#null and void are beautiful

[forced-god]

They need to be happy. Forever.

[depecherose]

⚠️A little flash and light alert⚠️

Null+ Void : Where I Wait Feat Dave Gahan

I could spend hours and hours just watching these beautiful and majestic hand gestures from Dave along with this song.

[byjove]

“I don’t know how to reconcile that my favorite piece of media was made by someone awful.” Because they’re a shitty person who made something good. It’s not that rare of a phenomenon. Shitty people make good things everyday. A piece of art being made by a terrible person does not make its effect null and void and making good art does not redeem a terrible person. People who are irredeemably nasty can say something true and honest on occasion. To reevaluate a work after finding out more about the artist’s horrendous biases and actions and still find things that are honest and true even when consuming it through a critical lens, that is a beautiful thing. If the artist’s actions and words completely destroy it for you and distort the meaning you once found, it’s okay to feel a sense of mourning and loss at that.

This is not to say that you should continue to lavish social and financial capital on the artist because you enjoy their art but to say that enjoying art made by horrible people does not mean you are in some way unclean.

[chuluoyi]

✎ baby to the rescue

- gojo satoru x reader

in which gojo recruits your baby son to “save” you from a credit card salesman

genre: immense fluff !! baby gojo and dad!gojo shenanigans~

note: based on this and this reel. with this i hereby declare that anything past chapter 235 is null and void HAHA anyway, i truly want to post remarried empress au by this week but since 261 leaks hurt me so much, i need more fluff so have to postpone it to next week :') tagging @karikari19hikariiii <3

a part of gojo's love entries

general masterlist

Your husband Gojo Satoru... is handsome as hell, which means your baby son is also undeniably good-looking.

"Why do you pout at me?" Satoru poked his squirming baby's cheek while pursing his lips too. "C'mon, smile! That auntie is smiling at you!"

Everyone who passed by them in Shinjuku shopping district turned heads to admire him and his pumpkin just a little longer, and Satoru visibly enjoyed the attention. He smiled back at them, occasionally winking even.

If only they knew how pretty his wife was too...

Wait, no! On second thought, if they know how hot you are, there will be problems!

You had left him to go to the nearest pharmacy to restock some things, while Satoru decided to entertain his baby in the toy section. He basked in the starry-eyed looks people were giving him... until he heard some strange sounds and turned to his baby boy—

—who was chewing the beak of a duck toy with all his might. Satoru was mortified.

"—! Let that go! Your mama will beat me if she sees you eating this!"

Your baby paid him no mind though, desperately pushing the duck into his mouth. Satoru sat him on one of the empty racks and began the tug of war—

"Let go!" he reprimanded. "You're so naughty, gods—!"

Some people were now openly giggling at both of them. His son tried to resist by rolling, and Satoru clicked his tongue. He then yanked the toy away until his baby finally let it go, sniffling sadly that his papa wouldn't let him have the duck.

"Oh, you..." he picked him up again and consoled the pumpkin. "You can't do that, you hear? First, it's not clean. Second, mama will grow two heads to chew you and me both, understand?"

No, your son totally didn't understand a thing. Satoru sighed, seeing his little blue eyes welling up with tears. He ruffled his head and pulled him close. "There, there... I'll get you ice cream, okay? Now let's go."

Satoru was determined to turn his son back into a smiling, happy baby. But just as he was about to head towards the ice cream parlor, he encountered the most unbelievable sight—

"Miss! I guarantee you'll love this credit card features!"

You. That was clearly you, and a salesman (or a bozo, in Satoru's eyes) was trying to bother you.

You raised an eyebrow. "Uh, no— thank you—"

Yet the bozo was still persistent, like the pesky fly he was. "You can use it to pay for your monthly beauty treatments! Someone as pretty as you..." He eyed you from head to toe, blinking suggestively. "Oh my! Your skin is flawless! You have to maintain it this way! I can also give you recommendations for—"

You were wearing a flare dress that made you look so young and petite, and obviously, Satoru too was lusting after you. And true, your skin was smooth like a soft serve of mochi, but still!

You are meant for him and his eyes only! Oho, this bozo would get heavenly punishment.

He had to get to you somehow, but this was public space and if he cooked up some sort of shenanigan, you would put him in sex ban. I can't have that! so Satoru wracked his brain to think of another way...

Once again, his gaze fell on his now calm baby, who was also looking at his mama over there with utter curiosity. And an idea immediately popped up in his mind.

"Hey, kiddo, look at that, a bad man is trying to take your mama," Satoru nudged him as if trying to egg him on. "We can't let that happen. Will you help me to save her, hmm?"

"Mama..." your baby looked back at him so innocently before smiling. "Mamaaa!"

"Good boy." Gods, his baby was so adorable, he almost felt bad for doing this but...

Swallowing his guilt, thinking he would make it up later, he pinched his son's butt a little too firmly—

"WAAAA!" and suddenly, the little boy burst into tears, and even Satoru was surprised by the sheer volume of his wail.

The sudden inconsolable sound of your baby sent you scrambling in panic, your eyes wildly searching for him, completely disregarding the credit card man. "My baby!"

"Eh?" the credit card man was visibly surprised. "Oh... so, you're married...?"

You immediately made your way towards Satoru and snatched your baby from him, hugging him tightly. "Oh, there, there... What happened to you?" you shot your husband a distaste look as your son kept wailing. "Satoru, why is he crying?"

He nonchalantly shrugged. "Maybe missing his mama? Dunno~"

By now, you had completely forgotten the credit card bozo, but he still looked at the three of you in mild surprise. Satoru took this chance to approach him and whisper in his ear:

"You see, my wife doesn't need your credit card," he whistled. "My cards or lumpsum money will do more than enough."

After seeing how pale the bozo looked, Satoru chuckled darkly... before leading you and your son away from the crowd, with one arm possessively around your waist.

Epilogue

"I'm sorry— I'm sorry, okay!?"

Satoru looked down at his son in utter hopelessness, as the little boy refused to be held by him, looking at him with teary, resentful eyes, and backing away from him in his playpen.

Can babies hold a grudge? Satoru didn't know, but his son definitely was not happy with him, and he couldn't think of any other explanation other than his sin against him back this afternoon.

"I've bought you mochi ice cream!" he opened his palm to reveal the treat. "Don't you want some? Papa will give you some, yeah?"

Baby looked skeptical now, and at that moment, he resembled you so much—accusing eyes, pursed lips, exactly like the expression you would pull when you were unsure of what Satoru might do next. He almost chuckled at the resemblance, feeling giddy.

"C'mon, forgive me, yeah?" he patted his son's little beanie and offered his hand for him to take, eyes crinkling in fondness. "Now, here comes your treat, come closer?"

Your baby crawled closer, seemingly accepting him, and Satoru was all smiles, until—

Whack!

It happened in a flash. He could have avoided it, but he was too taken aback. The pain exploded in his jaw, so intense that he grunted loudly.

"What the—?! You... you—! You kicked me— in the face!"

[chronicsydspams]

I'm about to piss off the ENTIRE TLOU fandom but I'm SO past the point of caring. Bella Ramsey is a more accurate portrayal of a 19 year old not only in their mannerisms but THEIR LOOKS.

"They don't look mature enough" that's because Ashley Johnson was in her mid 30's playing a 19 year old, and in the game, Ellie's face Especially still carries that. AFAB people Especially don't magically change their facial structure from 14-19 unless they had work done. you don't start seeing that happen till your mid-late 20's.

You don't look OR act like "a mature adult" when you're 19, it just doesn't happen. so expecting this (even from a fictional character) is still rather bizzar to me. and saying shit like "she's being too goofy" here when we've gotten basically No clips of her after she loses Joel is also a null in void argument. Even in the game before she loses Joel, Ellie's particularly monotone; but if they're going about this the way i think they're going to, then the stark contrast between her being goofy and the unbridled rage would actually be an Improvement from the game.

and I straight up can't tell if it's been That long since people have played TLOU2, or if they're just being Purposefully obtuse because of their hate boner for Bella as to why they're acting like Ellie's mad at Joel for no reason whatsoever (this isn't towards people who haven't touched the games and don't know the story, this is towards people who know and are still whining like little crybabies about everything)

"Should have recasted like in HOD" so THAT doesn't work either because for Rhaenyra they're going from 15 to like 32. from a teen to an ACTUAL adult, not a Young adult. 5 and 15 years apart are Very Much not the same thing here.

And it really seems that my fellow lesbians have Also been perpetuating the "Bella isn't "conventionally attractive enough" for me to sexualize" to which i expected better from you guys, honestly.

"we're allowed to nitpick" no it sounds like you're crying because you didn't get your way, in What reality would they have recasted Bella as Ellie? would you be complaining less if we waited another 10 years for Bella to be in their 30's and Then you'd stop complaining about them looking so young? probably not, because Bella doesn't fit conventional beauty standards.

And if I'm going to be Remotely honest, I'd rather have someone who can Act the part rather than someone who looks "close enough" but can't act for shit, which is what I'm seeing with all these tiktok "recast suggestions"

With that, I think I've yapped enough, and am going to try and weasel my way out of enemy territory and find Bella Ellie edits 'till next Sun. thank you for your time.

[athenagc94]

Dear Daddy Long Legs - Chapter 29

Jason Todd x Fem!Reader

TW: Mentions of Death

First | Prev | Next

Chapter 29

College was nice while it lasted.

Yes, that might be a tad melodramatic given you never got a letter in the mail that said your scholarship was null and void. Nor did anyone at Wayne Foundation reach out demanding restitution for the money you’d used thus far. But, come on, it had to be coming. And even if those letters never came, you refused to accept the money. There were other means to pay your tuition.

Certainly, ones with a lot less strings attached.

You would probably have to take a gap year to pad out your savings and look for new opportunities. It wasn’t ideal, but you’d waited this long. Pushing your education off another year wasn’t the end of the world.

But it might be the end of your world.

When the writing club had its last meeting this week, Chloe was kind enough to ask what classes you had slotted for the fall. Instead of making up something on the spot, you made up an excuse about work or a paper or a paper you needed to finish for work. Honestly, the details were kind of fuzzy.

Now, you were folded over a tray of hors d’oeuvres like your life wasn’t falling to pieces.

Screw Jacob.

Or Jason.

Or whatever his name was.

Why did he have to come into your life like a whirlwind and make a mess of things? A beautiful mess, but a mess, all the same.

“Hey!”

You looked up from your platter as Evan slipped into the catering kitchen at the Gotham banquet hall. One day, you’d never have to touch another serving platter, but that day wasn’t today. Nor was it any day soon. At this rate, you might as well sleep in the back of the catering truck to cut costs.

Evan hid his hands behind his back and smiled, revealing his missing incisor. When you looked at him, you saw a young Jason smiling back at you. It curdled your stomach.

“I have good news.”

You forced a smile. “And what would that be?”

He revealed the sheet of paper hidden behind his back. You took it and flipped it open, revealing a report card. It was mostly B’s, though he finished the quarter with an A in math. He was quick with numbers when he took the time to sit down and use them. You noted the C in English, but you expected that. It was one of his weaker subjects. The fact that he eked out with a passing grade at all was a marked improvement.

Your smile turned more genuine. “Holy shit.”

“I know!” Evan bounced on the balls of his feet. “My advisor said I should start thinking about college. I’m not sure if I can afford it without a scholarship, but I might be able to get into a technical college or go part-time so I can keep working with you...”

He rambled, but you didn’t care. Hearing him talk about going into higher education was the best news you had all month. Your throat clenched around nothing as you studied the grades once more.

“My advisor said I should have a few letters of recommendation at the ready. My GPA is on the lower side, but depending on my SAT scores and those letters, I might have a shot. I was wondering if you would write one for me?”

“You want me to write you a letter?”

Again, you couldn’t help but think of Jason.

He fiddled with the buttons on his sleeves. “Only if you want to, but I look up to you, I guess.”

If you weren’t crying before, you were now. With tears in your eyes, you flung your arms around his shoulders and pulled him into a hug. “Of course, I’ll write you a letter. I’m so proud of you.”

He gave you a quick squeeze, and you almost sobbed. He had no idea how badly you needed this hug. “Who knows? Maybe I’ll get into GU too, and we could be students together.”

Evan meant well, but his words were like plunging headfirst into icy water. Nice as that sounded, that seemed unlikely for a lot of reasons.

When you broke away from him, you quickly wiped your tears and ruffled his hair. “I’ll do what I can to make that happen, kiddo. Now, let’s get to work. This bruschetta isn’t going to plate itself.”

The party came and went, uneventful for the most part. Mark no longer worked for your company. Your boss didn’t tell you why, but you assumed the drugs had something to do with it. Whatever. You weren’t sad to see him go. The world still turned, but you felt stuck.

By the time you finished cleaning up with Evan, exhaustion had settled deep in your bones, but a twenty-minute train ride stood between you and your bed.

You found a seat in the far corner of the mostly empty subway car. Resting your bag in your lap, you shuffled through its contents until you found the book tucked away at the bottom. The Odyssey translated by Emily Wilson. It was a comfort read, despite the vaguely bittersweet pang in your chest any time you cracked it open.

No matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t stop thinking about him. The good, the bad, and everything in between. You weren’t aware of how much you thought of him until he stopped coming around. You hadn’t seen him, not even as a blur of red on the night sky.

He did exactly as you asked and gave you space.

That irked you.

The fact that it irked you, irked you more.

Just as the doors were about to close, another person dashed onto the car. Tall with dark hair mostly hidden beneath a blue ball cap. Your heart skipped a beat as you looked up.

Jas—

No.

He looked similar to him, save for his brown eyes and the scarless face. You missed his steely blue eyes. They painted the backs of your eyelids whenever you closed yours, but it wasn’t the same. You scolded yourself and tried to focus on your book, but that too had soured now that you’d gotten your hopes up over nothing.

The ghost of Jason Todd, ironic as that was, haunted your life, but you wanted more than his ghost. Life wasn’t nearly as vibrant without him in it, but you’d been the one to push him away. You should have had him stay. You should have sat down and talked through things like the adults you supposedly were. No more running, no more building walls to protect yourself from being vulnerable.

But should haves didn’t make things right now.

You needed action.

As the car pulled away from the platform, you devised a plan to make things right. Writing had gotten you into this mess. It was going to be the thing to get you out of it too. One more letter. One last shot to do things right. The only question was how to get it to him. The PO box was probably gone, not that you’d ever send it there.

This letter wasn’t for Bruce Wayne.

It was for Jason Todd.

Most people would call you crazy for writing to a dead man. They would tell you that you’d have better luck reaching him through a Ouija board, but there had to be people out there who knew the truth.

People who were close to him.

Family.

Friends.

Your book closed with a snap as the realization struck you. That was it. You knew exactly where to start your search.

***

Steph sat at your usual table in the student center with a purple smoothie and a half-eaten bag of sour gummy worms. The red end of one poked out between her lips as you settled in the chair across from her, jaw set in a determined line.

“What’s with the face?”

“I need to get something to Jason.”

The faintest pinch in her nose confirmed what you suspected. Steph knew his real name all along. You couldn’t blame her for keeping his secret. It wasn’t hers to tell, but she could make up for it now.

She ripped the gummy worm in half and chewed. “I don’t think I know any Jasons. Wild, I know.”

You stared at her, unimpressed.

She shrugged and popped the other half of the gummy worm in her mouth. “Worth a short. How much do you know?”

“How much do you know?”

“I asked you first.”

You glanced over your shoulder. Several students sat around them, but the closest ones wore large headphones to block out the bustle of the student center. They were unlikely to hear this next part, but you lowered your voice anyway. “I don’t know. You tell me, Spoiler.”

She gasped. “You bitch. How long have you known?”

“A blonde vigilante dressed in purple appeared outside my place in the middle of the night and blamed Mercury being in retrograde for Jason getting dosed with fear toxin.”

“Weird shit happens when Mercury is in retrograde.”

She really wasn’t helping her case. It was a wonder how any of them kept their identities under wraps. “Come on, Steph. I might not have guessed Jason was using a fake name but give me some credit here. I know you’re not Batman.”

“Psh, Batman wishes he was me.”

“How many of your friends are actually vigilantes?”

“Not that many. Like one or two. Twelve tops. They’re mostly Ti—shit, forget you heard that.” She stuffed another gummy in her mouth to avoid talking, but it didn’t work. “Ya know, some of my friends, like you, are just normal people.”

“And what is Jason?”

“Jason is...” She chewed thoughtfully. “He’s complicated.”

“That’s an understatement.”

Steph shrugged as if she hadn’t just been outed as a vigilante over a bag of gummy worms and a smoothie. “It comes with the territory. Well-adjusted people don’t wear masks and fight crime, not even me. Shocker, I know, my life seems so put together.”

“So, say I wanted to give him something,” you began as you pulled the letter from your bag, “How would I go about finding him?”

“I wasn’t lying when I said he doesn’t come around often. He and the Bat don’t really agree on how to combat crime, so it’s easier for Red Hood to work as a solo act. He claims to prefer it that way, but I don’t know. His whole vibe screams child sidekick if you ask me.”

“Do you know what happened between us?”

“Seeing as you’re using his real name, I can hazard a guess, but no, he didn’t tell me anything. Not when—” She closed her mouth so fast, her teeth snapped.

Your eyes narrowed. “You’ve been in contact with him.”

“Once. A week ago. We crossed paths while out on patrol. Well, that implies it was a happy accident, but he sought me out. The lovesick fool wanted me to give you this.” She pulled a manila envelope from her bag. It was heftier than yours by a concerning degree.

Your pulse quickened.

“I didn’t know if you wanted it or not, so I held off on giving it to you until you brought it up on your own, but God, you two were made for each other. How did you both settle on writing each other letters like a pair of star-crossed lovers? It’s nauseating.”

“Says the girl who’s been taking ASL classes with Cass.”

Steph flushed scarlet. “Do you want me to give him your letter or not.”

“Please. I’m afraid I’ll go crazy if I hold off any longer,” you said as you slid the envelope across the table. She did the same with his. When you picked it up, you turned it over in your hands, trying to imagine what he could have written.

“Let’s raincheck for later this week,” Steph said as she shoved the letter and her bag of gummies in her bag, “Something tells me you’ll want to be alone for this next part.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“You said it yourself. I think you’ve waited long enough.” Her voice was firm, but not unkind as she slung her bag over her shoulder. “Your horoscope for today said you needed to face the things you keep putting off.”

“Why do I feel like you made that one up to make your point?”

She winked. “Guess you’ll never know.”

With that, she headed off, leaving you alone with whatever awaited you in this envelope. It was weird being on the receiving end of a letter for a change. Before you could talk yourself out of it, you ripped it open.

Hi.

I’m not really sure what to write.

Well, that’s not entirely true. There are plenty of things I want to write, but I have a feeling this is already going to be pretty long as it is, and I don’t want to bore you. Most pressingly, I want to apologize. I shouldn’t have lied to you. Jacob was a stupid name, and I shouldn’t have let it go on as long as it did.

And the letters to Bruce Wayne… I’m sorry for deceiving you.

I was a coward.

You had every right to turn me away, but now that I’ve had time to sit with my poor decisions, I realize I still owe you the truth. All of it, even if it makes you hate me more. So, here it is.

Fair warning, it’s not a happy story, but it’s mine.

Make of it what you will.

And he did. Pages upon pages of it. Jason told the story of a boy who came from nothing. With loving parents who were far from perfect, until one day, they were gone too. He was alone in the world.

I preferred it that way. I knew how to take care of myself. I’d been doing so long before my mom died of her overdose. It wasn’t anything new. I had an affinity for lifting tires off cars. Shocker, I know. One day, I got bold and targeted the wrong person.

Or the right person.

It’s all perspective, I guess.

A man of great influence, Bruce Wayne, plucked him off the street and gave him a life he only ever dreamed of. He wasn’t alone anymore, but with it came the weight of expectation. He was out of his depth, but he tried to make things work.

Bruce opened the door to a world of opportunity. Much like I wanted to do for you, but I’m getting ahead of myself. Back to the story. I wanted to use my new life for good. I could make the world a better place, not with charity galas or schmoozing with rich folk who didn’t give a damn about me, but under the cover of night.

I found magic in an unlikely place.

I became Robin. Not the first. That was some other guy who did it a lot better than I did (which is a secret I want you to carry to your grave. If he learns I even hinted that he was better than me, I’ll never hear the end of it.)

You reread that passage, ensuring you hadn’t misunderstood. Red Hood had been a Robin? Did that mean Bruce Wayne was Batman? Is that what he was telling you? Most people suspected there had been more than one kid acting as Robin. Nearly twenty years had passed since the first one appeared, after all, but you never expected…

You shook your head as you cast your judgments aside until you had finished reading. You still had several pages to go.

For the first time in years, I felt like I had the means to be the change I wanted to see in the world. I wanted to do right by it and help the people who needed it most. It was a thrilling time.

Until suddenly it wasn’t.

Jason was killed by the Joker’s hand when he was fifteen. There was no terrorist attack abroad, not really. He’d gone after his birth mom who’d sold him out to the Joker. Despite that, broken and bleeding, he’d tried to save her until his dying breath.

A lump formed in your throat as you recalled the scar on his cheek. J—not for Jacob or Jason, but for the Joker. You clasped your hand over your mouth to keep from whimpering.

The story should have ended there, but it didn’t. I woke up, clawed my way out of the grave and… what happened after was a little fuzzy. I wish I could tell you more. I was taken abroad by the League of Assassins (long story—again, the details are a little fuzzy), but I eventually found my way back to Gotham.

I was angry.

Vindictive.

Starved for revenge.

In all the time I’d been gone, nothing had changed. Rogues still ran rampant through the city. And worst of all, the man who’d orchestrated my death was still alive. Clearly, my death meant nothing.

He did things he wasn’t proud of, but you already knew that part of the narrative. The guns, the crime, his tenuous relationship with Batman. It all made sense now that you had the context behind it.

You weren’t sure where else this story could go, but as you flipped to the next page, that lump in your throat threatened to burst.

One day, not so long ago, I met a woman on the subway. She wore a yellow hoodie as she read Wuthering Heights. We talked about books and for the first time in years, I felt a little less like a monster. When we parted ways that night, I never expected to see her again.

But fate has a sense of humor, I guess.

He recounted the night he saved you from being mugged. That felt like ages ago. Another lifetime, in fact.

This woman was smart and brave and rightfully cynical of the world. She had a dream. It was a lot like a dream I had once upon a time, though I’d long since abandoned it. A half-dead kid would never go to college, but it wasn’t too late for her.

Oh.

Oh no.

I wanted to help, so I did something stupid. I pulled some strings. Used the influence I’d turned my back on and got her a scholarship for a foundation in my name.

The letters were meant to be clever. An ode to her favorite novel and nothing more. We were never meant to see each other again, but I couldn’t stay away.

The more I got to know her.

The more I got to know you…

The web of lies grew, and I was stuck. I didn’t know how to break free, and I was afraid of what would happen once I did. I couldn’t imagine a life where you’re not part of it, love.

Your teeth chattered as you fought back a new wave of tears. This was a complicated emotion. Neither good, nor bad, but raw and so, so real. Words couldn’t do this feeling justice, but it was visceral.

The money is yours. No more letters. I don’t expect anything from you. That’s the way it should have been from the start, and I refuse to let you drop out of college because I’m an idiot who lets my lies get away from me. You’ve always been capable of more than you give yourself credit for.

I, Jason Peter Todd, chose you for a reason. Not Bruce Wayne, not his foundation, but me. I would do it again. And again, and again, if it meant I had a moment of your time.

Because it was a beautiful moment.

Please, love. Don’t give up on your dreams.

Dreams are the real magic.

That’s where his letter ended. You wiped your tears, only slightly embarrassed to be caught crying in the middle of the student center. You probably should have taken the letter home to read it there, but it was already done.

His story answered some questions, but like the head of a hydra, they multiplied, leaving infinitely more in their place. You understood why he made these choices. How could you not after he poured his heart and soul into every page. You wanted to gather him in your arms and kiss each of his scars until he knew, in his heart of heart’s that nothing he shared changed your perception of him.

But that would have to wait.

You would have to wait.

What happened next was entirely up to him. You just hoped your letter inspired him to make the right choice.

-----------------

A/N: In case you were wondering, this was the chapter that made me tear up while writing it. One chapter left!

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Tag List

Let me know if you want to be added!

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[dykephan]

but you know what, dan might struggle to assert his needs with people besides phil, but it’s so healthy that he doesn’t seem to struggle with asserting them *with* phil. a lot of people who have the issue of struggling to assert their needs also struggle with asserting their needs to their romantic partner because they fear upsetting them/bothering them/being abandoned etc and dan seems to feel so safe and secure in his relationship with phil that his issue with asserting his needs is null and void only with him, and that’s beautiful.

[chillhi]

no footprints

The concept I had in mind here was how Null perceives himself. I gave him different clothes and hairstyles, hinting at a whole set of features but he doesn’t care for it. His feet are somewhat visible but no prints are made, he’s not walking anywhere either just some white void, not that it matters, the void is familiar anyways

rambling existentialism mention

I love ethereal sort of drawings with null, he gives a lot of room to explore challenging existentialism from his overall role in the game being able to leave but never doing so to his design where he only resembles a person but everything important isn’t visible.

I thought about him leaving, how he didn’t really get to leave on his own terms and his whole purpose for being in the game, didn’t even conclude in him saying goodbye to the player it was the developer. He never had a choice, sure he was in the spotlight but it didn’t matter, he was deemed worthless once the developer didn’t want him around no more. Horrifying everything he worked for was up to someone finding his entire existence entertaining all just a silly little game.

He didn’t want to take part in the game but he became the focal point when people dug around, him being there gave him a motive and just one location to do one thing, what now in the real world? I feel like the events of the game altered him to a degree where he internalized how little power he has over everything going around him. He’s now invisible to whoever came across him once he got out here he’s everyone but no one at once because he never makes an impact for anyone to discern who he is, the same as trying to remember a forgetful face, an amalgamation of features that didn’t matter enough to remember.

I like thinking about the possibility of living as anyone, not in the sense of him having the ability to morph his features but the concept of I can’t nor want to choose what he really looks like but because of the concept of endless mish mash of countless people that could mix up and end up being him, I want to choose being unable to find a fit whole design for him over my wanting of what he could look like. Anyways, just thought it was a cool idea how he acts as an entity that haunts the game but now that he’s out he’s a ghost, more entity than a person, ends up embracing what he was in the game since he’s done it for quite a long time

Wouldn’t it be interesting how he can actually be someone out there and no one would know? How he’d want to keep it that way. Instead of showing up in other games or media he becomes a person. I’d argue that’s one of the worst things he can end up being but there’s a sliver of beauty in thinking about figuring it out and living the way you want to whatever he does I sure do wish him luck, not the only guy living that way after all. Aimlessly living.

Just wanna say how out there it is to try and draw someone I can’t care to remember but still wishing for whoever I do come up with that could resemble someone to find their footing in the world. Not possible it could be null but it’s entertaining to think so

[eebibly]

I don’t reaaaally like the stardresses

But not for the same reason I’ve seen others dislike them? The biggest argument I see against Lucy’s stardresses is that it’s too much like Erza’s requip. I don’t disagree with that specifically. The thing is, in a roundabout way, I would argue that the issue with Lucy’s dresses is actually more of a reflection of the issue with Erza’s power (which I may or may not make a post about). What I mean is, if Erza’s magic was better developed, Lucy’s magic would seem more original.

Much like almost every other magic in this lazy-ass written universe, I don’t like the ‘rules’ (or lack thereof) for summoning them. The power scaling in FT is infamously terrible, so I’m basically preaching to the choir, but brain rot takes over my typey fingees sometimes.

So I’ve been reading the manga because the anime recently upset me, therefore I’d now rather quickly read through FT: 100YQ than invest a lot of emotional energy in an adaptation that really slows the pacing of its printed counterpart. That being said:

Part 1: Aquarius

First of all, I don’t agree with the fact that Lucy can still use Aquarius’s stardress. I understand that it was gifted to her by the Celestial King during Tartaros, but that only should have lasted as long as that war. I think it undermines Aquarius’s sacrifice and I also believe it would have benefited Lucy and her goals as a character for 100YQ. Giving Lucy Aquarius’s stardress could have represented the end of an era but the start of a new one. And it does, ostensibly. Aquarius is basically Lucy’s first spirit, someone who has both a strong connection with Lucy and with her mother. It’s a difficult bond to break, but a testament to Lucy letting go of a piece of her past to protect her present bonds. As a reward for such a sacrifice, the Celestial King gives her one last chance to fight for her future with an old friend’s power. It’s a beautiful moment that acts as closure for Aquarius’s “loss”, but also a hint at the new possibilities for Lucy’s new abilities. And that’s all it needed to be.

However, despite the fact that her contract with Aquarius is, for that time being, null and void, Lucy now overuses ‘Aqua Metria’ at every turn instead of bothering to actually summon the spirits with whom she currently has contracts (and seriously, is there no reason she can’t use Regulus Impact? I feel like it accomplishes the same… impact). This paragraph is just me venting, I find it quite annoying… Not to mention that not having the dress until she gets the key back could be something else to look forward to! Also Aquarius’s dress is probably my least favourite… so boring and just another excuse for Mashima to draw as little clothes on Lucy as often as possible.

Part 2: Borrowed power

Or at least, I feel that her stardresses should be considered borrowing a part of her spirits’ powers. Celestial magic is unique in that the wizard doesn’t just need to understand the mechanics of it, or how the magic flows within oneself. It also requires an extra level of bond and trust for it to function at its fullest. It’s actually a really beautiful power, one that I really admire. Which is why I’m so sad that it’s so misrepresented by its own creator. This is my opinion, but considering that summoning spirits is the main facet of her magic, I strongly feel that summoning a stardress should cost more power than opening a gate as well as be less powerful than the spirit whose dress it belongs to. That way, it’s still more worth it to summon the spirit, but is also a testament to the wizard’s magic power and their bond with their spirit since they are willing to expend even more power just to be able to fight alongside them. Not only that, but it feels to me like the dresses should be the spirits sharing their power with Lucy. However, it feels more like Lucy is summoning an entirely different entity that scales purely on her own magic power. Doesn’t that make her spirits obsolete? She barely ever summons them anymore because it seems that choosing to summon a stardress and skipping the spirit is not only more cost effective, but also makes her combat more efficient. If she fights better by herself than with her spirits, why even have spirits?

Considering how poorly written the spirits are, I’d almost argue that the stardresses, and only the stardresses, should’ve been Lucy’s power from the start. If you can’t do it right, then don’t do it at all.

On that topic:

Part 3: Is he bored of them?

I’m genuinely wondering if Mashima grew tired of his own concept. And by that I mean, the spirits specifically. Because he clearly loves the moral behind them. You love and respect them even if they’re not human. A moral developed really well, at least as far as I’ve seen in the anime, in Edens Zero. I won’t spoil it because this is a post about Fairy Tail, but I really like how that moral is done in that story. But he made 2 major mistakes in Fairy Tail. 1) Celestial wizards are rare. How can you fight for a cause if there is no cause to fight for? He tries to make up for this by Lucy starting to connect with other characters in the way the other protagonists just can’t, like Eclair from Phoenix Priestess and Athena from 100YQ. Great, point for Lucy’s character, really well done. Why can’t she extend that to her spirits on-screen? 2) he seems to have decided that because the spirits aren’t human, they must be one-note?? And only one spirit can have depth at a time. When he needed Aquarius to matter, Loke devolved into the thats-my-wife-guy. Meanwhile Aquarius evolved from raging PMS b*tch to ‘well maybe I do love Lucy after all -3-’.

He has written so so so many characters into his canon, but the celestial spirits, nooo that’s too much to keep track of. Despite how much he hammers home that they matter as much as everybody else. Worst of all, most of the time that they’re summoned, Lucy just seems annoyed or disturbed. So which is it???

Part 4: Help

I wish I could let go, someone help.

If you got this far, thanks for reading ✌️

[howlingday]

Vash gun Jaune (that's what I'm officially calling it)

Jaune: So what are we doing

Ruby: A expedition trip for you to get used to your gun. You got the new bracers?

Jaune: Yeah I got them....where are we going

Ruby: We...oh no this is for you *tosses a heavy backpack to him* Inside is at least 2 months of supplies but you gotta make it last.

Jaune: *Looks worried* What do you mean by that?

As he asked this the section Jaune sat at give way dropping him into a Forrest that is filled with mist.

Ruby: *Yells at him* "See you in about 4 months when the mist clear!"

Jaune: RUBY ROSE WHEN I SEE YOU AGAIN, IM SO GONNA GET MY PAYBACK!!!

(Landing strategy maybe his charged shots help him)

My name is Jaune Arc. I was born in Ansel, then left for Beacon when I turned 17. On my way there, a lot of things happened. A lot of bad things. Things that everyone blamed me for, which led to me being branded the most wanted criminal on Remnant.

So there I was, staring at the bladed edge of the greatest huntress in Atlas when suddenly a snow angel came in to stop her. The most beautiful snow angel I'd ever seen. And next to her was my best friend, Ruby, who was holding up my wanted poster before ripping it in half.

"On behalf of the Schnee Dust Company Insurance Department," Weiss explained, "Jaune Arc, also known as Walking Disaster Jaune is declared void of his bounty, as it has been deemed that he can be held as responsible for damage as earthquake or a hurricane. As such, myself and Ruby Rose are to act as his handlers until such time his cataclysmic tendencies are deemed null and void."

Now, you're probably wondering why Ruby, who is supposed to be keeping an eye on me, just dropped me in the middle of a misty forest. Well, the reason is quite simple; she hates me. There's also a more complicated reason, which is that I'm supposed to be training for something big that's supposed to be happening soon, so I need to train both my body and my senses for four months.

She also gave me this gun she hand-crafted just for me. She says it's probably the most powerful handgun in the world, calling it "the best hand-cannon Remnant will ever see." And that's pretty much the bare bones of why I'm here, laying against a tree with a sore shoulder, an aching bicep, and probably a broken hand. Thank goodness for aura, right?

I just hope no one is stupid enough to come wandering into these woods after the SDCID just put out word that these woods are sectioned off for "natural disaster preparation". Yes, I know how dumb it sounds, too, but I'm not the one who came up with this plan. That honor goes to Weiss' dad.

[dear-mrs-otome]

Jude's 'Love Kiss' from CE

The shitbrained summary version, definitely inaccurate somewhere but you'll get the gist:

Opens on Kate all, OOOH PRETTY FLOWERS Lovely summer breeze, this is heavenly, I could stay here forever 😍

Then the lovely scene is interrupted by a voice bitching that she can't laze about there and never pay them back, and Kate's thinking, nani the fuck, is that Jude's voice? Crap he's right I can't be in debt to him!

She jerks awake and promptly chokes up a shitload of water, looking around all blearily. BEAUTIFUL PLACE GONE :( Ellis is there, banging her on the back asking if she's okay and such, and she says ya she's alright. Ellis tells her, dang girl you nearly drowned!

She's thinking, holy crap was that garden THE AFTERLIFE? If not for Jude's voice, she might still be there, DED. The idea is kinda freaking her out tbh, so she hugs herself.

Jude sighs that it's bit cold for a swim ffs, and Kate's tells him she wasn't swimming, there was this child drowning so she wanted to save them??? She's panicked a moment over whether the kiddo is okay, and Ellis assures her they are - they went off to a doctor to get checked out but seemed fine, just cold. She's relieved and asks, did Ellis save her then? He sets the record straight though, telling her nope, not me, I didn't get here in time - Jude hauled you back to shore and gave you mouth to mouth.

Cue Kate all…..Jude????

She finally notices that he's soaking wet too, and Jude offers her a smarmy line about how it sucks for her she didn't get kissed awake by a ✨prince✨ - she got the wizard. Kate says, no actually thanks a bunch but record scratch wait. Mouth to mouth?????

Jude: That's usually the standard first aid when someone's drowned duh

Then Jude bitches at her for getting all blushy over something like that and how she's gonna make him look stupid for saving her dumb ass. Finishing with exasperation, all …ugh whatever, I'm soaking wet and I'm going home, get ur ass to the doctor just in case. He chucks his jacket at her with a comment about how she's putting on a show (cause her clothes are wet and plastered and see-through) and it'll cause him problems and look bad to be seen with her like that so cover up. She's swimming in the jacket when she puts it on but it's warm and dry and smells like him and she has to scold herself BAD HEART NO SKIPPING BEATS.

Just about then Ellis tells them both to look up, and Jude's startled to see there's some leftover Christmas decoration or something in the tree above, with some mistletoe. Kate's thinking, oh dang, isn't there some superstition about how if a couple kisses under the mistletoe they'll be together forever?? DOES MOUTH TO MOUTH COUNT?

From the look Jude's giving her as he glances at her it seems obvious to us that Kate's every thought is probably plain as day in her expressions. He rips the decoration down, shoves it at Ellis and tells him: Burn it.

Ellis takes off immediately to do just that, and Kate begins all, uh….soooo…. Jude….

He stops her though and says, you don't actually believe in that superstition right?

Kate: PFFT N-NO >.> why, do you? Jude obesrves that she's a shit liar, before grabbing her arm and saying that he's gonna shove a new superstition into that ditzy head of hers. And with that he yanks her in and kisses her for real this time…but she can't help noticing how there's no warmth to it, not with the both of them freezing cold from the river and such. When he finally pulls back pointedly, Kate is thinking the icy kiss was like proving there's no love between them.

Jude proclaims that kissing under the same spot NEGATES the first kiss, so there - Cancelled. Nulled and voided.

Kate just….okayyyy. Clearly she knows he's just made this up, and she's wondering why the heck he would even bother kissing her again to make up for HER superstition. Does he hate the concept of it THAT much? Because, obviously, they aren't a couple. It wouldn't even apply. They're clearly not making some FOREVER PROMISE to each other.

…But it still kinda stings for some reason she can't explain.

She's chalking it up to the discrepancy between how glad she'd felt that Jude had saved her, and the NOPE attitude here, but Jude says that basically, just a kiss isn't worth it/enough to pledge TOGETHER FOREVER over. Clearly offended by the very idea. Kate's all, what, is a vow that bad??

And Jude simply says:

There's no such thing as forever.

It takes her a second to figure out how that's an answer to her question, and then it clicks. It's not that Jude dislikes the idea of a promise. It's that Jude always keeps his, and if 'forever' doesn't exist like that, he's not going to make that promise because he can't keep it. Nothing is forever, ergo a promise of eternity is bound to be broken, and therefore Jude would never make it. And Kate's thinking, GDI that's actually really sincere of him. People can lie to themselves too, about love and 'staying together forever'…but even if it's just a silly superstition, Jude never makes a promise he can't keep.

She wonders to herself if… someday, he might find someone he wants to pledge forever to. And she's musing how despite bitching and everything, he didn't hesitate to save her. She's spent enough time around him by now to know that he's not a bad man at heart. How behind all his ruthlessness and arrogance, he's not truly cruel at all.

…Someday, someone's going to notice that side of Jude and snag him. And that thought unsettles her, for some reason she can't explain.

[astrxlfinale]

It is a dream. A connection of mind and soul with something otherworldly, a string of red attached to Caelus' pinky finger like a red strong of fate. Acheron's Nihility had granted a glimpse into what was behind the wall of white and black, behind the shadow of IX. It was now the moment to have that string pulled, tugging the Trailblazer into a world that was created for two figured and two figures alone.

It's such a romantic thing, isn't it? Just like she enjoys, and just like she likes it in her stories.

Caelus would wake up under a tree, sunshine above him and the soft green grass under him. Around the solitary oak tree, he'd see an endless flower field that extended all around into the horizon, possibly even past it. But then, he'd see a young woman - short and tiny, dressed in strange yet elegant clothes - who was looking out at the field. She had pink hair and elvish ears, an arrow was lying next to her.

Upon hearing the movement behind her, Elysia turned around to have her bright blue eyes look at the young man with astonishment and excitement.

"Hi~" She greeted him, joyful and friendly. The familiar greeting that had countless people cry tears of tragedy, wishing to witness the benevolent love's smile once more. She radiated warmth and gentleness, strength and reliability, love... Oh, she radiated endless love. The sky behind her was a mixture of blue and gold and pink, the dawn was coming. It was almost here. "Are you awake now? Hehe, to be greeted by a cute girl like myself, you're living the dream of countless! How are you feeling? Not dizzy?"

"Here again--!?"

Between mind and matter, dreams and the beyond, this place that served as one of IX's countless eyes felt.. Almost normal? That offensively weighing presence that challenged souls against oblivion found itself eerily absent against these morbid, gray waters. It sprouts confusion in his mind, that expectation of trial being nulled almost concerning as if it was overbearing. It didn't step his uncertain steps from deciding to push towards the undeniable red that forges a road ahead.

Caelus strangely hadn't considered why his heart found itself openly heading towards it. Despite Acheron's prior direction, it felt as if something deeper was swirling in the soul as he advanced. A part of his Stellaron soul that held recognition for this alien, warm presence. Thankfully, not too many seconds passed once he did capture how this thread was a lot more literal, making those golden eyes owlishly blink once he held up his hand. This felt like it didn't have a single thing to do with Amphoreus at its core.

"Isn't this some ol' fairy tale... Lege.. nd."

What embraces him feels like a hug from an old friend. A comfort settling in the form tender strength as it envelopes him, shielding his eyes and promising his push to that primordial light. Within this second unconsciousness is welcomed as the bizarre scenario brings him into an entirely new realm.

Not only that, a level of sleep that it felt like he hadn't embraced in weeks. Warmth all around him, a realm that his acute senses felt actually relaxed within, far from tumultuous trials of the Flame Chase. That Stellaron soul wasn't certain just how many hours, days or whatever had passed since this descent into rest. Yet, it reminds him of a companionable void prior to reawakening to the World at large.

Just how long has it been since he found rest like this...?

That question would be the starting ripple upon his mind, echoing outward akin to a rain drop upon a pristine lake. The Nameless' found his breath briefly hitching, a low hum echoing out as his Will adamantly snagged upon the first chance to awaken. Initially blurry, gradually a beautiful scenery, filled with warm and lively color finds itself the view to drink in as he slowly comes to. Vivid blues, fuchsia, ivory and red flowers paraded as crowns for the green grass below.

"Whoa... What the hell.." It was a soft sense of amazement as he props up on his elbows, almost failing to catch how that particular taller 'pink flower' was by no means an actual flower. Drawing a gloved hand over to rub at his eyes, it'd be that gentle shift that sharpens his attention and clears his sight as he stumbles up onto his feet. Right now, the sense of gravity and the awareness of breathing made him think of no dream at all.

Right now, some noble soul found herself smiling merrily towards him at this moment.

"Hi...?" No cryptic angles? No hellish meteor set to come from the skies? Being introduced with a simple, polite greeting had him befuddled more than anything else.

That-- can be a concern he holds for another day.

Hearing how that chipper note felt happy for his arrival here, that's when realization stirs in where he was before. Confusion balances out with a need to be polite. "Felt like I slept at a deluxe damn hotel.. The ground never felt like a mattress before." He adds in, rubbing briskly at his neck as he approaches the mysterious woman, his dark and gold colors making him heavily stand out.

"Wait, you! Cute you!" He senses the more welcoming nature of this energy.

"You were the one who found me at that horizon!" This talk about cute girls, a cut through reality, and now just seeing this pristine smile while she asked about his condition? His attention briefly peeks down to that scarlet string that settled upon his finger, only for a dawning realization (more like a guess) beginning to tick around in his mind. Everything in his mind could perceive it, how she was the source of this 'old friend' type of feeling that relaxed him so.

"I uh--" Might as well ask if they're in some wonderland like this!

"Are we soul mates?"

@endlesstropa

[quirkwizard]

Battle Report: A Retrospective on the Final War Arc

The Final War Arc is finally over. It's been a wild ride. And while I had my issues with it, I ultimately think was a good arc. I think it may go somewhere in the 7/10 to 8/10 range for my tier list of arcs. Who knows though. With all of that done though, I wanted to take a chance to look back on this arc and talk about what's transpired. Now, is this a little premature? Kind of. At the time of writing and posting this, the epilogue is still going on. The series has not ended and any of my complaints may be null and void after all of this is over. However, the arc is massive. It's eighty chapters long with dozens of plotlines and characters all mashing up against one another. I want to take the time out of focus on everything that has happened and leave the epilogue to it's own post.

And with that context, it is a lot to cover. Even if it's not the epilogue, it's still everything from chapter 343 to 423. So this post is going to be more disjointed, stream of conscious writing about my thoughts on specific parts of the arc that are worth talking about instead of doing some deep dive on the whole thing. Sure, I think the civilian stuff with Eri and everyone else in the bunker is nice in it's own way and I think how the pilots are used is hilarious, but that isn't enough for me to talk about. If you want me to discuss something in particular or expand on something here, I may talk about it later or add it to the post. With all of that being cleared up, my retrospective on the finale of the Final War Arc.

Shoto vs Dabi: This is the first fight of the arc, and we are definitely starting strong. I've already gushed about how much I enjoy this bit ever since it happened, so I will keep this brief. Of course, seeing Dabi back and all of his spiteful glory is great. Though, if we're being honest, the real start is Shoto and his new Super Move. The Phospher reveal is such a cool power-up for Shoto, and it works great in so many ways. It's a unique and clever way to counteract Dabi's firepower without just trying to overpower him. And it all leads to this beautiful and distinct art of flowing ice. It's so cool. And the best part is that it acts as the perfect cap to his character arc of trying to define himself, combining the two halves of himself into a combination that is completely his own. That's not even getting into the numerous references to phosphor, giving this even more depth.

All For One vs Endeavor: In spite of having a lot of focus, I don't have a lot to say about the forest fight. It's a lot of the same stuff as the Tomura fight, though not as egregious. I will say that I think Enji's bits in this arc are rather underrated. Having Enji fight All For One is a good way to wrap up that part of this character, finally growing past his own insecurities relating to Izuku and All Might while still achieving something that would make him worthy of being the top pro. The flashback about his father dying saving someone adds so much context to who Endeavor is as a person, and I'm really glad we got it. And having Endeavor burn away the past version of himself is such a cool image and a good moment for his character. Honestly, I think Enji continues his hot streak as one of the best written characters in this story.

Tomura vs Everyone: I didn't much care for this part. It felt very repetitive. Characters attack Tomura. It doesn't do anything. Tomura starts monologuing. Repeat. They couldn't do anything to Tomura, but as Hori has shown, he's reluctant to kill off named characters. It's why, despite getting ragdolled, none of them died. It didn't feel like the threat of death was looming over any of them, making this big battle feel relatively low-stakes. So we're stuck in this cycle of Tomura beating all of them up for dozens of chapters, only for neither side to really get anywhere. It feels like we're stalling. That Hori simply needed Izuku out of the picture to delay the final fight for him and Tomura. Which, sure, I get, but he could have at least made what was happening with Tomura more interesting. What's worse is that this is so much time spent with AFO Tomura. A character who isn't nearly as interesting as some of his parts and is a watered-down version of both.

Spinner's Assault: This is by far the worst part of the entire finale. Let's ignore the politics and message and how they may or may not apply to the real world. This mini-arc is focused on Koda, Shoji, and Spinner. All characters I like to varying degrees, but none feel like they have earned this kind of focus. The whole mutant discrimination plotline feels woefully underdeveloped, so having it be the center point of this part feels jarring. And saying it only happens outside the city is such a handwave. Not only does that make no sense, as bigotry can happen just as much, if not more, in metro areas, but it has little showing within the world. Hori, if you wanted to set this up, maybe you should have actually had some major focus on stories out of the city. So having so much time dedicated to it just feels wasteful and frustrating. I could go on a longer rant, but I will save it for another time.

Bakugou's "Death": What a waste. Come on now, did any of you really think Bakugou died here? Or would stay dead? And having his resurrection tied to his clustered sweat feels like a slap in the face of Edgeshot. The guy who reduced himself to a thin string just to save Bakugou's life. On that note, having Edgeshot be the one to save Bakugou feels… out of place. Edgeshot is a pretty minor character with no connection to Bakugou. Many figured that this sudden change would lead to some boost for Bakugou, but it didn't. So why Edgeshot? Why couldn't Best Jeanist be the one to do it, the one that is more important to both Bakugou and the audience? And this doesn't feel like a major change for Bakugou. If you have your character die and come, there should be some greater change to them or how they act, but it doesn't. At least, nothing as major as a death and resurrection should have. The biggest effect it has is on Tomura, bringing him out of the control of All For One, and Izuku, showing that he wouldn't lose control and break again. Once again, Bakugou's grievous injury is more important to the characters around him.

Rewound All For One: One of the more controversial parts of the arc. Is it a reach for Garaki to make the drug? Kind of. Is it annoying to still have All For One around? To a degree. Does it lead to some frustrating moments like All For One not unleashing his biggest area-clearing attack to start with when he knows he's on a time limit? Yes. However, I ultimately feel as though this does more good for the story than bad. By giving All For One this timer, it gives him a more definitive weakness to exploit and a ticking counter in the form of his body degenerating. And by keeping him around, it gives him a chance to go against Endeavor, Toshinori, and Bakugou. That way, they're completing their own arcs without feeling like any of their efforts are wasted or overstepping each other's time in the ring with All For One.

Dabi's Quirk: This is going to be a more personal annoyance, but I'm really frustrated with how Hori handled Dabi's Quirk. First off, him instantly using Shoto's technique against him is such nonsense. You're telling me that seeing it is enough for him to replicate it with no training?And him suddenly making ice for himself also makes zero sense. He hasn't shown anything like that before, and nothing about his power implies that he could. And don't tell me it's literally Rei's Quirks, but that makes even less sense. I could explain that as an evolution of his ice resistance, but that's more me trying to make sense of it. Could you justify it as being Shoto's sibling and their powers having similar mechanics and traits? Sure, but a lot of it comes across more as a convivence to keep Dabi's corpse moving. At least his design is cool.

Wasted Students: While the manga actually does a good job of distributing attention, there are some students that I feel were shafted. A special mention goes to Sero, Ojiro, and Sato, whom Hori pretty obviously just shoved together to get them out of the way. The ones I'm thinking about are Iida and Momo. Momo was one of the 1-A characters who had some arc, so having her be relegated to a living printer feels wasteful. However, I can at least forgive this a little. Her moment was during the PLF War, and her position makes sense. But shoot, Tenya was done dirty in this arc. He doesn't have any really cool moments of his own and very little in the way of character moments. I thought he was going to have something done with Stain, but no. Most of his time in this arc is spent supporting Shoto, quite literally in the case of the Ice Jet maneuver. Wait, why was he even fighting Dabi? Tenya himself admits he's a bad match for this, so why was he there? 

Shiketsu Students: This is one of the few moments in the arc that actually surprised me, and it's a welcome surprise at that. As someone who thought that the Shiketsu students were interesting but underdeveloped, it was cool seeing them act as reinforcements. What was even a better surprise was Camie's "Glamour" trick with the fake Hawks. That has got to be the funniest movement in this entire arc, bar none. Of the three, Inasa gets the most focus, and I think he does pretty well with it. While I do like his soft cap on his arc with the Todoroki's, reflecting his growth as well as their own, I really enjoy how much he just shuts All For One down this arc. All For One is trying to do these big speeches and one-liners, and Inasa is out here yelling him down like any other two-bit criminal. It's equal parts hilarious and awesome.

Tokoyami:  On the flip side of my statement about students, I think Tokoyami is really good in this arc. Tokoyami is one of the less prominent characters in terms of development and actual emotional moments to support him. The arc did a good job of giving him some kind of arc for his character. About how he sees his powers and how hard they are to control. And I'm going to be totally transparent here, I just think full-power Dark Shadow is really cool. There isn't anything deep or nuanced here. Seeing this giant shadow mecha loom over the whole battlefield and make All For One go pale is super sick. It's not just all action and character, either. He probably had one of the best reactions to anything ever in the whole series when illusion Hawks "died". So in spite of my issues with the other students, at least Tokoyami was done well.

The Big Three: Yeah, I didn't really care for what was happening with a lot of the Big Three. They ultimately fall into the same issues as everyone else in the UA Battle Zone that I talked about before. And while their massive railgun attack was cool on paper, it all amounted to nothing. It all feels like such pointless fluff to tide the user's over. It's not even like they have anything interesting going on character-wise, either. Mirio is easily the biggest victim of this. Ever since Mirio got his Quirk back, he hasn't really been given any chance to act outside of the costume or really be his own character. Seriously, the biggest moment he has is him acting as the butt of the joke in order to distract Tomura so Izuku can get in. Was there really no better way to do that? And as much as I want to remember him for other stuff he did, like yelling at Izuku, there really isn't anything else that sticks out.

Gearshift: Again, a more personal gripe, but one that bugs me a lot. I really don't like "Gearshift" as a power. Like "Fa Jin", it doesn't feel like it expands on any of Izuku's capabilities, only doubling down on what is already there. Unlike "Fa Jin", this had way more potential that went unused. Being able to alter the speed of an object or person is such an interesting concept. And for all of the hype surrounding it, it doesn't feel like it's used to its full potential. Really? We couldn't think of a better Quirk for him. Or at least come up with something more interesting for this one to do? All it's used for is to give a power boost to Izuku and make him go faster. The only time it's used to do anything else is when he uses it to speed up Bakugou. Why couldn't we get more stuff like that? Or at least maybe giving it a chance to interact with Izuku's other quirks for combinations?

Gigantomachia Battle: I like this well enough. As much as the reappearance of what's his face frustrates me, that's more of a carryover from my problems with Midnight's death and not the fault of this arc. It's a good follow-up for the brief arc with Mina and I like how much her new move ties into their growth with its name. Plus, it gave Shinso a cool moment that felt natural without stepping on anyone else's toes. I will say that I'm pretty confused at the sudden turn with Gigantomachia, who only really seems mournful over what All For One did once. And the one time he did, it seemed more regretful that someone as pathetic as Tomura was the successor. Otherwise, he just seemed like a loyal thug without much personality.

Todorokis vs Dabi: For the dramatic resolution of the Todoroki family storyline, I find myself having very little say about it. It's good. I really like seeing the feral, demented version of Dabi who is barely held together. Enji's lines about people watching him and taking responsibility become twisted with Dabi's view of him and his actions. I like the monologue Shoto gives as he's flying to stop Dabi. I guess my issue is that the rest of it doesn't stand out as much to me. And the actual resolution doesn't feel any different from the way Shoto fought him. It came across like the earlier fight with him was just there to keep him occupied so Enji could fight All For One and didn't serve any real purpose for the characters. That there needed to be this resolution for everyone else in the Todoroki family and for Dabi as well, but doing it like this lessens some of the punch. 

Uraraka vs Toga: One of my favorite parts of the arc. This entire section was such a dark horse for me, someone who didn't put a lot of stock in the Uraraka and Toga storyline. It shocked me how invested I was in the fight. Just seeing how hard Uraraka fights is so enthralling to watch, going through so much to help Toga. And this is one of the few points in the series where Awakenings work, with an Awakening that actually feels earned and relevant to the character at that. All because she wanted to help and connect with Toga in order to save her. And if Toga did die here, I wouldn't mind because I think it fits. She was able to live and die as her own person, making her own choices. All in all, it's a highlight of the arc and a great capstone for both of the characters.

Aoyama's Section: Why does Aoyama have so much focus on him? I don't dislike Aoyama, and I'm glad one of the more minor characters is getting attention in a way that feels relevant to who they are. I just don't think he really needed this much space to himself, having his own battlefield and major villain to fight, with little to no other focus on other characters. Having him stand up against All For One felt like more than enough of a final beat for his character arc. It was him acting in spite of his fears, facing down the scariest person in the entire series. Hagakure's presence bugs me here as well, since it just reeks of convivence. And man, giving out yet another Awakening? Were these not supposed to be rare? It's yet another example of an Awakening that barely feels any different from before and doesn't feel earned.

Toshinori Yagi vs All For One: Unlike a lot of fans, I wasn't as bothered by this part. On paper, Toshinori fighting All For One with a massive mecha suit kind of flies in the face of one of the core ideas of the series. That people without Quirks cannot be heroes. However, the story makes it clear that this is something that cannot stand up against All For One, requires all the resources of his decades of hero work, has decades of experience as the top hero, and he's only doing as well because he's fighting All For One because he's acting irrationally. My only reservation is that All Might is using parts inspired by the students. While I think these are cool, it seems like this is supposed to be his big moment as a teacher. And... I guess the story wants us to believe that. I don't know. It feels like Hori hasn't really put in enough work to have this be a satisfying payoff. He only really has two or so scenes involving the other students outside of Izuku. I believe he's a proper mentor to Izuku, sure, but as a real teacher for the whole class? Not really. Don't get me wrong, the idea and execution of it were fine, but the set-up needed more legwork.

Stain's "Moment": Yeah, this is something I can't forgive. Stain is such a major figure in My Hero Academia, both in and out of universe. He's the guy who changed the whole trajectory of the story and brought a whole new level of respect for the story. Hori brings him back to restore Toshinori's motivation and give them plans for All For One. And then he comes in for a big moment in the final fight. Only to be ragdolled, having accomplished nothing. There was no final moment of sacrifice, no heroic last stand. Just slapped aside and exploded. Not only does All For One's escaping feel like a mass convenience, just so happening to have a Quirk to push all the blood out of his body, but it's so disappointing for Stain. It feels like an afterthought. Like Hori remembered that Stain was around and threw him in to die. He doesn't even get a moment in the ghost realm. Come on, Hori. If you went through the trouble of having his Quirk stolen, why not do something more with it?

All For One's Backstory: Yeah, I still think this part of the story is hilarious. This is so over the top and dark that it comes full circle into being funny again. All For One's backstory feels like some edgy teenager fanfiction. Like he was born to a drug-addled mother, literally drained the life out of her to the point she died. He was nearly eaten by rats at birth, he was the real first Quirk user, he's been killing people since he was four years old. It was to the point that I thought All For One was lying about it to make himself seem cooler or more inhuman than he really was. But no, we're actually supposed to believe all of this and take it seriously. I really have to wonder what Hori was thinking with this. Is it supposed to show All For One as evil to the core? But doesn't that go against the idea that it's nurture over nature? Or maybe it's to show that the worst circumstances made the worst evil? Okay, then why is All For One so unapologetically evil, supposedly even before he was born?

Bakugou vs All For One: I find myself having very little to say about any of this. It's a big-ole fight scene with Bakugou and All For One. It doesn't feel like it really completes anything from Bakugou arc outside of his hang-up with All For One and All Might retiring. Yeah, I'm glad it got tied up and that Bakugou got to save Toshinori, but it hasn't felt all that relevant to his overall arc. Maybe I'm downplaying this a lot more than I should, but that's just how I see it. The only major hangup I have is with the whole "people wanting it bad enough changed the future for All Might." I chose to interpret this as more metaphorical than literal. Like everything that's motivating Bakugou is pushing him forward, or that all of the steps everyone took up to this point defied fate. Otherwise, we are getting into some stuff the series never talks about and never explains. At least this fight gave us the "Bakugou deals bonus damage to children" meme.

Dream Hawks: Okay, this isn't so much a real problem, but I feel like this is a big missed opportunity: why isn't Stain the one getting the vestiges to rebel? You know, the guy who had such focus and determination that he was able to ward off an entire squad of top heroes from attacking him with sheer force of will. The guy who ironically sparked a whole villain renaissance with his words about the rot at the core of the world of heroes. It'd give his death some purpose and give him one final amazing scene against All For One, giving him a chance to redeem himself after all the problems he caused the world with his dogma. Ironically, he'd be dying a hero and stopping one of the biggest threats to the world. But sure, give another scene to Hawks. It's not like he's been already been a heavy focus of the arc.

Izuku vs Tomura: We've been waiting for this fight for a while, and it did not disappoint me. Not only is the part where we finally get Tomura back, immediately making this fight far more enjoyable, but the fight itself is so cool. You can feel the struggle, exhaustion, and desperation in each of Izuku's panels. We get to see more of feral Izuku. Who doesn't want to see more of feral Izuku? What's better is that we actually get Izuku using some interesting strategies against Tomura, like pushing up the rocks to stop the spread of "Decay" while using it as cover to perform a counter attack. And having this be topped off with the sacrifice of "One For All" makes this all feel that much more harrowing of an experience, with Izuku piece and piece of himself just at a chance of victory. It's one of the few final fights of a series where I was actually worried about the main character.

Shared Dreamspace: This might just be my favorite moment in the whole arc. We get all the shared visions as our two protagonists begin to understand each other more. And for all of this talking, it never once tries to excuse Tomura for what he did. Even Tomura talks about how he doesn't regret what he's doing or why he's destroying everything. He's doing it all for himself and the League. And while Izuku can understand this, he can't condone it, and it doesn't excuse what Tomura did. It's a good way for both sides to get their points across in order to get some kind of resolution without feeling like it's breaking either of them. It's all about understanding and learning from each other, which is what this conflict has been all about. It's all so well done and pretty much exactly how I imagined a confrontation like this would go down between these two.

All For One's Return: Is it kind of frustrating that All For One has returned yet again? Sure. I can understand people getting sick and tired of him, now more than ever. However, I think it's explained well enough not to bother me, and ultimately, the only way for the story to have its cake and eat it as well. It's a clean way to remove Tomura from the story without having to dirty Izuku's hands. Tomura has made it pretty clear that he has zero intention of ever stopping, and redemption was not on the table for him. It also gives Izuku a final fight against All For One, who, while not as personal to Izuku, is the biggest evil in the series. On top of that, it fits with the idea of everyone coming together to be the greatest hero by getting their licks in on All For One. It's what the story has been pushing for the whole time: One For All fighting back against All For One.

Oboro, Aizawa, and Yamada: As much as I wanted to get excited about this part, it did feel woefully undercooked. Oboro's condition and Aizawa and Present Mic's reaction to it feel pretty minor in the grand scheme of things. They only get one chapter to hash things out, and it feels very rushed. Which is odd because it has some of the biggest impact on the arc itself, with Kurogiri teleporting everyone around and being the lynchpin in the two major paradigm shifts in the arc. It's Spinner's whole motivation for attacking the hospital, it removed Aizawa from the playing field at UA, and it ends up sending all of the doubles from the island to the fight in the forest. What we got was nice, especially Kurogiri saying he wants Tomura back when they are all fighting All For One, but sadly, it wasn't enough.

The Final Run-Up: Look, I am the biggest sucker for moments like this. Izuku is still standing in spite of losing both arms. Then everyone is coming out of the portals to the final fight, all firing out their attacks to go down. It's like Endgame, but actually thematically relevant to everyone coming together to beat the greatest threat to the world. And the part where all the good guys are helping the protagonist forward just so they can deliver that final blow. I can't help but feel hyped up as each of the other students and heroes fight back against All For One. We get All For One going out like a total punk. And we can share a final vision between Tomura and Izuku. I cannot say anything analytical or in-depth about this. I just think it hits all these different sweet spots in me while still ending things on a good note, and it brings me so much joy.

[crmsnmth]

Ornamental Mirror

Even if I had had more time Even if I had all of eternity It still wouldn't be enough to explain just what you mean to me I could probably just sum it up and say you are my everything But that seems far far to small

My moon wouldn't glow without the shine of your sun Warmth and life giving, and I am cold and barren But somehow you sleep under my skin and I can feel the kindness that pumps through your heart mixing marrow mixing blood You opened me up and in return I trauma dumped in your lap Sorry bout that

You are the water, the rain, the whole fucking ocean and I could ride your waves right up to the reckoning Judgment day doesn't fucking scare me I've been judged every day of my life but you didn't You took a chance on a hyperactive drunk kid And we formed into something so beautiful ornamental mirrors You'll shatter me in just the same fashion but that's a future me problem and I don't a give a damn about him

You are the oxygen within my lungs keeping me alive, and my cigarette burning Maybe I should take care of this gift you gave me but that went null and void when you said you didn't love me anymore That mirror is in shards and you pick one up and head down the highways on my wrists

[manitschilly]

My notes taken while reasearching the Zelda Timeline lol, mostly cannon a little headcannon in places. Also my Zelink rating aren't how much I like them it's how likely they are in the narrative.

Power: Din ->Demise->Ganondorf. The Gerudo give birth to a male every 100 years, and it's only ever been Ganon. The 100 year system got screwed though because Ganon keeps not actually dying. Pigs. Fire. Red.

Courage: Farore-> heros spirit (fierce diety?)-> Link. Only the hero's spirit is reincarnated in Link, so he's not the same person. Not related at all, except for Twilight Princess where Link is a descendant of Ocarina of Time Link. Wolves and horses. Lighting. Green.

Wisdom: Naydra -> Hylia-> Zelda. Every Zelda is actually Hylia reincarnated through a consistant bloodline. Loftwing. Ice. Blue.

-there is a void called Null

-The three goddess create the earth and the triforce, and that's their only relation to Demise, Hylia, and the heros spirit. They're not reincarnations at all, more like patrons. (Unwillingly in Dins case). Din created the land, Farore created life, and Nayru created order.

-possibly Zonai and Sonia and Rauru founding the first kingdom of Hyrule. This would imply there is a Ganon unconnected to Demise sealed for the rest of everything and a dragon Zelda floating around. Rauru and Sonias light and time magic start off the royal family.

-a long undisclosed time with robots for some reason

-A battle between the Hylia, Demise and the races in Hyrule breaks out over the Triforce. Hylia takes the Hylian kingdom into the sky to protect them, then becomes a Hylian to protect the triforce. She also created a sword with a spirit named Fi with her godly power. With Demise sealed for now, she waits to be born.

-Sheikah are probably started around here, as like a Hylia cult.

-Skyward Sword: First incartion is Skyward Sword, when Hylia chooses to be born as Zelda and chooses Link as her champion to hold the heros spirit. They fight Demise who then curses them to reincarnate forever, and establishes his own incarnation, kicking off the rest of the series. Hylia, now Zelda, is shown to use her time powers. Link, Zelda, and a few Hylians from Skyloft restart the kingdom on the surface.

Link and Zelda are in love, Zelda chosing Link specifically for that reason. This could imply that Hylia and the heros spirit are soulmates in some way, and every incarnarion after is an extension of that. They don't end up together every time, but that makes it even more beautiful and heartrenching. (Just to specify, Links aren't related so don't worry about it) 10/10 Zelink potential this shit is cannon.

Kikwi present. Impa is there as part of the Shiekah. Impa seems to be either a repeated name or a title given to Shiekah warriors meant to protect the reincarnation of Hylia, not their own incarnation.

-another very long time gap

-evil sorcerors are after the triforce which is hidden in the sacred realm. A new temple of time (after the one in Hylias time used to hide the sealed Demise and Zelda) is built around the master sword, which has been holding in Demise this whole time.

-Another long time passes. Zelda's descendants have become the royal family. Princesses are named Zelda after the original incarnation (note, they aren't all reincarnations, just named after her). There is still a lot of magic floating around the bloodline.

-sheikah are sworn to Hylias blood and therefore the royal family.

-Hyrule is again in danger, a special species called the Minish come from the sky to protect them with a special sword, which was then wielded by an incarnation of Link.

-Minish Cap: a bitch named Vaati wants light powers, turns the current Zelda (actually an incarnation, you know because there's a hero) to stone, and that times Link turns the Minish's sword into the 4-sword. Zelda is the light power source, as the light power is still in the royal family. 8/10 Zelink potential

Gorons present

-Another time skip

- Four Swords: the four-sword is used to defeat Vaati again by another Link and Zelda incarnation. 6/10 Zelink potential

- time skip

- Giant ass civil war

- shiekah go into hiding but are still used by the royal family for sketchy shit. (Queue shadow temple 'nam flash backs)

- the first actual Ganondorf is born, or the second depending on if the Zonai are before or after.

- Ocarina of Time: Ganondorf is born as king of the gerudo, and pretends to be allied with the king to gain access to the triforce which is still in the sacred realm, sealed with the master sword. This Link incarnation pulls out the master sword as a child and opens the sacred realm, allowing Ganandorf access to the Triforce, the triforce of power attaching itself to him forever. This also gave Link the triforce of Courage and Zelda the triforce of wisdom. The sacred realm becomes evil and Ganondorf is sealed in it. There's a lot of time travel and it ruins just everything.

Zora, Kokiri, Gerudo, and Gorons present.

Great deku tree dies and is reborn.

and now shit hits the fan

Fallen hero time line

- Ocarina of Time: Link freaking dies and Ganondorf wins, taking the while triforce for himself. He still gets sealed in the corrupted sacred realm, but now he has the triforce. 0/10 Zelink potential long term, as Link is dead, but like 8/10 short term.

- time passes and homies keep going into the sacred realm to get the triforce but they never come back and monsters keep coming out. The sealed it again, at great cost of life and resources

-Echoes of Wisdom: a dark being called Null that was the nothing before the three goddess's created Hyrule starts taking over Hyrule with Rifts. Zelda gets kidnapped and Link is called to save her, but immediately after gets dragged into a rift and Zelda saves Hyrule from Null, who for a second owns a piece of the Triforce. At the end Null is defeated and the Triforce is restored. 10/10 Zelink potential it was glorious

- A Link to the Past: Agahim, some bitch, takes over the kingdom and the remaining sages to break the seal on Ganon. This reincarnarion of Zelda magically contacts the new Link. He kills Ganon and uses his newly acquired triforce to put everything back to normal. Now the royal family has the triforce. 7/10 Zelink potential. Same Link then has Links awakening acid trip. I'd knock down the Zelink potential but Malin like isn't real so.

Zora present

-Oracle series: same Link then has another acid trip but this time it's real, ending with Ganon being brought back to life as a mindless force of chaos. Ups Zelink to like 8/10, and confirms existence of other kingdoms beside Hyrule that aren't in another dimension.

- triforce splits again somehow, power returns to beast Ganon

- time skip

- A Link Between Worlds: new Link, new sages, Lorule exists so that's fun, opposite Hyrule dimension without a triforce. Ganon is freed and eats a man probably. Confirms this Link and Zelda have their respective triforces. Upon returning to Hyrule, the triforce is again in 1 piece and peace is restored to Hyrule and Lorule. 8/10 Zelink potential and like 9.5/10 Hildio potential.

- same Link goes to Hytopia, yet another kingdom in the same dimension.

- time skip. Great time, royal family again has the United triforce.

- King breaks up the triforce and sends Courage to the next Link incarnation, hiding its physical location from all except his daughter Zelda. New King puts that Zelda under a sleeping spell and regrets it. Tries to rule with just power of Wisdom but it doesn't go great.

- time skip

- The Legend of Zelda: same Ganon steals the triforce of power, new Zelda and Impa. New Link, without triforce of Courage, again postponed Ganon

- Adventure of Link : same Link is helping Hyrule not burn down, when suddenly he is given the triforce of Courage mark. He wakes up the old Zelda. I'd say the Zelda born in his time is the actual incarnarion, the older Zelda just a princess. 9/10 Zelink actually but like also he's a little weird with old Zelda to little odd but okay.

Child timeline

- Ocarina of Time: Link defeats Ganondorf and is sent back in time to relive the childhood he didn't have. He warns the royal family before Ganondorf can gain any power and therefore the events of Ocarina of Time never happen. Link leaves on a horse to look for Navi and has a Majoras mask acid trip. 10/10 short term Zelink and like 2/10 longterm, but also one of my favorite dynamics. This is one of the tragedy timeliness, where Zelda loved him before sending him back in time (Sheik was a simp). He could have ended up with this Zelda, but he probably didn't because his descendant in the next game isn't royalty like at all. Scrodingers Zelink, if the next Zelink happened then this one didn't, but we don't know if it does.

-Twilight Princess: Ganondorf is banished to the Twilight realm, where the wizard sent there a Hella long time ago got busy. He gains power with a guy named Zant who takes over the Twilight realm and breaks out to Hyrule. The princess of the Twilight realm named Midna finds the new Link incarnation, an actual descendant of the last one and holder of the triforce of Courage.

Link is trained by the like ghost of the hero of time, who is an adult and missing an eye. The hero of time means nothing to this Hyrule because Ocarina of Time never happened.

They kill Ganondorf finally holy shit and the Twilight mirror is shattered, forever separating the two places.

Like 8/10 Zelink potential, frick Illia freaking hate her. I follow that Zelink both had a crush on Midna but she's gone sooooo

Gerudo, Gorons, and Zora.

-big ass time skip

-Four Sword Adventure: new Ganondorf is born finally, but is like immediately sealed with the 4-sword by a new Link. I don't think there even is a Zelda so 0/10 Zelink potential

Adult timeline

-Ocarina of Time :This is what's left when Link gets sent back in time. Ganondorf is sealed in the corrupted spirit realm and the triforce of Courage shatters into 8 pieces, master sword is returned to the temple of time. 10/10 horribly tragic Zelink poor Zelda good lord.

-time passes without any reincarnations.

-Ganon escapes his seal in the sacred realm but there's still no Link or so Hyrule is effed. The gods flood Hyrule, society continues on mountaintops that are now islands and Hyrule is frozen underneath a giant ocean. The Triforce of Wisdom is split in two between Zelda, who stays on land, and her father, in the frozen Hyrule.

-Time passes badly

-Windwaker: Gannon escapes to the surface and kidnaps "girls with pointed ears", or descendants of Hylia. A new Link appears and gets the master sword from the frozen Hyrule, but it doesn't do shit until he fixes the triforce of courage. The king appears and bestows Links pirate captain the other half of the triforce, as she's reveled to be this time's Zelda. The triforce is restored and the old Hyrule gets genocided. Ganon is sealed, not dead, and Link and Zelda/Tetra go to establish a new hyrule. 10/10 Zelink potential this is some good shit. Rito, Kokiri, and Gerudo present

-Phantom Hourglass: Same Link and Zelda have a bit on their quest, no lasting consequences except for 11/10 Zelink potential. They discover New Hyrule.

-Spirit Tracks: some train shit in New Hyrule, new Link and Zelda have a soft romantic adventure with no lasting consequences except no more trains. 10/10 Zelink it's the whole plot.

Gorons present

After or before

-all the three timelines get just apocalyptic and society is just like gone, so the Zonai come from the Heaven's and with their arrival comes the merging of the three timelines.

-OR potentially Rauru and Sonias time is actually before Skyward Sword, as Ganondorf isn't actually a reincarnation. This would imply that every other game happens inbetween Rauru and Sonias time and Breath of the Wild, which i like better but it makes some leaps in logic, however it also explains the existence of both time and Light magic in the royal blood line.

-time passes

-Hyrule is once again reformed OR formed for the first time, by the last of the Zonai, Raruru and his Hylian wife Sonia. The incarnations are still going strong, so Ganondorf is born but their kind of hosed because there isn't a Link or Zelda OR the incarnations havent started yet and this is the first Ganon, before he was tied to Demise.

Luckily, either way, a Zelda comes from the future, and after a battle ending in the death of Sonia, Rauru uses himself to seal Ganondorf away and Zelda turns into a dragon.

-Time passes, the kingdom grows and hyrule castle is built over Ganondorf.

-Time passes and either all the other games happen or nothing happens, either way Zelda is still a dragon.

Definitely after

-a Link and Zelda are reincarnated to fight Calamity Gannon, whatever is left of the monster Ganon that was never killed in the other timelines. They, with the highly technogically advanced Shiekah, build weapons and postpone his return. We don't know much but like 8/10 Zelink I don't know could be cool. Shiekah go off, creating shrines and all types of shit.

-abreak off of the shiekah called the Yiga form, which is like the shiekah but for Ganon instead of Hylia.

-Breath of the Wild: a new Link and Zelda are born. They are so far ahead that they no longer have a grasp on the incarnations before them besides a few sparce legends. They know Ganon is coming back but they don't know who he is. They know Zelda is suppose to have powers, but they have no idea how she's gets them. Link finds the master sword in the lost woods, guarded by the great deku (the 2nd actually the first one died somewhere).

So they fail, whoops. Link dies and gets put in a Sheikah shrine for healing while Zelda holds of Ganon for 100 years.

-hyrule collapses and turns into almost a tribal society very unconnected.

-Link wakes up, wrecks havoc, and defeats Calamity Ganon, freeing Zelda and starting the reconstruction of hyrule.

10/10 Zelink potential. We got the before when Zelda cononicly loved him but we don't know Links feeling, and then Link might remember her and its like a reuniting thing and it's lovely or he doesn't and they fall in love again. Or possibly he didn't love her before and either way its a saga and his rubber band was in her study in "her" house thats all I'm saying.

-7 years, hyrule is being rebuilt by Zelda.

-Tears of the Kingdom: A sickness is spreading through Hyrule, Zelda and Link go to investigate and find what's left of the Ganondorf Rauru fought, who is either the first ganondorf or the most recent one. Zelda is sent in the past to Sonia and Rauru, along with the destroyed master sword.

Zelda is turned into a dragon and lives out thousands of years as one, potentially during every other game in the series. If so, the cloud layer established by Hylia was probably around until the upheavel, hiding her.

-The Upheavel happens and the world gets a little more cracked out, but Link defeats the Ganondorf and Zelda is turned back to her Hylian form. 11/10 Zelink potential and the dragon bit is so upsetting.

The three goddesses are present as dragons. Are they dragons? Are they just manifestations of their power? Idek but it's sick.

What the hell is Beedle? I read a fanfic once that he never dies because he helped Hylia once and it was really good so I highkey stand by that.

Sages kinda hop around, usually there's 7, one for each major group, even though not every race exists in every game. Are they extensions of the gods somehow?

(Rito, Zora, Gerudo, Gorons, Hylians, Shiekah, and whatever weird shit they got going on that game usually just Zelda)

One main issue with the Zonai before theory is that there's all the races when the Rito specifically doesn't seem to exist outside of the adult timeline.

There is a possible Kikwi, Kokiri, Korok pipeline.

I prescribe to the fierce deity as the original hero incarnation because it's just fits well and I'm obsessed with him, but it it doesn't really matter either way. I also read a fanfic once where the Fierce Deity loved Hylia and fought with her against Demise, but he died and the hero's spirit in each Link is what's left of him. Also read one where he saved Farore once from Demise and that's why he's specifically blessed with courage. Might have been the same one. I cannot remember it is 5:30 am and I haven't slept yet.

Ears are cool and plot relevant. The closer they are the Hylia the pointier their ears are, they get less pointy over time. Which adds to the Zonai being before because they got the pointiest ears. Also Gerudo ears get more pointy as time goes on.

Din gerudo pipeline? That's interesting. Farore and Nayru don't really have anything like that. Hylia has the Hylians but that's it.

Great Deku tree? Who? How? Why is he still kicking? Kind of adds to the Before Zonai theory or else he would have had to survive whatever apocalypse destroyed everything

In summary, somebody off me and therapy is probably a good investment.

[harleyxhoward]

Analyzing The Abilities of Characters From The Boys Pt. VI

🐍Zoe Neuman🐍

Zoe, growing up in both a multiethnic and affluent home, is both marginalized and privileged in a myriad of ways. Her ethnicity, along with her mother’s, is never acknowledged outright on the show. For all we know, the directors could have cast white actresses for the both of them and the core of my analysis would be null and void, but I believe the fact they aren’t white provides a certain layer of tragedy to Zoe’s character in particular.

Going off of personal experience in uppity East Coast spaces, Zoe’s presumably one of few ethnic children in her social circle. While she’s debatably white passing, this would undoubtedly have led to numerous instances of her facing prejudice and most likely teasing of various kinds.

This is where her unique ability of generating snake-like tentacles from her mouth presents itself. Her being injected as a preteen means her body analyzed her current surroundings and decided what she needed most at this stage in her life was some form of aggressive defense that could come from her mouth. This most likely resulted from her being mocked, teased, harassed, or discriminated against, and wishing there was a way her “sharp tongue” could actually cut them. Now with these serpents that expel themselves from her mouth, she’s capable of holding her own against anyone who wishes to insult or berate her.

Her being subjected to Red River felt like karmic irony, Victoria injecting her in adolescence* because she decided having any ability at all would be better than being powerless. I’ve mulled over this decision from Vicky, but ultimately settled on it being near sighted and power hungry on her end. She knew full well that Compound V resulted in the death of her own parents, and could very well have given Zoe a disastrous mutation, if not killing her in a long, drawn out body horror scenario. Even Stan Edgar was repulsed and horrified at the idea that Victoria would stoop so low as to inject Zoe with V, which put the gravity of the situation into perspective.

Vicky additionally knew that, while she was getting herself tangled up in Vought and Homelander, that her life was on the chopping block, and if she died, Samir wouldn’t be able to fend off Firecracker, let alone all of Vought’s forces. This would, assuming Homelander didn’t execute her daughter, land Zoe in the same place Vicky ended up after the death of her parents, which is exactly what happened.

While this seemed unfair at first, I saw it more so as a cautionary tale of what corruption does to a person. Vicky wasn’t satisfied with what she had, and strived for absolute power at the expense of her daughter’s well being. The shift from a loving mother willing to give her child the world to a power hungry tyrant injecting her daughter with a potentially lethal drug to turn her into a #girlboss didn’t happen randomly. I can imagine every thought that went through Vicky’s head as she decided to this to Zoe, especially explaining away the consequences as trivial costs to her daughter’s safety.

My response to that, aside from it not panning out how Victoria intended, is to look no farther than Kris Jenner with Kim Kardashian. In both mother-daughter duos a power/money hungry mother mutates/exposes her child all in the name of giving her a “better life” at the cost of robbing her of her agency and ultimately her humanity. Society blames Kim for perpetuating beauty standards, all of which were thrust upon her by a mother who just wanted a bigger mansion.

*The horror of Vicky’s decision stems mostly from the fact that the older you are, the worse the mortality rates/negative mutations are with V injections. Stan and Vicky already knew this, and it’s why people were contemplating whether Ashley would die at the end of S4 or not. Babies appear to be more malleable, and while some gain adverse mutations, they’re hardly ever lethal, and may even be tailored to Vought’s liking (so it seems).*