#love the show. but how was him being reincarnated relevant at all???

[umihoshi]

please for the love of me,

if you're writing a reincarnation/transvered to another world story where them having had a previous live has 0 impact on the rest of the story.... just....don't???? don't make them reincarnated??? make your hero and story interesting enough that you don't need all that???

[evasive-anon]

Jason was having a pretty OK time with the league of assassins, sure getting dunked in a lazarus pit sucked and Bruce turned out to be a scumbag who didn't care about him, but at least he isn't dead. He even liked most of the new skills he was learning there so on the whole being with the league seemed like a pretty good deal to him until Talia woke him up in the middle of the night and left him alone with two child assassins.

Or, a demon twins AU where when Talia realizes her father intends to have her boys fight to the death takes action first by deciding to take all her kids and leave the league. Talia either dies or is separated from them in the initial escape and now Jason just has a bag of supplies and a letter from Talia explaining the plan to get to Gotham. Jason has to get himself and two 7 year olds out of the Himalayas, across a desert, and over 12k miles to Gotham. Only now the league members hunting them down want them dead or worse and Jason isn't too confident that B will accept them given their kill counts.

Featuring:

Good Mom Talia. she loves her kids. Did she teach them to kill? Sure, but that's an important life skill.

Single Teen Mom Jason. He's the oldest and in charge but he also will not answer any questions about The Plan™ given he isn't committed to Talia's but also doesn't have a set alternative. Oscillates between looking forward to just dumping his new little brothers with Bruce so they'll be his problem and thinking of just moving somewhere random in the US and keeping them based entirely on how cute vs annoying they are at that time. Didn't realize how much he relied on Talia to help him with things until she is gone. He's really trying his best but he wasn't all that emotionally stable before this so hang in there.

Angry Smol Dami. He's still drinking the LoS punch and really dislikes that he is now considered a traitor. Can't stand that Jason won't answer any of his very relevant questions. Is actually very scared but will not show it. Misses his mom. Didn't even know he had siblings until his mom yoinked him out of bed that night and brought him to Jason and Danny and started all this. Physically the stronger twin. Thinks Danny is dragging them down in fights and also may blame him a bit because clearly his mother only did all this to spare him.

Danny, reincarnated with limited access to his memories and powers. Has been trying to keep his powers a secret. Talia knew about them but never told anyone but she may have hinted at it in her letter to Jason. Not the strongest physically but very good at stealth and social interactions. Didn't know he had and older brother or twin before Jason woke him up at Talia's instruction that night. Thinks Damian is mean and has faith Jason knows what he's doing even if that is very much untrue.

[niinnyu]

Here's why I think the Gojo bait is not great writing and why you should maybe think so too (Spoilers till jjk 260).

We've spent the last few chapter consistently establishing a few things about our protagonist (Yuuji) and our antagonist(Sukuna).

1. Yuuji's father's soul is a reincarnation of Sukuna's twin: This instantly creates a connection between Sukuna and Yuuji.

As if you needed one outside of Sukuna's constant mockery of his former vessel's lack of "competance", and that most of yuuji's biggest losses can be attributed to Sukuna, building his wrath brick by brick. But surely adds to it all.

2. Yuuji feels incredibly lonely right now: Anyone he's created any sort of meaningful (?) Bond with outside of just 'hey you're an ally I can fight alongside with' is currently either dead or greatly incapacitated.

3. Also ofc the absolute damage that Yuuji has started incurring on sukuna. Damage that the slew of sorcerors before him couldn't. Forget about everyone teaching him abou love, Yuuji will show him Burning Rage.

This while also having hinted at Yuuji being possibly strong enough to do so on his own. He can go head to head with the King Of Curses with or without the help of his fellow sorcerors once he is able to harness this power.

Anything that was Gojo vs Sukuna feels absolutely irrelevant with the build up that Gege themself has been creating through the past few chapters.

Gojo's form right at the end of the chapter undercuts the pacing completely. Readers are more interested in those last 2 panels of Gojo which are completely removed from and rather jarring to the buildup between Yuuji and Sukuna. Fan interest in Gojo isn't their fault because that's what the chapter makes you focus on.

The only way I see this continue the buildup is if this is somehow Yuuji's doing or done with his knowledge, in which case it'd have been better to end the chapter by showing that Yuuji is aware of it and has an ace up his sleeve, bringing it back to the 2 relevent characters, and for people to stew in what Yuuji could be up to for a week.

But no matter what Gojo's visage there means, Yuuji in this moment has been so greatly undermined, not by his lack of strength, not by Sukuna outright demeaning him, but by the writing itself. By Gege.

And oh, how Yuuji deserves better.

[butterflydm]

wot rewatch (book spoilers edition): 2x4

Not only is this one going to have spoilers for all the aired episodes plus any teasers, it will also have book spoilers through book 14: a memory of light (haha let's pretend I didn't accidentally call it book 13 in my previous rewatch book spoilers posts). I am also going to talk about the trailer for ep5.

I love this change to the seals being what's holding the Forsaken -- and Lanfear's side-step of death at the end of the episode shows us why such a choice was required on LTT's part (I am currently assuming it was LTT who was the driving force behind this because of the memory echo that Rand had at the 'Eye of the World' where he was confronting Ishamael). He had to seal them up because they couldn't be killed conventionally, because the Dark One could just bring them back (Lord of the Grave). This is a great change for a visual medium because it means they can keep the same actors instead of needing to swap them out for a new body. It also adds a great new threat level to the Forsaken right off the bat and it gives viewers another reason to understand why joining the Shadow might be compelling. They don't want the wheel and reincarnation -- they want to live on as the person that they are now.

It's also interesting because it means that the Forsaken are potentially widely dispersed and it may mean that Ishy has to actively seek for where they've been sealed up (maybe asking his Darkfriends to try to find more seals like this) -- which may mean that the Forsaken are loosed more slowly than in the books, as Ishamael discovers where Lews Therin hid them. (or they were all released here and we were only shown Lanfear because she's the most relevant one)

3. The reveal that Lady Anveare is Moiraine's younger sister! This episode gives us a lot of information about Moiraine -- one of the big things that we learn is that she's much older than she was in the books. Which is a change I like; so many of the AS that we meet in the books are still within a 'natural' lifespan and it was kinda weird tbh. I think that she (and Siuan) took longer to make Accepted and Sister in this version (hence the note we get about how Cadsuane is the person to compare Nynaeve's rocketing through the ranks to and not the two of them) and that they were already full Sisters when they heard the prophecy from Gitara. This does track with them wearing blue in that scene from the trailer, which is potentially going to be a flashback to the prophecy (fingers crossed! would love to hear it!).

I am curious about how this may affect all the various familial relations in the show! But they were basically ignored completely in the books anyway, lol.

4. "My family have a cabin up near Kinslayer's Dagger". Wanting to take Rand up to the place that was named after how LTT killed his wife and all of the people that he loved -- I mean, yeah. That's Lanfear for you. So... has Lanfear used Compulsion on Rand at all or is it all pure manipulation? I am torn, tbh. She's manipulating him hard, both in the waking world and in the world of dreams. I'm not sure if she needed Compulsion to push him over the edge -- and I feel like her reaction to him implying that he loves her feels very genuine and I don't know if she would be quite that blown away by him saying that if she's been Compelling him to go along with her part of the way. They also might not want to lean too much on Compulsion for subtle things like this and save it for bigger influences. But we may find out more next episode, so I will be patient. He does abruptly change his mind in her favor a couple of times, so that may speak to a hint of Compulsion. If she is using it, she's picking and choosing her moments. (I don't think Compulsion has been mentioned at all on the show yet?)

5. An interesting thought to me about how Alanna approaches being an Aes Sedai with her family: this is potentially similar to how we're going to be seeing how the Wise Ones are integrated with Aiel society. They keep their families and are a vital part of their community.

6. Timing-wise, they do make it clear that Moiraine bonded Lan after her abrupt personality change -- so Lan is probably the same age that he was in the books, with only Moiraine (and some other Aes Sedai) being older. It's also interesting that Moiraine didn't feel any need to have a Warder before she heard the prophecy.

7. I will note again that Egwene does NOT tell Elayne the name of the person that she lost, which I am going to cross my fingers has pay-off later on in the season, with Elayne meeting Rand without knowing that he's the person that Egwene is talking about here. I really do want them to meet without the context of "this is my friend's ex-boyfriend who faked his own death" hanging over their heads. Right now, Elayne has zero facts or knowledge about Rand as a person -- doesn't know his name, his looks, or that he's a man who can channel (she does not even know that Egwene is talking about a man! Egwene says "someone I love more than anything").

8. We get some more foreshadowing of the coup in this conversation with Liandrin and Leane. "If she falls, you'll fall with her." I really am wondering when exactly Elaida will be introduced. I feel like it would likely be before the coup itself happens.

Liandrin, I suspect, will not be going back to the Tower (or, if she does, it will only be briefly, to collect a handful of other Black Ajah members and then head out to whenever it is that the Black Ajah Hunters plotline will take Elayne and Nynaeve next season -- whether that be Tanchico like in the books or Tear as @markantonys has speculated, also, to briefly go back to the previous scene, I am sorry that you did not get your boy! Hopefully we will hear something about him soon). Liandrin torched her bridges with the Wondergirls in this episode, so even if she does go back to the Tower, as soon as she learns that the Seanchan were pushed out of Falme, she would know that her cover in the Tower is blown and that she needs to leave before anyone can learn about what she did.

9. I think the placement of Perrin learning about wolfbrothers is so much better here than jammed into right after Shadar Logoth, lol. Elyas really just rolled up, infodumped, and then rolled away in the books, lol.

10. We still don't know that LTT was Lanfear's ex, which is fantastic and I love it, lol. Show-onlys guessing that Ishamael is the ex that Lanfear keeps talking about is the most hilarious thing in the world and I'm in love with it. I've seen it at least twice now in the non-reader reactions that I've watched.

Haha, Lanfear's reaction when Rand reminds her that he wasn't a virgin when they slept together. Her face is just priceless. She is stabbing Egwene in her mind right now. (does she know it was Egwene? I mean, Egwene being one of the ta'veren actually gives her a shield against Lanfear killing her that she didn't have in the books, since Fain established that TDO sees all five of the ta'veren as important)

11. The show has been establishing so strongly that Rand dreams of having a home, raising his kids, and doesn't want to be... idk a lone wanderer in the wilderness, and it does make me wonder/hope that they'll adjust his ending epilogue and have him going to his loved ones in the end instead of wandering off on his own and wondering which of the women he loves is going to be the first to abandon her responsibilities to join in him wandering around aimlessly.

(it's probably obvious from my description there that I am in favor of a bit of tweaking of Rand's ending!)

12. Learning that the person telling him to 'take' what he wants was, in fact, one of the Forsaken, might be something that leads into Rand pushing away the idea of being allowed to ever indulge in the things that he wants, which would match a lot of his behavior in the books.

13. So, in the books, Barthanes is a Darkfriend. I'm assuming that's the son that Anvaere is talking about, the one that she is marrying to the nameless queen who might be a Galldrian expy. Is Anvaere a Darkfriend? Lanfear didn't seem to like her in 2x3 but, well, she was A Woman who was talking to Lanfear's Man and that might matter more to her than any Shadow affliations.

...still, I'm going to guess 'no', because I don't think the Shadow would want Moiraine to get literally any information on Rand and Anveare's information is a straight line that leads to Lanfear's throat getting cut. But Anvaere's son being a DF while she is not is also very tragic to think about! While Anveare was trying to restore their house the honorable way, Barthanes may have taken a shortcut. Another possibility would be that Barthanes is not yet a Darkfriend but will become so because of the events of this season.

14. I think "Elayne is following them because she's suspicious of why they're sneaking out of the Tower" is a good way to get around the fact that Elayne doesn't know any of the people that they're going to rescue and she ends up getting caught up in it by accident, little knowing how the course of her life is going to change. It really feels like it needed to be something like this because of us losing Caemlyn from s1.

15. I am so glad that Min has a storyline that isn't about following Rand around like a puppy. She has a painful backstory! She has goals and desires that don't revolve around Rand! She has to experience moral quandaries and goes through trauma that actually focuses on her as a person, instead of her being Rand's post-trauma cuddle toy.

16. Okay, so now that we know that Ishamael specifically wants Mat in Cairhien, I feel like that gives us a bunch of information:

a. It implies to me that Lanfear is still working under Ishamael's direction for the most part and that she's essentially "the agent assigned to Rand's corruption".

b. We know that they want to corrupt as many of the ta'veren as possible (from what Fain said in the s1 finale). Rand is the Big Prize but if any of them turned that's a bird in the hand. So, Ishamael is approaching this in a few different ways.

c. It seems like he wasn't certain exactly what was going on with Perrin until 2x3 but as soon as he has realized more about the wolf connection, he worked to try to get Perrin to view it as something evil and dark.

d. Lanfear got put in charge (volunteered, I'm sure) to do Rand. In every possible way.

e. Liandrin got basically "everyone in the Tower" but chose to focus her efforts on Nynaeve and Mat. It sounds like that may be because they were the two that stood out to her more -- she had the (hilarious) impression that Egwene was the one who would 'know her place' when the time came. So she worked on Nynaeve by trying to mentor her openly (while doing some more subtle manipulation). And she worked on Mat by destroying him psychologically.

f. Once the Seanchan are settled in the far west (maybe once Suroth's soldiers are close enough to a Waygate), Ishamael lets Liandrin know that time is up to corrupt Nynaeve and we're moving to Plan B. We've gonna do this the 'easy' way by throwing her at Suroth and let the sul'dam break Nynaeve and Egwene to be obedient.

g. But BEFORE that happened, Liandrin released Mat (with Min tugging him along) out into the world, and we find out this week that Ishamael wants Mat to be brought to Cairhien. Why?

h. Theory: Mat is the back-up plan if Lanfear fails with Rand (which she did). One of the theories that I posted about Mat's viewing from Min (Theory #4) is that he is Compelled to stab Rand. We know from 2x3 that Liandrin could sneak into his cell without waking him. Easy enough for Ishy to do the same with some Traveling. Maybe Mat is already under Compulsion by one of them, with a trigger-event waiting to happen.

Which would be completely devastating for Mat (and Rand) and also (along with Liandrin's torment of Mat in general) lead to a very compelling (ha!) reason for him to seek out a way to prevent channelers from using weaves on him. It would essentially give him the same kind of emotional reaction that we saw from the flicker-flicker scenes in the book (where he was talking about how he's not going to betray Rand) without us actually needing the Portal Stones. Mat will be: a. absolutely traumatized by Aes Sedai in general; b. terrified about weaves being used on him; c. have viscerally been forced to betray Rand against his will.

There is also... hmm, to this point. The first shot of Ishamael in the trailer for ep5 might be a match for the 'Mat is tempted by the dagger' scene that we've seen in some of the other trailers. And Ishamael and Mat getting a scene together would complete the circle of him having an intimate little talks with all the ta'veren boys. Not certain if it's the same place, but it feels like the lighting is the same. Not the later shot of him walking with Suroth but the earlier one of him in a room that looks like it's got some fireplaces going on. I will brace myself for potentially not getting Mat next episode though.

(again, if this doesn't happen in the show, I might be forced to write it. We will see!)

Plus!

i. It could provide a real-time example of Min accidentally creating a viewing while trying to prevent it! She doesn't want to hurt Mat but she also would not want him to stab Rand. But since she is the one who would likely be bringing Mat into Rand's orbit (as she has no idea that Rand is in Cairhien, I don't think), it would show the viewers that Min's viewings are inevitable instead of it just being her telling us that.

I've seen speculation that Min is going to do a U-turn and take Mat anywhere else but Cairhien (presumably accidentally going to Falme) after learning that one of the Forsaken wants Mat there but... but I really really want Rand and Mat to get a reunion lol. Rand was THE most affected by Mat staying behind last season and it would be good to build them up again in anticipation of them spending s3 together, so I'd love if they got a reunion BEFORE Falme. Like, I was so excited to hear Min is meant to take him to Cairhien!

17. I do feel like something changes for Lanfear when Rand implies that he loves her. She stops for a moment and reacts to that, and the vibe of the scene shifts afterwards too. Great meta on the subject here: https://moghedien.tumblr.com/post/727929706072227841/1-it-immediately-sets-up-the-threat-of-going-up and I pretty much agree completely. This is where her true obsession with RAND as LTT was born. She just got everything that she wanted and then it was stolen from her.

Episode 5 next week! So excited!

Looking forward to seeing Lanfear unleashed in the next episode! The saa in her eyes was just... yes. Such a good decision for them to treat TDO's resurrection of his Chosen this way, I think, so that we can keep these spectacular actors. We're gonna get info from Moiraine about the Forsaken next episode, it sounds like, which is exciting.

We also are going to get AVIENDHA! So excited about this. She looks amazing in the trailer. She sounds amazing. She is amazing.

This is also when we're going to get some more insight into the Seanchan as a whole (Loial is with Ishamael and Suroth in the trailer), I suspect.

The other probable important event about next episode is, uh, gonna be more trauma for one of our characters, though. Lots more trauma. So far, most (definitely not all!) of Egwene's trauma has been "horrible things keep happening to the people I care about" (Nynaeve's assumed death; Perrin being tortured in front of her; Rand's assumed death; Nynaeve's assumed death again this season) but now her trauma will include "a horrible thing is happening to me". It might be the 'cliffhanger' of the episode; Egwene getting taken as damane. Since it looks like we're spending some time in the Ways with Liandrin & the Wondergirls first. Or it might happen earlier. I will brace myself!

[teacupballerina]

I would love to read your stories, can you please tell me what they are about and where to find them.

Okie dokie! Here are the four main projects that I shuffle through.

World of Light is a "sequel" comic to Super Secret Crisis War, an official CN crossover. It's about Aku, pretty much. Most of my stuff is about Aku. Anyway this is the main one. An all-ages attempt at creating something that could pass for official. Aku shows up to take over the Powerpuffs' world, loses their fight, and is convinced to "join" them in a power-restricting suit to escape the training-room prison they imprisoned him in. Along the way we learn that Aku is Chemical X. I recommend reading it on @cnwol if you use a desktop browser, or deviantart. We are on chapter 4 of 10 and I PROMISE I WILL FINISH IT

Sorrow's Daughter is a storyboard style comic. It is my take on a "Modern Human Reincarnation AU" Samurai Jack while also being a parody of really bad live action adaptations like Riverdale or CW Powerpuff where the characters are vaguely inspired by the source and plot is a mess. It's like one season of a show where every season is a cartoon network adaption set in the same universe... like American Horror Story but not as edgy. Also a WIP. It is about Ashi and Aku, and how their story here differs from the show while still retaining the manipulative aspect. It is best read on Instagram of all places and most of my content for it is there, but it can be read on desktop @sorrowsdaughter or on deviantart. IT IS PG-13. Contains Jack/Ashi, Aku/everyone

OTTO TIME CAFE: RED is a fanfiction based on an idea I toyed with over ten years ago about Him turning the Otto Time Diner into a Maid Café and hiring Aku as his manager. It is written as an anime and I make fake screenshots for it. There is a legitimate, story-relevant reason for this which will be understood when I fucking FINISH IT!!! It is almost all silliness and fanservice for me and my friend @ladykeane with a few sprinkles of violence and a lot of ick. I can only recommend it to fellow weebs. It can be found on ao3 alongside my drabble fics. NOT RATED, contains Him/Professor, Him/Aku, Aku/Blossom, and others

Sins of the Father is my original story. It is still being developed but it'll come to me when it comes to me, basically. I sometimes post art and info under the #sotf tag, but everything is subject to change. I have already made several major changes I haven't posted about anywhere. If you see me posting about it I'm probably just drawing my characters.

[hoppipolla]

Red and green in the Puttyuban Bar scene

Nuey is said to love wearing green which earned them the nickname "K̄heīyw kathoey” (green queen). (Thank you Vi for the clarification <3 @disasterbabygirlnick)

Green is often associated with nature and healing for spring, the greenest of seasons, is the season of new beginnings, bringing rebirth to a sleeping world.  

This might be a bit far-fetched but the way Nuey dances reminds me of the wind blowing through trees, rustling their leaves. The way they gracefully moves their hips while lifting their arms up, their whole body seems to follow a melody only they can hear. The tree imagery is quite relevant when you consider Nuey’s backstory. James tells Jom that Nuey had to flee Phranakorn to come here and find a new place to stay where they could be safe from violence. Their dance is proof that they have taken root in this city, that although they went through a lot, they can finally let their “green queen” blossom. 

What I really want to point out though is that Yai is also wearing green, a green suit to be precise. Just like @respectthepetty always says, colours mean things, especially in a context so full of subtext. 

The Puttyuban Bar is a place which embraces queerness and allows everyone to “vent out [their] repressed feelings”, but most importantly, it is Yai’s favourite place. 

“In fact, I only discovered it recently. It’s very secretive. So much that not many people know about it.”

I may be completely wrong but when I rewatched this ep, I couldn’t help but think how these words can so easily be interpreted in different ways: quite literally — Yai has discovered a new bar recently that not many people know about — or you can see them as the embodiment of Yai’s self-discovery journey — him falling in love with Jom and the fact that only his sister and perhaps Prik knows that he is queer. As always, I’m over-analysing things so do whatever you want with this interpretation.

What Yai’s father says to Dech might imply that he suspects Yai of not being straight from a young age but that doesn’t mean Yai knew he was queer when he was young. You can feel different and still take a lot of time figuring it all out. Anyway, I’m most likely wrong about this so let’s move on.   

You can tell Yai feels at ease bringing Jom in this bar and that feeling of inner peace is embodied by the colour green. But just like there are different shades of green, the green Nuey wears isn’t like the green Yai wears. Nuey is in full bloom whereas Yai is experiencing his first spring. 

However what I love most about this whole scene in the bar is how it shows Jom and Yai to be so complementary. 

Jom is wearing red and perfectly fits in the bar decor which is Christmas themed (combination of red and green) although it’s his first time there. So is James. The collusion between him and James — they're both wearing red clothes — is reinforced by the fact that they both know they’re gay. By wearing red clothes they feel like a part of the bar (regulars if you will) whereas Yai stands out by wearing green. Although he does stand out, he isn’t out of place because the bar is decorated with red and green ornaments. 

(Look at them!! Then look at the garlands!! Even the curtains at the entrance.)

We know that IFYLITA is a story about time-travel and reincarnation and that Yai and Jom are destined to meet. They both feel deeply connected to each other and they feel whole when they’re together. I feel like them wearing red and green, the colours of the Puttyuban bar, a bar that encourages people to be themselves, is quite significant and shows how important they are to each other. Just like red and green are complementary colours, they both belong together. 

Bonus: Yai’s tie has hints of red. 

[loverofstufflof]

The Lord Deer Demon

Megapolis’ most sane doctor

Dr. Bài works at a hospital in the Megapolis Bhikkhu district. Being one of the few clinics that understands demon biology, they get a lot of traffic from all walks of life.

Including the occasional visit with a squad of heroes after their brushes with death.

Unfortunately, Dr. Bài has a rocky history with one of their mentors.

Is it really so bad that he wants to put his past behind him? To live happily with his daughter, and save lives as he’s always wanted? Why does this scheming, knifing, stupid monkey need to be all up in his business?!

He doesn’t know anything about the Bone Demon, so just leave him be, already! There’s a woman downstairs that urgently needs her daily dose of freshly extracted heart and—yes he is still using that method! It works and who cares if a few stupid mortals die in the process?!

-

Bài Lùjing, more accurately known as the White Deer Spirit, is a blorbo I’ve been working on for quite some time now. He’s meant to be my idea of how the show could incorporate the actual JTTW villain.

For those whose knowledge of JTTW antagonists extends as far as OSP episodes (/pos) Lùjing appears as the main villain in the Kingdom of Sons arc.

The king of the land has fallen deathly ill and is desperate for whatever source of immortality he can get. His advisor, the White Deer Spirit, informs him that consuming 1,111 hearts of young sons will bring him back to health.

However, when the pilgrims arrive, Tripitaka’s heart should be hearty enough to do it instantly, because, you know, reincarnation of Golden Cicada.

As you can imagine, this section is very gorey, chaotic, and a great opportunity for Wukong to flex his body horror skills. My favourite arc of the whole book.

A lot went into the design to figure out how LEGO would make his story more palatable for younger audiences, how they would fit him into the futuristic city LMK takes place in, how they would anglicize his name, and so on.

I don’t feel like giving too much away because I’m honestly kinda proud of how I built his character and want to reveal his backstory in a cool, dramatic way, but I will say this:

His surname is very, very relevant.

Anyhow, this is my propaganda piece for the @lmk-oc-competition ! You can vote for him to win a duel to the death! Make sure to give the other creators some love, too! This is just a friendly competition, after all :]

[theworldisabrokenbonebutitishome]

My fill for my @guardianbingo prompt of 'spaceship'.

Look, give me a show with aliens and special powers and time travel and heartbreak and watch me make it relevant to Doctor Who. If there's one thing I can do, it's make everything about Who. I've thought way too much about this so I'm gonna make it everyone's problem. (behind a read more though because wow I ramble)

I hear spaceship and I think TARDIS, because it's been almost twenty years and I am not getting over DW ever at this point. So my brain decided hey what if Zhao Yunlan got thrown back in time in a more comfortable and stylish way? And thus this image came to mind.

But my mind is not one for shutting up, so while this came to be I had a lot of thoughts about if anyone in the show would pull off being the Doctor particularly well.

The obvious choice is of course Zhao Yunlan; canonically time travels, regeneration could be a sci-fi equivalent to reincarnation, general chaos gremlin vibes, likes sticking things in his mouth yes I'm imagining 13 eating soil rn, quick thinking and loves a puzzle. Kunlun could be his version of 'Doctor' and Zhao Yunlan his version of 'John Smith' when he tries to go undercover.

However, I then got to thinking about Shen Wei. His wardrobe is definitely a much better match for the Doctor but he's not so obviously chaotic. But he is an alien, he's at least 10000 years old, his Dixing power is learning which is perfect, he's literally a professor (like the Doctor) and enjoys teaching (twelve comes to mind), he's into science and has accumulated random detailed knowledge about other things (eg. Bears) whilst remaining somewhat awkward socially, doesn't necessarily entirely vibe with others of his kind, has lots of secrets and is not always very good at lying. Likes to suffer in silence and not fcking tell anyone. He may not be full of chaos like thirteen but he has the vibes of nine or twelve where there's something not entirely human about him.

Another thing I found very interesting though is the potential for Ye Zun to be the Master to Shen Wei's Doctor. Because I like pain. The relationship between them two in DW canon is fascinating, just imagine if they were actually siblings.* The intense 'I want to kill you' vs 'I want to be you' vs 'I want you to like me' desire that's constantly warring away inside the Master. The Master loves the Doctor but feels like they've been abandoned by them, is that not Ye Zun? The desire for power and mayhem but also maybe just wanting attention from a certain person.

Also, if Shen Wei is the Doctor then Zhao Yunlan gets to be the companion and depending which level of angst I can cope with on the day, I've decided on two options.

Novel vibes: Zhao Yunlan as Donna Noble, something happens during their travels together that results in Shen Wei having to remove all of Zhao Yunlan's memories of him and their adventures together and Shen Wei has to stay away and never return or run the risk of Zhao Yunlan's brain permanently breaking. An even more extreme version of Shen Wei having to stay away from Kunlun's reincarnations because there's no chance of Zhao Yunlan coming back in this world. I'm not being entirely evil though because the 60th anniversary clips we've seen imply there is hopefully a way to fix this problem so there could still be a happy ending!

Show vibes: instead of sacrificing his soul to a lantern how about Zhao Yunlan does a Rose and stares into the TARDIS and only almost dies. If there's a way to somehow combine this with Rose using the power to bring Jack back to life and accidentally making him immortal then ta da! a never dying Zhao Yunlan to go with Shen Wei the time lord! Winners all around!

Final point i promise:

The TARDIS is called the ghost monument at one point, is that not a fitting name for a ghost king's spaceship?

[hils79]

Hils Watches Goblin - Ep 3

I love him

Haha! A dramatic rescue and now they have to walk home

Can they communicate telepathically now? I love it

He's very cute

YES! Fuck up her abusive family

So there's a chance that the king that killed him has been reincarnated as member of ikon or a member of this girl group that I don't recognise. Amazing.

Ooh nice tough having him be there for the doctor not the patient. Didn't see that coming

This reminds me of when I was watching Duel and the characters kept stopping to eat at Subway and talk about how tasty the food is

I love her

Haha! She blew out the food she burnt and accidentally summoned the goblin, who she is trying to avoid

His smug smile. Everyone in this is a dork and I love them

I mean if Lee Dong Wook showed up to take me to the afterlife I would definitely go without hesitation

I assumed grim reapers had always been grim reapers but apparently he has a past life. Interesting.

Oh my god they've gone grocery shopping together. I love to see powerful supernatural beings doing mundane stuff like this

Grim Reaper: I can't wait for your bride to pull out the sword so you die Also Grim Reaper: Oh, no, please don't leave 🥺

Grim Reaper is totally going to pretend to take her just to get him to come back

Aww she kept the flowers he gave her the first time they met. This drama isn't at all what I expected. I thought it was going to be all brooding heavy angst but it's sweet and funny

Ooh magic stall lady hexed the grim reaper so he would pick up the ring. I've already forgotten what's significant about the ring. Was it that woman in the past who owned it? And then did Eun Tak's mother pick it up at one point too? I'm sure all will become clear

Oh my god did Eun Tak's pretty boss just have a meet cute with the grim reaper. Well, that fortune teller did say she'd have bad luck with men. This probably won't end well

Yeah, for a start he can't touch her. Oh, didn't he say he can see people's past lives if he touches them? I'm sure that will become relevant at some point

Yeah, that's not ominous at all

I mean yes if I had a meet cute with Lee Dong Wook I would be like this also. I mean not really because I'm ace but I understand. He's very handsome.

He's been living with the goblin for too long. He's started wearing sweaters now too

Wow she is terrible too. I hope the goblin punishes her as well

Two powerful immortals freaking out because someone rang their doorbell. This drama is so fun.

This is about to get awkward

Wait, can she really see it? I'd think 'holy shit there's a giant sword impaling you' would have come up before now

[ultramagicalternate]

Erika Storm and Dr. Reynard Woodall

Relevant Posts: Mary Pickford

Master Post

Quick note: I am more than willing to take advice on how to do lighting and shading like you see above. I will happily make changes to this.

- - - - -

- - The return of Two Infamous Primordials - -

    The Primordials were a group of entities tasked with testing the stability of the Cosmos back when God first created it. Once the Cosmos were stable enough for everyone to live in, the Primordials were expected to reincarnate. Some did not comply, becoming rogue Primordials. The two most notable examples are The Dragon of Old and The Lich of Old. In this case, something different happened. There were two Primordials God tasked with creation, that being The Sulfur of Old and The Mercury of Old. These two rivals created many things... until they fell in love. This union resulted in the creation of three new Primordials: The Fear of Old, The Hunger of Old, and The Child of Old.

    This was unacceptable and dangerous, so God called upon The Evangelist of Old and The Watchman of Old to deal with the issue. The Evangelist claimed Sulfur's power and the Watchman claimed Mercury's power. This forced the two troublemakers to reincarnate. The three newborn Primordials would be spared as it was no fault of their own. While it is unclear what Fear and Hunger are up to, the Child seems to have reincarnated as an Atlantean Alchemist named Hermes Trismegistus.

- - Dr. Reynard Woodall - -

    Originally The Sulfur of Old, Reynard was born in the year 1900. Being a young adult in 1920s America helped him greatly, leading him to becoming an engineer and an architect. He had a change of career once the stock market crashed, shifting him towards the military industrial complex. The chaos of World War II led to the start of a top secret group called The German Anomaly Investigation Group or G.A.I.G. (Pronounced: "Gauge"). His work in this group would lead to him discovering Alchemy, of which he practiced all throughout the 1940s. In the 1950s, Reynard was approached by M.A.I.G., a reformation of the old G.A.I.G. Over the years he would rise through the ranks and become the lead scientist for the organization.

- - Erika Storm - -

    The Mercury of Old was very chaotic and retained this trait even in her reincarnation. Erika just showed up one day on Sky Fortress Camelot (one of the air carriers for The Liger Brigade). Erika did have past interactions with the Briggs family, but it was poorly documented. The only thing Captain Antares Briggs knew was that she was nothing but trouble. Imagine his reaction to Erika just popping up one day and asking for a job in the science division. Things were hectic for a while. Erika had a habit of getting into trouble with her experiments, but she was producing results. Eventually Antares and the other captains of the North American division of The Liger Brigade agreed to promote her to head scientist.

    Naturally Erika and Reynard reunited at some point. They were beyond happy to see each other again. Plans for marriage are on the table. but starting a family is something they are not interested in... for good reasons. In regards to the bomb incident, the Time Watchers feel that the less known about that branch of the timeline the better. What they will say is that no, you should keep worrying and hate the bomb. There is a very good reason why countries do not use nukes on each other and it has nothing to do with opening a tear in reality that allowed a sentient Black Hole to roam freely on Earth. 

- - - - -

Further Reading: Mary Pickford

- - - - -

I'm going to keep the after thoughts short. I've had Erika kicking around for a while and I actually was going to originally upload her back when I was doing character profiles non stop (context: this was on DeviantART). Dr. Reynard on the other hand was inspired by Dr. Strangelove: or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. No, I have not watched the movie yet... I've only watched the trailer. I want to watch the movie because that trailer has me hooked.

Again, if you got any advice for shadows like this, please let me know and I will happily make changes to this.

[bl-recs-and-reviews]

Watching/Rewatching/Planning to Watch List

I got tagged by @excessivelyobssesed​ thanks! sorry it took me so long to do it, my head is all over the place, but it made me super happy that you tagged me :D

Watching:

I... I-I dont know anymore. Too many. It’s the BLs fault. Also the life crisis. I need a distraction. But it might be too many... I start to forget the plots too fast...

The Warp Effect (yt) - not bl. guy travels ten years to the future and has to solve the problems of his friends/acquitances linked to polaroid pictures. It’s P’Jojo so it’s crazy shenanigans mixed with serious and relevant topics being out in the spotlight. I’m really liking it.

Never Let Me Go (yt) - bl. low class bodyguard x lonely young master. after the death of his father the young master wants a friend/someone to trust of the bodyguard his mom found for him.

History 5 (viki) - bl. might drop it. I haven’t given the second episode a chance yet. I don’t really get the plot yet. we’ll see.

The New Employee (viki) - k bl. intern x boss. gay intern falls for his boss who’s flirting with him in a very elegant way. it took a while but I’m sold on this one. It’s so good.

Midnight Series: Midnight Motel (yt) - not bl (yet). Off, Louis, Jan and Monf are killing it. And the plot is interesting. we’ll see what Dirty Laundry brings. (still waiting for the gay chickens)

The Director Who Buys Me Dinner (iq) - k bl. a lot of cringe in the beginning. but despite everything I’m into it now. also I love reincarnation and curses that have to be overcome with the power of love. the tenderness is a plus.  

Candy Color Paradox (viki) - j bl. opposites attract in this japanese manga adaptation of two scandal magazine staff who fall in love as they discover each other. not the worst, not the best. good enough for me. 

609 Bedtime Story (wetv) - bl. parallel universe bad boy player falls for cute guy and now have to save his life. OhmFluke. surprisinfly the plot is one of the reasons I’m here.

Between Us ( iq | yt) - bl. UWMA spinoff with WinTeam as mains. I’m obsessed. I have zero need for the side couples despite how cute they are. I’m invested on WinTeam. 

Gap the series (yt) - gl. that has me hooked. office romance with so many flaws but the chemistry is amazing, and despite it’s flaws the plot is solid enough for me. I just love looking at them loving each other. 

Happy Ending Romance (gaga | viki) - bl. writer got blacklisted and now lives (as a couple) with another popular writer that decided to take care of him. he's approached by guy who tries to convince him to publish a new book. this is here because I believe I will finish it soon. mainly to get it off my list. but I will! ...I hope..  

I Will Knock You (gaga | yt) - bl. weirdo gang leader caught in 90's aesthetics and another weirdo that tries to tutor him (and is always caught up in situations he doesn’t want to be in) weird but funny. it’s recently been picking up pace. I’m glad I didn’t drop it. I find them adorable.

Koi to Dangan - not bl. technically watching it. straight japanese crazy shenanigans. I should countinue with it. If I find the time.

My School President (yt) - bl. school president is moronosexual and doesn't know how to flirt. I never thought I would be so much into a high school romance again. they own my heart. It’s one of my current faves.

My Tooth Your Love (wetv | viki) - bl. great job taiwan :) this ended recently. I have to watch the last episodes before it goes into the list of shows I never finished by one or two episodes. 

Alice in Borderland (netflix) - not bl. it’s a second season so I’m trying to watch one episode a day. and failing. I hope I finsh it. a gamer hermit gets transported into a parallel tokyo with his friedns where they have to play life and death games to survive. 

Remember Me (yt | gaga) - bl. watching this ... somehow. it was nice sometimes and annoying others. I think it finished this week. I have to finish it so I can forget about it forever. 

Recently binged / finished:

Tsukuritai Onna Tabetai Onna - gl. two women bonding over their “unusual” love for food. it’s cute and comforting. I really liked it.

Choco Milk Shake (yt) - k bl. it was cute and weird. it’s a great thing to watch with your brain turned off.

Oh! My Assistant (viki) - k bl. meh. entertaining. glad it’s over. forgettable (for me). 

To Sir, With Love (yt) - bl. historical drama rich family heir fells in love with commoner. in the background his mother is killing everyone who discovers her son is gay. it was amazing. best brothers relationship ever. 

Plan to Watch:

this is just a preview, there’s so many more, until I watch the first episode of a series my curiousity always get the best of me

Till The World Ends

Island

Cutie Pie 2 You

Weak Hero Class 1

Me no Doku Sugiru Shokuba No Futari

Alchemy of Souls (the gifmakers are baiting me and I might bite)

Ai Long Nhai (I’m curious about it)

10 Year Ticket (maybe)

Why You Why Me

Soredemo Ikite Yuku

Hit Bite Love (apparently there’s controversy?)

Individual Circumstances

The End of The World With You

Wish You Luck

Wish Me Luck

A Shoulder to Cry On

My Beautiful Man the movie

Middleman’s Love

Bed Friend

and mainly eveything that picks my interest... I always end up dropping a lot xD

and this is only a part of it.... imagine if I added the western stuff...

i'm tagging @isaksbestpillow and @gunsatthaphan and everyone that sees this, feel free to tag me :)

[dexadin]

Curse of Strahd question! How do you make Ireena and Ismark Kolyana/ovich interesting? I'm running a 5E CofS campaign soon and I can't figure out how to make them fun. I have ideas for Ismark but I don't want my players having to play keepaway with Strahd the whole time because I want to put him out in the land as a bigger participant in the story.

good question! I personally did not try too hard to make them interesting because i chose to make a different character the reincarnation of Tatyana, so they just had to stick around to show the party around Barovia long enough to get them to the plot, but I'll let you know what I did to them and what I might do if I needed to keep them around longer!

So unfortunately, my favorite trope is "mean lesbian, and her shitty, worthless brother" to the extent that I gender swapped several siblings in the module to fit this dynamic. And that's exactly what I did to Ireena and Ismark!

I didn't like the way that they somehow made Ireena a damsel in distress and a girlboss, because I wanted her to feel more like a person. I also didn't like how just… boring Ismark is. I also felt like neither of them had any really interesting plot going on related to their father's funeral.

In my campaign, the burgomaster's death is a bittersweet reprieve for Ireena, who had been struggling with her father's insistence that her symptoms were all in her head. Meanwhile, Ismark has taken to drinking and partying to deal with the stress of his father handing off the duty of burgomaster to him. Everyone, including Ireena and Ismark, know that Ireena would make a better burgomaster, but between trying to honor their late father's last wishes and dealing with the residual stress of the attacks on Ireena, she wasn't able to take up the helm. While Ireena loves her brother, she resents him for not standing up for her when she brought up her attacks, and acts like a real person who is under intense amounts of stress. She'll soften somewhat when someone takes her seriously, but she won't fully let her guard down. Ismark knows that Ireena is being attacked, but is something of a coward, and tries to focus on other things rather than help his sister. Neither of them are particularly good about being emotionally vulnerable, but deal with it in wildly different ways.

I think giving both of them a really strong relationship to their late father (positive or negative) and giving them strong opinions about the role of burgomaster will immediately make them more compelling. I also think that you can give them other goals that aren't necessarily plot relevant just to flesh them out. If you're going to have either or both of the Kolyanovich kids hanging with the party, make sure to let them have relationships with the party. Ireena cannot stand one of my party members, while she corresponds frequently through letters with another. Instantly, the party is going to take interest. What things about your party members might Ireena and Ismark be fond of or find reprehensible? Those are the kinds of things that make NPCs worth keeping around.

Let me know if you have any more thoughts! I'd love to hear them :3

[dokidokitsuna]

Team STRQ//Neverfell Edition

It’s been a while since I had an idea for some fun RWBY art~ (warning: loooong post ahead)

For the longest time I never really cared about Team STRQ-- I think that’s the gamble you take when you keep bringing up a group of characters as if they’re relevant, but never saying anything of substance about them. Some of your audience will latch onto them anyway, but others will simply lose interest after a while. I was in the latter group. :/

Until the other day, when I started thinking about what their history would be like in the context of NeverFell. Considering how little information we have to work with, it’s certainly an interesting puzzle…and as you know, I love to solve character puzzles. ^^

What made these ideas fun for me was how cliche’d most of them were: for some reason, the first things that came to mind when I considered what a young Team STRQ would be like were the absolute most basic romantic-dramedy junk. ^^ And figuring out how I would use each ‘icky’ idea in an interesting way solidified my interest, at least enough to get me to write all this.

Idea #1: A Raven-Tai-Summer love triangle~ As in, Taiyang is in love with Raven, and Summer is in (currently unrequited…) love with Tai. And it’d be like, in every ‘episode’ of this hypothetical series, you’d see Summer staring at him from behind a corner like “if only he’d notice me” or “why doesn’t he look at me that way…” XD Even though she’s the team leader… This one is so corny I have to keep it~

Idea #2: Qrow is the socially awkward somewhat-comedic 4th wheel EXCEPT, I don’t like Qrow being ‘left out’-- that’s just lazy writing. Focusing only on ‘romantic antics’ and ignoring any character interactions that don’t contribute to them…we get enough of that in the show proper, tbh. Like, I’m definitely getting the feeling that the writers think platonic relationships write themselves (spoiler alert: they don’t). I do like the idea of him being awkward and moody as a teen, though, especially considering his semblance. It’d be fun to write him adjusting to city life and coming out of his shell, to become the cynical-cool personality we know and love today.

Idea #3: Qrow is secretly in love with Summer REEEEJECTED! …I don’t have anything against this idea, I just don’t wanna do it. :T Instead, I prefer for them to form a really deep friendship that would probably be at the center of the series. For one thing, so much of Ruby, Summer’s daughter, is derived from Qrow. She fights like him, she idolizes him; she even wears matching cross accessories. And I think it would be cool to preface that present-day relationship with a past relationship that ‘lays the foundation’ for it, so to speak. To show that maybe Qrow is so close with Ruby because he was close with Summer in a lot of the same ways. Secondly, I think Summer could be a huge force for change in Qrow’s character. There’s so much a heroic idealist like herself could bring into the life of someone who was literally sent to school to learn how to murder people better. I don’t know what’s considered the canon driving force behind Qrow’s character development (probably Ozpin’s manipulation…) but I choose That Girl™!

Idea #4: Speaking of Ozpin…he’s 1000x worse now Let’s take a break from STRQ to address my favorite “morally gray” wizard, who at this point in the AU is well into the darker shades of moral grayness. ^^

So I don’t know if I explained this, but in NeverFell Ozpin/Ozma himself is a shapeshifter. He doesn’t reincarnate; whenever he needs to start a new life he just runs away, puts on a new face, and works his way back up the food chain until he’s powerful enough to start a new Inner Circle. During Team STRQ’s time at Beacon, he’s only very recently gotten back to that point by becoming the headmaster, and he’s just DYING to try out some new schemes and start stringing up his next set of puppets. ^^ Which makes him tend less towards ‘quiet lies of omission’ and more towards ‘full-scale gaslighting’.

In a hypothetical story, I would like to show this version of Oz being a sort of ‘dark mentor’ to Team STRQ, giving them guidance and encouraging them to bond as a team, but also preying on their insecurities to keep them loyal, and molding the group dynamic to suit his purposes. For example: rather than Raven singlehandedly forcing STRQ to split up because she’s just so evil and irredeemable, I think it’s more believable that Ozpin, sensing that she was losing faith in the cause and might influence the others, manipulated the other three into distrusting her, until she felt isolated enough to just give up, save herself, and leave.

Idea #5: Tsundere Raven Rather than rejecting this idea, I decided to reinterpret it. ^^ I think it’s okay for teen Raven to be a little unstable and mood-swingy, not because ‘she’s hiding her feewings’, but because she doesn’t understand her feelings and no one is teaching her how to handle them. So she relies on the only outlet she’s ever known: violence and cruelty.

Tai likes her, but she’s never really been ‘liked’ before and isn’t sure how to respond? Mock him, push him back, threaten him for being ‘mushy’. Maybe when they become closer, she’ll use more subtle methods like changing the subject or being sarcastic.

Qrow is thinking seriously about becoming a huntsman, increasingly filling her with doubts about the path that led them to Beacon? Shame him, accuse him of being disloyal, tell him he’d never succeed anyway. This would probably start the rift between the twins that continues to the present day.

Summer calls her out on her behavior, making her fear that her strongest beliefs might actually be wrong? Scoff at her, ridicule her ideas, call her naive and unrealistic. These two would probably get into a lot of arguments. ^^;

I don’t mean to paint Raven as a monstrous brat who drags down the team; I think in order for STRQ to function she would have to find a more stable place in it at some point (and she’s smart enough to understand that). But even after that point, when she occasionally does act out, ^this would be the rationale.

Idea #6: Summer and Tai were ‘always meant to be’! Now, this idea I think would be fun to subvert. We could start by dropping the usual hints all over the series, like: occasionally Summer and Tai have a special moment between just the two of them, to put some doubts in Tai’s head before he inevitably goes back to Raven. And it’d be like, ‘oooh yeah; these two are the real OTP, and eventually fate will bring them together, just you wait’! …And then when they finally do get together, it’ll turn out that reality isn’t that simple. ^^;

I’m no expert on romantic relationships, but I can’t help feeling something’s fishy about how fast Tai just switches over to Summer after Raven leaves. Apparently her leaving was supposed to be a huge deal that devastates the friend group, shaking everyone up, and yet in just two years a new baby is born to Tai and his new wife?? I mean, two years (more like one year, if we subtract the necessary 9 months) isn’t exactly a short time…but it’s not a long time either. :/ Given what we know of Raven’s personality, I can’t see a romance with her being anything but a slow-burn, uphill climb to gain her trust…and yet, he apparently gets over her relatively quickly.

We could assume Raven was just that awful, having a baby made a strained relationship even worse, and by the time Yang was born they were both sick of each other…but I wouldn’t recommend jumping into a new relationship immediately after that, either. Sounds like an easy way to saddle a new partner with old pain that you haven’t completely worked through yet…or for said new partner to unrealistically see themselves as the ‘answer’ to a difficult situation.

With all that said, I think Summer might feel a little…disillusioned, in the end. Like, maybe she spent so long dreaming of being with her crush she didn’t consider how many years have passed since they first met, and how different they are now. Maybe she tries so hard to be ‘Super-Mom’ to help herself feel like she belongs with Tai and his daughter, and maybe she goes on more and more dangerous missions to distract herself from her doubts. If she can be the big hero that her family reveres and loves, then that’ll be enough, won’t it? If she can fill the space that Raven left behind, make her daughters proud, save the world from the forces of evil, heal all the pain and fix all the problems…then maybe she’ll finally convince herself that this really is the ‘happy ending’ she always wanted.

Unfortunately, I think she will die still searching for that closure.

[miraculouscontent]

So, with all the talk about Adrien being “troubled”/”abused” and how that excuses everything “because he’s sad” and whatever, I’d like to take the moment to shamelessly gush about refer to Not-Sew-Wicked Stepmom to explain what I feel is this sort of thing done right and how it can be touched on properly.

(this contains heavy spoilers for Not-Sew-Wicked Stepmom and I highly discourage reading this post if you don’t want to be spoiled as this is an integral plot point)

(also, trigger warning for sexual assault)

(for my actual points for those who have already read the story and understand the contents, skip to the bottom to get my conclusion because the whole “start” of this post is only me recapping Not-Sew-Wicked’s story and explaining what I adore about how they deal with things there without any mention of Adrien)

For those who haven’t heard me talk about it before, Not-Sew-Wicked is a manhwa in the isekai genre, a genre in which characters get transported/reincarnated into a piece of media, another universe, or anything similar. In this case, a fashion designer becomes the wicked stepmother of a Snow White story, Abigail, though she has no interest in playing the villainess and ends up absolutely adoring and spoiling her cute stepdaughter, Blanche.

The problem, however, is that she can only do so much as a stepmother who everyone fears because of the villainess who originally inhabited that body, meaning that few trust her and it takes time to build up her relationships with others.

The biggest roadblock to this is her husband (Blanche’s father) Sabrian who is, in her words:

He’s the typical strict parental figure, not showing Blanche much affection and treating Abigail with complete and total disinterest. Even when the original Abigail was on her deathbed (having been seemingly poisoned before the current Abigail took over her body), Sabrian expressed zero sorrow or regret towards her, only desiring that they not meet again “in the next life.” He’s going to be our “tortured soul” for the day and one who I am going to defend.

(I’m also going to state outright - to show that I have no biases here - that Sabrian as he begins is the exact opposite of the kind of ML I take interest in. The “male lead with an attitude problem” has never been one I like no matter what their sad backstory is, but Sabrian works for me and thus I’m targeting him as my example).

The first thing to point out is that the current Abigail has the original’s memories and said memories are obviously limited to that Abigail’s point of view. Regardless of Sabrian’s actions (which we’ll get to, don’t worry), the original Abigail was still a villainess whose ego was bruised by Sabrian’s constant rejections.

He abandons her at the wedding reception with the excuse that he’s tired, leaves her alone on their wedding night, and goes so far as to say that he will never, ever lay even a finger on her. He’s kept his word on that as well despite them sharing a bed, and after Abigail “comes back from the dead” (in actuality, she’s a new person due to the isekai, unbeknownst to everyone else), Sabrian goes so far as to ask her if she poisoned herself for attention.

While his words are harsh and without any consideration for Abigail, the current Abigail also acknowledges that Sabrian’s rejections of the original made her essentially obsessed with gaining his affection, and said original would put herself into peril for the sake of earning something from him. The question is also relevant because it’s a waste of resources investigating who poisoned her if she actually did it to herself.

All Abigail can do then is insist that she no longer has feelings for him and won’t bother earning his affection anymore, though asks in exchange that he treat his daughter with more love and care.

Sabrian, while shocked at the offer and accepting of her other idea of having separate bedrooms, tells her to stay out of matters concerning his abilities as a father since Blanche is his child.

Outraged, Abigail expresses her right for concern as Blanche’s stepmother before excusing herself. Even when acknowledging the past Abigail’s actions and bad behavior (such as the obsession towards Sabrian), she doesn’t dismiss Sabrian’s attitude and considers him absolute, complete trash.

This is the first piece of the puzzle: the bad actions of others do not excuse the coldness that Sabrian is displaying, especially when he goes so far as to shun Abigail at events despite customs dictating that he do otherwise. At the end of the day, he’s still being unfair to her. It’s not about him having no interest in her, it’s about his behavior and refusal to follow the “rules” despite burying himself in work (the latter of which implies his dedication as a ruler and makes it all the more strange that he’d go against tradition just to have no contact with her).

The story continues from there, and it doesn’t take any longer than episode six for the audience to see Sabrian outside of Abigail’s perspective. While he may treat Blanche coldly, we’re shown him keeping an eye on Abigail’s movements as well as Blanche.

While the audience is aware that Abigail wants nothing more than Blanche’s happiness and is spying on her in order to give her a gift, Sabrian is not. Keep in mind as well that the original Abigail emotionally abused Blanche, which Sabrian is fully aware of.

Though he doesn’t express affection towards Blanche openly, he clearly has some form of care for her, to the point of intercepting Abigail before the gift is properly given, while also taking some...

rather extreme measures, demanding the gift from Abigail and ripping it in half with a sword.

Obviously, from the perspective of the audience, this is infuriating to see an innocent gift get massacred even if the bunny still gets repaired in the end. As we’re following Abigail’s point of view and she is the party that’s objectively nice and caring, we’re more inclined to feel sympathetic towards her.

And, once again, even though Sabrian’s actions are rooted in what the original Abigail has done, he’s taking everything to the extreme without properly communicating, which causes his first moment of seeing the “new” Abigail when she laments the destruction of the gift.

Even with Abigail’s brief conversation with/scolding of him to treat Blanche with more love, it naturally doesn’t ease his wariness of her. Sabrian’s decisions also aren’t derived wholly from his emotions and are based in logic. It’s extremely easy to hate and roast him for his actions, but his suspicions, at the very least, would make sense even if one disagrees with the actions he takes to confront them.

And, when confronted with the fact that Abigail has genuinely been nice to everyone and has been treating Blanche with gifts of all sorts, Sabrian feels actual, genuine guilt.

Guilt is incredibly important for something like this. Sabrian doesn’t brush off the moment or adamantly deny that Abigail is hurt. When faced with the rumors that have been spreading about Abigail’s change, Sabrian feels guilty for hurting her even if he had reasons for being skeptical of her.

It’s also here - episode eight - where we get the first official glimpse that Sabrian's personality runs deeper than the idea of him being a jerk just for the sake of it.

The manhwa does not wait in showing that Sabrian has his own inner demons and doing it effectively. It’s not just addressed either, as in “Sabrian clearly has some form of trauma but he’s going to stay rooted to his mindset for three seasons.”

No, because this is a piece of media where things aren’t supposed to stagnate. Regardless of how “““realistic”““ something might be, a plot shouldn’t waste its time constantly excusing a characters’ actions with how sad they are while not forcing them to grow past what they already know.

Thus, immediately after this moment (where a more subpar story would try to use this to either shift blame to Abigail or lengthen the audience’s patience in terms of how long they’ll tolerate Sabrian acting as he does without growth), Sabrian directly realizes that he’s screwed up.

Likewise, when Abigail forces her way into Sabrian’s space, exploiting his discomfort (which she thinks is just him despising her) to insist that he apologize to her for doubting her/destroying the doll, Sabrian - eventually - swallows his pride and does so.

Do also note that the implications of the extent of Sabrian’s trauma came after him starting to feel guilty, not before. The plot didn’t ask its audience to grow invested in a jerk ML before showing that he was capable of feeling remorse for his actions. It waited and showed that there was more to him first.

Of course, he’s still extremely, incredibly flawed, but the audience wasn’t asked to take a chance on Sabrian without seeing more than him being rude. In addition, the manhwa made it abundantly clear that Sabrian has problems, but still had him recognize that he hurt Abigail’s feelings, had him feel guilty for it, and apologize when presented with the opportunity. This is all within the first ten episodes so that the Sabrian who acts and is rightfully thought of as trash doesn’t last for so long that the audience feels that that’s all there is to him.

The change isn’t instantaneous either to the point of completely breaking all suspension of disbelief. Over the course of the next twenty chapters, Sabrian makes more attempts to listen to Abigail when she speaks up but is still somewhat rooted in his ways. He’s still strict, but acknowledges when he’s offended her. He’s more hesitant to doubt her, shows concern when she’s ill, and folds when she asks him to spend more time with his daughter to fulfill his role as a father (communicating/debating with her when he didn’t understand the importance of it out of genuine ignorance).

(Sabrian also fits the mold of “doesn’t know any better” more as well, genuinely not seeing the correlation between something like “being family” and “having dinner” together until Abigail tries to explain it to him.)

Sabrian even admits to Abigail (even though she doesn’t get the specifics of it) that he “doesn’t understand the concept of paternal love” when she questions his distance from Blanche, the question brought on by the idea that Sabrian had been in love with the late former queen and seeing Blanche reminded him of it.

Sabrian denied the suggestion, and the questions/concerns about what his reasoning behind keeping Blanch distant - as well as why he took so long to look for a new queen if he indeed had no feelings for her - increase, with some rumors implying that Sabrian is unsure that Blanche is his biological daughter.

This continues to a moment where Abigail needs to ask Sabrian if he’ll dance with her at an event in order to quell some concerns of people she knows, though aware that he might refuse given that he’d turned the original Abigail away the year before. Sabrian tries to refuse her due to his (still unexplained) issues, but finds himself incapable of doing so firmly due to his relationship with her having developed/progressed (and the fact that Abigail no longer reminds him of the ghostly woman we’d seen back in episode eight).

Though, predictably, when the time finally comes for him to practice dancing with her, he can’t do it.

Sabrian, having been caught in a reaction that stemmed from his trauma, hurriedly distances himself in order to both escape the situation and let himself breathe. Everything that had happened before led up to this, not specifically because he refused to communicate (he’d been communicating with Abigail fairly consistently, just not about his past), but rather due to a refusal to move past his trauma.

(important to note as well that he does feel immediately guilty for swatting Abigail’s hand away)

Without dropping several more panels here, I’ll just say that Sabrian had never gotten love at all when it mattered, not from his parents and certainly not from the late queen. Him distancing himself from Blanche is, in part, due to that method of parenting being the only thing he knew, and in another part due to the belief that Blanche would grow less timid if he didn’t coddle her.

But, over the course of the “new” Abigail asking more of him as a father figure, it’s shown that his way isn’t the way, because the one time where Blanche approaches him first is to speak with him over what he did to Abigail during the practice dance.

That’s another point in the manhwa’s favor. Sabrian is virtually never rewarded for his rude behavior; he has to learn from it and feels guilty when he accidentally slips back into old habits.

Thus, Sabrian goes to talk to Abigail once more and comes clean about everything that had happened, both apologizing and explaining why he reacted the way he did.

To make a long and extremely depressing backstory short, Sabrian was rather sickly when he was younger. His father was dead by the time he was fourteen and his mother wanted to ensure that there would have an heir in case anything happened to him. To do that, she enlisted the help of a power-hungry woman who wanted to become the future queen...

and was perfectly willing to force herself onto Sabrian to do it, even if he was running a fever at the time and could barely process anything. Ever since, he couldn’t physically touch women and Blanche served as a reminder of that trauma.

For me personally, the sad or tragic backstory of a character shouldn’t just be there to make you sympathize with them, but to understand them. It’s easy enough to throw the worst possible backstory onto a character and run with it, but the true success lies from making it complex and compelling enough to where each of a character’s actions come from different parts of that past.

Sabrian doesn’t tell Abigail his story to make her pity him or use his trauma as an excuse; he does it to explain to her why he reacted the way he did and to fully communicate everything that had happened, not wanting to leave her in the dark. He even takes blame for his own trauma, which Abigail rightfully rejects because it’s not his fault that such terrible things happened to him when he was younger.

The narrative doesn’t try to throw blame onto Abigail for things she couldn’t have known about either. Even though she does try to apologize for past actions, he reminds her that she didn’t know and he hadn’t told her.

Finally, and most importantly, Sabrian (of his own suggestion) is willing to move on from what happened, and asks for Abigail’s help in doing so if she’s willing.

It seems like a very simple thing, but that’s really all that’s needed for the kind of growth a traumatized character needs, and Sabrian continues practicing with Abigail until he’s able to touch her without turning into an anxious wreck, so that they can dance together.

Also, I won’t spoil anything beyond this point (especially because most of it is beyond where the official translation is), but I will say that Sabrian absolutely becomes weak for Abigail as all of his edges smooth out. His relationship with Blanche improves as well and they grow closer as a family.

To Summarize:

Sabrian succeeds where Adrien fails for a number of reasons, both with the writing and with the characters themselves. Sabrian being an adult while Adrien is a teenager is irrelevant because the way their respective media deals with whatever emotional struggles they face should be the same regardless of age.

Not-Sew-Wicked doesn’t hide Sabrian’s actions from Abigail; she knows the rude things he’s done and thus makes an informed decision when he reveals his past to her. Miraculous, meanwhile, hides a good chunk of Adrien’s/Chat’s actions from Marinette/Ladybug, meaning that the foundation for their relationship is already flawed and she has fake agency due to lacking a full set of information.

Sabrian’s sad backstory isn’t used to excuse his actions. He’s flawed, feels guilty, apologizes, and works to do better, eventually even without Abigail’s suggestion. Adrien, meanwhile, has been stated by the writers as “perfect” and “it’s the world that needs to change.”

Sabrian’s issues are dealt with over the course of thirty-four chapters and he takes the steps to improve, recognizing that he was the one who needed to change. Adrien’s position has stayed virtually the same for four seasons now and the show has practically admitted that it’s Marinette’s responsibility to “be the knight that saves the princess from the castle.”

Sabrian bottling in his emotions negatively affects him. Adrien bottling in his own often adds to his Sad Points and negatively affects others (see: Marinette in “Risk”/”Strikeback”) more than himself (see: how the plot in “Risk”/”Strikeback” resolves itself without Adrien having to stand up for himself).

(also throwing out there that Sabrian’s worse actions are towards people who are directly related in some form to his trauma or who have wronged him - Abigail, who is a woman that once reminded him of the late queen, pursued him despite his rejections in their contract marriage, and was originally a villainess, and Blanche who is a child made through him being sexually assaulted as a teenager - whereas Adrien just takes out his emotional issues on Marinette/Ladybug even if it’s unfair to her)

Sabrian genuinely does not know any better and eventually starts hearing Abigail out when she tries to explain things to him. Adrien does know better (”Kuro Neko”) and chooses to continue acting out anyway.

Getting Sabrian’s point-of-view is beneficial and shows his thought process as well as his guilt. Getting Adrien’s point-of-view only shows what we already knew; that he’s extremely childish and pushing himself further into the idea that he’s the one who's been wronged (i.e: using the Ladybug and Chat figures to play out a scene of Ladybug saying that she doesn’t trust him) while the show still has the gall to ask the audience to feel sympathetic for him.

Sabrian’s motives - at least at times - are rooted in some form of logic, such as distrusting Abigail initially since she’d been abusive towards Blanche in the past. Adrien’s motives are rooted entirely by emotion (acknowledging Ladybug’s responsibility role and then throwing a fit when she doesn’t let him in on matters that don’t concern him, thinking that Marinette doesn’t like him and then going “well I want her to like me so I’ll prank her despite knowing that she’s easily flustered,” and destroying public property solely because he wasn’t included in a plan despite his powers being situational). To give a separate example from Miraculous - since it seems so keen on accusing Ladybug of excluding Chat Noir - Ladybug was basically told by Chat Blanc that everyone in Paris is dead because of their romantic relationship, thus Ladybug makes an effort to discourage LadyNoir (both from herself, Chat, and otherwise) even more than before as well as not making efforts to get closer to Chat; that’s not just emotional, that’s logical.

Sabrian is encouraged by the narrative to change, as his tactics do not only fail to give him the result he wants, but Abigail usually gets (rightfully) upset with him. Adrien, meanwhile, is encouraged not to change, as usually being sad or throwing a tantrum ends with the narrative rewarding him (him trying to quit in “Syren” and still getting what he wants anyway, getting the Ladybug blush/shoulder lean in “Glaciator” and “Chat Blanc” respectively, getting Ladybug to apologize to him first in “Glaciator,” him being the one to swoop in and be the savior in “Frozer,” and so on).

Abigail, Blanche, and Sabrian are also all treated with care over their various problems, whereas Miraculous heavily skews into Adrien’s favor while sidelining Marinette, often making her the one who has to screw up and apologize even if her reasoning and level of reaction is valid).

Sabrian being more obviously/openly rude compared to Adrien doesn’t make Adrien better. With Sabrian, I understand him as a character and can piece together his actions as time goes on, but with Adrien, I can only see him as a writer’s pet whose put on a pedestal with excuses of “he’s sad and Ladybug is so mean to him so whatever he does is fine uwu.” Abigail was never forced to “consider Sabrian’s feelings” because his actions still hurt her and were in the wrong, but Marinette has to consider Adrien’s even when he’s blatantly in the wrong and following his advice/scolding is actively detrimental to her.

I can appreciate Sabrian as a traumatized character because traumatized characters can do bad things and it still makes them bad people even if they have trauma because them having trauma doesn’t make things okay. He’s not a villain, but rather a(n initially) jerk of an ML who learns to do better and finds that his life is better for it.

I can’t appreciate Adrien because of the show’s unrelenting insistence on keeping him exactly where he is and forcing the world to bend around him even if Marinette has to suffer for it. While Not-Sew-Wicked is happy to put Sabrian on the backburner to develop Abigail’s relationship with Blanche/other people, Miraculous ensures that its main plot revolves around Adrien and his family, bringing him up even when it’s not necessary so the audience doesn’t forget about him. His role in design is to be little more than the “sunshine boy” who’s constantly tugging on the viewers heartstrings so they feel bad for him and favor him because “he’s done nothing wrong”/”it’s so unfair” even as the show intends on giving him exactly what he wants in the end anyway.

[ranboo5]

okay poll question because i love seeingnpeoples different opinions about this. if you were to make a dsmpswap au, who would get swapped (mainly for benchtrio)

OMG ONLY VETERAN FOLLOWERS REMEMBER ERET SMP

I haven't thought about Eret SMP in a while bc of how hard it diverged BUT !

Tubbo founds L'Manberg with Fundy and Tommy it's meant to be just a little technicality

Mostly to tax evade from Eret, who is a little detached from the concept of consequences after having reincarnated for so long

They found it around Tommy's birthplace for Extra Legitimacy lots of hay is made about him being "born there" even though the country came second. It's clear he has little affinity for the finesse so Tommy gets to be poster boy mostly. It's okay they're still besties (for now)

Wilbur gets brought on for some Pizzazz

Dream is part of these shenanigans for a while but has a falling out due to creative differences which later escalates via negotiations with Eret which involve op power on the table

Things resolve. Phil, who is just kind of hanging out, and Foolish, who is not yet apotheosed, join the country. Wilbur is hard at work at the news factory. Cabinetduo have a falling out

Schlatt who has been causing problems for a second sees an opportunity or maybe Q does or maybe they both do and the coalition stays the same with the technical circumstances reversed. Wilbur gets distracted writing for these guys Tubbo keeps trucking (/th) and Fundy calls a friend

Violently abdicated prince of the End 11ft tall full enderman Ranboo, the Beloved (/so much th) is a little reluctant but to date has never said no to Helping A Bro Out. No one in the Pogtopia analog would ever lie to him <- real and true

It was not real and true Niki of Niki Beats Hardcore series fame shows up to the server amidst unimaginable chaos and at least one wither named TWITCH.TV/RANBOOLIVE

When frequent-enlistee Tormented By Visions recently-zombie piglin Technoblade of [Skyblock] Epic Revolution Prank (GONE WRONG?!) (GONE FATAL?!?!) fame shows up he is hoping this will go marginally less badly than that. He is immediately roped into chasing down a fleeing serial terrorist who has been having a continual breakdown for the past month so that's probably a bad sign

(While all this is going on it does have to go mentioned that Dream has been suffering the effects of receiving and losing op power repeatedly as Eret goes back and forth on the matter, which is doing weird ass things to him. Girl help he's melting and it's making everyone profoundly uncomfortable)

This isn't really smth I can fit in the continuity but JManifold IS a resurrection god and also Sam and Puffy r swapped and That's the lore I remember and/or stand by

Also the revival book is just the nuke schematics bc when we made the AU the book was basically just a relevant MacGuffin and nobody liked it so that swap worked at the time and now that's just more and worse divergence

[iamthenightcolormeblack]

Impressions of Wilde (1997)

I really liked this movie and I'm sure you will too! It's a great introduction to Oscar Wilde (who he was, a glimpse into his personal life, and why he remains relevant and incredibly charming) and also a celebration of homosexuality.

1. Overview:

The movie doesn’t tell the whole story of Oscar Wilde's life. It covers the 1880s, his rise to fame and sudden fall, and ends shortly after his 1897 prison release. Some Oscar Wilde fans were disappointed because they wanted to see the early parts of his life (how he got his inspiration and crafted his aesthete persona).

The costumes and sets are absolutely gorgeous and transport you back to the late Victorian era; lots of deep red fabric curtains, detailed mahogany wood furnishings, intricate paintings, and lavish costumes.

The lead actors are amazing and they resemble the real people almost exactly.

2. Casting:

Stephen Fry as Oscar Wilde. One could say he IS Oscar Wilde reincarnated; he looks almost exactly like Wilde. Most importantly he perfectly combines Wilde's charm and intelligence. The film also tries to show Wilde as a father and married man in addition to the "gay fop" identity that he's usually placed in. As much as he mocks society, he's kind and loving (still cares about Bosie even though it's obvious at times that Bosie doesn't deserve his kindness).

Jude Law as Lord Alfred "Bosie" Douglas, Wilde's lover. I must say that Bosie definitely reminds me of Dorian Gray because he's blond, beautiful, and selfish. He throws lots of temper tantrums and reminds me of a teenage boy trying in vain to rebel against his father, the Marquess of Queensbury (Wilde's enemy who plays a big part in his downfall). He does seem to care for/love Wilde, but is still selfish in that his first concern is himself.

Jennifer Ehle as Constance Wilde. You may know her as Elizabeth Bennet from the 1995 BBC version of Pride and Prejudice. Film Constance is quite intelligent and unconditionally supportive of Oscar Wilde.

3. Scene Recaps:

The film begins quite unusually in the Wild West (no greater contrast between the gritty Colorado mining town and the elegant parlors of London). Wilde makes his entrance in a fancy fur coat, dressed to kill. He successfully entertains the miners with a story about an artist.

Back to London; Wilde was in Colorado on his North American lecture tour. At a party he meets Constance and marries her "because all artists need an audience." Quite an interesting quote because there's this general conception that artists are isolated people who need to get away from society to produce their best works, when in actuality they need others to appreciate their works. Constance is a good match for Wilde because she's intelligent and constantly (coincides with the name) supports him even though he cheats on her with his gay buddies.

We are then treated to a lovely scene where he walks through a crowd of lawyers (marking him as a nonconformist).

Robbie Ross, one of Wilde's best friends, introduces him to gay sex.

“Dinner with lord and lady Asquith” = code language for a fling.

Then he meets John Gray, a handsome bohemian played by Ioan Gruffud, a pretty guy with long hair, and has another fling with him. Gray brings up the idea of art as a means of capturing the soul (inspiration for The Picture of Dorian Gray, which brings scandal to the Wilde family).

Oscar Wilde has 2 boys with Constance. He loves his family and cares about the wife but he’s always away in London working on his plays/stories or having flings with his gay buddies.

I really liked how the film used Oscar Wilde's children's story The Selfish Giant as a metaphor for his relationship with his family. His success isolates him from his family; he's often away and doesn't visit often, much like the giant hides behind a wall.

He meets Bosie at the premiere of the play Lady Windermere’s Fan (not historically accurate). Bosie says something smart to flatter Wilde, summing up what Wilde did in his work: using wit to mock and amuse people simultaneously.

Bosie is a beautiful, selfish rich boy and wants Wilde for his own entertainment. He has some affection for OW but loves himself first; Wilde's friends and Robbie Ross are concerned for him. Wilde and Bosie have a passionate, open relationship. At times Bosie has sex with other men while Wilde watches.

They dine together without a concern for others’ opinion (another of my favorite scenes from the movie).

Wilde genuinely loves Bosie and sees him as the victim of bad parenting (what a pity, since it's unclear at times whether Bosie loves Wilde).

Eventually because of his relationship with Bosie, Wilde makes a powerful enemy in Bosie's father, the Marquess of Queensbury. Queensbury attempts to insult Wilde several times before sending him a card accusing Wilde of being a sodomite. Wilde sues for libel and that precipitates his downfall, as all the details of his personal life are revealed.

In the trial, Wilde tries to explain "the love that has no name" and is convicted. Then follows a heartbreaking scene where he tries to maintain his composure while being haggled and booed at by spectators, while his friends can only watch in silence.

Bosie swears to Wilde that he loves him, but while Wilde languishes in jail, he complains that the imprisonment affects him most as he's suffering (what a selfish person).

I have ambivalent feelings about the “happy” ending where Oscar Wilde is reunited with Bosie. As much as I like happy endings in LGBTQ+ movies (because that doesn't often happen), Bosie clearly isn't a very good person and maybe would have been bored with Wilde and left him.

4. Some things not included in the movie:

The film doesn't include the fact that Oscar Wilde slept with teenage boys and male prostitutes. The flings seemed to be consensual but some of the sexual partners were underage.

Constance is advised to change her last name to save her social reputation, but the film doesn't show that she actually did (changed it to Holland).

The last part of the film (the trial to the ending) merely serves to remind us that Wilde was courageous for being a nonconformist in a stifling society. They don't really show what happens to Wilde after his imprisonment with the exception of the reunion with Bosie.

Conclusion:

Definitely watch this movie if you haven't already; it's an excellent introduction to Oscar Wilde, or if you're a Wilde fan, it will be great entertainment.

I was going to write some more intelligent things about this movie but I just started college and I didn't get around to finishing this little post until a few weeks after I watched the movie (so I've forgotten some stuff in it/my other thoughts about it).