#maybe expand her backstory a little bit

[tiredela]

Congratulations! You've been given the opportunity to create a brand new NPC for vanilla Skyrim, completely with vanilla bugs.

Who would this person be? How did they get to Skyrim? What are some funny things they might say in passing? Would they be a follower -- and if so, how would they fight? If not, why? and are they safe? Feel free to elaborate and answer unasked questions about this critter. (: This can be related to your fic(s) and/or existing OCs or completely separate just for fun.

I wasn't tagged by anyone, but this looks like fun, so I'm doing it anyways :')

Her name is Invidiosa Maledictio, and she is just a normal Imperial mage doing normal Imperial mage things. Really. She lives in a modest shack near Ivarstead, and can be found outside during the day tending her chickens and her small garden (she lives self-sufficiently), but you can't sell her her own produce. In the late afternoon/evening, she goes back inside, where she sits and eats in front of a huge bookcase, occasionally casting candlelight or a low-level healing spell. At around 10 pm she goes down into her Top Secret basement that is conveniently hidden behind a chest, but you can't access it, as it requires a key, which for some reason can't be pickpocketed from her. She only sleeps for three hours every night.

If you talk to Invidiosa, you will learn that she has a deep grudge against one particular imperial soldier, but she never tells you their name, nor what they did to her. She asks you to kill them and bring back their skull as prove. From then on, every dead Imperial will have a skull in their inventory, but the quest will only update once you find the *right* skull. This may take some time, as the *right* Imperial will only spawn as a random encounter somewhere in the Reach. She will give you 5000 gold for bringing back the *right* skull. While this quest is active, if you give her any other skull, she will just say that it isn't the *right* one, but will still gladly accept it and give you 200 gold per skull. When you finish her quest, Invidiosa becomes a follower and a potential marriage candidate, and she will even unlock her basement for you! She also still accepts skulls, and will give you a neat 300 gold each.

If you decide to check out her basement, you will see that it consists of two rooms. In the first room, you'll find an arcane enchanter and an alchemy lab, as well as different ingredients, potions, and soul gems that you can take for free and use to create powerful gear and potions! This is also where she spends most of her time when she's in her basement during the night. In the next room, you'll find- oh. Oh. Huh. So this is where she stashes all the skulls you gave her. Interesting. Depending on how many skulls you brought her, this room may have more or less skulls, but taking a skull from there is considered stealing. If Invidiosa is with you in her basement, she will just say that "you shouldn't worry about these" and that "you two are friends now, and friends have each other's backs, right?". If you decide that you don't like this and you don't want to be friends with a skull-hoarder, and you subsequently attack her, be prepared for a tough fight, as she will unleash her high-level conjuration and destruction spells on you. Once she's out of magicka, you might think that you're safe because she only uses her fists to fight, but then you realize that she wears gloves with a glitched fortify unarmed damage enchantment, and she pretty much insta-kills you.

As a follower, Invidiosa will comment on pretty much every location you go to. She will feel the most comfortable in caves as well as crypts, where she will ask you if "you've found any skulls yet?" to "expand her collection". However, she absolutely hates Solitude and wants to stay far, far away from it, implying that there's someone else there she has a grudge against. She will also be reluctant to go to the College of Winterhold with you. Invidiosa has three idle lines that she likes to say over and over again when she's not in combat ("I heard there's a crypt not far from here. Let's check it out!", "You're the only one I can trust, and I'm glad to have you by my side" and "If you're dead, can I have your skull? I'd get a nice pedestal and decorate it with flowers..."). Speaking of combat, for some reason, her enchanted gloves suddenly un-glitch, which means that she (sadly) isn't able to insta-kill enemies with her fists. However, if you decide to attack her and she leaves your service, her gloves will once again glitch. You can't kill her because she's essential for some reason (likely a left-over from a cut quest).

As a spouse, Invidiosa will lose almost all of her individuality like any other spouse. She will still have preferences for where you two decide to live; she will absolutely hate Solitude with a burning passion and will ask you to move out anytime you talk to her (this is her only line), but will love any of the Hearthfire homes. She can be found at the alchemy lab or arcane enchanter if you have them in your home. Otherwise, she will just stand or sit around all day. She also sleeps more than three hours now.

---

i don't think i'll tag anyone, just do it if you really want to 💪

[one-idea]

Maybe consuming media where parallel dimensions exist has rotten my brain. (The spider verse, years of comic book, au fanfics) but worlds were little changes change the whole world are just fascinating to me.

I’ve seen stories were Luffy is the one that dies at Marineford. Where Luffy is the older sibling. Where Shanks or someone else arrives in time to save Ace. I’ve seen Kuina lived and takes Zoro’s place on the straw hats. But what I haven’t seen is a reverse straw hat crew.

Let me explain myself.

Shanks isn’t the only Yonko vacationing in the east blue, Whitebeard takes a break there as well. Meeting a young Ace. This Whitebeard knows his time is limited but sees a future for Ace. He can’t take the boy with him but they promise to meet again one day when Ace is a great pirate, a pirate great enough to take Whitebeard place in the world. The rest of the back story (meeting Luffy, Sabo, everything) stays intact and Ace sets out at age 17. (I was going to have him meet Shanks instead of Luffy but Luffy and Shanks’ relationship is important to me and will play a role later)

Where he meets 17 year old Kuina. (She is 1 year older then Zoro, and he was one year younger then Ace so they would be the same age) in this world Zoro is the one who died. He was the only one who believed that she could be the strongest swordsman, he didn’t care about her gender. They promised that one of them would be the strongest swordsman in the world and then he died. Now at 17 she is on a journey to be the world’s best swordswoman.

The two start traveling together where they meet Nojiko, a thief, she’s an okay navigator but not as good as her sister. She speaks fondly of her sister but doesn’t mention her village (or the pirates there) Ace instantly likes her, no it’s not because he gets to trade stories with her about how great Luffy is vs how great Nami is. Kuina enjoyed their stories but her heart hurts a bit at the fact she doesn’t have the same number of stories of her ‘dumb little sibling.’ But strangely Nojiko only tells stories about young Nami.

They keep going and meet a sickly girl named Kaya. She was visiting the shipyard while they were looking to get a new ship. Kuina recognizes Kaya’s brand new butler as Kuro and none of the crew are going to let him take advantage of Kaya. (Ace and Nojiko are over protective siblings and Kaya is the same age/a year younger than their siblings. And Kuina has to much honor plus she just really likes to fight) they save Kaya but the girl realizes that there is no life for her in Syrup village. There are just to many traumatic memories for her there so she joins the crew. Bring with her a brand new ship and a boat load of beri. (She leaves behind most of her fortune to Usopp and Merry, knowing they will take care of it until Usopp is ready to sail.

The crew travels on to a floating restaurant where they meet red leg Zeff and his apprentice Reiju. Her backstory is the same and Sanji, her and Zeff trapped in an island. It isn’t until much later that the crew finds out about her connections to Germa 66 and what happened to her beloved little brother Sanji.

The Baratie arc goes about the same with Kuina getting defeated by Mihawk, and Nojiko stealing the boat and the money.

They track Nojiko down and find out what Arlong did to her village. How he killed her sister to send a message to the village and imprisoned her mother. Using Bell-meré’s Marine knowledge to expand his territory and threatening Nojiko and the villages lives to keep her cooperating. So much about Nojiko makes sense. How she only tells stories about young Nami, why she cared so much about Kaya’s money. As they learn about her trying to buy her village back.

Arlong obviously breaks their deal. How can he keep Bell-meré in line without her daughter and village as leverage.

Needless to say Ace, Kuina, and Reiju burn the place to the ground (Kaya helps as she can but she’s still getting used to fighting)

They sail on with Bell-meré’s blessing.

When they get to the grand line they meet two fools named Mr. Nine and Miss Wednesday. But it’s not what you think. Mr. Nine is Koza. Vivi told him about the danger their country was in and he went in her stead. (At this time he is 17 and she is 13, but when he left he would have been 15 and she 11)

The crew agrees to help him, (Ace is thrilled to have another dude on the team) when they meet a mysterious women with white hair called Miss All Sunday. The encounter is very similar to Robin’s introduction.

They sail on to little Garden. Kaya has a great time meeting the giants (thrilled to tell Usopp about them one day) but also starts to really work on mastering a weapon.

They leave with a slowly sickening Nojiko. They stop at Drum Island to get her help where they meet and eccentric Doctor who helps them. His name? Dr. Hiriluk. He tells them about how he was deathly ill when his son cured him by accidentally giving him a Devil fruit. A Zoan type fruit. Specifically the, reindeer model. Unfortunately his son was killed by Drum’s island king for being a ‘monster’

Needless to say Wapol gets his butt handed to him. Dr. Hitiluk, seeing his country free and his dream fulfilled decided to join up with the crew to live out Chopper’s dream of curing all diseases.

They continue on, freeing Arabasta. With Koza staying behind to help rebuild his country, but he might rejoin 👀. As their sailing away someone makes themselves know. The mysterious white hair woman is on their ship and joining their crew, her name? Nico Olivia.

I’ll cover more of this later. I have so many ideas. But all of this to say. Imagine this crew meeting the straw hat crew. Something crosses their Dimensions into one another and Luffy gets to see Ace, Zoro gets to see and adult Kuina. Nami gets to see Nojiko and hear about their mother’s blessing their life of piracy. Usopp and Kaya meeting when both of them are competent warriors of the sea. Reiju reuniting with Her brother Sanji (I haven’t even told you what happened to Sanji in this world!) Chopper and Hiriluk. Robin and Olivia.

(I did this for Ace and Luffy and Zoro and Kuina but I think Sanji, Robin and Chopper will rip my heart out more)

Let me know what you think.

Master post

Part 1/2

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

[devondespresso]

Wiggy Wednesday🧠🪱 - A Robin (Buckley) Hood au

tagged by @just-my-latest-hyperfixation @shares-a-vest and @hotluncheddie Thanks guys!!! 💕🫂💝

continue-the-game tags at the bottom, you guys absolutely don't have to read this whole thing for it, it won't hurt my feelings cause this thing got long sgnxgnxnh

💚>> EDIT: @carolperkinsexgirlfriend expanded on the aro robin thing and its literal perfection!! <<💚

tbh the past few days ive felt like i was loosing my spark a bit (could be a medication thing now that i think about it) so the plans for today are to rewatch some really damn good motion pictures, feel some emotions probably, and go from there.

having said that, i was able to put together a fun little idea about Robin Stranger Things as Robin Hood, Steve and Little John, either Vickie or Chrissy as Maid Marian. Chrissy would fit the secretly badass princess type very well, thinking princess peach in the mario movie, while vickie would be slightyyy more tough girl princess, thinking fiona from the first shrek. I'm not like a huge fan of slapping character names into roles just because, so i think most antagonists would be of the robin-hood-world and some might get left out. Dustin and Erica would be there, possibly as merry men, or i also think itd be cool to mix another vaguely-medieval story that fits the kids group better, have it be something in the backstory or future or something like a story living in the edges of this one. Eddies also an easy fit as the minstrel and could be tied to chrissy's story too if you want

im not planning on writing anything for it, but the story ideas that are jumping out to me rn are mostly characters meeting/origin stories. Steve and Robin meet early on in her outcastery, Robin in jail for stealing and Steve also locked up close by either for something outrageously stupid or something definitely illegal but for the sake of his little brother and friends. They swap stories and then swap even more jokes and fun banter. Either Robin loops him in on her plan to break out, or Dustin and Erica come to break Steve out during her escape and they all team up. Maybe a little part where they visit Dustin and friends, let him know Steve's fine even tho him and Robin are fugitives, maybe Dustin tries to follow them but they have to send him back until he's old enough to move out, an emotional "we're not gone forever" talk, concluding with Robin and Steve heading off to camp in the woods and figure out what's next. maybe robin comes out here, maybe steve had confessed and whatnot similar to the show, maybe robin just needed to establish that she's not into him before they started adventuring just the two of them. Maybe she mentions her future plans, to stay firmly on the laws bad side, maybe to reunite with the lady she found at the edge of palace gardens, something that would make the road alongside her rougher than his already will be, and Steve chooses to join her anyway.

also a romantic subplot with Chrissy or Vickie.

if its chrissy, i think itd go similarly to the disney movie (relative to vickie's anyway), chrissy has her princessy life and through circumstance (maybe an archery contest, maybe they run into each other, probably a combination of run-ins) they meet and are into each other, maybe Robin crossdresses and after she's revealed to be a girl Chrissy's head over heels, maybe Chrissy runs away, maybe robin wins her favor, lots of fun princess tropes to play with.

with vickie, i keep leaning into the Fiona-style angle where she very much doesn't care to be in a royal setting, not rejecting femininity just spinning the princess archetype on its head. So maybe she's a runaway, maybe she rescued herself, or maybe she faked her death or something extreme, and she runs into robin (maybe robins disguised and she looks extra rougish, maybe vickie had only heard bad stories about her) and they fight. if vickie wins she notices in her victory robins actual personality, realizes shes not aggressive like expected and they talk, and if robin wins she does a mercy thing, maybe disarms her to get enough time to run off and vickies like 🤨mysterious🤨 or they spark up conversation. Maybe part of Robins group comes in either ready to defend her or diffuse the situation and their appearance soon splits the fight. lots and lots to play with. one way or another vickie tags along or joins the group, she and robin fall in love, yippee

aaaand third option: polyarmory, where chrissy joins the group first, they run into vickie second, and the three of them fall in love.

fourth option: aro robin (lol get it. cause. arrows.) who picks up princesses (plus steve too) like its her job and those princesses fall in love

r*nance (* for search because this isn't exactly abt them, NOT to be a dick about it) could work too ig but its not my jam so im not diving into that angle

i also love the idea of expanding robins relationship with any of the kids (Dustin and especially Erica, because scoops troop has solid character dynamic potential thats barely touched. Robin and Max too, and it'd make sense to bring in Lucas too with his ties to both Erica and Max)

if this gives anyone else brainworms and you want to write it, absolutely go for it, i know im definitely not going to sit down and write scenes or anything for it, and if you're comfortable tag me so i can read it!!

_

for Wiggy Wednesday im tagging (no pressure ofc): @starry-eyed-steve @marvel-ous-m @lightoftheseraph @pearynice @puppy-steve

@tinytalkingtina @dreamwatch @flowercrowngods @withacapitalp @writing-kiki

@queenie-ofthe-void @carolperkinsexgirlfriend @eriquin @hairstevington @sunflowerharrington

@imfinereallyy @sourw0lfs

[synergysilhouette]

Rewriting "Naruto" (Part I)

If this looks familiar, that's because it is. I decided to delete the OG post and repost this with a couple more changes, and I'm actually gonna start working on rewriting Part II now--which will probably have more changes than Part I.

Prologue--Land of Waves: Definitely create a more healthy team dynamic with team 7; Kakashi isn't biased towards Sasuke (though he does admit it's easier to train a fellow sharingan user), Sakura is more compassionate and a better listener, not being Sasuke-obsessed or high-strung (with her feelings for him coming from sympathy before getting to know him and becoming more substantial), and Sasuke, while still planning on killing Itachi, is more open to forming relationships again (because that's the only way I buy the series ending like it did with him), privately contemplating on how he's grown to care for his sensei and teammates. Following Naruto and Sasuke's battle against Haku, Sakura realizes she has to get stronger, vowing to be of better help in the future. It's also established from the get-go that Sharingan, while extremely powerful, isn't OP; it's genjutsu can still be avoided and it can't see through all genjutsu, but it can only be outdone by a powerful opponent.

Chunin Exams: I'd introduce Sakura's parents here, who voice their concern of her becoming a ninja, explaining her insecurities. It also brings to light the backstories and families of other characters (ie Tenten's family and last name, whether or not Lee is an orphan, the Ino-Shika-Cho family relationship, Naruto growing up with Kiba, Shikamaru, and Choji as friends, Asuma being Sarutobi's son, Kiba's dreams of being Hokage, etc.) I'd also enjoy seeing Kabuto give Sakura little medical tips to help her team, foreshadowing her future potential. Her battle against the sound ninja are much cooler, as she performs genjutsu for the first time, involving Inner Sakura, perhaps it being a family kekkei genkai (maybe even connected to a dojutsu). Along with this, Ino can use her mind transfer jutsu to create hallucinations in Sakura's mind while she possesses her, only to be booted out by Inner Sakura--or maybe Ino performs a flower-related genjutsu that distracts Sakura while Ino possesses her. Ino and Sakura's friendship is expanded upon, and it's revealed their relationships have ebbs and flows independant of Sasuke, with Ino occasionally being fake/petty and Sakura stooping to her level. This is largely driven by shared insecurity, with Ino trying to live up to her family's reputation and Sakura trying to defy her family expectations. Sakura manages to beat Ino narrowly, and she battles Dosu in the finals at beats him before he's killed. It's also implied Sakura may be developing feelings for Lee. Not to mention, despite Naruto being the main character, he doesn't have to be the only person to inspire others. I enjoy the idea that Hinata's will is what truly opens Neji's eyes, not just Naruto's conviction, as well as Lee inspiring Gaara.

Konoha Crush: I'd also expand on Hiruzen's relationship with Orochimaru and the first two hokages, giving us a bit more to work with than the extended tug-of-war sequence. We get more childhood flashbacks of the sand trio, especially their relationships with each other, their parents, and Yashamaru. I'd also like for Baki to reveal to Gaara that Yashamaru was made to lie to him about his and Karura's love for him, under threat that the Kazekage would kill Gaara if Yashamaru didn't emotionally scar him. Sakura uses her blossoming genjutsu (inspired by Ino's bush clover genjutsu) in order to distract Gaara/Shikkaku, but only manages to hide Sasuke before Gaara incapacitates her. After Naruto and Gaara's battle, Sakura and Sasuke come to Naruto's aid, as Temari and Kankuro do for Gaara, making him see how they care about him. Plus put a bit more focus on Asuma, as he loses his father in this arc, just as Konohamaru loses his grandfather.

Search For Tsunade: Give Kurenai a better battle with Itachi. He's SUPER powerful, but Kurenai is supposed to be the best genjutsu user in the village; she'd have to at least be a good distraction for him. After Itachi beats Sasuke, Sasuke wonders if his friendships are holding him back, but simultaneously fears losing them to Itachi once more. And the whole "Itachi revelation" from part 2 is hinted at a LOT more (I was gonna write it off, but it's a big motivator for Sasuke later on, so I think it'd make more sense if Itachi wasn't super toxic) by having him take down Sasuke easily without torturing him and prolonging his pain. It's also vaguely alluded to that while the Akatsuki are dangerous, they weren't without their own humanity, with some of them being less evil than others. While it'd be a bit weird, I like the idea of Sakura joining Jiraya and Naruto to find Tsunade, as she's concerned about Sasuke and wants to learn medical skills from Tsunade. I'd like more flashbacks with Dan and Nawaki to be spread out a bit more for more emotional impact. I also think Kabuto should be hyped up a bit more; he's apparently a ninja whose jutsu exceeds Tsunade in her prime. Given this, it'd be cool to see him doing a grander battle against Tsunade, as well as Orochimaru taking an almost passive role in the fight against Tsunade and Jiraya. Given advice by Kabuto in the past, Sakura is able to clear Jiraya's head a little, and she and Naruto try to defend Tsunade against Kabuto. Tsunade still has an aversion to blood after the battle, but it isn't as bad as it was before.

Sasuke Recovery Mission: Sakura trains with Shizune and Kurenai before Sasuke leaves to join Orochimaru, becoming advanced for a ninja her age. She manages to incapacitate Sasuke and Naruto before they harm each other at the hospital, only further fueling Sasuke's feelings of inferiority. Sasuke laments throwing away his friendships, but hopes that after he kills Itachi, perhaps he can pick up the pieces--you know, actually thinking about what comes after. Sakura attempts to stop him, but he refuses to acknowledge any feelings he has for his team, and leaves. Sakura manages to inflict minor damage on him via poison needles, slowing him down, though he still defeats her. The girls join the boys to rescue Sasuke, with the defeat of the sound ninja only coming from the combined efforts of the Leaf and Sand ninja, not the Sand ninja alone. Sakura and Naruto team up against Sasuke, but given Sasuke's curse mark and Naruto's 9-tailed chakra, she's outclassed in this moment (having not gained the Strength of a Hundred seal), though she manages to use genjutsu following the battle to convince Sasuke not to deal further harm to Naruto, and she promised (similar to Naruto) that she would drag him back to the village.

I may tweak some more details later, but for now I'm moving onto Part II.

[hellfire--cult]

fic authors self rec game

When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let's spread the self-love 💞

thank you for tagging me @thecreelhouse 💜

okay, i'll give a little lore for each fic

Do I wanna Know? - Stripper!Eddie x Shy!Fem!Reader

I wrote this fic thinking it was going to be a two piece. I had it all figured out in my head, and then when I wrote it the words kept flowing. I also didn't think it would really catch people's attention, I just needed to write that idea in my head. I put a lot of self indulgent things in it, thoughts and mannerisms, so it was also a bit healing to write. It also brought me a lot of joy that people felt identified and that it helped them understand themselves or they felt seen through my fic and it felt like a warm hug.

2. Hooked on you - Hook!Eddie x Fem!Reader

This came to me in a vision after watching Peter Pan from 2001. But I am also a big fan of hidden messages through fantasy, or through fiction, like little riddles of hidden meanings behind the whole world one creates. For example, in my story, Neverland is a place of self acceptance, of saving, to those who are ready to leave way too early because of grief or a broken heart. I do have backstories for each character and if you read the story you know reader's, but safe to say, all of them, including the kids, suffered gravely. I also loved the mixture of fantasy and wanting to live in ignorance to one's depression and anxiety cause I think we can all kind of relate to that, even to this day. I started writing to escape reality, and reader here slipped into neverland in order to escape it.

3. The White Rabbit series, including Bunny, Bunny, Bunny and Run, Rabbit, Run. - Mafia!Eddie x Fem!Reader - Steddie x Fem!Reader

I wanted to expand my boundaries a bit. I always wanted to write a fic that didn't consist of love, only pure lust and desire, as well as dark romance features. This was literally all self indulgent, with things I've wanted to experiment writing, filled with explicit scenes and using words I never used before. It is just literal sex, but I am pretty proud of my detailing of scenes, of my smut scenes. I was always afraid of making smut scenes bland, the need for realism too great in my body lmao.

4. Please, Trust me. - Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader

Oof. I really don't know how to word this right so bare with me. I wanted to show that some people that feel like suicide is the only way to be free, some embrace this possibility with open arms and with relief in their faces. Reader was ready to go. Through and through. She wasn't sad about it. She was excited for it. And it wasn't because she was 'crazy' or 'unstable'. She was perfectly conscious of her decision. I wanted people to see though, that there's always a purpose. That you just need to wait. And maybe that purpose comes with a person, and sometimes it doesn't. I wanted people to know that there's also hope. But my main purpose was to show that suicide doesn't always mean bad.

5. Baring Teeth - Non-Traditional Omegaverse, Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader

My baby. Even if it's still on going, and my updates have stopped, I am still writing it. I am proud of this fic in particular because of the plot twists that I have in mind for the future of the fic. I am also proud to like, write something that people, that are not into Omegaverse, can read cause I slowly give hints of what it is, and descriptions as we go further into the story. It's not like I hit people with it without them knowing what it is. People that have never read any of the sort can easily read this and slowly get accustomed to what Omegaverse is.

This was hard. I honestly took a lot of time to think of what I was proud of LMAO

no pressure tags and sorry if you were already tagged: @andvys @munson-mjstan @loveshotzz @pastel-pillows @ghost-proofbaby @lokis-army-77 @munson-blurbs @rip-quizilla

[idkyourleastfavoriteartist]

SEASON 6 SPOILERS OF THE DRAGON PRINCE!!!!! Also I'm just gonna say this post is LONG (overall thoughts,rewrite?) I'm not a actual writer so take evey thing with a grain of salt. It's fine if you disagree or even dislike my opinions and (kinda) rewrites just be nice about it please and thank you!! (Also this has really bad grammar it's not that deep if it's not perfect)

I overall felt that this season was really good and it's one of the shows strongest!!!! I don't want it too sound like I'm complaining because that's not the case because I really enjoyed this season so don't take like that please. Let start with the positives I really liked the scene where Soren shouted at Viren in the jail (as he should loved that reunion). Rayllum finally got back together loved that for us. I feel like the darker atmosphere the show really works and I couldn't be happier about it. Corvus is so lovely him and him having too babysit Soren is so fun too watch. Learning about Callum's dad and Claudia's/Soren's mum was really interesting and was nice too get info on them. I'm really happy about how better the animation is getting better each season with it being a overall higher quality. Literally like 90% of this season I liked.

The only questions/slight problems I have is that I personally don't understand how Aaravous wanted Viren too kill sir sparklepuff (he calls them THIER child) so him being a grieving father doesn't make sense too me especially with the fact that Viren at first didn't care about sir sparklepuff, it was only when Aaravous said it was their child, like sir do you want Viren too live?????? Like what was the reason too humaninse sir sparklepuff if Aaravous didn't see them as a actual being with feelings and if goes against his plans that he made to control Viren to get him out of his prison??????? (I actually like his back story because of how it relates to the themes of love in tdp but in a way which is so similar but so different to our main cast).We all knew that Viren was gonna be redeemed well I felt it coming. But it should of been handled better because due to Aaravous for no reason making Viren feel bad for sir sparklepuff just so Viren could have a situation too get on the dark magic bad high horse didn't really rub well on me. I would of made Viren care about sir sparklepuff without Araavous input so it will make more sense that he wouldn't want too kill him and his redemption feel more earned despite Araavous who only made the being too finalise the spell to keep Viren alive(idk if it makes sense but too me it does) then have the "I'm over with dark magic and you" speech. With Araavous backstory I would of liked more that Araavous did have rebellious feeling about the power structers with elfs and humans (he felt it was unfair that elves get all the power and how rude elves where to humans despite them just wanting too learn too use magic) and he teaches a little bit too much leola but she tooked his teachings to other humans when she should of kept quite then being punished death after that he would go villain mode. I like the idea that Aaravous is evil but tried too keep quite until leola because he felt like he owed her the truth which led too her death and years of terror expanding on dark magic with humans till he went to prison. (that's my rewrite I don't really do stuff like this so if it's bad just understand where I'm coming from and give me positive input please☺️)

I also kinda felt that cladiua leaving Terry just for her to come back too him in the same episode is felt abit rushed but it's only 9 episodes so I understand why they did all in the same episode. (I would let that stretch for another episode so it's more impact full).

ALSO WAS I THE ONLY ONE WHO REALLY WANTED TOO SEE A VIREN AND AARAVOUS REUNION 😭😭😭😭😭 Maybe it's just me because they were one of my favourite dynamics in the show (mostly through season 3 and abit in season 2) so not seeing the communicate sucked abit. I like the ideas that are in this show but only wish they would be expanded more and fleshed out abit more.

[valzhangism]

this might be a controversial opinion but whenever i'm reminded that hazel is praetor now i cringe a little. i just don't think it's a meaningful part of her character. maybe i would like it if it were explored more, but as it is it's just a handwave of "oh yeah and hazel's praetor now! which is cool because being praetor is cool as long as you're not reyna!" and not related to any established aspect of her character. it's not that i hate it, it's just such a nothingburger of a writing decision. and becoming the leader of an entire camp doesn't feel like a change that should be a nothingburger.

frank becoming praetor is a good, fitting tie-in to his character because his arc is about building his own confidence and taking charge instead of lying around being self-pitying and insecure. but hazel's not frank. i don't know why she's being made praetor and why that's important. maybe i'm just overthinking it and "not everything has to be a huge deal"—after all, realistically, when they're electing praetors it's not like they're thinking about whether this decision is personally fulfilling to an individual's backstory and inner conflict, lmao. and in that sense, yes, it's fine. i think hazel would be, at the very least, a capable leader.

but in a meta sense, i just wish it meant something. the most connection i can think of is that hazel used to push away people because of her curse, but now has stopped worrying over that by accepting a role as a leader in camp jupiter. which is sweet, but... it's something that has already, for the most part, been resolved. it's been mostly resolved since the end of son of neptune. and even if you want to expand on it there are many different ways to do this compared to just making her praetor. like maybe showcasing her relationship with other campers and demigods a bit more? and making her... relevant, even? mayhaps? pretty please?

i don't know if i'm just being too much of a critic and a cynic. again, i don't exactly hate or even dislike this. i'm just not sure what it's supposed to do for me, the reader, or for her, the character. if you really liked this writing decision: if you want to give your two cents, i'd love to hear why.

[cherryfennec]

what do you think would have happened if Timpani hadn't found Blumiere at the base of the cliff and he would have died? do you think the prophecy would have still happened? if yes, then do you happen to have any theories about who would have carried it out and would they have succeeded?

So this is a very difficult question! The topic of the prophecies in the Dark Prognosticus is just in general one of the more trivial things to consider.

So let's go through over the main scenario: Blumiere falls from a cliff and is probably hidden well under the rubble. Timpani, who happens to be in the area, can't really see anyone under the scarp because of the dirt and rocks so she assumes the pieces fell naturally due to a small earthquake or wind and there's no one there. While she walks away, Blumiere unfortunately is too weak to make it out of the rubble and ultimately dies.

Now...

What would this mean for Timpani and the Tribe of Darkness specifically? Well first of all, neither of them would end up dead/gone.

It is implied through the short snippets of the main villians backstory (which appear in-between chapters) that ultimately after losing his beloved and becoming Count Bleck, Blumiere wipes out his clan, which is rather gruesome but not unexpected for this game tbh. With him dissapearing instead (cause theres a chance they might've not even found him) everyone in the Tribe lives and he himself would be portrayed as an innocent person until the end, the loss of whom only brought sorrow to his family and friends. Other than that the civilization would still thrive for years to come.

As for Timpani: without having met Blumiere, she would've probably spent her days living a normal daily life, not even knowing someone like him ever existed. She could expand her hobbies, travel, make friends etc. She could even find a partner but... it wouldn't be the same and I'll elaborate on that in a bit. In general she would have had more time to discover herself and enjoy the little things.

What does this mean for the prophecy?

The Dark Prognosticus is kinda weird because it describes the future that relies on the book being read. Basically it knows that it will be opened, but because it will be opened the prophecy will happen in the first place, which it also knows. It gets confusing when you think about it too much. In any case the 'end of the world' requires someone to kickstart all the events.

Blumieres and Timpanis love was a very rare kind of love, an extremely strong and dedicated one. And if not for that fact, Bleck wouldn't probably go as far as to destroying everything just for her sake. Now without our specially picked out Champion of Destruction, would it even be possible for the prophecy to happen? As we said before if the Count died at the cliff, the book would absolutely know about it. With this in mind there are 3 options as I see it:

The prophecy couldn't be fulfilled/it wouldn't exist in this timeline. Basically: There was no other person that could play the role of the catalyst nor had the means to obtain the Prognosticus/didn't know it existed and so the danger never arrived and everyone lived happily ever after. (yipie no trauma for the Mario gang and especially Luigi yahoo)

The prophecy could be fulfilled by a new character who also fits the requirements and basically fills in for Count Bleck. Simply put: the book found someone else good for the role and it all plays out as written. This is where the plot is up to interpretation because there are just too many factors to take into consideration.'Who would reach out for help to Mario?', I don't know, maybe this new character could also be doing this for the sake of someone else I and that's who would be our Timpani replacement or something I guess.'Would Mimi and O'Chunks be there to help?', probably not because the reason they joined in on the plan in the first place is specifically tied to the person that the Count was. But you know who would definitely be there?

Technically we don't really need a new character and it's going to be a little obvious who I'm about to mention. The prophecy is much more altered in this scenario, and it basically revolves about Dimentio carrying it all out. So from the gossip you get from the barista about everyone on Team Bleck it is implied that Dimentio was the one who actively sought out the Count, not the other way around. From this we can deduce that he was aware of the Dark Prognosticus's existence and was out to get it by all means. Out of the known to us characters he'd really be the one person who would end up tied to the fate of the book in most cases. So in this scenario he simply steals the book from the tribe and tries to work it out by himself. 'Would he be able to carry it out alone?' I'd say there's a chance he could do it. Being built on deceipt and using others he might've been able to work from the shadows and make his way to the end goal. 'How would Mario learn about it?' Again, I don't know. It's up to the ones interpretation really. Imagine if Dimentio just goes around taking people who have the slightest trace of green on them and thus becomes like this underground villain and no-one knows anything him about other than his existence. He's like this rumour that people like to scare kids with. One day Mario hears about it, laughs it off then Luigi randomly dissapears and the chase is on, during which the red plumber learns about this mysterious figure and it's intentions bit by bit and theres like a side Peach and Bowser plot which ends with Dimentio taking up a fake persona and tricking them into saying their vows to create the Chaos Heart IDK.

I could try writing up a specific scenario for this but it'd require more time to plan out if I were to actually do it, I'd basically be writing a completely new story which tends to be difficult. (I'm currently trying my hand in writing a spm fic based on the 'Bad End Trio' Luigi design of mine and barely reached over 2k words. I'm not even near done and it's already been taking way longer than I thought it would. That's exactly why I very much respect writers.)

[inquisitor-apologist]

7, 8 and/or 27 :)

7: Who is one character you feel isn't appreciate enough by the fandom?

Ketsu! It is very telling how people will create a ton of content for characters that Sabine talked to like twice and then just ignore her Black Mandalorian butch best friend who had huge impact on her.

She’s also a very interesting character in her own right; we get the shape of her backstory and her relationship with Sabine, but everything else is subtext and up to interpretation.

She deserves so much more love than she gets.

8: If you could've added an episode/story arc to the show, what would it be about?

This one’s difficult! I’m tempted to go with something for the Inquisitors (beloveds), but I think that would have to be more of a rewrite than this question’s asking for, so I’ll fall back to what I’ve been saying for years: Sabine should’ve kept the Darksaber.

After her duel with Saxon, she says that she’s not the leader Mandalore needs, and she’ll find the person who is. To me, it really seems like she’s being set up for an arc where she comes to terms with her past and why she feels like she’s unworthy of wielding the Darksaber and leading the Resistance (ie:the Duchess). And they half get there, but then they drop it. So I’d add an episode or two onto the Season 4 Mandalore arc to have her come to that realization and keep the Darksaber.

(And then, after her time on Lothal and before the search for Ezra, she has something to do! She could have an arc where realizes that she could be that leader she was looking for; she’s always stood up for Mandalore before, and she’s got a lot of experience with leading parts of her clan in season 3 and with the Rebellion generally. She could lead the Mandalorian Resistance in the Galactic Civil War—) Getting off track lol

27: Which plot point do you wish the show had expanded on?

World Between Worlds 100%. I think we needed a little more setup (something between ‘there’s a secret reason the Emperor chose Lothal’ and ‘Loth-wolves can do a weird Force-walk through space’ and ‘there is a hidden portal in the Temple that leads to a plane of reality beyond time and space where you can see into and change the past if it’s ambiguous enough’).

To be fair, I might have forgotten some foreshadowing because it has been years since I’ve seen the back half of the series (crawling there at a snail’s pace with my rewatch lol) but I would’ve loved to see/hear more about the WBW. Maybe an old Lothal legend about a door in the mountains that leads to the past, or a mention of how the Temple has a uniquely strange relationship with time, or anything that could’ve given us just a little bit more.

Thanks!

[leesbian42-rp]

OC lore: Eldi 'A23421' Light

CW: child abuse, dehumanisation

besties I don't think Eldi would have any legal rights as a cyborg in the time era she lives in [Sweden] because I'm imagining she's one of the first, and is literally created to be a murder machine and to bring 'patients' (victims) to James Stone, her Creator. She's not sentient for the longest time of her backstory, and even after she does regain her sentience, all she ever is to Stone is a tool.

And to Stone? Why would he get rights for his perfect obedient little creation? Why would he want a tool to have sentience? He doesn't. It's simply more of a hustle, to have his A23421 be anything more than the thing to spy and bring him his test subjects. The thing to kill the rest, to do the dirty works.

On papers, legally, A23421 existed as a human, as Stone's daughter. And maybe this is what she once was, but any resemblance to this is broken far beyond repair. It has been broken since Stone started treating Eldi as a weapon. (Yet, she is a cyborg. A cyborg, not a full robot or android.)

Because to Stone, all she has ever been is A23421; a barcode, a series number on a package. Something expandable, yet his greatest weapon.

To Eldi, it's such a long journey to get out from all that. One that, to her, starts with a new name and a new identity; Eldi Light. It's first created once she flees from Stone, from the whole country. People in hiding needs a fake identity to remain hidden, and so she does too. (And it's something to symbolise the journey out of Stone's shadow)

But Stone has her chipped, is already on his way to get his perfect tool back, he can't have her running around ruining his Projects. So Eldi has to remain in hiding, as if she's never existed again. It'd be easy enough, programmed to it as she is. It's harder to reprogram herself, and even harder to heal from this.

In the end (and wow this spiralled from her not having any legal rights), her arc would end with a fight between Eldi, who she is, and Stone, one where she shows Stone exactly what he made her before ultimately killing him. To kill one last time, for all the times she's done it completely out of her own control and sentience. Afterwards, she'd be lost for a bit. She's won, but who is she really underneath the murder machine Stone made her?

Typically, when I place Eldi in fandom etc, she'd already have met the characters of that media before then. She'd already have people who got her back, an actual support system and people who care about her. She'd have people to fall back on, and most likely at least one person with a therapist on speed dial. Depending on the universe, she'd try to get legal rights as a cyborg, otherwise she passes enough as a human.

But in her own story? I'm not so sure. She will evantually meet Alex Xamira, and I do want her story to have an ending where she's healing. But where she'd go from there in her own world? Maybe just do something mundane and normal, like going to school or getting a job. Maybe customer service, maybe office. Definitely in another country.

[theflavorofmyautismisspicy]

i love to read people yap about this show lol so here's another ask: do u maybe wanna expand on why you like the other dynamics u mentioned? People on here talk a lot about Deon n toxic yuri queens Natascha + Vanessa (rightfully so!) but I haven't heard or read much about jojonessa or marlkong (the latter always kind of floats around but isn't discussed that much i feel)

Gladly !!

With Jojonessa, I just think their friendship is very sweet. Like Jojo being the one who immediately accepted and wanted Vanessa to be part of the team and clearly thought that she was so cool and was never afraid to defend her. On the other hand there’s Vanessa being always ready to break the law or go “fuck this dude” for Jojo’s sake. Gotta love how protective they can get over one another. And ofc there’s that scene of Vanessa referring to herself as Jojo’s sister, which I will never be normal about. Jojo has quite a traumatizing backstory with his father being dead and mother being treated at a clinic so Vanessa going “yea you have now something like a sister” really solidifies that he doesn’t have to deal with all of that alone and that his friends are like a family to him. But yeah all though I like them way more as friends or even with a big sister and little brother type of dynamic but I’m not opposed to romantic Jojonessa either. They do have a certain “me and my cool wife” charm to them. Jojo watching Vanessa with heart shaped eyes as she bites an energy drink open with her teeth

With Marlkong, I like the whole Kong’s redemption arc episode and how those two kinda became friends. That whole plot point kinda subverted my expectations, I know the whole “befriending the enemy” is a trope that exists but I still wasn’t expecting it on my first watch and I thought it was done in a nice way. It makes sense when thinking of the teams characteristics for Marlon to be the one to reach his hand out for Kong and give him a chance. Since he’s more calm and less of a hater when compared to his brother for example. I wouldn’t still necessarily say I ship them too much but they do have a lot of potential together, personally I like the idea of Marlon whose used to being the backbone of everything and always helping everyone being the one to actually receive help this time and it’s from Kong going “hey dude thanks for believing in me but you gotta stand up for yourself more sometimes, let me help you with that”. It would also offer some more development for Kong’s character if he’s now willing to help someone out just for the sake of it. But yeah if anyone in the fandom has a proper Marlkong essay please drop it, would love to read it, I know they’re constantly rotating in some peoples brains🙏

I’ll also yap a bit about Leonessa since I also mentioned them in the post you were referring to. I think the whole “characters who are always bitching at each others but also care about each other a lot” trope is really great. I like how their friendship kinda developed through the series all though I’m convinced they were like seconds away from starting to bite the other multiple times. In my heart they’re wlw/mlm hostility icons but I don’t mind romantic Leonessa either

[lumiereandcogsworth]

ohhhh I’d love to hear your unpopular opinions about batb 👀

okay i mean it probably isn’t a secret at this point but i still feel like i’ll get assassinated for saying it outright. but: i think beauty and the beast 2017 is better than beauty and the beast 1991.

and i can throw a thousand caveats on it like i still love batb 1991!!!!! i grew up with it and it’s so good!!! it’s so lovely and amazing and one of the disney greats!!!!! and i would not be lying!!! it’s a WORK OF ART! and because of all that, i think it is an excellent foundation that batb 2017 was built upon and expanded upon which allowed it to flourish Even More than batb 1991.

allow me to elaborate further.

i think that where batb 1991 focuses much more on the story itself, leaving adam and belle a bit more secondary, batb 2017 focuses everything on adam and belle and lets them tell the story themselves. to me, it’s a difference between story drive and character drive, and i just personally enjoy batb 2017 diving so much deeper into adam and belle!!! their personalities and interests and sadness and backstories! they seem so much more real to me, so much more human.

i love the things that were altered. i love how when belle asks him to come into the light, he doesn’t. she has to force the light into his face to see what he is. i love that he was so much more unbelievably stubborn that he didn’t even care who stayed as his prisoner, as long as someone paid for trespassing and theft and overall just ruining his day. i love that the library wasn’t a gift of gratitude, but rather a gift only given when he saw her reaction to it. 2017 adam is so much more stubborn and self-absorbed and self-loathing that this beautiful woman being a chance at breaking the curse just does not cross his mind at first. and i love that. he was so completely hopeless that belle’s presence was nothing more than an inconvenience.

until there’s a spark of shared interest. until there’s a connection of mind and spirit. until they discover that maybe they’re not so different from each other after all!

i just absolutely love the fact that the library comes up because he wants to prove to her how much better his literary taste is than hers. he’s such an arrogant prick that even this amazing library has to be coated in his vanity. it only starts to shatter when he sees her reaction. he sees the truly innocent wonder on her face and for a moment the masks come off for both of them. she’s touched his library, she’s brought the daylight into it. he’s almost speechless because of it! she tells him it’s wonderful and all he can say is “yes… i suppose it is.” followed by giving it to her. hey, maybe this “common thief’s daughter” isn’t so bad after all.

i love how batb 1991 does everything too, but all of it happens just a bit too quickly for me. he changes too quickly, they fall in love too quickly, everything just happens really fast and i feel like i never have time to settle into their friendship or romance. i just kind of have to follow the story and accept that they are in love! which isn’t a terrible thing at all. i grew up loving it and never wanting more. but after seeing batb 2017, i do absolutely love that it got to use more time to really highlight their friendship; to really make me believe that these two are friends who are also very much falling for one another.

that’s why i love the colonnade scene so much, where they’re just talking and joking and confessing to one another. no montage, no song, they’re just hanging out and smiling like idiots the entire time. and that leads to the paris scene which is such a sweet and amazing moment!! they get to run away, just for a minute!! and adam gets to be there for belle for an extremely personal moment, and she’s comforted by that. batb 2017 just provides so many extra little details and scenes to really show the kind of relationship they form, and i guess, for my brain, i needed that to really believe in their love. i’ve never liked romance stories that happen too quickly. i have nothing against them, they just never really have been able to convince me that the pair is truly in love, and not just for romance’s sake. i need them to be besties first🥺 and batb 2017 just does such a lovely little job of making me believe that adam and belle have a love that goes as deep as friendship.

so, yeah. i know live action remakes have a bad reputation, and rightly so!! i understand!!! honestly before i saw batb 2017, i was entirely on that train. i thought live actions were pointless. but then i saw this one and i didn’t expect to fall in love okay!!! it just happened!!! i don’t treat all live actions the same, because i think some Are more unnecessary than others. but batb 2017 did such a fantastic job in holding true to the same story while building upon it and making it even more amazing and beautiful than it already was. and i KNOW not everyone agrees with me, but that’s the unpopular opinion for ya!!

[taperwolf]

I was briefly tempted to commit fanfiction again by thinking about the Love Live childhood friend bit and Nijigasaki. Like, in μ's there are two sets of childhood friends, and in Aqours, only Riko doesn't have a childhood friend in the group. Which brings us to Nijigasaki, where obviously the prime childhood friendship is between Ayumu and Yu, and then we add Shioriko and Lanzhu, and Misato probably counts for Ai, even though she's older.

So I was toying with the idea of OCs to expand the childhood friend set, like the little island girl who played with Karin as a kid but who stayed a tomboy. The girl who used to play house with Shizuku but couldn't keep up with her improvised plot lines. The naturally cute airhead who's been Kasumi's rival since they were four. The Swiss farm girl abruptly arriving for a short student exchange program, because of course Nijigasaki has an agriculture program. The American girl who was inspired by Mia in kindergarten to create the perfect hamburger. Heck, let's expand the backstory of the student council vice president by making her Nana's VP all through elementary and middle school. Maybe tap one of the third years at Shinonome High to be Kanata's childhood friend, and be quietly looking after Haruka for her at school.

And of course that's the point where I make myself sad, because the story would inevitably be about how Rina, canonically, could not have had a childhood friend. Ai was her first friend, period, after all her social isolation and parental neglect. At best, we could get someone who admired Rina from afar or felt too intimidated to make friends with her, and that's kinda worse.

So it's another thing I'm going to spend too much time thinking about to no purpose. Hrmph.

[cactusspatz]

August recs

Okay, I've got a handful of miscellaneous recs, and then ten recs for Victoria Goddard's Nine Worlds series, which I'm putting under a cut because at least two of you I know are still reading and the recs are full of spoilers for At the Feet of the Sun. Enjoy!

MISC

The Long Way Home by itsnatalie (DCU, gen)

With Jason tentatively back in the Batfamily, things are going pretty well for him--except for the whole thing with Tim. But who gives a shit about Tim Drake? But when Jason and Tim are pulled into a frightening race for their lives inside a labyrinth that's out to kill them, they may have to look past their differences just to stay alive. Maybe along the way, they'll discover they aren't as different as they thought, and family comes in many different forms.

Spectacular in every aspect: the horror, the action, the hurt/comfort, the brotherly devotion underlying their swarm of issues, and the ending. I really can't rec this one highly enough.

Late Night, North Station by raitala (Untamed, Wangxian)

Lan Zhan finds A-Yuan lost in the railway station. He maybe finds more than he bargained for. Some mornings you leave for the office and come back with a son (and possibly a husband too).

Sooooo sweet, with a lovely autistic LWJ POV. The sequel is still a WIP but is great so far.

Beginning at the End by WerewolvesAreReal (Temeraire, Granby/Little)

In many ways it seems that John's life revolves around William Laurence.

Lovely character study trilogy with Granby sorting out his unrequited thing for Laurence and his ongoing thing with Little.

thou, who art victory and law by The_Apocryphal_One (Goblin Emperor, Csethiro/Maia)

He couldn’t help his unintelligence, any more than she could help her father. And he was kind. She should try to remember that. (Or: Csethiro Ceredin goes into her betrothal to Emperor Edrehasivar VII with assumptions, and has every one of them challenged.)

Great Csethiro POV as she works through her pride and preconceptions.

NINE WORLDS

Embers by alfgifu

Kip Mdang returns to Solaara, hardly confident that the Imperial Service will take him back but sure that there is no place for him in the Vangavaye-ve. The City of Cities is still expanding from the backwater village it was before the Fall; the work of reconstruction continues but it is no longer a simple crisis. In the Palace the big political beasts are circling for position under the newly awakened Emperor. Despondent and determined to bury himself in work, Cliopher finds his former patron disapproving and the new Master of Offices openly hostile. But he is still a fifth degree secretary, and some problems are easier to solve when you feel that you have little left to lose… and don't care which enemies you make along the way.

Amazing!!! Basically a novel-length series digging into the difficult period between Kip returning and Kip becoming the Hands of the Emperor, with tons of bureaucracy and corruption and competence porn and of course, his devotion to His Radiancy and building a better government. Also features wonderful OCs, worldbuilding, a really horrifying bit of magic, some unexpected allies, humor, and Kip being just a really lovely (and determined, and traumatized) person.

thank you!!! no walnuts!!! by mage-pie

Pikabe has fucked over his army career (and maybe his whole life) by refusing illegal orders to commit a war crime and kinda sorta leading a mutiny (he was cleared of wrongdoing, but still, mutiny). He’s been shuffled out of the way to some random base where everyone gives him the side-eye (because mutiny) and he’s never going to see anyone from his old unit ever again. (Which doesn’t matter, his former lieutenant’s also-fucked-over life is none of his business, whatever, it’s fine it’s fine.) Then he gets a mysterious package and a mysterious Solaaran visitor who might have an idea about turning things around (a suggestion, even).

Fun possible backstory for Pikabe; part of a series that I haven't read in full yet but it stands alone.

Signals by Penguinity

Kiri cleared her throat, and the secretaries looked up as one. She waved the letters in one hand. “The stack in the second pigeonhole, what sort of letters are these?” “The ones from people who aren’t crackpots, but don’t need help from our office.” Cliopher nodded, satisfied. “Indeed, well-sorted.” Kiri held up a finger to silence him. “And?” There was a brief pause, before Gaudy gave an almost inaudible sigh and answered. “And who are flirting with Lord Mdang.”

SO funny, featuring the junior secretaries and Kip's ace obliviousness.

A Good Man by Quasar

It takes a while, but eventually Masseo discovers why a man with no name got saddled with a family curse.

Brilliant little premise run off that line about how Ludvic violating the Emperor's taboos would curse his whole family.

One Bed Too Many by white_hart

They slept beside each other on the deck of the vaha, and in a nest of cushions in the solarium, but this is the first time there's been a bed. In fact, there are two.

Sweet immediately-post-ATFOTS fic with them negotiating physical intimacy.

Five People Who Were Surprised The Next Time They Met Cliopher by Quasar

Five people who were astonished when they met Cliopher after the events of At The Feet Of The Sun.

What it says on the tin! A fun collection of people, culminating in Pali and Kip figuring out a detente.

Thrive in the Sun by electropeach

A day in the retired life of Cliopher Mdang: the sun, the sea, the wind, his fanoa… and a cousin baking up a storm in his kitchen. (Alternately titled "Enya Hears About Sardeet")

Immensely soft and funny series, with just a dash of feels about Fitzroy's tragic childhood.

The Tanà’s Day Off by rattyjol

Kip takes the day off. Fitzroy fills in.

In which they are so so cute and extremely married.

Homing by oliviacirce

Homing, adj., (1) having a natural ability to find the way home from a long distance away, (2) guiding or directing homeward; v., (1) to aim at something and move quickly and directly toward it

More on the theme of Kip and Fitzroy figuring out their asexual/allosexual relationship, with an assist from the retirement house squad. Lovely and domestic.

Kip Thistlethwaite by alfgifu

His tone was light on the offer itself, despite the sturdiness of his declaration of identity. She could refuse him with no embarrassment to either of them, turning this into a joke that they could laugh over with Basil later in the evening - but - but - those steady brown eyes were serious. “A marriage of convenience?” she said, equally lightly, “how gallant, sirrah.”

I am going absolutely feral waiting for more of this delightful series, in which Kip happens to be visiting Basil when Jullanar is blackmailed, and offers himself as an alternative. The second story deals with the Emperor finding out that his secretary is indeed married to THAT Jullanar.

[black-rose-writings]

I've had this idea about how the show would have been massively improved by making one little change.

The show, especially it's second season, feels boring, pointless. The only driving point of the whole season 2 is to yell "Darkling Bad". They obviously don't care about established characters, the worldbuilding or lore. Definitelly not about Grisha oppression.

So, what small change would give even the slightest hint of a point and theme to it all, a theme that transcends the creators' need to shit on their most popular character?

Make Alina Aleksander's daughter.

Narratives about cycles of abuse and generational trauma are really popular these days, so instead of making it a story about shitting on the Darkling, make it a story about how Ilya being a shitty father and a mad scientist literally fucked over the rest of the world. Instead of making the show a story about destruction of Morozova's legacy, make it a story about it's redemption.

(Again, my ideal version of the story would be one that works with the themes, characters and plots of the original books and expands on them in a way LB was too much of an american lib to do, but this is "how to make the show better with as few changes as possible")

First, some tweaks to Alina's backstory to account for this change (well, giving her a backstory pre-Keramzin):

There was a more open conflict with Shu Han like 25 years ago, that required Aleksander's presence. During his stay, he spent a few nights with a local woman (possibly anonymously initially, but she did end up finding out who he was, this is important) of Shu descent (though she considered herself Ravkan). The conflict ends and much of the Dva Stolba valley falls under Shu control, giving more explanation for the tension and racism Alina experiences later. Alina's mother stays in Ravkan territory, because, again, despite her ethnicity, she considers herself to be Ravkan, and a few months after the end of that conflict, she gives birth to Alina. She does attempt to contact Aleksander, wanting him to claim the child, but he initially doesn't, both because it's impractical and because he doesn't really believe he is her father, though he does arrange for her to recieve some money.

A few years pass and Alina starts showing signs of Grisha powers, and her mother attempts to contact Aleksander again, telling him of this. She is unable to explain Alina's powers, because she knows relatively little about Grisha and has no idea how Sun Summoning would present. Aleksander does respond this time and urges Alina's mother to take her to be tested and that it would be safest for Alina to keep her parentage a secret (he still doesn't fully believe Alina is his daughter). Before Alina can be tested, however, the family gets caught in the middle of a Shu raid and Alina's mother (and maybe stepfather) are killed, and she ends up in Keramzin, now having an extra trauma reason to hide her powers (taking some inspiration from Alina's cut pre-Keramzin backstory from season 1).

Now, for the changes in season 1, those would be largely in the form of Aleksander's flashbacks and slow realisation of who Alina is. You can still keep the make-out scene/"romance" bits if you really want, because GSI (genetic sexual attraction, a syndrome/phenomenon where closely related people who have been separated for the vast majority of their life, like through adoption, deadbeat/cheating parents etc. upon meeting as adults develop an attraction to each other) is a real thing, incest in media is also unfortunately popular, of course this fucking family would do it, and antis will enjoy getting even more reason to hate Aleksander.

If we go the non-ew route, there would be some changes to the tent scene (to account for Alina being a living amplifier) and perhaps expanding/adding scenes to the journey to Os Alta, giving room to vocalize some of these differences (like explaining the living amplifier thing earlier). Maybe having Alina saying something that prompts Aleksander to be reminded of her mother, and being confused as to why at first.

Their interractions in season 1 would need to be reframed through the father-daughter lens, but it wouldn't be all that dificult, because it already has mentor-mentee undertones. Ideally, there would be a point somewhere before the Winter Fete, possibly as a catalyst for Alina's breakthrough with her powers, when he tells her who she is. It would give Alina a personal stake in the story, because she clearly doesn't give a fuck about her duties/responsibilities as a Sun Summoner in either version. She doesn't have to destroy the Fold because she's a Sun Summoner, but because she's the descendant of the Black Heretic. She's not just the savior of a country she doesn't give two shits about, but the redemption of her family.

If we want to go the "shit on Aleksander" route, nothing about his interractions with Alina would change all that much and the reveal of her parentage, at least to Alina, would come through Baghra, giving Alina more obvious emotional reason to run away and feel betrayed (especially if the almost-sex-on-the-big-map still happens, because "ew, I almost fucked my dad, who know we're related" would be infinitely more understandable of a reason to run away than what Baghra actually tells her).

Either way, the information that she isn't just a distant descendant of the Black Heretic, but his actual child, that she has a grandmother he didn't bother telling her about, that he told her they were going to redeem their family, when he only planned on continuing his work and using her for it, hits Alina like a truck. Alina going though StuffTM emotionally makes her decision to run away make a lot more sense.

Anyway, there would be very little change plotwise, just some dialogue adjustments, maybe mentioning how the Stag is her legacy, her heritage.

It would reframe Alina's fear of becoming like Aleksander, that permeates the second season, have some basis. It would give a reason for the "fuck Ilya and everything he touched and made" narrative Baghra is spinning. Baghra telling both Mal and Alina the story of her family, of why she believes now that it all much be destroyed, how her father's greed drove him to create abominations, to twist the world in unnatural ways, and she looks pointedly at the two as she says it.

Make Alina's stand against Aleksander her way of saying "the cycle of abuse in this family ends with me. I will make our family better.". Make her and Nikolai's political marriage a symbol of a new begining for Ravka in more ways than one - redemption of the Morozov(a) and Lantsov families. And bonding over "I can't tell anyone who my real dad is because it would cause trouble."

But of course, at the end, it fails, because both of them misunderstood the fundamental reason why things became as bad as they did.

IDK, I just think that changing Alina to Aleksander's daughter would improve their dynamic and a lot of the surrounding narratives massively. Even in variations other than the show.

[chromatic-lamina]

Episodes 5 & 6 of OPLA! I think that anyone who comes to the manga or anime after watching OPLA might be disappointed. I mean, it's kinda genius for Arlong to have Buggy's head, and then for Luffy to steal Buggy's head when the Arlong Pirates attack the Baratie, but, like, none of it happened in canon. The one piece wiki is gonna need a separate wiki for OPLA, I guess.

I liked, nay loved, that they kept the fact that Zeff ate his leg in OPLA, to save Sanji. Love that Sanji is foul-mouthed from the beginning and that the love-hate relationship is there from the beginning. The oregano thing is fun, but, really, Sanji? I doubt a chef or cook anywhere would hold that opinion, so I want Sanji's backstory on it. Maybe it was Judge's favourite spice!

The Sanji and Zeff story packed a lot more weight than Kuina and Zoro, although it shouldn't have. Maybe it's just that adult actors have a much better handle on their craft than child actors (although child Sanji, and child Kuina were pretty good,

but child Zoro was a bit lacking). Or they should have maybe started Zoro's story a little bit earlier, with him being a child and coming across Koushiro Shimotsuki's dojo.

When the fishmen appeared at the Baratie, and when Nami didn't secure passage with the guy she'd organised to go away with, I thought they were going to water down her story somewhat. But the way they did it still smacked of betrayal for those who don't know her story, and it was a nice touch to have her read the North Blue stories to Zoro. Nice way to plant future arcs and chances to expand. Also good to also seed viewer sympathy when she kinda explains her actions to the supposedly unconscious Zoro.

Luffy seems a little too self-aware, maybe, but it was the first season without guarantee of season two, so I guess the Zoro and Luffy bond needs to be laid on a bit thick at this point. I kinda remember from the manga that Zoro was badly hurt, of course, but I can't remember the angst. I'm sure parts of it are there. It'll be interesting to see how that kinda thing contrasts with Ace's death in the future (if the series gets that far), cos' that's when Luffy canonically and importantly really goes deep.

Mihawk was camp and wonderful as fuck. Those golden eyes pretty freaky, but definitely hawk-like. Really leaning into that whole thing. Our boy's pretty pasty, but that's fine. I also would've liked to have seen Zeff fight a bit more. He did a good job of that in the manga, as I recall, and I understand missing out on the Luffy and Zeff conversation about Sanji, but I liked that in canon too.

Also, I'm glad that Gin appeared, considering Mihawk took out Don Krieg off screen-ish. Series shoring up against possible future inclusion, although we're still waiting. Very cool to have Zeff help Zoro too, and the way it was done with the fish skin (and that Sanji cooked that yellowtail soon after, I think!).

I think Zoro was shown plastered in bandages, right, and that was the extent of his recovery process in the manga? Again, could be wrong. He was in pain, and took on more, up to Thriller Bark and Sabaody.

Also, practically, I understand why Sanji needs to strip in a live action to save Luffy in the water, and I'm not complaining, but just a difference. I did like Taz Skylar! (I love all of the actors). Love Usopp's stories, that he has his slingshot with him, but is also cowardly (at the start) as in keeping with his canon character. It's funny that Luffy seems to understand that they're stories, but it's true, I think he only believes some of Usopp's stories in canon (like Sogeking)

I'm wondering if Jinbei will sound like Arlong if we get that far. It was probably very pointed, but the Arlong exchange with the fishman waiter carried a punch.

RIP Johnny and Yosaku! The live action is doing a good job of condensing the arc. They really would've had to have done their homework.