#for instance i was spoiled about mai dying but when i got there it like she just appeared out of nowhere to die for maki

[randombook4idk]

me, waiting for a female character, outside of maki, to have screentime

[writcraft]

Hello! How would compare and contrast Snarry vs Drarry? Since you have (beautifully!) written both, I’d love to hear your thoughts on the dynamics of these two ships. Thank you!

Hello Anon, thank you for this lovely message and what a topic!

I have set out below the cut why I think the dynamics differ but also some of the similarities and it got very, very long. Yikes.

DRACO

Draco is privileged, from a wealthy, pureblood, old wizarding family and immersed in magic from childhood. He's the kind of popular where he has his crew and doesn't really care if the Gryffindors don't like him, he is athletic and bright and he is described in a way that suggests he is attractive. Up until the point things really start to go wrong for Draco, he leads a relatively charmed life. He is a product of his upbringing, of his upper class status, he experiences a childhood where he is spoiled, loved and doted on, albeit he appears to be subject to high expectations of academic excellence and sporting prowess. With his friends he appears to be something of the ringleader and generally liked. He gravitates towards Voldemort because it's really all he's known, he's born into it. At first it seems Draco's views are driven by his desire to protect the things he values (wealth, status, power) and the privilege he has become accustomed to and, in the end, he sticks around primarily out of fear and self preservation. Draco exhibits moments of cowardice.

SEVERUS

Severus has an entirely different upbringing. He is working class, has a tense relationship with his parents, he is disliked and bullied at school which leaves him isolated, he gravitates towards solitary intellectual pursuits and he is described in a way that suggests he is supposed to be unattractive (although this reader would argue he has a certain magnetic charge). Lily aside, his relationships as a child seem to be shaped by a fascination with the power that comes with wealth and elitism, something he has never experienced. Sirius describes him as Lucius Malfoy's 'lap dog' and it is telling that Lucius is much older, a Prefect when Severus starts Hogwarts. He is radicalised in a way and gravitates towards Voldemort through a greedy hunger for power, a desire for revenge and a desperate desire to change his lot in life. He stays because, well, we all know why he stays. Severus is brave but grudgingly, acerbically so. The deepest insult he confronts is being called a coward by Harry.

FIRST ENCOUNTERS

Aside from the differences in their characters, the way Harry encounters Severus and Draco is completely different. When we meet Severus in canon, he is bitter, angry, jealous, grieving and indebted to Dumbledore. He is also in a position of power as Harry's professor. When we meet Draco, he is Harry's peer but he is also full of himself, an arrogant little shit who thinks the world is his for the taking and he thinks very little of Dumbledore, because father says...

This shapes Harry's encounters with them both. Severus approaches Harry with animosity, venom and a legacy of hurt that Harry doesn't yet understand. Severus places no weight on Harry's celebrity, he actively resents and despises it. Draco, by contrast, values Harry's celebrity initially. He wants to be friends with the wizarding world's brightest star and the animosity that follows between them flows directly from the sting of Harry's initial rejection.

ONGOING RELATIONSHIP

Severus wilfully misunderstands Harry. He draws connections between Harry and James based solely on their striking physical similarities and (incorrectly) ascribes the characteristics of James to Harry. He is tasked with protecting Harry but he does so always through gritted teeth. The curse of Severus Snape is to spend his life protecting someone who represents everything he despised as a child and yet the only person who can give a dying man that last connection to his one true friend.

Draco sees Harry more clearly but his perspective is shaped by jealousy and the sting of that first encounter, which leads him to make fun of Harry's circumstances and the people he associates himself with. He doesn't misunderstand Harry in the way Severus does, but he also doesn't know him fully.

MAGICAL CONNECTIONS

The magic that connects Harry, Draco and Severus is fascinating. Harry famously uses Sectumsempra on Draco without knowing what impact it will have. He then intentionally uses the same spell on Severus (unsuccessfully) knowing exactly the damage it will do. Not only does the use of the spell in both instances show us a darker side to Harry, but the spell was also created by Severus and he is the one that helps Draco after the spell has been cast. I could write an essay on the links this spell creates between those three characters.

Expelliarmus is another one. Severus teaches Harry this spell and in doing so, equips him with his most powerful tool in the fight against Voldemort. Harry disarms Draco of his wand and the implications of that in terms of the final battle are intrinsically connected to the 'signature move' of Harry's in battle, which is all about gaining possession of the wand of the attacker as opposed to trying to target the attacker themselves.

Avada Kedavra is also something that binds the three of them. Harry witnesses Draco failing to cast the Killing Curse, and simultaneously witnesses Severus easily casting it. This also is part of the broader relationship Harry, Draco and Severus have to Dumbledore. Harry and Severus are willing pawns in the master plan but neither are fully equipped with all the information they need. Draco ends up unwittingly being part of the plan but he is never a soldier of Dumbledore's Army in the way Harry explicitly is and Severus, with a gnashing of his teeth, also is.

Finally, one of the important similarities between Severus and Draco is they are both skilled Occlumens, something Harry is notoriously rubbish at. This skill suggests both are better able to bury and compartmentalise their emotions whereas Harry is unable to do so with any success and this plays into the fact that in both ships, Harry is likely to be the more demonstrative, wearing his heart on his sleeve in a way both Draco and Severus can better disguise/suppress.

DIFFERENT DYNAMICS

With all of the above the dynamics between Drarry and Snarry will always have a different slant, even if Harry himself is essentially the same. By way of sweeping overstatement, Snarry tends to skew darker and heavier because there is much more to overcome, but by contrast Severus has also spent his 'canon' years protecting Harry which creates this bitter 'Guardian Angel' type dynamic that, if you ship it, can be intensely romantic when they encounter one another again as adults.

The age difference lends itself to different dynamics too. Harry and Draco have that potential for young, dumb and in love, working things out, exploring, eighth year and spin the bottle sort of stuff that Snarry doesn't really have in the same way. It feels more natural that Harry and Draco would encounter one another as peers from the same year group, so part of the battle with Snarry is working out how Harry and Severus end up in the same spaces together in adulthood (Snape's canon death being a pesky inconvenience). The age difference raises another important difference in dynamic too, when it comes to the experience of Severus and Draco as gay or bisexual men, if you apply Muggle attitudes to same-sex relationships that have shifted over time.

The age difference is also relevant because there is a capacity for Draco to change his ways as he grows up, but Severus has already long changed his political beliefs and we know Severus as an adult in canon. That's not to say adults can't change their beliefs of course, but because his adult character exhibits moments of real cruelty you have a challenge around how this irascible, often mean, sharp-tongued character can give Harry what he yearns for when it comes to affection, love, family, security and so on.

There are hurdles to overcome with both ships and although the core 'enemies to lovers' starting point may create a similar overarching dynamic, the roots of those hurdles, the scale of them and the ways and ease with which they get resolved will differ because ultimately Draco and Severus are very different characters with quite polarised life experiences. They have some similarities, Occlumency aside, such as fostering beliefs during childhood they reject around the same time in their lives, albeit for very different reasons. Both are Slytherins who, their magical skills would suggest, are capable of pushing their emotions down in a way Harry can't, when everything for him is raw, on the surface, now, even though they both also unleash their emotions at various points. They are both prone to dramatics, to anger, to pettiness, to humour and in many respects, Harry is prone to those things too. In general though, I believe Draco and Severus would approach a relationship with Harry quite differently.

I don't think there's any one easy way to pinpoint the different dynamics in general because there is a huge variety of ways these three can be presented in fanfic, with its own plot, worldbuilding, external factors and so on. There are so many different directions you could go in with Snarry and Drarry so I'm only speaking from some of the things that strike me not only about the Severus/Harry and Draco/Harry connections/potential hurdles but also about the links between the three of them. Ultimately I think there is opportunity for deep connection, discovery, levity, passion and of course, delicious angst and UST with both ships, but they tend to manifest a little differently for all the reasons outlines about.

There's so much more I can say, but I'll leave it there. Thank you, Anon!

[cruciatusforeplay]

This is part two of a hella big post. Check out part one here. These are all a lot more recent, so I'm gonna try to be less spoilery, but there are gonna be some.

A not-so-brief history of Hawkeye in Comics Part Two (spoilers below the cut)

A note on events, dying and doubling down on Hawkeyes

Comics love doing big events, and I'm not covering them in here. Partly because they are huge and complex and to just focus on Hawkeye would be an injustice to the stories, but also because the amount of stuff I would need to spoil would be way beyond just a little Hawkeye. Clint was involved in Secret Wars (1984), which was one of the first crossover events of its kind. Another notable era is 2004-2009, where there is an incredible amount of superhero politics driving big narratives. If you're new to comics, you might not know that characters dying is common and rarely permanent. This is relevant because while I said that I wouldn't talk about events, I think it would be pretty uncool to not mention that Hawkeye dies and is brought back to life (Avengers Disassembled, House of M, New Avengers #26). It's around here that Clint picks up the Ronin mantle.

This is also when Dark Reign/Dark Avengers is going on. For anyone who'd like some Clint whump from this era, there's a top notch naked torture scene in New Avengers Annual (2009). Clint is involved in several other big events and crossovers over later years, but that's definitely a seperate list.

In the time where Clint is dead, Captain America is hanging out with a group of newly formed Young Avengers, including archery badass Kate Bishop. Cap suggests to her that she take up the Hawkeye mantle and gives her Clint's old bow. After Clint returns, he becomes initially her mentor, before they form a very close friendship. Clint is initially doing Ronin things, but even when he lays down ninja robes, they decide to be very Hawkeye about the whole thing and both keep calling themselves Hawkeye, despite the obvious confusion this causes.

Hawkeye's ears: Hawkeye vs. Deadpool #0-4 (2014)

This is a fun little miniseries that you could treat as a Halloween special if you so desired. It's set in the time after Fraction's run and there are a few callbacks, but nothing major if you've not read that. Clint is a little short-tempered and hypermasculine in this run for my personal taste, but it's got lots of grumpy Clint Vs sassy Wade while they vaguely attempt to team up. The thing this run does really well is Clint's deafness, despite the lack of visible hearing aids. There are comments around lip-reading, wearing aids when wearing other headgear, there's some sign language, and this is the run where Deadpool pulls his mask up so Clint can lipread and see his face while he signs (facial expressions are really key in sign language). It's lovely. Otherwise the run gives you a Kate cameo, some Deadpool and Hawkeye disaster/shenanigans, and perhaps most importantly, the return of the skycycle.

Key background: All New Hawkeye #1-6 (2015)

This run is often overlooked, but the art in the flashbacks is beautiful. We get some key information around Clint and Barney's abusive home situation - with their dad who drank and beat them, and how they ended up in care after their parents died, and subsequently their early days in the circus. There is a definite shift in how Barney is characterized as a bad influence compared to the 2003 run. It parallels with the rest of the arc which focuses on Clint and Kate Bishop working together to get some kids out of a very bad situation. The rest of Lemires run is a little weird and has no major repurcussions for anyone except Barney (which I won't elaborate on because it's relevant to the Fraction run).

Back to your roots: Tales of Suspense #100-104 (2017)

Seeing Clint cycle back and return to Tales of Suspense is really lovely. This comic is one of my all time favourites. It's incredibly tight story-telling with a great plot and really fun dynamic. The premise is Clint and Bucky teaming up to figure out the body trail being left after Black Widow's death. Clint is obnoxious and a delightful mess, Bucky is sporting a permanent scowl and is hilariously level-headed. It's a lot of fun and it's a lovely build on the tension and teamwork between these two idiots (who I, as an avid Winterhawk shipper, am completely gone for, but even without that, this is a great comic.) It also has some killer covers, and the facial expressions are absolutely hilarious.

Hawkeyes together: Hawkeye #13-16 (2017) and West Coast Avengers #1-10 (2018)

The Hawkeye run is Kate Bishops run and it has a larger continuing storyline that runs from the beginning of her Hawkeye and way into WCA, but I've listed the issues that you'll want for Kate and Clint shenanigans, and you should be able to catch up without the rest if you don't want it. These comics are ridiculously fun, especially West Coast Avengers, which has Kate leading the team this time. There's loads of jokes, and it strikes a nice balance between Hawkeyes being disasters and being hyper competent. Truthfully, this is Kate's show, and Clint takes a backseat, but their dynamic is killer here so I think is deserves a mention. There are also plenty of Clint related wardrobe malfunctions and Lucky the Pizza Dog is around.

Our most recent boy: Hawkeye freefall #1-6 (2020)

I haven't read this one yet, but it's been extremely well received by the fandom. As a result, good news: no spoilers! It's a short run, which may have had something to do with it being published during 2020, and specifically around a time when Marvel were experiencing some major distribution issues (which would have led to digital release only and as a result lower sales), but that's all guesswork because I haven't actually researched it. This run has someone dressing as Ronin and letting Clint take the blame for their nefarious deeds (oh no!). Clint makes some classic Clint (read: dumpster fire) decisions, and the art looks fun and vibrant. Can't really give you more without reading it myself 😅 If you need more Clint still, he's also rumoured to be knocking around in the 2020 Black Widow run, but I've not had the money to get my mitts on that yet either.

Notable AUs:

Marvel is a big fan of throwing a well known cast into an alternative universes, so there are a few other places to look for him.

The Ultimates universe was largely speaking a bit of a shitshow, but they did give us a very dark and gritty Clint, so if that's your jam, ultimate hawkeye is the place to be. Old Man Hawkeye appears alongside Old Man Logan, and they are both, you guessed it, old. It's not the only time we get Clint as a wrinkly dude (the second half Lemire's run also has some timey-wimey stuff happening), but this is a version of Clint who is going blind (granted we've seen that before too, but this is a darker vibe than Blindspot). Wanna know who the greatest marksman is without his sight - old man Hawkeye for you! Finally there's the Zombie 'verse: zombie Clint is a little confused, but he's got the spirit. Clint got zombiefied and then left in some rubble as only a head for 40 years before getting picked up, so he's a little worse for wear. If you need that in your life then Marvel Zombies is your universe. For a full rundown of all the universes including animated and MCU, click here.

Notable aliases:

Clint's been a few other people than Hawkeye in the 616 universe (the main Marvel Comics universe). He used one of Hank Pyms growth serums and became a giant strongman in Avengers #63 (1969) and stuck around in his Goliath form for more than a few issues. After Cap had died, Clint returned from the dead and tried on Captain America for all of one issue in Fallen Son #3 (2007). He decided (with a little help from Kate) that it wasn't right to wear the uniform, which in turn led to some interesting tension between him and Bucky Barnes when Buck did become the new Captain America. Finally, there's his most well-known alternate persona: Ronin. Clint becomes Ronin after returning from the dead, wanting a break from his Hawkeye persona and an opportunity to become Ronin arises in New Avengers #27 (2007). Clint is not the only person to have used these aliases. Additionally, Hawkeye has been used not only by Clint and Kate Bishop, but also by Bullseye during the Dark Reign.

The things we haven't talked about

Like I said at the very beginning, there is a lot of Clint Barton knocking around in comics and even with all this there's a lot of content I haven't focused on. For instance, I've not talked a lot about his relationships, beyond his marriage to mockingbird (and really I only scratched the surface with that), and honestly once you start getting into interpersonal relationships we're starting to move on from what can be done in a Tumblr thread.

There are also some topic specific threads floating around, which you might like to look at too.

@vaguelyrotten has done a run down of some great dumpster fire Clint Barton comics (some of which I haven't listed) and you can see that here.

@bobbimorses did a great summary of Clint's historical deafness for instance which you can find here.

There's also this little bit all about Clint and Bucky in canon (thanks to @nightwideopen ) and how Winterhawk became a thing (thanks to @1000-directions )

This is slight sidenote, but @clintscoffeepot did a really great comprehensive of Fraction Clint's apartment which is just a really useful writing resource and you can get that here.

There is also this website which I stumbled across fairly far into writing this post which does actually look like it might be comprehensive.

If I've missed anything major, or listed something incorrectly or you just have some Clint related opinions that I need to know about, do hit me up.

[theworldbrewery]

manual monday!

here at The World Brewery, we finally got our hands on that most basic of tools, the Player’s Handbook.

as a consequence, today I’m unpacking an oft-overlooked section of the PHB: “The Environment,” spanning pages 183-185 for those following along at home.

this section is professed as rules covering “the most important ways in which adventurers interact with the environment” in dungeons and dangerous places. so, naturally, it begins with the rules on Falling.

Falling

Unless your PCs can fly, falling can be a deeply dangerous thing. the rulebook mainly states that a creature takes 1d6 bludgeoning damage per 10 feet fallen, to a max of 20d6 (read: after 200ft, you’re probably screwed no matter the change in distance). For context, falling 200ft will deal an average of 70 damage. For a low-level PC, that’s instant death; for a mid-level PC, it’s instant unconsciousness, but not necessarily insta-kill. Crucially, you also land prone, which means in battle, a hostile creature can attack (in melee) with advantage.

But most falls are not, in fact, 200ft. More often, a fall is 10, maybe 20--the depth of a pit trap, or a few stories if the party is in a cave system and goes down a vertical tunnel unexpectedly.

It does not, however, discuss how to handle rolling for these things. In the case of pit traps, the DMG does have handy guides on perceiving traps, but notably does not require a saving throw to evade falling. As far as the DMG is concerned, if you miss the signs of an imminent fall, you can’t avoid it. 

However, many DMs house-rule in a Dex save, either to avoid falling altogether, or to reduce the overall damage. In that case, I recommend Dex checks when a character is trying to maneuver around a trap or chasm, and Dex saves to potentially halve the damage of a fall by bracing for impact.

Suffocating

Every PC can hold its breath for 30 seconds, regardless of how bad their Con modifier is. The PHB does not specify whether or not a creature has to make some kind of check if they start suffocating suddenly, so as a general rule, I would go with no. That is, if a character is surprised in combat and the enemy holds a bag over their head, they still get their usual held-breath amount before they start suffocating. Use suffocation judiciously--it’s less a combat mechanic and more a feature of underwater passages, areas filled with natural gas, or other terrain effects.

When you run out of air, you do get at least 1 round before you drop to 0 HP and are dying. This has everything that comes with it, including Death Saves, falling prone, and all the rules of the unconscious condition.

Vision and Light

Vision is hotly contested, frequently brought up, and oft-misused. According to the PHB, we can divide light into 3 categories: Bright light, Dim light, and Darkness. In bright light, most creatures have normal vision; overcast skies, torches, and lanterns generally provide bright light. Dim light refers to twilight or dawn hours or the area around an area of bright light. Darkness is present at night, even when the moon is out, in unlit areas, or in magical darkness.

The rules of light intersect with the rules of obscured areas. Lightly obscured areas can be caused by dim light as well as weather effects like fog, or terrain effects like some foliage. In a lightly obscured area, creatures have disadvantage on perception checks--but a reminder that creatures with Darkvision are able to see normally when the obscured area is caused by dim light. Similarly, heavily obscured areas include darkness and more opaque versions of other obstructions (fog, foliage)--so again, creatures with Darkvision are not affected by the rules of heavily obscured areas when it comes to darkness. And that’s a good thing, too--because creatures are effectively blinded when trying to see a heavily obscured area.

Blindsight similarly is not affected by these rules of light and obscurity, nor are creatures with Truesight.

Food and Water

I’ll be honest, I don’t know any DMs who care about tracking food and water--largely because PCs can afford to stock up well on rations. However, there are moments when it can be useful: say the water supply was poisoned by an enemy, and the party is trying to survive without it. In the wilderness, they may need to find a water source before starting to accrue exhaustion-- which makes them weaker and weaker. Worse, when it comes to food and water, if you already have a level of exhaustion, going without food or water causes two levels of exhaustion to be added, rather than just one, so the effects are increasingly dire with time. Now, characters can usually ration just fine, but again--if food is eaten by a hungry pack of rats, or spoiled by a regional effect like intense heat, the rations may dwindle and characters could have to spend time dealing with that.

If that sounds intensely boring, no big deal! Either ignore the consequences of food and water entirely, or use them to lead characters to other storylines. For instance, running low on rations might make characters explore an area in search of wild game, and from there they stumble upon a den of Giant Elk...which have made their home near the entrance of a mysterious ruin. Seeking water might be dull until the local water source is being contaminated by evil magic, and the party has to find a solution or die of dehydration. Not to be overused, but these are certainly options to incorporate these rules.

Interacting with Objects

Most objects are up to the DM’s discretion--requiring a Strength check to move a rusted lever, for instance--but there are more guidelines when it comes to breaking objects: objects are immune to poison and psychic damage, but they can be attacked. The DM sets an object’s AC and hit points, and adds in any other caveats for damaging an object. When it comes to saving throws, they are immune to all saves except Strength and Dexterity, which they automatically fail. Objects break when they reach 0HP. Strength checks can also be used to break an object outright, using the DM’s DC.

In house-rule terms, a DM might also decide to add a check of Intelligence or Wisdom for a character to determine how to use an unfamiliar object. I would use something like that sparingly, though, since most objects are fairly intuitive and you don’t want to accidentally give a PC the power to use an item when it would normally require proficiency to use. In my own game, such rolls apply for properly using tools that a character lacks proficiency in, as well as situations where characters are faced with totally unfamiliar or even alien technology.

[your-disobedient-servant]

Aaron Burr and his umbrella misfortunes

Home at 4. Caught in the rain, having yesterday left my umbrella at Brentford—no doubt lost. Dinner, B. and K. Read out the review of the "Life of Washington" by Marshall and Ramsay. The review is full as stupid, and as illy written, as either of the books.

- December 6, 1808 

Loses umbrella for the first time. (Bonus throwing shade on Life of Washington and its review.)

Rose at ten. Such is the mode in London. Sor. at 1. Going up Haymarket, met Madame O., and walked with her half an hour. Went to the stage-house in Piccadilly to inquire for my umbrella, but with little hope. It was there, brought by the coachman; 1 shilling 6 pence. How very honest people are here, and yet I am cheated most impudently every hour!

- December 7, 1808

Finds the umbrella, has to pay to get it back.

Rose at 6. Set off at 7. I sleep very soundly in these stage coaches. By sleeping, however, forgot to ask for my umbrella, which I had left at Stanmore.

-  December 14, 1808 

When he seemingly forgets it again.

Stayed to dinner. Out at 10; raining, took K.'s umbrella, having lost my own. Koe overtook me, having run all that way in the rain; sent by Bentham to bring me back to sleep, he not suspecting that I was going off. Apologized.

- February 8, 1808

And again.

As I was writing the concluding line of the preceding page last evening (about 1 o'clock) an ill-looking fellow opened my door without knocking, and muttering in German something which I did not comprehend, bid me put out my candle. Being in no very placid humor at the moment, as you see, I cursed him and sent him to hell in French and English. He advanced and was going to seize the candle. My umbrella, which had a dirk in the handle, being near me, I seized it, drew the dirk, and drove him out of the room. Some minutes after I heard the steps of a number of men and looking out at my windows saw it was a corporal's guard. It then occurred to me that this Erfurt, being a garrison town with a French governor (de Vismes), there might probably enough be an order for extinguishing lights at a certain hour, and I had no doubt but the gentlemen I had just seen in the street were coming to invite me to take a walk with them. So I bundled up my papers and put them in my pocket to be ready for a lodging in the guard house. It was only the relief of the centinels' going round and who the impertinent extinguisher was I have not learnt.

- January 9, 1810

So much to unpack here I don’t know where to even start. I don’t know if my favourite thing is

that there was a stranger barging into his room insisting he puts out the candle,

that he crankily attacked him with a knife,

that the knife was hidden inside the handle of his umbrella,

that he suddenly remembered there was a law forbidding light after a certain hour

and was afraid the guards passing by might be coming for him

...or that he had a rare stroke of luck and nothing happened

Sor. 11 to the umbrella-mender; nothing done.

- April 20, 1810

I had no paraplui² and was resolved not to take coach if one had offered. Got home wet to the skin, from head to foot. Jul. made me a good fire, for my chimney was reformed a little. Changed clothes. Caf. blanc, and am quite refreshed.

2 For farafluit. Umbrella.

- October 18, 1810

Deliberating on the state of my finances, found that this sans sous state was not only inconvenient, but dangerous; for instance, this morning I hit a glass window with my umbrella, and had nearly forced it through one of three large panes. In such a case you have only to pay, and there's an end of it; but had I broken the pane and not been able to pay for it, I must infallibly have been taken before a commissionaire de police to abide his judgment.

- December 10, 1810

Burr what were you doing

Thence to Vanderlyn's to get more newspapers. While there it set in to rain; had no umbrella, and got wet.

- December 12, 1811

A brilliant morning. Sun shining bright for this hemisphere. Went out without my umbrella. Before I got one hundred yards it began to rain. Went back for the umbrella.

- February 13, 1811

At least you went back for it this time I guess?

Very grave and philosophical, and full of good resolutions. Have lost my umbrella! But it is better to begin in the usual form.

- February 18, 1811

Had breakfast at 6. Was sitting in the parlor below reading a newspaper. Received a smart click on the head. It was Madame. "Mais vous etes la tout tranquille. Vous laissez tous vos hardes pele mele. Voila votre paraplui. Vous ne pensez a rien. Vous etes come un enfant. Le diligence va partir et vous ne faites rien"².

2 For "Mais vous êtes là tout tranquille. Vous laissez toutes vos hardes pêle-mêle. Voilà votre parapluie. Vous ne pensez à rien. Vous êtes comme un enfant. Le diligence va partir et vous ne faites rien." "But you are quite at your ease there. You leave all your clothes lying pell mell. There is your umbrella. You don'tthink of anything. You are like a child. The diligence is going to leave you and you are doing nothing."  

- May 18, 1811

After the fireworks were done, Mr. L. proposed that he and I should walk along the river and about the palace, to see the various illuminations. F. recommended this; we saw her in the carriage, and she went off; we were to take our chance for a hack. Mr. L., not being well acquainted with the ground, and the confusion produced by the variety of light, led us astray, and when we reached the river found ourselves 1/2 mile above the bridge. It now began to rain hard; we had no surtouts or umbrellas. When we reached the bridge, there was nothing to be seen which we had not before seen from a better point of view. We, therefore, took shelter in the first house we could get in ; but the crowd was so immense that even this was difficult. At length we had room to stand up under cover. Mr. L. then went out to hunt a carriage. All were engaged. He went in another direction, and, after an hour, returned without success. He was not to be discouraged. Out he went again. A guinea was asked for a seat to town, about six or seven miles; and then you must be crammed in with six or eight drenched people. At 1/2 p. 1 he returned with a carriage; at what price I know not, for he would not let me interfere.

- June 23, 1811

I should say this was the same day as, or shall I say directly after the “got brain freeze and thought he was dying” episode. Burr just can’t catch a damn break.

The chevalier led me au P. R., after strolling an hour, in a caffe into a cellar, which I will describe as well as I can. We took ice-creams. There was music and a ventriloquist. We agreed to neglect Madame F. At 1/2 p. 10 I got home. [...] Mem.: Left my new umbrella at that confounded ventriloquist's and am sure shall never see it again.

- June 30, 1811

My umbrella is lost; lost 32 francs. Paid for our ice-creams 3 francs.

- July 1, 1811

To near Luxembourg 5 to get an umbrella which some one, unknown, left in my room a fortnight ago, and which has, therefore, become my property by prescription. Paid for mending it, 3 francs.

- July 11, 1811

Score! Gains an umbrella instead of losing it for once.

The morning appearing fine, went out without my umbrella and got well wetted. It is against my conscience, you know, to hire a hack.

- January 29, 1812

Set out for Lincoln's Inn Fields, but hard rain coming on, and having taken no umbrella, the morning being fine, turned about and stopped a few minutes at Godwin's. Continued in all the rain; by musing, lost my way and got wet to the skin. Home at 4. Changed and made a great fire.

- January 30, 1812

Burr. Burr.

And here is where the fun begins:

Got home at 4, and discovered that I had lost my umbrella; a most serious misfortune, and little hope of recovering it, as I have no recollection where I stopped. It is impossible for me to buy one or to do without one.

- February 18, 1812

Slept near seven hours last night, and did not rise till 8. My umbrella hung heavy at my heart. Went to hunt for it. Walked back on the track I came from J. H.'s yesterday, and called at the places I had been; but no umbrella. It is finally lost, and I must submit to the inconvenience of getting wet and of spoiling my clothes. 

- February 19, 1812

Then home, following again the track of my poor lost umbrella, but to no purpose. 

- February 20, 1812

I had intended to have breakfasted at J. B.'s, for the purpose of taking the retorts early to friend Allen; but in the first place I slept till 9, and in the next it rained in torrents and you know my umbrella is on a voyage. [...] The rain setting in again, bought me the cheapest umbrella I could find that was large enough. Cost 10 shillings and 6 pence.

- March 2, 1812

THE END.

[rainbowcarousels]

FFVII Fic Recs

I’ve been in the fandom now for almost six months and over that time, I have read quite a lot of fics. It occurred to me that it might be nice to do a list of a few of them. I will probably add others at another time, because no one wants to see the state of my bookmarks and most of these I even started pre-ao3.

#1. Just One by SharkbaitSekki (Zakkura)

This was the first fic in the fandom I read and thoroughly enjoyed. I had just finished Crisis Core and was all about the Cloud and Zack feels when I saw this and it fit the bill perfectly for what I wanted. Well characterised, sad, funny, felt like it could almost just be slotted into canon and was a beautiful character showcase for Zack. It also provided me with the answer of how Cloud got dragged around for a year without dying and I kind of went “Oh, yeah. Headcanoned.”.

#2 I’d cheat destiny just to be near you by Luddleston (Zakkura)

This began my love affair with Cloud Strife vs his terrible self esteem. It’s incredibly well written, again it just absolutely nails characterisations and Aerith to the rescue for these idiots in love. I just saw it now has a porny sequel too if you’re into that sort of thing.

#3 we are no heroes by hellbeast

Probably one of my first instances of reading Sephiroth centric work and it’s got such good characterisation of a Saner Sephiroth meets time travel. It was one of the things that made me think ‘hey I really like the trio and Zack, I should read more of them’ which I did. A lot. It’s fun, it feels very in character for the CC world and is an interesting what if?

#4 Divine Comedy by aimeelouwrites

Speaking of time travelling Sephiroth, if you want something that will just fuck you up, this is the fic for you. I’ve reread it three times already and the first time I literally had to get up and walk around to process it. It has demigod!Sephiroth dragging Cloud from the future into his tiny self and all of the fallout. I have to give this one extra credit because I find Angeal really difficult to nail in terms of his voice and this was the series that made me feel like I understood him better. Go check out their other works as well, because while I will do a proper rec for Hey Asshole! next time, it has literally left me in tears laughing.

#5 To Stem the Tide by corvidkohai

I was not expecting this to hit me as hard in the feels. It’s not the first fic of theirs I read, I read several early on without realising it was all the same person writing them (Again, I'll likely include these in later lists but the first I think was The Friendly Ghost and then Smile for the Camera was probably the first time I got really into Cloud/Genesis, with Lights Camera Action being one of my favourite things right now) but I love time travel so much and this is so fun and then it just hit me unexpectedly in the feels.

#6 Angel in the Rafters by skadren (Sefikura)

Featuring MagicalGirl!Cloud and so much whump that is perfectly balanced out with humour. Did I mention I had a thing for time travel fics? I love how long suffering Cloud is in this, like he was all geared up to just take Sephiroth down and then the whump got him. I don't want to spoil this too much but it's just all fun misconceptions, fun characterisations and I am also a sucker for a wingfic.

#7 Cadetship Calamity by AMournfulHowlInTheNight

Possibly the only other thing I enjoy as much as time travel is outsider perspective and this explores the fallout of Cadet Strife who knows way more than he should. Another one which makes me laugh so much. Feral baby time traveling Cloud needs to be it's own section honestly. I don't want to spoil it, but it's just ridiculously fun.

#8 Ghost in the Machine by Zenthisoror

This may have been abandoned, but it was without a doubt one of the most formative takes on Genesis as a character for me. AI Cloud goes back in time is excellent enough as a premise, but even if it's never finished, what's there is worth your time reading.

#9 5 Times Cloud Helps Avalanche (+1 Time They Help Him) by janazza

I think I read this when all I knew was the Remake, but it absolutely holds up. Lovely character study, well written, fun as hell. Cloud trying to pretend he's a merc who Absolutely Does Not Care and totally failing.

#10 Cloud and Sephiroth's Adventures in Time Travel by Interstella

Ever wanted Cloud and Sephiroth as a time travelling buddy comedy? This is for you. Another one of those extremely laugh out loud fics, sassy Cloud and the two of them basically having all the banter. Oh, and at one point, a baby chocabo uses Cloud's hair as a nest and Sephiroth has a cat called Khat, so the adorable factor plays into this too.

[ddarker-dreams]

I could see Scarlet Ribbons’ stand cry being something like “BOWBOWBOWBOWBOW” cuz like.. ribbons... make bows and stuff.... sorry I’m bad at this 🤪

OKAY THIS IS ACTUALLY REALLY CUTE THOUGH... i’m going to make a list of possible stand cries, and this is gonna be added on it!! 

anonymous asked: Is scarlet ribbons willing for a smooch 🥺🥺

but of course!! i’ve pictured scarlet ribbons as being a very affectionate and playful stand, since that adds even more Possibilities of the stand acting up around everyone. scarlet ribbons definitely wants to give ppl hugs and stuff, showcasing how affectionate and :D!!! the user is. 

anonymous said: lmaooo imagine the entire bucci gang's reaction when scarlet ribbon's user/reader end up with someone from la squadra XDD in the au where everyone lives of course

it’d be a battlefield... i guess if they weren’t fighting against one another like they were in the anime, it might be slightly better? but i can’t imagine it going over real well, since everyone would be v wary of la squadra. if reader is happy that’s one thing, but there’s going to be a lot of investigation going into it. they need to make sure she’s safe and sound qwq

anon said: Okay so if i got it right Scarlet Ribbon's attack can be a good way to escape out of GioGio's estate after his kidnapping, you know, like Spider man but in stead of spider web/beam it's cutesy pinky rope of ribbon 😂as for the ocean surrounding the island reader can coagulate their ribbons into a small boat and row themselve back to civilazation 👏😂👏 im thriving for independent reader pls don't mind me 🥺 again, much love + appreciation for you to came out with this awesome concept💓💘💓❤💓💕

ohh so like a yandere version of the SR verse? i’ve definitely given it some thought, since i write 99% yandere content (or smth close to that at least, math was never my best subject). anyways i think that it’d be chaotic for any yanderes to deal with scarlet ribbon darling, seeing as having a stand that versatile gives plenty of opportunities to escape! giorno has the added benefit of being able to track darling down using his own ability, but it’d be a game of cat and mouse for a while. i’ll definitely write a yan version of it one day...

anon said: hi lock!! I just wanted to pop by and say that I love your Scarlet Ribbons series so far ♡ such good food.... u spoil us.... :') that being said, what was your motivation behind it? why did you want to take a fluffy route as opposed to your usual yan content? ty and have a nice day!!

hello anon <3 i’m happy to know that you’ve been enjoying it!! trust me i’ve been having way too much fun fleshing everything out too, it’s been a Mega Muse . i still love writing yandere content the most, but i guess picturing a normal universe felt interesting in its own right. more possibilities open up. i had thought about it being everyone going yan, but i scrapped it when i realized that’d just lead to bucciarati’s team killing one another. i’ve given some thought to individual yandere’s in the universe though! 

i think that exploring different types of content is what helps prevent burnout!! so that’s why i’ve channeled some energy into a more normal universe, just so that when i want to write fluff/more humor based stuff i have an outlet for it. u vu...

anon asked: :eyes: what was rooming in with bruno like? how did he feel when reader went to room with fugo? what is rooming in with fugo like? WHAT RIVALRY DID THESE DORKS DEVELOP OVER THE ISSUE??hdknld i can imagine fugo preening when reader's with him and bruno is lowkey .__.)

THE INITIAL ROOMMATE ... boy bruno was pretty excited! i picture reader waking up early some mornings to make him breakfast/coffee, as a way of saying thank you. reader would be very grateful and feel indebted to bruno for all the kindness he’s shown, especially since he’s not even charging rent for staying at his place! it all has a nice, domestic feeling that bruno never realized he longed for. i’m sure he knows it won’t last forever, as nice as that sounds. 

even with all the times he reassured reader that money isn’t a problem, the thought of imposing on someone who has already given reader a lot is hard to get past. bruno had a bit of a stone face when reader mentioned becoming roommates with fugo, but ultimately wouldn’t want to monopolize her time or anything. he still gets to see her everyday! though he’s going to miss the special talks, and breakfasts ... :(( 

bruno probably picks up on fugo’s treatment towards reader before fugo even realizes how he feels lmao. he’s just hoping that no Funny business goes down, semi hypocritical as that may be. acting as a team leader means making scarifies for the well being of the group, and having to put his wants on the back burner. this is definitely one of those instances. 

anon said: Hey thank you for posting about scarlet ribbons, I’ve been having a very rough time mentally ( Rn I’m confined to a 3 mile radius of the house for medical reasons) and this brought me so much joy, I want to share my goth makeup tips with Leone and tend to my collection with GioGio, your characterisation of fugo has also totally changed my mind on him I didn’t even think he was cute before your writing! I hope you are doing well

aaaa i’m sorry to hear that you’re going through a difficult time. this is definitely a comfy type of series, so it makes me happy to know that it’s brought you some happiness!! i’ll be posting about it plenty, since i have loooots of ideas for it!! leone would love talking about makeup with you, since everyone else before trish is clueless on the subject. he’d likely surprise you with eye shadow palettes or lipstick that you’ve been wanting! in a very lowkey fashion, just kinda shoving it towards you and saying he saw it on sale and it’s whatever. on the inside he’s screaming though lmaoo

giorno is another person who, when isn’t focused on his dream and such, would be Dying for some reader one on one time. it’s cute, he tries to make his interest seem as organic as possible. he manages to pull it off well! 

I LOOOVE FUGO... once i got a more solid characterization for him down, i wanted to write for him a lot. i really wish we got to see more of him in the anime, but purple haze feedback gave lots of good insights to him as well! i think that while he’s more of a serious character, he’s been shown to have some snark as well.

[twilightarc-gm]

49 ,61, 66?

<33

OMG Hi Nonnie! I'll be real with yah, I'm not sure I ever had an anonymous ask before and if I did, it's been so long I don't remember it. This is pretty cool, ngl.

I'm assuming this is for the Book Rec Ask Game [Below links are to StoryGraph for book descriptions]

49. a book featuring the bed-sharing trope

Honestly don't even know. I can't help you, Nonnie. I tried looking through lists of books to jog my memory and nada. The closest I can remember off hand is Magic's Pawn from the Heralds of Valdemar series by Mercedes Lackey and I think I only kinda remember it because I have recently been thinking about the Heralds again.

Vanyel and his soul-bond Tylendel >>mlm<< end up actually together and one scene is them in bed just bein' in love and then... I believe that's when everything starts going south real fast for Vanyel.

The Last Herald Mage series is very gay, but also very sad. Definitely, YA and very hard for me to read as an adult. Still! Telepathic magic horses! Magic! LGBT+! Pretty much established the genre of "Romantic Fantasy" because of its heavy emphasis on politics.

61. your favourite horror novel

I'm sorry Nonnie, this answer is really boring because I'm not a horror genre person normally. I did actually read all of Stephen King's IT however. All :checks-notes: 1000+ pages of it and what I got from it was a growing sense sympathy for people scared of clowns, wanting to go play in rainy gutters, and being obsessed with silver jewelry for the next 10 years of my life. I ended up watching the series (1990 release) after that and absolutely one thing that translated well was the pacing. This book is SLOW. Half the horror is in all the description of completely normal things but then something WEIRD happens, which I guess is what you expect from horror.

The most unnerving part for me is just the utter refusal of the adults in the town to do anything about all the missing/dead children.

It had some batshit insane imagery though, and lots of scenes that the kids these days would call 'Problematic'. Instances of racism, homophobia, uuuhhh the thing with Beverly in the sewers... <.<;; Didn't even register when I was reading it back in the 90s, but I think it was my first big exposure to the idea that "things that are terrifying can be different for everyone".

66. book that fucked you up

Out of all these questions, Nonnie, this one is the easiest to answer and also the hardest because it was so long ago. Like, middle school. Philip Pullman rocked my entire world with the His Dark Materials series and specifically the ending of the series The Amber Spyglass.

Will is the bearer of the knife. Now, accompanied by angels, his task is to deliver that powerful, dangerous weapon to Lord Asriel - by the command of his dying father. But how can he go looking for Lord Asriel when Lyra is gone? Only with her help can he fathom the myriad plots and intrigues that beset him. The two great powers of the many worlds are lining up for war, and Will must find Lyra, for together they are on their way to battle, an inevitable journey that will even take them to the world of the dead...

Obviously, I would be remiss if I spoiled it, but I need you to know that because of this series I gave up Catholicism entirely and went straight atheist for a while before settling on a "formless faith" type stance I have now. I'm not saying, "read this and give up your religion" but it does-- in those formative years-- help you solidify any thoughts you may already have on faith and institutions thereof. All set with this multiverse spanning fantasy with a hint of clockwork punk.

I balled my eyes out in that middle school library, y'all.

Thanks again for this! It was a toughy, but it sure sent me down memory lane. (☞ﾟヮﾟ)☞

[haileygarciasunshine]

Rude Awakening

Pairing: Steve Harrington x Reader, Mentions of the Party

Warning: Violence, altered turn of events, swearing

(1/2) or (1/3)🧐🤔

You were currently, home studying when the phone rang, you knew it wouldn’t be your parents, since they only ever used your pager to contact you.

“Hello?”

“Hey! Do you want to come over?”

You sighed, while pinching the bridge of your nose.

the voice continued

“Come on Y/N/N! The Parties over, and they’ve been dying to meet you. Now is the perfect time. Besides, will really misses you.”

“Fine, I’ll be over in five.”

Hanging up the phone, you made your way into your car driving over to the byer’s hosuehold. You had barely made it to onto the front porch before the front door was flung open, and someone practically throwing themselves into you. 

Chuckling and hugging the person back you greeted, “Hi, Miss Byers!”

“How many times do I have to tell you, Y/N! Call me Joyce!” 

She was happy to see you again. It had been awhile since, you were last over at the Byers house. She was seemingly, over joyed to have another female around, since she was always around males. 

Joyce, grabbed your hand and lead you into the house. It wasn’t long before another body was flung onto yours. You knew it was Will, because he was around the same height as your upper stomach.

“Hi, Y/N! I’ve missed you! Never go that long without seeing us again, okay?”

You nodded in agreement, hugging him back and kissing the top of his head. He grabbed your hand and lead you over to where a group of kids were sitting in his living room. You had immediately, assumed that these were the kids in the “Party,” everyone had referred to. 

“Guys, this is our friend, Y/N!”

 “Y/N, this is Mike, Dustin, Eleve, Max and Lucas.” Max and Eleven, were so happy to have another girl around they ran over to you and gave you a hug.

Awhile passed since you were introduced to the party. Usually, they had gatherings at your house since you lived there alone. Tonight however, was a “Girls Only,” night.

“So who do you have a crush on, Y/N?” Max had started the cringe worthy conversation. Finding out, Eleven liked Mike, and Max liked Lucas.

“Uh, nobody at the moment.”

“Uh huh.”

“What do you mean, uh huh?”

“Oh nothing.”

You had chuckled, getting up and grabbing the empty bowl of popcorn. Eleven, had been looking at you weird all night. Almost like, she knew but that you had helped her escape from that night at the Lab, but couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

“I’m going downstairs to get more, do you guys want anything?”

“Yeah! Let’s all go down.”

It was awkward silence, on the venture down to the kitchen.

Suddenly, eleven spoke, sitting on the stool of the breakfast nook.

“It was you, wasn’t it?”

Max turned to face her a little, with a confused expression.

“You helped me escape, didnt you?”

You let out a sigh of defeat, letting your shoulders slump forward.

“Yes, but you can’t tell anyone okay? You too Max.”

“Wait, if you were at the same place as El, does that mean...”

She didn’t finish asking her question, as her faded trying to allow her thoughts to catch up.

You hummed in response.

Suddenly, two high pitched sequels sounded and you were being hugged.

“This is so cool! I have two super hero best friends!” Max exclaimed over joyed!

Accepting the hugs, you kissed the tops of their heads, feeling nothing but love for them.

Once the new mall opened, you and the girls had gone to shop. Seeing as you were the mom of the group, you tried to spoil them.

“Can we go get ice cream?” Max asked. She had a hint of something mischievous in her voice.

“Oka-“ you were suddenly, being pulled by both girls in the direction you could only assume was the ice cream shop.

Once you arrived in an ice cream parlor called ‘Scoops Ahoy’ you were surprised to see an attractive guy, who looked to be about your age.

“Ahoy Ladies,” he said. His name tag said Steve.

Both girls giggled, before ordering their ice creams, and running to a both in the store.

“What can I get you?” Steve asked

“Uh nothing, I’m okay.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, I’m not an ice cream for lunch kinda gal,” you replied tilting your head a little.

“Yeah,” he sighed “I get that...”

“Y/N!” A voice yelled excitedly

“Hey, Robbin!” You laughed happily excepting her hug.

“Oh no,” she groaned “not you too!” She said dramaticly.

Furrowing your eyebrows together, you exclaimed, “What!”

“You’re friends with, dingus, here’s children too!” Playful nudging Steve’s shoulder with her own.

Looking to him for answers, and him you.

“You’re friends with the party?” He asked intrigued

“Uh, yeah, I guess, I am-“ you had barely gotten out before, the two girls came bounding up to you.

“Can we go to shopping now?” Max asked. You nodded your head, reaching in the pocket of your shorts to pull out money.

Two voices in unison said, “it’s on the house.”

Giving them a confused look, you nodded in gratitude.

“I guess I’ll see you guys around. Bye robin, nice to meet you Steve!”

“Nice to meet you too ... “

“Y/N,” you called as the two girls hooked their arms in yours and pulled you backwards out of the parlor laughing.

“Y/N.” Steve happily to himself.

Robbin turned to him and said, “What the fuck was that dingus?”

You were currently shopping in the Gap, with Max and El. They were giving you a fashion show, of cute outfits each of you had picked.

The party, decided to hangout at your house this time. Max was currently, on high alert because her brother Billy, didn’t want her to see Lucas anymore, for whatever reason. It wasn’t long before everyone had shown up, including Steve.

The doorbell sounded, opening the door you were surprised to see Steve and Dustin standing at your front door. Stepping aside to let him in. He handed you a bouquet of fresh flowers. The gesture made you blush,

“I’m gonna go put these in a vase. Thank you, Steve.”

You moved to give him a hug. This time, it was your turn to make him blush. He followed you to the kitchen. As you were putting the flowers in a vase you said,

“You know you didn’t have to right?”

He shrugged leaning against the counter before adding, “I know, I just thought a pretty girl, deserved pretty flowers.” He said shyly.

“May, Steve Harrington, are you flirting with me?”

“That depends. Is it working?”

Before you could respond, you heard a chorus of “Shit!” Being yelled by your friends. Suddenly, they all flooded into the kitchen.

“Billy’s here! How did he find me! He’s going to kill me,” Max said nervously, as El was trying to comfort her.

You, Steve and Jonathon all exchanged glances. Rolling your eyes, you said “Don’t worry boys, I got this.”

Making your way, to where you kept your bat for instances like these, you threw open the front door, and waited for Billy to exist the car. You didn’t have to look to know that the party was pressed into the front window watching nervously. Both Steve, and Jonathon had joined you on the porch.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the Queen, of the misfits herself,” his rough voice sounded as he put out his cigarette.

“Bite me,” you snarled

“Oh I dream of it, sweetheart,” Steve was about to move towards Billy, before you looked at him and wrapped a reassuring hand around his arm.

“Aw, look at that. King Steve, being a bitch,” he taunted.

“What do you want Hardgrove?” You asked darkly.

“Aside from you?” He asked, tilting his head, causing both Jonathan and Steve to step in front of you protectively, causing Billy to let out a hardy laugh, “ I came for Maxine.”

“Guys,” you whispered, “I don’t need you to protect me, I got this.” Hesitantly, they both stepped away from you, but not by much. You took a step forward closer to Billy.

“Leave her alone Billy.” You said confidently.

He chuckled in response, he moved closer to you, almost close enough to tower over you.

“Make me, Y/N, oh wait, you can’t, that’s why you have the goon squad protecting you.”

He was close enough that you could smell the alcohol on his breath.

“Are you drunk? Go, home Billy.”

You decided it wasn’t worth it, you moved to go back in the house, when a rough callused hand grabbed your wrist.

“You and Harrington huh? I could rock your world better than he -“ you didn’t give him a chance to finish, before you dropped the Bat, swinging around so your fist could meet the side of his jaw.

“WHAT THE FUCK!” Billy boomed, letting go of your wrist to bring that hand up to his jaw, causing you to flinch.

Suddenly, both boys were beside you protectively.

“You’re dead Y/L/N,” Billy yelled angerly

“No, you are!”

And with that Steve began throwing punches at Billy gaining the upper hand, but not for long. Soon, Billy was on top of Steve, punching him. Deciding, you had nothing to lose, you turned around and lunged at Billy to get him off of Steve.

After, Billy left, you, Jonathan and Steve all went back into the house. Forgetting that the your friends were watching the whole thing unfold.

“Holy Shit you guys!”

“That was badass!”

Greeted you the minute you all walked back in the house. You brought Steve to the bathroom so you could fix his bruises.

“That was stupid, why’d you do that?” You questioned him. You were actually released that he had stepped up and covered you.

“I couldn’t let him hurt a pretty girl like you.”

“Even with a messed up face you’re still trying to flirt with me?” You questioned with raised eyebrows.

“Save it for later old man.”

“Hey! Who’re you calling old? I’m not that much older than you!” You chuckled at his defensiveness.

It was late, so everyone slept over at your place, since they were already there. Steve wasn’t laying far from you on the floor.

You couldn’t sleep, so you crawled over to where Steve was, gently shaking him awake.

“Steve?”

“Steve!”

You whisper yelled to wake him up

“I can’t sleep.”

He didn’t respond before lifting the blankets in front of him, silently inviting you in. Once you got comfortable, you realized how close you were to Steve, a fraction of an inch and you would be kissing his neck.

He was flirting with you all the time.. what harm could having a little fun with him do? You thought. You decided to lean up, that fraction of an inch and latch your lips onto his neck. Sucking and biting you made your way up to his jaw, leaving a trail of love bites on his neck.

“What do you think you’re doing?” He whisper groaned.

You didn’t respond, as you attached your lips onto his, placing chaste kisses. It wasn’t long before you, felt one of his hands, tangle in your hair holding you to him. Steve took control, and moved so your back was on the floor, with his upper half pressed to yours. The sudden movement enciting a gasp from you, allowing him to snake his tongue into your mouth. Closing your lips around his tongue, you began to lightly suck on it. Steve let out a low moan, causing you both to freeze your actions Incase you accidentally woke someone up. He placed kisses along your face, to your ear. Running his tongue, on the out shell of your ear, he took your earlobe and chewed on it. Your hands made their way to his biceps, digging your nails into them, gently bringing yourself up to his biceps you lightly bit them to keep from morning.

“Would you two stop? Some of us want to sleep!” Dustins annoyed voice sounded. This caused Steve to shoot Dustin a glare. Dustin flipped him off in return.

“Goodnight, y/n”

[the-dubstep-strawberry]

Top 10 Female Characters

Rules: Name your top 10 favorite female characters from 10 different fandoms and then tag 10 people.

Tagged by @pchberrytea​, with many thanks!

Okay, this is going to be good. Let’s see here... this is not and could never be an exhaustive list, but here are ten of my faves off the top of my head. (Warning, may contain *spoilers* for their respective franchises.)

1. Commander Susan Ivanova (Babylon 5)

Second-in-command of the Babylon 5 station. Suffers no fools whatsoever, especially not gladly. Proudly Jewish, Russian and bi. I love everything about her, not least the fact that she’s played by the gorgeous and talented Claudia Christian. Perennial fave of mine. Needs more GIFs of her, there are never enough.

2. Judge Cassandra Anderson (Dredd)

Played by the magnificent Olivia Thirlby, newbie Judge Cassandra Anderson demonstrates to her badass boss that you can be strong, capable and compassionate and that there is no true justice without mercy. Reads minds, kicks ass, passes the Bechdel Test. Even capable of rescuing herself. What more could you ask for?

3. Jill Valentine (Resident Evil)

My zombie-killing heart belongs to Jill Valentine. She was the star of one of my very first favorite games and I just adore her. Strong, smart, just, compassionate and lovely in every way. I will incidentally ship her and Carlos for all eternity (Chris Redfield who?)

4. Morticia Addams

Bewitchingly beautiful, morbidly lovely, full of style and grace. Adored and worshipped by her husband, Morticia is a woman of many talents. She fences, paints, writes, plays the violin, tends to a conservatory of carnivorous plants, makes black the new black, harnesses the forces of darkness, crushes the whole “being a mom” thing, and dances like nothing you’ve ever seen. 100% iconic.

5. Ellen Ripley (Alien, Aliens et al)

World’s best space mom and cat-lover. Wasn’t trained for any of this, but since nobody else was capable of saving the day, she stepped up and made the Alien Queen her bitch. Interplanetary problem? Call Ripley. She’ll kill it with fire. (The franchise did her wrong and we all know it, but she will always be the best.)

6. Rose DeWitt Bukater (Titanic)

A bit of a spoiled brat, I know, but my favorite poor little rich girl was born into an incredibly restrictive lifestyle that she never asked for, or wanted. The hell with table manners and tea parties and privilege - Rose wanted to be free to ride horses, fly planes, and do whatever the hell she pleased, instead of being married off to a jerk-ass millionaire against her wishes to save her mother’s sinking social status. Ironically, the only person for whom traveling on the Titanic was a literal lifeline. Faking her death and starting over so she could live the life she actually wanted is just #goals. (And so, incidentally, is her wardrobe.)

7. Empress Emily Kaldwin (Dishonored)

Empress, assassin, heir to her mother’s throne, and the product of a doomed love affair - Emily is a fascinating young woman, passionate in every way, trying to walk the line between the call of duty and the lure of adventure. Although I usually play as Corvo, who is Getting Way Too Old For This Shit, I love a good playthrough of Dishonored 2 and seeing all the cool stuff that our favorite Lord Protector taught his badass not-so-secret daughter to do in defense of the realm - and herself. We learn along with Emily that her caring and dutiful mother had something of a wild, romantic streak (she hated her own iconic hairdo because she preferred having her hair loose and flowing, and would much rather have been off in a rowboat for a picnic with her beloved bodyguard than sitting through tedious matters of state), and as we get a good look at the young woman who now has to fight for control of her own damn Empire, we can kind of see where she got that passionate, rebellious streak from.

8. Sansa Stark (Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire)

So you thought Sansa was a spoiled princess who only cared about dresses and sewing and boys? Well, she was at first. Unfortunately she was in for a very rude awakening, and since she isn’t a trained killer like her little sister, Sansa is forced to make etiquette her armor and play politics in order to survive. She endures (amongst other things) forced marriage, political imprisonment, the deaths of most of her family and friends, her own aunt attempting to murder her, a fucking zombie apocalypse in her own back yard, and having to put up with some very creepy bullshit from an older guy who had a crush on her mom (eww). Frankly, giving her a kingdom of her own to rule after all that was the least they could do. Long live the Queen in the North.

9. Edith Pelham (née Crawley), Marchioness of Hexham (Downton Abbey)

Poor Edith! She’s always getting kicked around by her big sister, ignored or taken for granted by her parents, and being disappointed by suitors, who have an unfortunate habit of dying, running away, already being married - and in at least one instance, all three. Fortunately, she learns how to hold her own in the high society “scandal and quiet female rebellion” stakes. Over the course of the series, she eventually finds her own voice and vocation, and ends up bagging the best husband of them all... and she was cemented as my forever-fave when she finally snapped and told Mary what she really thought of her. Good for you, Edith.

10. Mothra (Mothra, Mothra vs. Godzilla, Godzilla vs. Mothra, Rebirth of Mothra trilogy, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, et al)

No list of my favorite female characters would be complete without the Queen of the Monsters! Sometimes she’s on Godzilla’s team, and sometimes she has to show him who’s boss, but no matter how and where she appears, Mothra never fails to steal the show. A literal goddess. Last on this list only because she’s 10/10.

Tagging: @avaleon​​, @itsmesaberaltered​​, @falsenostalgia-sundries​​, @ladynyxeris​​, ​@tess-etc​​, @solesurvivorkat​​, @scorpio-skies​​​, @pchberrytea​, @theartofblossoming​ and @sharonaw​​​!

[amandaklwrites]

TV Series Review: The Haunting of Hill House (2018)

Genre: Horror/Psychological Thriller

Rating: 10/10

TV Show Review:

Is it possible for me to give a million stars to something? No? Okay, I guess I will anyway.

Let me start this review by saying that I am in no way a horror movie person. The “worst thing” I have ever seen was CRIMSON PEAK, and even that I didn’t finish because the ending was too gory for me (I do know what happened, though). When I was a kid, Disney’s HAUNTED MANSION movie scared the living hell out of me, and now, it’s one of my favorites. So, for me to say that THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE was one of the best things I have ever watched says A. LOT.

I don’t even read horror books. I have found a few that I love—I’m looking at you Cat Winters and Simone St. James—and I’ve noticed, for me, it’s a certain type of horror. I have no care for the movies that are all about the jump scares or gory bullshit or serial killers chasing people around. To me, those stories have no substance (sorry to those fans, but that’s my personal opinion from what I’ve heard). I like the eerie, the idea that something is peering over your shoulder, and the play with darkness. I also like when stories are extremely character driven. A plot can be pretty terrible, but if I love the characters, then I don’t care if it lacks.

Which leads me into why I love this series. I love the characters, I love the vibe, I love the layers of interpretations.

For me, the characters are the best. I love the kids (Steven, Shirley, Theo, Luke and Nell), and the parents (Hugh and Olivia), and everyone else, but especially the family. I feel that they were all created so uniquely, with their own personalities and flaws and they all felt real. Like I was watching something real instead of scripted. Even how they respond to these events in their life are different (I have learned that Mike Flanagan specifically did it so each sibling represented a different stage of grief, which is SO BRILLIANT). And the strong relationship between them all, and their family unit with Hugh and Olivia as a strong couple of parents.

I loved how the story was told. That everything was unfolding with each episode, that pieces were pulled together with each siblings’ POV, and as everything started to ramp up. I like storytelling like this personally, as I don’t think it has to be told in a linear line. Sometimes, that’s not how telling your past works. So I think it reflects that idea well.

The haunting and ghosts were amazing. I loved the different kinds there were, and ones that seemed so new and original. I will say my personal favorite was the bowler hat guy, because not only is he rad, but he makes me think. Why is he so huge, why is he floating, and if he can float, why is his cane touching the ground? He doesn’t make sense, he’s a mix-match of so many things, and that’s what I love the most. That he isn’t like other ghosts I’ve heard about.

For me, I love how Mike Flanagan made the story about both ghosts and the psychological aspects of humanity. Without spoiling too much in this section, I think he made it a balance. Which is what I believe in. That there can be ghosts in this world, trapped in a house, but there is so much psychology behind it. That a house can be alive with the past and its own ghosts, but how you respond to it is up to you.

From here, I’m going to talk about some spoilery thoughts I have. So, if you haven’t seen the show and don’t want to be spoiled, please don’t continue. But if you have, or you don’t care about being spoiled, please do click on the “keep reading!”

Okay, so more on what I was trying to say with the whole ghost and psychology thing. For me, I’ve always believed that ghosts are real (I’ve lost count of how many experiences I have had, and I see ghosts all the time, and they seem to love following me around), so the idea of all these ghosts living in a house doesn’t seem unreal to me. I’ve been in places that feel like absolute rotting hell and I have to get out of there. I do believe that ghosts have a lingering bad energy and can seem evil. But to me, I don’t think ghosts possess or attack people (like, to kill them). I think at that point, there’s a psychology to it. Have you ever watched a horror movie and can’t sleep because you’re convinced there’s a ghost staring at your back? That’s how I think of it with a creepy house full of ghosts, you can be convinced that something will drive you mad. Which, for me, Flanagan created a good balance of both for this show, at least in my opinion. Because, we see all these ghosts, and after only a couple of instances, none of them attack anyone. They don’t hurt anybody. They’re just there. To them, the Crain family are the ghosts and what the devil are they doing there??

Which brings me around to Olivia. We all knew she would be brought up sometime, and her demise and descent into madness. I knew there was something with her from the very beginning (unfortunately), but I didn’t realize that she attempted to kill her two youngest kids, and actually did kill a little girl. I never even guessed it. But I knew she was losing her mind as more and more time went along. But I can see it. I mean, it does make some sense to a degree. Who isn’t scared that the world will tear apart their children, especially ones like Luke and Nell who are clearly caring and empaths? I’m an empath and I care so much sometimes that I feel like I get disappointed and hurt all the time. And I have heard my own mom talk about her concerns of me growing up that I will fall apart (and actually, I did at one point). So I 100% understand Olivia’s mindset. But I have the thought process that I don’t think the ghost of Poppy Hill controlled and manipulated her into killing her children. I personally feel like Olivia had mental illness stuff long before the house (I mean, the weird headaches??), and Poppy was a projection of those feelings and thoughts she was already having. I mean, we hadn’t even seen Poppy until Olivia was really thinking like that. I’m not saying that the ghost had no part in it, not at all. I think if you are unstable in the first place, and then you go to a place that seems to have this bad, lingering energy, your mind can spin out of control. I briefly mentioned that I have been in places that feel so haunted. I was deep inside a ship with my grandparents at one point, and I stood in one spot and I literally felt someone shove me back and then I couldn’t breathe. For like five seconds, I felt like I was losing my mind. I felt like I was dying and I wanted it to stop. (Turns out, someone had been crushed to death right where that had happened, which I found out afterward). So, I know what I’m talking about. In my opinion, that was Olivia’s case, since that was what had happened to me. I’ve also fell into such deep depression that my thoughts were erratic. So, somewhere along her time in this house, with her mind already in tatters, and listening to a maniac ghost who had been in an asylum, she lost it, she cracked. And that makes her so fascinating, doesn’t it?

I loved the kids. I loved all of them. But I do have to say, my personal favorite was Luke. He was so quiet and sincere, and he grew up and became a junkie. He was haunted by what happened in that house—and somehow, I think, he knew what his mother was trying to do to him and Nell. I know they were little and didn’t fully understand, but I think as you get older, you have to look back and think about it. This little girl with you had died after drinking tea. He may not totally realize it, but I think deep in his subconscious, he knew what happened. And how does someone live with that? Not only is he traumatized because of ghosts and his mother killing herself, but that haunting feeling? To me, that’s why his mother shows up as a ghost to him. Because he knows. But why I also connect with him is because I feel like we share similar personalities. Now, I never got into drugs, but there was a reason for that. It took me my whole life to avoid drugs constantly. Because, especially when my depression was bad in high school, I knew, knew, knew that if I had started playing with drugs, I would become an addict. I just knew it deep down inside of myself, so I stayed away from them. I consciously made a choice to not let that happen to myself. So, I think when I look at Luke, I see a version of myself that could have been. And I also understand it, even if I hadn’t done the drugs myself, if that makes sense? He cared so much that it broke him and that made me cry so much because I get it. I get it.

I’m a literature major, and in my classes, we learned that houses in stories, especially haunted ones, are huge metaphors. They represent the psyche. That’s why we find haunting houses so interesting in stories. So, to me, this house is both a physical entity that can be seen as evil, but it’s also more than that. Like Olivia had said, a house is like a body. It has its own energy, it collects memories, it sees more than any of us have ever had. So I like the idea of a haunted house collecting all these ghosts, and they’re living amongst them. Because isn’t that what hauntings are? Lingering memories, the past clawing after you? And a house perfectly represents that—how many memories, how many people and pasts has it collected over the years? I don’t see the house itself as evil, but all that has happened inside of it. I know the house and ghosts played a huge part of what happened, but we have to give Olivia some responsibility of what happened—she killed a girl and attempted to murder her own kids. I know she was mentally ill, but we can’t blame the ghosts and house itself. I mean, the kids are grown up and living away from the house, and they’re still haunted. So, it’s not only the house. It’s us. It’s humans with our grief and guilt and horror, and we’re remembering it all. But this house is important to them, because it’s where the ghosts reside, it’s where their mom—and then Nell—killed themselves. That’s their ghost.

I think where Flanagan wins is his complex characters, his complex themes and ideas. And that he creates an idea that has so many layers that anyone can interpret things differently. Like for me, I wonder how much the house and ghosts influence the characters and their actions, and vice versa. I think they’re meeting in the middle. And is Olivia evil or good as a ghost? To me, it seems still a bit deranged, because she wants her son to die and be with them. You would think that she would have let go of all that once she had died. But she’s free to choose, and that could be monstrous. But maybe she’s still living in her own hell because of the lingering ghosts and pasts in the house. Maybe you can never quite shake off your past, it’s always there, hanging out in the background.

It’s a complicated show, and that’s what I love about it. I watched it almost a week ago, and I’m still thinking about it. I’m still talking about it to my mom (who has only seen bits) and talking about the different layers and thoughts I have. I loved the sixth episode and how it was filmed in only five shots (who the hell does that???). I think this show is a work of genius, and Mike Flanagan needs all that credit.

This show is such an experience that I loved every single second of it. I want to watch it over and over to catch every little detail, to see if I experience something differently.

It makes me look a little longer at the ghosts that I see pass by me at work all the time now.

[nyahuaisang]

Sangcheng Analysis

I'm gonna talk about why sangcheng is a great ship that, if written right, would be just as perfect as wangxian. To do this I've come up with a system to determine whether a ship is good or not.

Chemistry: This is whether their relationship has potential or not. Would these two be able to grow to like each other? Could a connection be made? Basically, is something there?

ex. jin ling and jiang cheng would never have chemistry because they see one another as family

Circumstance: This is whether the lives they live and how they exist in the world of the story they're in affects their relationship or not. Would their actions cause a ripple in their relationship? Would their responsibilities cause them to fall out? Are there people that they care for more that unless explained away, would override ship person a's love for ship person b?

e.x. jiang cheng would never fall in love with jin guangyao because he put jin ling in danger; it's highly unlikely for mingjue to start something with wen qing if his relationship with xichen is still stable because he clearly cares for xichen in canon.

Dynamic: This is whether their roles and position in the story compliments each other or not. Are they foils to one another? Do they work well together? Do they have differing opinions and beliefs?

e.x. while definitely having chemistry of some sort and the circumstances do make them a compelling ship, their extremely differing beliefs and priorities make jfm/yzy a very toxic pairing

Of course these often overlaps one another but I think this is the best way to organize everything and there definitely are exceptions to them, like rarepairs, crackships, aus, ships purely for angst, etc..etc...and people enjoy them because they lack one or more of these points but I brought these points up in particular because sangcheng has high levels of all of them.

Chemistry

Jiang Cheng and Nie Huaisang has been friends since their time at Gusu at age 15 and possibly even before that as they're already good friends by the time they're at Gusu and Huaisang knows that JC and WWX are as close as brothers, something the normal Nie sect disciples didn't seem to know. In fact, Huaisang is the only one to be as close as he is to the Jiang bros. This could be chalked off as he's the only other sect heir their age who isn't an ass to their sister but I don't see either wwx or jc as someone who would reject someone's friendship because of their status(JC only does this when it actually jeopardizes his sect/status).

Huaisang also fits quite well into JC's list of marriage partner requirements.

Gentle Beauty: Self explanatory

Obedient: Huaisang's very passive and tends to listen to what people tells him unless he absolutely doesn't want to or can't accept it. He's obedient but he's not conforming nor a slave to people's orders. E.x. him running into the demon eating cave(or whatever) when WWX told everyone told to; he follows the Gusu Lan rules to an extent, etc etc..

Economical: Despite seemingly being spoiled and loves trinkets, Huaisang most likely would try to get things for a good price if he were to handle the finances himself. Despite it falling in reputation somewhat, he still kept the Nie Sect as one of the top 4 even after 13 years and if he sometimes spend a lot that's only because he's....

From a good family: The Nie Sect is one of the 4 most prominent sects so Huaisang grew up being spoiled often(Xichen and JGY tells Mingjue to stop spoiling him) and while he's not to the point of spending money on expensive items all the times, he'd probably still aware that he has a big budget and can afford to spend a lot sometimes.

Cultivation should not be too high: Self explanatory

Personality not too strong: Huaisang is not as aggressive as his brother nor as loud/outspoken as WWX. He's quite mellow and down-to earth most of the time

Doesn't talk too much: Huaisang prefers letting others talk and chiming in when he sees fit, such as during Gusu arc and 2nd siege.

Isn't too loud: pretty much self explanatory

Doesn't spend too much money: look at Economical. While Huaisang does spend a lit on trinkets, his net worth and family status should be taken into consideration.

Good to Jin Ling: This is the most controversial part but I will explain why this is not a problem in the next part.

They both know exactly what the other has been through as they've gone through the same lost and experience. They both lost a sibling to a person they also considered a sibling and was left behind all by themselves in the position of their sect's throne at a young age. Understanding the pain the other person went through plays a great part in how much chemistry a relationship will have because the pairing knows each other better and knows exactly what the other needs in their time of grief.

Circumstance

The biggest circumstantial problem is undoubtedly how much danger Jin Ling got into. However, I believe none of those instances were due to Huaisang. Jin Ling got into the 2nd siege and Guanyin Temple himself, outside of Huaisang's control. JGY took Jin Ling hostage of his own volition. It makes absolutely no sense story wise for Huaisang to have led Jin Ling to the Man Eating Castle or Yi City because Wangxian were already heading there. Huaisang knows that the arm would led them to these locations, that's why he planted it for wangxian to find. And if he didn't know the other parts would be in these locations, he wouldn't have known to lead Jin Ling there in the first place.

And in all these instances, having Jin Ling being in these places doesn't benefit Huaisang in anyway. Wangxian was already heading to these places and all Jin Ling and the Juniors did was add more lives for Wangxian to worry about. If the kids hadn't been well behaved and listened to WWX, it might've led to WWX slipping up and dying to Xue Yang or Song Lan to protect them and pushing Huaisang back to square 1. There's also no proof other then WWX's suspicions. Thr hunter that led the kids to Yi City was nondescript. WWX may be smart but he is not god. He doesn't know everything and is an unreliable narrator at times.

On the other hand, there are a lot of circumstantial positives for SangCheng. They're both sect heirs and they both did just as terrible actions as the other. Huaisang indirectly caused the death of the Mo family(not mxy though, we have no proof of that either and I have my reasons as to why I believe he didnt push him into it) and caused Xichen some trauma and Jiang Cheng led a siege on what he knows is not just farmers and elders but also a TODDLER. One's actions would not cause the other to reject them because that would be pure hypocriticism.

Dynamic

Sangcheng has one of the best dynamics I've ever seen. They're a perfect example of the Power Couple. Their way of life compliments each other and one's flaws are made up for by the other. Jiang Cheng's leadership-ness and domineering characteristic gives Huaisang a voice to speak out with. He may have hid more then he showed but Huaisang is not someone who takes center stage to speak his thoughts, he's very much an introvert who prefers to talk when other people starts the conversation. In turn, Huaisang's mellow, calm and collectedness would reign Jiang Cheng in should he get too hot headed. Huaisang would know when and how to calm Jiang Cheng since he had Mingjue as a brother and especially after his qi deviation, Huaisang would know when to put his foot down.

Them knowing what each other went through also does wonders for ther dynamic because they're the two characters in the series who knows each other the most at their deepest, darkest, most vulnerable cores. Jiang Cheng would know why Huaisang did all he did as he knows the pain of losing a sibling and vice versa.

Conclusion

As childhood friends and fellow sect leaders, Sangcheng would have plenty of chances to grow closer and it's heighten by how much Huaisang fits Jiang Cheng's ideals. They both did just as terrible shit as each other so they wouldn't judge each other and it's highly unlikely Huaisang had anything to do with the bs Jin Ling got into. Their strengths make up for each other's flaws and they know firsthand what the other went through and how they feel. Sangcheng is honestly one of the best ships, on par with Wangxian and I hope this meta gives a better insight and open some people's eyes to it (*´ω｀)

[baddyzarc]

3/7 Ruins: Legend of Souhachi Kiraku

1 2 x 4a 4b 5 6 7  

So the reason I wanted to group Gilag and Alito together is because Alito has plenty of substance in his ruins while Gilag is just,,, Hnng they would've balanced each other out but nope, heres Gilag's Ruins

So uhh Gilag is supposed to be a joke Barian Emperor. I get that. He’s the first to be fully revealed and he starts off as an imposing threat for, like, two episodes. Then he goes off???? draws manga and watches anime and lives in the school gym and he has no brain cells as clearly evidenced by the Friendship Game episode but also he kills.  

Being such, Gilag has the shortest stick of the Emperors (almost on par with Merag but she has a prominent connection to the main Barian Emperor narrative). I’m not being figurative by-the-by. He has ONE episode to cover the legend of his ruins while the others get two episodes minimum, Nasch got like five total or something, so I can see that the writers,,, did not really care about Gilag. Which is unfortunate, but this is going to be my most out-there analysis because of the situation. 

Unlike the other Emperors who have new settings for their ruins, Gilag’s ruins is the Duel Lodge.

This isn’t a new location nor does it reveal that much about his character (after all, the Lodge was meant to develop Yuma and Astral’s character during their first visit in season 1 and nothing new happened to this place during the Mythyrian Arc.) 

But this means he should have the closest connection to Rokujuro and Yamikawa, but to my knowledge, the writers didn’t do anything with this aside from Gilag being the one who kills them during the Barian Onslaught Arc. Maybe there could be a connection to how Yamikawa felt betrayed by Rokujuro during the first season of Zexal. He attacked him, and then they made up soon after. This is similar to the story of Ponta and Gilag, but there isn’t much parallelism besides “two close persons becoming distant before making up”. 

The most important outcome of the ruins is the reveal of the Mythyrian Guardian, Ponta the Tanuki, and Ponta is what this essay is going to be mainly about. 

Like most of the Emperors, the Guardians often play a role in their legends. More often than not, the Guardians are the Mythyrian Numbers; they are tasked with protecting the Emperors (Mach, Abyss, and Jinlon are the clearest examples). Ponta is the strangest one because he is the only Guardian to exist as his own physical entity. This is seen in the show’s finale. He’s able to exist as himself without being attached to the Number card, and this may seem strange until you consider what happens in the Legend of Gilag (or Souhachi Kiraku if you want to get technical)

Gilag’s legend is a bit tough to grasp because there isn’t a single narrator. 

In the text of the show, Rokujuro reveals that Gilag was a benevolent, smart, and powerful warrior during the Sengoku Era (which is characterized by military and social conflicts). He distributed his wealth from his conquests with the peasants rather than horde it with his vassals. 

From Ponta, we find that Gilag found Ponta in the battlefield, saved him, and they formed a friendship. Ponta became his Kagemusha (a doppelganger/shadow warrior) and helped him win his battles. He was the one responsible for all of Gilag’s fame and fortunes. He says that Gilag was jealous of his strength, got rid of him,and then perished in the battlefield. Keep in mind that Ponta isn’t omniscient, and he clearly resents Gilag when he says this, so this source should be taken with a grain of salt (The episode is called “Yuma Confused!? The Unreliable Account of Gilag the Tanuki”). 

From Gilag, it was discovered that the vassals were unhappy with him distributing the wealth, and they were going to rebel against him. To protect Ponta, Gilag forced him to leave so he could deal with the rebels. He ends up presumably dying in a burning building. 

Finally, upon freeing him from the curse, it is revealed that Don Thousand influenced the vassals to rebel against Gilag, and in order to fill him with hatred over the betrayal, he placed the Over-Hundred Number “Number 106: Huge Rock Palm - Giant Hand” in his heart, allowing him to pass onto Barian World. It ended with Gilag perishing in a burning building with the rebels cornering him.

So what happened here? 

With the Emperors, I strongly believe that the personalities they have as Barian Emperors are an extension of true personalities as humans (compare this to when Gilag and Alito got an extra dosage on Don Thousand, for example). With Vector, a major personality-changing curse was embedded into him at such a young age that his evilness is part of his true personality (or as said by Yuma, the “kind” Vector still exists as Rei Shingetsu), while most of the other Emperors inherit their curse shortly before their death. What we see now is most likely how they were originally, plus maybe a thousand years of them as Emperors. 

So Gilag is, according to Yuma, “a despicable bastard, stingy, and an annoying jerk”. From his schemes in the show, we clearly see that he is not smart. All of his plans fail, he lacks foresight, and he gets distracted very easily. But he also cares deeply about his bond with Alito. This bond was strong enough to knock Don Thousand’s curse out of him. So this makes it tough to decipher the actual story because the Gilag of the present is nothing like the Gilag of the past. 

Using this information, I can say that each narrator has elements of the truth. I believe that Gilag is strong and passionate about things he loves (idols, manga, and his country I presume), but he’s arrogant and has more brawn than brains. Gilag is only as strong as his plans are (under the orders of Nasch and Don Thousand, he usually gets the job done without an issue. When he has to make his own decisions, yikes). Meanwhile, I believe that Ponta is the one holding most of the wisdom, strategy, and brains. 

Together with their strength and wisdom, they balanced each other and created the Legend of Souhachi Kiraku. 

Also, bear in mind that Gilag has the only legend that has a non-Barian name attached to it (Legend of The Cursed Royal Palace, Legend of the Gladiator, Legend of the Dragons, and Legend of an Ancient Hero). The Legend of Souhachi Kiraku isn’t the product of Gilag or Ponta, but Gilag and Ponta. 

From here, the rest of the words spoken by Gilag should be true. He said he “completely made it up”, but he also muttered “how did I know about the legend?” afterwards to tell the audience that what he said is indeed true. The reveal of his actual memories reaffirms this. 

So the true story is that Gilag and Ponta worked in unison to defeat their enemies. They distributed their wealth among the peasants. The vassals were angry that they weren’t receiving the spoils from the battles, and with the influence of Don Thousand, the vassals plotted to betray Kiraku (as in Gilag and Ponta). In order to protect Ponta, Gilag banished him and sent him away. Gilag perishes in the rebels’ fires. Ponta later dies of old age. 

With Don Thousand, he interjects into the story at two points. First by influencing the vassals to turn on Gilag, then again by placing hatred in his heart. 

Why I think Don Thousand comes in twice is because the first instance wasn’t enough to alter Gilag’s fate as a Barian. 

For Gilag, the satisfaction of saving Ponta meant he could still ascend into Astral World; as long as his best friend was safe, he was unfazed by vassals rebellion. Don Thousand went in one more time to induce hatred into him, sealing his Barian fate as he perished. This is most similar to the fate of Mizael (influenced the people to turn on Mizael and Jinlon, and then implanted hatred into his heart as he died) opposed to, say, Vector whose single personality swap set him straight for Barian World, or Nasch who didn’t need to be injected with hatred or altered like Mizael or Gilag; his entire life sucked so badly (due to Don interfering with Vector and Merag, yes, but he did not touch Nasch at all) that he chose to go to Barian World.

Enough about the other Emperors though, let’s talk about the Guardian of the Mythyrian Number, Ponta. 

Like most of the Guardians, Ponta is both the Guardian and the Mythyrian Number “Number 64: Veteran Tanuki Sandayu”. And although I try to keep the discussion in the realm of the original/OCG, it should also be noted that in the TCG, this card’s name is “Number 64: Ronin Raccoon Sandayu”. Veteran means experienced fighter, and Ronin means wanderer, or a warrior without a master. In both cases, it describes what Ponta represents in his relationship with Gilag. 

To those unaware, Ponta is based on an extant animal known as the Japanese raccoon dog, or tanuki. 

Ponta himself is not a regular tanuki as he is based on the yokai, Bake-danuki. Bake-danuki are known to be the cunning, trickster type whose main trait is transforming into other apparitions. Despite this, they are also associated with good fortune (which they carry in their massive fucking gonads), virtue, and strength. Most of these traits can be seen within the Mythyrian Number that represents Ponta, or more importantly, the tokens that it spawns. 

These “Kagemusha Tanuki Tokens” hold most of the Bake-danuki traits which I am now taking from Wikipedia because they summarized better than I can:

These tokens also have the ability to turn into the strongest monster on the field (appropriately transforming with a leaf) too. Anyways, Tanuki legends are really fascinating and there is a lot of information on them, go here if you wanna learn more (this is a really cool site in general, especially if you wanna read about yokai and other neat things). 

Despite being his Guardian, Ponta loathes Gilag, blaming Gilag for his own death as well as Ponta’s fate as a Kagemusha. He hates that Gilag got all the credit for the Legend of Souhachi Kiraku while Ponta was banished and locked away in a statue with Gilag’s face on it. All in all, Ponta wants to be his own being. He no longer wants to be a Kagemusha, a shadow, for a man he despises. 

Instead, and hear me out, I think Ponta wants to be the actual Gilag. 

This can be seen in how he treats the Mythyrian Number as well as his interaction with Gilag. Ponta’s first action upon meeting Gilag was, ironically, stealing his body. This is strange for a creature that doesn’t want to be remembered as someone else, and then he becomes that exact same person. However, it should be noted that Ponta’s name isn't revealed until the very end of the episode, so perhaps he isn’t interested in letting people know that he’s “Ponta” at all. 

He was content going forward in life as Gilag. 

And remember, Ponta died during the Sengoku Era (1400s-1600s), so he was trapped in the statue of Kiraku for at least 400 years. During this time, he was referred to as only Kiraku, never as Ponta. After so long, after 400 years of never hearing his real name or being recognized as himself, it isn’t a stretch that Ponta doesn’t see himself as “Ponta” anymore. He sees himself as a shadow of Gilag, and so he made it a plan to be the real Gilag if he ever gets the chance, or at least, be in his body. Hence, he took over Gilag’s body. 

Even when he hijacked Yuma’s body, he preferred being in Gilag’s body so much that he swapped back after he finished cheating. 

You can see this in how he uses his Mythyrian Number, too. Like most of the other Guardians, Ponta is the Guardian and the Mythyrian Number, “Number 64: Veteran Tanuki Sandayu”. During the duel, Ponta utilizes “Veteran Tanuki Sandayu”, the true warrior, while the “Kagemusha Tanuki Tokens” are Ponta’s shadows. This is made more apparent when the tokens (which normally turn into any monster on the field with the highest attack points) turn into copies of “Number 64: Veteran Tanuki Sandayu“, mimicking his relationship with Gilag. 

Ponta wants to see himself as an actual warrior with Kagemusha of his own, rather than the other way around. He even becomes concerned when Yuma attacks his Kagemusha. 

Personally, I see this sequence as Ponta having a sudden detachment from his dream of “being Kiraku”. Deep down, he still sees himself as a Kagemusha, and so when he sees the destruction of the Kagemusha Tokens, he also sees this as a destruction of himself. 

When he finally loses, he mutters, “I’m not a shadow, I’m not a shadow,” almost as though he internalized this perception of himself while desiring nothing more than to reject it. 

Ponta knows that he isn’t the true Gilag, but after half a millennium of being a Kagemusha to Gilag, I don’t think he knows who he is anymore.

This changes when Gilag gets his human memories back and approaches him. Upon telling Ponta that “you’re Ponta”, Ponta appears surprised to hear his actual name. By hearing someone speak his name after 400-something years, Ponta finally sees himself as his own person again. 

And believe it or not, this idea falls into why he exists as his own raccoon dog after the show ended. 

Ponta decides that he can be his own person. He doesn’t need to be tied down by Kiraku or anything else. This is why he willingly leaves Gilag’s body and detaches himself from the Mythyrian Number. 

This is evidenced when Astral absorbs the Number first, and then Ponta emerges from the body; at this point, Ponta is no longer a Guardian but simply a Tanuki. 

Also, if Ponta is still the Guardian/Mythyrian Number, then Gilag should’ve received the “Number 64: Veteran Tanuki Sandayu” when he eh-hem, 

swallows Ponta. 

Ponta comes back later, of course. Along with the Mythyrian Number, Alito and Ponta, Gilag’s two best friends are used to free Gilag from Don Thousand’s curse. 

They even make up afterwards.

And before anyone starts, I do not know why Ponta is still friends with Gilag after all of this. 

Like really im not joking. im not saying that ponta is that type of raccoon, but if my friend ate me, id be kinda pissed ngl 

like maybe these scenes?? Gilag sent Ponta away under the pretense of hoarding the fame for himself. After finding out Gilag died, Ponta was devastated. He cried for a moment, saying that Gilag would still be alive if Ponta wasn’t banished. But then he convinced himself that Gilag deserved it. 

Ponta obviously cares for Gilag despite how big of “a despicable bastard, stingy, and an annoying jerk” he is. Ponta also says that he would’ve preferred dying with Gilag in battle rather than be sent away. Ponta clearly sees something in Gilag that makes him worth fighting for. 

Maybe Gilag has a good heart under his questionable tendencies. 

When Ponta loses the duel with Yuma, the immediate reaction of Gilag tells us that he is very concerned over the safety of Ponta, but then he retracts himself, like he remembers he’s supposed to be tough and emotionless. 

And to be honest. Ponta could be like, like “hey, my buddy Kiraku, getting mind controlled by Don Thousand really sucks, might eat me because he’s a little grumpy-grump, it happens you know, no big deal”. 

They get drunk together. 

It’s the Sengoku Period. They probably do a lot of stuff off-screen like Gilag usually does with Alito. Maybe having an occasional fallout or all of that is normal. I truly don’t know. 

What I do know is that Ponta is able to complete his arc at the end of the show. Without being tied down as a Kagemusha, a Guardian, or a Mythyrian Number, he is able to exist as a physical being in the modern world. 

So Ponta has a complete character arc. Not complaining, but I do wish that the ruins has more to do with Gilag himself. The information on his past life is interesting enough, but the story is more about Ponta than Gilag. And what we found out about Gilag’s current life is... alright. 

The connection between his Mythyrian Number and Over-Hundred Monster is minimal. Aside from being both Earth Monsters, I do not see any connection between the two nor why its a giant hand. “Number 64: Veteran Tanuki Sandayu” kinda features Gilag and Ponta as a warrior and a Kagemusha, which I thought is neat. 

The most disappointing thing is that the writers didn’t do anything with the concept of Gilag being possessed by Don Thousand. I mean, Alito went absolutely berserk. Like from baby child to unhinged bloodlust. Gilag is—he’s just Gilag, that’s just regular Gilag i swear. Like, maybe Gilag on steroids the second time, but Don Thousand looks at this guy eating live raccoons and said “ssssshyyeah, I don’t need to fix this one.”

[royalbloodedbastards]

self-para // inconveniences

DATE: Saturday, December 26, 2020 CHARACTERS: Roy, Sefa, and Linnaea ABOUT: Roy meets Linnaea. Sefa is there.

Give me a minute to unburden myself here. It is so damn inconvenient to be the son of a loa.

Even all the way over in New Orleans, I heard all about these demigods living in New Athens, this metropolitan city on Long Island that was built by the gods. Freakin’ nature spirits have been gossiping about it from coast to coast, saying the streets are paved with marble and there are fountains of youth. And you know what? I believe it. The Greek gods love to meddle in the affairs of their children, cause them problems and then make up for it by giving them all these extravagant gifts. Probably makes them feel young again, like they’re more than just pretty figureheads sitting on golden thrones.

But there’s no metropolitan haven like that for the kids of the loa. There aren’t even that many of us to begin with, definitely not enough to stand up to spirits that have way better things to do than spoil their kids. And you know what? It’s better that way. I don’t need a rich god daddy to build cities and subsidize my living for me. Nah. I love living high-flood-risk, mold-infested, landlord-controlled housing.

Freakin’ love it.

The real inconvenience is all the crap I inherited from my dad.

Like, take this guy for instance, the one that’s staring me down from the other side of his blinding headlights. First of all, inconsiderate. Turn off your damn headlights, asshole, you’re gonna give me eye damage. Secondly, why is this guy looking at me like I’m going to kill him? I’m literally standing here in a parking lot, completely unarmed, while he’s staring me down from the driver side of a literal automobile. In terms of danger, I would say the redhead’s got the upper hand. But even so, I can’t totally blame him. I know the look he’s giving me.

My dad—er, sorry. My sperm donor’s got a real intense look about him. Makes sense, with him being the Master of the Dead and whatever, but it’s not really a look I wanted for myself. I try really hard to dress nice and carry myself well, but these freakin’ purple eyes and the comically-on-the-nose skull-shaped vitiligo across my face really don’t help my cause. The kids in middle school used to say that it was a tattoo, that I applied bleach on my skin in the shape of skull to look cool and that it probably messed up my eyes in the process. The rumors got so bad the principal pulled me aside to ask if I was engaging in ‘potentially harmful cosmetic procedures’. I told him to go fuck himself.

Oh, that’s the other thing too. I can’t control what comes out of my mouth sometimes. I’ll be thinking one thing and something completely unrelated, and oftentimes pretty vulgar, will just come flying out. I’m not even much on cursing, it just happens. Another thing I get from my dad, apparently.

“I have her,” the ginger calls out to me from behind the beams of light. “She’s in the backseat.”

It takes a full ten seconds for my eyes to adjust from the vicious assault of his headlights. Then, the shape of a person starts forming through the backseat window. “Holy fuck.” Pardon my French. “You really went for it. I didn’t ask you to break her nose.”

“Yeah, well…” He trails off into a mumble, like he’s embarrassed about it. “She deserved it.”

If this guy didn’t have a chick tied up in the backseat of his car, I would’ve pegged him for a total soft body. One of those only-drinks-bottled-water types.

Eh, I still do.

“Bring her inside,” I instruct. I don’t stick around to see how he’s planning to get her out of the car without looking suspicious. Whatever. Not my job. I key card my way into the motel room and wait for him to bring the girl in. I watch as he slings her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and waddles his way toward the door. “You can set her down on the bed.” He does as he’s told and drops her down onto the nasty bedding. A little blood smears onto the sheets, probably adding another layer to the hooker blood and cum that’s already baked into the bed. “Does she need medical attention?”

“Nah,” the ginger responds. “I mean… Probably not. They’ll just give her some ambrosia back at camp.”

Ambrosia, wow. The literal food of the gods and they just give it out to their kids like cough drops. Freakin’ Greeks.

“Well, I need her awake to talk.”

“She was awake half an hour ago.”

“And now she’s unconscious.”

“Yeah, but she was awake before.”

“And now,” I repeat slowly, “she is un-con-scious.”

Ginger sighs and kneels by the bed. He slaps her unceremoniously across the face a few times. “Be gentle,” I plead in a tone that sounds very unintentionally sarcastic. “You already broke her nose.”

“Hey,” he barks. “Wake up.” Jesus Fictional Christ, this guy is a brute. “Hey, do you hear me? Wake up.”

The girl stirs and pushes his hand away. “What do you want?”

“You’re awake,” I state, reiterating the obvious. “Good. I wasn’t in the mood to dig a grave tonight.”

The girl lifts her head and grimaces at me. “Are you Gabriele?”

“No, you’ve got the wrong number. I’m Roy.” I stick out my hand for her to shake, but hers are tied. “Oh yeah. Sorry.” I drop it.

“What the fuck do you want with me?”

“I heard from a little birdie that you’ve become quite the budding, young necromancer.”

“She’s what?” Ginger looks at me concernedly.

“A necromancer,” I repeat. “Reeling spirits back from the dead like a nasty little fisherman.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” she spits.

“Au contraire, I have friends in all sorts of places. Cities, villages, the woods outside of New Athens.” The color drains from her face. Well, all the color except for the crusty red stain around her nose. “Nobody is ever truly alone, you see. Even the most desperate of men, on their last dying breaths, as they succumb to the fear that not even God is watching over them… There is somebody watching. It may not be their god, but someone is watching.”

“What do you want from me?”

“Right to the point, then. Good.” I sit down on the opposite end of the bed, giving enough distance to make sure that none of the blood she’s spitting gets onto my jeans. “The gods are not happy with you.”

“Hades?” Ginger chimes in.

“Yes, that’s one,” I respond with a nod. “And Hel, the Norse goddess. And the Shinigami. Ever heard of them? In fact, Chitragupta, Xipe Totec, King Yama, Xorn—all of the gods are pretty mad.”

“Why are they mad at me?” The girl’s voice cracks as she speaks. I can tell I’m getting into her head. “I I have nothing to do with them.”

“But you do. You see, when you disrespect the laws of one god, you disrespect them all,” I explain. “The laws of life and death are sacred, no matter which theology you subscribe to. The living belong in the land of the living, and the dead belong in the Underworld, the afterlife, Heaven and Hell—whatever you want to call it. But if one underworld starts giving out free passes to the land of the living, then all of the spirits in all those other places I mentioned are going to start to get jealous. Suddenly, you have millions, if not billions, of undead hearing about this one girl who managed to get her brother a second chance, and they all start to think, why shouldn’t I get one too. Do you see where I’m going with this?”

The room is silent for a moment. I think that means my explanation worked.

Thank freakin’ god.

A bit of a sidetrack confession here—I’m totally lying my ass off. All the other gods probably don’t give a shit, it’s not like the dead are going to form an uprising against their literally omnipotent, all-powerful overlords. In fact, one of the gods I mentioned was actually an X-Men and I’m so freakin’ relieved neither of them seemed to pick up on that. If I’m being real here, I’m just doing this because I was hired to.

The third reason it’s inconvenient to be the son of a loa: all the gods suddenly assume that just because I have these powers that I’m entitled to use them to help others.

Look, all I ever wanted to do was listen to classical music and play Animal Crossing in bed, eating Flamin’ Hot Cheetos and Arizona Iced Tea. Hades was the one who sought me out and thought, ‘hey, wouldn’t it be a great idea to ruin this kid’s life by making him into a mercenary for all these tiny deities and death spirits to use at will?’ And, like I said before, spirits and gods love to gossip. One death god heard that there was a mercenary willing to do the dirty, busy work and they recommended him to a friend, who recommended him to another friend, who recommended him to another friend, et cetera and so forth. And all the while, my New Horizons island is in freakin’ shambles because nobody is giving me a free day to clean up all the weeds that have sprouted all over my outdoor-waterfall-patisserie.

“So what do you want from me,” the girl repeats, “if not just to kill me?”

“What I want…” I lean in close so she can see right into the lavender glint of my irises. These eyeballs are a pain in the ass for grocery shopping but for times like this, I swear there’s no better weapon. “Is relief.”

[whatistylerwatching]

Hello all my fellow people out there in cyberspace. My name is Tyler and you’re watching what I’m watching. Today we review my most recently finished season or series. Which in this instance is Amazon Prime’s Upload. Since this is my first review let me lay the groundwork for my reviews. We have 4 criteria on a show to get a grade and see if it gets a recommendation.

1.) Story

2.) Characters

3.) Visual Design

4.) Overall Enjoyment

Each criteria is worth 25 possible points

25 - Perfect

20 - Great

15 - Good

10 - Okay

5 - Not Good

0 - Bad

So let’s dive deep into Lakeview

1.) The Story

“In 2033, humans are able to "upload" themselves into a virtual afterlife of their choosing. When computer programmer Nathan dies prematurely, he is uploaded to the very expensive Lake View, but soon finds himself under the thumb of his possessive, still-living girlfriend Ingrid. As Nathan adjusts to the pros and cons of digital heaven, he bonds with Nora, his living customer service rep, or "Angel". Nora struggles with the pressures of her job, her dying father who does not want to be uploaded, and her growing feelings for Nathan while slowly coming to believe that Nathan was murdered.” Quoting Wikipedia. So I think this premise is actually very interesting. Think about how much media focuses on how technology improves the life of the living and doesn’t focus on really a digital afterlife. However if I can be nit-picky, there are some story details that are dropped and picked up as the series progresses. I’m not gonna spoil anything until we get to overall enjoyment, but just know the story is, overall okay at worst. Score: 20

2.) The Characters

Our main protagonist is played by Robbie Amell who is better known as Fred Jones from the made for tv live action Scooby Doo movies, The DUFF and as the mail carrier in True Jackson VP, wait excuse me

*Hold on*

Well I’ll be damned it is him. Back on track I do think he did a decent job as Nathan, I just wish he got to do more in all honesty so that Nathan actually had more of a character

Our other protagonist is Nora Antony, played by Andy Allo, who you may know from Pitch Perfect 3 and Chicago Fire. Andy played this character amazingly and I thoroughly enjoyed the character of Nora and think she was the best character overall by far. Good on you Allo, I hope to see you in more shows and movies.

We also have Ingrid Kannerman, Nathan’s girlfriend played by Allegra Edwards, who did great I think playing Ingrid. She plays a prissy bitch who is deeper than she lets on and I know we’ll see more of her in the future but here she does great

Zainab Johnson as Aleesha is tied for my favorite character in the whole show. She’s that one person you always want in your corner and is such a bubbly personality and I love her.

Finally for the main cast we have Kevin Bigley as Luke. All I can really say is, meh. He’s the comic relief character who I think could have been handled so much better. No shade onto the actor, we’ll get to why in a moment.

However shout out to Elizabeth Bowen for being my other favorite character, Fran Booth, the detective cousin, shame she wasn’t around more.

Score: 15

#3.) Visual Design

Honestly I cannot praise the teams enough for the visual design. Everything from the scenery to the backdrops, lighting and it was handled very well. In the virtual world there is so much brightness and in the real world shots there’s a sense of grit and despair that contrast well to the show’s story. Score: 25

#4.) Overall Enjoyment

*SPOILER ALERT*

*THIS IS THE SECTION WHERE I CAN DISCUSS ANYTHING, SPOILER WARNING IF YOU WANT TO WATCH THE SHOW THROUGH AND THEN COME BACK*

*LAST WARNING, OKAY HERE WE GO*

So did I enjoy Upload? Well, maybe. You see my problem with the series is one thing. Number one is the script. You see when you look up this show online, it calls it a Sci-Fi Comedy, problem is that it’s not a comedy. While comedy is a necessary ingredient to keep a story this heavy from dragging the audience down, it wasn’t handled the best. Luke was a generic character with some quirks but nothing that made me laugh. That’s the thing is that I was more entranced with the romance between Nathan’s Murder and Nathan and Nora’s relationship than anything else. However I feel like neither one gets fulfilled to any real extent in the end. For the first half the whole murder story is played as a joke until halfway through, same with the romance. Also what is with all the damn sex scenes. I know this show is rated TV-MA, but Jesus. And that’s all in the first half, so there’s this tonal whiplash between episode 4 and 5 that is weird to me. I don’t blame any of the actors for any of this, I feel with a more consistent script it could have been better. I mean the concept is stupendous, how do you make that the most different part. Although as a sci-fi romance show, it actually has some appealing traits. It shows the pros and cons of a world corrupted by greed, App Store physics and micro transactions brought to a real life setting. It really is a good cautionary tale on technology and greed and that I can get behind whole heartedly. I just don’t understand the failed attempts at humor, maybe it’s just a me thing I don’t know. Also that finale was unsatisfactory in more ways than I can describe through text. Score: 15

Overall Score: 75/100 - Good

Recommendation: Watch It If You Want

TV System Rank: TV-MA (17+)

Services: Amazon Prime Exclusive

Release Day: May 1 2020

So I do recommend Upload to those who want to watch it. While I don’t think it was a pinnacle of a series that most hold it to be, I can say that I don’t regret watching Upload. Lucky me this show’s getting a Season 2, and thank god because if it got cancelled after one season (a la AJ and the Queen style), then Oh boy there’d be a different tone to this whole thing. That ending was not satisfying, just putting that out there now.

If you have watched Upload, feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments. Feel free to leave me some recommendations what to watch next and I’ll take them into account. Until next time, thank you for reading

[alexannah]

Intro and Questions for the Miraculous Ladybug Fandom

I know I haven’t been very active on Tumblr lately. Or ever, really. My posts have been rare and I have to admit I never really figured out how to navigate the fandom side of it. I’m hoping to change that now, and starting off with a new fandom. (I’ll still post on my others from time to time, I hope, but since I’m new to Miraculous Ladybug and the inspiration is buzzing—also I’ve fallen behind on canon for a couple of my other fandoms, so I’m avoiding those parts of Tumblr until I’ve read the new books—it’ll probably be mostly this for a while.)

If anyone following me hasn’t seen the show (or past season one), this post is spoiler-free except the end which is clearly marked, but future ones will definitely have spoilers. For clarity I’ll be putting the relevant fandom initials in the title of all my posts from now on, and endeavouring to not put major spoilers right at the top of posts, to avoid people see them accidentally. I was accidentally spoiled three times for this show while trying to find out how to see season two, so I empathise!

I’ve been a fan of the show for about a year now, but wasn’t able to see past season one (all there still is on the UK Netflix) until this summer, and I still determinedly avoided the online fandom until I’d seen all the season three episodes, which was only a few weeks ago. So I’m very much a fandom newbie. And I have a huge backlog of geeking out, and questions I’ve been dying to ask other fans. (I’m not going to put it/them ALL in this post, that would make it really long and leave no material for future posts …) Please be kind when answering stuff that may be obvious to more experienced fans!

First of all, as I said I’ve not been very active on Tumblr, but I love Pinterest and I see a lot of fandom things on there that originated here. A few weeks ago I created a Miraculous Ladybug board and have since repeatedly got very distracted looking for pins! I’ve seen a lot of fan comics (some have actually inspired fanfic ideas …) and there is one question that I’ve been dying to ask since noticing a pattern in a lot of Marichat ones.

Where does this thing with CN calling Marinette “princess” (or pun variations of) come from? Did this originate from something in canon (I’m guessing in Weredad) that I just don’t remember?

Also, I’ve been writing MLB fanfiction for months without having read any, and all that time I’ve been writing “Cat Noir” and “Hawk Moth”. I’ve started reading fic now, but not very much yet, and I’m still confused over whether the villain’s name is one word or two (I have now seen it both ways), and whether or not everyone writes Chat instead of Cat? I know it’s a French fandom, but I’ve only ever seen the English versions and he’s called Cat in it, so that’s what I’ve always written and what I default think of him as. Plus I am positive the show was made in English first. I used to only be 99% sure, because there are a few moments when the dialogue seems slightly out of sync with the characters’ mouth movements, but then I found out Hawk Moth is called Papillon in the French version, and having rewatched him introduce himself, I’m positive there is absolutely no way his mouth can be saying ‘Papillon’.

Since the plural for Miraculous seems to be “Miraculous*es*” in season one and “Miraculous” after that … what do you write in fanfic? For the sake of being clear I prefer to uses “Miraculouses”.

As a fun aside, I recently discovered I’ve been spelling all the Kwamis’ names wrong. All except Plagg, but that’s just because I initially misheard it and couldn’t be sure what it was, so looked it up on Wikipedia early on. (As well as the word Kwami, which I had no idea how to spell but was sure started with a Q.) So I’ve been slowly correcting all the instances of Tiki, Waze, Trix, Nuru and Duzu.

And don’t get me started on how long it took me to figure out how to spell Bourgeois …

***season two spoilers below***

So to shipping.

I love all sides of the Adrien and Marinette love triangle, though it wasn’t until very recently that Marichat grew on me. Since Glaciator, the canon interactions have definitely been more interesting, but I admit I didn’t really see it as a proper ship until the other day when I read @chatnoirinette ’s awesome piece on what made their relationship so good, and it got me thinking …

If you count the love triangle as all one ship (which I do, because it’s much simpler in my head, plus I write a lot of reveal fics …), then I have two OTPs for this fandom. The other is Gabenath. (I’m new at the ship names, do you pronounce the H?) So many things I’d love to say about them, but I’ll save for future posts. Those four characters are without a doubt my favourite (in order: Nathalie, Gabriel, Adrien, Marinette; but it’s really close!). I also like Luka/Chloe, and I paired them together in my head (well, in a fanfiction plan) before I knew anyone else had thought of it.

With regards to fanfiction, I’ve never read much on or posted directly to Tumblr (I prefer archives where chapters are easily organised and you can’t accidentally read something before you’ve read the previous instalment), but I will try and remember now to at least mention when I post something new. Usually I’m on FFnet and AO3 under the penname Alexannah. (I’m also registered under pretty much every Harry Potter archive still online, though I admit I’ve rather lost track of which of my stories are posted where on them, with the exception of Potions and Snitches which I frequent regularly.)

I have a mass of multi-chapter MLB fics in the works, but can’t promise when any of them will be posted. I might post some info about the more promising looking ones if people are interested. However I do have a drabble and a one-shot on both archives, and I’m working on a couple of other one-shots. I’m also working on a response to a prompt I came across on Tumblr which I plan to post in full here since this is where the inspiration came from (and I also promised to tag people who were interested), though I don’t plan on doing that for the rest of my stories.

I’ll leave it there for now, but expect some headcanons, season three reactions and other geeking out in due course …