#i have a long meta on their arcs in my drafts

[flythesail]

Everyone can obviously feel how they want to feel about it but I've always felt the paths the drew crew decide on in the finale are reflective of their arcs

[raayllum]

so Ezran and Karim, right

The fact I'm making this meta, however small, when my third and final Mirrored Paths meta centring on Karim and Callum is still sitting in my drafts, is particularly rich. That said, this is sort, mostly speculative, and I do what I want.

Although Karim has the most parallels with Viren, particularly in his political path and choices, and Ezran mostly parallels Janai in Arc 2, I hit upon some interesting potential parallels, namely three main ones, that I think are worth talking about.

So let's get into it:

Archdragons

First off, Ezran and Karim are the only characters we see really negotiate with archdragons in S4 and S5, albeit for different reasons. Ezran invites Zubeia to Katolis and Karim seeks out Sol Regem, more similarly to how Ezran likewise seeks out Domina Profundis in S5.

Ezran doesn't ask for help from Zubeia as well, but he does offer it: "If the Fallen Star is a threat the whole world will face, this is a chance to solve our problems together," whereas Karim offers a partnership and a request to a disinterested Sol Regem. Zubeia and Sol Regem don't have many parallels on the surface except for both being dragon monarchs, but there are some tethers with being lost in their grief, Zubeia being similarly hurt by dark magic in S5, and Zubeia saying that Zym's return "brought back [her] baby, hope, and her love" which echoes Regem's assertion that "I lost my hope long before I lost my sight".

There are more tangible parallels between Ezran and his archdragons (Domina, Rex Igneous) and Karim and Sol Regem, though. (There's also just a lot of bartering, offers, and exchanges in TDP in general, particularly in arc 2, but that's a meta for another day.)

These similarities are mostly due to asking each of them for something; for Domina and Rex, Ezran needs information; for Karim, he needs literal, physical help. Where Ezran is asserted as the true king, needed by his kingdom, Karim offloads it onto Sol Regem.

But just like Ezran asks for the dragons' aid, generally, in S5 to help hunt down Claudia and Viren (two humans in Xadia), Karim asks for help in getting rid of humans from the Xadian side of the border entirely.

Domina gives the information freely, but Regem and Rex both require a bit more... nudging, shall we say. And both dragons are convinced (seemingly, in S6 for Regem) by the right gift.

Which fits nicely into our next parallel of sorts, regarding

Worth and Parental Keepsake

Now, this is more of a contrasted parallel, of course. Karim asserts that the ring is worthless because it only has personal value (perhaps reaffirming his view of public relationships as something less important than political power, or his focus on symbols as something with immense value), whereas Ezran states that his crown has worth purely because of its sentimental meaning.

Additionally, while Janai loves Khessa and presumably their parents just as much as her brother, the same way that Callum loves Harrow just as much as Ezran does, it is the younger brothers who 1) seem to have always cared more about the throne in general and 2) who maintain keepsakes from their parental figure in comparison to their older sibling.

Which brings us rather nicely to our last point:

Brothers and Sisters

Like I've just said, Ezran and Karim are both the younger sibling and fiercely concerned with the future of their people; this is, admittedly, something Ezran and Janai likewise share ("to build a brighter future" amid other statements) but they have the hope and faith to get there. Karim is concerned with his own individual kingdom only, whereas Ezran has a broader view with Katolis at the top of his mind.

There's also plenty that they could take from Karim's subplot and give to Ezran, honestly—particularly because TDP has a tendency towards exploring how the younger siblings are more heavily impacted by disagreements with the elder (Karim and Janai, Janai and Khessa), abandonment (Soren and Claudia), and death (Amaya and Sarai). We also have confirmation that Callum and Ezran will have a conflict in future seasons where Ezran will be inclined to pull rank about it, throwing Janai's line above into a new foreshadowing light, perhaps.

It also feels inevitable that the brothers are going to have a big wires crossed perspective moment. This could be over Runaan, what to do with Aaravos, or something else entirely, but it seems bound for there to be a moment where they expect to agree ("Who knows my brother better than I do?") and are shocked if not also angry when they disagree, heavily.

If it's over Runaan, this parallel would be particularly fitting due to 1) Karim and Ezran potentially pushing unforgiveness and 2) while Callum would free Runaan regardless because that's just who he is (nor do I think Ezran would actually want the elf trapped or jailed forever), Callum's desire to help Rayla and make her happy is undeniably a factor at play there, just as Amaya helps Janai realize that "Yes, absolutely, I do want to be queen" through both the trial and on the hillside, whereas Karim still believes that "Janai never wanted to be queen" so she will step aside.

Like I said, this is the most speculative, but it seems likely the Broyals will temporarily have a more bitter sibling feud for a time than we've seen, say, from even Soren and Claudia (though S6 could change things!) and I am not opposed.

Other Misc Thoughts / Speculation

Another interesting fact that, again, Ezran shares with both Karim and Janai, is the importance of a royal ancestor from 300 years ago. We know a decent amount more about Queen Aditi—the Merciful, the Kind, who outlawed blood duels and also bound Kim'Dael to her family tree, deeply trusted by the Archdragons, and then mysteriously vanished = was "swallowed"—than we do about the Orphan Queen.

However, the two women definitely have an interplay. One fell prey to Aaravos; one helped imprison him and discovered his treachery. There are also potential parallels if Ezran gets woven into more into the Key of Aaravos debacle, similarly to how only the True Ruler of Lux Aurea can free Kim'Dael, Janai leaving Karim a currently moot point.

That said, I don't think Ezran will have too much to do with the Key as it stands now; he's been pretty narratively removed from it despite being in plenty of seasons where it was actively around (s1, s2, s4, etc) and his main tether to it at all is the Orphan Queen herself. I also wouldn't be surprised if Janai ends up paralleling Aditi more than her brother (though he is, admittedly, the one working with Kim'Dael, so parallel points there) since Aditi seems like ultimately more of a positive than negative figure.

Additionally, we see Karim be reaffirmed time and time again as a 'student of history' in ways that only Viren really comes close to. Karim is our most indicative Mage Scholar character, calling upon history and its importance throughout most of his episode appearances, and his deep desire to return to the past is part of what makes him such a massive fuck up in ways even Viren never meandered into. While I don't think Ezran will have too much to do with the cube, I could see him doing research maybe now that he's back in Katolis on his own for a bit in early S6, and eventually finding out more about his royal ancestor and the cube his brother has, miles and miles away, subsequently for the audience's benefit (and horror?).

And yeah, that's about it! Hope you enjoyed about best king and worst prince until next time!

[utilitycaster]

I have a really long piece of meta in my drafts about Laudna that I'm kicking myself for not posting earlier, because a lot of what came up in the last episode and this week's 4-Sided Dive validates it, but basically, I think Laudna is a type of character that women almost never get to play, that of the woman-child disaster slacker friend; and when they do get to play one it's almost never sympathetic in the way Laudna absolutely is. I think it's a really hard and interesting pivot from Marisha, who has previously played characters whose arc is about developing leadership qualities and confidence and carving out their own position in an august, long-standing institution, but who had a strong sense of self to start with that Laudna (very understandably) does not.

It's also complicated by Laudna having a sense of awareness about pieces of it, which arises in how she sees Imogen as a young woman who has a chance to have a better life (the chance that Laudna didn't get) and in her more serious conversation with Ashton; while still also believing that her dolls are definitely giving birth to magic rocks.

I think if you embrace this, a lot of her slots into place - the way she's so eager to glom onto and trust strangers, the way she's sort of procrastinated dealing with Delilah for three decades, and definitely the way in which she interacts with Imogen. But you do need to embrace that her flaws aren't the endearing righteous ones of Keyleth or the hot and righteous ones of Beau or the hubris of Patia, but just...really sad and unfair ones that make her something of a liability (which, in this group, is honestly not even damning!)

[whinlatter]

Hi! I love your writing think it’s phenomenal work. It’s really such a genuine and intimate depiction of Ginny. I also see you have an appreciation of Dean Thomas. I’d love to know why you think Ginny was attracted to him? What do you think their relationship was like and how did it help them for their next partners? I just think that pairing was really interesting and there’s not enough of them being friends.

❗️ Warning... big Dean & Ginny meta incoming ❗️

Firstly - thank you so so much for reading and enjoying my work (phenomenal!!! I’ll dine out on that all week - can't thank you enough).

Secondly - what great questions! This was such a fun thing to think through. Dean’s a quietly lovely character I have so much time for, despite being very underdeveloped in canon (cutting his arc to exclusively favour Neville’s? Side-eye forever). I'm definitely a paid up member of the Dean Thomas Fan Club.

Anyway….. the questions were so good I wrote this too-long meta on Ginny and Dean before going to bed because I apparently… cannot be stopped?

Why was Ginny attracted to Dean?

I think for this question it’s important to think about the timing of when Ginny and Dean became close and when they got together, and especially what Ginny was looking for during and after her relationship with King of Negging, Michael Corner. There are three weeks between the break-up with Michael and Gin getting together with Dean, so we can assume Ginny and Dean had already become close and maybe a little flirty when she was with Michael (Ginny Weasley likes to give herself a nice four-week breather between boyfriends, usually just in time to watch the early summer weather roll in. I for one respect the work rate and the consistency.)

Ginny is with Michael until late in her fourth year, until they break up after the Quidditch final in early June. Dean has his OWLs until late June (just realised Ginny dumps Michael right before his exams - this is how you get revenge on a Ravenclaw).

The events in the Department of Mysteries take place the day exams finish (cue iconic scene where Harry’s rushing up to the dormitory to grab his Cloak and save his godfather’s life and Seamus and Dean are trying to get him on the sesh, absolutely rate it, excellent from the lads). Ginny’s going out with Dean by the time she gets the train home, probably by the end of June.

Given the short turnaround time between relationships, I think it’s likely Ginny and Dean became close during the rest of the school year, where she was able to learn the following things about him (and implicitly compare him with Michael as Michael revealed himself to be, as the great prophet Ronald foresaw, ‘a bit of an idiot’):

Dean Thomas knows right from wrong (and really, really can’t stand Dolores Umbridge). In their first lesson with Umbridge, Dean is by far the person in the class who stands up to Umbridge the most after the trio (he actually comes out swinging a lot more than Ron does). He immediately subs in for Harry when Umbridge refuses to answer any more of Harry’s questions. He defends Lupin and Crouch-as-Moody when Umbridge criticises them (describing Crouch-as-Moody as a maniac but saying ‘we still learned loads’ is extremely funny - Dean's pedagogical expectations are low). Dean is an extremely enthusiastic DA member, he and Ginny often arrive at meetings or take part in dinnertime conversations about the DA together, and I think they likely became mates because they’re passionate about what the DA is trying to do. We know Gin likes a boy with a moral compass, a backbone, and a good sense of outrage in the face of injustice. (I cut this out of a much lengthier first draft of chapter one of Beasts, which had all the DA at the graduation ceremony, but this was their interaction in response to another character acting up: ‘[Ginny] feels an old rush of affection for Dean, a man who always had a good scowl in him when it mattered.’)

Dean’s a sweetheart, even if he’s a bit hopeless. Dean’s a character who is often trying to make people feel better about things and trying to give a bit of comfort – emphasis on trying, because he’s not always good at knowing exactly what to say. I think this is something Ginny would really value – she’s someone who, for all her fire, tries to comfort and support the people around her. I reckon she’s got a soft spot for a man with a heart in the right place and a chronic inability to find the right words to express it. ('“Don’t worry about it, Harry,” Dean muttered, hoisting his schoolbag onto his shoulder. “He’s just . . .” But apparently he was unable to say exactly what Seamus was, and after a slightly awkward pause followed him out of the room.' OotP, 221 - does this not sound like how Harry would try and comfort someone?) 👀

Dean is kind to the underdog. Dean is often seen hanging around with or partnering up with Neville, and in DH, we’ll also see Dean be very kind towards Luna. I think Ginny rates people who are kind to those who are socially awkward and excluded.

Relatedly... Dean loves Remus Lupin. I wrote about this a bit in this short reflection on Remus (and am writing about this at the moment so don’t want to get too spoilery if you’re reading Beasts…), but I have a feeling being Remus Lupin’s biggest fan would be a sure fire way to get a text back from Ginny Weasley.

Dean’s into sports. Like her soulmate, Ginny’s into fellow jocks (I think it's implied that Michael Corner was also on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team – three for three on Quidditch players, Ginevra, if you were on Love Island I’d say you have a type). I think she’d also be amused and endeared by Dean’s die-hard commitment to West Ham - she is Arthur Weasley’s daughter, after all, and she probably enjoys teasing him about how crap football sounds. (That bit in PS/SS where Dean’s yelling ‘send him off, ref!’ – 10/10 excellent Dean content). Also Dean does not seem threatened by Ginny’s Quidditch abilities, but instead just really wants to be on the team with her too, which is a nice change from Michael Corner, the Jack Berger of Hogwarts Quidditch. (Sorry Michael, I know you end up a gold star goodie by DH, but young Mike is a prick to our girl Gin).

Dean is a laugh. Chuckling at Ernie Macmillan in his Apparition classes, mucking about with mice in Transfiguration, getting the giggles because this Lockhart bloke has set a quiz asking students to name his ideal birthday gift: Dean is both fun and funny. That bit in GoF where Dean describes Warrington in Slytherin as a ‘big bloke who looks like a sloth’ – funny.  The bit later in GoF where Dean rinses Harry for rejecting that curly-haired Hufflepuff girl who wants to go to the ball with him – also funny. Ginny Weasley likes a comedian and she also likes an audience. I think that means a big tick in the Dean Thomas column.

Dean's a creative. This is verging on headcanon territory, but I really do love the idea of Ginny finding her way back to writing in the years after Riddle and the diary. I can see her being drawn to someone who also has this gentle, expressive, artistic side to them.

Dean’s not averse to dealing in contraband Firewhiskey. If you’re a fourteen year old popular girl with a rulebreaking streak, the boy who can source you some Firewhiskey for an end of exams party from a cool kid like Harold Dingle is hot property.

Dean… er, really likes Harry. Not Gin's finest criteria for a boyfriend, but I think In GoF, the man draws Harry flying around the Horntail on his Firebolt and draws Cedric, his rival, with his head on fire. It’s not a hugely good look for Ginny, but I reckon Dean really liking Harry probably, in a strange, back-to-front kind of way, is another vote in his favour (Gin, you're messy, and I love you for it).

What was their relationship like?

I loved thinking about this question! It’s easier to write about why Ginny and Dean broke up than it is to write why they stayed together so long, and what good stuff they took from the relationship. Dean's easily bashed in Hinny fic in all sorts of different ways, and I don't think it really tallies with the really positive impression we get of him in canon. Ginny and Dean spend a lot of time together over the year - eating most of their meals together, training together, spending all of their Hogsmeade time with each other. I know it’s a teenage relationship, but this is still so much time to spend with one person. It also actually takes them quite a while to breakup, even if they’re ‘rocky’ for much longer. There's something to their relationship that must, on some level, have worked quite well. After all, it would have been a lot easier for Ginny to have dumped Dean if he was a crap boyfriend. It’s much harder to dump someone who is a good partner, but not the right partner for you.  

I think that's the problem for Ginny: Dean was kind of perfect for her in lots of ways - but for the person she would have been if Riddle hadn't happened to her, and if the war hadn't happened. Their relationship was clearly based on a lot of mutual attraction and chemistry (that kiss Ron and Harry saw was intense, lads - there's a reason Harry was threatened by it, after all). I think Dean was proud as hell of Ginny, especially on the Quidditch pitch (he's so excited to tell her he's going to be on the team with her!). I think he would think she's super cool, and I like fics and headcanons about Dean that show him trying to internalise his feelings about his own dad into doing right by his girlfriend, even if that means overshooting and being overly chivalrous and over-protective with Gin. I think one of the reasons Ginny stayed in the relationship so long is because they genuinely got on, had a laugh with each other, and fancied each other, in a way that she would feel conflicted about when she still feels drawn to Harry.

Really I think it's Dean being so great that is the problem for Ginny. If she's with this really great guy and she's still feeling restless and like something's missing, she knows that means she's still not over Harry, and that means she's in trouble. I think it's why Ginny sabotages the relationship, in very understandable ways, and in the end she finds herself getting the ick over little things, and picks a fight to end it rather than come clean about being in love with someone else. (No judgement: again, messy girl representation is important).

Ultimately, I think Harry is perfect for the Ginny that actually exists, and Dean would be a good match for a hypothetical Ginny where there was no Harry, who doesn't have a family in the resistance, who doesn't have all this trauma from what happened with the diary, and who isn't shaped and forged by a childhood at war. Until DH, Dean doesn't seem to know anything about the Weasleys' involvement in the Order. We have no evidence anyone other than Harry, the Weasleys, Dumbledore and Hermione ever knew Ginny was possessed by Riddle, and I don't know that Ginny would volunteer the information to Dean. (The only reason she brings it up to Harry in OotP and again in HBP isn't because she wants emotional support for it - she only brings it up to try and help him. This is not a subject she talks openly about even with the person who knows most about what went down). This lack of knowledge about crucial parts of Ginny's life would mean huge gaps in understanding between them - not gaps that are Dean's fault, but that Ginny doesn't try to get him to bridge. Dean can't meet Ginny where she's at emotionally at the point in the series where they get together, in many ways because he's much closer to a normal teenager than she has been able to be up to that point. At the end of the day, Ginny's always going to want to be with the strange guy racing to the Department of Mysteries to rescue a loved one and fight Death Eaters on a Friday night than a nice normal guy who is planning on drinking his own weight in Firewhiskey to celebrate him finishing his Wizarding GCSEs.

How did it help them for their next partners?

I think Ginny would always speak highly of Dean, appreciate that he made her feel loved and someone a boyfriend should be proud of, and I think she would feel some guilt about what went down. I think, eventually, Dean would acknowledge that he didn’t fully understand Ginny and what she was going through, and that he couldn't have been able to meet her needs in the same way Harry could. (I do think this would take a while, though - on the way out, Dean would be understandably very bitter, even if bitterness would be quickly surpassed by the much more serious escalation in circumstances in the war for an apparent Muggleborn. Thinking about it, Dean Thomas had a terrible 1996. Man got dumped and then within three months was homeless and on the run from a murderous fascist regime trying to do him in. Like, I know this is very much not funny but… if a man I had shared a bedroom with for six years and called a friend publicly scooped my ex from me from under my nose, dumped her a few weeks later for mysterious reasons, and then I had to look at his face everywhere I looked on wanted posters, I would be a lot more mad at Harry Potter than Dean Thomas ends up being).

Ultimately, though, I think both would look back on the relationship as a sort of sweet teenage thing, with a lot of warmth and humour to it, probably some sweet confidence-boosting intimacy early on, and a bit of a lesson that you can't make someone be the right person for you. I like to think Ginny and Dean end up mates, in the end, and that she's always rooting for him to find someone great.

[pikahlua]

Revenge of the Power of Friendship: I’ve connected two dots...or actually a whole lot more than two, because it turns out that’s the whole fucking point

Hello.

We need to talk.

Still freaking out over chapter 362 even though the official hasn’t dropped yet?

Good. That’s good.

I’m obviously enjoying this immensely.

What? Do you find that weird? Giant Katsuki Bakugou stan relishing in the current manga events? How could this possibly be?

This ain’t my first rodeo, kids. I’m well-versed in the tropes of shounen anime. I knew shit was going down the moment Toga yanked Izuku to Octo Island.

I’m just surprised we got to this point in the story so quickly, if I’m being honest.

Anyways, I have a meta for you. It’s a good one. Probably correct, too.

We’ll be touching on many things today, including but not limited to:

The heroes’ battle strategy

The Second OFA User’s quirk

All Might’s OFA vestige

AFO’s weakness

Saving Tenko Shimura

How the fuck a certain beloved character could still survive

Consider yourself warned.

Anyways, who wants to know what the fuck is going on in this arc?

Introduction

I don’t have a lot of time, so I’m not gonna do my normal meta weave for you. Some of you are probably wondering if Switch Theory or Possession Theory will come into play, so let me just say up front: this theory is separate but NOT mutually exclusive from them. I noticed a big thing which could ultimately play out many different ways, and the ways it can play out could still include either of those theories. What I’m about to explain is meant to be taken as a general observation. It likely has holes that will need to be melded into whatever new information we get in the future.

It’s just...this is too glaringly obvious now. SOMETHING along these lines is definitely happening right now in the MHA story.

Instead of laying this out for you dramatically, I’m just gonna get to it. Here are my observations.

The heroes are in on saving Tenko

There are two important people who were involved in drafting the heroes’ battle strategy: All Might and Ragdoll.

I know there were plenty of people out there who expected Shouto to kill Dabi or whatever. Plenty more still think that the heroes are trying to kill TomurAFO.

What happened with Dabi should prove that they’re not.

Heroes save. Heroes are explicitly forbidden from killing. But you don’t need to have faith in them for that either, because we’re talking about All Might.

All Might knows who Tenko Shimura is, and it was foreshadowed a long time ago that he would do something to try to save him.

We know Izuku wants to rescue that little boy crying inside TomurAFO, and there’s no reason for him to have kept that a secret from anybody when the heroes were planning their attack. Everyone he’s working with are heroes. You can say what you will about each individual character, but it’s not even necessary that everyone wants to save Tenko. Given how strong TomurAFO is, anyone would be able to see that it could be much easier to save Tenko than kill the monster he has become. The goal is to stop Tenko from wanting to destroy everything, and there are ways other than killing him to achieve that.

The evidence is there on the stage of their battle.

The goal is to separate AFO and Tomura. They don’t mention killing Tomura in planning.

Additionally, OFA is part of the plan to fight Tomura, but no one ever says anything about how OFA would be used.

If they just needed firepower, they wouldn’t have needed to include other people in the team fighting Tomura. And they included a LOT of firepower otherwise in that team. So...it must be something else OFA is supposed to do.

Probably the Second User’s quirk.

And above all, Katsuki doesn’t smile at all during the fight, which is kind of a tell. Katsuki distinctly always fails to smile when he’s in the mindset to perform a rescue.

The Second User’s quirk creates connections

Like I said, Switch Theory is not required for this meta, but it does contain some important elements I need to mention now.

I’ve never been more certain it relates to: touching a person (holding hands?) and saying their name.

Note that I didn’t say that was an activation requirement. I mean, it probably is, but it’s really more about something else.

"This is the story of how we all became the greatest hero.” I’m making this singular on purpose.

The full potential of One For All must rely on the connections Izuku has made with other people. The more connections he makes, the stronger he becomes.

I didn’t mention the significance of Ragdoll yet. Why is she important?

Because her quirk exists inside AFO.

She could be a window into AFO. Her quirk could actually end up being his weakness. She just has to be connected to another person on the outside.

Each fight has shown a person “thinking” of their friends as “one”

What have we seen in this war so far?

We’ve seen Shouto think of his friends just before hitting Dabi with his ultimate move.

We’ve seen Jirou attack AFO out of love for her friends.

And what’s interesting about both of those moments is that...they were extremely effective.

In Jirou’s case, she even reached and empowered the stolen quirks inside AFO.

What if all of these events are actually the result of OFA? What if they’re all connected?

What if everyone is affected by the Second User’s quirk already?

All they would need to do is “think of everyone together as one.” One For All, if you will.

And this accomplishes...what?

Katsuki’s gonna live

What was Katsuki doing right before he went all-out against TomurAFO?

Mumbling like Izuku, taking note of TomurAFO’s battle habits, fighting through the pain...

He was thinking of Izuku.

...maybe even talking to Izuku.

TomurAFO freaks out about losing his cool against a non-OFA user. He thinks of the Second...which implies the Second gave him a lot of trouble before he ever had OFA either.

(That’s a yin-yang image if I ever saw one.)

Perhaps the Second’s quirk gives a compounding power boost of some kind depending on how many connections have been forged, or maybe it’s based on how “united” the connections are in heart and mind. I say power boost, but I don’t know if it’s actually something so straightforward as a strength increase. I’m just saying whatever it is, it seems to...empower people.

At this point, I’m inclined to name his quirk “Rally.”

It gave Shouto the strength to reach Touya’s heart, as represented by their childhood selves.

It allowed Jirou to reach out to the vestiges trapped inside AFO.

It allowed Katsuki to...see All Might’s vestige?

I’ll come back to this.

I just want to round this point out first by pointing out...this bit?

Maybe this is OFA, actually.

Or maybe it’s not, but...

...maybe it’ll allow a connection between Shouto and someone else despite a large distance between them. Maybe Shouto is healing Touya’s chest (whether he realizes it or not). And maybe OFA will allow Shouto to use it on someone else who needs it.

Just look at that X over Shouto’s chest in the above panel, and...

...look at Katsuki’s uniform design. Look where his heart wound is.

All For One versus All Might

Okay, let’s get back to All Might’s vestige.

As I pointed out in my literal translation of chapter 358, AFO’s stated goal here is to define the world by “things that are me” versus “things that are not me.” He’s placed a piece of himself in Tomura and taken him over. He’s kidnapped and raised kids as potential vessels for him. He’s created noumu of the dead to obediently follow his orders, and he communicates to them via radio waves like they’re all some kind of hive mind.

So what if the “not AFO” pieces of the world could do something similar?

What if they could unite via the power of OFA? What if the Second’s quirk IS Switch, or else something else that allows him to create vestiges in everyone?

What would they place in everyone that they could resonate with?

There is a lot of weirdness happening in this scene. A) They must be in the vestige plane, but whose vestige plane? It certainly doesn’t look like Tomura’s or Izuku’s. It’s a blank white space. B) Katsuki is wearing his school uniform...with a tie??? He’s only done that once before...

I genuinely cannot tell if Katsuki’s meeting with All Might’s vestige is actually happening in the moment or a flashback. Izuku as OFA’s holder doesn’t appear wearing clothes in the vestige world, so...is this not Katsuki’s vestige world either? Is this a piece of his soul as manifested by the Second’s quirk, and it takes on the form of what he looked like when it was forged--say when he united Class 1-A together to go save Izuku? a.k.a when he was able to “think of everyone as united, as one”?

Is this actually happening in the moment, and All Might’s vestige is doing something to save Katsuki? Perhaps Switching with him? Was his vestige already there and empowering him? Was it part of the plan? Is Katsuki trying to somehow inject All Might’s vestige into TomurAFO so it can save Tenko?

Remember: All Might’s vestige is not a quirk. It’s a piece of his consciousness. It’s basically a fragment of his soul.

Things that are AFO versus Things that are All Might

Talk about a brand-new Possession Theory! And a new Fusion Theory!

How can Tenko Shimura be a hero?

Thanks @class1akids​ for helping me realize Tomura’s growing an extra face.

I suppose if Katsuki’s heart or body craps out on him, we can always grow him a new one to put his soul back in.

Maybe we can grow bodies for all the other stolen quirks’ vestiges, too.

[avelera]

Fandom Meta vs. Literary Criticism vs. Workshopping Fiction

I recently wrote a post about how I do not want authors of works like say, Neil Gaiman to see my fandom meta or literary critiques about their work, such as The Sandman which is my current fandom. Not just because there's a time and a place but because, depending on the audience, I'm going to frame my critique in different ways.

Workshopping fiction, ie, offering critique to an author with an eye towards improving the work or improving their overall skill level, is a sacred trust and one I take very seriously, to the point where I often refuse beta request (as workshopping is often referred to in fandom spaces) because I do not trust that the person on the other end of the request is mature enough as a writer to accept the level of critique I would offer to a pro or pre-pro author who is seeking to improve their work. I am careful because I want to foster a growing author and not slam them with the level of professional critique I'd give someone trying to go pro, so until I know what level I'm working on as far as how in-depth my critique should go, I usually only offer the lightest of touches. But if, for example, Neil was a fellow pro or pre-pro author who seriously solicited my thoughts on a piece that could be improved, this is what I might say to his face:

Ex. "Hey Neil, overall I love this comic you brought to the workshop, "The Men of Good Fortune"! One question, in the 1689 beat, I noticed that the death of Hob's family is just one beat of many in his string of misfortunes. However, in my experience, the loss of someone's family would be a seriously traumatic event, likely outweighing the loss of their wealth. Was this intentional? As it is, this beat makes me less sympathetic towards Hob because he seems to view his wealth as more important that his family. If not, might I suggest adding a bit more weight to the loss of his wife and adult son? I understand this was just one minor beat of the many you were juggling to show us this jaunt through time and I wasn't sure whether or not I was meant to have less sympathy for Hob here, since this arc appears to be about watching him change and evolve as a person over the centuries, or if this was merely an oversight as the loss of his family only meant to be one of a series of beats on the historical misfortunes that could befall him in this "worst of all possible centuries" and you just didn't have the time, energy, or space, or interest to expand upon it?"

To which Neil might respond, "Yes, you are meant to find Hob distasteful in that century, well spotted! Hob sees his family as possessions as much as anything else and you are not supposed to like him." Or, "I never thought of that! I had so many other things going on and I was under deadline that in truth, it was just meant to be a bit of a laundry list of misfortunes. I never really thought of or meant to explore that beat. Maybe I will improve it in the next draft!" OR, "However, that exploration is beyond the scope of this story and while I see your point, I just don't have the time/interest/space to explore the long-term ramifications to the character of him losing his first planned family."

Now, Literary criticism is when I, with a somewhat more formal tone, offer my personal analysis of a work, heavily steeped in my own experience, historical knowledge, opinions, etc. It's not going to be published in a literary magazine because this is Tumblr, but I am putting a little more effort into it and will likely do things like cite my sources.

Ex. "In Neil Gaiman's work, "The Men of Good Fortune" the narrative treats Hob in his "worst of all possible centuries" in the 1600s with a remarkable lack of sympathy. He is depicted as ugly, diseased, unpleasant, and uncaring for the wife and son he has lost, or least, no more troubled by their loss than he is by the loss of his material fortune. This century is largely passed over for its long-term impact on Hob's character, despite the fact that the tragedies invoked would likely change someone forever and represent major traumas. It is possible we're meant to see Hob unsympathetically during these years, as the whole arc is meant as a growth narrative, or it could be that as a relatively juvenile author, Gaiman only thought of these tragedies abstractly, as a way to illustrate possible historical misfortunes, and didn't really think out the extrapolations of how these stated events would impact the character's arc."

Meanwhile, Fandom meta is for funsies. It's just my opinion on a work and usually it's me rotating an idea around in my mind while I consider how to transform an element of the original media for use in a fanfic I'm writing. For example, the Doylist explanation for an inconsistency might be "The creator didn't care enough to fix it" but in a fandom meta I might acknowledge this and say, "Yeah but for the fic I'm writing I need to know why this happened so here's a possible logical, in-universe explanation that jives with the story I want to tell." There usually won't be cited sources and I will not argue with you if you disagree, even if I might side-eye someone considerably if they decided to pitch a fit about it, because it's literally just my opinion and might not even be spell-checked.

"Yo, why the fuck is Robyn's death not treated as a bigger deal for Hob in the "Men of Good Fortune" beat of Sandman?? Dude lost his son, it's a major theme throughout Sandman that losing a son can majorly change someone's entirely outlook on life, like Roderick Burgess capturing Dream to force him to bring back his son, or Dream himself and Orpheus and how killing his son to spare him his awful fate is what kicks off Dream's entire arc towards self-destruction. Yet Hob loses a son and it's barely mentioned? I just have to assume this is because Neil was like a 20-something year old dude who only knew about "losing a child" as an abstract historical thing, but losing a son who is 20 years old is a majorly traumatic event that rips entire families apart. Are we not meant to think Hob was traumatized by this, maybe leading in part to his utter collapse of circumstances in the 1600s, or did Neil just not consider it at all??"

The latter two I would never ever want to show to Neil. It's not my place. We are not involved in the sacred trust of a writer-workshopper/editor relationship. I'm not tempering my question by asking what the intention was. And ultimately, the "Word of God" doesn't matter. I can have my own interpretation and Neil's statement wouldn't likely alter it very much and my critique would be pointless because it can never actually change the story. It's just a beat I found unsatisfying and felt the need to fix in a fic, not anything that Neil ever needs to hear about what is now 34 years after publication.

I'm using Neil and Sandman as a specific example but, for the most part, this applies to all my meta and analysis. You will rarely see me writing workshop style critique on this site because that's usually done one on one. For the most part, I'm writing out my thoughts for my own sake and that of fellow fans. It is never, ever ever meant to be seen by the creators of the work.

[neversetyoufree]

Yeah, Noe and his outstretched hand and salvation is very good! But I also think, while Noe might not be able to save Vanitas from death, he might be able to save him in another way. It's Break's last desperate wish, it's Lacie's realisation that she once again longs for a future, but it's also Ada reaching out to Vincent. I think Noe might make Vanitas realise that he is not alone, and that he is loved, but also that he wants to live. Bittersweet, just as Jun loves!

Oh absolutely!! I have a whole long meta about this exact thing half-finished in my drafts, lol. That's why I specified that Vani is unsaveable by Noé's definition of salvation.

I've mostly avoided talking about this because I haven't finished the proper explanation post yet, but my favorite Vnc theory is that Vanitas's arc is ultimately going to be him realizing that he doesn't want to die after all (in large part because of Noé). And then the tragedy of the story is going to be that, even after all that positive development, he has to die anyway.

Bittersweet just like you said :)

[mobolanz]

AOT OC Show and Tell Days - Day 1: basic introductions

Name: Evelyn Marianne Auroré

Gender: Female

Age in setting: not thought out yet since I'm contemplating if to age up the characters for the storyline actually considering I'm finally laying it out (most likely yes) but I'm not sure on how many years. 🤧

Suggestions welcome 😵‍💫

Bold all of the following that apply to your OC!

Context: Canon Setting | Modern AU | Other AU

What niche does your OC serve for you?:

Self-insert | Completely original character | Self-shipping (in the projecting sense xD) | Roleplaying | Writing fics | Creating art | Only the scenarios and adventures that I imagine inside my head and share with no one! get fucked I ain't creating shit | Something else

A Bit More:

If your character is in the AOT canon setting, what's their allegiance?

Survey Corps | Military Police | Marleyan | Warriors | etc.

Do you ship your character with a canon character? If so, who?

She understands my Reiner love almost better than I do oml 🤧🤧🤧

Do you have any cute art or picrews of them together? Let's see one:

Not pictured is a light brushing with a surprising delicacy of her bangs to the side as he bends a bit to kiss her tenderly on the forehead no I totally didn't come up with this while typing wdym 🤭🤧(⁠◡⁠ ⁠ω⁠ ⁠◡⁠)✨✨✨

Obligatory fake screencap to give her a clearer image in my head for the scenarios since my choice to redesign her came during lasting artblock aofjakkfkakf

I'm planning to make another one for WIT's style based on something I'll mention later in the post!😆😆

For most part here's a rought draft . But also considering her design is for s4 I might create a special pre-timeskip look for that since it's set there.

Character Creation:

How long have you actively been developing your OC?:

As an Aot oc? March 2022. As an overall character? … took a good while since August 2019, jumped between… *counts fingers* 5 different fanbases, nothing came of any of these, all her ships were one dimensional unconvincing shallow and dull. Yet when I tried here, a wave of inspiration hit me like a comet D: 💫

Her hair was fucking blue aodjqidjakdjajkw

Is there any significance behind your OCs name?:

Glad you asked! :D I have this reaching and overextensive research for the meaning & how it ties to the whole character story&arc

Evelyn (driven from Eve,if I added the meta behind this it'd reach the tumblr word limit if there is any) : desired (ahhh ahaah…(⁠〒⁠﹏⁠〒⁠). Also has some fairytale motif not as deep but alfjakdka.) , life (self explanatory :"). )

Marianne: (driven from Maria, also actually what my own name & my 2nd favourite oc's name is driven from🤭)- star, grace. I mostly only added it after making her an aot oc, but a middle name would be a fancy addition right? :D😆😆

Auroré - driven from aurora meaning dawn(& familial ties with another oc of mine themed after Northern lights).

Plus.... fitting for her hair color.! :D

Combine her first and last name and it's sounding like: life's (graceful) dawn.

Which has a coincidental similarly to the last episode of s4 part 2 (the dawn of humanity)

If your OCs appearance is based on yours, do they have any different features?:

No not really, I just unironically want this look and think it's gorgeous. Blood-red hair and everything (⁠ﾉ⁠◕⁠ヮ⁠◕⁠)⁠ﾉ⁠*⁠.⁠✧

Is there anything you want to try doing with your OC that you haven't yet? (ex RPing, art, fics, etc):

I'm actually finally writing the full first meeting oneshot nowadays! As of now it was just brain-dump scenarios connecting (somehow that alone ended up being 2k wth) xD. I've also been more openly brainstorming about it so I'm opening up to questions!:D

Also on an art note, I actually kept on the side a DIY nendoroid figure I'm planning to turn into her 😆😆😆

For him <3

[sharp-teeth-and-archived]

turn week day 2: content creator appreciation day!

Fair warning, this is mostly going to be rp blog related because that's the corner of the fandom I'm in mostly. I write on here and cabbxges-and-kings.

1. @annastrxng I always really treasure our threads from Hewlett to Abe to Rogers. I really love our Anna & Abe thread, even if it was crack related because of the cabbage cake. I feel like we have bridged the gap between Abe and Anna and how the writers gave them little to no chemistry. We have added more life to their ship than the writers ever cared to do. I always enjoy the chaotic nature of Rogers and Anna interacting and his dynamic with Philomena, both people wronged by Andre and their circumstances to where they come together by a mutual need of revenge. I also enjoy our Annlett threads and the idea of Ellie in the mix of s4, strengthening Hewlett's character arc in that season. I feel like nobody has the best grasp of Anna but you. I also really treasure our one thread of Hewlett and Elizabeth bonding over pirates, haha.

2. @honorhearted We've been writing for so long, I can't possibly talk about all our threads together. I fondly look back on our Hewlett & Ben Horse Girl Book ClubTM thread and can't help but imagine what could've happened in the show if they met personally. That thread really helped me develop Hewlett as a whole with how his past impacts the present. We also finished what the writers didn't care to finish between Rogers and Ben. Also the Abe and Ben bonding moments. You listen to my random ideas and you're always willing to interact with whoever, so I really appericate that. Thank you for joking around with me in dms and supporting my madness and to continue writing with me for 2 years.

3. @pagetreader A new mutual of mine. I always enjoy the thought and the depth in all your ocs and I can't help but notice how well you write Peggy. I really need to get to our drafts, but I'm really looking forward to exploring more with your ocs and seeing where our dynamics take us!

4. @calamity-bean This is a random mention because you aren't a roleplay blog, haha. But I've looked through your meta analysis of turn and I love every single one! I also loved your fic! I know you don't post turn content anymore, but I just wanted to mention you because I loved the way you explored the characters when turn was running. I also really enjoy your artwork in general.

5. @multipleoccupancy We haven't written in a while due to our busy schedules, but I still look over our stuff in my drafts. I'm always fond of Hewlett and to find another who appreciates him as I do and writes him with my muses is always a joy. I feel like you have a really good grasp of his voice and his mannerisms that I can't help but read your threads for him on my dash.

6. @anoseforrottenapples Best Mary hands down. I feel like Rose captures Mary perfectly to where she could've wrote her herself. I'm always amazed with her depth into Mary's background that all her headcanons are basically canon in my mind when I think of Mary. Rose is also very sweet and is always super supportive of my ocs, I couldn't appericate her more for it.

7. @retrograderesemblance I can't even begin to talk about all our dynamics throughout the year we've been writing, haha. I love how chaotic to complex our dynamics have gotten over time. I still re-read our threads from time to time. I think Lydia wouldn't be the oc she is today if she didn't interact with your muses. I always enjoy our ooc madness and how we can go from that to complex plot meta chatter. I really treasure all our threads, new and old, and I love how our writing flows so well together (and how our muses are almost seamless in the way they naturally interact with one another, like Sarah and Sean for instance).

[loregoddess]

2, 3, 8, and 19 for the fandom game, for any fandom(s) you feel like talking about :)

(for 3, fic and/or meta posts, can't actually remember if you've posted straight up fic before haha)

2. My favorite fic from the fandom that I’ve read

I haven't read a ton of fic sadly (although I haven't read a lot in general the last few years due to college making me read So Many academic papers and books that I got burnt out and haven't quite recovered my love of reading. Yet). Although, my friend @lookerdewitt has written literally some of the best fic I have ever read, so I would probably say one of their fics.

3. My favorite fic from the fandom that I’ve written myself

I have actually sort of written fanfic (both legit fanfic, and also a few "thinly veiled technically fanfic if you changed the names" for a fiction writing class that I had to write several stories for and wanted to see if I could get away with it), but I haven't actually. Shared those fics with anyone? Partly bc I have historically almost never finished any fiction writing project that I have started, ever, and partly bc I'm just shy about sharing my writing in general.

I have been working on a LoZ fancomic idea for the past uhhhh four or five years (technically last decade since I first came up with the idea in late high school and then had it sit in the back of my head for several years bc all I had was a setting and a handful of characters), and I have never in my life stuck with a project this long, so I guess that would be my favorite from my personal works bc it's apparently something I care about enough to not abandon entirely. I've actually made a decent amount of progress on my "detailed outline" recently, so here's hoping I can stick it out and actually get to the script and then to drawing pages one day.

For meta posts I think my favorite is actually my analysis of the Octopath 1 cast and how the major antagonists in each of their stories acts as a mirror and foil to each character. I really enjoy analyzing stories in general, but I so rarely write it out, so I was happy to actually do so for once. Gave me a lot of confidence for all the other meta and headcanon posts that I wrote afterwards.

There's also a Legend of Dragoon meta post sitting partly-finished in my drafts where I analyze themes surrounding each dragoon spirit and its wielders, which I haven't finished bc I only remember to work on it when I'm doing my yearly replay of LoD, and also bc it started looking like it might need to be a series of posts due to uh....length. Like I make a lot of lengthy posts, but each dragoon spirit's analysis was about a short essay's worth of words, and there are eight spirits soooo....hopefully I'll finish that one day, bc it's an analysis I've spent years thinking about.

8. Is there anything I wish people would write more about in fics? (A dynamic, an exploration of an arc, just a character that doesn’t get much screentime, etc)

I'm always a sucker for post-canon healing/recovery/rebuilding arcs. Can't get enough of them honestly (when I have the motivation to read). There's something so fascinating about looking at a character who Went Through Some Stuff, but the main narrative didn't look at the effects of that, and so a dedicated writer took up the challenge of trying to explore what comes after.

Most of my favorite characters are weird side characters who don't get a lot of love from the writers of canon or fans, so I'm always glad to see stuff for them as well.

19. Favorite headcanon

Oh hmmm, there's a lot and it depends on which media we're talking about, so if you're curious about a specific game let me know. Off the top of my head though hmm...

Okay I have this headcanon that Milo TriStrat snorts when she laughs genuinely. Like sure she's got the ladylike proper, cute laugh that's part of her spy job and totally fake, but when she is being fully honest and laughing for real, she snorts.

[mittensmorgul]

I'm curious about how Sam was originally supposed to be the "main" character, but (imo) Dean always kinda felt like the main character, or at least carried the emotional weight of the show more often than Sam. Am I mistaken? Do you know why that is, or have any meta written about that already?

hi hi! I know there's already a bunch written about this, and a lot of it is in my kripke tag right here.

Maybe a good place to start is Kripke's original idea for the show. If you haven't read what I call the Harrison Draft, his original concept for the show, I think it goes a long way toward explaining it. Real quick, it opens on Dean discovering their father dead in the cold open, and then going to find Sam at his graduation from Stanford. The two of them had been raised "normal" by an aunt and uncle, and had always been told their father was insane, and may have even killed their mother. They weren't raised hunting, so Sam believes Dean is also insane for coming back with stories about demons and such. Sam was the audience pov character of "normal person learning about this whole world of monsters" while Dean was the gateway into that world for Sam/the audience.

And that is 100% NOT the show we watched. lol!

I think some of it is leftovers from Kripke's original pitch for the show, too (which you can read right here, and I highly recommend it, it's only 4 pages long), that posits STAR WARS IN TRUCK STOP AMERICA, with Sam as a reluctant Luke Skywalker and Dean as the swaggery Han Solo. And just... lol.

But then the concept of the show evolved into the pilot we did end up getting, and Kripke hired a bunch of other writers to help flesh out the blank slates of these characters, and Jensen and Jared were hired and the writers were like... heck... this Dean chap... he's got unplumbed depths... And he was just so compelling and took us all by the hand and showed us his world. While Sam's early seasons goal was repeatedly attempting to run away from that world.

I mean, granted Sam hated what that world put on him from the start, but honestly so did Dean so like... why did Sam want to escape it while Dean was so determined to keep on saving people and hunting things? It made him compelling. It made him the hero by choice.

And I mean, so much of the early seasons Bad Stuff happened TO Sam, leaving it on Dean to be our connection to it, you know? Sam was the one having visions and feeling less-than-human, and we the audience instead of seeing Sam as "the normal one" and therefore the audience POV character, we were asked to instead stand in Dean's shoes, protective older brother to Sam who was left to try and figure out how to save his brother from all of it.

And that might not be the story Kripke originally set out to tell, but it's what became the foundation of the show from like... episode 2. Definitely by episode 3. Obviously by "main" character here I'm speaking of the audience POV character, which doesn't always fall on Dean's shoulders to carry. They definitely tried to balance that, especially in later seasons by foisting the MoC on Dean, and then the whole possessed-by-Michael arc, making Dean the "problem" that Sam had to solve.

The show is very obviously about both of them, in different ways, and neither of them is "The Main Character" in a way that the show would work if you just, say, killed one of them off, you know? But Dean very quickly became "the more relatable one" to the audience pov. He was Just A Guy™ against Sam's "psychic visions coming true oh gosh am I a Supernatural?!" And one of those things is far more relatable to most viewers, you know?

The show happens TO Sam, and Dean reacts to that by choice.

heck I'm running out of ways to express what's essentially one thought :'D

[fountainpenguin]

I made a proper cover image for my favorite passion project 'fic! Here's a proper Tumblr post to go with it.

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Dog's Life - 3rd Life SMP Fan-Season

❤️ Read on AO3

💛 Longfic - In progress - Updates Tuesdays

💚 More Pixels Imperfect series 'fics

💜 Worldbuilding posts + Art posts

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Synopsis: Dog's Life is a 3rd Life SMP fan-season (Drafted before Secret Life) that balances goofy Minecraft gameplay with server hub meta. Life Series shenanigans and interpersonal drama abound in this world of mob hybrids, anarchy players, soul crystals, fantasy politics, glitches, dragons, moral dilemmas, past trauma, and more.

This season's mechanic allows players to steal the traits of the mob they most recently killed. Every player is also assigned a quarry: a fellow player they're allowed to kill to boost themselves up a life. If you kill your quarry while on Green, you're bumped up to Purple life.

Of course, playing in a world of glitchy servers and experimental mods is just asking for trouble. It doesn't take long to realize something is very wrong with this game... And with anarchy players closing in around the "hidden" server hub of New Star Station, it looks like life off-server may not be peaceful much longer, either...

If this 'fic interests you, check it out on AO3!

Also, everyone gets their own character arc! Some of my favorites include:

- Sometimes you lose things you'll never get back and you're gonna have to deal. Sorry about your chronic glitches and/or your irreversible isekai situation; get well soon - Assuming the worst of others will only cause you heartbreak. Hey clock duo? Get some counseling - You can't be best friends with everyone, but everyone can be the best friend to someone. Including nonexistent museum curators or demon robots with a special interest in rustic houses - Setting boundaries is healthy and cool even if you're scared of offending your friends. Especially if they insist on you possessing someone's body - Captain status isn't all it's cracked up to be. Sometimes you CAN get what you're sure you want... but at what cost? 💔

Enjoy! (First 1,000 words under the cut)

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impulseSV - Pre-Game

Grian: impulse Grian: what kind of candles do you want in your summoning circle Grian: the new life series impulseSV: lol impulseSV: ocean mist is good! impulseSV: and bamboo :)

💚  💛  ❤️

Impulse isn't breathing. You wouldn't either, if you were the one flying through the Void. Breathing here will fill your lungs with icy spikes. Yeah, he was technically coded as a demon, his mortal flesh warm with the taste of life, but breathing here still wouldn't be a good idea. It's smarter to free-fall in an exhale. Smarter to suck the empty air through your nostrils (if at all).

The Void smells like frost burn, gunpowder, and the gooey poison of cave spiders all mixed together and baked in a cake of death. It's a small improvement over the steamy sulfur of the Nether, but neither one is a cake you should be eating. While the Void isn't alive, sometimes Impulse hears it huffing at him. If you skim low enough, you can hear saliva crackle as it licks its lips and rumbles, hungry for its prey. It wants you. More than any lover every will, more than any ravager or vex or creeper, and it will crush your lungs if you so much as grant it breath. Impulse has died to it a dozen times, but this won't be one of those days.

It's a wall. It divides this world from other worlds. It will gobble you up and leave a petrified husk behind. Your unmoving body will float a few moments in empty space until the Void spits out your code again beside a bed. Falling out of this world, plunging into the depths of the Void, is one of the fastest deaths there is (right up there with a bad fall that snipes all ten of your hearts in one blow)… but it's the death that always takes the longest to regenerate from. You never hit the ground. There is no sudden snap. It just devours you. It's dangerous and beautiful and Impulse loves it for its mysteries. He wants to grip it in his hands. Run thick streams of it through his fingers. Immerse himself in danger and delight.

The Void will kill him if he spends much longer down here. Even if he holds his breath. And he can't fault it for that. When he's down to the last threads of durability on his elytra, he really shouldn't be skimming this low in the inky darkness. It's either been 15 minutes or an hour of waiting for Grian's call… Both are indistinguishable, the rocket count the only indication that time exists down here under the world at all.

Yet some kind of yearning in his code demands he play the waiting game here… Something raw, something primal, buried deep within his data core.

Question: Why?

Impulse blasts another rocket, arcing upwards. Years of practice keep him from bashing his head straight into the bedrock ceiling, but… Eee, that squeal he made when scraping close wasn't exactly the most manly thing he'd ever done. Skizz would get a giggle out of it and wax poetic about how much he loves those little shrieks, but Skizz isn't here right now. He's off in the mines hunting down a little extra coal. Though he didn't bump his head, Impulse rubs it anyway and gives the bedrock a little kick.

"Mean," he mutters to himself. He should probably stay up here. There's more oxygen near the bedrock. The cold doesn't bite as much. But he dips his elytra and ducks away from the ceiling anyway… mostly because he doesn't trust himself enough not to slip up and punch it with his fist. With ungloved hands, punching it is sure to result in damaged knuckles. His hunger haunches aren't full enough to offer natural regen after that.

Goosebumps blister across his skin. The yawning Void stays empty underneath him. And Impulse, so often steady in his faith… begins to falter. What's going on? He made a schedule. Has recording for the new Life Series already started without him? Maybe Grian told him the wrong date. Or…

Maybe, in spite of last week's chat messages about candles on the Hermitcraft server… Grian forgot that one of his players needs a special invitation to join a new world for the first time. As a demon, it's built inside his code. He needs a circle. His name chanted thrice…

No. Grian won't forget him.

Impulse swoops into the blackness and pulls up like a hummingbird. He juggles double rockets in his offhand. Okay. Okay. His breath slithers out in a silver cloud. Every inhale stabs his lungs. The Void is freezing- really freezing. Do people realize that? It's already eating away his skin like maggots and he hasn't even touched the worst of it. Or is he just crazy? Yeah! Maybe he's gone crazy from spending 15 minutes to an hour straight down here, doing nothing but fly in aimless circles, awaiting a portal that may never come…

The Void feels blacker here in the Overworld, somehow, than it does when you're in the End. It engulfs him in a cloak, and Impulse cannot breathe. The wings of his elytra strain at his shoulder muscles. Oh. He's too low. They're trying to pull away from him, like the pockets flapping from his cargo shorts. The wings are weaving in and out of his code. That's not unusual this close to the Void. The Void is weird like that. It wants to rip him into pieces. It wants to drag him closer. It wants to gobble him up.

Paf! goes half a heart of damage. Paf! Paf!

Ow. Impulse whips his mind back from its wanderings, throwing all his energy into his wing muscles. His elytra strain, but with the help of a rocket, he sails a little higher. His hearts stop flickering. He presses a hand against his chest. Okay… He can still feel six of them beating. He's okay.

Grian won't forget about him. He won't.

[Full 'fic on AO3]

[komatsunana]

Uhhhh, so I gotta admit defeat and admit I won’t be able to finish any of the projects I wanted to for NANA Week 2022 Day 7............ Sorry 😔😭

Instead I bring you a super sneak-peak of my long awaited (for me, anyway lmao) Nana Osaki mega meta analysis, in which I will be going through chapter by chapter discussing Nana Osaki as a character.  This analysis will... very likely be very long and potentially my magnum opus contribution to the NANA community.

Today, I can only offer you the rough draft of my introduction and I can only hope anyone else wants to see more one day... lol

Nana Osaki, the deconstruction of the girl we wanted to be

By no means is my first experience reading and watching NANA a universal one.  We’re in the midst of the NANA Renaissance at the time of writing this is in early 2022.  Times are different now than they are then.  Then being the year 2006.   I was 14 or maybe even 13, just about to graduate from middle school into high school.  

The thing to understand was I was raised in the era of “not like other girls.”  Not like other girls were different from other girls, or at least they thought they were.  Other girls were feminine, popular, and liked make up, fashion, dating boys and the color pink.  They were sluts.  And you were not, you were chaste and read books or were into some odd hobby that made you feel both ostracized from everyone else and better then them too.  You were independent, that’s why you didn’t have any friends… it wasn’t because you couldn’t make any ok!!  You weren’t like other girls, you were better.

Enter Nana Osaki.

She was cool and rebellious, she wasn’t like other girls.  She was punk and edgy.  Nana didn’t move to Tokyo for her boyfriend, she was independent.  She didn’t need a man, even if she had one she let him go.

Nana was who we wanted to be, us young not-like-other-girls who first read NANA.

Fast forward many years.  Ai Yazawa gets ill and puts NANA on hiatus.  Attitudes change, not like other girls unlearn the internalized misogyny (or don’t… or do but change their sense of superiority to some other target).  #MeToo, #YesAllWomen, #LoveWins, #BlackLivesMatter, #BringBackOurGirls, #IceBucketChallenge, #TakeAKnee, #FreeBritney [re-order later].  More people care about social justice but it’s been packaged and commodified in a capitalist hellscape.  A virus, a pandemic, lockdown and quarantines…  The world is forever different and NANA is still on hiatus.

But we can still reread NANA as many times over as we want in that span of time.  And you read it enough times to realize…  Nana Osaki the girl 13 year old you wanted to be?  You were her, you were always her.  You may not have dressed in vintage Vivienne Westwood, sing, or have a tattoo and piercings but you were her in all the ways that mattered.

Because just like you, Nana was just a scared little girl who wanted to be loved and was scared of rejection.

Unlike you time was frozen still for her, stuck between the pages of the manga.  You grew up and she did not… And maybe… she never did even between the pages of the manga.

My ultimate thesis statement for this analysis is this:  Nana Osaki character arc and journey through the series is not one of the usual character growth that we have come to expect in our narratives.  Instead what we have witnessed in NANA is the deconstruction of one Nana Osaki.  Like unraveling the wraps of a mummy, an unending nesting doll, or layers of an onion ala Shrek… Whatever metaphor you like best, Nana Osaki is deconstructed throughout the series* until what we find at the center of her character is the little girl her mom abandoned in the snow.

*this is not including the glimpses of Nana Osaki we see in the future.  Without the key events that lead to that moment, it’s hard to really say for sure one way or the other.

And the Nana Osaki we met in the prologue as well as the Nana Osaki we left on that final page of chapter 84…  She is fundamentally unchanged as a person, even if Nana’s life and loved ones expanded in all the chapters between.  Every action, decision, and belief that Nana holds from prologue to chapter 84, Nana always had the capacity to do and hold.

Other aspects of Nana to be discussed include:  her alcoholism, jealousy, possessiveness, and internalized conservative values within a punk sphere. [more to be added]

to be continued.................. Happy NANA Week, I cannot wait to bring you the rest one day.

[branwendaughterofllyr]

Jamie makes so much sense as a wounded idealist because he's a foil to Jon's Byronic hero. I really agree with that observation.

I also love characters who are sort of aware they're in a story (I love romantic folly), it's one of my personal obsessions - and tends to be why I'm interested in the whole dichotomy of hero/villain, and sad villains and heroes who try really hard.

Loving the talk about Jamie. I'm the original anon who sent the ask about Jamie's redemption arc (or lack thereof) and wanted to say thank you for your response. (:

I look forward to your Cersei meta!

Sorry I took so long to answer, I've been buried under dissertation prep for the final year of my degree and I have been low-key loosing my mind 😅. ASOIAF has long been my favorite escapist corner, and I love characters that acknowledge that yearning for stories but in a non-condescending way (*cough cough* like the show *cough cough*) and I feel like Jaime is such a thoughtful way to examine that in a character type that usually doesn't do that. Foiling Jon against Jaime is such an interesting dynamic narratively, even though they've had like one and half interactions, because their characters archetypes are almost in conversation with each other. I'm also just a sucker for characters who are almost aware that they're in a narrative and that there's no way to see how it will end. Thank you so much for kicking off this entire conversation about Jaime, it's been extremely fun and eye opening!

The Cersei meta ever approaches, slowly but inevitably. I've had a friend edit the first draft for me, and she suggested I do a "prep" post for some context that's helpful but not super relevant to the meta as a whole, so keep an eye for that.

Thanks so much for all the asks!🥰

[daxieoclock]

Deja Vu Q&A

As an accompaniment to the last Deja Vu chapter of 2022, I’ve compiled a list of questions about the fic - and my process - from my friends, allies, compatriots, comrades and accomplices, and I will here be answering them. I hope you all enjoy.

Thanks to @lilyhoshikawa​ @superrabbittank​ @triskaidekaphilist​ and @mcpuliot​ for their assistance in compiling these.

Ralu: Since this is a really long story that has already celebrated some birthdays, and you have a lot of scenes/ideas already planned a long time since they appeared - I know you made some changes around the beginning, when the story started to form into what it is now (like the differences between Anachronism and our Ren), but what about things that have happened only recently, or are presumingly going to happen in the future? How much has the DV remained on track, and are there parts where it changed its route?

so as you mentioned, i included a lot of the early drafts of DV plans in the story as "here's what Anachronism fucked up in his iteration," tongue in cheek meta joke. For example, Ren not revealing about the parcels until October, partially because getting close with Haru and saving her father would necessarily have him tip his hand.

I'll also say Haru's father specifically and the entire idea of "the Thieves don't kill" is something I've very much changed my opinion on since I came up with DV. You can see that a bit in how Ren's own opinion changes, as the POV character and protag and half soapbox that he is in this story. He starts out telling Ohya that the Thieves want to act on "more than just vindication," and himself deciding that none of the Thieves wanted to be murderers. Yusuke and Makoto are both given full prerogative to kill their targets, and choose not to - in Yusuke's case, it was as close to a coin flip as Ann's decision in Kamoshida's Palace. Then things shift when we get to the Okumura arc.

Ren here offers Haru an opportunity to cause a mental shutdown in secret in order to preserve her reputation, and avoid having her abuse publicized. She chooses not to at the time out of moral obligation to the Thieves, with an implied "out of fear of becoming like the person who killed Futaba's mother." Then her decision to spare her father becomes not a default mercy, but something she does because it helps the other Thieves, because killing him would complicate things further. And because she gains nothing but satisfaction with his death. Then in the Empress at Dusk parcel letter, Anach!Haru states further that she is thankful to Anachronism for saving her father, because he ensured that her autonomy re:him was kept intact.

These themes come to a head during DV Redux's Kamoshida throne room scene, Haru's hot pot BBQ and the unposted Butterfly Effect "That Wears The Crown," between which the situation is spelled out clearly. Haru didn't kill her father because, like Kamoshida, there was more to gain with his confession. Death serves the purposes of satisfaction and silence, of keeping an abuser from ever talking about the abuse and providing direct and immediate catharsis.

Haru shuns Akechi (in a metatext standpoint, this is me also shunning Akechi stans who refuse to acknowledge their faults or treat abuse victims INCLUDING Akechi with much degree of compassion) not for attempting to kill someone who definitely deserves death, but for taking the choice away from her and for indirectly weaponizing her abuse against those she loves. If Haru's father died, as he did in canon, the results would be the revocation of Haru's autonomy over his fate, and it would throw the Thieves into disarray, in which they would fixate on Haru's abuser as a lynchpin of failure.

And in the hot pot, Ann doubles down on Ren's offer, making clear the similarities between her own situation and Haru's, and retroactively implies that if Kamoshida hadn't abused Ryuji and Shiho, she would have immolated him in a heartbeat. In a horrible ironic way, by entangling himself in the trauma of people she loves, he saved his own life. But since no other Thief has anything to gain or lose by Sugimura's death, Ann gives explicit permission for Haru to kill him if she chooses.

Rabbit: When did Haru realize she was a girl? How did she handle that realization?

I'm gonna wax poetic and silly and say Shakespeare. When she was in middle school drama club studying how old timey performances would often have actors crossdressing, and probably there was some sort of exercise where everyone switched their costumes and played each other's parts for fun, and it was this big goofy thing and for the first time, Haru is presented with the prospect that wearing a dress isn't something shameful or abhorrent, and that sort of clicks something for her.

And she probably asks to play a girl in the next performance. One thing leads to another, with a lot of fighting her father in between, and she gets her transition started by the Summer before high school, so she can enter Shujin as herself and not under her deadname.

Rabbit: In Ren's head, what's the first thing he's gonna do when this is all over? Has he even thought in terms of All This being over at some point?

He really hasn't. A lot of the epilogue is gonna be Ren trying to figur his life out now that he's lived past The Apocalypse At The End Of The Year that's been hanging over his head. I think there's still a part of himself that expects him to fail, that contextualizes "Ren" as "someone who fails," and is almost disappointed when he doesn't.

Rabbit: What are Ren and Haru and Ryuji going to name their dog?

CERBERUS. I've thought about this djfbgjb

Rabbit: What does Haru's ideal date look like? Ann's? Makoto's?

Haru: cooking together Ann: being out and about for a couple hours, windowshopping and sightseeing, and then having a relaxed romantic dinner Makoto: PJ movie night

Rabbit: Do Mishima and Haru have any kind of friendship?

FUCK, HOLY SHIT YOUR MIND. THEY REALLY SHOULD. Another part of the epilogue is gonna be Mishima (with her new name!!!) slowly getting incepted into the "extended Thieves" alongside Sumire, Sojiro and Shiho; and I already know that she and Futaba are going to get along like a peapod, but I think like. Mishima would be kinda smitten with Haru? Like "I'm infinitely jealous of you and I'm gonna be So Normal about it (lie)." And Haru throws a girl's night with her and Ann and Futaba and Kasumi and Mishima, and Mishima happy-cries so much.

Rabbit: Besides the characters who are trans, is there anyone else you considered blasting with the Gender Beam but decided not to?

Ryuji. I’ve definitely decided to do so, just haven't gotten around to it yet >:3c

[Jane addendum: If I may expand on the last answer, I think it’s also worth mentioning that vane initially planned for Akechi to be transmasc in DV, before we went the transfem angle, so that kinda counts]

Rabbit: In the pegoryuharu happily ever after, who takes whose last names, if any?

I'm not gonna canonize this yet cause I still want to figure out a balance between grounded and Best Case Dream Outcome for, ya know, moving forward logistics-wise with a polyamorous relationship. But if I decided tomorrow? Ren, Ryuji and Haru Sakura-Sakamoto. Because neither Amamiya nor Okumura deserve any place in a happy house.

Tura (by way of Rabbit): If every Persona game is about a concept (3 “death,” 4 “truth”, 5 “freedom”) does Deja Vu have a new word! Or does it have an alternate take on Freedom not covered in the base game!

OOOOOH good question. i think. hm hm.

"Rebirth."

but also, there's a bit of the idea of like. playing off freedom? it's the "Freedom (fear and hope)". cause everyone's psyched about the tiger escaping its cage yes yes yes the tiger is free. cause fuck yeah. and i bet the tiger's pretty psyched too. but there's also something to be said about like...longing for the cage. the way freedom can be overwhelming and difficult and frightening. it's vital, but it's also...big. and when you're born in a cage, it can be difficult to contextualize yourself outside of it. but also. you ARE outside of it. and the cage is broken now. you're never going back. to borrow dave’s favorite metaphor? the shell is cracked. you cannot put the chick back into the egg. it can only grow now.

Jane: Indulgence alley. What is ur favorite story addition or idea that Jane (me) has made

YES. OKAY. SO. FUCK.

g-d this is the hardest djfbgjb okay. okay uh. fuck djfgbjh. can i cheat and say "everything?" djfgbjdb cause. g-d. how do i even fucking PICK.

futaba's confidant arc?

the way she challenged me to sharpen empress at dusk into some of my strongest writing?

sumitaba?

the fact that just having her around to keep me acountable has pushed me to strive and make my writing better?

"A Little Faith?" "Get Some Therapy??" "Scorpions???" 

just djfbgjdbfg g-d. g-d. it's harder at this point to find a part of DV after the Kaneshiro arc that jane hasn't influenced, directly or indirectly.

but. Akechi. Freya motherfucking Akechi.

Yaldabaoth's false champion, the two-faced closeted transfem second detective prince groomed into assassination by an abuser they assumed they had power and control over, the unstable and scarred girl boy in the black mask, the unblinded justice, the false wild card who broke the rules of cognition by splintering their own true self in half,

who laughs involuntarily and barely sleeps and punishes herself to stay sharp because her own harm is the only one she can control, who hides a bloodstained pocket knife behind her detective badge, ren's pity project and rival and friend and most dangerous enemy and most trusted ally, Kasumi's oldest and most beloved friend, the thief who breaks the quo, the triple agent who finds the weak links that could make the thieves break and revels in that knowledge and then surrenders it and defends those weaknesses.

Akechi, who is fueled by love and scared of being loved. Everything Ren wants to be and nothing that he is. They would be a better leader than him, and that's why they never will be.

and i am. so fucking happy i didn't stick with the first draft dv akechi djfgbjhb like. dissatisfied transmasc, blind in one eye because he's destined to be disabled in tragically ironic ways for...choosing to be alive, eternally bickering to No Fucking End with ren and never getting better, being constantly proven wrong by overly moralizing dumbasses, repeatedly getting thrown under the metaphorical steam roller because The Plot Must Go On. goro with the silver tongue, all that wit and not a blade to be found. not sharp. not real.

i do not miss dv goro djfbgjhdb i just feel embarrassed ever thinking that was a better idea than canon

Rabbit: in the hypothetical pegoryuharu future, who proposes 👀 (assuming they get married)

Ren on accident. 1000%.

very like he's just thinking it through because "do i want to marry my partners" immediate yes. but "how do we get poly married" presents a more difficult question, so he sort of gets fixated on that and then is like "hey haru, ryuji, just to make sure, you wanna get married?"

and ryuji's like "YOU MEAN LIKE NOW???"

and haru's like "wait till spring"

and ryuji's like "SPRING IS IN THREE MONTHS ARE WE DOING IT THIS SPRING???"

and morgana laughs his little kitty head off.

like for one they definitely talk it through like logistically how would they do it, could they do some lavender marriage arrangement with ren and ryuji getting hitched while haru marries makoto and ann marries shiho, but then at some point haru's like "we're celebrities. let's just make a political push." (and I also just have not made a decision on what that logistical arrangement ends up being djgbfh)

Rabbit: what character or story element has gone through the most revisions or reworks? 

Akechi fhfhghg like by a long shot. Jane and Jae’s notes have been so so so incredible and influential. Like they’re a completely different character now and I absolutely adore what they’ve become. Makoto and Futaba and Mishima have changed a lot from my first draft idea, but definitely I think one of the biggest decisions I’ve made that doesn’t have to do with Akechi (even though it was still because of Jane) was. Refusing to allow the narrative to vindicate Ren’s bullshit.

Bc Ren is the protag and the POV character, I have this intuitive desire for his perspective to be unmarred, and end up feeling automatically kinda defensive when people (including my own better judgement) criticize him. Which shoots myself in the foot a lot because Ren IS extremely flawed. He’s a traumatized kid who is still figuring out how to be a human person and healing in a messy indirect way. And plans I had for the narrative to indulge his messiah complex or know better than any other character? Couldn’t last. And I’m so glad for Jane and Jae to keep me (and Ren) accountable.

Rabbit: what is each thief's favorite thing to eat. and in the case of haru, what's her favorite thing to cook?

YEAH so i actually djfbgjb iiii had converation with jane about this a while ago, you just reminded me so i delved into our chat archives to pull it out

Jane: I am a longtime advocate for Akechi actually being a big sweets fan and that not being just an act, but I also think they like black coffee to contrast the sweets. I also like the idea of Ann and Akechi taking each other to various favorite sweets places of theirs

I think Taba likes spicy foods, altho her usual favorite curry staple food probably isn’t spicy cuz her mom made it for her as a kid. We also know taba canonically has a very refined coffee palette and is a coffee snob

Kasumi definitely likes hearty foods for lots of gymnastics energy, I think she likes sweets as well but can’t keep up with Akechi and Ann dhdjfnf and I think she’s probably a big fan of pasta dishes, since they can be really filling and good after a big gymnastics event

Vane: I think for Ryuji it’s sabi’s ramen. Of course fgfgfg. Especially when Ren makes it, cause he’s a big ol sap.

Ren’s favorite probably changes day to day, depending on his mood, but he’s a big fan of food with happy memories associated. Like sojiro’s curry, sabi’s ramen, hot pot. Stuff like that.

Morgana loves tuna. We know this and we love him. Fhfhgh he is a cat and he loves him some fishies. Especially sushi tuna.

Ummm Yusuke I think enjoys the simple, few ingredient meals that he had as a child, something quiet and plain and cheap but made with love. Masumi probably makes them for him a lot, since they’re both struggling artists fhfhgh

Makoto loves street and fair food. Not a specific dish but she'd be in heaven in a farmer's market.

Haru….big hms on that. I know she loves to collect recipes and cook with people, food is something important to her. I thiiink she enjoys breakfast foods the most, cause those were always the ones made with the most love when she was young, since her father’s job started in the afternoon and he was always too tired to cook dinner. So breakfast time became sorta sacred, even though her father stopped showing up for it. And I think her favorite meal out of all the breakfast meals is a scramble. It’s sort of like cooking jazz to her, she just finds whatever vegetables she has left over from previous dinners and improvises a tasty mix, adds some protein maybe and lots of salt and spices and scrambles it all into some eggs. And it never tastes the same way twice.

Ralu: Do you think Haru has a favorite type of weather?

she loves the sun right after it rains. rainy days can be fun but a little too melancholic for her tastes

Jane: What is haru’s favorite movie

GOOD QUESTION hmmmmmm.... paranorman i think

Jane: In a word, what is haru’s feelings towards / relationship with each of the other thieves?

Ren: Dear Mona: Soft Ryuji: Gentle Ann: Bright Yusuke: Handy Makoto: Easy Futaba: Brave Kasumi: Rising Akechi: Sharp

Ralu: Does Haru like poetry? And if so, has she any preferred poems/poets/styles or eras?

yes and she would know how to answer that question but i don't djfgbjh haru probably has a list of her favorite poems and poets, but i couldn't tell you what they are. content wise she only cares about poems with something to say.

but she really loves when people can put words to complex / intense feelings

Rabbit: Ren and the babes on an ice cream date, what's Haru ordering? :Oc

if it's anywhere near artisanal, then lavender and/or honey. otherwise something with strawberry

Rabbit: Are there any bits of DV that ended up needing to be scrapped that you wish you'd been able to make work? I've had to "kill my darlings" so to speak a few times, have you had anything like that?

Yeah plenty!

I think I mentioned to a few people recently, in the newest chapter there’s a whole big double date scene I had to scrap for time / space, and then there’s like. Every single time I have a scene planned out in my head and go to write it, there’s some aspect or line or angle I need to cut.

I think what comes to mind for the like “biggest darling” I’ve had to kill, is Iwai’s confidant. Cause I keep having ideas of how to integrate it, to bring him and kaoru further into the story, but then I keep needing to cut those scenes and ideas out.

The most recent concept was Kaoru realizing Ren and Ryuji were phantom thieves and faking a kidnapping to get Ren alone and then criticizing his lack of contingency plans for something like this. Basically “if I wanted to hurt you, I could have. And there are people out there smarter than me who want your head. Start being safer, Thief.”

Rabbit: mistletoe! who sets it up, who gets got, how do they feel about it? 

I think. Sumire indulges in brief mischief and then sets it up for kasumi and Futaba, then goes about corralling them under said doorway. Only to find like. Shiho and Makoto making out under said mistletoe, before they both scurry off sheepishly, shiho snickering the whole time. At which point kasumi teasingly chastises Sumire and makes her promise to take down the mistletoe but then as soon as her back is turned, kasumi cups Futaba’s face and kisses her unbroken for like twenty seconds.

Also unrelated to the mistletoe but I think one thing that could be fun is like. Partway through some sort of holiday get together, shiho like. Wobbles out of a room and keeps like bumping her wheelchair into things, and her face and neck are covered in the comical amount of lipstick kiss marks. And Ryuji teases her about getting her holiday gift from ann early and Shiho’s like “uhhhhhhhh” and then haru silently walks by the both of them while reapplying her lipstick and sends a little sweet-devil smile at the pair

[recentlylocal]

Agape and 'til I reach you for....1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, 11? Actually, if you just wanted to ramble on about those fics, that would work too

Send me writing questions!

WELL TWIST MY ARM I GUESS

I blame Moira Quirk’s audio book narration for ‘til I reach you, because that scene absolutely CRUSHED ME when I listened to it. I was very no thoughts, head empty about writing it otherwise, it was once of those snippets that just fell into my head fully formed. I wrote and edited the whole thing in half a day. As a fic it made a nice home for a lot of my meta-thoughts about Camilla’s story and how she’s just...put up with so goddamn much in this series. Poor Camilla, Queen of Hypovolemic Shock.

I will also take this moment to point out that Camilla has the line “it’s just a flesh wound,” in this fic, which is 100% an intentional Monty Python reference, and I am shocked nobody yelled at me about that one in the comments.

Agape, on the other hand, took me FOUR MONTHS so I have way more thoughts.

1. What inspired you to write the fic this way? I got a Nona arc in July and of course the knuckle kiss scene sent me spiraling. I drafted a couple of scenes really soon after I read it, and then figured if I could come up with a few more I could format it as a 5+1 instead of just a snippet. (Side note but 5+1s are apparently fandom old school now?)

2. What scene did you first put down? I actually wrote them more or less in the order they appear in the fic which is VERY unusual for me, I usually write out of order and then stitch everything together. I considered re-ordering them chronologically before I posted but I liked the dreamy sort of atmosphere of skipping around, felt more true to how someone would actually be recalling a bunch of related memories.

3. What’s your favorite line of narration? "She said nothing, because every word she could conceive of was even worse than this awful, broken silence." Felt really good about this one, especially since it was like the ninth time in this fic I had to come up with another emotionally charged way to describe Cam not saying anything.

Honorable mention to “Seis muttered something about teenagers with God-complexes“ because can you imagine how insufferable those two would have been at fourteen??

4. What’s your favorite line of dialogue? I struggle to pick between any of the dialogue in snippet #3 (everyone is being SO bitchy in that one which was fun for me) but "four hours ago you called it a placebo" still makes me giggle AND I migrated it over from a scene I cut from two corpses, so I was happy to re-home it.

ALSO I really enjoy Pal’s “I could find the courage to walk backwards into hell, would I know that you were behind me” vis a vis this dril tweet.

5. What part was hardest to write? Cam's dialogue always takes a long time to write because she says so much with so few words, I have a separate, specific editing process JUST for her lines (which is a whole other post.) Of all the snippets, #6 was hardest to write because it was SO charged, and it was a rare moment of writing Cam and Pal not seeing eye to eye.

9. Were there any alternate versions of this fic? Well there was an alternate version where I didn't write an entire extra scene so it was actually a 5+1 and not a 6+1 😆 I briefly considered cutting a scene when I realized my mistake, but I'd sunk way too much effort in at that point and I was attached to all of them.

11. What do you like best about this fic? I tend to write too much dialogue and not enough description of what’s happening around the dialogue, and I really worked at writing body language and emotional pauses into this one. It’s something I really struggle with (writing body language especially), and I'm really happy with how well I managed in this fic, it was a really good writing exercise for me.