#he longs for the same love they're capable of but it does quite work out. They can't hug him in a way that feels the same

[xenomorphicdna]

Flames,, blanket boy, my beloved

I gotta draw more art like this of him, he's such an odd creature I love him so much

There's so much to his character that I never talk about aaa I'll make a lore post eventually

[deadbeatbirdmom]

Why Yang is the best*

*in my admittedly biased opinion, she's my favourite character in RWBY.

Let's get the shallow reasons out of the way first:

She's very pretty, including her long golden blonde mane of hair and lilac eyes. Blonde bombshell is a fitting description.

And this blonde bombshell can make other things very literally explode with her sticky grenades from Volume 7 onwards.

She's a badass in combat even without her Semblance, but with it she packs even more of a punch, and that's quite an understatement.

There's also the way her Semblance makes her hair either glow like molten gold or transform into flames (Volume 6 onwards), and her eyes turn red, or later a fiery orange. Both striking.

But Yang is far more than these shallow things. She has depth.

Right from the start in her trailer, from the quote at the beginning to the things she does, it's clear that there's more to her than meets the eye. She's goes to a club, but not to party. She's there for information.

Yet I've read fics where she's written off as a dumb blonde party girl. Sure, the beauty of fanfic is writing what you want, but if Yang's that out of character is she really still Yang, and not an original character by the same name?

Yang isn't dumb. There's no mention of her being a bad student, and she's seen paying attention and poised to take notes in Volume 1.

She also doesn't fight like someone who just keeps punching until her opponent falls down and can't get up again. I mean, that might be part of it, but she adapts, like she did in the trailer against the kicks of Melanie Malachite.

In that trailer Yang defeats a club full of goons, two bodyguards (Melanie and Miltia) and Junior himself. All of them adults against a 17 year old who hasn't yet started at Beacon (going by what I've heard of the Roman Holiday book, Melanie and Miltia are in their early twenties in Volume 1, just like Neo).

Yang starts to adapt against Neo on the train in Volume 2, but gets knocked out before she can get far enough to actually do more than throw Neo.

The Yang that gives the impression of a cheerful party girl is a mask, as can be seen when there's glimpses of her depth in Burning the Candle when she persuades Blake to slow down. And that mask really shatters in Volume 3 when bad things start to happen.

Yang goes through trauma, physically and emotionally. It changes her. But it certainly doesn't make her boring, at least not to me. She also gradually heals, enough to make jokes in Volume 5 onwards. That is a hopeful message to other people who go through bad things. Sometimes bad things just happen, but that's not the end. You keep moving forward. It may take a while to recover, and to get back to yourself, and you won't be quite the same, but you're still you.

Then there's the sisters Xiao Long-Rose. Yang is dedicated to being there for Ruby, to the extent that she raised her after Summer disappeared. Exactly how long their dad was lost to depression isn't clear, but even after he recovered he'd still be busy working. Yang would remain the combined big sister and mother for Ruby even after Tai's more capable of parenting.

That isn't to say that Yang is perfect, or that she never makes mistakes, or always gets along with Ruby. She's human. They both are. To be human is to err. But they always love each other. They're family, the closest they have. Even if Yang didn't always manage to say 'I love you' back right away. Even if Ruby left her without a goodbye or even a note (the one she left at the end of Volume 3 was for Tai). They know where they stand with each other, even if it took Ruby a reassuring hug and an 'I love you' from Yang to be sure of that in Mistral.

There's Yang’s big heart. I've seen her described as the heart of team RWBY, and it's so true. Yang's intimidating when she wants to be, but she's so kind and caring, to the extent that it led to a rift of sorts with Ruby in Volume 8. Ruby was focused on the big picture, trying to get word out to all of Remnant about Salem, while Yang wanted to help save the population of Mantle before they were overrun by Grimm. Neither of them were wrong.

Yang takes hits, not just as part of her combat strategy to fuel her Semblance, but also to spare others who might not be able to take them as well as she can. Usually Ruby, but her other friends too. She draws Salem's attention away from Oscar when she threatens him, which could have gone so badly for Yang. But that's who she is. Those she loves matter more to her than her own life ever could.

And there's Yang's mothers. Her biological mother Raven, who abandoned Yang when she was a baby for reasons that still aren't clear, but likely to do with Raven being afraid of Salem. Yang's search for her almost got her and Ruby killed as young kids, and when Yang finally found her she was bitterly disappointed by who she found.

I don't hate Raven, I find her an interesting character, but she has without a doubt disappointed and hurt Yang, to the point where that was a large part of what reduced Yang to tears on claiming the Relic in Haven's vault.

Despite all that, Yang kept the fact that Raven was the Spring Maiden to herself, as far as we know. It wouldn't be the first time that a conversation about Raven took place off screen, as Jaune, Ren and Nora knew Raven was Yang's mother. Yet Yang only ever told Blake about her. And I can't see Blake gossiping about that. I figure Ruby likely told them at some point when on the long walk to Haven.

Then there's Yang's step mother, Summer, who took Raven's place so completely that Yang didn't know about Raven until after Summer disappeared. Summer, Yang's super-mom, who Yang must have tried to emulate when raising Ruby, but couldn't possibly be more than a pale shadow of. Yang was just a child, only two years older than Ruby. Summer is Yang's hero, and who she still considers as her mom, as she proclaimed to Salem.

Last but certainly not least: Blake and Yang. The Bees kissing are what drew me to RWBY in the first place, and Bumbleby is my OTP. They've been through so much together, and they deserve happiness with each other.

Yang was already my favourite months before the Volume 9 commentary revealed it, but it also means a lot to me that she's only just figuring out her sexuality. It took me a long time too.

This isn't every single thing I love about Yang, but it's what I could think of and get down in writing.

All of this is of course just my opinion. Maybe someone else from RWBY is your favourite. In that case I'm just glad another character can mean that much to you.

[my-writings-and-musings]

Hello! Can I request dating headcanons of Earthspark Bumblebee and Arcee with a human s/o 👉👈

OHOHOHO YES

I have been waiting for a chance to write these bots, thank you dear anon! It's totally not because I've fallen hard for both of them...

Bumblebee

Bless his spark, this bot will never stop trying to play it cool around you, but it never really works. You have the power to fluster him with even the tiniest gesture. It's especially bad when he first gets hit with feelings, as even the tiniest bit of acknowledgement from you turns him into a blushing mess. A single wave while he's driving is nearly enough to send him off the road.

He's always going to try and show off for you, though same as above, he goes heavy on this at the start of the relationship. If you carry anything, he will offer to get it for you, and if you need anything heavy moved by Primus he is going to be there and make a big show of how not heavy it is. This of course extends to lifting you around on his shoulder whenever you ask (he will also offer often), and the resulting smile of pride is adorable enough that you rarely decline.

You are the only human he's eager to give rides to. If you're up for it, he actually loves to show off while you're in the passenger seat, going full throttle on open roads to have a bit of fun. That's not to say he isn't also open to giving you a lift for your errands if needed, so long as he can enjoy the scenic route with you. Commenting on his alt mode being cool will have him more or less skipping with joy the entire day.

Behind closed doors he's very affectionate, but he's quite shy about it despite loving the attention, and you'll have to warm him up to certain things. Gentle kisses on his helm have him melting into you, but just sitting and talking gets him the softest. He likes to have conversations at eye to optic level, and that means when you're alone together he'll usually prefer to be on the ground or holding you up in his arms. Resting on his chassis is another option, and undoubtedly it's his favorite.

Being in hiding means you have to be careful together, but he still wants to go on dates, even if they're small. Spending his days teaching makes him quite appreciative of quiet moments, so a nice drive at night to somewhere secluded is his favorite way to treat you. He'll even let you choose what's on the radio!

Arcee

She is not ever going to be subtle about any of this. Ever. She is going to start openly flirting the moment she takes an interest in you, and she will make it plainly obvious to anyone in earshot that she finds you very attractive. As soon as you show any appreciation for the compliments she'll ask you out, and that level of boldness will not diminish throughout your entire relationship.

She loves nothing more than showing you off, and she will do so to anyone nearby. If she can she'll put you on her shoulder to make sure everyone can see she's with the hottest human on earth. It's only a matter of time before news outlets catch pictures of the two of you together, and when asked she readily introduces you as her significant other. Humanity will be more than a little obsessed with your relationship, but there's not a thing GHOST can do to stop either of you. Thankfully the paparazzi isn't interested in stalking a bot capable of turning a news van into a pile of scrap with a single kick.

Not only does she love showing you off, she thoroughly enjoys showing off for you, and she's not at all opposed to public affection if you're interested. Carrying you in her arms is absolutely on the table, and she loves to gush about how cute and tiny you are. You'll do a lot less walking once the two of you get together.

Of course she loves taking you on long drives, but her idea of a fun time on the road will necessitate the use of a seatbelt, as she's a big fan of offroading. Her alt mode not being built for it doesn't stop her at all, though she will get you a helmet for when things get a little rough, which is often. Drag races are also on the table if you're down for some riskier fun.

There are a lot of human activities she can't participate in, but she tries to have as much fun with your dates as possible. Drive though movies are a great choice, especially if you pack up a load of blankets and pillows to get comfy. She won't mind in the slightest if you fall asleep by the end, and she'll find it beyond adorable as you snooze during the ride home, perhaps taking the long way so she can delay waking you for as long as possible...

[moonliched]

Sorry for the spam questions, I really like thinking about your fic. So, is there anything you'd like to ramble on about that I haven't asked?

you're good! i get screen fatigue and headaches, so i've been pacing myself through the asks. you can't imagine how exciting it was to open my inbox and see questions about my fic!! i love talking about it and this has been lots of fun, thanks so much✨☺️💕💕💕💕

rambling under the cut bc it's super long!

i've been trying to write this into the fic, but idk how well it'll come across, so i might as well say it here! Y/N refers to one of their parents as their 'guardian.' i picture Y/N's guardian as being a careless parent, not bc they don't care, but bc their culture raises children in a more independent fashion. with very little actual raising. they kind of just let them do their own thing, so their guardian was super uncomfortable that their weird hybrid child actually needed a lot of assistance to survive.

Y/N grew up feeling like a burden, and that asking for help or relying on others is evidence that they lack the intelligence and capability to do anything themself. communities are more for convenience than the necessary relationships that humans need by nature, so when people move away they don't keep in contact. this includes blood relatives. communities also scatter to rebuild elsewhere frequently, so by leaving their home planet Y/N understood that they would likely never see anyone from their community, including their guardian, ever again. no one they were leaving behind would see anything wrong with this.

Y/N was seen as bizarre for getting attached to people to the extent of wanting to keep in contact after they moved. as a consequence, Y/N generally fails to keep in contact with anyone they meet unless it's a requirement of work, and they figure everyone will think they're weird if they try to keep in contact. they have turned out quite asocial. you'll notice Y/N rarely seeks out Moon even though he's always coming to visit them. all the same, they can't quite kill the human part of themself that wants people to stick around even when they're drained from too much social interaction.

also, Y/N's other parent is a victim of this. they're human, and left one day for some reason - work, travel, to earn more money for their family. they returned one day only to find their partner and child gone, because their partner did not consider or particularly care that they might want to find them again😬 Y/N works this out as a teen, but there's no way for them to seek them out.

... okay let's do some nicer ones!🍰🍓

🍓 Y/N thinks about eating fish eyes a weird amount. fish skin too. this is because i am rabid about eating chicken skin and also raw meat (prepared ofc) and when i was a child i used to go into the butcher's shop or visit the raw fish on ice in the supermarket and breathe in the smell longingly, and freak out my parents :[

🍓 Moon's love language is biting, unfortunately

🍓 BON-BON sometimes wants to hug Y/N but he got no arms :( he also sometimes wants to fight them too

🍓 BON-BON sometimes just turns on the closest monitor and stares out of it silently while Y/N is doing stuff. he wants to hang out like when a friend comes into your room to chill on your bed without speaking. but all the stuff he does is digital, so Y/N can just see him blankly staring at them and it looks very odd from their perspective lol

🍓 Y/N runs funny bc they learned to run on a flimsy floating community that rocked with the waves

🍓 the Glamrock team are all aware by now that Vanessa is incessantly antagonising Y/N. generally they're wondering if Y/N may have done something before they arrived to trigger Vanessa into launching constant verbal attacks on them, and are feeling extremely uncomfortable on Y/N's behalf. no one wants to be the one to address it with Vanessa

🍓 Y/N has no idea what pizza is, but bc of the name they're picturing some sort of spiky dish like a sea urchin

🍓 Y/N is actually eating more seafood dishes as of late than they usually would bc Vanessa keeps commenting on it, and it makes them feel resentful. so then they cook more fish in rebellion and it becomes a cycle

thanks for reading!!😋✨

[swampstew]

Day 10 ~ DP Pairings

Title: DP Pairings Word Count: 18+ only, Spicy, DP, consent very much implied, MxFxM and FxMxF pairings, sexy toys, bdsm, penetration, m!n0rs DNI you will be blocked

Pairings: Zoro & Sanji; Kid & Killer; Robin & Boa

Last DNI/CW warning buffer

Zoro and Sanji compete who can get you off the most.

It doesn't happen often but sometimes Zoro and Sanji eye the same woman at the same time and they both try to win over her affections - often leading to squabbling and literal dick measuring competitions in front of said woman.

If they manage to convince her to stay and overlook their childish competitiveness, they are capable of putting aside their differences and cooperating for the sake of a beautiful woman. That was the real upside for her anyways considering the men did in fact voice their childish competitiveness while they were both inside of her.

"I'm gonna make her clench on my cock so hard she can't unclench cause that's how a real man takes care of a woman, lousy cook!" Zoro snaps

"You damn mosshead! Everyone knows you're supposed to make her flutter to completion not clench like they're dying on your cock!"

The woman doesn't typically care how she comes so long as she does. And they both rip orgasm after orgasm out of her from their efforts. And they both go through a lot of effort to keep her creaming repeatedly until the sun rises.

Zoro uses her holes like a sleeve, tightening her own hold over him as he was inside her by pushing her hips and thighs tightly or squeezing her throat and jaw as she took his large cock. Somehow both gentle so as not be painful on the body, yet also firm in how he handled her to mold around him, to accommodate his girth. His head is quite sensitive so he often edges himself by putting special focus on it. He can pull out for a woman if that's what she wants, but he's not opposed to finishing inside.

Sanji was a much sweeter lover, taking his time with how he took the sweet lady. He always gets to sample a woman's pussy first so he can deliver a buffet of options for how he'll eat her out. He loved getting a woman so worked up that he can bottom out on the first try and it works 9/10 times. Sanji slides in slowly so as not to hurt his precious but he is also impatient and ready to let his true perverted nature take over. He always finishes down a throat, he is considerate after all and he has a good diet, his taste reflects it.

After a night with the two of them, most women come out alive having cum harder in their lives than they can remember. They can't remember how many they had, feeling blessed that they could walk at all after the interaction. The two pirates always leave arguing over the count of orgasms they pulled from her. No one will ever know the true number.

Kid and Killer rail you while knocking fists.

Oh boy. So Kid and Killer found a woman they're attracted to. And once again, they both zeroed in on the same woman. Don't worry, she's in very capable hands but uh, she most definitely won't walk away from the experience the way Zoro and Sanji leave a woman behind.

The two like to play predator/prey, circling in on a woman and flirt up a storm, getting closer as they share drinks with her, exchanging laughs and compliments, hanging off each other as the haze of tipsiness and horniness builds before finally propositioning a woman to a night with them both.

They're both good looking and can always pull from any place they venture into, whether its paid by the hour or a willing citizen. They may be fierce and killer pirates but they can separate work and pleasure. Bringing a woman to a rented room, Kid and Killer want privacy and space.

Kid and Killer always start separately, a toss of the coin deciding who gets to go first, the other can watch. Once it gets going, there is nothing that can stop them.

Kid loves to fill as many holes as he can at once, he will fuck you with his fingers, cock and tongue all at once and add in metal objects if the woman was into that too(not many are). He is all about domination in bed, especially a one night stand shared with his good buddy. He's only allowed to finish once before Killer gets a turn so he likes to edge, tease and prolong orgasm for himself, which is both a blessing and curse to the woman he's with, being taken past the point of overstimulation and being quite literally fucked dumb. When he is ready to come, he loves to jerk off on her body, see her covered in him, have Killer fuck her with his seed coating her body.

Killer is a lot more attentive and WAY MORE generous with a woman's needs, putting all his focus on making them cum as much as possible before taking them with his cock. Begging him for it. After he's inside, he goes off, fucking them into oblivion with fast and hard strokes, the only breaks they get is when he needs to adjust his position to angle his cock better. He won't stop until he cums and he actually enjoys finishing on a woman's entrance, pulling out just before he comes inside, spurting ropes of cum on their vulva, clit and pelvis. Ownership.

After the second round is completed, Kid and Killer like to tag team, taking a woman from both ends. Kid usually starts with a woman's pussy and switch to her mouth but he prefers pussy. Killer starts with mouth and ends with being inside her ass. More often than not, they end an encounter with a woman sitting on Killer's lap with his cock stuffing her ass and Kid's cock is plugging up her pussy, both working together to keep her body straight and her legs spread open to allow them both in.

Her head will be falling back, only the whites of her eyes visible from the overwhelming sensations and pleasure, wanting to come over and over again but also feeling so overstimulated she might explode. Kid and Killer snicker at the fucked out expression and sneak a hand fist to one another. In the morning both pirates are gone and she finds herself limping out of the room, body filled with large hickies and bite marks from the encounter. She may be sore but damn if they weren't a powerhouse of great sex.

Robin and Boa teaching a rude boi a lesson.

Robin and Boa met on a random encounter and enjoyed each others company. It was hysterical to them when a man tried to flirt with one, got gently shot down and tried to shoot his shot with the other right in front of them. Boa was incensed at the audacity while Robin was amused more than anything. They caught each other's eyes and Robin gave her a mischievous smile. Boa's interest was piqued.

That's how the man found himself erect and in his boxers in front of the women, eyes wide as dinner plates as he took in their naked bodies. How the fuck did he land two gorgeous babes like them you ask? Well, its actually them who landed him and they were going to make him their good little sub.

They take turns pressing their bodies against his own, ghosting fingers and breasts down his body, naughty touches against his painfully erect cock, the whispers of amazing orgasms in his ear. The man moans, he'll do anything they want if he can just taste them.

Anything? That's exactly what they wanted to hear and they give each other a knowing look. Robin asks if he would mind being tied up? Anything you want darling. She leaves him with his hands and ankles tied together. He is left kneeling on the floor with his tied hands raised above him like he was praying in front of Robin.

Boa pulls out a trunk of toys she always keeps on her when travelling. From inside she pulls out two strap-ons. One is a glossy, jelly purple dildo; the other a pastel pink with an extra prosthetic that aimed for the clitoris and anus. The man eyes the devices and takes a huge gulp but knows he gave consent to anything, a shiver running down his spine in excitement. Always read the fine print.

They were not gentle by any means but they weren't merciless. They just did good ole fashioned degradation and humiliation of their sub while Robin created additional hands to heighten everyone's pleasure. Boa and Robin got off thrice as much as their sub because they were teaching him why men deserve less.

The women were a sight to behold. Large breasts defying gravity as they bounced against the blooming hands teasing their clits and penetrating their holes. Their orgasmic noises like a chorus of angels singing hallelujah.

Then they look at their sub sinfully as they ride the waves of their last orgasm. One blooming hand begins to increase the pressure and pace on the sub's cock as Robin's strap on demands entrance on his lips; Boa's strap on lubed and already edging into his asshole. They sink into him at the same time and he lets out a grunt of satisfaction, guttural groaning ripped from him as the two women slammed into him from opposite sides, Robin's blooming limbs pinching, rubbing and penetrating all their bodies to heighten the pleasure. They allow the sub to finally cum and even give him the grace of cumming on one of them - but he shakes his head frantically. He got the lesson they instilled in him and as much fun and pleasure as he had, he wanted the fuck away from the two devil women who had both made him cum out of his mind but also made him find god.

Boa and Robin share a joint, laughing as the man hobbles out of the room. "That was fun. Want to do that again sometime?" Robin smiles at Boa. Boa nods enthusiastically, "I agree but I'm not done with you yet Nico Robin."

~ Follow, Like, Reblog for more ~

[fennelockley]

Exodus in Immortal X-Men #13

Gillen has always done absolutely fantastic with Exodus - and if I'm to be honest, I only discovered Exodus through his works - but you can tell Exodus is a favourite of his with how brilliantly he's been portrayed; and this issue is phenomenal.

This is basicly me just dumping all my thoughts because I loved every moment and I want to dissect it all! Obviously major spoilers below!

The only thing I'd love more than what they're currently doing, is if they'd listen to him here. Let him at Sinister, that'll be a cat fight for the ages!

And I find it funny that Kate completely glosses over his threat and talks of action and just seems... "you want Sinister out?" Whether this is her mistrusting him because of the Sinister strain, or this is one in a very long line of comments where the council keep glossing over Bennet and just assuming he's stupid.

Speaking of council members being dismissive to Exodus. Whether Destiny can ~obviously~ just see ahead and/or she knows Bennet is capable of reading subtext and also has the same motives as her. It's interesting that by the end, Destiny and Exodus have generally shared the same view points.

Quite possibly the absolute best panels for Exodus ever. Selene isn't just any old foe, she's extremely powerful and been around 10x longer than Exodus has. But Exodus doesn't flinch. The writers are really developing Exodus Omega abilities, he's a master of telekensis and the comment about taking her apart molecule-by-molecule is extremely interesting.

Exodus has been hugely underused as a powerhouse previously, but he's an incredibly formidable person that is well aware of his capabilites - and nor does he have the morals to hold him back from showing them. And while it's not evidently in play here, he's stronger the more there is belief in his powers - and that includes his own belief in himself.

And it once again proves Exodus is a man of action, want something done? He's going to do it, even if its not ethical or pretty.

Storm stops him, and its Omega v Omega, Exodus little telekentic bubble shield is so cute.

And I might be blinded by my own fanaticism of Exodus, but Storm blindly stopping every form of conflict is detrimental to Krakoa. Exodus is right, he's protecting Krakoa from a major threat.

Once again another council member that just sees him as a power loon, but Krakoa is exactly what Exodus fought his whole life for, if anyone is going to protect it, its going to be him.

This is it. The absolute pinnacle of this issue and Exodus arc as a council member.

Magneto originally said he placed those on the Winter table as a way to saite and keep an eye on the most powerful individuals that are most likely to cause problems. I assume him and Xavier thought they didn't notice.

Exodus did.

With Exodus' compliancy, they forgot what he was truely capable of and assumed they had him under their thumb. They forgot that Exodus accepted because he wanted to, he was compliant because he decided to be. Krakoa is ruined, there's no reason for him to be compliant anymore.

I'd like to think this is a thinly veiled threat. Exodus went along with them even though he despised them and their beliefs, but he has no reason to do so anymore. Now what path will he take? What will he decide to do now he's on his own?

And there's the mental breakdown. Exodus is an interesting character because a mutant utopia is ALL he wants. He doesn't have alot outside of fighting for his goals, and then maintaining Krakoa. The others will disperse back to whatever they originally did or otherwise did - but Exodus? This is his ENTIRE reality, there is nothing else for him. His entire reality and reason to fight has completely shattered before him - he's left floundering.

Something that's particularly bad for everyone else. Exodus is notorious for taking the reigns if no one else will fight for what he thinks is right. Regardless of his methods.

Will he accept that the council has decided to disband and allow a democracy rather than a ruling cabinet? I can see him perhaps appreciating letting mutant kind as a whole being able to decide their own future, but where does that leave him?

I'm incredibly excited to see where it goes for him. And they better not just never mention him again Exodus could lead a very interesting path now, where does he fit in with society now the only purpose he's ever felt he had has been removed?

Absolutely stunning issue, the level of detail on Exodus' character is astounding. And the art work is as beautiful as ever!

[somer-writes]

more pestilence au since ch 8 focuses on wild, flora, and four

wild is 17 - high school junior/grade 11

Wild's dad and sister as seen in concept art! His father's name is Hark (after Harkinian) and his sister is Irie. They're Flora's direct neighbors

Hark works in the royal family's personal guard as a security escort. He's close friends with a lot of Important People.

Irie attends an all girls' (religious) academy in Castle Town. It's a year-round school but Wild loves her to pieces so spoils her when she's home on breaks

Irie is close friends with Dot. They're classmates

Wild's mother died when he was 10

wild's just awkward and kind of shy. he thinks flora's cool and just wants to be friends. he also doesnt like how rhoam talks to her

flora is 17. she and wild are in the same grade but dont share many classes

Rhoam is pretty sexist and overly protective of Flora. they butt heads over this a lot bc he constantly underestimates what shes capable of

Rhoam and Hark are civil but do not get along. Flora likes Hark quite a bit and gets along with Irie well

Flora is class president and near the top of her class. she takes her schooling extremely seriously and plans on going to Nayru College to study biology. she mostly just wants to be away from Rhoam

Flora's parents are divorced. Her mother lives in Kakariko and they have no relationship. Rhoam and his ex dont speak to each other

flora doesnt really have ill will towards wild, but she does take it out on him a lot just bc of how he fits into her life

Four's parents died at sea when he was a baby. Smith took him in immediately and raised him as his own. he often comments how much four looks like his mother

gaepora and smith are childhood besties. they dont see eye to eye on a lot of things but that doesnt stop them from being total bros. they *like* to argue

smith's forge is just south of tarrytown

the forge uses geothermal energy. it was there long before tarrytown when akkala was still considered "wild" so has its own well and power

gaepora studied at hyrule university and worked at the hateno tech lab. he later established the akkala tech lab when tarrytown was built

gaepora is sun's grandfather

gaepora likes to spoil four. he's not great at parenting but he comes for visits and likes to steal four during the summers to see castle town

four is 14 going on 15

four's personality is not split nor does he have DID. idk what to call it, but he basically compartmentalizes himself into four distinct voices which he uses to solve problems, but he is always one conscious person

four does have a stutter! its usually under control but strong emotion, thinking out loud, and stress bring it out. typically he repeats parts of phrases or has to start sentences over

four goes to school in tarrytown. hes v reserved and doesnt really have friends. he prefers to be at home tinkering

hes a massive nerd

four likes to watch the ocean but he doesnt really enjoy swimming or boating

four believes all of smiths stories even if he says he doesnt

outside of school, four is smith's apprentice

[xerith-42]

Some notes on Xavier

Pretty sure he's only mentioned by name in episode 72, so I just got screenshots of everything mentioned about Xavier in that episode.

Just so that way we're all working with the same information when we start characterizing him.

Let's just address... the elephant in the room. The fact that Xavier is now the third, maybe fourth if you truly believe Enki was in love with her (I don't), male divine warrior who's acted in a lets say questionable way because of their feelings about her. Which, while a depressing reflection of their descendants in a strange and twisted sense, is just really bad. Like. It's bad.

Yeah Araphel tried to kill her but they're still soulmates, and Esmund probably got obsessive or overprotected, and he and Enki both nearly killed Araphel after his jealousy drove him insane. But this? Establishing an entire elite set of guards just to stop normal people from talking to her? To determine whether they were worthy of bothering her? Even if Irene agreed to this, hell even if she suggested it, that's just. So many layers of not okay.

It's no wonder I forgot Xavier existed until I got an Aphblr, I didn't want to remember that!! No wonder they just retconned him out of existence, holy fuck. Uh. So. What do we do with that?

The obvious answer is just change the context behind the Jury and it's creation entirely. How do we do that? Wellll--

This is the part where I hijack the post to push my Irene and Xavier being childhood friends to lovers agenda. Because I think that would be amazing. Because it would be amazing. Xavier having a private look at Irene that none of the Divine Warriors had because he's the only one who knew her before she got the relic. He knew what she was like because she was barely an adult when the relic found her, and they'd grown up next to each other for seventeen years before that.

Xavier very much started to crush on Irene at a young age, but I imagine a mix of insecurity, comphet (which does exist in the mcd universe), toxic masculinity that he hadn't deconstructed yet, and a general sort of subservience to Irene made it so he never quite fessed up. He was very obvious and Irene knew at some point, but he didn't say it directly for a long time.

But what's important is that Xavier was there. He was there for everything. When Irene first set out on her journey to find other relics and those worthy of them, he went right alongside her to keep her safe. He was raised to believe a man should protect his woman and he's gonna god damn do it. He saw when she discovered both the good and the bad, and even the ugly sides of living with a relic. They both saw the tragedy of the world they lived in and did everything they could to stop it.

He saw as she met every one of the Divine. As she fell in love with Araphel. As he fell back. As Esmund fell in love. As Menphia fell in love. He watched as so many foolish guards did the same thing he ha done. And he never felt much jealousy. Even if he never directly confessed, Irene let him down gently. At the time she thought she just wasn't capable of love, and he was okay with that. Xavier was content to spend the rest of his life loving Irene to death in any way she allowed.

And when others fell in love, he was barely even surprised. How could they not love her? She was worth giving your entire life to before she became a literal angel. He never felt jealousy because he could always empathize, and be there when she more likely than not rejected them. He was always there for her in a way distinctly non-romantic because he realized early into their travels that she was going to need it.

Xavier always just wanted to support Irene in any way he could. He tried not to put her on a pedestal. He failed sometimes, but he tried his hardest to remember that Irene was truly just another human woman that chose to keep him at her side. That's what mattered more than anything. He was always what she needed him to be. When she needed a shoulder to cry on, he was there. When she needed a friend to drink with, he was there.

And when she needed someone to protect her when one of her closest friends, the only love of her life turned against her, he was there. He protected her. But he knew he couldn't forever. He knew that whatever solution Kul'zak was cooking up wasn't going to last forever if they weren't willing to kill him. They needed Esmund's help to do it, and he'd never agree to it. So, before he even knew what the plan was, Xavier set up a fail safe.

Xavier and Irene were 100% raised with the mentality of "hope for the best, prepare for the worst."

That fail safe was the Jury of Nine. He and Esmund had already started the Guard Academy, he just decided that the best of the best overall would get the chance to be evaluated by him. If they passed the vibe check, they got to join him as a guard of Irene. He hand picked each original member of the Jury, spent extensive time with all of them making sure that they all not only were good fighters, but worked well together.

He had seen in real time perhaps what the rest of the world hadn't. He saw the Divine start to tear each other apart. He couldn't let that happen again. So he made sure that conflicts were resolved quickly, and if he felt that two Jury members were incompatible, he would decide which of them brought more to the table and had a more reasonable argument for why they should stay.

Xavier still gets to be a little morally corrupt because he's literally making these people make court cases for why they should keep their job, but that's what happens when you want to guard a near demi-god. Just comes with the territory. Maybe don't be petty assholes and this won't be a problem.

While the Jury remains today, this aspect, along with many other of Xavier became lost to time. After the war of the Divine, Xavier sort of... fell into the background. He stayed out of the public, spent most of his time with the Jury or Irene, and in his final years, he just disappeared. No regard for his legacy. No regard for any friends he left behind.

Because he'd just been left by the only real friend he ever had.

[batrachised]

I read ahead and this is sort of spoilery but do you think it’s important that Robin is now the age Andrew was when they split up? With her being so much younger maybe she looked up to Andrew and needed to experience being 33 first so she could see he was also just an idiot?

I think there is QUITE a lot going on here. We know the seeds of Robin's and Andrew's failure; Robin had no backbone and was spoiled, Andrew provided no support to Robin and was blind to her needs; it's the old Robin is spineless and Andrew is selfish/stubborn and between those two things the two cannot communicate to save their life. (This, in addition to the whole "Andrew is just back from the battlefield and snatched up anything to distract himself only to discover that Robin is a human being and not an actual otherworldly star.")

I agree the age gap is also a huge part of it, (as much as I hate agreeing with Aunt Irene). What did Andrew say, about being ten years older and the war making it twenty? Related and yet distinct from the age gap, I think the issue was, always, at heart, maturity. Robin was not mature enough to communicate her needs to Andrew; Robin was (presumably) a bit of a spoiled little girl. and ANDREW??? we don't even need to get started there, but he was worse. He was not mature enough to keep his temper in check; it's almost like Robin had not yet grown up, and Andrew had refused to. Like someone else pointed out, this man got sulky over...HAVING A BABY.

Both Robin and Andrew were always treated like children by the people who 'loved' them; Robin by the grandmother, and Andrew by Aunt Irene. So these two people meet each other, and they expect the other to treat them like they're used to. Andrew expects Robin to purr over him and meet his every need with delight aka Aunt Irene; Robin expects Andrew to take care of her every need and sparing her from every real-world problem her aka the grandmother. After all, that's what love looks like. (the line between the grandmother and Andrew is less clear to me when it comes to how it would affect Robin's expectations, but lies in the difference between cushy wealth and hard poverty.)

To be successful, both need to grow up. Robin needs to grow a spine and learn how to tell people off (including Andrew!), and Andrew needs to realize there is someone else in the universe besides Andrew. Both are capable of doing so; they were married very happily for a year; but until Robin demonstrates courage, and Andrew unselfishness, their marriage can't succeed. So, to answer your question - i think that Robin's age would help her here, but it wouldn't be enough on its own. A Robin who lived as she does with the grandmother for ten years is a different Robin than the young woman who eloped with her idea of a handsome prince. No one could go through what she has and be the same. But as long as Robin allows people to run her over, I can't see things working out (after all, Aunt Irene is still lurking).

The same goes for Andrew (if not doubly so). He's going to have to learn to put down his pride. Notably, I think we've seen Andrew already take steps towards this - he wrote Robin the letter, he puts Jane's needs first, and overall, has really stepped up. There's a lot to indicate that Andrew has changed for the better. He's still an arrogant dumbass in a lot of ways, though.

I think Robin has hoped for past ten+ years that Andrew would come rescue her, and then he finally (via letter) shows up - and it's for Jane. The first letter he's written Robin in over a decade is one in which it's strongly implied that he threatens to take Jane away from her for good, so (and i recognize this is glossing over an enormous amount of complexities) he's just as imperious with her as ever. Robin locks Jane out and isn't brave enough to talk to her own daughter about what's happening, so she's just as spineless as ever (and uncommunicative about Andrew as ever). It hasn't mattered that ten years have passed; the two are still in their old patterns.

The strength of the parents' relationship (whether this framework is healthy or not, it's the one lmm uses in the book) is reflected in their relationship to and treatment of Jane. LMM uses Jane as the lens to show the parents' growth, or lack thereof. Andrew was terrible when Jane was a baby, but now that he's stepped up as a dad, he's implied to be ready to reunite with Robin. Once they start parenting Jane, it's the tacit approval of the text of their maturity/completion of their arc. Based on the framework of the book, for Robin to be ready to reunite with Andrew, she's going to have to stand up for Jane.

major spoilers under the break

imo the last chapter is one of the weakest in the book due to this framework. It takes it too far by explicitly stating (albeit through an unreliable narrator) that the success of the parents' relationship depends on Jane, which is just ridiculous. That being said, while the parents' reunion is the end of the book, I don't think it's the emotional zenith of the book at all (that honor goes to the chapter before, one my favorite chapters in the whole book <3). The reunion happens pretty quickly and is almost like 'okay been there done that' lmao.

[maya-matlin]

What do you see as the main similarities and differences between Zaya and Joey/Pacey?!

I've been waiting for this ask my entire life LOL

So first things first, I've thought Zig and Pacey were similar characters for a long time. It's not a perfect comparison. High school Pacey was a lot more emotionally mature and almost unrealistically selfless and sensitive compared to Zig who was much more like your typical, ignorant teenager. But at the same time, there are still many parallels. Both guys had complicated relationships with their families. Zig's familial life prior to being kicked out is hardly shown or given much development. We know that his mother seems to love him and he presumably has a dad still in the picture. Pacey's parents resented and abused him, both physically and emotionally. He was constantly reminded what a failure he supposedly was and that they'd prefer he wasn't around. The tense family situation led to Pacey moving out of his childhood home halfway through his junior year in favor of living with Doug, and then Gretchen. Zig's story was much different. He's assumed to have a stable, relatively loving home life prior to his gang ties directly putting his family in harm's way. After Zig fails to leave the gang, either by his own decision or because he genuinely doesn't feel as though he's able to leave (it's unclear - Degrassi did not even try with this arc), he's kicked out and basically never accepted back home. Even after Zig does his best to leave the gang, doing better in school and staying out of trouble, it's still not enough. Just the hint of Zig being in the vicinity of something dangerous, aka Tiny being stabbed, is too much for his mom to accept. So as a result, Zig spends the rest of high school living in a group home after being forced to leave the Matlins' house. Both Zig and Pacey are fundamentally changed during their formative years by the absence of their parents' support and love. Pacey has been resigned to the reality that he'll never get what he needs from his family. Not that this even stops him from accepting the teensiest amount of affection, always being quick to meet his shitty family members halfway. Zig never fully recovers on screen from the loss of his family. He almost projects the need for a family onto Maya, the closest thing he has to unconditional love for a very long time. Considering their relationship is a romantic one and prone to falling apart because of the reality of high school relationships not typically working out, Zig never quite gets this from Maya. There's a semblance of Zig having a found family with Tiny, Grace and Maya, but it's like.. we don't really get that acknowledgement. At the end of Next Class, it's Zoe who has this moment with her classmates and closest friends. Regardless, Zig becomes desperate for love and stability in the absence of having a family. He's much more prone to self doubt and putting a lot of stock in his friends' opinions of him, something he directly tells Esme when apologizing for not doing a good job defending their relationship and Esme's status as his girlfriend. Both Zig and Pacey seek out permanent love to replace the rejection they feel from their parents.

Back to the self worth issues. No matter how many people in their lives try to validate them, Zig and Pacey never fully believe that they're worth much or are capable of good things. This aspect of Pacey is at least taken seriously. In season 4, Pacey' series-long self worth problems gradually manifest into depression and self hatred, resulting in him eventually ruining his relationship with Joey in a very ugly, self destructive way. Sound familiar LOL? Zig's self worth problems don't get this treatment. On some occasions, Zig's insecurities and strong feelings for Maya are almost played for laughs. No one takes his concerning comments seriously. Even when he opens up to Esme, sharing that he feels as though he isn't good at anything, she only focuses on Zig talking about "some other girl,” displaying jealousy that the guy she's into is still preoccupied with his ex. During Zig's relationship with Maya, particularly during the first season of Next Class, he's paralyzed with a lot of insecurities and believes he's losing Maya. No matter how much affection Maya gives him or tries to reassure Zig that he's the only one she wants - both physically and emotionally, he can't make himself accept it. Much like Pacey loses it at prom when he sees Joey dancing with Dawson, Zig self destructs in his own way: he cheats on Maya with Zoe, convinced she's doing the same same thing with Jonah even though he has zero evidence of this. Though Pacey intentionally and consciously breaks up with Joey through his actions, Zig indirectly does the same? Not really, but based on his demeanor when Maya comes back, Zig almost seemed convinced prior to Maya explaining what transpired during her visit to New York that what he did WASN'T cheating and that it wouldn't have mattered because Maya was already gone. Meaning, the official breakup was merely a formality. This doesn't negate his actions and isn't meant to downplay them. Simply put, Zig's emotions were all over the place. He could no longer discern the truth or have faith in Maya's love for him because of his own deep seated self hatred. This isn't unlike Pacey, who seemed to have less and less confidence in Joey's love for him as season 4 went on.

I can't find a coherent way to introduce the Pacey/Zig parallels, so here:

Eventually, both Pacey and Zig end up lashing out at Joey and Maya, blaming them for their bad behavior and/or the way they're feeling. Thankfully, both quickly apologize. Pacey does it more eloquently and comes across as much more sympathetic, though. But Zig at least does acknowledge he didn't actually hold Maya responsible for his impulsive, hurtful actions with Zoe.

In contrast, Maya and Joey aren't all that similar beyond spending some time in denial about their feelings and experiencing loss at a young age. Joey lost her mother to cancer while Maya's first boyfriend committed suicide. Their demeanors are very opposite. Joey is an extremely guarded person, using sarcasm and anger to keep people away. Maya is much friendlier. While she still has her guard up to some extent, particularly from the end of season 12 through halfway through season 14, she always welcomes people into her life - even if she sometimes can't let them all the way in. Much like Joey with Pacey, Maya exposes herself to Zig completely in a way she can't with other guys.

You'd think I'd be done by now, right? Sadly, I'm not. Both Zaya and Pacey/Joey had similar starts. Zig and Pacey spent a lot of time pining after Maya and Joey. Both girls claimed they didn't reciprocate the guys' feelings at one point or another. Pacey kissing Joey in season 1 only for her to reject him for Dawson could be comparable to Maya immediately getting back together with Cam after kissing Zig for the first time. But for what it's worth, it was always obvious to me that Maya had feelings for Zig that she wasn't owning up to, subconsciously or otherwise. Joey's feelings for Pacey don't appear to exist until season 3, though you could make an argument for repressed physical attraction based on the occasional comment. Not unlike how Pacey had gradually become Joey's best and closest friend during season 3, Zig served the same role in Maya's life once they started living together and moved past the messy triangle with Miles. Eventually, the tension came to the surface, and both couples shared a passionate kiss, initiated by one member of the ship.

Then, another initiated by the other half:

There's a brief attempt at a secret relationship. Though admittedly, Zaya's short stint (all of two seconds) as secret lovers was nothing compared to the traumatic experience that was the Dawson/Joey/Pacey love triangle. Eventually, both couples settle into a stable relationship after spending a mostly happy summer together. Being back at school and the the reality of both Maya and Joey being very ambitious people (Maya wanting to pursue her musical dreams and Joey wanting to attend a prestigious school) whereas Zig and Pacey aren't for whatever reason, perfectly content to be wherever their girlfriends are as they make zero plans for their own lives. The reality of what happens when you put so much stock into one person over your own success and self worth led to.. well, basically, my long ass rant, detailing Zig's and Pacey's issues.

Other miscellaneous moments that parallel are both Zig and Pacey having insecurities about their girlfriend's love for them because the relationships have yet to become or haven't since been, sexual. Both Maya and Joey have fears. Maya is afraid that things will get weird if she sleeps with Zig again. Joey has a whole host of sex-related fears that are barely addressed or even properly explained because this was the 2000's, and Dawson's Creek often perpetuated really gross ideas about female virginity and sexuality. But in time, both couples got on the same page and had somewhat similar love scenes.

Bonus:

As stated before, both Zig and Pacey plan to be with their girlfriends in the forseeable future:

Taking joy in their girlfriend's accomplishments:

Taking care of Maya/Joey while they're high/drunk:

It takes a long time, but eventually both couples find each other again.

And obviously, both thankfully ended up together! Zig moves to LA with Maya while Pacey is assumed to follow Joey to New York at some point after their reunion. Pacey eventually becomes a chef while Joey manages to get her dream, escaping Capeside and finding a fulfilling career. When we last see Zig and Maya, their lives are just starting out. But Maya is on her way to university to eventually work in the music industry. Zig's future is unknown, though it's always been clear that Zig has a talent for cooking, making it highly likely he'll also someday become a chef.

As for the differences, I'll keep it brief. Zig and Maya overall always had a pleasant, friendly sort of dynamic whereas Pacey and Joey constantly bantered, spending part of their formative years supposedly "hating" each other.

Okay, I'm officially done!

[xxsabitoxx]

So I just- Iguro finally getting competition for Mitsuri's love an attention and just the MESS that'd go on with that, like they're very clearly hitting on her and making their intentions known and now Iguro has to fight for her hand in love and how'd that all play out?

Oh boy

He felt foolish right away thinking he was the only one who found her beautiful

He never expected a new recruit to be so bold, absolutely oozing confidence as he began sweet talking Mitsuri

He also felt quite foolish for thinking she wouldn’t fall for this new recruit the same way he had fallen for her

Mitsuri was one of the most approachable Hashira, no one was scared to speak to her — they respected her regardless

Obanai didn’t take this into account despite pinning after the love pillar for so long.

“I mean, why wouldn’t she fall for him? He was so open about his intentions!” Obanai groaned, venting his anger out loud to Sanemi. “I mean, you’re the dumb-ass for silently pursuing her. She’s ain’t no mind reader.” Sanemi seemed completely bored. “Help me.” He glanced over at Obanai with a confused expression. “Huh?”

Instead of being upfront with Mitsuri his new goal is to ruin the other man’s confidence

He uses Sanemi to essentially bully the man pursuing his Mitsuri 

The thing is, it doesn’t work. This new recruit seems to have no regards for his life because he goes right back at Sanemi

Sanemi ends up removing himself from the situation, he’s not interested in fighting Obanai’s battles when he is more than capable himself.

Obanai goes out of his way to send Mitsuri letters and gifts as well as invites her out for meals often

It’s going well until the new recruit tags along

“I figured he could join us!” The pink haired girl was oblivious to the death match both men were locked in. “That’s fine, Kanroji. A warning would have been nice though.” Obanai broke away first, staring lovingly at her. “I’m sorry, he joined last minute.” A smirk crept up the new recruit’s face. “Oh, so he’s the inconvenience.”

Unfortunately for Obanai, the new recruit becomes part of his life

It all boils down to whoever Mitsuri wants.

What neither men realize is the fact that Mitsuri is already set on Obanai. The new recruit never had a chance.

Mitsuri is just too sweet to turn anyone away and she likes his company. Though it probably comes off different in their mind.

It honestly takes months for Obanai to get fed up enough as confess before the new recruit does

“I’m in love with you.” She stopped mid-slurp to stare at the man. “I-iguro?!” She nearly choked on the food in her mouth. “I’m sick of that bastard thinking he can have you! I-i really mean it. I love you, Mitsuri.” She was steadily turning bright red. “Oh, Iguro! You’re so sweet! I love you too!” A wobbly smile pulled at her lips.

See, it wasn’t that hard! I’m kidding, Obanai nearly died

[ghcstvalleychief]

Porsche, Arrested Development, & his Judgment

This is going to be a follow-up to this post about Porsche's arrested development, because I think it applies here.

Porsche has finally learned from his mistakes and took his lessons to heart and did what he was always meant to do - find out the truth about his parents' death. He may not have known that when he initially gave in and took the job, but everything that's happened was leading up to this very moment.

However, Porsche wouldn't be Porsche if he didn't apply his own impulsive flair to it. I love Porsche, but he is a flawed individual through and through (like all of the characters on this show). Porsche has an issue with planning and preparation. All in all, I don't trust Porsche's judgment at all. We've all been hoping and wishing that Porsche would finally learn how to be more calculating, less naïve, and less trusting. The problem is that it's not a natural instinct for Porsche to be any of those things. Yes, we saw him attempt to do so in this last episode. However, Porsche still reverts back to his old ways when forced into that persona.

Porsche is a liar.

Porsche claims not to trust anyone, but he had to employ just a little bit of trust to even carry out this plan. He made the decision to trust Vegas, of all people, in this scenario and it's working out for him so far. Granted, there's still time for things to go differently because Vegas has never been his outright sadistic self in front of Porsche and he's just being who he's always been around him. Which we know was never the real Vegas to begin with. He was just acting the part to gain Porsche's trust, which had proven to be quite successful time and time again. Hopefully, for Porsche's sake, Vegas has been forever changed by his situation with Pete and he doesn't stab Porsche in the back but I digress.

Porsche, for all of this perceived bravado he illustrated this last episode, is still himself. He trusts the people he shouldn't; he trusts the wrong people. Trust isn't Porsche's issue. His judgment is. Porsche trusts people fairly easy, and he still does. He may claim that he doesn't but that's B.S. It's like someone else said - don't listen to what the characters are saying, watch what they're doing. All of these characters are lying to themselves and to the audience, so throw all of that out. Porsche had to trust Vegas to even find his uncle and to bring the money because that was all apart of the plan. Porsche had to trust that the person, who has been lying to his face the entire time & set off a chain of events that ended with his brother being kidnapped, would legitimately help him find out the truth and not sell him out. Not to mention the fact that this is the same person who drugged him and tried to sexually assault him too, which he still doesn't know for some strange reason.

The odd thing about all of this is the fact that I think Porsche somehow knows that. Porsche doesn't know if he can trust his own judgment. It's why he didn't tell Kinn anything. He loves Kinn, and I'd even hazard a guess and say that he even trusts him in his own way. But Porsche's internal struggle this last episode was due to him being unsure if he could tell Kinn what he was planning and what he found out without Kinn going back to Korn and ruining Porsche's plan. Porsche has reverted back to his arrested development - he's being the teenager who is trying to prove to Mom and Dad that he's responsible enough to make his own decisions and intelligent enough to make the right decisions.

Except, what usually happens when teenagers attempt to prove themselves capable of being treated like an adult? They screw up. It never ends the way they want it to end because teenagers don't know how to plan for the future. They're not even thinking about the future and the long-term consequences of their actions. They have no concept of long-term consequences whatsoever. None. That's where Porsche is in his journey. Even though Porsche had a plan and he may not have thought he would survive this, did he think about what would happen if his investigation yielded different results? Did he think about what he would do if he found out that Korn isn't the one who murdered his parents? Probably not. If not, then what? What's the next step? What's the third step? If you do survive, how are you going to deal with the consequences of what you've done?

Porsche's judgment is shaky. He trusts everyone, including the people he shouldn't. It's interesting to watch him tell Vegas that he doesn't trust anyone, because it's a lie. He was lying. Porsche doesn't have enough faith in his judgment to trust anyone, and that's why he said it. It's not because it's true; it's because he doesn't know how to convey such a thing.

I don't trust Porsche's judgment, but neither does he. I think that's going to be the big thing going into the finale for him and ultimately for his relationship with Kinn. I think Porsche is going to be hit with a reality check pretty early on in the next episode and that's going to be the thing that forces him to grow up and to stop reverting back to his adolescence. Porsche is going to have to learn how to strengthen his judgment if he insists on living the life he truly wants.

[formulatrash]

i have to be real in light of your lewis and lando post, but there is something about the way, even people with good intentions, have been treating drivers of color lately that rubs me wrong as a person of color.

i have seen a lot of people lately call out the way drivers like yuki or lewis get framed as hot-headed or too aggressive or whatever other racist stereotype after being justifiably angry or frustrated on the radio, while white drivers largely get away with it being "heat of the moment" or at worst they're being whiny or something. and i do agree with that. it seems like drivers of color are expected to be like these sweet and docile characters to get the same respect that their white counterparts do.

but then i see, usually in reference to lando, but i've seen it with other drivers like daniel, george, and even bottas too, these fans trying to dictate who lewis can support or spend time with. i know if you've seen the recent drama, you have probably seen 100 variations of "i wish lewis would stop being so supportive of lando, lando never has anything nice to say about him" — which taking away that not even being true, what really gives fans the right to think they should dictate who lewis is or isn't allowed to hang out with or support? lewis is a grown man capable of making these decisions on his own, and even if he does have a problem with something lando says and feels that it impacts their friendship or work acquaintanceship or whatever relationship they feel they have — they're adults who actually know each other and see each other most weekends, not one having a parasocial relationship with the other who doesn't even know they exist — he can communicate that problem to lando. he doesn't need 10,000 fans telling him who he is and isn't allowed to like.

it's infantilizing and it's insulting. drivers, and more generally, people of color should be allowed to feel and express emotions without others trying to police them and say they're expressing themselves wrong, they need to be more gentle, etc. but on that same note, drivers of color should be allowed to choose who they want to support or hang out with without others trying to police that either.

we're autonomous adults. things like racism? definitely call that out and make sure that person doesn't get away with it. things people perceive as "disrespect" when 9 times out of 10 in f1 it's just banter or — heaven forbid, even an accurate statement — people don't need to feel "disrespected" on behalf of lewis and then try to tell lewis, a grown man capable of making his own judgment calls, who he's allowed to support or spend time with. i can guarantee f1 fans that this whole infantilizing, "we're not autonomous beings capable of making our own decisions" attitude is just as offensive regardless of if it's in regards to our decisions on how we express our feelings or who we hang out with. f1 fans in general need to understand that and start treating and recognizing people of color as autonomous beings who don't need our emotions and friendships policed, just let people of color live jfc

my sincerest apologies in advance if this comes across as rude because you personally have not said anything to make me feel this way, but i have saw so many horrid takes lately and i don't understand how people can be upset by the radio reputation situations and then think treating drivers like this and trying to police who they are even allowed to be around anymore is ok.

hello,

apologies, I only just got around to reading through all this because my brain is extremely slow but like, firstly I think this is an important perspective to consider and secondly, people really just generally need to police other people's interactions less. like do I love that Lewis is friends with Brad Pitt? no because he's. a documented abuser. so that's a bummer. but 'guy who is literally one of his younger work peers' seems less of an issue by quite a long way. the drivers do not spend all day beefing each other just because their fans do, even George and Max hang out and honestly, just as well for Max his car is so fast because otherwise George would be terrorising him every weekend.

[thekingofthieves]

Is there anything in particular you like to get up to when you're in your fox form? Also, does being in fox form change how you think or process thoughts, or do you pretty much have the same "brain" and thought process you do when in human/demon form?

Actually, one of my favorite things to do as a spirit fox is cuddling with Hiei- though, that really applies regardless of my appreance, hehe. My various forms have different perks for that, and my fox body has the bonus of being the sole form in which I'm smaller than him. We both usually prefer me being the big spoon- and our usual size difference works well with that- but sometimes it's nice to switch, and being in my fox form for that on the occasion has a nice unique touch... It's extremely comforting to just be completely eveloped in his embrace. ☺️ The only downside is that it can be easier to overheat if he isn't paying attention to moderating his temperature... He's usually good with keeping it lowered though, especially when we're cuddling on warmer days.

I also really love laying on Hiei's lap or chest when we're relaxing- and once I started doing that, it didn't take long for him to discover my favorite spots to be scratched. (Just a little fun fact, it's on and behind my ears, right above my tails, and under my chin. I'm certainly not giving this tip to convince people to give me more pets in my favorite spots, but if any of you ever encounter a silver fox that doesn't seem of this world, then... ;) My underside and tails are off limits for strangers though, sorry!) I often hitch a ride on Hiei's shoulders and curl my tails around his neck as well- which he tends to joke about me being spoiled for not even walking around on my own, haha. I know he loves me snuggling up on him in that fashion though. :3

Aside from that, I've always enjoyed doing more mischievous activities, and that certainly hasn't changed about me, haha. Though, I do it in significantly less destructive ways than I used to. Sometimes I will pull simple pranks on locals- like taking and hiding their things, or shrieking nearby to startle them. The latter is especially fun to do around "haunted" locations people often get dared to go to (usually they're spots that simply have an atmosphere people find unsettling, the actual spirit activity is typically low to none). I've given plenty of people I went to school with quite a fright from doing that. 🤭 And there's also been a couple times I, ah... left a little "present" at the doorstep of some rather unpleasant classmates and coworkers. 😅

I've also given Kuwabara a good scare on a few instances by sneaking up and pouncing on him, haha! Though I accidentally freaked out little Eikichi as well one of those times. I'm glad she forgave me rather quickly- she came up to rub her head on me as soon as she recognized who I was! I actually play with her in my fox form on occasion (that is, once I assured Kuwabara again that I had no interest in eating her 😅). I'm not entirely sure if she understands that all of my forms are one individual, but she seems to be able to tell that my scents are similar enough, as she trusted me in both my Youko and spirit fox forms immediately once she sniffed them for the first time.

As for my mental capabilities in that form, I was originally much like your typical mortal fox. My brain was much more primitive, focused mostly on play when I was young, then survival when my spirit fox family and I went our separate ways. Though, It's hard to recall precisely how my thought process was like back then, it's been so long... My memories of my earliest years are quite hazy- I suppose that's a result of both time and a once-simple mind. I gained more intelligence as my youki grew, however. By the end of my first century when I obtained the ability to shift to my demon form, I'd say I was certainly wiser than many other demons on the lower end of energy classes. Or perhaps that's just my ego talking? 🤭 I'll admit I've had quite a big head for much of my life, haha. I got into thieving for fun early on, and had many successful heists even back when I still only had my fox form, and with much less expertise in controlling plants (albeit they were much less complex or risky thefts than ones I've done much later on, but I was quite proud of myself nonetheless).

But to get back on topic- my mind is always the same whenever I shift forms, as spirit foxes gain more complex thought long before they become proper demons. The only exception has been my shifts induced by the Idunn Box and Fruit of the Previous Life potion, as they were specifically reversions rather than ordinary form changes. My memories of my human life felt like they were locked away far out of my reach, where I could remember only the vaguest details- like my current goals, why I was at the Dark Tournament, and somewhat of who the people were on my team. It was... jarring, to put it very mildly. After the first time, both my body and brain went through such a shock that I struggled keeping touch with reality for a while afterward... I'm so grateful for Hiei being patient and supporting me through that once we had some time alone. He may not have been sure of what to do, but even just his presence and kindess was a major help to getting me grounded again.

Otherwise, the only mental alterations I experience through shifting forms are along the lines of some urges becoming stronger. It's likely due to the familiarity of my original bodies causing my impulses to be more in line with my past tendencies. They're nothing that can't be controlled, of course, but it can sometimes make me act a little bit different if I don't keep myself in check- whether I do so accidentally or purposefully. It is nice to let myself go on the occasion and simply indulge in my fox instincts. I'll even go all out and spend a good portion of a day acting like a little kit again. 🤭 Hiei seems to find those times quite amusing, haha. Actually, there's been a few times where I've gotten so lost in enjoying pets from him that I started happily biting on him without realizing it. 😅 Though, it's not like biting him is unusual in any of my forms, but I'm typically more conscious of when I initiate it... Most of the time. I suppose pleasure in multiple forms can make me bite Hiei without thinking, hehe!

[brokentoys]

What if... what if Edward (Puzzler) did kidnap Eddie? How might things have turned out for the boys?

Wonderful question! I feel it really depends. False Face repeatedly advised against the idea when Edward brought it up. Because False Face was right, it's a very unrealistic idea that could never actually work. Perhaps Edward knew this, too. But wanted to deny it, think that maybe the impossible could happen.

Under any circumstances, if Eddie did went missing, his parents, no matter how horrible they are, will always alert the authorities. After all, you could get in a lot of trouble if you fail to report your missing child.

Now first let's say what would happen if everything happened according to the canon of this blog / my lore. When the authorities begin growing suspicious of Edward - Edward will still have to Leave. He could take Eddie with him. However, faking his own death and evading arrest / his country is already a risky plan. But to take a kidnapped child along? It would definitely make his plan far too risky and dangerous. He'd have to return Eddie.

But let's say the impossible did happen. Puzzler successfully kidnapped Eddie and stayed in Gotham. Well, first - Eddie's childhood would actually be better - save for potential hostage situations should Puzzler's rivals find out about Eddie. Funny, given Puzzler is a greedy, thrill seeking, homicidal liar. But he did genuinely loved Eddie, and so Eddie would be treated much better by him than he was by his parents. It wouldn't be perfect; they'd likely clash due to the drama of the crime life, and their own flaws. (Edward being a compulsive liar, Eddie may not have his intense jealousy or insecurity in this hypothetical timeline, but he'd still have the "uglier" sides of his mental illnesses that would make him "act out.")

It's harder to say how this Eddie would exactly turn out to be. Regular Eddie actually hates most crime bosses and mobs in general. He feels they're practically the same as the corrupt politicians and police officers. Which really, he's right LOL. The politicians and police are often bribed by the mobs of Gotham. So, in Eddie's eyes, most crime organizations are just as much of his enemies as the GCPD and Batman is. However... if he was raised by a mob leader? Now... that might change his perspective. In this timeline, he may even grow up to take over the business. And since in this timeline, Eddie would've never been punished by his father - Eddie would be, indeed, very capable of lying. (Although his OCD will still be present. But instead of being for puzzles and orderliness, it'll primarily be for orderliness.) Which in return, maybe actually create a far more dangerous Eddie than the one we have now. (As this Eddie, despite being a jerk, does have morals. Puzzler Eddie would likely be raised with different morals due to being placed in a different situation. One who never really suffered firsthand, and therefore, doesn't really know what it's like. But then again, it'll still be Eddie - so perhaps he'd still have that Good somewhere in him!)

Buuuut - since Puzzler actually did genuinely cared about Eddie. He wanted Eddie away from such a life when he realized it would indeed be dangerous. (He doesn't experience a "slap in the face moment" when he realizes that Eddie will get hurt more in it. But that'll take too long to explain without further context, so yea!) I don't think Edward quite realized how dangerous Eddie's own home life was, too, though. But he was mostly thinking about if Eddie had nothing to do with his business, or ever knew he was the Puzzler - Eddie would be less motivated to go the same route. He was mostly wrong about all that.

[chidoroki]

What are your top 5 Isabella chapters? (You're so cool!!!)

Oh anon, you're amazing and I hope you know by asking me anything about this woman means that I'm gonna do more than simply list out the chapters for you.

Okay, sooo these chapters may seem like obvious choices but they're no doubt the first few that came to my mind (which may or may not be because I have their numbers memorized). Unfortunately I don't think I have the heart to rank them because aahh, I love each one a significant amount and for various reasons?? and whichever one I deem as the best could easily change the more I think about it.. so I'm just gonna list them in chronological order instead. Hope that's okay!

1 - Chapter 24: Inspection, Part 1 Part of me wants to cheat and list chapter 24 & 25 together since both cover November 2nd and the major events in said chapters are what make S1EP8 one of the best episodes to showcase how terrifyingly great Isabella is, but if I had to choose just one, then I'll go with ch24. Yes seeing her break Emma's leg and announce Norman's shipment are both jaw dropping moments capable of making anyone speechless, but ch25 also has quite a few pages just solely dedicated to the internal dialogues of the duo, so that doesn't help us here hm?. While Isabella dropping her "loving mother" facade and speaking to the food Emma & Norman directly as an actual caretaker is chilling, her confrontation with Ray in ch24 leaves more of an impact on me, given their mother-son relationship and totally not because they're my two favorites, that's crazy. Not only does she nonchalantly reveal that she had Krone killed at the same time Ray was wondering the sister's whereabouts, but she also labels Ray as a traitor, effectively cutting him off as her personal spy and any safety she once guaranteed him. She then makes the resolve to control the children with her own hands instead from now on, which sends Ray into an absolute panic, because if he is no longer safe, then no one is. Along with the anime giving us that added scene of her tossing Ray aside like a rag doll and every frame/panel that shows the sheer confidence she has on her face, having Isabella knock off her biggest ally is such a powerful move to me. This chapter is basically like the queen setting up the board for the perfect checkmate. And it works.

2 - Chapter 37: Escape Courtesy of all Krone's information in ch20-21, Grandma Sarah's single panel flashback in ch23 and even Isabella's own ID number way back in ch3, it was pretty common knowledge at this point that Isabella also experienced the same false childhood as any other kid at Grace Field, but finally seeing her morals and backstory from her own perspective will literally take any hatred you had towards her and toss it out the window (probably) because you'll feel emotions you didn't think you would've originally had towards this fantastic antagonist. The brief interaction we get to witness between her and Leslie is beyond wholesome, so of course the story chooses to break your heart the next moment by skipping right to his shipment and a heartbroken Isabella (which is portrayed way better in anime as manga literally has a panel of her smiling as she waves goodbye, like..huh?). It's also confirmed that she attempted to escape GF and just how important Leslie's song is to not only her, but to Ray as well as he uses this tune in order to verify that Isabella is indeed his real mother. On top of all that, we come to learn that she excels with her position as Mom for the sake of the children so she can indirectly extend their lives as long as possible and give them all the love she can before they’re unfortunately shipped off. Yes her main goal is to stay alive in this hellish world herself, I know, but this chapter is just a fantastic example showing how Isabella isn't as selfish as she once seemed and does care about her children a great deal (and more than herself later on in the story), even going as far as retrieving the ropes the fifteen escapees used to cross the cliff so the pursuing demons wouldn't locate them as quickly. She accepts her defeat and admits her mistakes, as well as express her well wishes to those that escaped and continues to care for the kids that were left behind while she can. There's just.. a lot to this chapter and it does so much for her character y'all, you know this. Needless to say but the anime handles this chapter wonderfully, especially with the soundtracks and the fantastic choice of having her let her hair down aahh she's beautiful.

3 - Chapter 170: Together As much as I love the very end of ch169 and the pure shock it gave me, I gotta choose the following chapter because it made it just as excited to learn what led Isabella to completely turn against Peter. We're reminded of how frustrated Isabella is with the farm system and its tactics that causes them to live in fear, flaunting freedom as bait as they all constantly fight each other just to survive longer than anyone and prove to be useful, less they get killed for acting out or by simply giving up. She successfully manages to rally every single sister & mother at the GF headquarters together (with barely any sort of resistance or issue) in order to rebel against the Ratri clan, which happens mere moments before Emma & company actually raid the facility by the way, just to avoid any suspicions from Peter about the plan itself. Amidst all the suspense and anger, we hear of Isabella's thoughts about how relieved she is to see her children again and how touched she is at the fact they still refer to her as their mom, even if she believes she doesn't deserve the sentiment. In true "Iron Lady" fashion, she keeps these emotions to herself and expresses that it's just convenient she and the kids share a similar goal. Oh, she also refers to Peter as a boy, which I will always find hilarious. To top it all off, it gives me the best mother-daughter moment ever. This is the chapter where she completely won me over and has been a favorite of mine ever since.

4 - Chapter 177: Mother And this is the chapter that completely breaks me. I'm not exaggerating when I say that whenever I revisit this moment I either start to tear up or get real emotional, so I shall let you know my emotional state after I sit and write this out. So, the wonderful woman I fell in love with just seven chapter ago? Mhhmm, DEAD! By some fucking random ass demon who is no doubt my most hated character in this series. ANYWAYS. This unforgivable event was first teased in the last couple pages in ch176, which officially released on MOTHER'S DAY, so not only is that such horrible timing but THEN we had to painfully wait a full week to see if the Iron Lady would survive this or if the children were gonna lose yet another parental figure. Needless to say, the worst case scenario happened and my heart was shattered into pieces. My emotions aside, the chapter itself is (surprisingly?) one of my favorites out of the entire series and is heartwarming is the most upsetting way possible. Isabella putting herself in harms way to save Emma & the other girl (with no hesitation might I add) speaks volumes about how much she loves her kids and how far she'll go to ensure they can live a bright future, even if it means by sacrificing her own life, which was once the only she cared about. The fact Isabella still possessed enough strength after being stabbed to hold back this bastard demon twice her size is worth mentioning as well. Once the demon is taken care of, the first thing she's concerned with is Emma & everyone else's safety, showing us even further that they now take priority over herself (even since ch37, I’ll argue). Despite literally giving her life to save Emma (along with all her other subtle moments I've no doubt mentioned here & in other posts), Isabella admits that she still hasn't done enough to atone for all the trauma she caused them, even though the kids had already forgiven her a couple chapters ago, she still feels the need to do so much more for them. The hug between her and the majority of the GF kids is sad as hell, especially with Emma's internal & external dialogue, but it is always the final interaction between mother and son that breaks my heart. Isabella apologized to all the kids in ch174, but her tearful apology to Ray here holds so much weight; for not treating him right or loving him as a true mother should to her own son, for all the lies and pain that made his life a living hell which left him suicidal. Her final wish for Ray to take care of everyone hurts in all the right ways because despite their differences, they both care for their family so much where they would literally die and live for them. It's a lot of emotion coming from a woman who once had an unbreakable facade, and seeing her use up her final bit of strength to share all that with Ray gets me close to tears. This death had upset me so much that I stopped myself from listening to "Isabella's Lullaby" for a good year because I knew that hearing that melody would only remind me of this heartbreaking chapter. (and yes I'm making myself emotional right now).

5 - Chapter 181.7: A Mother’s Determination Take everything that made the previous four mentioned chapters so great (her strategic mind/her dedication/her powerful influence/her love for the children) and combined all of that into one and you shall get Isabella's special one-shot. It shows us the very beginning (Jan-Feb 2046) of Isabella's time as Grandma of the Grace Field plantation and how she commits to her plan of helping the escapees when they return. In order to succeed, she first reduces the number of shipments (which effectively spares many children's lives), suspects she might be targeted by the other sisters & mothers and even successfully determines which women might actually try to backstab her, all in the span of one month. She also anticipated the perfect moment when they were gonna strike, flawlessly counters their sad attempt of sabotaging her, then easily taunts them to the point where the four sisters are visibly shaking in fear of their lives. Without any delay, she proposes the idea to destroy GF in such a calm and confident manner and proceeds to tug at their emotions with the reveal that each one of their own kids are still alive, how frustratingly unfair the farm system and how strongly she believes she can tear it all down. This is the Iron Lady at her best, and nothing motivates her more than her children. Of course rebelling to end this endless cycle of hatred and fear is a huge factor in why Isabella is putting in so much effort to change destiny, but fighting in order to secure a bright future where her children are free to live normal lives without any sort of fear is something she has always strived for, and now that she has the power to openly assist them create that future, you can bet she's gonna try her damn hardest to give them the happiness they so rightfully deserve. We started the story off with the children learning from her, so it’s pretty amazing (despite this chapter being released after the main story finished) that we end with Isabella using what she learned from her children in order to take control and unite against the real enemy. The only downside to this fantastic chapter is the last panel because I don't wanna be reminded that this absolute queen is actually dead, damn it!

Alrighty, I think that about does it.. and I have no doubt I repeated myself a bunch too hahaa. I still have no idea which chapter I enjoy most now, even among those I mentioned briefly, but it's clear as day that Isabella is amazing. Thank you again for the question anon! Always a pleasure chatting about TPN and I hope you have a great rest of your day/night!