#but tbh i'm also a big fan of the idea of two characters who don't like to show weakness

[purplelea]

I see people getting enthusiastic about the player polycule but will they still be there when I'll start talking about JoshBeat, BeatShiki and Joshiki? not so sure. a shame since those three ships are extremely interesting as well

[l3monlem0n]

Some Murder Drones Episode 7 screenshots I thought were interesting and my thoughts on them :>

SPOILER WARNING!!!! is spoilering

Nori, despite being a middle aged woman with a child, appears to be an Otaku or otherwise likes "edgy" and "scene" stuff, as well as listening to nightcore, very much like her daughter. Good for her tbh you're never too old to have fun

She also has a photo of Khan and what I can only assume is baby Uzi, though it appears to have blue eyes, but maybe it's just the lighting. Still very cute she has a pic of her husband

As well as all the previously mentioned Otaku stuff, she also drew herself as an anime character. She has a skinsona. Phenomenal (pos)

Nothing much here, just Uzi coughing up blood. Girl got the goop (gore) inside of her already

Lab Space. Apparently the Church was just down there and not even the humans know why. The canonicity of this is questionable; it could just be a joke

OT, as per google, stands for "Occupational Therapy". Makes sense for the context, and makes the bottom text funnier

"Fun Time To Universe Big Crunch: 87". The Big Crunch is a hypothetical way the Universe could end, where the universe folds on itself and shrinks into a single point. 87 "what" I don't know. If it's months, that 7 years and 3 months

Honestly the Murder Drones lore is super confusing. I think what this is trying to say is that every other Zombie Drone is doing poorly, (Except for Yeva), they are trying to reactivate 002 (Nori) via the USB. I'm not sure what this means. Maybe they only got the results they wanted from the two of them, and are trying again with Nori since she was the only other one that worked (also why they got Yeva when she failed; this may all be referring to how the episode opened up) Also, the date says SER. As revealed in the episode Cabin Fever, Copper-9 has months that Earth does not. SER most likely stands for Seramorris, the month revealed in that episode

Looks like the "bad event" wasn't the first one. Certainly was the last one though lol

Just a good pic of ghost/hologram V with the scary stuff. Might use this as a wallpaper

You can literally see the hole in his neck where N bit him in...

...And it's to the point his HEAD FALLS OFF. (including because I didn't notice the first time around)

Yup, the idea that Uzi became the Admin for N and V is completely true. I wonder what would've happened if she didn't, since Cyn didn't react whatsoever

friggin bug (very pos)

You would not believe how difficult it was to get a good pic of this (I'm using snipping tool lmao). Always a pleasure to see Uzi's doodles. Things her gun can do (upper right):

NOT judge her

Forced prom date (?)

Allows her to say she had friends before she frickin murdered them with sci-fi machinery

The cut off text at the bottom: Plan B: Normal gun + Shoot really fast

This is while Tessa is looking for something in the lockers. Claws, chains, magnets, Wings, and scribbled "HELP". Looks like the lockers were all specifically to hold the infected worker drones. Oof

We are in the future now baby. We have rererererereCAPTCHA. Funnily enough, it still couldn't stop a robot

There is a message board where someone who doesn't like robots is talking. They also are scared. Also no one else is using this system, which is unsurprising. "Ur aight ;)" Wait is the winky face intentional foreshadowing? Or unintentional?

We get the names of a bunch of other Worker Drones. Unfortunately for all 029 fans, her name was not visible. (also can someone tell me what "JWEB" could be short for?) And Yeva is said to have a patch. That may be the crucible thing idk

Cyn (which I will be calling this version Skyn [Skin + Cyn]) apparently took of the space suit just to give Doll the Withered Foxy jumpscare. Honestly really terrifying. If this photo was teased before release I think the fandom would've exploded

Just N being a good boy :3

The MDs, Cyn's pets. Nori refers to them as "Nerfed" so the "Entity" can ensure control, and says they were made to destroy other hosts. I don't know why Cyn would want them dead, but I'm not the loremaster here. YouTube line is there because I couldn't be bothered after the Railgun image

Probably already confirmed, but doubly confirmed that a symptom of the Solver is giving Drones organic insides. A Worker Drone body with a rib cage and guts. I wonder what would happen if the infection continued uninterrupted (also R.I.P. Doll I loved you :frown:)

I'm sure everyone noticed, but when Uzi tried to manipulate Tessa, the ERROR noticed appeared. Already hinting Tessa is not all she says she is

Apparently the Solver can create Black Hole Saws. Interesting development (Blackhole Blitz)

I know most people (I think) see this as a joke and N just being a bit of goofball. But honestly, I think he did it intentionally to shock Cynuzi and give Nori a chance. In the Pilot, he licked V's sword to surprise her too, which means he isn't unfamiliar with doing something weird and surprising for the advantage

Skyn eating Doll's core. R.I.P. Doll again. Seriously, was that Doll in Core Form like Nori was? Or was Nori a fringe case because she was "Exorcised" and this is just a regular core? Questions, questions. Also yeah the Solver also gives you a Core. Fun

This tag makes me think that this body is Cyn's actual body. Not longer a hologram, but her actual body from the mansion. The reason Tessa gave N, J, and V their names was because that was the first letter of their Serial Designation (she's very uncreative). However, Cyn's tag was slightly faded, which meant her SD couldn't be seen, so Tessa gave her the name "Cyn" after her P/N, even though the other 3 already have the same P/N as Cyn (Tessa, again, is very uncreative)...

...and for some reason, Cyn or the Solver, which ever theory you subscribe to, decided to wear Tessa as a skin suit for some twisted reason. It did help her with the Captcha. Also scary because this doesn't have the right proportions for an adult (unless Cyn really forced that skin on), which leads me to believe that this is a Younger Tessa, and she faked having an older voice. Maybe I shouldn't call her my wife... I'm sure Eldritch J is still available :^)

(Seriously, the eyes are burnt out, leaving two eye holes over the visor, so she gives herself two X eyes so it looks better. Also yeah we found out what that thing on the "It Came From Copper-9" poster came from. It really was Cyn or Skyn)

Just a frame of the final...frame... for coolness. I'm probably also going to use this for a background. Also, this is definitely Copper-9. You can see the ring and ringless moon together on the right. Uzi somehow got sent to orbit after falling in the meat hole

Well that was all for now. This series has consumed me entirely, body and soul, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Goodbye and goodnight

[the-s1lly-corner]

Maybe TADC Characters X Reader who loves gossip?

TADC cast x reader who loves to gossip!

Okok I know I have a track record of saying ik only goinv to answer a few asks then go to bed but I think I might actually

Go to bed soon

Im still feeling unwell and tbh its been getting worse; what was originally stuffy noses and sore throat is now that + fatigue and headaches (but no more sore throat!! Yay!)

Very bad sinus pain though

So uh uh

Only a handful of requests tonight then I might try to sleep

Very short since I'm sick + im on mobile + not many ideas are happening here <\3

CAINE:

Now caine looooooves to gossip, not even as a malicious thing he just likes speculating what the silly people in this circus do when hes not around

I like to think that caine definitely would play match maker should a circus member fall in love with someone, so he asks you for any and all details and secrets

POMNI:

Probably uses your habit of gossiping to try to find an exit. I mean you have a lot of into on other people, what's to say you dont have info on other things? Its worth a shot, at least in her eyes

Thus leads to her uncomfortable sitting next to you while you spew a bunch of stuff that happened before she joined the circus

RAGATHA:

Definitely on the side of "I dont like talking about people behind their back especially if its something petty or none of my business"

Obviously venting is a different story but this ask is specifically about gossip

I don't think she would like gossiping that much, other peoples business isnt her business you know?

Politely asks you to not involve her

JAX:

Jax probably has lied about another circus member before. Harmless rumors, of course, ones that are totally outrageous and only the more gullible would believe

So you two make a powerful duo, when we also take his pranks and jokes into account...

KINGER:

I think he likes some basic gossip. Like a "I heard (x) said (y) to (z), can you believe that" kind of gossip

But does it count as gossip if hes just relaying something most of the other crew knows?

Probably not but given his state of mind half the time can you really blame him?

ZOOBLE:

I took she would occasionally engage on gossip

Is it still considered gossip if its just shit talking, though? Because boy, I really do headcannon that zooble does NOT like jax in particular

Honestly you two can probably sit down and talk about stuff for HOURS

GANGLE:

Very awkward about it, similarly to ragatha I dont think she would be too big of a fan of gossiping about others

Gangle strikes me at the type to keep to herself and mind her own business tbh, not much else to say

Kind of just quietly let's you talk, very obviously doesnt want to engage in the gossip

[itsclydebitches]

Have you seen the posts going around saying shit like "If a mutual likes Hazbin Hotel I will block them"?? It's genuinely upsetting me tbh, not just the idea that people don't like the show, but that they despise it so much they can't even stand the thought of someone they know liking the show. It reminds me of the Steven Universe hate train only worse. They also say shit like "the show is just someone saying swear words and expecting you to laugh", and if for a second we put aside the fact that that is blatantly not true, what's wrong with that? I'm allowed to like something that's a bit trash, right? I've already seen two different people I follow reblog posts to that effect (and worse, someone saying all a character boils down to is "i love being sexually abused <3" and i don't know how they ever came to that conclusion) and it's driving me mad. And somehow I just know that they don't actually give a shit about any "controversies" surrounding vivziepop, that's just a convenient excuse for most of them. I don't even care if Vivzie is a bad person, that's none of my business. just live and let live, you know?

Sorry for ranting, you're literally the only blog i follow who posts Hazbin fan content

Rant away, friend! Luckily for me I haven't come across any of those posts yet. Plenty of discourse surrounding whether fans are allowed to make romantic and/or sexual content for Alastor, the expected shipping wars, and - as you say - vague references to Vivzie controversies (which I'm too new a fan to even be aware of yet)... but nothing that's a complete rejection of the show itself. That's probably because I've only engaged with blogs posting a lot of Hazbin content though.

I'm a big fan of old school Internet rules which includes an emphasis on cultivating your own online space. You know, the thing tumblr is explicitly designed for. So in theory I applaud anyone blocking users/tags for a show they're not a fan of. Performatively posting about it more as a way to guilt others for liking Hazbin at all... not so much. If you want to block something just block it. If you're mutuals with someone you both presumably like each others' content. Not all of it necessarily, but enough to have followed in the first place, and often being mutuals for long enough leads to friendship because you're both getting interacting with one another a lot. All of which isn't to say that people don't unfollow mutuals, or that you can't drop a mutual because they've started posting something you dislike. Obviously both situations do happen, but it feels like an extreme enough response that these posters probably aren't actually doing this very often. Most people will wait the mutual out until their interest gets hooked on something new, or block the Hazbin tag and keep the friend, or just block without making a big announcement about it. So posts like that feel more like a way to show off how much you dislike the show and guilt others for their enjoyment which yeah, can be upsetting to see. Especially when, as you say, it costs nothing to just let people like things.

Which might sound hypocritical on my part given my RWBY interests, but I think there's a big difference between critically examining a show while supporting others who genuinely love it, and simplistically blasting it. I COMPLETELY get why Hazbin wouldn't be to everyone's tastes and, like with the SU example, anything that gets popular enough is going to develop its haters (especially cartoons trying to tackle non-childish subjects. That's always going to be a fandom landmine). But if you're going to make claims about a show, at least watch it to ensure you can back up your stance? And if your takeaway is still, "This is the worst fucking thing I've ever watched"... cool. Go forth and write about that on your own, personal blog. But no one should be surprised when they're also blocked for bragging about how many Hazbin fans they've blocked.

[themushroomgoesyeet]

I apologize for breaking schedule already; this took me a while to figure out and I guess I accidentally forgot to actually write this up yesterday (Sunday is going to be the day that I post these, unless I decide otherwise btw)

Anyway!

Arcana characters as cryptids

(see I told you it wouldn't all be Disney)

Asra - the Loch Ness Monster

Water theme? Check

Mysterious to a mind boggling degree? Check

Is it a dinosaur that the asteroid missed? Is it an ancient Celtic creature with nebulous shape-shifting magic? Is it just a hoax? Who knows! Certainly not us, and I feel like this fits Asra's "no gender only magic and adventure" vibes

Both of them have an increasingly frustrating ability to disappear at random and only be seen when they want to

Julian - Mothman

Big, blanket shaped, black and red color palette, sexy for some people

Did I just describe Mothman or Julian?

Both also have a bad habit of materializing from/melting into the shadows

I think if Julian were to find this post likening him to such an edgy, mysterious creature

Muriel - Bigfoot

I mean is there really even a question about this one

Literally all you have to do is make Muriel hairier and have bigger feet and you're all set

Both of them live out in the middle of the woods & don't seem to care for company

Bro basically is a cryptid to some Vesuvians

Lucio - Goatman

I feel this needs even less explanation than Muriel's tbh

Especially since a nice chunk of this fandom double as BuzzFeed Unsolved fans

Fuck you goatman

Nadia - sphinx

Ok so I'll admit this is where I started running out of ideas

Hear me out tho

I know that some of you will say that sphinxes are mythological creatures and not cryptids, and personally I disagree; I bet in a thousand years archaeologists and the like will look back on our cryptid studies and be like "man, these guys had a weird mythology"

So long story short sphinxes are just ancient cryptids

There are two flavors of sphinx, both of which I think fit Nadia well

Greek sphinxes were usually portrayed as guardians - usually of cities, gates, and doorways - and (in the case of Oedipus) challenged people with riddles. As ruler/protector of Vesuvia, I think it's safe to say that Nadia slots into the guardian role quite nicely

I'm not as familiar with Nadia's route but I imagine she'd also enjoy riddle games

Then there's the Egyptian flavor of sphinx; while these are also guardians (of tombs and temples specifically), they are also representations of Pharos and their closeness to the gods, as well as symbols of their strength and ferocity

And of course we love the strong & independent queen that is Nadia

Portia - Tonttus/Nisse/Gnomes

For those who don't know, Tonttus are creatures from Scandinavian folklore; they look like tiny men with white beards and colorful, conical hats

While their description doesn't fit Portia (aside from being incredibly small in stature), their actions and temperament certainly do

If treated well, Tonttus will become guardians of homesteads and farms, helping with chores, caring for livestock, and warding off danger and misfortune.

If treated poorly or insulted, Tonttus will instead cause mischief in the place that they live, playing tricks, stealing from the family, and sometimes even killing livestock

Now Portia may not go as far as killing animals, but she's definitely got a short temper at times and is a wild prankster

I almost forgot about these homely little creatures but I'm glad I found something that fits Portia's cottage core vibes so well

[asmallmoon333]

Near for the ask game 👁️👁️ And also Lawlight ✨

Hi Grim!! :3

Near! :D

How I feel about this character: Like him, but tbh no real deep or passionate feelings. I haven't poked his brain enough to get interested. I will say I started liking him more in the A-Kira one-shot, and not only cause his long hair was awesome, but cause I wanted to know more about WHY he was like that, what he felt all those years later about the Kira Case, how his life had gone as the new 'L'.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: Mello in a childhood rival-turned-enemy-turned-lover way; Light a very messed-up 'mutual substitutes' way; and Minoru Tanaka cause I think they should have at least met and picked each others' brains!

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Also Mello actually, sometimes I just want them to understand each other and come to like...not a moment of peace, so much as a moment of actually talking about what their childhood at Wammys did to them and their relationship as a consequence of it.

My unpopular opinion about this character: Anime Near really was boring and I had no interest in watching him. Manga Near is more interesting, but they still needed to make him more goofy. (I saw two alternate panel translations of 'Serious Near' vs 'Goofy Near' and I loved the second one.)

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: Near meeting Minoru Tanaka!!! What a freaking loss of opportunity. Also, I'm a fan of the "Near wrote Mikami's Name" theory and I'd like that confirmed or denied in canon.

My OTP: I don't have one, I don't know him well enough tbh, even the ones I do ship, it's kinda with ambivalent feelings.

My cross over ship: Dont have one, sorry :3

A headcanon fact: He didn't grow his hair out cause he's too lazy to cut it or too depressed to bother, he just genuinely likes the way it looks and feels.

Lawlight! :D

When I started shipping it if I did: In December 2022 when I started writing for them! Altho tbh I'm not sure if I so much as shipped them, or if I just really liked the challenge of writing about them getting and being together.

My thoughts: Love them when they're just eternally messed with and messing with each other. I like them both individually as characters so having them together is really fun.

What makes me happy about them: Their symmetry. They just GET each other. And I love picking at their brains and poking them with a stick, and putting them in Situations together. I think their reactions are really fun.

What makes me sad about them: That in canon they were (or maybe mostly just Light, cause we never got to pick L's brain about it) too dumb to see what they'd be bored as hell without the other. That they never got the chance to actually be honest with each other before it was too late. (Altho in the anime L did try.)

Things done in fanfic that annoys me: For L, my pet peeve is the idea that his whole personality was an 'act.' I've never heard a good argument for why he'd bother. From a character standpoint, this would mean we never knew anything about him, which makes me sad. As for Light, when someone gives him too many "good" or too many "bad" traits, for whatever reason. It no longer feels like Light at some point.

Things I look for in fanfic: Mind Games :3

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: I don't think they're capable of it lol, sometimes I don't even think they're capable of ending up with each other. But for the sake of it, I wanted to see more of Light and Kiyomi. and as for L, Matsuda could take care of him.

My happily ever after for them: Mind Games, but forever! :D

Who is the big spoon/little spoon: Light is usually the little spoon cause L clings like an octopus, and Light needs to breathe so he faces the other way. L becomes the little spoon if Light wakes up in the middle of the night and L's asleep but not clinging to him.

What is their favorite non-sexual activity: Dang, I can't say Mind Games again. Or arguing. Or discussing a book cause it would be to one-up each other. So I think--sharing a meal. Just the two of them quietly enjoying their food together, and even giving little bits off their plates that they think (hope) the other might enjoy. A small sign that they want the other to live, and be happy.

[ae-neon]

Hi there! I've just discovered you work "The House of Mirrors" and I am loving your writing, and the idea of Nesta x Rhys. May I ask what draws you towards the Rhysta ship?

I've found it to be a really intriguing ship when looked into with insight, and it's sad to see that it's immediately dismissed as "oh Nesta will go Amarantha on Rhys, it will be another abusive relationship" etc

Sorry for not answering this ask sooner, I am on mobile 99.99% of the time and my asks always get buried for some reason. Also, my grammar and language spelling will be inconsistent, Tumblr keeps correcting my spelling to American EN

and it's sad to see that it's immediately dismissed as "oh Nesta will go Amarantha on Rhys, it will be another abusive relationship" etc

honestly not even gonna touch on this because whoever thinks that is so set on being against this pair that they've clearly deconstructed parts of their brain. No one is forcing them to ship it and they're going as far as to imply SA?? not someone to be entertained or taken seriously

so why Rhysta? hmm, I think I've posted about it somewhere, but my tagging is so terrible I wouldn't be surprised if it was lost forever

Firstly, I'm gonna be transparent in just preferring Nesta as a character to Feyre.

Feyre isn't terrible (most of the time) but she's pretty generic and inconsistent (and wildly offensive sometimes) but tbh, for the most part, I'm not anti-Feyre, just anti the way sjm uses her

Honestly, I would have preferred to read an ACOSF that centered around Feyre being HL, becoming a Valkyrie, doing the blood rite etc. than what we got in canon.

all this to say that even though I am a Nesta fan, my interest in this ship isn't rooted in hating Feyre

let's get into it

the first reasons are things that I see as tying Nesta and Rhys together so things like:

I prefer likeness in pairs as opposed to opposites. and funnily enough, 'like calls to like' is a sort of rule in the magic system. despite how I might disagree with what's given in canon, when we are first introduced to Rhysand, we're given the impression of someone who is more brains than brawn - and Nesta is characterised in the same way certain parts of the writing reflect a connection: Night and Death, both seem to have the most direct personal conflict with the KoH, both are willing to sacrifice their bodies for those they want to protect things like this are common in other characters too, but not in the same way. Feyre is also a character that sacrifices herself for other, and so is Cassian, but the latter two have a streak of selflessness to them. they would die for people they don't know. Rhysand and Nesta's brand of sacrifice is much more personal Nesta having unique mind powers, a strong connection to Illyria and it's magic and the magic in the NC (she literally makes his childhood home come to life and magic tied to the land is a trait of High Lord/Lady magic) it would have been poetic if they belonged to Feyre to show fate/the mating bond always meant for her to be with Rhys. But they belong to Nesta. Why I also just think Nesta's character and temperament are more suited to politics. She's stubborn, but she's also the type of person who listens and learns and judges people off their character rather than if they are 'on her side' Things like her being more mature and raised to thrive somewhere like the Hewn City add to this

the second reasons are reasons I dislike the canon pairings that would be either not applicable or severely lessened in rhysta

I am not a fan of Hades x Persephone (F.eysand) I despise The Taming of the Shrew (N.essian) Enemies to Lovers is only real when they can hate each other equally, a big power imbalance turns one party into a victim The power imbalance cannot be solved by making a 19 y.o with ptsd an overpowered fae with no experience or agency but, for example, if Rhys had to contend with a stubborn and somewhat uncooperative human - in a land he can't waltz around in, with a mind he can't enter and being the party that needs her help - suddenly there's a much more even playing field. Cassian is pushy and flirty in a way that involves a lot of physical intimidation and boundary crossing, that shit is not cute. in fact, in the canon Wings and Ember excerpt, Cassian crowding Nesta against the fireplace makes her think of Tomas Mandray, the man who almost assaulted her. there are ways around it like being close cause you're dancing or sparing but Nesta isn't a fighter (acosf can fuck off) and Cassian doesn't know how to dance. they're completely mismatched Feyre is naive and insecure in a way that makes her easy to manipulate. like I know a lot of people find the CoN scene sexy but it had been weeks, maybe two or three months, since she'd non-consensually been in that position for real UtM. Nesta might have been convinced to put on a show by dancing or wearing something a little provocative by her standards but that wouldnt have been something that directly mirrored a trauma of hers. I think, politically the handling of the Summer Court sets the tone for the abject failure of F.eysand as a political team. Nesta would have trusted Tarquin. She handled herself well (at the cost of her pride) at the High Lord's meeting.

im sure there's more

but again, this isnt really at the cost of Feyre being the protagonist especially of book1, there are things Feyre does that I don't think Nesta could or would. just that book2 might have had more povs or something

this also takes the approach of Rhys being a slightly different character than in canon, one more like what we were promised and one slightly more suited to Nesta

but that's literally what love interest characters are. they aren't supposed to become the centre around which the protagonist and plot now revolve

anyways,

I'm so glad you read and enjoyed House of Mirrors!!! please don't be shy to drop me another ask

[girlmartok]

Left Hand of Destiny (1&2) stream of consciousness review

Overall thoughts: I really liked this book! Or technically 2 books but the second is just the continuation of the first so in my head it was just one long book (~500 pages all in all). This is only the second trek book I've read and also the second written by the actor who played the character in ds9 (shoutout to ASIT, though this one has a non-actor co-writer as well), but even beyond the star trekking of TLHOD, this was a really good read in terms of writing style, pace, emotion. It was very action and character focused which I enjoyed, and especially the characterization of Martok was so great and obviously JG Hertzler had a lot of thoughts about the character he played that translated really well on page.

The memory alpha article on TLHOD says this but I didn't really start to see it until the last half of book 2, but this is very much a King Arthur story (btw don't look at that memory alpha page unless you don't care about major spoilers lol). Down to a lady in the lake handing out mythical swords. That instance was a little heavy handed in my opinion, but I did like all of the prophetic dreams and talk of glorious purpose.

That's something to note though: if you don't like dream sequences, this is not the book for you. There are A LOT of dreams. In fact the opening scene is a dream, but it's now my new favorite opening line in a book because it jumps right in by telling you who this guy is and what his deal is:

I personally am a big fan of overt symbolism like this (even a well done cliché or two), myths and repeating cycles of heroism etc etc. And I think this book melded Arthurian drama with Klingon drama well. The Klingon-ness of this book was great. What better way to get to the heart of Klingon culture in a story but by focusing on the guy chosen to lead his people and getting it ripped out from beneath his feet and having to decide that he actually wants to be chancellor. In a lot of ways this is a story of outcasts finding their way back to where they belong, which isn't always what they expect or want in the beginning. Which leads me to...

The supporting characters really made this book. Without Pharh the Ferengi who got bullied for being as ugly as a Klingon as a child and now runs a landfill on Qo'noS, there would be no book. He's my favorite (little buddy coded to the extreme) but most of the major side characters are really well explored in terms of motivation and actions. Worf, Sirella, Ezri, Darok, Kahless, Alexander, to name a few. Alexander and Kahless were two of my other surprise standouts. And because no one who hasn't read this book knows about my new favorite guy Pharh, I will now include a couple passages I highlighted to spread the word about how great he is:

Wide array of well developed side characters aside, this book is awful for women. Yes the main antagonist is Martok's insane ex, but her character is kind of too outlandish to really have much depth. Ezri shows up at the end of book 1 and plays a big part in book 2 but honestly I'm not sure why she was even there (apart from loyalty etc, but I mean story-wise she didn't add all that much to keep the action moving ((anyone else could have been subbed in for her 9 out of 10 times and it would've made more sense tbh)) except to be another explainer of Klingon things to the reader). Sirella has a few great scenes, but not nearly enough and she wasn't allowed to do much either in terms of agency and impact on plot. Martok's two daughters are barely afterthoughts.

The main plot is that a usurper attacks Qo'noS (and specifically goes after Martok), swaying the Klingon people to their side through a combo of bioengineered charisma and the people's growing resentment toward progressive ideas that Martok (and Worf) represents. That's really only the problem in book 1, while book 2 deals more with Martok accepting the hand fate has dealt and deciding to win so they can save the decaying Klingon heart and so on. But even with the kind of cheesy setup, it rarely felt overwrought or unearned with the emotional beats. The antagonist lady is, yeah, she's a bit over the top. And before 2016 I would've said the quick flip to xenophobia and Make Klingons Great Again (I'm pretty sure they use that phrase almost exactly) in the general public was unrealistic but hey, cycles of destiny and evil constantly shifting and repeating, am I right??

There were... quite a few deaths. I guess I should've expected that, being a Klingon setting and all, but some of them hit me hard. And a few I don't think really needed to happen and kind of weakened the narrative.... maybe I'll put a spoiler section below a cut at the bottom of this to discuss those 🤪

This paragraph will haunt me for a while I think... 😀 sorry for inflicting it on others now but hey that's show business

Even with some hiccups (see spoiler section below), I loved the book pretty much. Shocker: tumblr user girlmartok loves the Martok book, but it was better than I had hoped even. The Martok focus was so good and the side characters just made it even better. Much more of a heroic fantasy than most star trek settings, which fit really well and also was refreshing. It's long! But I would recommend it if you have any interest in Klingons and/or fun little guys who go on adventures and think a lot about death.

SPOILERS ⬇️

Okay ripping the bandaid off. The way Sirella died was not chill. I mean even having her die was not something I would have included, because the story really didn't dive all that deep into her and Martok's relationship. But ramming an enemy ship so Martok could flee near the beginning of book 2... and she doesn't even kill any major bad guys doing it?? It just served no point narratively (the bad guys still outnumbered them, still caught up to them not long after) and it didn't even really affect Martok all that much beyond like one paragraph where he wants to turn around and go on a murder spree in her name... He doesn't even get to go on a murder spree in her name!!!

Bandaid rip #2: PHARH MY LITTLE BABY BOY DIES???? I was glad I had forewarning about this one because I would've been mad otherwise. I am not exaggerating saying he was my second favorite character in this book after Martok. The humor he added, yes, but also just his role as an outsider who's seen as weak by both Ferengi and Klingon, and he befriends the chancellor of the Klingon Empire, HOLDS ONTO THE CHANCELLOR'S RING FOR MOST OF THE BOOK AND BECOMES HIS SQUIRE BASICALLY 🫠💔 I don't know how anyone wouldn't fall in love with him. At least his death was done well, even though I don't think it should have happened. He at least got a murderous rampage in his name 😤 and Martok basically adopted him so he could get into Sto'vo'kor 🥺

Those were my main two criticisms of the book, and really ties into why this wasn't as great a story as ASIT, for example. A lot of things happen to Martok, but some things don't get the resolution they would need to influence him on this character journey he's going on. One of Martok's defining characteristics in ds9 is that he's a wife guy and his wife doesn't take bullshit. But then his wife dies suddenly and he's upset but he's not Upset upset, if you know what I mean. It didn't feel earned and it didn't feel necessary. Literally the first and only time it did feel like a reasonable plot device was at the very end when Worf tells him that people love a tragic victor even more than a victory. The problem is just that Martok doesn't ever explore what that tragedy really means to him.

Justice for Shen and Lazhna, Martok's daughters, who in addition to dying off screen are only brought up to highlight how shitty of a dad Martok has been. He just thinks of them (and his son Drex too but he gets more characterization solely by virtue of appearing in the narrative) in terms of himself and his love for them is more on the side of pity rather than real emotional attachment. Sirella should've been way meaner to him about that tbh.

Non character death related but a big focus of the first book was Martok losing public opinion pretty much immediately. Old friends turn against him and that really shakes him. But then in the second book... that's not really brought up again? The whole second book takes place away from Qo'noS, and yeah they mention that people will probably become less affected by the dumb bioengineered charisma after time, but I cannot stress enough how much the entire planet hated him. So he won the big battle against his foes etc etc, came back to Qo'noS and... just told everyone all that?? That goes along with the lack of fully exploring the consequences of some of these bad things that happen to Martok. It felt like a little too much piled on him and not enough resolution.

[stupidsexpotflanders]

Luke being a bad person/doing bad things makes him more tragic as a character,not less

This is(mostly) a copy-paste from a meta I wrote on Reddit. Besides,I'm only talking about the books,the tv show is 100% ignored in this analysis.

Disclaimer:this isn't to excuse Luke's actions or to diminish their severity,it's just that his terrible deeds are a fundamental part of his character as a sympathetic villiain when it comes to both words,not just the latter one.

Luke's life was extremely turbulent. First,he was raised by a mother who not only couldn't properly raise her kid,but she also yelled about his terrible fate while her eyes had a supernatural glow. To top it all,Hermes didn't give any sign,no matter how much Luke prayed. An unpleasant way to get introduced to the divine,I'd say;

Because of May's "crises",Luke ran away from home. There,he had to deal with all of the crazy stuff homeless kids/teens have to,besides the monsters wanting him as breakfast. Perhaps it was during this time he learned about how dangerous the demigod life was,plus desensitization to violence - at least,the beginning of it. Another amount of time Luke prayed for help,but none came until he was 14. To top it all,Hermes said growing up in the streets "builds character";

Camp Half-Blood itself. It surely beats living in the streets(being protected from monsters,training,regular meals),but it's far from flawless. The place has a blasé attitude towards violence and death. Besides many demigods(especially unclaimed ones) going on suicidal missions just to get claimed and/or a smidge of the godly parent's affection,people get slaps on the wrists as punishments for maiming and killing other demigod campers during Capture The Flag(no desserts). If Luke wasn't indifferent towards murder before CHB,he surely became. Now that I think of it,Sally is the only one who deserves credit for Percy's moral code when it comes to authority figures;

After all that happened,Kronos appeared and decided to manipulate Luke. TBH,I think the failed quest was just the last drop. Luke had way too many reasons to get angry at the system,two decades of trauma(he was 19 in TLT,but I'll round it up). Kronos was a bad influence to Luke,using his ressentment to make Luke undego several kinds of decay - including moral;

Using seduction as a weapon on young teens isn't such a dealbreaker for me,as a Luke fan,and even that is part of the tragedy of Luke Castellan. Not only he had to grow up early and his ideas of youth are warped,but there's also the infamously small demigod lifespam. Besides,Luke's exposure to the good parts of the mortal USA moral code might very well be limited(not to mention he himself was unprotected by society). On a tangent,him falling for Annabeth is stupid - whether it's canon or not (I don't want to debate it). Rick wrote them as having a sibling relationship,makes a big deal about a "family promise",then decides to make a love triangle? Way to trash an emotional arc. Now,back to the main topic. Luke being a manipulator and victim of manipulation at the same time is a great way to show how "hurt people hurt people";

Negative emotions. Rick Riordan said Luke's fatal flaw was wrath,and it surely fits. However,another thing that repeatedly doomed Luke was some sort of emotional fragility. First,Luke said Kronos paid him compliments and gave him important stuff to do as a sign of appreciation. Then,the Titan Lord himself said Luke hated and envied Percy. Envy is very hurtful and often stems from a feeling of lack. Luke also was shown as someone who needed validation. From TLT(namely the praises),to TLO(Luke,hosting Kronos,mentioned something about how Chiron "said the gods cared about me"). Even to save Olympus,Annabeth had to offer Luke support.

[jungshookz]

june's drabble poll!!

well it's not TRULY a cee comeback if i'm not reviving the monthly drabble polls where all the stans tear each other apart and i watch behind the scenes with a thing of popcorn while stroking an evil cat on my lap

if you're new here and have no idea what this is or if you just don't remember how this works (tbh i also forgot how it worked for a second but it's okay i figured it out) here's a quick breakdown of what's happening:

drabble polls take place at the beginning of each month where you guys get to choose what you'd like to read because we are a TEAM and i can't pull all the weight around here c'mon now

there are always four options! usually it's one newbie and three of your already existing favourite characters but sometimes i spice things up just for the drama <3 (as you'll see in this poll)

each character gets three chances to win before they get tossed into the bye bye bin!! for example if i plunk advicecolumnist!joon into the poll for june, july, AND august and he still doesn't come out on top in all three then i will have to fire him unfortunately (but there is still potential for him to have baby drabbles)

votes will always take place on my twitter!! i don't count any votes that come into the inbox so please do not drown my inbox because i can't swim D: and also voting is live about ten minutes after i post the options here on tumblr!

i think that's it but u know where to find me if you have any questions <3

feels so good to be back!! let's do this!! here are your drabble options for this month (even though we're already nearing the end of june but shhhh):

🖤 option one:

following the devastating, extremely emotional breakup with jimin, it takes everything within you to not burst into tears in front of everyone when word on the grapevine says he went out on a date with nayeon over the weekend.

balletteacher!jiminiverse;

sfw // hurts-so-bad-but-that's-what-makes-it-good angst!

featuring a fragile y/n trying her best to keep it together and a stubborn jimin trying his best to make it seem like he's unbothered!

🗞️ option two:

namjoon's the head of a popular love and sex advice column and he receives at least a hundred different letters a day, so you decide to (jokingly but also very seriously) send one in to ask for advice on how to handle a big-time crush you have on someone... that someone being him.

advicecolumnist!namjoon (newbie!!);

sfw // honk honk humour! soft soft fluff!

featuring hardworking coffee girl y/n who's pretty much willing to do anything to get handsome namjoon's attention!

⛱️ option three:

it's summer time, which means it's jungkook's time to shine... and after all this time, y/n still doesn't know how to deal with the amount of attention he gets as his reputation as the hot, sexy, omg-i-want-him-so-bad lifeguard.

lifeguard!jungkookiverse (returning to my wattpad roots to honour 2018!cee bc i've been too hard on her lately);

sfw // honk honk humour! soft soft fluff!

featuring a flustered y/n trying to contain the green-eyed monster inside of her and an oblivious as ever jungkook!

🍹 option four:

putting on a smile while watching ji-eun cuddle up to jungkook is already hard enough, but when y/n is (reluctantly) invited to come to jimin's massive end-of-semester party, she can't help but feel even more out of place.

smitten!jungkookiverse (calling all my feral smitten fans...)

sfw // honk honk humour! i-want-to-rip-my-lashes-out angst!

featuring a tipsy jimin finally letting y/n know why he doesn't like her and a long awaited important conversation between y/n and jungkook!

here's the link to my twitter to place your vote! (don't be shy, click the follow button hehe)

as always the poll will expire in two days which gives you an ample amount of time to think about which universe you'd like to step into this month!!

cee <3

[kastellaran]

9 Fandom Peeps to Get to Know Better

tagged my @defeateddetectives ^_^ thank you <33

3 ships you like: hmm see which three should I pick here... let's say komahina (danganronpa. yes), bruabba (jjba p5) and just to spice things up, momoko and ichi from maiko-san chi no makanai (really lovely food centric manga about two girls who move to kyoto to become maiko but one of them ends up becoming the cook at the maiko house instead. sometimes frustrates me because of how strong the gay "undertones" are and then the author seems to insist on pursuing a het love triangle/probably het end game with a dude who has a comparatively shallow relationship with his love interest. anyway ever since the flashback chapters came out ive been shipping the house mother and sumire's geiko onee-san because if there's one throughline in my top ships, it's older side characters with some kind of tragic/emotionally fraught relationship LOL.) propaganda:

"Yuuko never let anyone in her room before she became a trainee. [...] For her to be swapping beds with others is... no, it's just Azusa."

(They have each other's apartment keys. She comes over and sleeps in her room. Halfsies!!!)

(This is basically a marriage proposal to me)

first ship ever: ...I think it was karkat/terezi from homestuck. This is kind of funny but before I really got into fandom or when I was just beginning, my approach to text was basically reading it with the most surface level/likely reading. I literally didn't understand why people would ship characters who I "knew" would never get together in canon. I didn't see the point in it LOL to me shipping was like horse racing or something, you ship the characters who are the most likely to end up together. This is also very funny in retrospect considering what happened with that particular ship but I had long moved on from it by the time davekat was canonized so I was happy.

last song you heard: either burning desire by lana del rey (blaming mirai for this) or alan stivell's ian morrisson reel

favourite childhood book: i don't think i had or have a favorite one ummm I was really into the secret series by pseudonymous bosch when i was a kid

currently reading: hmm i'm keeping up with maiko-san and ekuoto (make the exorcist fall in love. it's neat i recommend it though i'm not a big fan of the art style), and I was reading the oofuri manga which i should get back to but currently my attention is being taken up by natsuyuu lol. as for non-manga though the last thing I read before natsuyuu was Devil Venerable Also Wants To Know which is SO GOOD and i had more art ideas in mind for it which i want to get back to at some point...

currently watching: I don't watch a whole lot of stuff. I'm keeping up with the dunmeshi anime but tbh i really don't like the coloring for it. the art is okay but ryoko kui's art is kind of unmatched. it's just nice to have something to watch with my friend every week. also i've been doing a natsuyuu anime rewatch in anticipation of s7 with a friend whose never seen it before

currently consuming: nothing but i just had some crazy noodles. leftover curry in a pan + frozen corn + instant noodles = yummy

currently craving: nothing because i am now full :D

ill tag @ponimado @tattoosingarishhues @beguinemystic @dysaniium @moritzallein @somapodra @garbageg0blin @chuck-charles @joelletwo as always this is just if you wanna!

[lord-pigeon]

The thing you're not getting about why genshin is worse is because events are not meant to be the primary source of quartz in fgo. It comes from your weekly log in, live streams, 50 day ten pull, ascending servants to their second last ascension, story quests, free quests and the ten quartz you get from doing ten of them, rank up and interludes and the quartz you also get for doing ten of those, and special occasions like anniversary and new year. If you do ten rank ups you get a ten pull and you can do this in maybe an hour or two, now try grinding a ten pull in genshin. It'll be a lot more time investing and taxing considering you're just pressing buttons in fate. Also genshin's odds are just lower and it bleeds whales way harder by making constellations do more than just damage and they make modern 4 stars suck without them. Yes genshin has a better pity but that isn't the be all end all, you need to get 5 copies to max a 5 star in fate where as genshin its 6 AND 5 copies of their weapons. I could keep going on about ways that it's worse all day long, especially when genshin has way more micro transactions and predatory practices like battlepasses and resin but take that fate is worse is utterly baffling tbh

Oh boy let's get into the math here because this is where the fun begins.

Don't get me wrong, I'll never defend Genshin's dogshit practices, but I have a personal grudge against FGO fans sucking on it when it's literally the bastard of the mainstream bunch. This argument is me pitting garbage against garbage to say which one is stinkier.

This gonna be long so I'm putting this under a cut:

Alright FGO dailies list (I'll use NA for FGO, since Genshin is a global server schedule):

Day 2=1 SQ, Day 4=1 SQ, Day 6=2 SQ and Day 7=Ticket (3 SQ equivalent)

Total: 7 SQ

Needed for a tenfold: 30 SQ

Weeks needed for a tenfold via Log-In alone: 4 weeks and 4 days. 32 days total.

It should be noted that if you miss a single day, it resets from the very start. You must log in no matter what. It might take but a few moments, but note, you have to.

Genshin dailies list:

10 Primos per Comm/action, total of 40, and a 20 Primo bonus for turning into Katherine

Total: 60 Primos

Needed for tenfold 1600 Primo

Weeks needed for a Log-In alone: 26 days total.

Genshin's big detriment is that while you never lose your place, you need to spend time on Commissions. It can be anywhere from 5-10 minutes, which is a bit of a serious timesink. It's a bit better with the Fontaine update but it's still a pain in the ass for those on the go.

Alright, but Lord, that's just raw Log-In, what about monthlies?

Monthlies are the same, since both give you 5 tickets/fates to use. Genshin is at the disadvantage here since you need to spend the stardust you get from summoning on it, but Fate also requires you to spend Mana Prisms. Fundamentally similar, it's just that Fate wins out by the small margin Mana Prisms are slightly easier to obtain.

What about pity?

Eat my ass, Fate's pity system just happened cause they were getting this ass beat monetarily and they gave up and did a base-tier QOL update. Six FUCKING years we waited for pity and its over 900 SQ??? ((330 pulls btw))

I saved a whole year and a half back for Musashi's inital release and I just barely had that shit. And that was events, dailies, so on and so forth. (I got her in three tickets so nobody come at me with the fact I'm just a bitter old bird who didn't get my cute girl.)

While there's the 50/50 mechanic with Genshin, that levels the idea of 180, and that's going to hard-hard pity. No matter what, you can, and will, at least get the character you want.

Now what if we include Weapon Banner, since people assume Weapons+Characters *must* go together rather than it just being BIS and disregarding the completely different game mechanics of turn-based FGO and action rpg Genshin (<bitter).

Weapon Hard Pity is 240 pulls. You get a Fate Point for 80 pulls if you don't get your directed weapon, and you get another one if you get screwed again. Two Fate Points guarantees the next 80 is what you want.

Now, that might equal 420 pulls, but there's a catch few people acknowledge: Soft Pity.

Genshin has a system that, the closer you get to that hard pity, the higher the rate goes up. Therefore, it's not often someone actually goes to the hard 80 or 90. I'm just using the hard numbers as a point.

FGO is a hard pity, nothing about the rates changes from Summon 1 to Summon 330. Plus no guarantee you actually even get something from those 330 pulls--at least in Genshin you get a Basic Banner character who has some measure of utility you can use to make progress.

Also FGO pity doesn't carry per banner, but Genshin's does, so if you get fucked over and wanna wait a few months, you have another shot instead of wasting all of it cause you got close but no cigar.

But what about upgrades? Constellations?

NP-bonuses are rather minor and not as key as say, Xiao C1 or Hu Tao C1, so FGO has the edge there. However, that leads me to the side point of:

Weapons.

Reasonably, everyone talks about how the 3-star weapons suck, yadda yadda. You get so many weapons from the game as welfare that are good and can be used by multiple characters. You don't need a 5-star weapon, just because you aren't hitting 300k a hit doesn't mean shit.

Genshin has a lot more versatility in team building than FGO tbh, since a lot of FGO's boils down to "Do you have Merlin/Skadi/Chen Gong/Waver/Tamamo/Castoria/Support Caster.png" that you can then use with any other character.

Not saying Genshin doesn't have that too with Qinqiu and Bennett, but due to the nature of Spiral Abyss, people have gotten smart about using others instead of just them cause it's a split up team system.

Citation: I didn't get a single 5-star Weapon until Year 2.5 of Genshin. Fun fact, I also didn't have a single DPS 5-star either (all I had since launch was Diluc and Venti), until fucking Cyno came out. I managed to play the game just fine.

Now in FGO NA, I was also there since Launch, and I didn't get my first SSR until the Solomon raids, in which I finally got Florence Nightingale. I was playing the game carried by Kiyohime, Salter, and throwing SQ at revives. And guides, christ, so many guides it made Arknights look elementary.

What about general SQ/Primo flow (the Anniversaries and whatnot mentioned)?

FGO, the year of 2023, had, according to a Reddit post which I can link if people want the source, is: 2571 SQ, tickets included.

This Reddit post involved Servant NP Ascension Quests, Events, Chunked Log-In Bonus, Live Streams, Bond Stuff, ect ect (also, stuff you can't do if you didn't roll them, the post was being generous with people getting what they rolled or had)

That is about 85.7 tenfolds. So, if you don't spend a penny and not miss a day of logging in, the average joe might get about 2, 3 hard pities on who they want. Presuming I'm doing the math right on that.

Genshin, in the year of 2022, had, according to another Reddit Post, roughly 100k Primogems.

That equals about 62.5 tenfolds, or over 620 Fates. Now, tossing that into the system with someone with the worst luck imaginable that wants a character, that's about the same amount of 3 to 4 guaranteed pities.

One might note that the numbers are about the same, and yeah, that checks. However, there's a lot of variables, such as Spiral Abyss for Genshin, and actually having the characters to do Interludes on.

Half-baked conclusion

FGO is a money sink, Genshin is a time sink. They both sink your serotonin. Nobody wins.

Look, I play both, I have grief with both, I have fond memories of both. I wouldn't have a stupid expensive Okada figurine sitting next to a custom Cyno plushie if I hated these games.

But they're gacha, they're both out for your money, it's just that one is just a raging cunt about the whole affair.

Reddit Post Citations:

[muse-stellium]

|| Okay okay okay okay okaaaaay.

I'm still kinda processing things so this might be a lil all over the place and not to mention hella long I'm sorry the brain went brrrrr, but T8 thoughts tiiime. Absolute T8 spoilers below the cut

✦ First & foremost I do want to say that overall? I liked it. I wasn't amazed by it? It felt very reminiscent of things I've seen before, a lot of familiar tropes and all that, but I do think I might grow to love it someday. Do I think there are things they could've done better? Absolutely. But it also could've been a lot worse. Most of my greatest concerns didn't come into fruition, so even though I do think everything felt a bit rushed, I'll consider it a win lmao.

✦ Tbh I don't have a lot to say about everything that happened between Jin & Kazuya - which is wild bc y'know main plot - but like.. It feels too familiar. Too many familiar tropes to capture my interest I think? By the second chapter I was already going "this reminds me of this, this reminds me of that" every few minutes and just nothing felt.. unique with those two this time. I will say Jin's Angel form looks neat, and it does make me wonder about the Kazama clan's possible connection to Angel. But that's about all I have to say there unfortunately 🥲

✦ I both love and am kinda confused by all the fighters working together thing tbh. If only bc it feels a little disjointed for most of them to barely say a word to each other throughout all of the other previous games, and then to just suddenly come work together, to help protect Jin, who started this war in the first place 😬. – But at the same time that logic aside, that's also somewhat what I was hoping for?? Like I've been saying I wanted T8 to be some avengers assemble like scenario for years now lol. I just think there could've been more interaction prior that would've made it make more sense?

✦ In that line of thought, I am not a big fan of how the Jin vs Kazuya teams were divided for kinda the same reason? Mainly Marshall. Best buds with Paul all these years, they're literally the bromance of Tekken and all of a sudden he joins the bad guys all bc "yOu dIdn'T PaY mE" – I think it would've been a lot better if we could've actually seen how Nina recruited them? While I love her, she absolutely the Queen tm, she is.. a master manipulator. She absolutely manipulated them somehow into thinking joining G-corp was a good idea. Like maybe Marshall's financial woes run deeper than we know, and she used that to her advantage. Maybe she convinced Azucena with the thought they could protect her family and her farm, or maybe it was a Josie situation where Josie believed the Mishima Zaibatsu was a force of good, maybe Nina got Azucena to believe that about G-Corp with how she seemed to be up for fighting for world peace. But by not showing the reasoning behind it.. it just feels wrong and puts a lot of those characters in a weird light to me.

✦ ^ The same goes for my girl Nina this time around. 😔 We've been sitting here debating on why she would ever possibly join Kazuya with their history and her seemingly being such close allies w Jin before. It's completely out of character for her, there must be a reason, we've been wondering what the reason is and finally... we're not given one. It's just like "Oh, you work for him now." No comments made about it whatsoever. And there's some pro's to that? Namely yes it maintains her enigmatic nature, and it leaves a lot of possibilities open. But I think there's more cons to it than anything, bc this is absolutely just going to fuel the surface stereotype within the fandom that Nina's just a cold hearted killer who only cares about money. This game when taken at surface value (which I've noticed outside of on here, a large majority of fans seem to take things at), kinda gave her the appearance of a character with no depth whatsoever and that... tbh that scares me bc the treatment of her character within the fandom is already so bad...? And then to add the possibility that she may work with Reina of all people next time around just perpetuates that even further. Especially when you remember that this may be the first Tekken game for a lot of fans who came from Bloodline.

✦ On the other hand however, I will say I'm not as upset about what T8 did w Nina's character than what Bloodline did w her. I was hella concerned we'd be dealing w another bloodline scenario of her just being tossed aside, and in a way we definitely are? But at the very least, this time when I try to look from Nina's perspective, I can see multiple possibilities for why she just left / worked w Kazuya at all that would be within her character. W what happened in Bloodline I couldn't do that no matter how hard I tried. But here it's mainly just that none of them were addressed that's the problem. It's left too open, and it doesn't paint a good picture. — W the comment Lee & Lars made about "the G-Corp assassin", and how casual she seems to be w Lee in her character ep + intros, there's still the hella slim subtle possibility Nina could be secretly working for both sides. She did what she was tasked to do, and got out once her job was done. - There's the possibility that w how her T8 bio again brings up her doubts about hurting people for the first time since T2, maybe something finally clicked there mid battle. Maybe it was the realization that "oh joy there's another devil in the mix" and it'd be better w this new information to watch how this plays out. - Hell if we dare to hella hope about things lol, maybe w all the dbd easter eggs thrown out there this time and seeing her featured on a ship for the first since then, maybe she dipped to set up the plot of dbd 2 - It could be anything! And that's the problem.

✦ Overall bc of all of this, while I do think it's neat, and I do like a lot of it, it feels very... rushed. It really reminds me of when you go to reread old threads or your past writing, and in hindsight you realize "Wow I really rushed this part, I forgot to include this this & this bc I was too excited about what was to come next", which is kinda disappointing bc this was supposed to be this huge pivotal moment in the storyline. But then that also makes me wonder y'know.. what's to come next that they're possibly so excited to get to? 😶

Anyway! Hella hella long story short, I liked it. I'm not in love w it. I think it could've been done better. I might grow to love it later on, and I do have more thoughts on it like on what happened to Claudio & Zafina, Reina is a whole can of worms that I don't want to get into rn lmaooo, but this is already so long BYEEEEE

[orchidsangel]

ro i just need to tell you that i love your writing so much i literally explode everytime you post and i’m in love with you i think ! The way u write jason is literally how i want my dream man! I don’t even want men! he’s so scrumdiddlyumptious and i am so glad that i found yr writing Tbh

thank u for being The Jason Todd writer ever and i can’t wait to see what else u have in store :33!!!!

(also i think i have to hear what went down between mattel and mga that caused the downfall of bratz now!! ur making me curious with that one thing on ur sideblog ⁉️)

i really don't know what i've done to get so many kind messages from all these people, it kinda feels a little surreal like woah...u like me? i am in love with YOU for sending me this sweet n kind message like, should we get married now?

i am a man hater till the day i die, but i unfortunately am attracted to them :( too bad they fucking suck. ughhhh i've written him as my dream man too (accidentally set the bar too high for myself so fml) and i'm soooooooooo glad you find joy in my writing, it means the world to me, and i hope you continue to find joy in it <33

as for MATTEL v MGA...

(this is a really shit summary and all from memory so i could be wrong about some things but this is the general gist of what happened and i'll try to find a good article or video with much more accurate info)

basically in may of 2001, MGA entertainment released the original/main 4 bratz dolls, a group of four girls consisting of cloe, jade, yasmin, and sasha. bratz, similarly to barbie, was advertised towards young girls, but the biggest differences between the two doll lines were the diversity & the fashions. where barbie was typically shown with a pale complexion, blonde hair, and blue eyes; each original bratz girl was a different race. cloe was white, jade was asian, sasha was black, and yasmin was a bown hispanic. aside from the diversity of these four girlies, they were also dressed to the NINES !! head to toe in fashions that were unique and trendy for the time period, and to this day they absolutely devour like they're on moodboards for every fashion girlie and it's literally been 20+ years, like talk about longevity.

anyway, i'll skip most of the mumbo jumbo about their releases (even though i could literally give a list of my fave bratz lines of that era), but they became BIG, releasing literally hundreds of dolls and continuously expanding the ever-rotating list of side characters to go along on the core four adventures. some of the more notable releases are the ever iconic rock angelz dolls (my literal 4lyfers), pretty n punk (which came from that same movie), tokyo a go go, slumber party and nighty nite, etc., and aside from those dolls, they had movies, merch, electronics, albums, food, cosmetics, etc. like they were MASSIVE despite so much controversy surrounding them. sooooo massive that they surpassed barbie, and one thing mattel doesn't play about is fucking BARBIE (literally nerfed monster high bc they were gaining too much popularity, and that was THEIR brand).

here's where it all goes to shit. so naturally, when faced with a fierce competitor, mattel filed a lawsuit after discovering that carter bryant was involved in the creation of bratz. who is carter bryant? well, not only the creator of bratz but a FORMER MATTEL EMPLOYEE !!! and that's why shit hit the fan; mattels lawsuit was basically over the rights to bratz. their argument was that because bryant was employed under mattel at the time of his big idea, that bratz was technically mattels property. this legal battle lasts like literal ages, and there were a lot of layers to it that i can't really understand because legal jargon hurts my brain, but there's a book that goes into great detail called 'you don't own me' i believe. mattel won the lawsuit in 2008, and ownership of the bratz brand was to be handed over to them, but at some point between 2008 and 2010, mga took their case to the court of appeals and won, meaning they regained ownership. during all of that time bratz fashions had become less stylish, releases weren't as often, the hair was shit (but that was also cuz of mattel bc those fuckers play dirty), and overall the brand just wasn't the same. imo, the best way to see the decline in quality is to go to the lookin bratz site and see how different post-2009 releases were (and even then, some of those were...like cowgirlz was, imo, the last really good bratz line, but one could argue it was dance crewz)

they continued producing dolls through 2014, even creating their own version of monster high called bratzillaz (i should also mention that myscene was mattels version of bratz). then, in 2015, they completely rebooted the franchise with a new line titled 'hello my name is'. this line featured the original 4 girls plus a new girl named raya. and that whole...that entire thing was BAD to me, but some people like it.

anyway, there was never like a "real" downfall, but they had some pretty bad years lmao. they're back tho so we up!!!! i have a collection of fashion dolls, monster high, bratz, rainbow high, and hopefully barbies soon. literally my favorite collection (i have a lot)

[pelleas-at-castle-nox]

To every person smugly being like "well I like BayoLuka so I liked the ending" you radiate massive dumb fuck energy. Like "well I'm a big fan of ice bergs so i think it's good this boat were on is going down" like... Even if you like the idea of Bayonetta shipped with Luka which makes you a weird idiot, the weird idiots should be upset with the utter character assassination going on.

1) Luka's defining trait in both games is his utter lack of magical abilities. In 1 he straight up can't even see the angels, and even in 2 when he's got special magic glasses, he still doesn't fight. In both games he swings in and does something the big bad wasn't expecting because they underestimate him, and by extension all of humanity. He's the human element! So to take all that away, and say actually he's an immortal fairy king and literally the most important man in all the multiverse that's just like... Sorry! You made a new character! That's not the same character anymore!

2) THEY DIE! THEY ARE DRAGGED TO HELL! PRESUMABLY TO BE DEVOURED BY ALRAUNE!! I feel like the sole reason they included her in this game was to remind you that she still absolutely hates Bayonetta and is waiting to dissolve her the instant she hits hell. She's the only demon who actively fights against Bayonetta even when used as a weapon, torturing her during the super attack. Like... If you really like that pairing, you should also hate the ending because they die a pointless death!!

3) so following points one and two, what you're really saying is "I like that the man and woman get together at the end of the story" and that's it, full stop. You have the nuance of a folding chair in a Baptist church. Tbh I think that's why I see so many bad faith takes hiding behind a shield of saying people who don't like it are biphobic: because that's the exact same kind of weaponized use of progressive language you can expect from bad faith actors and terfs. Do better or just admit that you like that the queer elements of the character were stripped away at the last minute.