#freya is the bait

[eliounora]

so merlin fell in love and was willing to leave his life in camelot behind to run away with her, but she died, so he's sad. arthur arrives and asks him about it. they look at each other like this and after he leaves merlin smiles to himself with sweet gentle music playing in the background. now they don't do queerbaiting like this anymore do they

[almostfoxglove]

i would LOVE to know about 33 and 42 for the movie asks if you haven't answered already

💌 - @quinnnfabrgay-writes

omg thank you so much for sending these in @quinnnfabrgay-writes <33

33. do you get invested in the film award shows?

usually not unless there's something or someone nominated that I really love and root for. I followed emmys/sag awards for the last of us noms this past year, and the oscars for past lives (knew it wouldn't win but I just LOVED that movie) and a few years ago for everything everywhere all at once (an all time great), so it just depends!! I haven't really sat down and watched an entire awards show in .... years? but I do love rooting for my babies :,)

42. show me a pic of your favorite movie poster

movies totally aside (though I looove little miss sunshine) these are some of my favorites that come to mind!!

🎥 movies / film ask bait

[pinkhysteria]

[philtatosbuck]

for all people (mostly certain fic authors) like to say that freya’s way of taking down dahlia was terrible because she drove a wedge between the siblings, they often seem to forget that freya never outright came into the picture wanting anything but her siblings united and standing together. klaus is just a bitch (i love him. he’s damn near always the problem). it ain’t even that elijah and rebekah automatically trusted freya they were just willing to let her EARN their trust and protect hope and klaus was not willing to do that. whether you think he was valid in it or not he is the reason freya ever went to ‘okay, time to split them up’ she was literally just responding to his constant disrespect.

[arvolna]

Freyr: OMG YOURE SO TALL YOU ARE LIKE A GIRAFFE!

Odin disguised as Tyr: and you're like a baked bean.

Freyr: A-A BAKED - A BAKED BEAN?!

------

Freya, talking with Njörd: So as I was saying Father, Freyr and I will sneak up from-

Freyr, high af:Quack quack

Freya:... Sneak up from-

Freyr: Quack quack

Freya:... From-

Freyr: Quack quack

Freya:... I will sneak up from behind and attack while Freyr goes up to them as a bait with his Quacking.

Freyr: OH QUACK NO!

-----

Hildisvini: Are you high again?

Freyr:... No.

Hildisvini: your dad is gonna beat you up.

Freyr: Nuh uh.

Freya: tf you mean Nuh uh??!!

------

Nerthus: Freyr is this... What í think it is?

Freyr: Oh yeah mom those are my girlfriend's underwear I'll bring it to her tomorrow.

Nerthus: I MEANT THE PIPE-

----

Freya: So I was helping kratos cook yesterday and he-

Freyr: decided to break up with you and said that the wants to marry me and make me his own?

Freya:... No? WTF?

------

idk it's the best I can think of.

Freyr: love you all <3333

[bung3665]

Some Dynamics and Character Lore From GGZ

Given the title, this won't cover everything, especially the dynamics that are present for GGZ-only characters, but I thought I'd make a post for Hi3 characters that are present in GGZ for those of you who like to draw fanart/write fanfiction. As well as the fact that I like talking about GGZ.

Fair warning: this is going to be long, I have a bad habit of going into too much detail on things like this, so please bear with me.

For this post in particular, I was going to focus on multiple characters but this ended up being so long I relegated to it just being about Kiana and Mei, and more specifically two versions of them. I might make a follow up post for Bronya/Seele/Sin at another time.

Trigger warning for attempted suicide below. I feel like I should include this just in case.

Short introduction but that's all I have to say before diving into the material.

Kiana/Mei

It shouldn't really be a surprise that Kiana's greatest dynamic is with Mei and only Mei. The two are a lot more blatant with their feelings and relationship in GGZ. However, their relationship is also more tumultuous than in Hi3. They are a good example of doomed yuri, besides the ending to the Reborn storyline, which is bittersweet at the least and good at the most.

The writing of GGZ carries the same theme as Honkai 3rd, fighting against the fate of the world and for all that's beautiful. GGZ tends to explore the darker aspects to this setting, often times mixing in heavier themes while doubling down on the struggles of the characters. At times, it can be almost over the top, but I think its cohesive and still a finely crafted story.

It should come as no shocker that Kiamei is the primary ship of GGZ, it's outright confirmed that they love each other at points throughout the story. Sometimes it is for lesbian bait, but on the whole I think their writing is good and the way they rely on each other for support is nice.

Kiana and Mei are more grounded in GGZ, if I had to word it. They're still incredibly resilient, but there are times where they crack mentally. It happens to Kiana more than it does to Mei (save for the last arc, where it's all about Mei suffering), but seeing them work through these things does deepen the bond they have.

Now with all that said, let's move on to the actual content of this post.

Retrospective

Retro is the story you play when you first start the game, this is the "first half" of GGZ's story in some regard. GGZ's story and setting is divided into separate eras, with the main two being Retrospective and Reborn. Era Zero, taking place before both of them, was never fully completed unfortunately.

In Retro, Kiana and Mei initially start off on the wrong foot. Mei is sort of hostile towards Kiana (a result of her becoming a Herrscher) and Kiana is a bit insensitive to Mei on introduction, but after learning about Mei's past, Kiana manages to get through to Mei after their battle and the two make up.

Will put it out there that much like Kiana in the Hi3 mangas and early Hi3 story, she's a perv here. Yet her crush on Mei is a genuine thing.

Things calm down for a while, but when Bronya enters the picture and Mei begins to dote on her like a big sister, Kiana gets a little...possessive, and jealous. She's quite immature when it comes to romance in Retro. And while Mei is more serene about things she does care for Kiana too.

The two have their own unresolved matters, however. For Kiana, it's finding her dad who went missing when she was young (note: Kiana in GGZ is not a clone like in Hi3, this is the real and original Kiana Kaslana). And for Mei, it's regarding Ryoma's sentencing and his ties to Anti-Entropy. The two bring it up at points and reassure each other that they will find their dads which is sweet.

Things take a turn for the worse when Cocolia attacks St. Freya with the Moonlight Throne battleship. When the ship crashes into the church where the furnace containing the core of the second Herrscher is (yeah they stored Sirin's core there), Kiana somewhat fuses with the core and has a complete mental breakdown when Cocolia reveals the truth about Siegfried and how Kiana murdered him when she accidentally became a Herrscher while young.

This causes Kiana to become a Herrscher due to the rising amounts of Honkai energy in her body. If you're wondering about Cocolia, she dies by heading into the Honkai furnace and gets swallowed up by all the Honkai.

Kiana kills everyone after becoming the Herrscher of Finality (or Herrscher of The End, Final Herrscher etc), and the last person she kills is Mei.

It's a sad scene through and through, and the CGs are great. Even more so because at the end, when Kiana and Mei are floating above the world, Kiana still cries while the world ends.

See you in the next world originates from this scene. Very good piece of music.

So what happens after? The world ends, Mei and everyone die, but what happens to Kiana?

Kiana became a puppet for the Honkai, even after the initial catastrophe that occurred at St. Freya, small groups of people managed to survive the world-wide Honkai eruption. But they too would be wiped out by Kiana.

She didn't move, she didn't think anymore, and she had no emotion. Only when the Honkai needed her to kill whatever remnants of civilization rose up did she move.

This carried on for hundreds of years, or tens of thousands, but by the end Kiana had killed all of humanity.

And then she regained her consciousness and was faced with the reality of how many she had killed and how much blood she had spilled. To save herself from the suffering she tried to end her life, but because she was a Herrscher, she was immortal.

No one could kill Kiana, not even Kiana herself. When Kiana realized this fact she gave up all resistance. She deluded her mind with memories of the past and paralyzed herself on the spear she had impaled herself with, until the day Honkai disappeared from the world.

Quite the terrible end. I won't be covering Reborn in this post, but I thought it would be cool to write about the Fire Moth DLC side story, since their relationship in that story builds off of Retro.

Fire Moth

To understand Kiana and Mei's relationship in Fire Moth, you first need an understanding of the setting. The events of Fire Moth happen during Reborn's story, during the story chapters as a matter of fact.

But Fire Moth itself technically takes place in a stigma space where the world has turned desolate five years after Kiana became a Herrscher and destroyed everything. It should be noted that this is the world contained in the stigma space, so the setting of the story is not taking place in the real world. The backstories and characters are acting upon how they were in Retro (and were materialized by Kyuushou's memories of them).

This is Kyuushou's stigmata space, and she has the stigmata of both Kiana and Mei from Retro. Hence why this world bears so much familiarity to Retro.

Most life on the surface is dead, and the survivors in Nagazora have banded together to form the organization "Fire Moth", or "Moth Who Chases The Flame", under the leadership of an older Bronya.

Houraiji Kyuushou is the protagonist of Fire Moth, and you play through the story as her amnesiac self. Kiana is still the Final Herrscher, and rather than a being who is carrying out the Honkai's will endlessly, or someone who still has enough emotion and humanity to cry, this Kiana has gone deep into nihilism and has become devoid of most emotion.

This is a Kiana who knows what happened thousands of years ago and guilt has eaten away at her and left her with nothing.

CG of Kiana when Kyuushou first meets her in a dream.

To get a good idea of what Kiana and Mei are going through in Fire Moth, how about this short conversation I machine-translated. Might be inaccurate, I don't know Chinese that well! But hopefully it helps. Some of it has been taken from Guns Girl Z Cutscene Interpreter as well, I translated some of the text that was still in Chinese.

(Mei's text is purple, and Kiana's is blue).

Mei…what would you do if the world didn't fall apart?

If it hadn't collapsed...

I would probably have been like an ordinary girl, studying something I like, enrolling in a university I wished to go to, and then starting my own family, and walking through a happy and uneventful life with the person I love.

Kiana, what about you?

For me…as long as I'm with Mei, I'm already satisfied.

Really…don't say such embarrassing things...If it's Kiana then there must be something more worthy of pursuing.

If it's the old me…I do have hundreds of wishes I want to fulfill...

I wanted to attend the same school as Mei, eat our bento together under a cherry blossom tree, and spend our entire lunch break lazily.

I want to travel around the world with Mei, take pictures of us in beautiful landscapes, and keep our figures in a precious photo album forever.

I want to build a small cabin by the sea with Mei, watch the tide rise and fall together, collect seashells on the sand blown by the sea breeze together, and then fall asleep under the embrace of the moonlight.

There are so many more wishes…well there are so many more plans too..

But now…

I just want to stay by your side quietly like this forever.

Mei...please give me your hand.

Yes...

If it's possible, will you stay with me until the end of the world?

Kiana…thank you.

Thank you for loving me so much. For protecting me so much.

But both of us, no, we all, we all understand.

That this is a long-cherished wish that simply cannot be fulfilled.

Because...because all of it...has been destroyed by your hands.

Every promise has been turned into ash... and we can never go back.

I'm so sorry Kiana...I'm so sorry.

It's time for us to say our farewells...

(Kiana alone with Mei's ribbon).

...

I understand.

In fact, I understand it better than anyone.

This is the mistake I made...I've destroyed our future with my own hands.

Such an ending is the best punishment for me.

Alone in a world without you. Even death is too kind for me.

(There's a little bit more to this scene, but it's not relevant to this post).

During the final battle between Kiana and Mei (they're both in the same nihilistic and existential boat here, so naturally they are the two overarching antagonists), when Mei falls in battle, Kiana bids her farewell and calls Mei her "only regret".

At the end of Fire Moth, Kyuushou manages to reignite Kiana's wish from forty-two thousand years ago, which was to bring hope to the world. What Kiana was chasing all this time was a sliver of hope in a world that gave her none.

Kiana relinquishes her existence after their battle, so she along with Mei disappear from the world entirely. No one remembers them and nobody recognizes their names. Kyuushou remarks that Kiana's dream was to live in a world without Honkai, a sentiment echoed by both Kiana and Mei.

Fun fact: if you 100% all of Fire Moth, you get this wonderful CG of the two.

Conclusion

If you made it this far, thanks. I'm a bit out of my element when writing things like this, so if you have any questions on anything I'd be happy to answer them. I appreciate GGZ a lot, so making this was fun and I hope I can do more of it for the others.

I have a nagging feeling this was a bit too long, so I apologize for that. I ended up explaining a lot of GGZ's lore when this was mainly supposed to be about relationship dynamics...oops.

But to summarize, Kiana and Mei's relationship isn't entirely different from what they have in Hi3, but just like in Hi3 they have their own struggles and nuances. Mostly in the formed of doomed yuri but that's beside the point. I like their relationship in GGZ, at times its as simple as a few exchanges before a battle, and at others its the crux of the story itself.

With all that being said, I hope you enjoyed the read!!

[world0fmadness]

⋆ ˚｡⋆ ୨୧ ˚ VIDEO GAMES I THINK SOME OF THE GRID WOULD LIKE ˚ ୨୧ ⋆｡˚ ⋆

i don’t know what this is to be honest! just games i think the grid would like and how they’d play them ^_^ don’t come into my comment section with “ tHeY wOuLdNt CrY aT a ViDeO gAmE ” i have seen the manliest men cry at deaths in games and so many other things, video games are so capable of making you sob your heart out because of how much time you spend with characters and how well the stories are told <3

warning: god of war ragnarök spoilers, life is strange spoilers, red dead redemption 2 spoilers, telltales the walking dead spoilers

FERNANDO ALONSO

god of war - god of war ragnarök

i think he’d be SO into the story and would absolutely shed a tear or two when kratos calls atreus “ son ” for the first time instead of “ boy ”! he’d have the biggest crush on freya ( especially in god of war ragnarök when she has her valkyrie armour on and her wings back )

thinks faye was just an absolute poet and is very tempted to get “ to grieve deeply is to have loved fully ” tattooed on himself ( literally me )

loves angrboda and atreus, he thinks they are adorable, his digital children, cries AGAIN when atreus leaves at the end of god of war ragnarök

thinks all of the valkyries’ designs are GORGEOUS ( because they are ) but please don’t go near him with that sigrun boss fight

SEBASTIAN VETTEL

stardew valley - animal crossing

get this man a nintendo switch and some cozy games as soon as possible, he’d have the cutest animal crossing village and doesn’t go a day without talking to his villagers

LEWIS HAMILTON

red dead redemption 2

his arthur would be so dripped out it’s insane, he loves arthur as character, keeps arthur well fed, fucking hates micah with a passion ( don’t we all ) cries when arthur gets diagnosed with tuberculosis and honestly hates playing the last chapters with arthur because he can’t stand how deathly arthur looks, cries again when he dies but is so glad he was able to help john get out ( don’t tell him about the first game okay? )

thinks charles is the absolute best side character, loves his character, his loyalty, his words, and his backstory! might just get a bison tattoo to honour him… has a little crush on sadie and tilly ^_^

has the same horse throughout the whole game and treats it SO good </3 gets the braided mane and tail, feeds it so good, brushes it constantly… is beyond heartbroken when it dies

listens to unshaken by d’angelo from the soundtrack on the regular

telltale’s the walking dead

played every season when they first released, this franchise has caused this man so much heartbreak… thought lee, luke and kenny were the best characters until clementine was grown up! absolutely adores AJ too <3

had to pause and take a breath when clementine got bit, cried so much, took him right back to the first season with lee and he couldn’t handle it… thinks telltale are horrible people for baiting you like that

CHARLES LECLERC

life is strange - life is strange: before the storm

i can just see him really connecting with chloe in a strange way… absolutely hates nathan but feels a little bad for him at the end, top pricefield shipper, sacrifices arcadia bay every replay ( he sacrificed chloe once just to see and cried for half an hour at the ending )

would probably be so upset at chloe not being in the life is strange: double exposure trailer, wants to know where she is IMMEDIATELY, but is so proud of how grown up max is

toem

i don’t know… i can just see him really liking toem :,3 it’s relaxing

MAX VERSTAPPEN

stray

he plays it on pc, downloads a custom cat mod and makes it a bengal! refuses to show how much he loves it… meows at least one thousand times and scratches every surface when he’s given the option

absolutely bought the b-12 cat toy that annapurna interactive sold for jimmy and sassy

metal gear solid

i just think he’d be so good at stealth… has a HUGE man crush on snake, won’t ever tell anyone ( everyone knows )

GEORGE RUSSELL

L.A. noire

again, i don’t know how to explain this one but he’d play it and suddenly start using so many vintage words and slang and tries to over examine everyone’s body language, looks like a psychopath… would be a bit mad at the ending, wants a sequel

firewatch - everybody’s gone to the rapture

i can see him LOVING walking simulators with amazing stories… he especially likes everybody’s gone to the rapture because of the british village setting ^_^ absolutely loves the soundtrack for it too

OSCAR PIASTRI

devil may cry - gungrave gore

i feel like he’d just go crazy in fast paced games like devil may cry, especially devil may cry 5… is super unimpressed with himself when he gets a low score on a stage :(

had a crush on dante when he was younger, still has a man crush on him ( silver fox dante lovers where are you guys? )

LANDO NORRIS

until dawn - the quarry

i can see him just absolutely LOVING some of the characters ( emma, jessica, sam, ashley, matt, jacob, abigail and laura ) and just absolutely hating others ( josh, mike, emily, nick ) if any of his favourites die he’d probably be incredibly inclined to restart the game! thinks sam is the best character ever

is so good at the QTEs because of his f1 reflexes, it’s unfair

horizon forbidden west

i can just kind of see him geeking the fuck out about robot dinosaurs! he’d probably be hyped for the horizon lego game, wants to play it co op with oscar <3

bought the tallneck lego and built it SO quick, he loves it ^_^ top seyloy shipper and has a huge crush on zoe

[simplysparrow14]

the fact that a click-bait video of Atreus "supposedly having a crush" on Thrúd has over 1 million views despite neither of them expressing any interest in each other being will be my villian origin story.

Like Angrboda and Atreus have an entire section of gameplay dedicated to them, multiple cutscenes, interactable dialogue, the special edition vinal cover of the soundtrack having their conjoined handprints, Atreus telling Angrboda that he'll visit and see her again, all of their little interactions and very awkward teenage flirting, Angrboda's refusal to allow the prophesy to dictate her future because of Atreus, inter-character dialogue between mimir, freya and Kratos about how Angrboda had left an impact on Atreus...

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

Queer Books November 2023

🌈 Good afternoon, my bookish bats! Struggling to keep up with all the amazing queer books coming out this month? Here are a FEW of the stunning, diverse queer books you can add to your TBR before the year is over. Remember to #readqueerallyear! Happy reading!

❤️ The Pirate and the Porcelain Girl by Emily Riesbeck 🧡 Heading North by Holly M. Wendt 💛 The Wisdom of Bug by Alyson Root 💚 Trick Shot by Kayla Grosse 💙 A Holly Jolly Christmas by Emily Wright 💜 Outdrawn by Deanna Grey ❤️ Yours Celestially by Al Hess 🧡 The Christmas Memory by Barbara Winkes 💛 Violet Moon by Mel E. Lemon 💙 The Santa Pageant by Lillian Barry 💜 Only for the Holidays by Shannon O’Connor 🌈 Homestead for the Holidays by Wren Taylor

❤️ You Can Count on Me by Fae Quin 🧡 No One Left But You by Tash McAdam 💛 The Worst Thing of All is the Light by José Luis Serrano, Lawrence Schimel 💚 Today Tonight Forever by Madeline Kay Sneed 💙 Wren Martin Ruins It All by Amanda DeWitt 💜 Emmett by L. C. Rosen ❤️ Finding My Elf by David Valdes 🧡 Tonight, I Burn by Katharine J. Adams 💛 Gorgeous Gruesome Faces by Linda Cheng 💙 Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree 💜 A Power Unbound by Freya Marske 🌈 We Are the Crisis by Cadwell Turnbull

❤️ The Manor House Governess by C.A. Castle 🧡 You Owe Me One, Universe by Chad Lucas 💛 Last Night at the Hollywood Canteen by Sarah James 💚 Skip!: A Graphic Novel by Rebecca Burgess 💙 Something About Her by Clementine Taylor 💜 Touching the Art by Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore ❤️ A Nearby Country Called Love by Salar Abdoh 🧡 Normporn: Queer Viewers and the TV That Soothes Us by Karen Tongson 💛 Sir Callie and the Dragon’s Roost by Esme Symes-Smith 💙 The Order of the Banshee by Robyn Singer 💜 Once Upon My Dads’ Divorce by Seamus Kirst, Noémie Gionet Landry 🌈 Forsooth by Jimmy Matejek-Morris

❤️ A Common Bond by T.M. Kuta 🧡 Risk the Fall by Riley Hart 💛 Just a Little Snack by Yah-Yah Scholfield 💚 Home for the Holidays by Erin Zak 💙 NeurodiVeRse by MJ James 💜 Dark Heir (Dark Rise #2) by C.S. Pacat ❤️ sub/Dom by Rab Green 🧡 Bitten by the Bond by Elaine White 💛 Heir to Frost and Storm by Ben Alderson 💙 The Sea of Stars by Gwenhyver 💜 Bad Beat by L.M. Bennett 🌈 Idol Moves by K.T. Salvo

❤️ Plot Twist by Erin La Rosa 🧡 In the Pines by Mariah Stillbrook 💛 The Crimson Fortress (The Ivory Key #2) by Akshaya Raman 💚 Only She Came Back by Margot Harrison 💙 Megumi & Tsugumi, Vol. 4 by Mitsuru Si 💜 Pritty by Keith F. Miller Jr. ❤️ Just Lizzie by Karen Wilfrid 🧡 An Atlas to Forever by Krystina Rivers 💛 Come Find Me in the Midnight Sun by Bailey Bridgewater 💙 Bait and Witch by Clifford Mae Henderson 💜 Shadow Baron by Davinia Evans 🌈 Day by Michael Cunningham

❤️ Livingston Girls by Briana Morgan 🧡 Delay of the Game by Ari Baran 💛 The Nanny with the Nice List by K. Sterling 💚 A Talent Ignited by Suzanne Lenoir 💙 A Kiss of the Siren’s Song by E.A.M. Trofimenkoff 💜 Rivals for Love by Ali Vali ❤️ Whiskey & Wine by Kelly Fireside, Tana Fireside 🧡 Buried Secrets by Sheri Lewis Wohl 💛 Ride with Me by Jenna Jarvis 💙 Living for You by Jenny Frame 💜 Death on the Water by CJ Birch 🌈 Merciless Waters by Rae Knowles

❤️ Vicarious by Chloe Spencer 🧡 Sapling’s Depths by Spencer Rose 💛 That French Summer by Sienna Waters 💚 System Overload by Saxon James 💙 King of Death by Lily Mayne 💜 Warts and All by Ashley Bennett ❤️ Principle Decisions by Thea Belmont 🧡 The Best Mistake by Emily O’Beirne 💛 Sugar and Ice by Eule Grey 💙 Until The Blood Runs Dry by MC Johnson 💜 Splinter : A Diverse Sleepy Hollow Retelling by Jasper Hyde 🌈 The Mischievous Letters of the Marquise de Q by Felicia Davin

❤️ The Queer Girl is Going to be Okay by Dale Walls 🧡 Til Death Do Us Bard by Rose Black 💛 Leverage by E.J. Noyes 💚 Alice Sadie Celine by Sarah Blakley-Cartwright 💙 Godly Heathens by H.E. Edgmon 💜 Gwen & Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher ❤️ To Kill a Shadow by Katherine Quinn 🧡 Warrior of the Wind by Suyi Davies Okungbowa 💛 For Never & Always by Helena Greer 💙 A Demon’s Guide to Wooing a Witch by Sally Hawley 💜 Heaven Official’s Blessing: Tian Guan Ci Fu Vol. 8 by Mò Xiāng Tóng Xiù 🌈 A Carol for Karol by Ann Roberts

[cizzle-freezy]

Artfight 2024:

Vicereign- YouLostYourKarKeys

Arona & Saft- @whitewyrmings

Lady Andromeda & Paris- @draquesfiend

Aartom & Velsin- @17-screaming-mangos

Luminosa & Negative Light- @juan-o-clocks

Hotaru- @jessebizarreart

Geal- Th3CrazyGuard1an & Selina- Pop_Cat_Calamari

Lilia & Lynn- @hikaririnku-blog

Moon, Night- EviMoon (ft. hikaririnku's Cat)

Freya- Skai_Blu (ft Gelum, my OC)

Saranae- Silvergrovedragon

Tesla & Tera- @paco-png

Hound, Fae, Malicious Intent- @goldengearmidas & Sunny Rays- @sunshin3babeart

Viola- MidsommarPhantom

Vulture (Human AU)- TheZodiacLord

Raiko- Shark-Bait

Bug- @goodmodeart

[lazuliquetzal]

Saw the tags on ur previous ask, Atreus having to mercy kill his father so obviously kratos does not want revenge on his killer literally pshhhh crying so hard rn

Listen there's this snippet of Lore called The Cycle Of Patricide, and I spent the entire four years between GOW 2018 and Ragnarok EXPECTING Atreus to stab Kratos. Cory Balrog baited me. When I saw that final image on the wall in Jotunheim, I fully interpreted that as Atreus stabbing Kratos and offering his body to Thor. My evidence:

"Is this what it is to be a god? Is this how it always ends? Sons killing their mothers, their fathers?"

We saw Kratos kill Zeus, and more importantly, Atreus saw Kratos kill Zeus.

The repeated motif of violence in parent-child dynamics (Thor and his sons, Thamur and his son, Freya and Baldur, everything with Odin, that side quest with the son who regretted killing his father in Fafnir's Storeroom, pretty sure there's a lot more I'm forgetting)

The enduring question of whether or not fate is inevitable. Is it possible to break the cycle?

Atreus's anger and thirst for blood.

Atreus literally shot Kratos and sent them into Hel.

"So you'd let me kill you?" "If it meant that you would live... yes."

SO IT'S NOT MY FAULT IT'S SAD, AND IT'S NOT MY FAULT THAT I WROTE THIS. THIS IS LITERALLY NOT MY IDEA--

[bellaaldamas]

Hope you have a well deversed rest! Your edits are awesome as always! 💕💕💕

Also fun question: I remember reading one of your conversations with stupidrant that someone made a scenario where it's possible for Freya & Baldur to reconciled(?) Would like to know how this could work since he's one of the the few Aesir I sympathized the most. Baldur in Norse Mythology comes back from Hel after Ragnarök. Would be fun to see how he turns out since it possible for SMS to push this direction. :)

Thank you again for the kind words. And I'm grateful that you, through the playlist you had shared with me earlier, familiarized me with the song I used for the edit. It is not only remarkably fitting for Angrboda and Atreboda in terms of lyrics but is well constructed and competently performed in it's own right.

Regarding Baldur, it's fair to say that he is that exceptionally rare example in popular media of a tragic villain done right. Unlike certain whitewashed villains and antagonists apologized either by the narrative or by their respective fan-bases (or, typically, both; this usually applies to male villains but female ones and toxic female characters in general also tend to get away with their abusive and violent behaviors, especially when they come from privileged background) Baldur was treated exactly the way he deserved to. He was shown for someone who was, from beginning to end, a product of his upbringing, circumstances and personal choices influenced by said circumstances.

It would've been exceptionally easy to portray Baldur as a wayward and lost son of a virtuous woman - Freya - who chose the wrong path because due to Odin's genes he was "inherently evil" as well as "ungrateful" towards his mother for her misguided but genuine attempts to protect him.

That's not how Gow18 and GowR (where, notably, Baldur wasn't present at all in the current timeline) portrayed him. The narrative allowed him to vocalize and express every single valid concern he had with the way Freya went about keeping him safe. It was made clear that it were the ways in which he himself chose to express it that were wrong rather than his feelings or experiences.

What stands out the most is that Gow18 events are set in motion precisely because Baldur tracks down Kratos and confronts him on Odin's orders (even that small bit of information already reveals Baldur's characterization as that of a broken individual desperate for parental approval). As the gamer starts learning new fighting mechanics through their battle - the second boss fight in the game and the first one between Kratos and a fellow god - the audience is introduced to Baldur's emotional turmoil, albeit without context. Not through third parties or through Freya (whom Kratos, Atreus and the gamer meet and bond with later and become biased in her favor) but through Baldur's own heartfelt screams about how he doesn't feel a thing and Kratos struggling against him is "pointless" (as he baits Kratos/the gamer to give him their best punch).

That's how the narrative establishes that, on one hand, Baldur's aggressive behavior is inexcusable and unprovoked and, on the other hand, there are underlying psychological reasons for that which need to be examined. From the writing standpoint it's a perfect set up for providing an explanation rather than a justification for villain's actions.

Another noteworthy point is that we get more background on Baldur and learn of his being Freya's son after - as mentioned above - getting to know Freya personally. As Kratos, Atreus and the gamer come to sympathize with and respect her. Unlike Baldur, an obvious antagonist, Freya is, from the get go, introduced as an ally character and as a caring, kind and nurturing person (her determination to save Hildsvini, then in his boar form, after he's shot by Atreus, her love for animals and plants, her saving Atreus's life, her giving Kratos the comfort and support even after he lashed out at her for keeping the very same secret about her deity background that he did in regards to his own son). Which further ensures that Kratos and Atreus as well as the gamer end up taking Freya's side once the faithful information about Baldur being her son is revealed and he attempts to kill her to get even for taking away his feelings. Such framing could've been an opportunity for the writers to only show the situation through Freya's lens and completely rob Baldur of any agency or voice.

But that doesn't happen either. Instead, Baldur is framed as an antithesis for young Atreus. Both had parental issues and estrangement from said parents (despite the emotional closeness to Faye, Atreus eventually finds out she, much like Kratos, also lied to him about vital things and not just her own but Atreus's background as well, for the sake of protecting him - wrong thing done for the right reason, not unlike Freya regarding Baldur). Both Atreus and Baldur aspired to prove their worth to their respective, emotionally distant fathers (as we learn in GowR from Freya herself; who goes out of her way to compare Baldur and Atreus and offers Kratos to become a mentor and motherly figure for Atreus in order to make up for her failures with Baldur).

In Gow18 Atreus has his low point when he finds himself on the verge of losing his morals and compass upon finding out about Kratos's and his own deity heritage. But eventually comes back on track, both due to Kratos breaking the emotional distance between them in order to become the authority figure and positive influence in Atreus's life that he failed to be from the start; as well as due to Atreus's own realization being a ruthless killer is not who he is or wants to be. The latter is the most important part of that arc, showing that Atreus choosing to stay on the right path was, first and foremost, for his own sake. Rather than a part of him wanting to please Kratos and earn his approval, the way Baldur aspired to earn that of Odin. The theme of personal choice over imposed circumstances or mistakes of one's parents is, thus, further highlighted through parallels and contrasts between Atreus and Baldur.

Upon the "family reunion" in the end of Gow18, Baldur gets to spell out his frustrations with Freya and she fully accepts the blame and responsibility. Down to her willingness to allow Baldur to kill her as a penance for robbing him of his ability to feel. However, this is also when the narrative, through Kratos and Atreus, shows that while Freya undeniably is one of the fundamental reasons Baldur turned out the way he did and got consumed by aggression and anger (other reason being Odin and it is in GowR that the audience gets more in depth information about that - along with said audience being prompted to check themselves on placing the full responsibility for bad parenting and it's consequences on a woman), Baldur, ultimately, is his own person. And is just as responsible for his own choices as Kratos, Atreus and Freya are.

The above point continues to be emphasized more boldly in GowR and is the reason Freya escapes being reduced to a misogynistic stereotype of a broken woman consumed by bitterness. Said stereotype is often framed as "feminist" in mainstream media and juxtaposed against soft and vulnerable female character types who maintain their cheerfulness and inspiration in spite of the adversities, like Angrboda. GowR subverted that false juxtaposition as well when it paralleled not only Freya and Angrboda but their interactions with Kratos and Atreus respectively.

As I noted many times, the most subversive point of Freya's arc in GowR is that her vindictive quest against Kratos ends prematurely and permanently less than halfway into the story. Rather than perpetuating the cycle of toxic motherhood by making Baldur's tragic but logical demise (because of his own actions and the route he chose to pursue) about herself and her pain Freya chooses to redirect her anger onto the real aggressor which is Odin ("you're [Kratos] not the one who needs to die"). Essentially diverting said anger away from herself and Kratos; whom Freya initially aspired to kill even if it required irreversibly destroying herself in the process and giving up on everything and everyone she used to hold dear (another part of the toxic parenting cycle).

Her further bonding with Kratos is also remarkable: while Freya recognizes Baldur as "not perfect but hers" she, as noted above, delves more into his background, his dangerous determination to impress Odin at any cost and his similarities with Atreus; whom Freya aspires to shield from the same fate as Baldur's. Atreus, in the meantime, continues to prove himself a parallel/antithesis to the aforementioned by actively seeking interactions with Odin and trying to trick the latter by winning his trust - something Baldur failed to attain either in life or in death.

Through those conversations (particularly in Vanaheim and during Freya's Missing Peace quest) Freya and Kratos realize how numerous factors affected Baldur's worldview, ultimately resulting in the man he became and his eventual death at the hands of Kratos, in defense of Freya. In the scene with the Norns Freya actively jumps to Kratos's defense when they mention his love for god killing being the cause of Baldur's demise ("it was not out of hate!"). Even though she said nothing in defense of herself or Baldur when the Norns mentioned their own choices determining their fates.

As far as Baldur's potential return, I have conflicting feelings about that though consider the idea interesting as well as having potential for SMS to come up with new "mythology with a twist" plot points and give the characters more development. On one hand, Baldur's come back could provide Freya with a closure that, in GowR, she had not yet found with herself (even when Freya was no longer blaming Kratos for Baldur's death she continued beating herself over it, including in the optional scenes and side quests, causing Kratos to emphasize that she did what she though she must do to protect Baldur).

Additionally, regardless of whether the writers take a romantic route with Freya and Kratos' relationship (my preferred scenario) or a platonic one (your preferred scenario) getting to face Baldur again, for both of them, could strengthen their bond and result in them working through that issue completely. The narrative made it a point to never gloss over it and that's what made Kratos and Freya's partnership and alliance so productive, strong and positive.

An anti-parallel to that would be Thrud's unhealthy reaction to Atreus killing her brother, whose death she outright dismissed by saying they were "better off without him" (because at that stage Thrud was mindlessly parroting her father and grandfather's propaganda and didn't have a mind or analytical thinking of her own; her "treacherous ex wife" comment about Freya is a product of that same mindset). Followed by her inviting Atreus, said brother's killer, to enjoy his stay in Modi's room and explore Asgard with her. That is, in between showing distrust or even contempt towards Atreus not for legitimate reasons (as Freya did towards Kratos for killing Baldur and as Thrud should have done towards Atreus for killing Modi) but because of Atreus's independence and unwillingness to tow Odin's line. In Helheim Thrud either prides herself on being supposedly stronger than Atreus - though constantly needs his help and aid with "almost budging" doors - or outright tells him she should have never trusted him. And that her mother was right about him all along when Atreus makes an honest mistake out of good intentions.

There where Angrboda and Atreus's interactions serve as a parallel to that of Kratos and Freya (see above) Atreus and Thrud's dynamic is an anti-parallel to both. That said, as I mentioned before, the most fitting scenario for Thrud's development would be to have Freya as her mentor (something that was hinted at by Lunda) and, in the process of bonding with her, reconsider her misguided perceptions imposed by Odin.

Concerning favourite Aesir characters, in my case it would be Sif whose determination to better herself, overcome her addiction for the sake of her daughter and a brighter future for her family and her willingness to embark on diplomatic missions to restore peace deserves far more credit than she tends to get.

[pridepages]

Give and Take: A Power Unbound

I finished A Power Unbound by Freya Marske. I have thoughts...

Here there be spoilers

What do we know about love?

No, seriously, I'm asking. The more stories I hear--both real and fictional--the less sure I am that we have any idea what it is we're talking about.

Because love may be patient and kind...

But it also might be dirty degrading sex and someone to argue you into submission.

Meet Jack Alston and Alan Ross: the last couple in the found family of disaster gays trying to save the magical world in Freya Marske's The Last Binding trilogy. The third volume, A Power Unbound, centers the love story of Jack and Alan amidst the final confrontation that will decide the fate of the magical world.

(I actually find the magic and politics the least interesting thing about these books, so let's stick to kinky sex and power dynamics.)

At a surface level reading, Jack and Alan are an opposites-attract trope. Jack was born to power and privilege in every sense, titled and magical, while Alan scrambles to survive in a world where he literally repels power (both figurative and literal). Rather than fall into the temptation of a beauty-and-the-beast narrative or a cinderella story, Marske has the two of them lean into their inequality.

They get off on power struggle.

These two have the kinkiest role-play I've seen in traditional publishing. Full credit to Marske for writing a romance that says: "You can have all the deviant sex you want between safe, sane, consenting adults." (A radical notion when we're reluctant to increase the perception of gay sex as 'deviant,' but seriously, fuck respectability politics!)

But the mastery of character development here is how the push-pull of their chemistry translates outside of the bedroom.

When we first meet Jack Alston in book one, he's cast in a more villainous light. He's nasty and hurtful to his ex, Edwin Courcey. It would be easy to write Jack off as simply cruel, but from his perspective, the whole dynamic translates differently.

Jack is a "mean friend." His love language is to tease, to bait, to skirmish. He grew up jabbing his way through life, all knees and elbows. But every time he tried to draw Edwin out...he only ended up pushing him away.

It couldn't be more different with fiesty Alan. "They fit in ways they shouldn’t ever have fit. Even when they fought, they fit–there was no mockery falling on soft, malleable ground…Only the knowledge that any volley would be met and thrown back, brighter and better."

Jack and Edwin were fundamentally wrong for each other, their chemistry toxic. By contrast, Alan understands the love language of insults and banter. He's strong enough to take it.

But strength and weakness are their own sort of power, and both Jack and Alan are keenly aware of it. During one of their intimate scenes, Jack cuts the moment short because he realizes they are not in a moment of mutual pleasure. "When I fuck, it's because it's what I want. Not because I'm punishing someone, or too angry to be safe." Nor will he let Alan turn their intimacy into self-harm, refusing to be "used...as a rod to make stripes on your own back."

It's a critical piece of self-awareness. Jack knows he has a responsibility to use his power with the utmost control to create mutual pleasure and do no harm.

If Jack's journey is one of learning how to share power, then Alan's arc is about learning how to accept it. "Size and strength, station and wealth. All the advantages possible," Alan marvels as he looks at Jack. "Do you know how hard it is to believe someone won’t use it against you? To put your heart into someone’s hands knowing that?"

Alan may like to play at being overpowered, but that play is a consensual illusion: he knows that at any time he can voice the safeword and end the game. When it comes to sex, he can maintain control. But you can't safeword out of falling in love with someone. "Alan had never needed to lean on anyone. It was intolerable that he now kept turning out the pockets of his soul and finding caught in their seams the desire to let someone take his weight. The desire to be held, even kissed."

It's safer to lock yourself up: to stay in control by keeping the rest of the world out. But you can't have love without putting your innermost self on the line, making yourself as vulnerable as possible.

To take of someone else, you have to give everything of yourself.

I don't think it's a binary switch. The ways and means of how we create a give-and-take change depending on the people involved. Some people need soft and gentle love. Some need bright and sunny love. And some people need to be "kissed like an argument. Alan slid his hand to the nape of Jack’s neck and argued fiercely back."

All of them are good. Because all of them have the power to give and take what we need...and what we want.

Jack can be "masterful in the bedroom" and "take your heart between my ribs and guard it like my own." Alan can be a fighter and submissive, can hold his own and still want Jack to "kiss me until you know me, and unmake me, and love me anyway."

I don't know anything about love. But I think these guys just might.

When it comes to love, you'd better give as good as you get.

[crimsonlyinglilly]

Northstar in Stone.

This is the start of the second of the three AU i hadn't shared yet. All Elijah AU, if that pattern hadn't been very clear.

Summary - Elijah manages move at the last moment, saving Finn from Lucien's bite at the cost of taking it himself.

Set TO 3x17

----

Finn hates to admit but Elijah and Kol were right they really should have just killed Lucien, the little wrench, when they found him.

That way Freya wouldn't have been taken and hurt and Finn wouldn’t be watching as the upstart knocked Elijah around with an ease that had Finn seeing Father and a much younger Elijah instead.

He’s shaking off those reminders as he grabs the boulder to break it over the other’s head.

It does almost nothing, giving Elijah a chance to escape Lucien but it doesn’t even stun him as he blocks Finn’s next hit and locks his arm.

Lucien’s moving faster than Finn can react but he sees the other opened mouth snarl and braces for the sharp pain of fangs.

It doesn’t come instead he feels something come between them and hears the muffled grunt of pain, at the same time a stake comes past his head and into Lucien’s shoulder.

Lucian stumbled away but the space between them didn’t give him any relief as Lucien licked the blood from his month.

He looked from the wooden stake still embedded in his shoulder to the, grinning as he eyed over Finn’s shoulder, most likely his brother’s arm where his forearm had taken the bite instead of Finn’s throat. 

“Always knew you’d die for your siblings, but this one? You do surprise me.” Lucien laughed as he straightened to pull the stake free, the sound of it grated Finn’s patience.

He couldn’t- wouldn’t look away from Lucien but he heard the animalistic snarl from behind him that he could picture Elijah’s face, human mask vanishing under rage.

Lucien just grinned at them with blood stained fangs, making no attempt to move, Finn started to plan, he they could back up while he was distracted gloating, if they could get to Freya perhaps she could create and barrier spell.

“You made the choice for me” Lucien called, clearly ignoring him in favour of taunting Elijah “but this is better, Klaus gets to lose his beloved brother for the bore.” As Lucien kept talking Finn ignore his own feelings of offense at the comment took the chance to glance away to Elijah's arm, the darkening fabric of his sleeve.

His hopes to get them both back to Freya failed as Elijah straightens himself to step around him and stand besides him taking only a moment to tear off his sleeve revealing the raw bloody wound.

It was just the werewolf venom, he’d recover, he reminded himself, taking the fact Elijah could seemingly shrug it off an comfort, unfortunately he wasn't the only one to notice that.

“I suppose out of everyone you would have some resistance, how many times has Nik bitten you?” Lucien asked leaning towards them to leer at Elijah.

Elijah didn't answer and Finn pushed aside his own curiosity, how often had his brothers come to blows bad enough Klaus would put his beloved brother through that?

“But resistance isn’t immunity, you know that. Can you feel it? my bite’s more potent, deadly.” Lucien stare at his brother was starting to cause a pit to grow in his stomach, fighting an enemy that wanted to kill them was normal but Lucien was looking at Elijah like he wanted to take him apart, slowly.

Finn felt very slow as the reason why Lucien would have a grudge against Elijah hit him, his brother's callous plan to make bait to distract father. Elijah hadn’t told him until after he had already done it and he was still tore over if it was becoming vampires or Tristan de Martel influence that had made his once soft hearted brother so coldly ruthless

Killing to protect their family was to be expected, Mikael had taught them that at a young age so much shifting to humans hadn’t been hard but that plan had gone beyond killing. 

“Oh well” Lucien shrugged and Finn tensed as he noticed the other shift his stance, he felt Elijah following him seconds later “can’t say i won't enjoy this after all the best way to treat resistance is with a double dose.”

Lucien vanished from his sight and before Finn could react he was thrown away hitting a tree hard.

“Elijah!” Freya’s weak scream was his only warning of what he would see before he twisted around to see Lucien drinking from his brother's throat, Elijah weakly struggling against him.

Elijah let out a choked off cry as Lucien withdrew, mouth covered in Elijah’s blood. Elijah stumbled a step away but stopped and Finn realised it was taking all Elijah had to stay upright as he covered his neck with his already injured arm.

He tried not to worry about Lucien's words, because as much as he hated his siblings, besides Freya, he didn't want them dead, not anymore. Far worst however he wasn't sure what he'd do with the fact Elijah would be dying from a bite he took for him.

It would be fine, once they got Klaus' blood, he told himself and ignored the growing dread, he had just wanted to life with Freya, free of this horror.

He didn't want anymore dead and failed siblings on his conisence.

“I think I'll treasure that sound along with the knowledge that I killed the Noble Elijah.” Lucien told them to reach to set his hand on Elijah's shoulder, leaning closer that Finn feared he'd take another bite.

As Elijah swayed under Lucien's hand but did nothing else, he moved, prepared to tear his brother from the other’s grip only to have Elijah shoved into him, taking his chance he stumbled back until he was beside Freya, Elijah still against him.

His sister knew what he was thinking and quickly reacted as Lucien followed them, bring up a barrier spell.

Finn took a moment to look between his siblings; Freya on the ground clearly exhausted and Elijah pale bloody and trying to steady himself and pull himself from Finn’s hands.

Stubborn but that was one thing of Elijah that had never changed.

“A barrier spell.” Lucien commented as he hit it, “How delicious, i do appreciate a bit of spice being thrown into the hunt. It's not very fun if the prey just rolls over and offers it’s neck is it.”

Finn glared back and step in front of Elijah when he noticed the man’s attention on Elijah’s still bleeding neck.

“I can keep this as long as i need to.” Freya told Lucien, who crouched in front of her.

“I don’t doubt it, you little minx,” Lucien smiled at her making Finn’s snarl without thinking bringing Lucien’s attention back to him and Elijah as well, at the reminder of Elijah the smile shifted back to a grin.

“Maybe we should do that, what was it you said?” he asked before he started to mimic something close to Elijah “my darling Elijah, I'm quite happy to stand here and watch you die,” he ended it by laughing, “you’ll be joining your little wolf friend soon” Finn felt Elijah flinch at that comment “but I think we both know who should witness it. So hurry home.” he told them before vanishing.

[prickly-paprikash]

I'm so sick of the clickbait on Kratos and Freya, as well as Atreus/Loki and Thrud.

It's clear Kratos and Freya have a bond of friendship, but contempt and regret still lay beneath it. Kratos murdered Freya's son, and while he did to save her and she has unambiguously moved past it (not necessarily forgiven, but she has learned that no one was really at fault there - or everyone was, as the Norns pointed out), but romance? Really? Is it impossible for two people of opposite genders to maintain a platonic relationship?

Kratos still holds Faye so dearly, and Freya is rediscovering her freedom and independence from a toxic relationship.

And I already fucking talked about Thrud and Atreus.

Gamers. Istg.

Edit: I do not mind who you ship or headcanon. I would be such a dick to gatekeep and command who you believe looks cute together.

You ship Kratos and Freya? That's wonderful, because you see a way romance can blossom between these two that others cannot, and that's a *good* thing.

What I cannot stand by are gamers baiting others into thinking that, canonically, Kratos and Freya are together. Those clickbait "Kratos and Freya fall in love" piss me off because it tries to sell itself as reality when it isn't.

Ship whoever you like. Don't let some shmuck on the internet tell you otherwise. But ensure that you can differentiate between a personal headcanon, and the source material.

[arwainian]

Reading This Week 2024 #29

this week I've been visiting my parents for my dad's 50th birthday. despite my goal to work on reading through the books already on my shelf, today i did go to the comic book store and the manga store and get some more things to read!

Finished:

A Power Unbound by Freya Marske I did end up finishing this the day after my last post! I had gotten briefly anxiety stuck at Chapter 15 (if you read it you will know why), but after receiving Wise Counsel from my mother who has already read it, I trusted the process and persevered through to the end of the book, and enjoyed reading it. Ultimately I think A Power Unbound suffers from having to serve as the conclusion to a three part fantasy story, which took away focus from the advertised romance between Lord Hawthorn and Alan. As I was reading I remember thinking that they were spending a lot more time doing stuff apart, rather than working together in the way the previous couples in the series were. that was a little disappointing bc I was really looking forward to this pair. Also i think i was sadism-baiting. submissive brat sadist Alanzo believers rise and join hands with me!

Masaoka Shiki: Selected Poems translated by Burton Watson finished this lovely collection of poetry. very pleasant read. I think some of the poems written from his sick bed where really special in particular, and there was a great one about Shiki getting a cane to help with his mobility as his TB got worse

"The Fall of the House of Usher" by Edgar Allen Poe I read this so I could understand what was being referenced in a horror novella later on. the first half i was a bit bored, but from the ballad on i was hooked and found it genuinely unsettling. also it was excellent to read a first-person perspective story that doesn't mildly grate at my nerves. i'm starting to identify what made me like it's usage in this work and not in many others

our bodies too, plateaued by rozecrest on ao3 Unknit by Hierodule on ao3 Signs of Life by rigormorphis on ao3 i am diving into the friends at the table ao3 tag again! not as thoroughly as I have previously, but I am enjoying what I've read so far

If You'll Have Me by Eunnie this graphic novel is just like the sweetest butch/femme romance. it made my day to read it. please go check out this shy femme x suave butch romance

What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher an incoming library due date on libby forced me to read this, and oh it was just amazing. as seen above I read the original Poe story this is playing off of. the protagonist has a third gender from a made of European culture, that is to say kan gender is soldier, which I loved bc it let there be gender variance without downplaying like. historical awful gender roles. this story unsettled me and it was very great. also it seems like zombie fungus has really been in vogue in the past several years

Demon Riders by Jack Holder if you saw me reference buying a book from a self published author at a farmer's market a month back, this was that book! its the episodic adventures of a couple of monster hunters, and given that it was episodic, my enjoyment of the story of the book unfortunately varied a lot from chapter to chapter...At its best it had some really interesting ideas or well executed takes on classic ones, but at its worst it was underdeveloped and cliche, under-utilizing its ostensible setting of a post apocalyptic America (the one story in which its Clearly set in Texas really might as well come up with a fantasy name for the place. it would work just as well). I think this would be better suited to a serialized format, instead of published as a collection, that way each of the episodic stories could really breathe.

Mob Psycho 100, Vol. 12-13 by ONE, translated by Kumar Sivasubramanian plain fun! excited to be reaching the parts where Tome gets to shine as a character