#i just... didn't expect for her to die like... THAT

[allwormdiet]

Buzz 7.8

Nazi capes fuck off, like fucking for real

Honestly even if Kaiser deigned to tell his people that the Undersiders weren't responsible, somehow I doubt any Empire member would be inclined to treat them with much respect.

Yeah, see, this isn't about the leaks for Hookwolf. This is about the fucking beef over the dog fights.

Not a genius move from the driver, honestly. If you really want to put bullets in the villains that have good defensive capabilities, the last thing you want to do is give up the element of surprise. Stormtiger may not have been able to deflect those shots if he didn't have enough time to react.

Also, does Cricket wield kama? Like, the fucking Japanese farming tool? Are you allowed to join the Empire if you're a blatant weeaboo?

This is a really bad matchup honestly, it's tense to see how close they get to death with these fuckers

Disturbingly evocative and sadistic, but what else is to be expected from fucking Nazis, right

Clever guy

Fuck yeah, environmental takedown

Grue is fucking hardcore. Two shots to Stormtiger's legs and not even bothering to acknowledge Cricket's hostage. Dude does not fuck around when it comes to Empire, the only restraint here is that he's not killing them outright but honestly I wouldn't feel bad if he did. Just dump their bodies into the water, bing bang boom.

Well, okay, I guess Hookwolf would still be a problem, wouldn't he

This Cricket gal is bullshit honestly

So, yeah, now that we've gotten all three of the Empire capes to show their powers, I'll go ahead and say that this fight was stacked against Skitter and Grue from the jump. Hookwolf can't be fought hand-to-hand without being shredded to pieces and insects can't do much about metal flesh. Stormtiger can get bugs off himself no problem and can blast away Grue's darkness. Cricket, meanwhile, has some kinda sonic blast that lets her navigate Grue's darkness and also incapacitate Skitter's bugs.

The fact that they get out of this fight alive is a testament to remarkable intelligence and grit on their part.

This is a brutal slugfest honestly, although the fucking Nazi deserves every second of pain she's getting from it.

It's a little funny that they're having this conversation in front of Cricket. Like "oh yeah it looks bad but she's too busy being a sadist to do any real damage," "oh that sucks ass of her but I'm glad you're not too hurt" and she's laying there with a chunk of thigh missing. She should be embarrassed enough to leave town forever.

Yeah Cricket's busted, but good news is she's taken care of

It's a little funny that they're both stuck stitching each other back up after Brian cut off any romantic options. Like I've seen a lot of works where patching up someone's wounds and putting them back together would have a kind of bloodsoaked intimacy to it, but not here lmao

Also yeah you'd better appreciate Tattletale

These little punks. Love em to bits.

Okay so real quick, noticing Taylor's description of how Regent is talking, and I wonder how grounded Alec is as a baseline. Like I have to imagine that the Heartbreaker Experience doesn't do a whole lot of wonders for learning how to connect to the world around you. Is it an affectation like I've been speculating, or is that just the best he's got for engaging with reality?

I wish going straight for Purity meant killing her, but even without reading the rest of this arc I know the Undersiders don't have that kind of firepower. I can dream, though.

Teehee, parallels

Current Thoughts

I wish Grue managed to kill all three of the Empire capes but I get why he couldn't. I'll just have to hope they all die later.

Awesome that they managed to get the win over those bastards in the first place though, I don't think this is my favorite fight in terms of the beat-by-beat action but in terms of how they have to overcome the disadvantage of enemy powers it feels the best.

[armofandruil]

I'm seeing a lot of people dogpiling the recent reveals about previous game choices, so here's mine.

Tl;dr: People are saying that "oh choices didn't matter that much before in Dragon Age, so why should they matter now" without acknowledging that this is a niche that Bioware has built their entire company on. Long-time fans expect their choices to matter, and this just feels like a kick in the nuts after ten years of waiting.

This fucking blows.

I've known for a while that they weren't going to be using the keep for this instalment, so I knew it was probably only going to be a handful of the important choices from Inquistion, and the identity/status of Hawke and The Warden if we were lucky. But 3? 3 choices feels like a slap in the face.

If I'm optimistic and the romance choice doesn't only matter if you romanced Solas, there's still so much nuance that will be missed out on. We will not get to see the outcome of an Inquisitor who romanced a Cassandra who became Divine, an Iron Bull who stayed loyal to the Qun, or a Blackwall who died with the wardens.

Furthermore, Inquisition was a 100+ game ON TOP OF DLC... you're telling me only 3 choices mattered? The way these choices are set, we aren't getting our Inquisitor. We're getting an NPC who did or did not disband the Inquisition and does/doesn't want to kill Solas. There isn't even a choice that influences the Inquisitor's personality, i.e. "The Inquistor did their best to help people wherever they go/The Inquisitor was a fierce leader of an army of the faithful/The Inquisitor regularly kicked puppies and stole sweeties from children" etc. etc.

So like... what are we getting? The Inquisitor was already a pretty blank slate to begin with. And now we don't even get to colour them with our choices, so seriously, what are we getting here?

I guess it's just really disappointing to see seeing as (in my humble internet opinion) Inquisition handled importing player choices so well. I loved hearing Leliana mention the Hero of Fereldan and her relationship with them, seeing the ruler of Fereldan, seeing Hawke and the differences in their lines depending on which personality you chose.

People often bring up that your choices don't matter that much, and often point to how Leliana can die in Origins WITHOUT MENTIONING THE FACT SHE TALKS ABOUT IT IN INQUISITION. Yes, it's a retcon, but at least it's acknowledged. I personally don't care if people come back to life in my fantasy world with dragons and magic. At least Leliana acknowledges the fact that she was killed.

People are saying that "oh choices didn't matter that much before in Dragon Age, so why should they matter now" without acknowledging that this is a niche that Bioware has built their entire company on. Long-time fans expect their choices to matter, and this just feels like a kick in the nuts after ten years of waiting.

I didn't even get to mention the whole Morrigan/Well of Sorrows/Kieran debacle, but I'm mad about that, too.

In summary, I'm very disappointed about this direction Bioware is taking. I'm probably still going to play the game, but I fully understand people who say this is a dealbreaker for them. We waited ten years for the 4th Dragon Age game, and I don't really know if Veilguard is that anymore.

[felondese]

here are my guesses for how they're doing this:

morrigan has been taken over by mythal to the point where her personal development and history pre-mythal don't matter all that much, so no references to her potential child or partner. we're going to see mythal in morrigan shape which I'm okay with for elgar'nan-whooping-purposes

we're just going to pretend that well of sorrows thing didn't happen shhh. i think they'd rather just sweep that one under the rug considering there wasn't even real solas reaction dialogue with him in your party (he mildly disagrees with you drinking but he also doesn't want morrigan to), just his seemingly random ass outrage back at skyhold after the fact. they really fumbled this one already, i think, so probably for the best to just ignore it, even if that's a shame because it's so chewy. plus the well is essentially morrigan's now anyway whether she drank or not

the inquisition is a handful of people at this point regardless of disbandment or not, and we won't really hear from anyone we know that's still working with them. they can't really reference any of the advisors or companions other than varric and harding. as little as our previous choices matter, i have a hard time imagining a significant difference in game states based on, for example, having forces and resources to contribute

the inquisitor is going to make an appearance but get kidnapped/hurt/go MIA for most of the game early on so their presence in the story is the only thing that's significant, not any personal details, anything that might showcase personality or reference their choices in inquisition. probably gonna die to tie up loose ends

solas will be a lil extra sad if lavellan romanced him but I'm not expecting much in terms of solavellan nods. i am betting the difference will be minimal, like friendly vs romanced in trespasser. best case scenario a kiss and he'll throw in a vhenan at the end maybe when he breaks her heart again. definitely not banking on murals or anything significant.

that said, i am thinking the only one of the three choices that will actually have much of an impact is if you romanced solas. i highly doubt any of the other dai romances will get mentioned since past char choices related to them aren't and there are too many variables

whether your inky wanted to redeem or stop solas won't really matter. we need his help either way and with the gods released the veil is probably coming down whether he does it or not

the rest of the world is on fucking fire early enough in the game that it doesn't matter who's on what thrones. it's all irrelevant when the evanuris bust out. no chantry, no kingdoms left standing, just chaos and death

the chars i was really looking forward to seeing again and kind of expected based on location/factions (dorian, isabela, zevran, sten, fenris) might get a passing reference in text but i hear it's a real pain in the ass to get the voice actors and art departments involved for cameos, plus all the possible contingencies, so I'm dropping those hopes. should count my blessings that they aren't horrifically killed on screen because that would be the only other option i guess

basically i'm going to bring my expectations back down to earth and then a little lower for safety. can't be disappointed if i don't expect much going in.

still looking forward to the game? absolutely.

[failyaoi]

Khaos Reigns Spoilers my thoughts on everything xd

well starting off there's a lot I'm upset about and a lot I'm happy about. so I'll air out my grievances first -

I'd like to say I actually had a feeling from the start that Sektor was genderbent in order to be shipped with Bi-Han...but I didn't feel that was fair to her so I didn't really say anything... when I saw this I just had all my fears confirmed 😭 WB didn't want to do a gay relationship so they just genderbent Sektor. I'm honestly really upset about this because it's just.........weird. it makes me scared for the future of lgbtq rep in MK..... as a bi & trans person it's honestly saddening to see that happen, especially because they took classic subscorp from us. I don't have a problem with girl Sektor or Cyrax at ALL btw. I love them, this is just really crappy on WB's part another thing I'm upset about is the lack of our main characters and the introduction of new ones- I don't like the multiverse stuff as much as I did when Mk1 first released because it made sense. but I personally didn't feel bad for Emperor Rain or Tanya, because I don't Know Them (their designs were really cool though) and new variants coming from different timelines and being the main focus feels........ODD. for mortal kombat. I was expecting a lot more focus on Raiden and Lao but we didn't really see much of them. not impressed with Titan Havik's defeat. he felt very weak after being hyped up the entire time. I actually like Titan Havik as he is a really good mix of chaotic, silly, and evil. he had a lot of cool things like the maze (which I would've REALLY loved to see the earthrealm champions in, btw) and the pit. seeing Noob/Bi-Han defeat him THAT easily with not even an invasions style boss or anything was really disappointing but 😭 for the last thing... I'm actually a little disappointed no main character actually died . I was expecting maybe Smoke or Lao to die because... THIS IS MORTAL KOMBAT 😭😭 like main characters tend to die, and they're just not, and it doesn't feel right because this franchise has had a lot of angst over the years and missing that feels empty NOW FOR THE THINGS I LIKE!!! :3

The visuals in this dlc are amazing

the attention to detail is really cute-

and as always I'm so happy to see all the characters again >_< BI-HAN'S SMIRK

OKAY I actually really , reallyyyyy liked the writing with these 4 here, it shows more into their friendship and that they've obviously been friends for a while now. I got so emotional seeing them hanging out again

glad to see Orin back but she's terrifying omfg. WHAT DID HAVIK DO TO HERRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

beautiful wife appreciation:

GERLIU AHHJAFHAWJFBWF THEY HEARD MY PRAYERS THEY HEARD MEEEEEEEEEE the way Liu didn't even flinch oh myyg gdododdffdd

also Kenshi eye scars confirmed ???? WE WIN ??? WE LITERALLY WIN ?????? the animalities are really really cool and I'm actually about to go play some mk1 ranked and try out all of Lao's new moves and stuffs and to check out all the new junk....I'm very excited and happy at where this game is at game-play wise ^_^ I LOVE YOU MORTAL KOMBAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[maidflowery]

The Gratitude of a Fox

𝟷 𝚘𝚏 𝟺

Ｔａｇ： Ａｎｇｓｔ， Ｈｕｒｔ， Ｄｒａｍａ， Ｃｏｍｆｏｒｔ

At the end of winter, a human saved a wounded fox. At the beginning of spring, a young man arrived at her doorstep, and they fell in love. One day, he asked her, “If I’m no longer human, will you still love me?”

Prequels: Pinky Promise; Good Night, Sweet Dream

Spoiler for 2.5

The first time Jiaoqiu met you, the snow was falling relentlessly.

It dyed everything white. The trees, the roofs, the roads, and even his own blood, splattered on the asphalt.

By then, a soft, cold blanket of snow had encased him, growing thicker with every passing second. The icy grip of winter was gently pulling him into a deep, eternal slumber.

Just how... Did it come to this?

Jiaoqiu smiled wryly. At least, he felt sure that he was.

No one knew when they would die; any day could be their last.

He just didn’t expect it to be the day he finally set out on a small trip to the rural countryside. He wanted to see what it had to offer in terms of hotpot. But on the way, he bumped into someone.

‘How is one capable of holding so much resentment?’

When Jiaoqiu turned around and met the man’s eyes, such was his first thought.

Jiaoqiu opened his mouth to apologize, but only a small whimper came out. Then, he fell to his knees. He looked down and saw the hilt of a dagger protruding from his abdomen.

Crouching on the ground, Jiaoqiu instinctively looked up at the man who had stabbed him.

The man was seething, his eyes bloodshot, as if carrying a lifetime of rage.

“You deserve it, you sly fox!” he snarled.

In truth, even before the man uttered those words, Jiaoqiu already had an inkling of who he was.

No, he didn’t know the man personally.

Perhaps, in a distant past, this man’s family, relative, or even ancestor had crossed paths with him. Another life he had failed to save despite being a healer.

Jiaoqiu stared at the crimson pool spreading under his feet. For a moment, he couldn’t register it was his own blood.

Meanwhile, the man’s torrent of hatred continued.

“How dare you show yourself here after sending my father to his death!”

...Ah, I see.

“You hid in a safe place while everyone else laid down their lives in the war!”

That’s one way to see it.

“Then, only you returned, taking all the credit! Some healer you are!”

Certainly... I became a renowned healer after enlisting for some time.

As for why, I also don’t know why.

“—It should’ve been you!!”

Jiaoqiu finally understood. This man was grieving. He had lost someone precious and didn't know where to direct his sorrow. So, the man chose to hate him, the healer who was supposed to save his father.

At the same time, after living for so long, Jiaoqiu knew how easily the truth could be twisted. Some rumors painted him as a cunning fox, maneuvering people like disposable pawns for his own gain.

The man’s words were nothing but fallacies, yet Jiaoqiu agreed with every single one of them.

After all, those were the exact words he used to say to himself.

*

The man left Jiaoqiu to die on the side of the road.

As a healer, Jiaoqiu came prepared. He applied emergency treatment right away. Nevertheless, there was only so much he could do.

He was suffering from blood loss. It took all his strength just to treat his wound, let alone stand. As a result, he lay helplessly on the ground.

The once light snowfall had turned into a full-blown blizzard.

A blizzard...? When winter is nearing its end...?

I’ve stitched the wound, but at this rate, I’m more likely to die from hypothermia...

It was a rare chance for him to enjoy a holiday, and he chose this place whimsically for a solo trip. Everyone else was preoccupied with their own businesses.

He couldn’t help but think that it was karma.

His field of vision was dyed white, with no one in sight. Snow muffled all sound beneath its soft weight. Crying for help was useless.

He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t scared. But the final moments of those soldiers who perished on the battlefield must have been far scarier. So, what right did he have?

“How dare you show yourself here after sending my father to his death!”

Jiaoqiu couldn’t help but think about the man’s words over and over again.

Sending them to their death.

He couldn’t even deny it.

He had tried his best to cure them, but ultimately, it was their choice to return to the battlefield. If he could, he’d have prevented them. He’d have saved everyone. He wanted everyone to live.

Why? Why did he survive?

Lady Feixiao, I’m so sorry... I promised to cure you, but I think this is it for me...

Despite his best attempt, he couldn’t prevail against fate.

Slowly but surely, everything went dark.

“—u okay...!?”

Just before his consciousness disappeared completely, he heard a voice.

***

The next time Jiaoqiu woke up, he found himself staring at a dull ceiling, marred by slight sustains.

It was bright, too bright, and warm.

His wound no longer hurt. In the first place, Foxian had excellent regeneration.

“Where am I...?”

When Jiaoqiu tried to sit up, something heavy fell from on top of him. He soon discovered it to be layer after layer of blankets. Then, he looked around.

The shabby room was warm and full of light. The sky outside the window was a shade of deep blue. From the vibrant and colorful surroundings, it was evident that winter had passed.

Something rapped against the window, stealing his attention.

The once dreary branch, covered in snow, was now adorned with a cascade of delicate blossoms. The flowers clung to the branch in such abundance that the wood beneath was barely visible, as if the tree itself had bloomed into life.

“You’re—hoahm—awake...! Ouch, my back...”

Hearing a voice right beside him, Jiaoqiu turned around.

That was when he first saw you, his benefactor.

Dazzling sunlight streamed in, making your smile even more blinding. Gentle breeze swirled in, carrying petals of cherry blossoms, and one got stuck in your hair. Instinctively, he felt the urge to reach out to you, but he restrained himself.

As he let your smile wash over him, a tinge of warmth crept in his chest.

At that moment, he clearly recalled thinking:

Spring has arrived.

*

Later, you filled him in on everything. You were a university student who happened to past by on the day of the incident.

Thus, Jiaoqiu learned that she had rushed him to the hospital, only to discover that his wound had already begun to close. The doctor even complimented how well the stitches were done.

After disinfecting the wound and bandaging him, they sent him home. Her home, technically. Afterward, she made sure that he stayed cozy and warm with all the blankets she could get. She even surrendered her small mattress to him, sleeping on the floor the whole time.

Then, he slept for three days and nights.

“No words can express my gratitude. I’ll make sure that your kindness is repaid. Also, I’m sorry for the troubles I’ve inadvertently caused you...” Jiaoqiu thanked her courteously.

During the conversation, he also found out she’d snuck him into her apartment without permission. He’d have to leave soon.

He didn’t want to stay indebted with someone, so he began thinking of a way to compensate her. How could he break this off as cleanly as possible? Financial remuneration was one way to do it, but it might be too crude.

Just as he was in deep thought...

“You must be hungry. Here, I made some porridge!”

She returned with a bowl. When he saw the bland white porridge, something inside him fell, but he made sure not to let it show. At the same time, his nose picked up a scent, but it was too subtle for him to decipher.

Probably just my feelings...

Showing his friendliest smile, Jiaoqiu dared to make a request. “Thank you, but may I ask for the spiciest pepper you can fin—”

Before he could finish his words, she shoved a spoonful into his mouth.

“Ahaha! So funny, do you want to wreck your stomach?”

Jiaoqiu glared at her while chewing the porridge. Something had been nagging at him since earlier. At last, he understood what it was.

Those eyes.

Since the beginning, she had been looking at him as if he was a wounded rabbit. As a Foxian, he wasn’t quite sure how to take that. In the end, he decided to just keep chewing his food.

...!

But then, a gentle aftertaste enveloped his mouth. The silky white rice had a hint of natural sweetness to it.

“Is this... coconut milk?” Jiaoqiu remarked in awe.

“Yes, that’s right! This is my favorite way to cook porridge!” she smiled at his guess.

In truth, he wasn’t astonished by the coconut milk itself, but rather by the fact that he had tasted it in the first place. Until now, he could barely taste most food.

He wondered why.

Jiaoqiu turned around, and saw that she was holding another spoonful, smiling eagerly.

“Here, Mr. Pink Fox, aaah~”

...She’s really treating me like a small animal.

A confusing feeling rippled in his chest. He didn’t exactly dislike the look of fondness she gave him, but being treated like a critter, on the other hand...

“My name is Jiaoqiu. Also, I can eat by myself,” he said, no longer smiling and averting his eyes from her.

“Okay, okay.” She readily handed him the spoon.

Frankly, he wasn’t that hungry. He was just curious about the lingering aftertaste.

So, he ate a spoonful, and then another. Before he knew it, he was eating his second bowl.

Something is strange...

“You have quite the appetite! But, eating a white porridge must be boring. Here! Some garnishes!”

“You don’t really need to...”

He politely declined, but that didn’t stop her from adding a fluffy omelet, some chopped greens(?), seaweed flakes, and pickled radish. Immediately, the once white porridge was filled with colors, looking even more appetizing. The greens turned out to be scallions instead of coriander, so all was right with the world.

Jiaoqiu took a bite of the omelet and was pleasantly surprised to find it creamy, with a perfect balance of salt, sweetness, and a hint of pepper. But there was something much deeper than that. A flavor that couldn’t be achieved by simply adding salt, pepper, and sugar.

“Delicious. This is...”

She grinned, as if waiting for that exact question.

“Mushroom bouillon! Another one of my favorites!”

“I really like it. How creative. To think that you can add it to an omelet...”

His cooking style was quite traditional, without any additives. If he wanted to make broth, he’d boil some fresh mushrooms. Now, bouillon powder and stock cubes could be used in dishes beyond just soup. How time had changed!

Then, he tried the pickled radish. It was both crunchy and spicy! Coupled with the porridge, the flavor became irresistible!

*

You stayed by his side as he savored the meal, sharing your cooking knowledge as if you had known each other for a long time.

Before Jiaoqiu knew it, the sun had gone down.

“Hehe. Mr. Pink—Jiaoqiu, you must be starving! You finished the entire pot!”

Yes, that was right. He had finished not one, not two, but the whole pot! He was too ashamed to meet her gaze. His cheeks flushed with heat.

“I-in my defense, I hadn’t eaten for three days. I’m really sorry. I’ll be sure to compensate you for the meal. Oh, and the hospital bills also...”

“Haha, don’t sweat it! You were seriously injured! Now, please rest!”

Under normal circumstances, he would have refused outright. In fact, he would have left long ago. But something was not right with him today. Like she said, it was probably because he was seriously injured.

Jiaoqiu rested his head on the pillow while his benefactor lay on a pile of blankets not far away. He insisted that she took some of them. The room was small, so there was little space to spare.

With his stomach full, sleep naturally came to him. As he drifted to sleep, he glanced at her for one last time. She had dozed off by then.

Came morning, he’d decided how to best repay you.

***

Jiaoqiu had departed at the first light of dawn.

He left without saying goodbye, leaving behind a stack of bills and a seemingly precious piece of jade.

It is what it is.

You had a once-in-a-lifetime chance to encounter a Foxian, so lucky you. Besides, he made sure to properly compensate you. You kept telling yourself this, attempting to disperse the sinking feeling in your chest.

Then, days passed, eventually turning into weeks. Whenever you pass by the row of cherry blossom trees near your apartment, you’d inevitably be reminded of the androgynous beauty with the same hair color.

Then, on that fateful day, you heard a soft knock on your apartment door.

You opened it, revealing a dazzling, familiar fox-eared man carrying an antique wooden lunch box.

By that time, not a single cherry blossom petal remained on the branches outside. Yet, his hair, fluttering in the spring breeze, gave you an illusion that the sakura season had just begun.

The man, Jiaoqiu, smiled at you.

“Hello, I’m a new neighbor that has just moved in next door. It isn’t much, but I made them myself. I hope you enjoy it.”

He took off the lid of the lunchbox, revealing a piping hot meat bun.

"I owe you a debt of gratitude for saving my life. From now on, if you need anything, please don't hesitate to tell me."

"'A-anything'...?"

"Yes, from cooking a simple meal, sharing a conversation, treatment for illness, to getting rid of someone."

The pink Foxian smiled, speaking as if he was talking about how nice the weather was.

"Ooh, how kind—wait, can you repeat the last part?”

"Fufu."

Seeing the innocent, pure smile on his face, you decided you just misheard it.

Of course, like a decent person, you turned it down.

“I saved you because it's the right, munch, thing to do. Mr. Jiaoqiu, I do not, munch, wish for any kind of compensation whatsoever.”

...Except your hand seemed to have a mind of its own. You spoke while stuffing your mouth with a meat bun.

“You seem to be enjoying the meat bun. Oh, look, you ate them all. I'm glad! I have more in my place. Would you like to come by?"

“Munch, okay.”

You followed after him, seeing his fluffy pink tail wagging left and right. He opened the door to his place, exposing you to an onslaught of delicious, meaty fragrances and seasonings.

Afterward, you ate, ate, and ate some more. At some point, dinner and some side dishes were served on the table. Jiaoqiu really went all out.

Then, as you bit onto the crunchy spring roll, you suddenly remembered something.

...Wait! I’m supposed to turn him down!

𝓝𝓮𝔁𝓽 𝓬𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻

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Thank you for everyone who has read this far! Here's a little quiz for you! Guess the correct answer, and I'll draw the scene of us spoonfeeding (chibi) Jiaoqiu!

[ladsofsorrow24]

the latest chapter

[iwasbored777]

The fact that all Gwen knows about her variants in other universes is that they're dead is so sad. Like imagine you want to know what happens to you in other dimensions and it turns out that wherever you look you mean nothing, you're so unimportant that there's no bigger role for you other than dying.

And I've seen you guys pointing this out, where she's looking at what looks like her own death and even if it's not this is not just a "love interest" Gwen, this is a superhero who is supposed to mean something, but she doesn't. She's only here to die. And so far this (our) Gwen doesn't have any reason to believe that she won't die very soon just like other Gwens.

I think that one of the main reasons why she's rejecting Miles is not just her trauma and all shit she's been through and the fear of dying like other Gwens when they're involved with Spider-Man, but also because if they start something and she dies this will hurt him too.

It's easy to say "canon events aren't true she shouldn't believe in that" but this isn't just a regular risk, this is her life we're talking about.

[governmentmandatedryujinstan420]

releasing this from the hj discord dungeon because the public populace was in agreement also i'm chronically offline on tumblr and need to fix that for my chronically online ahh

[enhanced-operatives-division]

Prism's concept art has been. Deeply on my mind. They had some killer ideas for her and ummm.....sobs in my hands. I love her?

[coquelicoq]

[spoilers for the end of the double]

episode 40: a hot mess. that is my review. i have seen the epilogue, not translated so i don't know the details, but i got the gist of them raising their kid together which means that he must have in fact survived and returned to her, resolving the ambiguity of the final scene. i think what i'm most annoyed by is not knowing how he got off that battlefield. if you ignore the epilogue, the reading of the last scene that makes the most sense is that he died on the battlefield and she hallucinated him. which she does sometimes, as we had just seen in the hair-combing scene. like you get to the end and that now seems to be the point of that scene, specifically to tilt the ambiguity of "is he really there on that hill with her right now?" in the direction of "no she's imagining him." so what annoys me is specifically that sequence of: her hallucinating a tender moment with him - him on the battlefield with no way out - him very improbably showing up where she is, and i'm supposed to read that as "he survived (don't ask how just trust me bro) and the hair-combing scene was just filler"? fuck outta here with that. just leave out the hair-combing scene then. or the alone on the battlefield surrounded by enemies scene. you can't have both.

[just-another-obsessed-fangirl]

theories as to where Grace got the cigarette she was smoking after fucking Max's ghost:

she has actually secretly been an active smoker for a long time and always carries a pack with her

she bought a pack of cigarettes when she was on the run from the cops because she was stressed, and figuring that she had already disappointed the Lord by touching herself and lying to the police and dismembering a body, decided that she might as well relieve that stress by taking up smoking

Max died with a pack of cigs and a lighter on him and they stayed with him when he turned ghost and Grace pocketed them from his clothes after they had sex

she just found them in the school or on the ground somewhere after the Lords in Black meeting, and perhaps her mind made the association between sex and cigarettes and that's how she came up with the idea of giving up her chastity to end Max's reign of terror

Grace had immediately thought of giving up her virginity as the sacrifice after the Lords in Black meeting, and the entire time Steph and Pete are running away and tearfully coming to terms with Steph having to kill Pete to stop Max, Grace is running around the school or off to a drug store for cigarettes because she felt having a smoke after was that necessary

[archduchessofnowhere]

Youtube algorithm: we have a new Empress Sisi video for you!

Me: is it a nuanced take on her life based in updated historiography with cited sources or is it just the poorly researched cliché of "Sisi was always a miserable victim tortured by her evil mother-in-law"?

Youtube algorithm: it's a good video trust us :)

*I play the video* *it's the cliché of Sisi was always a miserable victim tortured by her evil mother-in-law*

[tanicus-caesareth]

guarana drama, damage control

[torgawl]

can we talk about sukuna and rika and why the king and queen of curses having a dispute is also narratively fitting? if sukuna is an heian era sorcerer with an antipathy and disregard of human emotions and the weak's will to live, blind to love and unable to comprehend the value of relationships with others then rika, as his counterpart, works especially well. rika is just a kid, or was just a kid. an innocent young girl who ended up dying tragically and saw herself transform into a vengeful spirit after being cursed by love. not only does she represent the weak (remember when sukuna's slaughter of women and children was implied?), she represents love itself. with her feelings lingering after death, she clinged onto her existence with the sole wish of protecting yuuta. it counteracts so well with sukuna's selfish will to kill time before his final breathe, which he admitted to be his will and motivation.

before i move on to my next idea, which let me preface by saying that it might be a little out there and dives into theory territory, i'm going to contextualise it with some information on the symbolism of "king and queen" that might help understand why this thought may make - at least some - sense.

in alchemy the king usually appears in conjunction with the queen, representing the sun-and-moon duality. in accordance with the theory of sulfur and mercury, which together, after alchemist purification, form the philosopher’s stone (also called the elixir of life, associated with rejuvenation and immortality), usually represented by the crowned hermetic androgyne (the union of the complementary male and female, achieving perfection or completion in the human state). according to jung, the king and queen also signify the spiritual conjunction that takes place when the process of individuation is complete, with the harmonious union of the unconscious and consciousness. jungian psychology has subjected the alchemistic tradition to extensive analysis and views the king less as an image of paternal authority and more as an archetype of higher insight and wisdom.

with that in mind, i think it's easy to understand where i'm headed but i want to add something else. remember jjk 0? geto's plan at the time was to obtain rika so he could use her power and move forward with his plan to annihilate all no-sorcerers. he believed her to be the key to achieve his goal and was willing to risk his own life for it. furthermore, the story is highly based on buddhist concepts and one of the core aspects of jujutsu kaisen is the cycles of suffering the characters are subjected to. in buddhism the goal is to become free of the samsara (continuous cycle of life, death and rebirth), eliminate suffering and achieve nirvana (enlightment). this ties withe the name of the series as kaisen is comprised of the kanji 'kai', meaning cycle, and 'sen', meaning battle, which combined with jujutsu (which means magic/sorcery but contains the word curse) describe the story as an endless battle of curses. and in a sense, the story also repeats itself, between generations and storyline-wise with the events circling back to how it all began. yuuta managed to land a fatal strike on geto once again, but now rika is pointed to be in a direct confrontation with sukuna as the queen of curses. now that i went through all the context needed to understand this, is it possible rika is once again in danger of being taken away? the idea of achieving a state of perfection with the unity between king and queen is quite intriguing. sukuna finally addressing yuuji as a worthy rival because of his unshakable resolve and unbreakable soul, is almost directly implying yuuji to be the one with whom sukuna has his last battle. an ultimate power-up (or the equivalent to), would be veyy cathartic before a final fight where yuuji would have the opportunity to finally go all out and have his well awaited and deserved protagonism (in my eyes, at least).

[evillious-trash]

Nemesis going full mad scientist mode and trying to figure out how to resurrect people (read: Nyoze) my beloved au.

[golden-stag]

I'm so baffled by the fact Sharon doesn't have a VA or speaking lines in X2-

First thing is one of Slayers endings where he's talking to her directly and it feels really stilted and awkward when he directly asks her opinion on something and she just doesn't respond.

But that's whatever, I can live with that.

What's killing me is her ending where she vaporised Eddie and YET-