relationship is as valid as anything else.

Their respect for each other? Their partnership? They're both treated as grown ass men on the same level.

Somehow Kotetsu can call Barnaby a "cute little bunny" and still he never reduces Barnaby to a naive child who doesn't know a thing about life. Kotetsu treats Barnaby like a man, a professional. He never infantilizes Barnaby for his trauma or his past. He helped Bunny as much as he can, goes beyond his limits to help him reaffirm himself and recover his independence. Kotetsu wants Barnaby to be respected, to not feel powerless, helpless, he wants his partner to stop being manipulated. Bunny's whole arc is that he wants to stop having decisions made for him!!!! Kotetsu knows it!!

On the other hand, Barnaby jokes all the time that Kotetsu is old, calls him grampa, that he should retire, the complete dance. Yet, Barnaby has never seen Kotetsu as a father figure. Kotetsu is Bunny's hero partner, not his superior. Thanks to Kotetsu's respectful treatment, they're friends. Hell, Bunny treats Kotetsu like a man. He doesn't pity Kotetsu for having lost his wife. He doesn't treat Kotetsu any differently when he meets Kaede, Kotetsu's daughter. There are moments when you forget the age gap because the story focuses on them being equals!!! They can take care of each other, they can share their burdens, they talk it out if they are frustrated, they communicate with full responsibility, etc etc etc.

Normally I don't like big age gaps at all. It's more of a personal preference, since those dynamics make me uncomfortable.

Kotetsu and Barnaby are the exception and the standard. God bless the Tiger and Bunny creators.

* also it has some of the best treatments of a teen girl having a crush on an older man I've ever seen. It's nothing predatory 'cause Kotetsu completely respects Karina and never takes advantage of her, also completely healthy because Karina uses that to sort out her teenage conflicts and figure out how she wants to be treated, how she deserves to be treated, what he's looking for in a relationship, how older people should approach her, etc.

Kotetsu is a gentleman through and through. An absolute must watch if you want to learn how to write those types of characters and relationships.

[the-solar-system52]

TPOH UPDATE THEORY

THERE HE IS!!!! MY GUY!!!! IM GOING INSANE OVER HIM RIGHT NOW!! LOOK AT HIS EXPRESSIONS!! I LOVE HIM SM BEST CHARACTER EVER!!

Also look at Hero putting his hat back on! I really hope these two get more time to bond in this chapter! Plus I noticed a little star shape beside him on the first panel? Like an emote or something? I wonder what that's supposed to mean.

PLUS WE GOT A SPEECH BUBBLE! Albeit it's empty, but the fact that it exists may hint at him getting some dialogue in the future??

HE LOOKS SO CALM AND CHILL ABOUT EVERYTHING?? No wonder he's just ignoring Anxiety. Make sense since he's the opposite of RGB, but I wonder how long this collectivness will last. (AND HERO LOOKS ADORABLE HERE)

AND WHAT IS HE DOING HERE??

He's definitely taking advantage of his static electricity, but to do what? Charge his cane with LIGHTNING? (that'd be so cool) But wouldn't that decapitate his hand or something?

In the first panel, he seems to notice that the glass from the mirror maze is stuck inside his suit. And in this one, the shards of glass seem to be falling out from his sleeve. Was this just a side effect of whatever he's doing with his cane or is it the goal? Trying to get all the pointy shards that may hurt him out so he can fight better? Or maybe use them for something?

Also, this is another instance of Negative being associated with RGB's gaps, which mentioned in another theory.

As for big lore stuff, it's revealed in this page that the Butterfly doesn't seen to know who Negative is. This does disprove some stuff that I said in my earlier theories, but that's ok because I think it works well with the reveal that the Butterfly is a personification of Anxiety.

The reason the Butterfly showed up in a lot of scenes associated with Negative was because Negative causes anxiety. Hero is afriad of him and RGB is afriad of water (plus his weird human memories) so it causes Anxiety to pop up. But Anxiety doesn't need to know who Negative is to make that work.

And now that Hero is less scared of Negative, Anxiety is finding it harder to get two's attention, because Anxiety can't hurt you unless you are afriad of something. Negative is so insanely calm about everything that he doesn't even seem to hear Anxiety.

But this is going to make for a really interesting dynamic between Hero, Negative and Anxiety. Hero originally said they should turn RGB into Negative to fight the Butterfly because Negative is more scary than the Butterfly.

But now it seems to be the exact opposite. The Butterfly is having a hard time affecting them because Negative is chill, and Hero is only a little nervous around him now. His calm nature seem to make Hero calm as well, so Anxiety can't influence her.

BUT! The reason Negative isn't attacking right now is because he doesn't view the Butterfly as a threat. However, if the Butterfly or the doubts were to do something to make Negative attack, then wouldn't that make Hero scared of him? Like she was the other times he showed off how scarily good he was at killing stuff?

And if Hero was scared, then Anxiety would be able to easily affect her! So Negative attacking the Butterfly may actually make the situation WORSE. Negative will have to find some way to balance keeping Hero calm while also defending himself.

But will he succeed? I mean, this is only their third time meeting eachother, there's still time for more character development. It could be possible for Anxiety to exploit Hero's fear and end up escaping, but maybe show up again later in the comic! It will take awhile for Hero to fully trust Negative, but I wonder what direction Modmad will take that character arc.

I also remember someone mentioning in Modmad's comments that Negative was caused by HAPPY tears this time, whereas the other two times we saw him he was caused by SAD tears.

This could explain his more calm and mellow attitude in this page. He doesn't seem to possess the "fight or flight" instinct we see him have in his earlier appearances.

Maybe his personality changes based on what kind of tears get into RGB's air vents! If someone is crying sad tears, it usually means something bad is going on, which is why Negative quickly jumps into battle the first time we see him. But now he is calmed down because he didn't wake up with the predisposition that something bad is happening.

He also doesn't have that black goo rising above his eye, which seems to be caused by strong emotions, similar to RGB's mouth blood. I think this means that he will be less confrontational in this chapter since he is in a better mood.

Which is good, because I like seeing my favourite characters happy, and it may give Hero and Negative more time to interact if they are both less on edge.

Overall, Sunday is the best day of the week and I'm so happy Negative is back!

[questforgalas]

Now that I've played the MW campaign and am even more unhinged about the MW3 campaign, here are my completely unasked for thoughts on how Activision should've mapped out the games for an at least 6 game story arc

MW

Absolutely no changes. Kyle is a precious muffin. Price is a precious muffin. Alex is a precious muffin. Farah is a queen.

Interesting campaign. Diverse levels. Dynamic and well thought out storyline.

MW2

My baby. The love of my life. My most precious muffin. That campaign? That storyline? Chef's kiss. Ale and Rudy? The best additions. Valeria?? Fucking wonderful. That plot twist?? Grasping my pearls

No changes

MW3

More 141 levels, make the intro levels 141 as a well oiled machine, digging up the intel telling about the prison break. Give more background to what Farah is in the middle of instead of dropping right in especially with fucking Graves suddenly chilling on the comms, bridging that gap between MW2 and here. Take out a good chunk of the Makarov cut scenes and give more levels chasing intel, letting the player put together the pieces with every cold trail Makarov leaves behind, getting frustrated along with the team. Keep the flashback once the team reaches boiling point, but make Ghost less inclined towards Johnny to keep more inline with their reluctant start in MW2.

Shepherd and Graves go off the grid after they give their intel, they disappear. Makarov is making moves in Urzikstan so 141 goes to help ULF (did I mention more 141?). It was a distraction, they uncover Makarov's plans for London, scramble back, it plays out, Price ends up dead (it's a military game, people are going to die, and Price dying had the most potential impact. Come along, I'll explain), Makarov gets away.

Final cut scene is a funeral send off Price deserves, montage of the boys back on base dealing with the aftermath, and Laswell finding Ghost, explaining how he's the Lieutenant, he's the obvious next choice to take up the mantle and Ghost simply says "I'm not the obvious choice" and the final scene pans on Gaz, the Robin to Price's Batman.

The levels will be meatier, longer, and at least 5 more added to deepen the story. Diversity of the play style will be more than just standard campaign and online-layout. The Makarov plot will be discovered by the player, not told to them, adding more intrigue to the character. The final level will be multi tiered, hopping between the two pairs. Actually 8 hours of gameplay instead of the measly 3 they gave us (yes, the MW3 campaign is 3 hours of gameplay compared to MW and MW2s 8 hours each)

MW4

Open to 141 arriving on mission, Soap tapping Gaz on the shoulder and says "Ready when you are, Captain" with that cheeky smile. Makarov's gone dark, eerily quiet the past couple months, but they have a lead on Shepherd and Graves so they're going in. It all points back to Mexico, Graves accepting his military career is fucked after Las Almas and turning Shadow Company into full mercs instead of PMCs now, specializing in weapons dealings. He recognized the advantage a deal with Valeria could have and they've been working together.

CUT TO LOS VAQUEROS/141 REUNION. More Alejandro and Rudy background (just let Alain Mesa, the BAFTA Game Award Nominee for this freaking role, fucking shine). Dive into the Valeria background, make the raid mentioned during her interrogation a flashback level in Valeria's POV. The team has to go undercover to get close to the intel, Rudy gets picked, gathers the intel, but gets compromised. Now its a race to rescue Rudy. Ale and Gaz go after Rudy while Soap and Ghost follow the lead Rudy got them. Ale and Gaz raid a cartel base/prison, let Ale take Gaz under his wing recognizing the young captain's feeling the pressure, some banter, some advice, wholesome Ale and Gaz bonding.

Soap, on the other hand, is barely being contained by Ghost. He's in full attack dog mode with Graves scent nearby and Ghost has half a mind to let the demolition expert go completely feral, but the lieutenant part of him keeps his sergeant in check. Further their dynamic, more banter balancing right on the edge. They clear out the compound, find a gold mine of intel around the dealings, and Johnny gets to put the bullet right between Graves' eyes.

One line in the intel catches their eyes - Makarov

MW5/6

Make the Makrov storyline a 3 game storyline - MW3 intro and back-to-back MW 5 and 6. Now with ties in Mexico and ULF, all established teams and beloved characters can be brought in in some aspect throughout both games to take him down.

Ale and Rudy are cleaning up El Sin Nombre's ties in Las Almas, cutting each line of Valeria's arms dealings, trying to cut off the courier of Makarov's destruction.

Farah continues to lead ULF to free Urzikstan, Makarov taking advantage of the dissent and chaos and placing a foothold there, ultimately dividing forces and efforts from his background machinations.

With Makarov's trail warm again, the 141 are out for blood. Could take the plunge and make GhostSoap canon through subtle dialogue options or touch gestures in cut scenes. The end is possibly near, they're all allowing themselves to think about the future, why not take the plunge Activision? Or they stay vague/platonic and the dynamic is further developed. Dialogue options and cut scenes show further bond with Gaz as well who's stepped into being Captain a little more, easing into the shoes.

MW5 is cat and mouse. Makarov leaves little treats and traps and the team is chasing after their tails, always 3 steps behind him. Give Makarov more scenes, not telling the player his plan but let his character development fly. Let the unhingedness flourish.

Finally, they catch a break at the end of the game and MW6 is the final chase. 8 hours of them hunting down Makarov. Ale and Rudy cleaned up Las Almas and can join them, bringing the whole gang together internationally (bonus points to make one a cold weather mission and the two Mexicans are just bitching the whole time just for Soap and Ghost to tease them back about payback for having to deal with the Mexican desert for a whole week). Two characters would die (not in one game, over the course of the two) - Farah (she's been a fighter her whole life, it would be a full circle for her to heroically go out with a gun in her hand) and either Ghost or Soap.

Soap dying here would be so much more impactful. He'd be more established as a character, have deeper relationships with all members of the game, and it's highly possible to have a situation where a charge isn't going so he's the only one who can pull it off (reminiscent of Hevy in TCW). Going out in a blaze just like he's always imagined.

Ghost dying would be another full circle option with his canon (it would be a sacrificial choice, dying on his own terms as his own choice) and with his long career, it would be heartbreaking but understandable. This also leaves the 141 in the hands of the two youngest, the Captain and the new Lieutenant, tasked with bringing in the next generation of the best soldiers.

And if there just happens to be a cut scene where Johnny has an extra pair of dog tags and a modest ring dangling from his chain? Then you know I infiltrated the Activision writers' room.

Oh what happened to Shepherd you ask? End credits role on MW6 and another cut scene begins. A lone cabin in the middle of nowhere in the woods, smoke trailing out of the chimney. Cut interior, a haggard Shepherd bent over a desk, mumbling to himself, scribbling on something. He tacks the paper on the board in front of him, revealing Gaz and Soap's pictures amidst a mess of strings and maps and notes saying "Traitors". Then it cuts black

Boom, there you go Activision. Enjoy all of your awards and record breaking sales. It could've been that easy

[avaantares]

What's Sparda's reaction to Vergil messing up Big Time? 👀

Oof. You know, Sparda doesn't get enough canon screen time to rate as a sympathetic character out right of the gate, but putting him through this is how you make him one.

Just imagine him coming back (after decades of imprisonment, if we're going with the story summary I posted) and finding out that his firstborn son -- the studious one, the one who always behaved more responsibly than his brother, the one he entrusted with the Yamato -- not only undid all the work Sparda spent thousands of years and made great sacrifices to accomplish (sealing Temen-ni-gru, et al.), but also turned against humanity, which Sparda gave up his powerful position in the underworld and waged war against his own master to protect. That with no warmth or apparent regard for his own childhood home, his son completely destroyed the city in which Sparda had built a life and made a family -- a place he probably dreamed of returning, in between whatever tortures were inflicted upon him in his captivity. That the son of his beloved wife had such disdain for the humanity she imparted to him that he tore it out of himself by force. That his own son murdered thousands (perhaps tens of thousands) of humans, of whom Sparda was the self-appointed protector.

I think Sparda's reactions would, in some way, parallel the stages of grief. Shock and disbelief, at first. Then fury. Blinding rage. Possibly even a threat of punishment or extermination, because the things Vergil has done are exactly the kind of threats to humanity that Sparda set himself against.

(This is where it gets fun for a writer, because while Dante has his own extensive set of daddy issues to deal with, I think he would actually stand up to Sparda if he thought Dad was really about to kill his brother. Sparda may be his long-lost father, but Vergil is his twin, and he did not drag his brother's sorry backside back from the brink and follow him into literal hell just to let him get offed by an outsized disciplinary spanking.

Dante would be the one to tell Sparda what Vergil suffered in his absence -- because Vergil certainly wouldn't, and probably deep down believes he deserves punishment anyway -- and, while not justifying Vergil's choices, would at least attempt to convey what a terrible place he was in when he made them.)

After the anger would come mourning for the loving family and the home Sparda had hoped to return to, and which he'll never be able to recover, now that the trust between them has been broken. Eva isn't around to bridge the gap, and the only thing they really have in common now is a unilateral hatred of Mundus.

Ultimately -- meaning, story endgame material -- I think Sparda would be able to come to terms with what Vergil had done, especially if Vergil were clearly no longer the same person who had committed those atrocities (the advantage of a story that's several hundred thousand words in length is that you have room for complex character arcs!). But it would take a lot of time and distance, and a lot of specific writing toward that goal.

[cinebration]

Thirty Percent! (Geralt of Rivia x Platonic!Reader) [Request]

Hello!! I love your writing, it's quite immersive and your range is admirable! If requests are still open, I'd like to submit this for consideration: a platonic, close friendship with Geralt of Rivia where the MC has some or significant power and/or skill of her own. Where the relationship is centred on mutual respect and rapport, they work well together, and seek each other out. Feel free to take or leave as much of this as you want, and take as much time as you need. Thank you!!!!—Requested by anon

I think I went hard with the banter-bicker dynamic, but I love that. Apologies if this missed the mark a little. I really ejoyed writing it!

Warnings: monster blood, violence

Gif Source: cavilhenry

Viscous, black blood covered the silver of Geralt’s sword as he slashed at the bloedzuigar. The creature’s leech-like mouth, an oval maw filled with sharp teeth, contracted with a screech of pain, the monster thrashing in the murky swamp water as more black fluid spilled out of its wound.

Geralt leapt back, the water resisting his motion, as the creature swiped with its spike hands, its reach equivalent to Geralt’s. The monster only had an inch or two on the witcher, but the water gave the thing an advantage Geralt lacked as he waded through the morass, feet catching on submerged roots and uneven clumps of mud.

With another vicious screech, the bloedzuigar lunged forward, hacking with its claws. Geralt twisted away, nearly losing his grip on his sword. Hitting the water face-first, he dove beneath the surface and kicked hard, propelling himself away from the creature even as it slithered after him with greater agility.

Geralt gasped for breath as he surfaced, spun around to face the creature.

Gone.

The water chopped in small waves around Geralt from his own hurried escape. With only a half-moon for light, the water was dark, the bottom hidden behind feet of murk and disturbed silt. The creature’s blood floated as a darker patch to Geralt’s right.

Readjusting his grip on the sword, Geralt stood still, minimizing the minute movements of his body sending ripples out through the water. The bank of the swamp rose behind him, cypress trees clustered thickly and preventing easy escape. The attack would come from the front, but whether the creature would surface again when its preferred delicacy—intestines—was still submerged under the water in the witcher’s torso remained to be seen.

Geralt edged toward an open gap between the trees, gaze fixated on the deceptively placid surface of the swamp. His movements sent tiny ripples across the water, marring the reflection of the half-moon.

The witcher’s calf pressed against gnarled roots, the slope of the swamp floor changing underfoot. Geralt glanced over his shoulder at the bank, calculating how long it would take him to haul himself out.

The surface of the swamp broke in a violent fury, the bloedzuigar shrieking as it launched itself at Geralt.

“Fire!”

Something arced over Geralt’s head, spinning with perfect precision. It struck the bloedzuigar on its razor-filled mouth, breaking with an audible snap. Odorous liquid spilled over the creature, stunning and disorienting it.

Scrambling up the bank, hands and feet slipping in the swamp muck, Geralt shoved his hand toward the creature and muttered, “Igni.”

Fire shot out toward the bloedzuigar. The creature burst into flame as the oil coating its mouth and upper torso caught fire. Geralt hauled himself further up the bank as the creature thrashed, dying screams rending the night air.

You peered through the cypress trees at your handiwork. “See, now wasn’t that effective?”

Geralt seized you by the waist and threw you down. He landed beside you as you issued protest.

The bloedzuigar exploded, spewing acid against the protective line of trees.

You chuckled wryly. “I forgot they do that.”

Geralt rolled onto his back, shook his head. “You forgot.”

“Yeah, I forgot. I’m not a witcher. I don’t have everything about the beasties memorized—that’s what the books are for!”

“I agreed to let you tag along—”

“Tag along?” You snorted, hauled yourself up into a sitting position. “I do not tag. And even if I did, you are lucky I was around. With all the swamp water on that thing, Igni would have done precious little to singe the bastard. You’re welcome.”

Geralt grunted, neither protesting nor agreeing.

“Next time, I’ll create myself an oil bomb, and then I won’t need a witcher throwing signs to destroy a creature.”

Geralt’s yellow-gold eyes flicked in your direction, a shadow crossing his dour features. “You won’t go alone.”

“I can and will do whatever I please. Perhaps next time you can accompany me and see my latest inventions at work.”

“Inventions.”

“Not everything is swords and spells and potions, my dear witcher. There are other things that save time and energy. Think of the trebuchet and the power it delivers across vast distances, doing more damage than any battalion in an army on an open field.” Snorting again, you rose to your feet and stared down at the supine witcher. “But since you saved me from horrendous acid, I’ll buy the first round at the tavern.”

“With what coin?”

“‘With what coin?’ The gods quiver to hear such blatant prevarication. I believe we agreed that I would earn thirty percent of your profit on this hunt.”

“Ten percent.”

“Thirty, and I do not aim to bargain unless you agree to give me more than that. So let us retrieve our reward—”

“Ours?”

“—ours,” you repeated, kicking him sharply in the ankle, “and get some food and ale into us before midnight strikes, thank you very much.”

A mild chuff of amusement slipping past his lips, Geralt took your offered hand and hauled himself to his feet. As you both returned to your horses, he wiped the ichor from his silver blade.

“And dry clothes,” you added, the squelch of Geralt’s soaked boots and the scrape of his soaked pants audible. “You know how much I dislike to see pruned skin.”

The witcher eyed you again. “I didn’t agree to sharing my chambers with you.”

“No, you didn’t, but it is a sad fact of life that plans change.”

“Such as reducing your thirty percent to ten percent.”

Swinging up into your saddle, you shot Geralt a flinty look. “Then I will take a pound of your flesh as the remaining twenty percent.”

The witcher chuffed again as he slid the silver sword back into its scabbard and hauled himself up into Roach’s saddle. “None of the creatures I have fought have managed a pound.”

“Yes, but I know when and where you sleep.”

Geralt mulled this over as you both nudged your horses back to the road running past the swamp. “When I first found you trying to blow yourself up—”

“I was unsuccessful,” you protested, both indignant and relieved.

“—you were meeker than—”

“If you say a field mouse, Geralt, I will personally catch your hair on fire.”

The witcher wisely held his tongue, but a faint smile curved his lips.

“If I was ever so meek as you claim, it was that all my courage and effort was focused on not killing myself with my experiments.”

He grunted. “You still try.”

“With much better results,” you countered. “And if I hear you complaining, I will let the next bloedzuigar drain your blood and eat your partially-digested intestines.”

“You said you would buy the first round?”

“How easily you evade the subject, witcher.”

“From your ten percent of wages?”

“Thirty!”

The witcher’s quiet chuckle carried across the field.

[muffinrecord]

Honestly Mikage is a great character the more I think about it. I think something important to note is that her obsession with getting older isn't about gaining maturity, but gaining respect.

I took a quick glance and her Mikage Training event is a really good example of this:

Mikage and Sudachi are hoping that makeup will make them look more adult-- but look at specifically what they are hoping for:

Mikage wants to be seen. She wants to be noticed, gain respect, and gain a little power out of it. Nothing wrong with that! Girl's allowed to dream big. But it's not just about becoming mature, but being seen as mature.

But no one seems to notice, and even worse, the attention she gets isn't what she was looking for at all.

She wants to look more adult to gain respect, but instead she's treated like a troublesome child who needs to be disciplined and looked at with a close eye. The gap between herself and the adults around her has only widened. If she wanted to be seen and given respect, all that's happened is that she's being treated as inherently suspicious for being a kid-- and a kid from the East.

In essence, her desire to look older all stems from her background.

Mikage wants to get older is really about wanting to gain respect from the adults around her, despite her circumstances. Mitama tells Mikage that she can't be around other magical girls (because Mitama is afraid of Mikage getting hurt in the Kimochi war), Mikage struggles to make friends due to Mitama's notoriety (correct me if I'm wrong on that one)-- Mikage spends a lot of time looking at magazines and daydreaming about buying expensive things from them. She's very powerless.

She tries to take back power by mooching off of people often. It's something that she can really only take advantage of while she's seen as a kid though. But I bet that's not really what she wants-- the girl is a go-getter. When she puts her mind to something, she's stubborn! I think she wants to be respected so that she can do whatever she puts her mind to, with nothing holding her back. Mooching still depends on getting other people to do what you want.

With that in mind, Mitama being Mikage's role model is very interesting. Mitama wants to protect Mikage and let her keep her childlike innocence, something that Mitama lost early on with all of the school issues she faced. She doesn't want Mikage to go through that. But Mikage wants to grow up and be the one who protects Mitama, not the one who is protected.

I think she's a really good character and I love her inclusion in act two. I'm not sure how she shakes out later on in the arc, but hopefully it's good.

[letmehavemyfictionalmen]

Stars Collide; Stars Crossed: chapter II

Summary: Din and his partner fight as one, their expertise unrivaled as they battle the Imperial agents. Their unwavering determination to protect the Child drives them forward, overcoming every obstacle with fierce resolve.

pairing: Din Djarin x afab!Skywalker!reader

warning: 18+ content, Eventual smut, Unprotected sex, Violence, Blood, Age-Gap, Kidnapping, Domestic Bliss, Fluff, a sprinkle of Angst, Idiots in love, Flirting, possessive!Din, powerful!reader, Jedi!reader, Grogu being adorable, Grogu loves his Ma more than his buir.

previous | next

Your footsteps echo with purpose as you and the Mandalorian approach the entrance of the hidden Imperial base. Beeb remains vigilant as he trails behind, his sharp sensors scanning for any signs of danger.

The air is charged with a heavy silence, and your heart is heavy with the weight of the task at hand. But you stand firm, for the Child's life is on the line, and you will not be swayed from your mission.

Your weapon feels heavy in your hand as you draw closer to the entrance, your muscles coiled with anticipation. Every step forward is a step closer to danger, but you press on with unyielding resolve.

With unwavering determination, you take each step forward, ready to confront any obstacles that may cross your path.

The entrance looms ahead, and the Mandalorian signals you to halt with a subtle hand gesture. His hands hovering over his blaster, ready to draw and shoot his eyes scanning the surroundings for any hint of danger. With a quiet motion, the Mandalorian signals for Beeb to flank to the side. Your droid moves with fluid grace, scanning the entrance for any traps or alarms with swift efficiency.

The silence is absolute, except for the soft hum of Beeb's scanners, as he moves with the stealth of a shadow. You watch with admiration as Beeb completes his task, a testament to the Mandalorian's tactical prowess.

Beeb's signal of safety prompts a nod from the Mandalorian, and you advance, taking positions on the left side of the entrance. The gravity of the mission weighs heavy on your mind, but you cast aside the distractions, concentrating solely on the objective.

Before you, the Mandalorian stands tall and unwavering, poised in front of the imposing entrance to the hidden Imperial base. His gloved hand slowly rises, rapping against the cold, unyielding metal of the door.

A scanner pops out to scan the surroundings, and without hesitation, the Mandalorian rips it apart with swift precision. The display of raw power and skill leaves you in awe, your admiration for his abilities growing stronger with each passing moment. The Mandalorian's hand clasps yours, and you two round the corner, pulling you to safety just in the nick of time. With a silent gesture, you signal Beeb to follow, and the three of you huddle in the shadows as two stormtroopers march out of the Imperial base, oblivious to your presence.

"Check the Perimeter." The Stormtrooper commands his partner trooper with authority.

With the troopers distracted, you give a subtle nod to the Mandalorian, silently communicating your plan. Your heart races with anticipation as you move with stealth, slipping into the shadows to flank the enemy. The element of surprise is on your side, and you are determined to use it to your advantage.

Your dual-phase lightsaber hums softly as you glide through the shadows, your movements a graceful dance in the darkness. The troopers remain unaware of your approach, their focus on the task at hand.

With the Force as your ally, you are like a phantom, slipping behind the troopers with ease. Your lightsaber ignites with a brilliant flash of green, its vibrant energy casting a glow across the scene.

The trooper stiffens at the sight of you, but it's too late. You move with the swiftness of a predator, your movements fluid and precise. You close the distance between you and the trooper with a single leap, your blade leading the way.

As your blade arcs through the air, the trooper raises his weapon in a futile attempt at defense. But it's no use. Your skill as a Jedi Knight surpasses his training as a mere stormtrooper, and your blade slices through his armor as if it were paper.

The trooper falls to the ground with a dull thud, his armor clanging against the metal floor. You don't pause to admire your handiwork, instead spinning on your heel to face the next target. Your senses are heightened by the Force, allowing you to anticipate the trooper's movements before he even makes them.

You dart forward with a grace that belies your deadly intent, your blade flashing in the dim light. The trooper tries to dodge, but he's too slow. Your blade connects with his armor, sending sparks flying in every direction.

In the end, the result is the same. The trooper falls, defeated, his armor no match for your skill.

The second trooper turns to face you, his own blaster raised in defense. But you are too quick for him, and you deflect his shots with ease, each bolt redirected back toward its source. The rhythmic hum of your lightsaber echoes through the silent area, a menacing sound that fills the trooper with dread.

With each deflection, you move closer to the trooper, his fear evident in his stance. Your blade dances through the air, striking fear into the trooper's heart as he desperately tries to fend off your assault.

In a moment of desperation, the trooper lunges forward, his blaster raised high. But you are a master of combat, and you easily sidestep his clumsy attack. In one fluid motion, you deliver a powerful strike that sends the trooper reeling, his weapon clattering to the ground.

Despite his defeat, the trooper does not relent, and he continues to fight with a fierce determination. But you are the embodiment of grace and skill, and you dance around his attacks with ease, your lightsaber flashing through the air like a deadly bolt of lightning.

In a final flourish of movement, you close in on the trooper and strike him down, your blade finding its mark with deadly accuracy. The trooper falls to the ground, defeated and broken. The fight is over, and you stand victorious, your heart racing with the thrill of battle.

The thud of the troopers hitting the ground reverberates through the air, and you stand still for a moment, catching your breath and calming your racing heart. But you know that time is of the essence, and you can't afford to be complacent.

With swift, calculated movements, you scan the area for any signs of alarm, making sure that your presence remains undetected. Once you're satisfied that the coast is clear, you nod to the Mandalorian, silently signaling that it's time to move forward.

You lead the way, moving with the agility and grace of a Jedi Knight. Each step you take is precise, each movement calculated as you navigate the unfamiliar terrain. The Mandalorian follows in your wake, his senses sharpened and alert to any potential threats. With a swift motion, a hinged panel opens on his side revealing the weapon, and the crackling energy dances along its length. The sight of it fills you with relief, knowing that Beeb is ready to defend against any threat that may come his and your way.

The droid rolls forward with smooth precision, placing himself between you and the Mandalorian, and the approaching stormtroopers.

His grappling cables are coiled and at the ready, glinting in the dim light of the corridor. Beeb is prepared for whatever may come, his circuits buzzing with focused energy.

The sound of marching boots alerts you to the presence of two stormtroopers, causing you to quickly grab the Mandalorian and pull him behind a nearby crate. Beeb rolls behind another crate, mirroring your stealthy movements.

The room falls silent as the Stormtroopers enter, their weapons at the ready, flashlights illuminating the darkness. You wait patiently in your hiding spot, heart racing with anticipation.

As they pass by, the Mandalorian leaps into action, his blaster blazing with deadly accuracy. The first trooper falls before he even knows what hit him, and the second meets the same fate in the blink of an eye.

Their bodies hit the ground, and the only sound left is the hum of the Mandalorian's weapon as he holsters it. You emerge from your hiding spot, ready to continue the mission.

Your keen senses pick up the sight of Beeb unleashing a jolt of electricity at the fallen stormtroopers, his optical lenses narrowing at the two troopers who had dared to threaten the safety of the Child.

"Bad guys," Beeb chides them with an electronic hum, as he continues to shock their motionless bodies. Watching his adorable antics, you can't help but let out a peal of soft laughter, a sound of amusement slipping past your lips. And is that a faint huff you hear from beneath the Mandalorian's helmet? Who knows?

Focusing on the task at hand, you pivot with swift grace, and at that very moment, another trooper steps into the room, weapon drawn and poised for attack.

You meet their gaze without hesitation, your eyes blazing with the force of your conviction. The trooper charges forward, but you are prepared.

With graceful ease, you retrieve a concealed blaster, its weight familiar in your hand. In a swift and calculated move, you unleash a lethal bolt of energy, aimed with deadly precision towards the trooper.

The blaster fires with a deafening blast, the red energy bolt streaking through the air before striking the Imperial soldier with unerring accuracy. The trooper crumples to the ground, defeated by your skill and power. Your brother-in-law Han Solo's gift proves its worth in moments like these. A sleek and deadly DL-44 blaster pistol. That man is a lifesaver at times.

You turn on your heel and catch the Mandalorian's expression of astonishment. A small smirk tugs at the corner of your lips, and you give a casual shrug of your shoulders.

The Mandalorian clearly wasn't expecting you to wield a blaster, and you relish the look of surprise on his face.

"You never know when a blaster might come in handy," you quip, a playful glint in your eyes.

The Mandalorian chuckles, his disbelief now turning into admiration. "I've seen Jedi use a lightsaber to deflect blaster fire, but you using one like that is a sight to behold." You smile at the Mandalorian's compliment, feeling a sense of satisfaction. "As a Jedi, it's important to be adaptable," you reply. "Sometimes, unconventional methods are necessary to get the job done."

The Mandalorian nods in agreement, his eyes still fixed on you. "I guess that makes sense. You Jedi are full of surprises."

A chuckle escapes your lips, the corners of your mouth upturned. "Surprises are part of our repertoire," you reply with a grin.

With your lightsaber ignited you turn to enter the other room. The Mandalorian readies his own weapons, his gaze unwavering and focused on the task ahead.

"Shall we?" Your lips curve upward in a hint of a smile as you address both Beeb and the Mandalorian.

Beeb chirps and whirs, before responding in a high-pitched tone, 'I'm always ready for action, mama.'

The Mandalorian's helmet meets your eyes, his countenance stoic, "Let's go," he says with conviction.

With conviction, you and the Mandalorian stride across the threshold into the next room. Your eyes scan the area, and you quickly spot two troopers positioned on opposite sides of the room. One stands to the right, the other to the left, their backs to you.

As you turn towards the Mandalorian, a moment of stillness hangs in the air between you. With a mutual understanding, you each take on a trooper, splitting off to opposite sides of the room. You focus on the trooper on the left, ready for battle. The Mandalorian moves to the right, his weapon at the ready.

Without a sound, you glide forward and close the distance between yourself and the stormtrooper. His back is turned to you and he is unaware of your presence. You position yourself to the side and pivot on the ball of your foot.

Your body flows with the motion as you deliver a swift kick to the back of his knee, targeting his popliteal fossa with precise accuracy.

The stormtrooper loses his balance and falls to the ground with a loud thud, his rifle clattering out of his hands. You move in quickly, taking advantage of his vulnerability, and grab his arm with both hands.

Your movements are graceful, yet purposeful, as you twist his arm behind his back, dislocating his shoulder with a swift and efficient motion.

The stormtrooper cries out in pain, but you do not relent. With a calm and focused demeanor, you apply pressure to his wrist, rendering him powerless. Your training allows you to seamlessly transition from one move to the next, leaving your opponent helpless in your grasp.

The Mandalorian and Beeb, who decided to assist the Mandalorian, make their way to your side. You stand tall, victorious over the fallen stormtrooper, your chest rising and falling with every labored breath. A whisper of the Force caresses your consciousness, and you feel the familiar tingle on the nape of your neck. Your awareness sharpens as you sense the source of the disturbance, the presence of someone pure. It is the Child. The energy in the air shifts and swirls, beckoning you to follow its trail and rescue the youngling. The energy that envelops you vibrates with a sudden intensity as if the very fabric of the Force is trying to communicate with you. And then, like a veil being lifted, a brilliant light shines through the darkness, revealing the presence of the youngling.

You can sense the Child's pure essence, a warm and comforting glow that fills you with hope and purpose. It's as if the galaxy suddenly feels less daunting, less vast, knowing that you are not alone in your journey.

Your senses flare with awareness, drawing your attention to a door. You can sense the Child's presence emanating from the other side. The Force guides your instincts, urging you to move closer to the door. With each step, the sensation grows stronger, until you can almost feel the Child's tiny heartbeat. You come to a stop, mere inches from the door, knowing that the Child is waiting just beyond.

As you stand still, attuned to the presence of the Child, you sense a slight shift in the air behind you. Suddenly, the sound of blaster fire echoes in the chamber as the Mandalorian fires upon the control panel, causing the door to slide open.

In an instant, you turn to face two stormtroopers, their blank helmets staring back at you with cold, lifeless eyes.

Beeb springs into action, unleashing his grappling cables with deadly accuracy towards the unsuspecting trooper. In a flash, he deftly rolls towards his target, unleashing a shower of crackling bolts of electricity that leave the trooper writhing in pain.

Meanwhile, the Mandalorian engages the other trooper, his movements swift and precise. His blaster roars to life, spitting out bolts of plasma that send the trooper scrambling for cover. But the Mandalorian is relentless, closing in with a fierce determination that leaves the trooper no room to escape.

You stride forward towards the man, a doctor, your gaze locked onto him. With a flick of your wrist, you summon the Force, lifting him off the ground as if he were weightless. His eyes widen in surprise and fear, and he struggles against your grasp, but you hold him steady with ease. The power of the Force surges through you, filling you with a sense of control and mastery.

"No, no, no, no, please. I didn't do anything, I kept him safe." The Doctor yells out in a panic and fear.

With a flick of your wrist, you toss the doctor aside, taking notice of a mind probe floating above the Child. Your hand rises, fingers curling into a tight fist as you focus your energy. With a surge of power, the mind probe crumples, crushed by the might of the Force.

A cacophony of metal screeching against metal resonates throughout the chamber as the fragments of the droid plummet to the ground. Doctor Pershing retreats in terror at the sight of your might, his pupils dilating in awe of your immense power. You turn towards him, your gaze unflinching.

"Explain yourself," you demand, your voice cold and commanding.

Doctor Pershing cowers from you, raising his hands in fear, "I protected him. I protected him. If it wasn't for me, he would already be dead! Please, don't hurt me. Please." A firm grip on your shoulder brings you back from the brink of your anger, and you turn to see the Mandalorian, his head slowly shaking in disapproval. As you catch your breath, you feel a gentle brush against your leg and glance down to see Beeb, his lights flickering with concern. Gradually, the overwhelming emotions that had threatened to consume you begin to ebb away, leaving behind a sense of clarity. And for the first time, you lay eyes on the Child.

Your gaze falls upon the Child, and in an instant, a flood of memories consumes you. You are transported back to a time long ago, to a distant planet where an ancient and wise Jedi Master once took you under his wing. You can almost feel the warmth of the sun on your skin and hear the sounds of the lush jungle around you. You remember the lessons, the guidance, and the wisdom of that ancient Jedi, and how it has shaped you into the person you are today.

The presence of Master Yoda courses through your veins, his teachings a part of who you are. His voice reverberates in your mind, imparting words of wisdom and guidance that resonate to this day. The air around you seems to shimmer with his essence, as if he were right there by your side, guiding you with every step. Master Yoda's voice reverberates, whispering through the very essence of the Force. "Young one, take the Child, you must. Danger here, there is."

A surge of determination wells up within you, as Master Yoda's words echo through your mind. You nod in agreement with the wise Jedi's words, feeling a deep sense of urgency to protect the innocent Child from the impending danger.

"The Empire is on its way," you declare. "Their hunger for the Child will not be satiated until they have him in their grasp. We must leave, and we must leave now. Our mission is to protect this Child at all costs."

You feel the Mandalorian's unwavering gaze upon you, despite the obscurity of his helmet. Even though you can't see his eyes, you sense the intense determination that burns within him, and it ignites a flame within your spirit. With a nod of agreement, he signals his commitment to the mission at hand, and you know that you have a steadfast ally by your side. With a swift and gentle movement, you approach the Child, feeling a sense of urgency to release him from the restraints that bind him to the hover-stretcher. Your fingers glide over the metal clamps that hold him in place, and you focus your mind on freeing him from this captivity. As you work, your heart fills with a deep sense of compassion and tenderness towards this small and innocent being, who has been so cruelly taken from his home. You pause for a moment, watching the Child's peaceful form, and you feel a surge of protective love wash over you. Without hesitation, you release the final clamp, and the Child is free.

You hold the Child tenderly against your chest, his small form a weightless burden in your arms. His little chest rises and falls in a gentle rhythm as he sleeps, his dreams a mystery to you.

Turning to face Beeb and the Mandalorian, you offer them a small smile. Though you cannot see the Mandalorian's eyes behind his beskar helmet, you know that he is watching you intently, his protective nature evident in the way he stands.

Beeb chirps softly, his mechanical whirring a soothing balm to your ears. You feel grateful for his presence, as he has been a constant companion and ally on your journey.

The Mandalorian's gloved hand rests gently on the small of your back, his touch sending a shiver through you, a feeling of safety and protection. With the Child cradled in your arms, and Beeb by your side, you follow the Mandalorian as he leads the way out of the sterile lab and into the dark, foreboding corridors of the Imperial Base.

The echoes of your footsteps fill the air as you move swiftly and quietly, every step filled with purpose and determination. You can feel the weight of the Child in your arms, his breathing steady and calm, and you're filled with a sense of responsibility, a deep need to protect him at all costs.

The Mandalorian's beskar helmet gleams in the dim light, and you can't see his eyes, but you sense his strength and resolve, his unwavering commitment to getting all of you out of there alive.

As you make your way through the winding corridors, you can feel the tension rising, the air thick with danger and the threat of discovery. But the Mandalorian's presence at your side, and Beeb's chirping encouragement, keep you focused and grounded, and you move forward with a steady pace.

Together, the four of you press on, determined to escape the Imperial Base and get the four of you to safety.

Tag list: @babygirlrex0504 @alienated-green-tea @fatima-marisa @dindjarindude @sharin1806 @ruthyalva96 @avengersfan25 @i-say-choco-you-say-ice-cream @the-anchored-sailor-girl @erissco @vintageoldfashion

☼ Please note that I do not wish to have my work translated or published on any third party reading websites. I claim the rights to my work.

☼ Where I don’t have any rights to the characters, many ideas and OC are my own creation. Please respect that.

[canmom]

Music theory (for science bitches) INTERLUDE A - what's with a guitar?

Got to play guitar for the first time in me life last night! Answered a lot of questions about one of the world's most common instruments, some I knew I had, some I didn't.

So here's what I picked up.

Tuning

The guitar I tried playing was an electric guitar with four strings that had been modified to be tuned in fifths, which apparently makes it similar to a tenor guitar - a familiar tuning for me since the violin and erhu are also tuned in fifths. But guitars are usually tuned in fourths.

'Tenor' here isn't really referring to a specific range the way it does in regards to singers - it seems kinda like more of an adjective meaning 'higher than usual and tuned in fifths'. So you can have the strange-sounding 'tenor bass' guitar. Although with the more obscure guitar variants, the language seems to be kind of a free-for-all.

Tenor guitars are usually shorter than regular guitars, and with different strings, but ultimately as long as you don't break the strings, you can tune to whatever frequencies by adjusting the tension. The standard guitar tunings are ultimately a matter of convention.

Besides that, the major design differences between a guitar and a violin type instrument are... the strings are arranged flat rather than in an arc, and they have frets.

The flat arrangement makes it much easier to play chords. You can simply move your fingers, or plectrum, in a straightish line and hit multiple strings.

Frets are metal rods which protrude from the fingerboard, and they make it much easier to hit particular pitches. You press the string behind the fret (further from the bridge/soundbox), and this holds the string against the fret, reducing the vibrating segment to an exact length. So there's no need to train your muscle memory and ear to recognise whether your fingering is in tune, as is the case on violin, erhu and the like. But it does make pitch-varying techniques like vibrato require a different approach. More on that in a bit.

The frets are positioned in semitones. There are some little dot markings that indicate the major third, the fourth, the fifth, the major sixth and a double dot for the octave, which helps with navigation.

Due to the way guitar strings are tuned, the way you construct chords is a little counterintuitive. Let's take for example a standard minor triad chord.

On a piano, you play the base note, a note three semitones up from that (the minor third), and a note seven semitones up from the base (the fifth). This will generally result in your fingers being fairly evenly spaced, e.g. A minor looks like...

On a guitar it's a bit more complicated. Intuitively, you might expect to play the three notes in this chord in order, on strings of increasing pitch, but if you try this you would conclude realise that the gap between strings is larger than a major third.

So, the strings I had were tuned DAEB (similar to a violin, but without the G on the bottom, instead gaining a B on top). If you want to play A minor you need to play A, C and E. The A and E can be played on open strings, but what about that C? It lies in between those two strings.

So, I thought, what if I played the C on the D string underneath the A? In that case, you'd put your finger on the 11th fret of the D string and strum the D, A and E strings. That would hit the same notes you would hit on a piano, just arranged differently on the instrument...

However, that is not how guitar players normally form chords. The reason is that, while this may work for open strings well enough, if you wanted to play a minor triad further up, it doesn't really work at all: there's no physical way your hand can be up at the top of the guitar on some strings and all the way down at that C for others.

Instead, guitar players take advantage of the convention of octave equivalency and play the next C up. This can be reached on the B string very easily, so for this A minor chord, you can play it on A, E and B:

On a piano, this chord would look like this:

This would be a goofy thing to do on a piano, but it makes things much easier on guitar.

In terms of the resulting sound, this will shift the fundamental of the C up an octave, and remove a certain proportion of the overtones - more on that in the upcoming next part of the music theory notes (for science bitches) series. So it will affect the timbre of the sound. However, it will still generally sound like A minor.

That's all well and good if you've got open strings in your chord, but what if you want to play, say, B minor? Well, you can use one of your fingers in a technique called a 'bar', which simply means you hold your whole finger against the fingerboard to press all the strings at a particular fret...

This essentially lets you calculate the chords in the same way as you would at the open strings, so you can just memorise the general shape of minor chords and slide it around.

My friend came up with a few little chord progressions for me to play. For communicating them she would say like 'ok then play 2 2 0 0' with the numerals communicating which fret/semitone to play - I believe this is similar to the notation used in tablature. (In this case that would amount to E B E B, a doubled-up 'power chord'). She figured out the progression pretty intuitively - when we worked out the names it turned out to include a variety of suspended or diminished chords or one chord over another, and other such things. (She had a phone app that would let you put in the positions and would tell you a name).

One of the cool features of a physical instrument is that you can just try shit. It was very informative to see how chord progressions come together and how the different voices seem to relate to each other.

The mechanics of playing the thing

The other major difference with guitar is like... damn those things are long!

Although the body of an electric guitar does not have to act as a soundbox, the shape of the guitar still turns out to be way more constrained and thought-out than I realised. There are all sorts of cutaways designed to help the guitar balance comfortably on your leg, sit comfortably against your abdomen, and so on. The 'horns' of the guitar aren't just decorative: they allow you to slide your hand further down the neck.

I got to see an ultra-light 'headless' guitar where the tuning pegs are at the bottom end, which saves weight. There are all sorts of little nuances about where the cable goes and so on.

The most awkward part was really the hand that goes on the neck and plays the chords. The frets help but they don't go that far.

Honestly, making chords on a guitar... my fingers are apparently pretty long, but it still felt like I'm contorting my hand, like I could feel the tension so much stretching across even a few frets. By the same token, pressing the strings was ouchy. It was the same on the zhonghu when I started though, so I'm sure if I kept at it I'd get the callouses I'd need to not feel painful anymore.

It can be quite important where you place your fingers between frets. Too far from the fret, and you don't create a good contact, so the string doesn't sound properly. Too close to the fret, like if you're right on top of it, can also be problematic. You have to apply enough pressure to hold the string firmly against the fret. All of this impressed on me how fiddly it is to play one of these things, let alone do it in a showy ostentatious way like guitarists do.

Strumming was also a bit fiddly. Unexpectedly, the biggest problem I tended to have was strumming too hard. With all the amplification involved, it seems you want a really light touch, just brushing the plectrum (or fingers) against the strings.

It turns out there's some complexity to strumming and plucking. My first instinct was to just go up down, up down, but it seems like actually the best approach is to alter the direction for different musical phrases, so sometimes you want to go two 'ups' in a row or two 'downs' in a row with something like a 'null stroke' in between to get your hand in position. This apparently just comes intuitively to an experienced guitarist, just like bowing does to an experienced violinist or erhu player, but maintaining the pattern definitely added to the cognitive load of the instrument at my level.

The guitar I was playing had a "synchronised tremolo bridge", similar to the one in the picture, meaning it was on a kind of levered spring anchored only at one end. Unlike a violin or erhu, the bridge of a guitar is very very close to where the strings are anchored, and adjustable per-string. The lever you see on some guitars is used to tilt the bridge while the strings are sounding, creating a vibrato (oscillation of pitch) effect. (I don't know why it's called a tremolo bridge rather than a vibrato bridge. In classical music 'tremolo' refers to either playing a bunch of the same note really fast, or oscillating volume. But this bridge definitely primarily affects pitch.)

(Incidentally, some guitars have non-parallel bridges and frets designed to give the lower strings more distance to play with which affects the relationship between string weight, tension, and pitch - it's a whole thing apparently.)

You can also create a vibrato effect by wiggling the string sideways against the fingerboard to adjust the tension in it.

The electric part

The big difference between an electric guitar and an acoustic guitar is that the vibrations in the strings are used not for the sound they make directly, but as an input into a signal chain.

I had wondered for a long time how guitar pickups work. It turns out they work by magnetic induction; the string is made of ferromagnetic material and the pickups have little magnets in them which induce a magnetic field in the string, and the vibrations of this magnetic field are picked up by an electromagnet inside the guitar. This has the interesting implication that an electric guitar does not require a medium to generate a sound, so it would work just fine in space (though of course the amplifier must be in air to transmit sound).

There are multiple sets of pickups at different points along the string, which means they get different sets of overtones depending on the amplitude of the different standing waves near that pickup; there is a little liver on the face of the guitar which allows you to adjust which pickup is active. Selecting the pickup closer to the bridge is effectively a kind of mechanical high pass filter on the strings.

The weak alternating current created by the vibrating strings is then passed along a shielded coaxial cable to an amplifier. This creates an opportunity to mess around with that signal - to add reverb, equalisation, etc. or more purely electric effects like 'phasing' and 'flanging'.

The 'distortion' effect so widely used in rock and related genres comes from multiplying the signal pre-amplification to the point that it saturates the amplifier, resulting in an effect similar to digital clipping. Traditionally this was done by literally boosting the signal louder than the amp's tolerances (referred to as 'gain' by guitarists), but nowadays they've found ways to get an equivalent effect that are less likely to break the equipment. (Honestly, I liked the 'cleaner' sound of when the guitar was not clipping a lot more than the heavily distorted version, but it's worth noting here as one of the most well known guitar effects)

These effects are typically implemented using 'pedals' which are just a small circuit that applies a particular toggleable signal modification, making the whole chain of guitar - pedals - amplifier collectively act as something like a modular synthesiser. The guitar acts as a signal generator, the pedals and amp process it, and finally it's played out of a speaker.

This is not unique to guitars, the same principles would basically apply to any 'electric' instrument, but for whatever historical reason guitars were the instrument that became 'electric' first, and they're still by far the most common.

It was interesting to me how technical the whole setup is. The amp has all sorts of dials to apply built-in effects and adjust its tone response in various ways; the guitar also had a few.

Analogue instruments give fairly limited options to control timbre. So like, on the erhu for example - you have a huge amount of pitch control, you can do a lot to adjust dynamics with the way you move your bow, but for timbre there's only a handful of dimensions in the 'parameter space' and like, ultimately I'm finding my way to a 'best way to do it' where it 'sounds like an erhu is supposed to sound'.

Electric instruments on the other hand has a huge multidimensional space of timbre possibilities, so if you understand guitars, you can stand on an amp for a while zeroing in on the exact sound you want while the infatuated canmom sitting next to you gets increasingly hot under the collar. For understanding what's going on in guitar music, it's evident classical theory can only get you so far.

So...

...am I gonna start learning guitar too now? As much as I admire my friend's ability to play dozens of different instruments... not in any sort of serious way, erhu/zhonghu is gonna be my main instrument for a good while (and I physically could not take a guitar home with me anyway with all the shit I'm carrying). But it's very interesting to see other parts of the string instrument space, and definitely gives me a better appreciation for all the things guitarists are doing.

Music's cool, I regret that I stopped playing... but now's definitely a good time to get back into it!!

[gableforks]

In defense of Captain Kyōraku vs Coyote Starrk

I recently saw a creator say that Zaraki Kenpachi would have been a better match for Stark than Shunsui due to the parallel between Yachiru and Lillinette, which is fair but I want to throw my support behind the fight Kubo decided to give us.

My first watch through Bleach, I was underwhelmed by Stark. He didn't have Barragons hax or Ulqiorra's showing and he was the only espada besides Aaroniero who was beaten without bankai. Upon reading the manga, however, Starrk has come to be my favorite of the espada due to Kubo's great characterization.

Starrk's backstory starts in Hueco Mundo, after he split his soul in two, creating the separate characters that are Starrk and Lilynette. He did this to cure his lonliness as no other hollow could retain their reishi body in the presence of his immense power. Eventually he's approached by Aizen who stretches out his hand to Starrk, asking him to be his ally.

The espada contains nine other hollows that are able to withstand Starrks spiritual pressure, finally giving Starrk a shot at friendship. He is one of four vastolords, along with Barragan, Harribel, and Ulquiorra, who's aspects of death are aging, sacrifice and emptiness. There seems to be a rift between the vasto lords and adjuchas who have more primal aspects atributed to their persons; despair, destruction, ecstacy, insanity, greed, and wrath. We see Nel's relationship with Nnoitra and Ulquiorra's with Grimmjow. in both of these we're shown the gap in power, the lack of regard and relatability a more human vasto lord shows to an adjuchas. Stark and Ulquirra have an added degree of seperation being naturally occuring Arrancars.

Jushiro and shunsui are among the only people that Starrk would have been able to see as an equal. Starrk as the espada representing lonliness in death, didn't need the soul-king killed; he did not need soul society destroyed and he especially did not need the captain of the 8th company dead. Starrk even tries to get the captain to pretend to fight till the battle is over, a scene reminiscent of Kyōraku asking Chad to stay for tea till the end of the Ryoka invasion in the Soul Society arc.

Starrk is so powerful, that in Hueco Mundo, no one could even approach him until Aizen, and even when he did, it must not have been lost on Starrk that he was but a tool for the Soul reaper. The only time in Karakura town where Starrk is touchable by anyone besides Kyōraku is when he's jumped by Love and Rose taking advantage of him mourning the death of Barragan.

Kyōraku approaches Starrk with a calmness he must've only seen before in Aizen. (and would most definetly not have seen in Kenpachi) I can't think of a scenario in which Starrk would have had to fight before this encounter. The captain and the espada continue to surprise each other with their speed, strength, and battle instincts. They are feeling each other out as one would a new dancing partner.

There is a reason that Lilynette is Starrk's counterpart. She is bratty, uncooperative and ignorantly unhindered by the gap in power between Ukitake and herself. Despite the indifference the captain shows to her attacks, and the ease with which he swats away her cero, she does not stop trying to reach him. She is the face of Starrks desparation and lack of opportunity for growth.

Starrk's ability to split his soul is how we get both lillenette and the wolves used to defeat Love and Rose. When Starrk wants to get serious he absorbs Lillinette back into himself.The wolves he sends out do not return to him. He himself cannot cure his own lonliness, forced to retreat into himself when push comes to shove, and self destructing when that is not enough.

Kyōraku's shikai forces his opponent to follow the rules of children's games. Who better to come up against him than the man who's lonely, unfulfilled inner child is shown to us. Bleach is full of characters who blur the line between battle and sport; Kenpachi, White, Ikkaku, Grimmjow etc. Starrk is less expressive than these guys but for the first time ever although for a criminally short time, he and lilynette are able to experience high stakes, forced to get creative, and most importantly, they Play.

[ficretus]

Knightfall Joan of Arc theory summary

In this post I wanted to summarize all my previous theories into one post so it can be more presentable. Yeah, bit ironic I am making this post after series officially went into limbo state, but what can you do.

Jaune's Joan of Arc will be positive subversion of her tragic fate. Previous volumes seemingly reject Jaune's martyrdom and he subverts more successful aspects of Joan's life in favor of repeated failures. He will likely have a happy ending instead to compensate.

Jaune's Joan of Arc will subvert virginity of the original. He has normal romantic interests and is found to be attractive by several female characters. This not only subverts virginity of Joan of Arc, it also subverts the fact her male companions didn't feel any attraction towards her.

Jaune's love interest will likely be character based on Dauphin. While their relationship was platonic, when you remove virginal aspect of Joan of Arc character based on Dauphin makes the most sense. Her male companions don't stick out from each other in any way, while Dauphin was her one and only.

Cinder matches Dauphin the most out of all characters. Both characters were raised in hotel, both had terrible relationship with their mother figure,both were responsible for murder of their oppressor, both were abandoned by their father figure and declared an outlaw after said murder, both were taken in by powerful queen dowager, both were bound to said queen dowager (one through marriage, other through Grimm arm), both claimed the power of divine origin (if you look at title of king through the lens of Medieval Europe), both are missing the crown connected to that power, both are rivaled by younger enemy with rose emblem, both had initial success before continuously losing despite having an advantage, both have deep self worth issues, both are disliked by both their enemies and allies, etc.

Their age gap matches the characters relatively well. Dauphin was 9 years Joan's senior. While Cinder is likely only older than Jaune by 4-5 years, it is still suitable age gap. Joan was more mentally mature than Dauphin, which is reflected with Jaune being middle aged man in the body of a teen after Volume 9.

Connections between Joan of Arc story and Indecisive King. In universe fairy tale that is connected to Relic of Choice has a lot of shared elements with initial portion of Joan of Arc story (peasant woman that had her village destroyed seeks out King, King is burdened by his Crown, through visions of the future peasant woman is able to help the King where his advisors couldn't). Story ends with characters that seem connected to Jaune and Cinder getting married.

Any relationship other than enmity between them would be suitably heretical. Joan's involvement with Dauphin was hated by both enemies and allies alike (mostly Dauphin's advisors). Her enemies tried to discredit her by claiming she committed the heresy when she crowned Dauphin. Any redemption Cinder receives through Jaune would be seen as a heresy from both friends and foes. Act of giving a crown to the king connects this back to Indecisive KIng story.

Seemingly Cinderella element in the first encounter between Dauphin and Joan. This is connection thread between their respective primary allusions. Joan takes the role of a Prince, being savior figure to Dauphin's Cinderella. To test her abilities, Dauphin masked himself as common servant, despite all that, Joan still recognized him and ended up helping him.

Connection through Pyrrha. In Jaune's Joan of Arc story Pyrrha takes the role of Archangel Michael. Being both model warrior everyone aspires to be as well as taking the role of primary voice guiding Jaune (just like Michael was guiding voice for Joan). Joan and Dauphin were both connected through Michael as he was their patron saint. Pyrrha is negative subversion of that connection since it is through the murder. However, it drives the characters to interact with each other.

Power imbalance. Dauphin was King, Joan was peasant girl. There is a similar power imbalance between Cinder and Jaune, one being Maiden (one of the most powerful beings in the verse) while other is mostly an average Huntsman. Power imbalance is exacerbated by the fact Cinder refuses to acknowledge Jaune in any way and actively mocks him for thinking he can challenge her.

Those were the main points I wanted to add here. Feel free to comment if you feel like I missed something or you have your own interpretations.

[strangewomanactuallylargebass]

Ranking the Madagascar ☆comics☆ (because why not)

Before I get into it, I'll lay down my criteria for what exactly counts as a comic in this ranking. For one, it has to actually be available (so I'll unfortunately be excluding two of the TPOM comics since they are not available to read anywhere). For two, I'll be doing it in terms of the physical copies I own - that means for the ones I have singular issues of I'll count each issue as it's own comic, but for the ones I have graphic novels of I'll count the entire graphic novel as one comic. Maybe I'll rank every story individually eventually, but that'll be for another time. I also want to preface this by saying that despite any negatives I may point out in the ranking, I do still love all of the comics, and they all have something exceptional to them that makes them worth reading. Anyway -

15. DreamWorks Classics Presents Madagascar #2 - Game On: This one...isn't great. The stories aren't very interesting, and feel pretty pointless overall. The first story involves Melman thinking he's sick while on Madagascar, and the other two involve the zoosters getting involved in hijinks back at the zoo. There are a few standout moments (including one of my favorite quotes ever from Julien), but overall the stories just aren't that engaging.

14. The Penguins of Madagascar #3 - Operation Wonder From Down Under! Part 3: This story is also isn't too interesting. There are some funny moments with the penguins encountering some jerboas who want to rule the world, but other than that the story just feels like it's trying to take up space and fill in the gap between issues #2 and #4.

13. Penguins of Madagascar: The Great Drain Robbery: This comic has a few stories all set after Penguins of Madagascar, and showcase the penguins travelling between hideouts and missions. It has a lot of potential, and that's the problem - that potential is never taken advantage of. There were so many cool stories set up, and with a few more lines of dialogue explaining some things the stories could've been taken to another level. Instead, the stories feel confusing and all over the place, jumping from one point to the next with no rhyme or reason. There are of course some fun stories and jokes, but overall it is just such a shame that the full potential of this comic wasn't realized.

12. The Penguins of Madagascar #4 - Operation Wonder From Down Under! Part 4: I'd say at this point in the ranking is when the comics go from "alright" to "pretty good". The penguins finish a story arc here and finally reach Australia. There are some great jokes with the penguins not understanding human technology, and there are some fun interactions amongst the penguins themselves (especially regarding a few panels that have Kowalski and Rico interacting). When the lemurs and penguins finally meet up again, there are some parts that feel exactly like an episode of The Penguins of Madagascar.

11. The Penguins of Madagascar #1 - Operation Wonder From Down Under! Part 1: This comic is pretty good. It feels exactly like the setup to one of the specials in TPOM, and it feels like an exciting return to form. The penguins are being skeptical and doing their paranoid-military thing, Julien and Maurice have their usual back-and-forth thing going on, and the cliffhanger at the end puts the reader on the edge of their seat, excited for what's to come. The only downside is the art style - it's alright for most of it, nothing special, but some of the time (especially in regards to Maurice's character design) it is truly awful.

10. Madagascar #1: The art style in this comic is actually fantastic. There are some great character moments, and the banter between Alex and Nana is on point. It's a fun little romp through the New York City streets, and it's always nice to see Nana interacting with Alex again. Since this comic presumably takes place some time before The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper, Nana is much more mellow in regards to her attitude towards the animals; however, she still very much acts like her usual self at times.

9. Madagascar #4: This one is great! The penguins get a great introduction, and it feels like there's a nice blend in personality between how they act in the first film and how they act in the other movies and show. The way the zoosters and penguins go about achieving their goals is actually quite reminiscent of Merry Madagascar, in a way, but without feeling like a useless rehash. There's some nice character development, fun jokes, and a surprise cameo appearance from the lemurs!

8. The Penguins of Madagascar #2 - Operation Wonder From Down Under! Part 2: This is my favorite issue of the Wonder From Down Under story arc. There are some great backgrounds and character designs utilized in the jungle setting, and it really makes the most out of the series' art style. The jungle animals are fun, the story is progressed in an intriguing way, and Kowalski and Skipper have some great back-and-forth conversation. Also, the backup story featuring Private's birthday is really touching.

7. Madagascar 3: Long Live The King!: This comic has two fun stories that serve as a prelude to Madagascar 3. We see the penguins and chimps get up to some shenanigans in Monte Carlo prior to the zooster's arrival, and there's a hilarious (though admittedly somewhat predictable) twist at the end. The backup story with the circus is great, too, and there are some really emotional moments between Vitaly and Gia.

6. The Penguins of Madagascar: Operation Weakest Link & Other Stories: These stories are fantastic, and feel like they were ripped straight from an actual episode of The Penguins of Madagascar. The first story has some unique pairings of characters, showcasing some character interactions that we never really got a chance to see in the show itself. The second story has some fun moments with the penguins finding out more about the lives of humans, with the penguins coming closer together by the end.

5. Penguins of Madagascar: The Elite-est of the Elite: Right about here at the top 5 is where the comics go from "pretty good" to "you should absolutely check these out because of how great they are". This comic has a fantastic multi-part story involving the penguins and the North Wind teaming up yet again. There are twists, turns, and awesome action set-pieces. Everything is cohesive with one thing directly leading to the next, and feels like if The Great Drain Robbery had managed to reach its full potential. It's overall a lot of fun, and there are some really neat short stories at the end that expand on the North Wind as well as give us some cute moments between the penguins when they were babies!

4. Madagascar #2: I had always imagined the zoosters having more escape attempts besides the hot air balloon in Merry Madagascar, and this comic delivered on exactly that. There are some hilarious panels and pages with all the animals working together to get the zoosters off the island, and each attempt is better than the last. It's nice to get to see more of how the zoosters felt in their time on Madagascar, and the lemurs are the standout as usual.

3. DreamWorks Classics Presents Madagascar #1 - Hide & Seek: As I briefly mentioned with the last comic, I always find it so interesting to see the zoosters' lives on Madagascar in between the first and second films. This comic, then, fully delivers on that. We get to see so many great moments with the zoosters transitioning from life in New York to life on Madagascar, and the penguins are fantastic in their brief appearance here. Also, in the third story Maurice is definitely the stand out and is the best character.

2. DreamWorks Classics Presents Madagascar #3 - Let Them Eat Cake: The first story has some great interactions between King Julien, Maurice, and Mort, and Julien's personality feels like the perfect blend between his movie personality, his All Hail King Julien personality, and his TPOM personality. The second story is a bit of fun, though not anything too spectacular. The third story, however, is what really makes this comic one of my favorites. The premise involves Julien placing a property tax upon the beach the zoosters reside on, the zoosters subsequently retaliate. This has got to be one of my favorite stories of any of the comics, and as a whole helps elevate this comic to something fabulous.

Madagascar #3: This comic is simply stupendous, phenomenal, fantabulous, and any other similarly descriptive words. The plot involves Julien finally making his way back to Madagascar after abandoning it all those years ago in the second film, but finding out that another lemur has taken his place as king in the meantime. Our main lemur trio is just the best, and the royal competitions Julien has to take part in make for a great setup for some hilarious jokes. The rival king is just as stuck-up as Julien, yet seemingly even more self-centered and ignorant. The ending is one of the best parts, and makes for this comic to be a wonderful addition to the franchise as whole. While it's a shame that there weren't any real references to AHKJ or TPOM, it's understandable since this isn't the type of franchise to be completely interconnected.

And those are my thoughts. While there were a few missteps here and there, taken as a whole I am so glad the comics are a thing that exists for the franchise.

[symphonic-scream]

More detail about Makoto(and haru possibly)?

Oh absolutely

Especially since a lot of facts about the two go hand In hand. Or paw in paw-

Get it cause. Cause

I'll tell you about Makoto

She's a turned werewolf. That means she was bitten and gained the curse of lycanthropy through a. Pretty traumatic event. Her bite mark scar is still there, near her right hip. It's just higher, like. Right at that gap between hip and rib

Every full moon after that first one, Makoto is locked in the boiler room of their apartment complex, in the dark, alone. There's one ratty blanket, for when she transforms back so she doesn't get cold before Sae wakes up and brings her a change of clothes

She doesn't go out for a minute after the sky starts to darken, from age 13. Well. Until one fateful night when she became acquainted with the Phantoms for the first time. Through. A bloody accident

Cause the solution for Kaneshiro? Death :) He doesn't give up his power to return it back to Morgana. No. He dies

See. The Phantoms are tracking him down completely separately from Makoto. They're after him for the magic, she's after him cause he's taking advantage of her fellow students

And on the next full moon, Sae has to stay late working on a case and decides to trust Makoto to lock herself in the boiler room. With a promise that if she's not down there when Sae goes to fetch her in the morning, all trust will be taken back.

Does Makoto stay home? No, she goes to confront the Mafia, believing she'd make it home in time. And. She does not. The Phantoms turn up just as the sun rises, to see Makoto transform back from a beast that had killed the entire Kaneshiro mafia

Like. All of them

It's then a race to get her cleaned up and back in the boiler room, where Sae does find her. Saving Makoto from having to be chained up every moon, and giving her a big reason to trust them

Also. That's the night she finds out she's gay.

Makoto joins the gang, helping them get away with more things at school, helping them study better, and making Yusuke no longer the only member with an animal form at that time

Until then she was using a leather belt to keep her tail in place, leading to chaffing on her thigh and leaving her tail sore. Ann's parents design clothing for monsters, and she has them create a softer tail bind for her

And now for some Haru too

So they are dating in this au. As of the end of the Okumura arc. They're sweethearts, with Haru sneaking into the boiler room on full moons to comfort a frightened Moonkoto. She brings little nightlights, blankets, pillows, stashing them behind a boiler before she leaves in the morning. And just

The mental image of big full moon wolf Makoto being all kind and gentle as she receives a nose rub from this ragdoll cat, the two curling up to sleep on a little blanket nest

Ragdoll cats are quite big, so Haru's cat form is still large despite her not being fully grown. She's practically like a little weighted blanket for Makoto, when she lies on her. A very cute weighted blanket

Haru is also monumental in getting Makoto to accept her like, inner wolf stuff. Theres that

Oh and. A little thing about them in Strikers. The day Zenkichi approaches everyone is the same day there's an illegitimate lesbian wedding in Leblanc. Gay marriage isn't legal and they're technically only like. 18. So. They have a mock ceremony with Morgana officiating as they perform a soul bond ritual

So they're literally Soul Mates.

[arc-misadventures]

What Are Those?!! XIII

Ozpin: Welcome, Miss Sienna Khan, it is a pleasure to meet you. Allow me to welcome you to, Beacon Academy.

Sienna: Charmed…

Ozpin: While a tour of the facilities is a common procedure for welcoming visiting dignitaries, you no doubt care more about meeting him than any of that.

Sienna: Indeed I am, if the rumours are true, this could bring about a new age for the faunas as a whole. And, since my dear friend, Kali Belladonna assures me that he is indeed a dragon faunas of some sorts, “A hunter must see with their eyes, to confirm what hear with their ears.”

Ozpin: A noble statement. One I dare say must be said to my students more often. Now, enough delay, Mr. Arc is currently in the training hall for his lessons. If you’ll follow me…

Sienna: Lead the way then…

~~~

Ozpin: And, here we are, one of Beacon’s many training facilities.

Sienna: And, where is he?

Ozpin: Hmm… Oh, he’s one the stage.

Sienna: Which one, there are two boys there?

Ozpin: The one who looks like a knight.

Sienna: A knight…? Hmmm…

~~~

Mercury: So, you’re the guy with all the sexy faunas draped across him.

Jaune: If you’re thinking about asking me to hook you up with one, you can forget it. The last person who ‘asked’ is still growing back his hair.

Mercury: What if I beat you in this fight, will you introduce me to one of them then?

Jaune: Let me think… No, no way in hell. They’re not mine to give, no matter what people say.

Mercury: We’ll see about that!

Glynda: If you two are done talking we shall begin the match. The match will end if either of you are knocked out of the ring, or if your aura reaches red. Understood?

Jaune: Understood.

Mercury: Yeah yeah, I got it.

Glynda: Very well then… Begin!

Mercury’s shot out towards, Jaune, his gunboots propelling him towards him as he planted a high kick against his shield. He blasted back again with his boot, shoving Jaune back from the recoil of the shot.

Mercury closed the gap between them his kick boxing style of shooting at his shield, and kicking ever higher forced, Jaune to block high, while his sword came down to smack away any of his attempts to shoot out his legs trying to knock him down. Unfortunately, Jaune couldn’t bloke every shot.

Just as, Jaune calculated, Mercury shot at his foot, breaking his balance, and causing him to fall onto the floor. Mercury pressed his advantage, with an over arching hick kick that slammed on the ground where he once lay.

Jaune quickly rolled to the side, climbing to his knees. But, his balance was weak as he was struggling to counter his fast opponent, because of this, Mercury shot at his sword hand, knocking it away from his grasp.

A cry of alarm, and shock echoed through the hall, he could here the gasps of his friends, and the jeers of those who wanted him to pay for all the attention he had been getting from the female faunas as of late. All the while, Mercury looked down on him with a cocky smirk.

Mercury: Hehe… This is easier than I thought! So much for the ‘powerful’ dragon faunas! Ha!

Jaune, was really getting tired of people treating him like some sort of god. Much less using it as a means to tease him.

Mercury: You know what… Forget the faunas, how about I take your partner instead, that Nikos girl… Yeah! Wouldn’t that be fun instead?! Hahahaha!

Something snapped inside, Jaune’s mind. He didn’t know what it was, but it was dark, vicious, and violent. And, as of this moment it wanted on thing, and one thing only; Mercury’s severed head.

He threw his shield at the arrogant prick like a frisbee intent on having it take, Mercury’s head in the process. However, Mercury easily dodged it, he turned to give a cocky grin at, Jaune. But, his eyes soon opened into shock, and alarm as, Jaune charged opponent.

Mercury prepared a round house kick, with his left leg, sending it flying with a blast of his boot. Mercury’s thought process was simple: Hit him with a round house kick, deplete his aura, steal his woman, easy as that. However, he did not expect, Jaune to counter him. Much less, in the manner of which he did so.

Jaune, hadn’t expected this either, but he simply reacted to, Mercury’s attack by biting his leg.

A shocked cry of alarm, excitement echoed through the hall. Many had seen the quote, dirty side of fighting, but this was on a whole different level.

Ozpin gazed down with a shocked expression in his eyes, for the battle had taken an unexpected turn.

All the while, Sienna leaned forward, with a delightful glint in her eyes, and a wicked smile across her face. Things have certainly gotten interesting, very interesting indeed.

Jaune, himself hadn’t expected this. All in all it was a clever tatic, after all who would expect your opponent to literally bite down on their whole leg. But, Jaune noticed something very interesting that no one bar, Mercury would know about his leg. He hadn’t bitten into aura, nor had he bitted into flesh, he had bitten into metal, poor quality metal at that. Which gave, Jaune an idea.

Jaune’s left hand grabbed onto, Mercury’s leg, and he bit down, hard. He could feel his fangs bite down into the cheap metal of, Mercury’s prosthetic leg. Fire erupted from, Jaune’s mouth, burning the fabric of, Mercury’s pant leg in seconds. And, by the time, Mercury knew what was happening, it was already too late.

With a cry of torn metal, and sparks of electricity Mercury’s leg was rended in two. Cries of fear, and alarm carried out throughout the training hall as, Mercury fell to the floor. Mercury’s eyes were wide in shock, and fear as, Jaune towered over him, the remains of his leg still held within his mouth.

Jaune spat our his leg, letting the broken prosthetic limb fall to the floor with a dull thud. Before, Mercury could say anything, Jaune was upon him. His hand was upon his neck, pinning him to the floor. Jaune raised his hand, he flexed his fingers, and sharp talons appeared at the end of them. Jaune snarled at his foe, flames of fire jutted out between his teeth as he broght his hand crashing down, and…!

Glynda: Enough!

Jaune stopped, his taloned hand mere inches from, Mercury’s face.

Glynda: That is enough, Jaune! He’s defeated! Get off of him…

Jaune spared, Glynda a passing glance before he retracted his talons. But, he didn’t get up, he had one final word to pass on to he defeated foe. Jaune leaned down to silently whisper into Mercury’s ear. His breath was hot upon his ear, but Mercury knew it was not because of his breath, but from the fire that raged within.

Jaune: Say anything… Anything like that to me, or my friends again… And, I will gut you like the pig you are…

Jaune shoved, Mercury’s head to the floor, leaving the sack of crap where he belonged. Not caring for the stunned silence that fallowed his foot falls as he retrieved his weapons. The silence seems to last in the air for some time, until Professor Goodwitch finally spoke up.

Glynda: Ahem… Winner, Jaune Arc! By incapacitating his opponent!

A series of cheers came from his faunas classmates, as well as from his teams in friends. While many others looked on in shock at the madness they had just before witnessed. The cheers, and joyous applause soon died, with the indignation of fury, that came from the defeat, and humiliated, Mercury.

Mercury: The fuck?! That animal just tore off my leg?! Why the fuck are you all celebrating?! And, why the fuck did he win?!

Glynda: He won, because you are clearly unable to battle, something of which should be taken as a given. As for your leg, something like this was bound to happen.

Mercury: Bound to happen, the fuck are you talking about.

Glynda: Mind your tone boy! Unless you focused your aura, it would never cover your augmented limbs. If J… Mr. Arc had bitten your arm, you aura would have protected you, but since your leg is not encompassed by your aura, this was inevitably going to happen. And, with this, you lose.

Mercury: Grrrr!!! You’ll pay for this, Arc! You hear me! You will pay for this!

Jaune: I don’t think I have enough to pay for that. So sorry, no can do.

Soon the whole training hall burst into a fit of laughter, as Jaune made his way down to the changing room. All the while, several pairs of eyes stared at him intently, all with a similar thought in their minds.

Desire.

~~~

Ozpin: Well… I must admit, I did not expect that, nor anyone else for that matter. So tell me, Miss Khan, what do you think of Beacon’s, Dragon?

Sienna said nothing as she stared intently as the man walked away from them. A smile spread across her face as she leaned over the railing watching him leave. She quickly licked her lips in hunger before she stood up to address the Headmaster of Beacon Academy.

Sienna: Tell me, how soon can I meet him. Our new King~?

[anueutsuhos-touhou-profiles]

Sumireko Usami, Part 2:

In Touhou 15.5: Antinomy of Common Flowers, Sumireko tries to go to Gensokyo in her dreams as usual, but finds herself trapped in the Dream World! Doremy Sweet appears, and reveals she trapped Sumireko in the Dream World for her own safety: as the nature of Perfect Possession involves someone's Dream World counterpart being pushed out into the real world, it might cause issues with Sumireko's unique condition. As it turns out, this condition has kept the Dream World Sumireko trapped and incapable of doing anything, which has resulted in her developing quite the grudge against her real self.

Suddenly, Yukari Yakumo gaps Sumireko out of the Dream World and sends her to the Outside World, where Sumireko finds her Dream World counterpart is there too... along with another Sumireko! The three duke it out, each insisting she's the real Sumireko and the others are doppelgangers. The outcome is that one of the Sumirekos is left standing, and Sumireko wakes up. Initially, she's relieved it was all just a dream... only for Doremy to be right by her bed. She reveals that she couldn't tell which of the Sumirekos had won that fight, so Dream World Sumireko could be in control of Sumireko's body right now. Doremy doesn't care, though, thinking it doesn't matter either way.

This ambiguity is resolved in the next game, Sumireko's very own starring role, Touhou 16.5: Violet Detector (violetdetector is apparently her Instagram username). In it, she seems to have become trapped in the Dream World yet again, facing the Dream World counterparts of the cast of Legacy of Lunatic Kingdom and of Hidden Star in Four Seasons. She is able to wake up from this, but for around three weeks she's essentially locked out of Gensokyo. She decides to take advantage of this by taking photos of all their attacks and posting them to social media. Eventually, Okina Matara appears before her and gives her superpowers, admiring her spunk and tenacity. To make things more interesting, Doremy Sweet appears to be attacking her at every turn.

Suddenly, at the very end, the truth is revealed: you were playing as the Dream World Sumireko the whole time, and were keeping Real Sumireko in the Dream World so the Dream World Sumireko could live her life! Doremy was there to try to stop you, and she sends the real Sumireko your way to solve the issue... or rather, her way, as player control abruptly shifts to the Real Sumireko. Another fight between Sumirekos breaks out, and the real one emerges victorious. She wakes up with no memory of the events (like with most dreams), but has a large number of nifty pictures on her phone for some reason.

The explanation for Sumireko's coming to Gensokyo is finally revealed! She was using an urban legend: that of the doppelganger: the idea that someone who looks and acts identically to you lives somewhere in the world, and if you both met, one or both of you would die. This means that in the world of Touhou Project, there are THREE Sumireko Usamis!

Sumireko thinks this makes her a youkai, which is the perfect explanation for her being better than everyone else: she's a superior being to those puny humans! This is still up for debate, however. This does seem to mean that she's never in any danger in Gensokyo. If she died, she'd just abruptly wake up as if it were a mere nightmare. It also means that if the Urban Legend incident ever was resolved, she'd never be able to come to Gensokyo again. Thank Sagume the Urban Legend incident is the new status quo.

Sumireko's story arc seems to have finished with the book The Grimoire of Usami. She inspires Reimu to create a fireworks festival to get donations, having grown tired of the ones she's seen in the Outside World. Reimu invites a few of her friends and Sumireko along as judges for a contest: whoever has the most beautiful spellcards wins!

Of course, things quickly go out of hand, as Shinmyoumaru Sukuna hijacks the fireworks festival with the help of Seija Kijin and Okina Matara, and invites all the most bloodthirsty youkai in Gensokyo to go absolutely nuts without regard for the safety of the audience. Reimu, Marisa, Sanae, Sakuya, and Youmu all have to band together to keep the human audience from getting hurt. Sumireko is one of the many who think it’s all part of the show, especially with how strangely chummy Seija Kijin is getting with her. What does that mean?

Sumireko is amazed at everyone's beautiful, intricate spellcards, and at how passionately they enjoyed themselves. She decides in the end that she doesn’t care if anyone in the Outside World believes in her stories or photos. Gensokyo is real to her, and that's all that matters.

Oh, and she finally interacts with Sanae Kochiya, the other human girl from the Outside World! Their interaction mostly boils down to bonding over their hatred of the public school system in the Outside World.

Sumireko still reappears from time to time, mostly in Curiosities of Lotus Asia, mainly to elaborate more on the political themes of the most recently released game.

Oh, and a bit more characterization: Yukari Yakumo scares Sumireko enough that she refers to her politely as Miss Yakumo. Keep in mind Sumireko refers to fellow sage Kasen as "Kassie".

[tsoa-incorrect-quotes]

New Ideaaa!!!

Patroclus continued to stare at the man in the dark helmet in front of him. Achilles!!! Even as he wear covered in iron and blood, he was able to recognize him. How could he not? He could recognize him by smell alone. He would know him in dark and in madness. He could know him blind.

Then suddenly a spear was thrown at the back of his head. He was distracted, but he caught it just in time. In his sick he had almost forgotten about the battle around him. He broke the spear in his first and left the broken pieces on the ground. He could see the person in the helmet take a step back. He died not care to find out what that means, he had more important things to focus on at the moment.

He rushed to the direction of the Trojan soldiers and he heard the man behind him yell. "Wait!!!"

He jumped into the middle of the fight and took out a weapon. A spear it moved with the grace of a seasoned warrior, his every motion deliberate and calculated. As his adversaries closed in, he shifted his weight effortlessly, anticipating their attacks with uncanny precision. With a swift sidestep, he evaded a swinging fist, simultaneously thrusting his spear forward, its sharp tip finding its mark with deadly accuracy. His footwork was agile, allowing him to swiftly pivot and spin, creating a whirlwind of steel that deflected incoming strikes and sent his enemies reeling.

His strikes were a symphony of lethal artistry. He executed quick jabs, exploiting gaps in his opponents' defenses, before transitioning seamlessly into wide arcing swings that cut through the air like a whirlwind. The length of his spear granted him a critical advantage, keeping his adversaries at bay while he maintained a strategic distance. With each thrust, he thrust his arm forward with explosive force, driving the spearhead into his foes' bodies, eliciting cries of pain and defeat.

The man's movements were not only swift but also precise. He targeted vulnerable spots with surgical accuracy, aiming for unprotected joints, vital organs, and exposed limbs. With each successful strike, he disabled his opponents one by one, leaving them incapacitated or writhing in agony. His mastery of the spear was evident in his ability to seamlessly switch between offensive and defensive maneuvers, parrying and deflecting blows with the shaft of his weapon while simultaneously launching counterattacks. Soon enough he left the soldiers for dead. Butt he did not care for the blood that surrounded him. "Achilles was here. He was back. After all those years. After all the loneliness. After all he put me through, he had the NERVE to return." This was how he allowed himself to appear in the nightmares of the Trojans and Spartans alike.

The boy in the helmet simply stared at him from afar. He assessed the man standing on top of the dead bodies. He could not recognize him. Was this Patroclus? It couldn't be. His love was a gentle boy, he did not severe heads he warmed hearts. He did not fight like this, he was a healer.

This fighting is impressive, but he could not recognize his lover doing such violent things.

They stared back at each other. The dark haired boy was covered in blood, with anger in his eyes. While the blind prince looked at him in fear and confusion, and maybe a little bit of admiration.

(Guys do you guys think Achilles would be the type to enjoy having a badass husband?)

[writtenonreceipts]

Hi friend! How are you today?

I have an idea for a multichapter fanfic but I've never written one before and usually my fics are are more or less 1.5k words long and oneshots. I wrote a oneshot of around 3k once, but that's it. I don't know if it is because English isn't my first language and because I've been told once that I tend to focus too much on descriptions instead of narration, but it looks like to me that I have some sort of "summarizing style" 🥲 also, I write with fear of commitment to long-term fics, as I tend to loose focus and feel drained by the idea of writing so much. Even if I enjoy sitting with my laptop and write a lot (it's satisfying reducing the zoom on Word and watch how many pages I've completed 🙈)

Please, do you have any tips about not fearing a project? How did you stay focused writing FTLOTG and any other multichapter fic you have? And which is the minimum word count for a chapter, in your opinion?

Thank you for reading my ask!

Hey friend! I’m doing well, kept thinking today was Monday when in fact, it is not, haha! So I kept being pleasantly surprised tomorrow is Thursday, thus almost the weekend…any ways

Thanks for reaching out!  As usual once I start talking I don’t shut up.  Made worse that this is written and no one is here to physically restrain me from continuing…take what I say as it works best for you!

First and foremost, all the encouragement and excitement I could possibly rain down on you, I am right now.  Multi-chapters are so much fun, but it is a bit terrifying to take the plunge with.  I think the most important thing to remember is making your style your own and using that to your advantage.  There’s no right or wrong way to tell a story and finding what works best for YOU is the most important part.

Admission time—I am always terrified.  I have been writing for a long time now—not just fic.  I’ve written a few OG novels in between fic and such and really?  It is scary!  Especially when it’s a longer project that you are excited about and really want to share but worry about how well you’ve written or if anyone will like it or if you’ve just wasted time.  (Spoiler: I don’t believe you’re ever wasting time when you’re creating/writing.)

The more I’ve written the more I’ve come to the unfortunate conclusion that plotting is actually really good for your story.  I usually love starting with my random idea (Aelin is a journalist and has to put up with Rowan being a jerk and the tension that flares between them) and just going for it.  FTLOTG mostly came around by me flying by the seat of my pants, only planning when I had to.  When I knew how it was going to end, that’s what gave me a little better direction on the in between.  But if I had taken more time to actually plan that story and work on expanding the plot and characters, I think I would have been more satisfied.

Plotting and outlining also are great ways for you to stay excited and see where the story comes together.

SWAK is one that I’ve plotted out a bit and I can see where different development points have to come in.  Feyre and Rhysand bridging the gap of hating each other?  A hurt comfort scene of Feyre having a nightmare can help with that and open up more ways for them to be vulnerable together.  So now I know how to make the next few chapters a bit more interesting while working with the main plot of the stalker.

Finding these side plots and development features can be a lot of fun and add to the main story so much!  I love the little scenes that at first don’t seem that important but in the end really show off a character’s development.  Like in FTLOTG, Aelin taking Rowan to Malakai’s shop for the first time, how vulnerable that made her but left room for the two to grow together in that moment.

I don’t think there’s any proper word count limit for a chapter, really.  Each chapter can serve as a mini story arc and when the arc is done, it’s done.  I usually tend to aim for 3k words though.  For stories like WWB WWG when I’m trying to get a lot more in (and trying to move plot along a little quicker) I extend that to 5 or 6k words.  But really?  It’s what feels right to you.  I would suggest not cutting off without giving a certain lead in to a fade to black.  Unless it’s a cliffhanger…if that makes sense.  Sometimes abrupt endings just leave a sour taste when there’s nothing BIG happening.  Make sure things are cohesive and work together within the chapter, you could almost consider a chapter a mini-oneshot.  If a chapter feels complete at 1k, that’s it.  If you need to expand some scenes and it gets a little longer, great!  Generally I would say no less then 1k, thought.

But really, and I cannot emphasize this enough, do what works for you! 

Again, sorry, I probably just dumped so much on you that you don’t even care about…I just like talking about writing, haha.  Anyways.  You are going to do great!  The most important thing is to have fun and write for yourself.  If you are proud of the story your telling, that’s all that matters.  Also, your English is great <3