#did it help her develop a sense of self worth? of course!

[starrycomics]

Gotham Knights #2

Bruce leaving Cass to drown so that she develops a sense a self-worth is honestly such a Bruce move

[deusvervewrites]

okay good cus i have au brainrot and a sleeping problem

right now im working on lov traitor himiko bc she has done no wrong and possibly one of my favorite characters bc have i mentioned shes awesome /lh

also how do you make sure your characterization is right? ive deleted work before after working on it simply because they got slowy ooc over the course of the snippet lol

(sorry if im just barraging you with asks just tell me to stop if youre uncomfy as i mentioned i have brainrot haha)

yeah word dump (im sorry)

(This is the Anon from this Ask, but I didn't get around to this right away)

I'm not going to say Toga did nothing wrong but I love her, and the idea of her as a traitor is wild. Given her shapeshifting powers, she's probably the best situated for it after Shigaraki himself. Also she's a middle-school dropout homeless teenager so figuring out how she has the resources to do what she does could be fun

[Writing advice starts here]

For characterization, all characters are at their core comprised of three questions: 'What does this character want more than anything else?', 'Why does this character want it?', and 'How is this character going to get it?'

If you know those three questions you can handle pretty much anything. Here, let's give an example.

Bakugou:

What does Bakugou want more than anything else? To be the Number One Hero

Why does he want it? Because he has no self-worth unless people are praising him, so he's set his sights on the top celebrity in the world.

How is he going to get it? Going to UA High School.

On the other hand, Midoriya:

What does Midoriya want more than anything else? To help people.

Why does he want it? Systemic discrimination has given him a strong sense of justice and compassion for others.

How is he going to get it? Going to UA High School.

You can see how these answers inform other parts of their personality--Bakugou is insecure, so he lashes out. Midoriya is compassionate, so he empathizes with the antagonists. Additionally, Bakugou's answers change over time in response to his character development.

While thinking of characterization as a list of traits can certainly help, knowing these three questions makes it easier to keep a character consistent even as they develop in response to events.

Toga, for instance:

What does Toga want more than anything else? To live freely and not be judged for drinking blood.

Why does she want it? Her parents abused her, and she's never had the chance.

How is she going to get it? Running away from home. Later, joining the League of Villains.

Obviously, characters want more than one thing at a time, which can create drama when they have to choose between something they want versus The Thing they want more than anything else.

You can also use these questions to create character foils. As mentioned above, Bakugou and Midoriya have the same answer to the third question, but similarities and differences can come from any of those three questions.

Let's say, hypothetically, you're writing a fantasy story about three kingdoms in an uneasy peace. You might have characters who want to unite those three nations under one banner that look something like this.

Character A:

What does she want more than anything else? To unite the three nations.

Why does she want it? A mixture of nationalist pride as the crown princess and a desire for revenge.

How is she going to get it? A war of unification.

While Character B:

What does he want more than anything else? To unite the three nations.

Why does he want it? To put an end to the racial prejudice he faced as a child.

How is he going to get it? Diplomatic schemes and manipulations.

And you've got two characters who are suddenly very similar in some ways and completely incompatible in others.

(And you thought you had word dump!)

[topaz-witch-tea]

ADKHWBGADWTAHDTAH THANK YOU FOR RESPONDING TO MY QUESTIONADHAHSMDWABDSABDW AHWDN sorry if im getting annoying HAHAAH

I'm curious about what Yanqing was like in his teenage years lol or like how was he as a student? or like any memories with his parents emememememe dbweuew sorry im not good at explaining

eat well

Hello!!!

No need to apologize, I enjoy getting asks! They really make my day!

I'll split them into two with Yanqing as a student and Yanqing as a teenager. I sprinkled in a little mention of his parents since I wasn't sure. Do feel free to send another ask if you want some more or something different!

Yanqing as a student

Yanqing is a great student both in terms of academics and Cloud Knight training.

For Academics, he's incredibly studious partially due to his perfectionist nature but also his parents' expectations. While their expectations are not incredibly high, they were not okay with him just barely passing. As he got older, he did not need to ask his parents for help as often, but if he did, he would usually only ask Dan Feng.

Yanqing excelled in his Cloud Knight and swordsmanship training. Jing Yuan and Jingliu personally took care of training him once he was able to lift a sword. While Jingliu was the stricter of the two, she still spoiled him a lot more than when she was teaching Jing Yuan. It was very obvious from an early age that Yanqing was a prodigy when it came to wielding a sword.

However, he was also expected to learn how to fight with other weapons. While the Cloud Knights have basic training in fighting with a variety of weapons, Yanqing was expected to have an advanced understanding of how to wield a bow and spear, courtesy of Dan Feng and Baiheng. (Thank you to @ladylucina28 for helping me come up with this) Yanqing did not enjoy it and quickly dropped it once his skills were deemed passable.

Yanqing as a teenager

He is still very close to his parents. If he finishes his training early, he would go to their place of work to hang out with them. Partially for the company and partially because they will feed him whatever he wants so he doesn't have to buy it. They also give him money if he begs enough so he has developed no sense of financial responsibility.

His best friends are Tingyun, Qingque, Sushang, and Qingni. He doesn't hang out with Qingni as much once she starts her training though. He also considers Bailu one of his best friends since he'll sneak into her office so she can heal him before Dan Feng finds out about his recent batch of injuries and sends him home with no training for a week.

Yanqing, when he enters his teen years, begins being sent out to the field. While his skill has out-classed his fellow knights for years, Jing Yuan could not bear sending his child out into danger. However, there came a time when it was obvious that if Yanqing was not sent out to the field of his own free will, he would sneak out and put himself in more danger.

Of course, he does have his streaks of hyper-independence which drives his fathers up the wall. He takes on incredibly risky missions and acts without care for his own well-being. He takes his oath as a Cloud Knight to defend the people very seriously, even at the cost of himself.

As he grows older and seeks to carve his own identity, he also starts to grow insecure about his standing compared to those around him. He starts to question himself as to who he is, and what makes him valuable to his family, and it is also when comments of him getting his position through nepotism start to affect him. His self-worth also starts to tank. (sorry for the angst 😅)

This starts to put him at odds with his family who don't really know how to understand it. They all grew up too fast due to the wars and as a result never really were teenagers. There was a point where it felt as if Yanqing was on an island of his own, distant and confused. It also greatly distressed his parents since Yanqing did not want to communicate to them what exactly he was feeling since he felt it would make him ungrateful for all the care they gave him.

They, of course, do overcome it and Yanqing slowly returns to being a lot happier.

I hope you like it!!! Please feel free to send me more asks!!!

[mumms-the-word]

A random thought I had about the whole illithid soul thing. It's totally possible you touched on this somewhere in one of your posts and I've forgotten about it lol so sorry

So if we think the special tadpole that turns tav/karlach/whoever into a mindflayer at the very end is some kind of advanced tadpole that allows them to retain their souls, or at least a little bit of it, what do you make of Omeluum? He's the exception of course but he comes across as caring, empathetic, etc. He cares about Blurg and the society and the citizens of the Underdark. And he's grateful to tav for saving him in the iron throne and wants to help them defeat the Absolute. I just wonder how much of his original personality/soul is still in him. I guess it could be the same as Balduran. The emperor says his personality was just so strong that he retained at least part of it.

ANYWAY a follow up question: do you think when someone turns into a mindflayer they IMMEDIATELY lose their soul/any sense of their nonillithid self? I'm thinking specifically about the cut scene in the final battle where civilians start turning into mindflayers and immediately eating brains. Are they just following this new unfamiliar instinct while their former self is still somewhere in there thinking wtf is going on? Or like, soul gone, evil now, eat brain, previous self destroyed completely?

Excellent questions! I actually avoided talking about Omeluum because I felt like it was too much side lore but I love him and I’m delighted to talk about him

disclaimer that this isn't like...super well-thought-out or amazingly organized because the brain isn't functioning that well today but I didn't want to make you wait 2-3 business days while I dug up screenshots and crafted a whole ass deep dive. so the thoughts/theories below the cut are my Best Guesses lol but there are plenty of thoughts/theories!

First it’s worth thinking about how Omeluum was able to break away from being enthralled to an elder brain. Omeluum explains that he was able to break away because he was a spellcaster, probably a sorcerer who studied to become a wizard:

Player: How did you escape your colony? Omeluum: I was born with a propensity for arcane magic my people despise. It gave me the strength to resist the elder brain. Every waking hour, I pushed back against its dire hold. My wizardry empowered me. The moment its control shattered, I fled before the colony discovered I had defected.

So it sounds like he has some memory of who he was, or at least what he was capable of, before his transformation. But it's also a smidge unclear. For example, is "my people" the mind flayers, or his original race? Because mind flayers also hate arcane magic because they think psionic magic is better. But perhaps he comes from an anti-magic people group and is referencing them instead.

That said there’s no way of knowing whether the personality we see in Omeluum right now is the same one he had pre-transformation. There are hints in his dialogue that suggest he’s been around for a while (he's certainly not a brand new mind flayer) and I do think over time mind flayers change and adapt who they are, whether or not they’re enthralled to an elder brain. Whether this is merely a product of time (everyone changes over time), or because they consume and retain memories, or it’s an intentional choice they make, it’s not entirely certain, but I'm sure mind flayers do change as they mature and develop.

But I think his caring, empathetic qualities are genuine. It’s possible these qualities were part of his original soul/personality but it’s equally possible these qualities are ones he learned by interacting with Blurg and other Society members. Mind flayers aren’t emotionless, they just feel…differently. They might have a smaller emotional range, and typically every emotional thing they express appears muted or subtle (we see this especially with Karlach, who loses a lot of her usual exuberance, and even Blurg is like "Omeluum isn't given to strong emotions" when discussing him), but as long as they’re not enthralled, they’re capable of care and empathy. It just might look different.

I mean, even Omeluum phrases his relief and gratitude toward you in distanced terms when you save him from the Iron Throne. He says stuff like "It is...pleasurable to see you" when you talk to him at the Society of Brilliance and when you say that you like him, he responds with "I too feel some...warmth at your presence." He picks both words with hesitancy and there's a kind of distance there, but he does feel those things.

There are other hints in his other dialogues, but I don't want to clog up this response with tons of screenshots. But from the datamined dialogues we see that he is capable of joy, warmth, pleasure (words literally written in dialogues and narrator observations), as well as empathy, concern, and good-aligned morals (he actively tries to make the world a better place, wants to help stop the Absolute plot, and is even trying to research ways to eat fewer brains to sustain himself).

But whether all of that is due to his prior personality, I doubt even he knows. I'm sure there is a pre-transformation influence there, but he doesn't pretend he's anything other than a mind flayer. For example, if you tell him about the nautiloids, he says "What a brilliant experience. To feel one step closer to my ancestors is a fine gift indeed." Elsewhere he talks about the illithids being his people and while he doesn't group himself with their goals, he still talks about them being his collective people-group. He'll say stuff like "our warships" and "the gith rebelled and ended our dominion" when talking about mind flayer history, but then in act 3 he'll say "Given my kind's involvement in creating this evil, it is only right that I do my part in helping you defeat it" to explain his actions in helping you and say "I do not share my kind's opinions on the value of other living beings. I would have seen them all saved, if I could." when you point out he could have just looked after himself and not the Gondian hostages and Ravengard.

So basically, while I think there might be some prior influence or some of his original soul/identity still lingering in him, I think he's just a genuinely empathetic mind flayer. My theory is some of it existed prior to his transformation, but he nurtured that empathy while living as a mind flayer. I don't think he's empathetic because he's got more of his original soul still lingering around than most other mind flayers, I think that he's just...genuinely nice. An outlier for a mind flayer, for sure. Anyways I'm hoping that all makes sense.

As for your second question, I think normally yes you lose essentially most or all of your original identity the moment you transform (some memories typically linger, but not always) but you don't suddenly go feral. Normally you lose your soul/identity because a normal illithid tadpole literally ate your brain matter, so what’s left, essentially, is a blank slate (whereas for your soul my theory is that it morphs and transforms). You'd be hungry and instinctively you'd crave other brains, but I don't think you'd suddenly go about killing hundreds of people in your path. But you'd also not really be thinking independently, since you'd be connected with an elder brain who is issuing commands to you. So normally, just after you transform, you’re basically a mindless puppet at the start, though I’m sure as time goes on mind flayers grow a little more autonomous (as we see with Omeluum). But they don't suddenly go evil and attack everything on sight...at least, from what I understand of normal lore.

The cutscene you're referring to is not at all a normal situation. The people in that mid-battle cutscene are infected with Netherese tadpoles which only transform a person at the express command of the Netherbrain. Also, in that specific moment when they transform, the Netherbrain is actively shouting commands for everyone to destroy each other. So I think for those people, the sudden transformation would have been overwhelming because it came completely by surprise, and then their brains (which theoretically should also be capable of retaining more personhood like Tav and Karlach do because everyone's got the same kind of tadpole) is literally filled with the irresistible voice of the Netherbrain who is very loudly like “TRANSFORM. DESTROY.” over and over and over again.

Like, seriously, if my "the Netherese tadpole makes you special" theory holds any water, then anyone with a Netherese tadpole could potentially retain their soul/personality after turning into a mind flayer so long as they have access to the Astral Prism's shields to get them through the battle. Unfortunately for the city of Baldur's Gate, the Emperor is extremely picky about who he lets in.

The only reason we and our companions don't end up the same mindless, destructive mind flayers as the Baldurian citizens is because of the Astral Prism, and even then, we get close. If you trigger forced ceremorphosis (using Gale's orb in act 2, trying to go back to act 1 after killing Ketheric, attacking the Emperor in the Astral Prism without having a way to free Orpheus, etc), then you see how helpless we are to resist the Absolute's command to transform and then become her thrall. But also, if you get Orpheus to transform you into a mind flayer by him reducing his mental shields around you, there's a hint there too:

Narrator: With the withdrawal of Orpheus' power, your mind is rushed with the full force of the Netherbrain. You feel a compulsion unlike anything you've ever known - excruciating and exhilarating in equal measure. You wish nothing in the world but to evolve. Then - complete silence, as you are once again closed off from the Netherbrain's mind.

I'm sure that's more or less what is happening to the people in the streets too. But since they're under the Netherbrain's command, they're also getting commanded to kill and destroy. I doubt they have time to get their bearings or even understand what's happening because they're just reacting to commands at that point.

So it's kind of a unique case for them too. I think when they transform, they don't have the mental capacity to think beyond what the Netherbrain is forcing into their minds. If they survived the battle and were conscious when the Netherbrain went silent, maybe there was a chance they could have remembered something of themselves, but we'll never know, because they were all being killed in the streets.

Theoretically, those people could also have retained their identities (because again, Netherese tadpole) so there's a chance they might have "watched" their horrible actions from afar without having the power to stop themselves from acting. But there's also a chance that everything was just completely overwhelmed by the Netherbrain's voice and any chance at keeping personhood was taken away, first by the Netherbrain's incessant voice, and second by the very quick culling of mind flayers after the Netherbrain was defeated.

So...TLDR, normally the transformation would be like you waking up and being like "who am I? I'm hungry. That voice seems sensible. I'll listen to that voice." But the mid-battle Netherbrain transformation would be more like "OH GOD PAIN--The Voice says I must destroy, I must kill, I must eat, I must destroy, I must kill, I must eat" and maybe there's the original person deep down inside going "wtf is happening" but also maybe not.

So...maybe that helps?? Happy to chat more or clarify if I need to!

[tokiro07]

Undead Unluck ch.203 thoughts

[All Words Are Made Up]

[Contents: character development - Nico/Feng]

Oh my god, I was right about something for once! Feng really did use a technique name as his word! Whether or not the attack is stronger because of the context of this particular game, I'm not sure, but given that the whole point is to imagine the desired outcome and he was able to one-shot miniature versions of both of the Gods, I'm going to say it at least didn't hurt

I did say last week that I had no idea how Feng and Nico would interact, but in hindsight I missed something extremely obvious: of course Feng would have an opinion on letting Ichico die! His entire thing in L100 was sacrificing others for his own benefit, regardless of his personal feelings towards them. That one exchange immediately explained Tozuka's reasoning for bringing in Feng rather than the more commonly predicted Tella

The real surprise there, though, is that Nico's response wasn't "I would never do something like that," but rather "maybe the past me would have, but not anymore." I never really saw Nico as the type who would deliberately sacrifice others for his own goals, but I can definitely see him being the type to approach a situation pragmatically. Feng's logic does have a certain amount of sense to it - sacrifice one person, and the other two (plus the world) live; sacrifice no one, and everyone dies. Nico would never be happy to go along with it, but I think a previous Nico would have begrudgingly gone along with it

In fact...he DID! To himself! Back during the Negator War, Nico accidentally became charged with Unluck and had Disc threaten to fall on him and everyone else on Buroja. Rather than let anyone else get caught in it, Nico insisted that everyone else run so that he would be the only sacrifice, as that was the most practical choice. While Nico would never think of letting someone die to better himself, he would definitely make a hard choice for the sake of the greater good

But now, that's not an option. The choice isn't between "the few and the many," it's between "a victory worth having and one that's not." Just like Ichico said, Fuuko's goal is for everyone to be happy, so while even she may agree that defeating Language is a priority, it can't come at the expense of a teammate. Letting herself, Nico or anyone else die to win would make the victory itself pointless, and Nico feels the same way

Feng, of course, never would have felt that way himself previously. Victory was never about the betterment of the whole, it was about the betterment of the self; letting someone die so that the group could live was only his rationale for Nico, but it was never a factor he felt worth considering either way. If it would make him stronger, it's worthwhile, if it wouldn't, it's not, and that's as far as Feng would take it

And that's exactly why Nico needed to remind him of what he's learned up to this point. Fuuko defeated Feng because she was fighting for all of her friends. Shen defeated Feng because he was fighting for Mui. And now, Nico is standing up to Feng, someone he cannot hope to defeat and someone who he actively needs as an ally because he's fighting for Ichico

Even if Feng still doesn't agree that fighting for someone else's sake will make him stronger, he acknowledges that Nico's refusal to let Ichico die doesn't come from the cowardice to do what is necessary to win, but rather the resolve to win in the ideal way. The harder way. Even Feng has to recognize here that Nico is actively trying to be stronger, and that's something he can't help but respect

That said, I think this is the moment where it's finally sinking in that Feng can't get stronger alone. It's been about 15 years since he last saw the Union, and while he's definitely been training since then, he's been completely devoid of a real challenge since then. Without Fuuko or Shen around, there was no one to pose a credible threat to him, and certainly no one he was invested in facing. While he may never come around to the idea of protecting people, Feng must understand by now that he needs other people to push him to greater heights

I think we actually have a pretty solid piece of evidence to suggest that bit of character development as well: Feng's soul reading. The fact that Feng was able to understand the situation at hand simply by making contact with Ichico and Nico's souls not only means that he has an understanding of the soul, but also suggests that he has an understanding of people. I don't see any way that the Feng of the past could have gained the ability to literally read people without having acquired some form of desire to understand and communicate with them. If I had to guess, we should be getting a brief flashback of how Feng spent the last decade within the next few chapters so we can understand how that growth came about

It does seem like a pretty natural extension of Feng's character, though. It's a common trope for martial artists for "communicate with their fists," so a martial artist using psychometry to literally do just that makes perfect sense, but it also ties into his closing line of the chapter. "My techniques will remain in this world forever ingrained in word form." Feng is Unfade, he will never age and fade away from the world, and neither will his works so long as he is able to pass them down. Legacy was a major theme of the Untruth Arc, with all of Feng's old rivals aging out and passing on their techniques to the next generation. While those individuals eventually died, their teachings carried on; their techniques, and by extension they themselves, were remembered

So long as we remember, people never die. So long as we don't forget, people will not fade. The Feng of the past ran the very real risk of being forgotten, as he only ever taught his techniques to others with the intention of making a strong opponent that he could kill as proof of his own strength. By planting trees only to cut them down, Feng's way of life left no evidence of himself behind, and thus left no mark on the world as a whole

But now, Feng has embraced his role as a teacher. Feng isn't raising opponents, he's passing his knowledge down like he was always meant to, and this new ability is perfect for that. As UMA Soul said, the soul transcends physical boundaries to relay information; being able to communicate with others through his techniques ensures that Feng's teachings will continue to be passed on and remembered, ensuring that even if something other than age does claim him one day, he will truly never fade

Until next time, let's enjoy life!

[poindexters-labratory]

Hurricane William Afton Lore Dump Part 3 (aka I Tell You the Afton Family Drama)

CW: discussion of mental illness, trauma, divorce, violent thoughts, abuse, self-worth issues, cheating, and abandonment

Let's start this part out by making one thing clear: William is not great at taking care of himself. Not great at taking care of himself is the sense that, while he can survive, he doesn't thrive. At least when he was younger. This directly contributed to William as an adult being a highly immature and childish individual.

He was no longer put in a directly dangerous environment (although he remains in a chronic state of unease and paranoia), but the constant stressors throughout his development resulted in emotional instability. This emotional instability impairs his ability to form and keep relationships, make premeditated decisions, and have a solid self image. Therefore, the people that interact with him often (employees, Henry, Claire, associates, and frequent acquaintances) view him as immature, childish, neurotic, and kind of a bitch.

This was soon swept under the rug labeled as, "just how he was".

As the situation for William got increasingly more stressful after Fredbear's opened, this instability became more apparent. He started to have fights with his wife and Henry very, very often. Especially after Henry met Rosa (eventually Mrs. Emily), who he was now including in the creative business of Fredbear's. This caused William's first mental breakdown that wasn't nearly as bad as his second.

Now, let's talk about those notebooks. Those stacks upon stacks of notebooks mentioned in The Silver Eyes. William's most common self-therapeutic exercise was using these notebooks to rant, rave, vent, and everything in between. Henry and Claire both knew of these journals and respected his privacy to not ask what was in them.

After Fredbear's Family Diner opened, these books started to curb from venting about his feelings concerning his childhood, personal inadequacy, the political environment, and into these more violent entries toward people. Toward Rosa specifically. Well, it started as just Rosa, then it slowly trickled into various people he felt slighted by during the day.

Getting his feelings out on paper helped but he had been disposed to violence, opposition, and confrontation throughout his life before now. Safe to say he was a fighter when it came to fight-or-flight stress responses. Most of the altercations he's had with others weren't physical, but he did know how to bruise an ego to the point where a swing was taken. He's never ever laid a hand on his children.

He didn't want his kids to live in the same kind of fear he did, they didn't deserve that kind of life. Despite what his father would say, William wasn't stronger for the cruel punishments he got. If anything, he was just angry and afraid.

Claire and William would get into very loud arguments over the stupidest things he would roll his eyes at, whisper under his breath, and laugh at her about. William wasn't the only one going through a tough time.

Claire was in a practically loveless marriage with a gay man, in the middle of a nowhere place thousands of miles away from home, feeling useless and unappreciated. To her, Michael and Evan were William's kids, not hers. She was deathly homesick and couldn't deal or compromise with William's temperament, because William always thought of himself as the right one in every situation. She felt like a guest in her own house.

She couldn't have a public relationship with anyone else than William because of their marriage status they didn't want to get pestered about. Claire felt like she didn't have a life here and she wanted to go back home. William and Claire got divorced in 1973 and she was going to leave the country that same year, but of course, something came up.

Henry may or not have been having an affair with Claire. His wife, Rosa had no idea and their daughter, Charlotte, was on the way. William laughed in both of Henry and Claire's faces when they explained what happened. Elizabeth was born early 1974 with Henry's red hair and green eyes.

There was an odd tension between the three of them (Henry, Claire, and William) at this time. Almost apologetic, but all of them much too proud as people to verbalize it. Henry and Rosa get divorced after she finds out what happened, Henry and her sharing custody of Charlie, which causes another shift in Henry's personality.

Michael was especially affected by the environment, attaching to his father's style of stress management (internalize it and throw fits of rage). He was starting into altercations with school peers at this point, William always taking his side of the argument whenever he had to get involved.

After a few years to allow Elizabeth to grow, Claire then left with the toddler for London in 1977, leaving Michael and Evan behind for William to raise. William wonders to himself, "how hard could this possibly be?"

This marks the end of the the AU's first installation, "Wild Cat".

[2309analysis]

❲ NICO ROBIN HEADCANONS ⟢ ❳

She sometimes write to her mother. In her diary, of course. About all the adventures she had, the friends she made, and it’ll start and end with “dear mother, love, your daughter, Nico Robin.”

She takes pictures of the islands their on. She studies the island’s history through it.

She likes acting because she doesn’t feel pressured to act anymore. You can tell how naturally it comes to her because she had to survive for the past 20 years acting and facading for others. It only makes sense that she’s going to be great and fast to get into character. It’s second nature to her.

Robin has a skinny waist because she barely had time to eat a proper meal. Let alone eat anything healthy. She had to scrap from trashcans and force eat stuff she probably hated.

Doesn’t have a sweet tooth. Likes to stay healthy, hence why her favorite food is a salad sandwich. Although, she would not mind have a few snacks occasionally.

She grips the bedsheets when she is having a panic attack. She cowers her head in the sheets with her hands. Sometimes it’s so bad she’ll sleep with Nami that night. It’s usually over her mother / enies lobby. She’ll be more silent that day and maybe rant to luffy.

She really likes reading outdoors. The scenery gives her a peace of mind, alongside nature’s way of giving her something to peacefully listen to. She tends to have a better time focusing when not much is going on in front or around her.

She doesn’t have much of a music taste. Although, running from so many towns and cities, she did develop a sense of what ‘good’ music sounds like. She prefers the jazzy soft and slow kinds of music. She also doesn’t mind soft rock with a little bit of a tendency to listen to those kinds of songs. (Examples: Back to the Old House — The Smiths / Heros — David Bowie / Pictures of you — The Cure / Mad World — Tears for Fears)

She likes to have occasional peppermints or small candies throughout the week. Usually two to four a week. She doesn’t really think about it much, but sometimes a small candy or fruit will satisfy her appetite.

When she was told the specific line “just being alive, just being who you are, is never wrong.” Really started her down the path of finally looking at herself and life differently. She was starting to understand that the Straw Hats would sell an arm and leg for her, so why not make that worth a while.

She’s really good at calculating. Especially on graphs and charts. Mostly with Nami’s help, but Robin pulls her weight for the average bill for the Straw Hats. She gets one of the cheapest deals.

When Robin became tired, she shifted towards a chair or desk to rest her head. Usually around nobody or in a dim lit room. Especially before Enies Lobby, and she tried to hide her sleepiness. Even though Nami reminded her daily she’s allowed to get sleep when zoro or sanji is watching for the night.

Her dark humor actually comes from her being really social awkward. Especially since the Straw Hats’ are really the only friends she has and lines with. Her humor is basically a desperate attempt to be funny or lighten up the mood.

Shes the reason Luffy can write sentences. She’s the reason zoro can read. She’s the reason they’re allowed to read chapter books.

She has a childish imagination because she still wants to connect with her child-self. She wants to give her the colors she didn’t have when she was really a child. To amend for the coldness built through and up in her life. It also makes it very easy to connect with children when she is taking care of them.

Robin actually adores it when she is being taken care of. Especially by the crew; even more so by them. When she is overwhelmed by an opponent, and a Straw Hat tries to come and help her, her heart is uplifted and she becomes more motivated to finish up the fight. Knowing she can lean on people to help her. Especially franky, brook, and luffy.

She wouldn’t mind having or listening to any other kinds of music other than soft rock (70 - 90s) and jazz. She enjoys seeing others jam out and it makes her happy; which can help tolerate their own taste.

Robin probably has a dimple-smile, no, I mean her genuine smile. Since she’s a normalized smiler, but a smile? No, that’s rare. So when she smiles, small soft creaks form around her lips / cheek to form a small lump of skin around her. It’s a little thin, and hard to see from afar, but it’s there.

She has acne. Yet it’s show mostly around the back side of her neck. (Projection) She has a soft spot that has about hundred acne’s covering themselves. Their little time lumps of folded bumps imbued with each other. It’s hard to get them normally, but when they go shopping she searches for certain kinds of skin care. This started to be discovered because of the constant pressure building up on her skin. Plus, climate change.

She has sensitive skin. Not the slight touch or easily burnt, but the skin that gets acne and bumps. Mostly around her back and shoulders, plus soft intimate areas like thighs.

[theemporium]

4 and can you tell us a bit about the plot/pairings? love ya

4. How many WIPs do you have right now?

well i have seventeen wips that i am like...actively writing? if that makes sense? i am gonna put a wee read more so i don't clog up people's dash

formula one:

daniel x sunshine timeline: this is just a oneshot that explores the journey of their relationship and the most important moments that led to their relationship, including daniel almost retiring and sunshine being the one to help him find his love for racing before they even start dating

max and trouble's five stages: it's a oneshot that is split into the five stages of their relationship developing including their meeting, the pining, the acceptance, the confessing and the falling

lando x angel origin: it's the intro one shot into the angelverse that explores how lando found out about her camgirl job and how it led to them confessing their feelings (set before the angst of her job being revealed to the general public)

carlos x butterfly 5+1: it's a really bittersweet comfort fic on the five times over the relationship where carlos stood up for butterfly and the one time she really realises her own self-worth and stands up for herself

charles x blitz fwb: just a smut oneshot that starts their story with the friends with benefits dynamic because they are stupid and in denial

sugar daddy charles: this is the plot i spoke about ages ago where he needs someone to make his image look good and she needs money to pay for uni so they meet through a website. but of course they fall in love!

oscar x sainz!reader: this follows the story of how carlos' younger sister ends up in an enemies with benefits dynamic with the one driver that irritates her brother to no end. oscar always thinks she's a brat too but they come to realise how wrong they both are about each other

lando x piastri!reader: this is also the lando x black cat fic where he meets oscar's sister at the silverstone gp and becomes obsessed even if she doesn't seem so taken. based off 'english love affair' by 5sos

lestappen soulmate au: this is the fic where lestappen find out they are soulmates when they are young in karting but j*s verstappen and internalised homophobia keeps them apart. but there is a glitch and they have a third soulmate who is the reader, a famous singer they meet during a grand prix. it's how she helps bridge the gap formed between the two boys over the years and is quite max focused, showing his journey to accept the love his dad convinced him he didn't deserve from both his partners

lestappen x vettel!reader: this follows charles and reader dealing with the heartbreak when their partner (pierre) publicly cheats on them. max ends up being the friend that grounds them and slowly they all fall in love, but of course they act stupid about it and sebastian is a very tired father

charles heather fic: this is the fic based off 'heather' by conan gray. it follows charles pining after his teammate who is always falling in love with men who don't deserve her. and he doesn't understand how the whole world loves him except the one girl he actually wants

nhl:

quinn x luke's bff!reader part two: this is a follow up from the original one shot, except it goes into how everyone finds out about the couple. luke is obviously the last one to find out but i think it's pretty fun that trevor ends up accidentally being the first

brat tamer nico: a smut fic that is based around nico closing off everyone so the reader pushing his buttons and being an absolute brat until he finally lets out the frustration he has been feeling over a disappointing season (but it's lowkey turning more sad than hot right now ngl)

nico x spanish love deception au: loosely based around the book but it follows nico being the reader's fake boyfriend/date to her friend's wedding where she knows her cheating ex is going to attend. overall, very cute and fluffy (and unfortunately, i did not finish it in time for valentines)

frat!nicojack: this is the fic where frat president nico definitely plays favourites and has a soft spot for new pledge jack. but it's fine because so does his girlfriend and all it takes is a few too many shots at a frat party celebrating their last win for all the feelings to come out and nico to fuck them both dumb

nico x medic!reader: in which an injury brings nico closer to the team medic who believes she isn't worth loving and is too difficult to love because of her past. instead, he shows her that her parents' mistakes do not reflect her and she is very easy to love if she lets him in

nico x writer!fic: this one is still (mostly) in the planning stages but follows an author who is experiencing a slump in her writing. who would have thought a six foot two swiss man would be the solution to her finding her inspo back? still to be decided whether it's set in jersey or in switzerland like a proper romcom moment

marauders:

hockey!james: just a wee fic of james falling head over heels for lily's roommate at uni. however, his way in ends up being a really odd deal where he helps her in bed after she has troubles finishing and she helps him with a class (but sike, he isn't failing but he needed an excuse to get closer to her without outwardly admitting his feelings and scaring her away)

[winderlylandchime]

I have a question for you that might be a bit too much but I was watching QAF and started asking myself the same thing and I remember that I really liked reading your Brian Kinney post or something similar that was very interesting so I figured I’d ask you too. What are your favorite and least favorite things about the characters from QAF? Not just Britin but like all of them. Because all of them are perfect in their own way but also flawed so I was wondering what someone else might pick :)

Hello dear sweet anon!

Thank you for this ask, I love these types of questions (as everyone now knows, lol).

As you said, and I think it’s worth repeating, these characters all have good qualities and bad qualities and that is so real. None of us is perfect and all of us have bad qualities. I think that is what made this show so compelling (and why we’re all still so obsessed 20 years later). These characters were real (even if the situations they were in - take down a corrupt politician?! - were sometimes not the most realistic) and we could relate to all of them in some way.

The Characters of Queer as Folk…

Michael Novotny

Good - he is clearly a person who cares a lot about the people he loves - his mother, his friends, his uncle, his partner. He is a fandom guy. Here we all are talking about a show that was on the air 20 years ago, and this guy is obsessed with Captain Astro and other superheroes. He is one of us.

Bad - he has an idea of who people are that is very fixed and therefore when he wants the best for the people he loves, it is sometimes not based in who they are as a person in the here and now. Brian doesn’t do love or boyfriends, therefore he can never do love or boyfriends. This is very relatable, so many of us have trouble updating our idea of who someone is over the course of a long term relationship (platonic or romantic). He tends towards very codependent relationships. Also, go back and watch the beginning of his relationship with Ben. I’m not talking about breaking up early in their relationship about his serostatus, I’m talking about after they reunite and Debbie disapproves and Michael makes all these (very good) points about dating Ben but he does it… in front of Ben. CRINGE. AWKWARD. I WOULD ACTUALLY DIE IF SOMEONE DID THAT TO ME.

Ted Schmidt

Good - he is intelligent and kind, he has a biting sense of humor, he is loyal.

Bad - he has the world’s lowest self-confidence. Rather than just own his love of accounting and opera, he is ashamed of it. He has remarkable growth in this respect over the course of the series and I would argue he is the character that grows the most (and whose growth is not erased by the end of the series).

Emmett Honeycutt

Good - oh my god I love him so much. He is a femme queen and he lets his flame burn bright. He is kind and funny and can take a joke and dish it right back.

Bad - oof this one is hard because I do love him so much. I think he tends to want to shy away from the darkness and as a result when a loved one is going through a dark time (ahem Ted), he struggles to be able to help much beyond something surface level. His understanding of substance abuse disorders could be improved. Also, the party he plans for Ben’s birthday is full cringe racist.

Debbie Novotny

Good - she is fiercely protective and an ally to the gay boys of Liberty Avenue. She does not back down from a challenge. She has had to be strong as a young single mother and she did a good job with what she had to work with.

Bad - as a young single mother she and her son have a codependent relationship and this models that type of relationship for her son to develop with other people. Her protectiveness knows no loyalty, except to her son. Her “adoptive son” Brian gets the short end of the stick when his needs are in conflict with her son’s. Which makes sense, but then don’t pretend to be a mother to Brian. She thinks she knows better than people about what is good for them and what they need and this sometimes extends beyond advice giving (telling Brian to tell Justin he loves him after zucchini man) to taking action (as @kinnenvy rightly points out - telling Joan that Brian has cancer). Ma’am, you do not do that. Also, she uses the word fag (which I have no problem with queer people reclaiming but she is… not actually queer) and dates a cop, so she loses major ally points in my book.

Ben Bruckner

Good - he is very good looking. He is smart and driven. He brings an alternative perspective to the group. He honors who Michael is and allows him to let his fandom freak flag fly (we should all have partners and friends who do this, btw).

Bad - toxic positivity thy name is Ben Bruckner. Why does Ben have a flirtation with steroids? Because his “look on the bright side, glass half full, be positive” mentality does not allow for any negativity. And life has negativity in it. We need to acknowledge it and not push it away in order to deal with it. His understanding of Buddhism is incomplete and lacking (from my own study of Buddhism). Also, he is really freaking boring.

Melanie Marcus

Good - she is smart, she knows who she is as a Jewish dyke, and she is unapologetic. She is apparently a lawyer who specializes in everything from civil rights to custody to entrapment/indecent exposure (whatever Vic was charged with). She is able to change her mind (about getting married, etc.)

Bad - she cheats on her partner and then when her partner cheats on her she decides it’s different because biphobia. She is jealous of Brian and this warps her image of him. She is stubborn.

Lindsay Peterson

Good - she is kind and she loves fiercely. I like her relationship with Justin and the way she mentors him.

Bad - oof. I cannot scream enough about her decision to have Brian father Gus. First of all, her partner is jealous/doesn’t like him. I don’t know what type of long term relationships you’ve had, anon, but this is not how you treat your partner. Yes, she’s the one carrying the fetus but her partner should get veto power over the sperm donor (or father… more on that in a second). I cannot even imagine doing that to my spouse. We even had a brief moment of insanity where we contemplated having a kid so that isn’t something so difficult to imagine. Like, how do you do that? Then that brings me to her relationship with Brian. Maybe Lindsay is bisexual but can’t acknowledge because of biphobia (from the writers first and foremost, like I know biphobia was super acceptable in the early 2000s but c’mon, do better!), but having a crush on someone who will never love you back is something to work out in therapy. It’s not something to allow to go unchecked and wreck your relationship with your partner. Her crush, I would say, is worse than Michael’s because it’s almost like she doubts Brian when he says he is not interested in women. (Let’s reverse the situation and imagine a man constantly flirting with a lesbian and telling her how he imagined they would wind up together and how gross and boundary crossing that would seem.) Also, she has him in this box (Peter Pan) and again, refuses to acknowledge that he might grow and change. She gives him mixed messages - you need to grow and be a good partner to Justin but also this isn’t you and you need to remain you. Another mixed message? Oh you’ll just be the sperm donor, make a cameo appearance, etc. but then “You need to spend time with your son.” Obviously, people raise kids in all types of relationship configurations. But from my understanding, Brian was going to donate the sperm and Lindsay and Melanie would be the parents. So is he the sperm donor or is he the father? Both Brian and Melanie would like to know.

[i-eat-worlds]

Hi! I don't wanna be too mean to Alex so my prompt for her is just "sick day" show me what she's like with a fever :D

Alex appreciates your mercy. But feel free to be mean. Also I suck at sickfics, so sorry.

Cw: Vomiting, medical exams, self-worth issues, this is pretty light

It was Joseph who found her, keeled over a trash can, puking her guts out. Because of course it was Joseph. He seemed to be developing a sixth sense for her health. His steps quickened when he turned the corner and noticed her curled posture.

“Alex, what’s going on?” He called as he approached. Before she could make up an excuse or say that she was ne her stomach interrupted, and she vomited again. Joseph squatted down by her side. “Same food poisoning that Aarav has?” He asked.

Alex nodded silently, worried that opening her mouth would trigger another round of vomiting. She squeezed the trash can tighter as another wave hit. Her throat felt raw from the acid, and her mouth tasted disgusting. A look of concern crossed Joseph’s face. “Let’s get’cha to the medbay, yeah?”

“M’ fine.” Alex mumbled, ignoring the cold chill that ran down her spine. “No, you’re not.” Joseph said. His voice softened. “Let me do my job, Alex.” She nodded again, and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, helping her to stand. “You can take the trash can.”

As much as Alex hated to admit, it was nice to lean into his support. Walking was much easier with his help. He steadied her every time she swayed, gripping her shoulder tightly whenever she was about to collapse. It was strange, to be treated so gently.

When they made it to the medbay, Joseph turned into the nearest available exam room, and helped her climb up onto the exam table. The paper cover crinkled as she sat down, trash can now situated on her lap. “You okay with me doing this?” He asked, dimming the bright lights in the room a little bit. “It’s okay if you’re not, I’ll go get another medic.” Alex shook her head. “You’re good,” She said.

“I’m gonna get vitals and ask some questions, alright?” He had switched to his “medic voice.” Cool, calm, and professional, but no less gentle. Latex snapped as he pulled on a pair of gloves

“How do you feel?” He asked, clipping the pulse oximeter onto her finger. “Vomiting, cold chills, stomach cramps, generally like shit,” Alex said concisely.

“When did this start?” Joseph asked. Unvelcroing the blood pressure cu and securing it around her arm. “Tight squeeze,” He warned.

“About an hour after I ate lunch today.” Alex replied.

“Alright, thank you.” Joseph said, entering her answers into her le, along with her blood oxygen and blood pressure. “I’m gonna listen to your heart and lungs now.”

Joseph grabbed a stethoscope, then tucked the eartips into his ears and placed the bell on her chest. “Can you take some deep breaths for me?” He asked, moving the stethoscope around. Eventually, he switched to her back. “Clear breath sounds, that’s good.” Joseph smiled a little as he put the stethoscope away.

“Temperature next.” Joseph said, sliding the plastic cover onto the wand and sticking it into her mouth. A moment later it beeped, and Joseph read out the temperature. “One-o-one point seven.” He ejected the cover into the trash can. “You have a low grade fever.”

“Wonderful.” Alex said sarcastically.

Joseph stripped off his gloves as he spoke. “I’m gonna fill out the paperwork for you to take the day off.” That was a surprise. Food poisoning didn’t really warrant a day off, did it? “Go back to your quarters and rest. Try to drink a little bit of water if you can, alright?”

Alex nodded, pushing herself down onto the floor. She swayed a little bit on her feet, and Joseph extended his arm to help steady her.

“Thank you.” Alex said, clinging onto his arm.

“Do you want me to walk you back?” He asked.

Normally she wouldn't have agreed, but she doubted that she could make it back to her room on her own. And Joseph was letting her have the day off. A break wasn’t something to be wasted. “Yeah.” She agreed, placing her other arm around his shoulders. What ever had she done to deserve this kindness.

Taglist:@pigeonwhumps

[qedmirage]

Tore through this one in 2 days. Lotta thoughts percolating over it, chief among them being "Hey Jim, why do you think the chapter with multiple characters trying to restore nations of the past is called Return To Mist, evoking feelings of ephemeral phenomena?"

First up, stage mechanics! The "vibe" for this one is the corruption damage that common nachzeher enemies do on death, a true damage AOE (finally, Quartz is strong). Other standouts are the trees that turn into stronger enemies the longer they're left alive, and the enemies that insta-kill the first op to block them (so, 0-block clears are stonks again). Nothing too wild but it was interesting and I felt they helped make more defensive units better, even if most of the time I just threw Mylnar and Gavail alter at it and didn't have to think. Final boss stage being optional was a choice and I like it, though I did clear that stage with Cement facetanking the Last Steam Knight. Story thoughts under the cut!

So, Return to Mist opens with a focus on Allerdale's childhood, a happy memory from right before the assassination of the King and the start of the 20-yr Victorian Civil War. And I do think that's how one should conceptualize the conflict in Arc 2; in the sections on Catherine we learn that the workers who made Steam Knight armor died and were not replaced. Charles Lynch was the Last Steam Knight, not just because the king wasn't around to title another, but because Victoria *can't make them anymore*. And there's this broad quest by several characters to restore nations long since lost. Lettou wants to restore Gaul, the KMC a Kazdel that stretches from horizon to horizon, and Allerdale and Siege (to a lesser extent) Victoria, the grand nation of Terra. For all these characters it feels very... unheroic? Lacking in triumph? The KMC are villains of course, but Lettou is essentially asking for Gaul to be made again from Theresis' diktat. Siege gets a lot more detail, but there's a sense that the stable, unified Victoria signified in the Realmblade may never have existed. Or if it did, it's a thing of the past, consigned to her memories of her childhood; the civil war has been going on since she was six. She remembers more of her time as a gangster than as a princess. That Siege's whole quest ends with them getting the legendary sword, but with no immediate use for it and at great cost, feels like she isn't going to fix things by reclaiming the throne and restoring Victorian Monarchy. That to do so is impossible, or if it is possible, far too bloody to be worth it. The KMC, well they get more development along their arc towards becoming a murder cult. Contrast, the feelings of rank-and-file Sarkaz:

With the viewpoint of political leaders, like the Sanguinarch:

I recall people sometimes saying that 'maybe the Sarkaz are the problem' and that's just not the case at all. The text acknowledges a level of nuance in these things, in how people get swept along into atrocities, that isn't often present in otaku media. The KMC, the catlyst agent pushing violent ethno-nationalism, is the problem (and also maybe all those magic ghosts that psychically attack people). Or in Logos's words:

and, Logos is present in Londinium not on behalf of Rhodes Island, but in his role as King of the Banshees; it's a Sarkaz civil war, too. Or in other words:

Contrasting with all that you have the genuinely uplifting and heroic stuff that happens to the Self-Salvation Corps; these are people who are not mated to the idea of Victoria as it was, they just want to build a better society and band together to do so. I appreciate also that the Self-Salvation corps has a bit where they're like "oh fuck no, a Ducal army coming into the city is the last thing we need", because the Dukes were never great to begin with and an inter-ducal civil war is only a matter of time.

Fiest for minister of industry All in all a good story, if a depressing one. As a final note, I love the tragedy of Golding's efforts with the kids throughout the chapter; she spends a whole year preparing a play about a knight for them to perform, hoping they'll learn something from the complex emotions, even if it doesn't all sink in yet. But instead, the violence of the times and the language of the play just seem to make them think bloodshed is cool and fun. Really deserves reading that bit in full.

[gamesception]

lets read rgu, chapter 25

Hrm.  Entering the last volume of the collected paperbacks.  Entering the final battle seems more like where yhou’d want to end a volume rather than start a new one.  66 pages for the next chapter?  I’m a bit burnt out, might not make it all the way through.  And those other two chapter titles...  Black Rose Seal?  Wait, is this the last chapter, and then there are side stories?  Azure.... Ruka maybe?  Eh, one chapter at a time.

So when we left off, Akio was claiming to be Dios, despite having killed him and turned him into a ring five seconds ago.

Yeah, there’s that inward statue again.

Wait, wait, what?  This is implying that Akio /liked/ helping humans, but saving little Utena when she fell in the river was just too much no thank you, if we save one drowning girl we’d have to do too dang much!  So I’ma destroy my other self!  It’s... like, am I supposed to take this as an unreliable narrator thing?

OOOOHhhh, ok.  That makes more sense.  Akio had already rebelled and cast down Dios, and as he faded away he reached out to utena and passed her a part of his power to keep it from Akio.  That...  I mean, it still feels weird that this is something that happened recently, in Utena’s lifetime, in the modern world, and not fairy tale long ago times.

So a part of Dios was left with Utena as her ring, and part with Anthy as the sword, keeping him from fading away.

Ok, so there’s our stakes.  Take out Akio, bring back Dios, save Anthy from turning into seafoam or whatever.

Yup, all the recap and set up is out of the way, and it’s time for rolling initiative.

After fighting back and forth a bit Akio cheats with magic / metaphors.  The Prince’s role is still defined by self sacrifice, suffering for the sake of the princess.  Anime Akio fell from grace and lost the power of the prince by letting Anthy take that pain for him, Manga Akio killed Dios to avoid that pain.  Utena has to shoulder it and fight through it if the wants to become a prince and save Anthy.

And it does come back to Anthy, even if the manga remains a few steps less overt about that than the series.  As it has been about the various sexual themes in the show in general.

Anyway, commitment to Anthy is the magic key to bring back Dios, if only for a moment.

and Manga Utena finally prioritizes becoming a prince who can save Anthy over reuniting with the prince who saved her.

And it’s actually a solid moment to end the fight on - with a meaningful turning point in character development driving the outcome of the duel.  Works really well.  Good job with the conclusion of at least the last and most important duel in the manga.  Very satisfying, ending on a high point.

Of course, the role of the Prince is sacrificial by definition.  Looks like Utena isn’t making it out of the Manga’s climax any better than she did out of the anime.

Fuck you, buddy.  A very nice little moment out outright defiance from Anthy.

Oh, wait, more notably, Anthy isn’t fading away anymore.  She’s already been saved.  I guess she’s found a new love worth living for.

Which also gives Utena one final power up to finish off the already wounded Akio...

Nice inversion of the Akio defeating Dios pose

Ok, so there’s a bit coming up here that’s a bit confusing?

This sounds like she’s restoring the Dual Akio/Dios from before, but that doesn’t seem to be the case, because then they immediately explode and maybe turn into a ring?  I guess she means they’ll be together now in non-existance the way they used to be together in existence, with both personalities faded away and remaining only as the ring and/or sword.

Also apparently doing this kills and/or non-exists Utena, I guess because she was also fused with Dios at this point, so even though her sword wound seems to have magically healed she’s still getting the sacrificial Prince treatment.

Anthy, now entirely out of Princes, rescues Touga and the student council as the castle collapses, and, drawn by Utena’s voice, catches the ring containing whatever is left of her brother/s & maybe also Utena.  If the ring symbolizes the prince, does that make Anthy the prince now?:

Back to the school, and to Touga.  He meets up with the student council, but none of them remember the duels, or the castle, or Utena herself.  Only he does, I guess because he hadn’t been coffined.

But Chuchu’s still around, and even has a little Utena outfit.

And Anthy’s here, too.  and she is doing the whole Prince thing, as implied by catching the ring.  She looks good.

They have a moment where they reminisce about Utena, but Anthy assures Touga that Utena isn’t gone - or even stuck in the ring like I thought.

And that’s where the story ends.  A bit more concrete than the anime’s ending, but still the same core moment of Anthy, now free, leaving the academy and setting out into the wider world to find Utena again.

And while I’m personally more invested in the more abstract and metaphorical stuff the anime was doing in the end, the closing chapters of the manga were still very strong.  Much more so than the middle bits, so yeah, it’s nice to end on a strong point.  I don’t think I have any hollistic overarching comment or thought to sum everything up.  The art was good.  The story mostly worked.  It won’t displace the anime at all in my heart, but still a compelling alternative rendition - not doing as much or delving as deep, but the core between Utena and Anthy is still there.

Glancing ahead, the remaining two chapters are side stories toughing on bits from the anime that didn’t make it into the manga story proper.  I don’t think I’ll do full reacts like this, but I’ll read through them and post some brief thoughts over the weekend.

[fragments-of-despair]

Finished chapter 4. I'll keep my thoughts brief. Don't worry. They're mostly positives this time.

Of course, trying to keep it vague enough, but spoilers ahead.

First, the positives.

This was by far the most interesting mystery out of the entire game. The intricacies, the careful planning, the mastermind reveal. All of it worked perfectly. Even when I figured out where it was going, I was still surprised and impressed with the overall solution.

Also, Vivia Twilight?

BEST BOY BEST BOY BEST BOY BEST BOY BEST BOY BEST BOY BEST BOY BEST BOY BEST BOY BEST BOY BEST BOY BEST BOY BEST BOY BEST BOY

I adored his development this chapter and loved how his Forte and personal convictions and worldview influenced the investigation. I can't really describe anything about it without spoiling too much, but like, damn, he's worth the $60 price tag. I can see why the one side NPC fell in love. Vivia is just AMAZING.

Also, this was probably Shinigami's best outing. She was still her usual self, but she also met her match in Vivia, and the overall story really started getting to her in a way the other cases didn't. So when the culprit reveal happened and she reaped the soul, it made sense why it went the way it did. And I found myself getting a bit emotional over this culprit along with all the detectives.

That being said, I'm still rather disappointed in the lack of true comradery between Yuma and the other detectives, as well as the lack of character conflict between the Nocturnal Detective Agency and the Peacekeepers. Most of the characters still feel like they're just kind of there, especially the villains. And that leaves everything feeling rather bare bones without even scraps to nibble on.

It might sound weird, but I think what hinders this game is the fact that you don't really interact with anyone outside of the main mystery and the Gab mechanic, and that mechanic is easy to pass over if you don't find all the statues and don't actively go out of your way to find them all. If they had made Kanai World more of an open box to explore like, say, a Legend of Zelda or Assassin's Creed game, where you unlock certain cases and interact with certain characters based on certain conditions and are encouraged to explore the world, I think I would have found the emotional core of this chapter more hard hitting.

Give me side quests where you go undercover with Desuhiko more and master a relationship meter or something similar.

Give me side quests where you and Halara take on cold cases and you work on paying off your debt to them you incur in chapter 2.

Go on more adventures with Fubuki to unlock certain districts in Kanai Ward and learn more about the outside world.

Give me lore based adventures with Yakou and Vivia, who are supposed to have this strong bond based on the emotional core of this chapter.

And make it so that your choices can affect how you go through the Mystery Labyrinth in the main story chapter. Have the Master Detectives come with you and actually have them help more with the investigations in there because as it stands, the only ones who really justified being there were Vivia and Halara, but that had to do more with the story rather than the gameplay.

I really, really want to love this game, but overall it feels empty. It easily could have been an 80-120 hour game if given the time and resources, and I feel like it would be all the better for it.

Hopefully chapter 5 sticks the landing because from my understanding, it's the final chapter, and I'm really hoping that it keeps improving where chapter 4 left us.

Overall, if I had to rank all of the chapters so far from best to worst, it'd look something like this:

Chapter 4: The Imperfect Insider

Chapter 2: A Silent Curtain Call

Chapter 0 and Prologue: Massacre on the Amaterasu Express/the WDO vs Amaterasu Corperation

Chapter 1: The Nail Man Killings

Chapter 3: No Longer a Detective (Chapter 3 curse lives on)

To be honest, I think I would have gladly waited another two or three years for Rain Code if it were filled with more than what we got.

As of right now, the only reasons I would say to get this game as is would be because of Yuma, Halara, Vivia, and the music. Otherwise, it might be better to wait until it's on sale.

Here's hoping chapter 5 stays on the upward trajectory and sticks the landing.

[wyrdle]

Yuri Survives AU

(or at least until I can think of a new name lol)

Decided to make a proper text post exploring my thoughts about Tiger and Bunny 2 + rationale for keeping Yuri alive + tiger and bunny helping him in secret.

Spoilers abound of course!

Basic thoughts about Ep 20/Ep25: What a beautifully devastating episode! I think this ep very clearly, was showing how killing Mr Legend truly affected Yuri. Yuri himself knows rationally that it was out of self defence, but there’s plenty of guilt, so much so that his mind conjures hallucinations of his father to hurl abuse at him and call him a murderer. (Also, him experiencing so much torn up feelings about this death that he creates Lunatic to enact “justice” on others, of course. AKA “I wasn’t wrong back then and I am not wrong now!” is Yuri’s extremely toxic means of justifying his father’s death.)

Anyway, I think Olga, who had been hurling accusations at him, and her death was very much needed for him to clear his head and truly shake up his ideas about “justice”. To quote the Mr Legend vision, which is and always has been Yuri’s guilty conscience tbh, there are so many holes/inconsistencies in his idea of justice by death. In this ep, Yuri’s ideas are fully shaken, and I think he’s very much on the road of accepting the distinction between:

He was not wrong for killing his father

His actions as Lunatic were wrong, and Yuri does feel some sense of remorse for his actions. 

I think that second point requires a bit more reinforcement from the show, so that’s what I’ll accept as my fanon. As in, I wish there were more scenes of Yuri poring over his victim’s files, data, evidence etc. Basically stuff that’d tell us that Yuri doesn’t enjoy any of what he did, made sure that the evidence that these were terrible/horrible people was fool proof, and through the death of his mother, realised the futility/cruelty of his “justice”/actions as Lunatic.

This is still very early stages though, and shaky, hence why he still flies over to kill the Mayor despite the character development, I suppose. I’m not a huge fan of the whole “this was my voice afterall”, because it’s vague and I *guess* you could spin it as Yuri realising he doesn’t actually want Lunatic/Vigilante Murderer etc. but eh. Him helping out Tiger and Bunny though, I think makes sense. Lol idk this episode was just whacky. I think I’d have preferred to have Lunatic just silently helping tiger and bunny, none of the mayor stuff etc.

Anyway, I do think Yuri’s suicide makes sense, though probably better with some tweaks to the build up to it, because I see it as: Lunatic’s final act being to purge Lunatic, a criminal.

Again, getting it through to Yuri that death is not the answer to criminals is a tough one, but he’s getting there. It’s an admission that Yuri was indeed, wrong, to have killed criminals as Lunatic, and a true sign of his remorse over the whole thing. For a character to redeem themselves, they need to show remorse/regret over their actions. I think this death would be suited, if they’d led up to it better as opposed to Tiger + Bunny praising him etc. I’d have preferred seeing some insight into Yuri’s thoughts more, rather than the hero’s observations.

ANYWAY. This brings me to why I made my AU (besides yuri being my fave lol)

Getting rejected from the flames of Tartarus (suriving his fire-suicide) is probably another big thing for Yuri, because it’s first hand realising why people like him (criminals/people who have done wrong whom he had killed mercilessly), should not be killed. Who better than Tiger and Bunny to hammer that into his head lol. Also, I think it’s fascinating for both Tiger and Bunny to question the usefulness of yeeting criminals into prison. From this season, some of the incompetencies of the prison system/police were being shown, but not addressed fully psft. Yuri/Lunatic in particular seemed like a rational villain to T&B, and someone who was worth talking out of things. Basically: There’s a whole lot of good Yuri can still do, to try an atone for what he’s done. He can never erase it, that’s true, but living and learning from it is better than whatever miserable existence he once had.

I much prefer the narrative of Yuri surviving his suicide then growing and thriving, rather than never reaching this low-point/realisation NOR completely being killed off. One, it’s very much a confirmation of his remorse for his actions, and Two, a very important tipping point for him to finally put Lunatic to rest and focus on living well+doing good to atone.

Also him having two different scars to signify his character development? Delicious. Anyway that’s my very rambly essay, I hope it makes sense XD

[cosmicangst]

finished almost there as my first book of the year. this is part of those disney twist books where it's basically a spinoff of the original movie but with a what-if premise to change things up. i read one of these (the cinderella one) years ago to see if the gimmick was worth it but i remember feeling very underwhelmed. for a ya-marketed series, it definitely leans into the much younger part of the demographic. i see the appeal but the overall effect was just not for me

but when i heard that tiana was getting her own book, i knew i had to read it because princess and the frog, despite its faults and my current antipathy towards disney as a whole, remains one of those childhood properties that i still have a lot of earnest and indulgent love and nostalgia for. and i feel this book absolutely delivers and addresses everything that i would have wanted for tiana but i think this book (through really no major fault of its own but its source) still has some flaws that make it difficult for me to give it a perfect score. spoilers below

the biggest positive is that everybody stays human for the whole book lol

tiana gets a character arc this time, more or less. the twist premise is basically "what if tiana took facilier's offer at the end of the movie" but instead of a restaurant it's a deal to bring her father back (and revert naveen into a human) in exchange for, among other things, naveen's memories (and by extension his love). her grief and inability to let her father go (which prevents her from achieving future happiness and love) becomes the emotional crux of the book. and you could make an argument that it is also the foundation of tiana's biggest flaw. one of the criticisms that some had of the movie was that the narrative didn't give as much development into tiana's potential points of change the same way it did for naveen. so it's markedly better here.

i make this point because tiana's flaw is that she won't let people help and care for her and to go even deeper, she won't let people in. she views her independence as a virtue because it enables her to achieve her dreams and weather hardships. and while that is true it also alienates her from her loved ones and from happiness outside of her career. the book makes a case that this facet of her character comes namely from her father's influence but also her experiences with overcoming oppression (racism and classism, which are explicitly addressed. i don't remember sexism being even mentioned). her father's death exacerbated this virtue into a fault. so the personal reading here is that tiana's fear of trusting people to care for her is tied to her grief and inability to let her father go. but again, that's a personal reading. the book's biggest weakness is that while it does present these as open-ended suggestions, it doesn't concretize this connection into a straightforward arc.

tiana's mistake in dealing with facilier is brought on less by this flaw and more by a fear of her loved ones being hurt, which isn't really an internal weakness that she needs to overcome based on the trajectory we're given. but it could have been! this book could have made tiana's journey more cohesive by tying this external threat with her internal motivation. one way is to make tiana feel responsibility for her father's death. of course it's not her fault; he died as fodder in a senseless war but grief rarely makes any sense. she doesn't have to believe she's directly responsible but emphasizing the added fear that if she doesn't work hard enough or sacrifice enough, she could lose her loved ones and their happiness as well (like her mother through financial insecurity or naveen's dreams by being too focused on her own self-fulfillment) would make her arc neater. i mention this because i feel like it would be more compelling if tiana agreed with the deal purely from internal motivation rather than it being a decision majorly influenced by facilier's direct and external threat. tiana is tempted with the prospect of getting her father back but she remains pretty adamant not to do it until facilier basically corners her with threats on her other loved ones. so the inciting action doesn't come so much from the flaw which she needs to overcome but more from facilier's gaslighting and manipulation; it feels less like the actual mistake it needs to be and more a self-defense choice. which is fine enough if not a little boring because tiana doesn't have that much agency then in an arc that is meant for her to learn how to let go (her father and to a lesser extent her pathological grip on work/duty). there's less emotional pay off because the journey is centered not so much on defeating her personal demons and just on defeating Some Guy who's causing all her troubles

if not this...another reading we can take is that the arc is about tiana learning how to overcome power (or the pursuit/desire of it). facilier is a symbolic stand-in for power in his belief that gaining it for himself over those with social and economic capital in new orleans is the only way of overcoming the impotency he felt growing up in poverty. tiana loses her father in a war for power. she defeats facilier (power) by leaning into her community (love) and using his hubristic pursuit of it against him. tiana's flaw is a response to the oppressive powers that shape her everyday life. this also kind of works character-wise for her because we are often shown that tiana thinks she knows what is best all the time and learns gradually that perhaps that's not always the case. but we still have that pitfall in which her biggest mistake wasn't a choice made by her hubris for power. plus i don't feel as great interpreting a black man who we learn came from poverty (and most likely faced racism as well during this time period though the book does not make it as explicit as with tiana) metonym with systemic power. and it also kind of gives off this very booker t. washington ideology that social uplift is only possible and valid through hard work and social equity only achievable by white acceptance/tolerance

not advocating of course for facilier as a person but if if we take this route and we look at this thematically that's what it comes across as; the optics of this interpretation being: tiana's experience with her oppression is more validated by the narrative than facilier's (ie acting with dignity such as patience in response to oppression vs acting with "less dignified" responses such as anger)

ANYWAY getting too much into the weeds with this but what i ultimately mean is that this book could have benefited with a hundred more pages and a slight tweak of the inciting action. and i can't fully blame the author who has done such impressive work with what she was given. but because the source material she's pulling from is flawed, naturally those are flaws she has to work and fudge around with.

i love that we got a black, female author who is from louisiana to write this book. the culture, the insider know-how of new orleans's streets and alleys are foundational to everything in this book. actual vodou is revisited and corrected from the movie's misguided treatment of it as purely "evil". and she is not afraid to call out what things are. esp regarding tiana and charlotte's interracial friendship and the minefields they have to address. but she is also still writing for disney. so she has to operate within that fairy tale (and white-centered) framework inherent to the company's artistic (and marketing) ethos so all of these grits and bumps have to be light touches. and i'm not saying that this book should be chapters of exposes on 1920s racism but disney's editorializing hand is always evident in their properties (even andor, which i hold near and dear, can't fully escape from disney). so the real difficulty is that you can easily see what she could do with these characters and this plot without the strictures and boundaries of the disney corporation and the original movie. but the ouroboros curse is that this book wouldn't have been possible without disney and that movie

anyway other things i super loved: facilier is as much of a great villain here as ever (he has this passage where he's plotting to manipulate tiana by thinking of ways to torture naveen in front of her lmao) but there is an attempt to better understand his motivations by briefly providing his background and giving him some moments of actual humanity, which does him make more sympathetic. in the movie tiana and facilier meet for like five minutes at the very end but here the premise gives protagonist and antagonist an actual connection, both relationship and theme-wise. facilier is ultimately trapped by his "friends on the other side" in the pursuit of power and tiana learns to embrace her own friends wholeheartedly with love and community. facilier lost his mother through poverty at a young age which affected him greatly and tiana lost her father through a war at a young age which affected her greatly. facilier has grudging respect for tiana's smarts and loyalty to her principles. tiana doesn't have as much regard for him lol and if the book is going to humanize him with more complexity, i wish that they shared some moments that couldn't be just simplified to a hero/villain dichotomy

i love lottie's arc. at the end she uses her privilege to get into the rooms of politics and becomes an advocate for civil rights after she and tiana have an honest talk about the racism the latter faces and the ignorance the former grew up with. it's very much a Teaching Moment for the Whites (and again light touches courtesy of disney) but charlotte emphasizes she wants to be the best kind of friend for tiana because she takes her role in tiana's life so seriously as her best friend and it was such a sweet moment i can't even be that cynical about it

naveen's arc is pretty much a redux only slightly more fleshed out and purely out of narrative necessity because he lost his memories. which i think is one of the greatest disappointments because spoilers he gets flashes of the past but he doesn't fully get his memories back. normally im a huge sucker for the amnesia trope however i felt that because tiana is the reason why he can't remember and naveen didn't discover or learn from her the details of the deal she made, it feels like he was stripped of his agency from that choice. like she has a moment where she regrets making louis's wish for him without his input so i wish there was a moment in the end where she reveals what she did, have him be conflicted about it (like he doesn't even need to get his memories back), but ultimately come to terms with it together, making their relationship stronger than before

but i love them as always. they're still my favorites and the most believable disney couple. i love that out of everyone he is the one who consistently makes her laugh. and they make a point to say that tiana seldom does laugh freely and naveen has this unique ability to incite that from her. also the yearning parts were top notch. even without his memories, naveen can't help his love for her and it makes me cry. another thing i would have preferred is for naveen to be the one to join tiana while she's working out a way to solve her mistake and face facilier. he feels less of a partner and more of a reward for her in that regard when the whole point is tiana learning how to achieve things with someone rather than just how to achieve things. and more than anything i wanted him (and charlotte) to comfort her when she finally lets her dad go. as a kind of symmetry that her happiness is still present even with all this grief

also there's this moment where tiana's planning to get a pear and she's asking him if he wants anything and naveen stares at her and says "not a pear"

THIS IS DISNEY

anyway great book. i had to return it to the library but im definitely buying a paperback copy of it for my own when it comes out. i wish farrah rochon was part of the creative team for the tiana series coming out because she just gets it. she gets why these characters are so loved in spite of the flaws of their movie. the audience is marketed for young young adult readers so expect the writing to go that way but if you're a fan of the movie or are just interested in new orleans culture in the 1920s and vodou i recommend this book. it made me cry even though i recognize it could have easily made me cry harder with just a few adjustments

[irlbkgs]

🐛👕 for the ask game >.<

🐛 What kind of character development does your S/I go through within their story?

so nicky's always really struggled with a few things throughout his life: self worth, communication and lashing out. this is all very obviously bc of his trauma and the first two very much so have to do with his parents whereas the last one is The Disorders. growing up his parents were never really around and then out of nowhere when he was like 12 his parents adopted a child???? and then brought her with them to basically all their functions and "family" trips while he still got left at home with a nanny because he was always loud and argumentative, he liked asking too many questions and he was very hyperactive as a kid (still is as an adult but ya know), whereas this other girl, siobhan, was very shy and only really spoke when spoken to. despite it all, nicky and her got along well once he realized their parents had basically just adopted her to keep up appearances and she was also a very traumatized child which is why she was always so quiet, she was scared to speak out of turn, thinking (knowing) she'd be punished. still, nicky knowing this didnt help him build any sense of self worth especially when every time he did see his parents they made it clear he was worthless to them. because of him basically never seeing his parents and already struggling socially bc of audhd, he basically has terrible communication skills and he avoids confrontation like the plague with people he Actually Likes because he doesn't want to know how they actually feel about him since he's basically convinced everyone around him feels the same way his parents did. and then because of this when he does end up in confrontational situations he just ends up lashing out. he'd rather ruin things himself then let somebody else say what he fears most. this also sorta goes hand in hand with the bpd diagnosis he gets later in life but he never really received proper treatment for it. a lot of his lashing out is really just splitting but he doesn't know how to deal with that.

anyways i say all this to say i think being around people who like. go out of their way to save him even when he's actually useless in this world—like can't fight for shit, can't shoot, can't hunt, can't fish, is generally a klutz and has no volume control so taking him on runs is a risk in and of itself—eventually leads to him realizing that maybe he was just surrounded by The Worst People and that he's actually not worthless and just existing can be enough to make him worthy of care. i also think being around people who are much better communicators and are willing to be patient with him (glenn, maggie and carol especially) really helps him get a grasp on expressing his feelings without feeling so overwhelmed that it just leads to his own ruin every time. and of course being around somebody like daryl who actually wants him despite how he is and its not just for sex helps with all of that too bc basically every relationship he's ever had has felt more like transactional almost? nicky gets used for his endless devotion and how willing he is to give it up and nicky thinks if he just keeps giving eventually he'll actually get back a fraction of that affection. with daryl its actually mutual and it really confuses and scares him at first but it's also all he's ever wanted.

he really just sort of grows into the best version of himself when he's actually given the appreciation and love he's been starved of.

with kennie i think it would be very minimal just because the length of the story so far but also because she's reluctant to allow herself to change. she is changing whether she likes it or not but she tries to pretend it isn't happening because she's afraid of growing to be more open and caring. she's always struggled making connections and every time she has made one that she felt would last forever she's ended up regretting it for one reason or another and she doesn't want to let anyone hurt her like that again. she kinda fucks that all up when she starts attending GodU tho because first she let's emma in because she's just so. almost pure in a way? like kennie can just tell she's never purposely done anyone wrong and it's hard to not cave to someone so endlessly supportive and kind to you even when you're being a bitch. and then sam comes along and it really goes from "okay ill make this one exception but keep her at arms length" to "i need to keep this boy safe at any and all costs, fuck my safety, fuck my feelings, he could trample on my heart and id still be happy as long as he wasn't in danger" and it happens so fast that kennie doesn't know how to deal with her own perceived weakness. she knows she wants to let herself just feel everything she's feeling wholly, let herself love and dote on her friends and boyfriend, but there's just a part of her brain that keeps telling her these people are going to hurt her just like the others all did.

👕What are some other outfits your S/I wears throughout their story? Show us some examples of clothes they wear!

so for nicky it def changes from season to season. for s1 i think it'd be more stylized bc he had just dropped out of college when he walked out of the office and was greeted with walkers galore so he also had like a bag on him already of stuff he had to take out of his dorm room, giving him more clothing options than others may've gotten. he's definitely a layers guy bc he grew up in VT and the weather is very back and forth up there. some examples:

he def accessorized still at first so think rings, necklaces, earrings and hats (specifically a coonskin cap and an ushanka when it gets towards the winter). he wears classic dr martens with yellow laces.

later seasons get simpler especially when its hot. think wife beaters, jorts, bandanas to get his hair out of his face, possibly overalls. he drops the luggage post quarry so instead he has a messenger bag to carry necessities (probably the only guy who still has a tooth brush and he refuses to share)

and during like alexandria through commonwealth eras it'd still be simplified but there'd be more graphic tees and sweaters again

for kennie she's ur typical laid back college student in terms of outfits. she might wear more accessories than a normal person but besides that it's very simple. she can go from cutesy to gross in the same day if her mood switches between classes or events. she likes putting in effort but sometimes she just needs to leave looking like a slob or she wont show up at all.

this is her fc btw! cause i dont think ive ever posted it. (@/bo0giebrat on ig)

moving on to some examples tho! i think she'd have a thing for stars so you'd see a lot of that. green is one of her favorite colors so def a good amount of that too. she's a baggy jeans little shirt kinda gal but she'll switch it up sometimes. and she looooves stripes its her fave pattern evaaaa