#off the top of my head i think i only have info on 2 people… but ill check their links.

[lesbiangiratina]

What if i posted the 07 testament anthology scans today. I dunno. We’ll see after therapy

[iraprince]

I love the entire concept of Cookie... the look, the fashion, the gender... Would you mind telling us a little more about him? I'm also intrigued about why she's named Cooking with Gorgeous!

HI i would LOVE to talk about george thank you so much. also this makes me realize i've never actually sat down and just made a post unabashedly infodumping at length abt an oc before and it seems silly that i haven't. i ask only for all dear readers to please temper their expectations for this post with the knowledge that i just smoked half a joint before sitting down to answer it. a small one. but still. anyway

FIRST OF ALL FOR THE UNACQUAINTED THIS IS COOKING WITH GORGEOUS, aka cookie or george for short. he uses he/him and she/her pronouns interchangeably!

hi sorry that's not cookie that's a horse in a bridal veil that i. found in my stuff while trying to scroll and find my cookie art. i just got distracted and had to show you. okay no for real here's cookie

he's the character i'm playing in a playtest campaign of the absolutely mesmerizing sapphicworld, an in-development ttrpg!!! and if i'm going to be talking about cookie i feel like i HAVE to say i think a huge amount of her charm and dazzle and charisma comes directly from the charm and dazzle and charisma of the setting i created her for. i know i am laying it on really thick right now but that is on purpose. i want, desperately and unashamedly, for this game to get really popular bc 1. it's genuinely that good. and it's not even DONE yet and 2. i want everyone to get into it so that everyone will make sapphicworld characters and then i'll get to see everyone's sapphicworld characters.

EDIT i'm scrolling back up here and adding a readmore bc this is already getting so long lol. you asked for "a little more" and apparently i have graciously decided this means "literally every fact about cookie that exists in my brain"

SO a lot of the info/tidbits i haven't shared about cookie are i guess gameplay-specific stuff... his title (which is like a class/playbook) is "The Noble Sweetheart," though in sapphicworld "nobility" no longer has anything to do with wealth or class, and is instead entirely about amassing a court purely via devotion/popularity; her subculture (which is like, Who You Hang Out With; drifters, goths, poets, debauchers, cowpokes, etc) is Babe; and her kind (which is like ancestries but in sapphicworld is really just like, a physical form, which u can change more or less at will) is Lunarthrope, which is basically a werewolf!! or more broadly a furry, since u always look like whatever were-animal you are 24/7. just MORE at night, tho i suppose i don't represent that aspect much in my cookie art... ANYWAY i am restraining myself from just sitting here and like. transcribing her entire character sheet. but basically what all this means is that cookie's role in the world (at least at the beginning of the campaign) is "Professionally — no, VOCATIONALLY Hot Person who everyone loves so so so so so so much." cookie really enjoys this role.

he's named cooking with gorgeous because he's an avid cook, and he wants to share that with you, and he's gorgeous!! though honestly the cooking hasn't ended up as important to his character as it was when i first came up with him, lol — but my initial concept was kind of like, what's the equivalent of a bouncy normie recipe blogger/lifestyle influencer but in the context of the lush horny trans deathless psychedelic universe of sapphicworld. and it's cooking with gorgeous, a doggirl dyke with big blue boobs (six of them!!) who is so devastatingly cute and darling that a bunch of people just kind of pledge their fealty to him for no real reason other than he feeds them. and is cute

also her name is def influenced by the fantastic names of many canon sapphicworld npcs! like, quick example list of some npc names off the top of my head: the booty commie, death cybernetic, princess eureka!, the culinary goof (whom cookie dislikes. btw.), pizza friday (whom cookie loves!!!)

cookie is very very determined, and she's ALMOST always very confident. even when she isn't feeling confident, she's still very good at forcing herself to keep putting one foot in front of the other — maybe just while screaming or crying or uncontrollably barking or at least very ardently complaining. he has a tendency to be spoiled and, like, tactless-via-obliviousness, so sometimes he can be grating to interact with, and he has a petty/vindictive streak; but in general he's an AGGRESSIVELY kind person and usually aims all his shrill, cheerful stubbornness directly toward the goal of refusing to accept anything but the best for everyone.

at the beginning of our campaign cookie has JUST received a brand new castle!!!! (chateau gorgeous.) which he doesn't actually "own" bc, remember, no wealth or class in sapphicworld, but he's the ENTHUSIASTIC new caretaker and is chomping at the bit to renovate it so ppl can live there and he can throw a bunch of magnificent parties and basically continue living exactly as he has been, But Even More Fabulous. obviously this is exactly when the main plot threat of the campaign shows up and spoils everything and compels cookie to go on his First Ever Adventure!!!!!! she HAS to save the world otherwise NOBODY will be able to go to the first big party at chateau gorgeous :((((

at this point to prevent myself from just like, giving you guys a play by play of the entire campaign so far i am going to just start listing every cookie fact i can think of as bullet points

🎀 he owns a magical sword in the shape of a giant microplane. it's called The Microplane. he pronounces this "mee-crow-plah-nay"

🎀 george desperately wants to resurrect The Dog-Lich, an entity that once ruled over all beasts from its palace on the moon but was murdered and torn to pieces in a cosmic war far in the past. her attitude towards this desire is 50% devoted lunar cultist, 50% parasocially obsessive twitter stan

🎀 this isn't really a cookie fact but going back to how his title is The Noble Sweetheart — just for a glimpse at party composition, his fellow party members' titles are The Intimate Scholar, The Tentacle Advocate, and The Tw*nk Controversial (the * is the canon spelling).

^ aforementioned tw*nk. its name is Mwah ("pronounced like the kiss you blow at someone you just fucked over"). mwah is played by @/squiddelyfather on twitter!

🎀 mwah and cookie used to be very, very tight, BEFORE mwah became the tw*nk controversial. now that it's so.... you know.... controversial, well. they're still very close, but it has gotten a little stilted and weird (and watching them slowly un-weird it together as the campaign goes on has been one of my fav roleplay experiences ever honestly)

🎀 cookie's other adventuremates, skarligge and delaryn, are both very indulgent towards him. delaryn acts the most grumpy/dismissive about it but is honestly sometimes the worst about spoiling cookie out of anyone in the party (skarligge's player is twt@/clown_dream and delaryn's is twt@/glaiveguisarme and hey while im at it our fantastic gm is the sapphicworld dev, twt@/ddemoneclipse. hi guys i hope u don't mind me chattering abt ur ocs here lol it's just hard to talk abt the best of cookie w/o bringing up everyone else's characters and roleplay also!!!)

🎀 cookie is very VERY sensitive and will burst into tears at the drop of a hat. the precursor to this is her eyes getting So So So Big And Wet And Round. one of my favorite bits to menace the other party members with is when something is not going cookie's way i will lean into my mic and say "cookie's eyes are getting so so so big. they're getting so big and wet and round and shiny. they're so so round and fucking big her eyes are like big wet black glass marbles" and this is like kryptonite to them. this is like getting hit with deadly radiation

🎀 oh speaking of fashion!!!! one of cookie's perks from being a Babe is that she can always change her look whenever she wants. she will ALWAYS have whatever outfit she needs and can quickchange instantly. wait this reminds me i have a bunch of seasonal holiday outfits sketched out and i don't think i've ever posted them here but it'll only let me put one more image in this post. well here have this one

🎀 okay well suddenly i have forgotten all other george facts so that's all for now!!! from now on i will try to just dump oc facts like this more often tho this is really fun. ty for getting me going lol!!!

[ramblingoak]

The Cardinal's Bride, Chapter 7: The Ministry

~~ Please visit The Outlaw Brides Masterpost to catch up and read more stories from this world ~~

Thank you to @tasty-ribz for the wanted poster!  Lots of other amazing people have done fanart of Cowboy Copia so please go check it out: @meowsaidmissy (1 / 2), @snail-shell2335  here, @vahvco here, @ghulehgwen here, @rabidghoul here, @nocterish here, @enjoy-my-swearing​ here, @blacktie-whitenoise (1 /2), z-xmyers (1/2/3), _simpera_ on instagram and valkyrieinpink on twitter.  Also a huge thank you to @kissingghouls for aggressively holding my hand and letting me scream at her about cowboys.

Cardinal Copia x Female Reader: western au, slow burn, romance, NSFW, 18+ only MDNI, 7,100 words  

(This chapter includes the interlude that was posted previously, but please read through again so you don't miss Sheriff Terzo)

“Copia did what?”

Secondo watched as Alpha nervously shifted from foot to foot. The Ghoul cleared their throat before continuing. 

“He, uh, kidnapped Saltarian’s fiancé. Sir.” 

Of all the fucking stupid things his brother could have done.  He clenched his fists on top of his desk and resisted the urge to flip the damn thing over.  When would Copia learn to let shit go?

“How did you find this out?”

“There was a courier that rode through about an hour ago.  Dropped off some updated fugitive info and some new wanted posters from around the area.”  Alpha pulled a folded piece of paper out of his pocket and nervously set it in front of him.  “This was in there too.”

Secondo unfolded it and groaned.  There was the familiar picture of Copia that was posted everywhere with a damned window but next to it was a picture of a young woman.  He got progressively angrier as he skimmed over the text.  The Cardinal and his Ghouls kidnapped the generous Mr. Saltarian’s fiance.  The poor woman was being held for ransom less than a month away from her wedding.  It ended with a quote from the banking magnate that a generous award would be given to anyone with info on the whereabouts of the devil worshiping outlaws. 

Unholy fuck. 

“Should I wake up the sheriff?”

“What do you think?”  He crumbled up the paper and set it on his plate from dinner.  Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a cigar and his matches.  “Wake Omega up instead.  I need to know where the fuck mio fratellino is.”

“On it.  I’ll have him come here right away.” 

Secondo ran a gloved hand through his hair and took a few puffs on the cigar to get it going.  After it was lit he flicked the match onto his plate, watching as the paper turned black.  His eyes flicked back to Alpha and he called out to him before he left his office. 

“Deputy…don’t tell anyone about this, do you understand?”

“Got it, Papa.”  

Secondo nodded towards the door but it burst open before Alpha had even turned around.  

“What now?”

Mist narrowed her eyes at Secondo’s tone as she shoved past Alpha. 

“Got a problem on the floor. Some asshole thinks Cirrus is cheating him at poker.”

He pushed his chair away from his desk and ripped open a drawer. His gun belt rested inside, something he rarely wore anymore. Mostly because he’d be too tempted to shoot anyone that pissed him off. 

“She’s supposed to be playing the piano.”   Secondo settled the belt around his hips and then grabbed his jacket off the back of his chair.  “Who the fuck is on stage right now?”

“Cowbell.”

Fucking Cowbell.  He straightened his jacket and stalked around his desk, glaring at Alpha when the deputy still hadn’t left. 

“Shouldn’t you be doing something?”

Secondo narrowed his eyes when Alpha hesitated. 

“Uh, are you going to shoot someone?  I could stick aro—“

“You’ll do what I fucking tell you.”  

Alpha held his hands up and quickly turned, heading out of Secondo’s office. He could hear the Ghoul’s boots thunking down the hall as he went. 

“You ready?  Cirrus might’ve killed him by now.”

“I’m not that lucky.”  

Mist snorted and turned on her heel, Secondo trailing behind her as she headed out and down to the casino floor.  Secondo used the walk to check things over.  He could hear the piano playing and Cumulus’s voice accompanying it.  The sounds of glasses clinking and dice hitting tables got louder as the pair started down the stairs.  The place wasn’t particularly busy tonight, but there was still a low hum of chatter from the patrons.  Secondo easily picked up the sound of an angry customer as they started weaving through the tables. 

“I know you fucking cheated so just admit it!”

“You can say it as many times as you want, asshole.  It ain’t gonna make it true.”

“I know what I saw, you had cards up your sleeve!  I didn’t come to this shithole to be cheated on.”  The man took a step towards where Cirrus was still seated and spit at her feet.  “Especially not by a woman.”

“I don’t know sweetheart, you look like the kind of guy that gets cheated on by women a lot.”

“You fuc—“

Secondo had reached them right as the man advanced on the Ghoulette.  He reached a hand out and stopped the man’s progress, splaying his fingers wide on his chest and shoving him back away from the table.  

“What’s the problem here?”

“The problem is this stupid bitch has been cheating and costing me money!”

Cirrus slammed her fist into the table and jumped to her feet. 

“If you say I cheated one more fucking time I’m going to slice your damn throat.”

“You’re a fucking che—“

“That’s enough.”  Secondo once again had his hand on the man’s chest but this time he grabbed his shirt in his fist. He yanked him closer, blowing smoke down into his face.  “My games are fair.  My employees don’t cheat.  I think you’re just having a bad night friend.”

“I ain’t your friend.”  He shoved away from Secondo, stumbling back and falling onto his ass.  “Should’ve known a bunch of Satan worshippers would cheat.”

Secondo narrowed his eyes and took a step toward him. He pushed the right side of his jacket back and tucked his thumb into his belt so his palm was close to the handle of his revolver. 

“Care to repeat that?”

“You heard me.  Everyone knows about you guys.  Fucking sacrificing people and animals and shit.”

“Well if you believe the rumors why did you come here?  For someone with such a strong moral code you seem willing to revel in sin.”  Secondo smirked when Mist stepped close and lifted up on her tiptoes to whisper in his ear.  “You even spent the night with one of my fallen angels.”

“That’s a lie.”

“Liars.  Devil worshippers.  Cheaters.”  He shook his head as he stared the man down.  “Serious accusations from a drunk that can’t back them up.”

Secondo smirked when the man growled and clumsily got to his feet.  He was itching for the man to try something.  Despite how pissed off he was at Copia, he wasn’t planning on shooting him. 

Maybe he’d get to shoot this stronzo instead. 

“Oh I can back them up.”  The man clumsily got to his feet and reached for his belt.  “But first I’m gonna shoot you in your smug fucking face.”  

“Are you?”  Secondo clicked his tongue and let his palm rest on the handle of his revolver.  “What a pity.  I had plans for later.”

“Yeah well fuck your pl—“

The man had finally gotten a grip on his gun and pulled on it.  He barely had it out of the holster before a gunshot rang out and echoed through the now quiet casino.  Secondo watched as his body jerked and collapsed in on itself.  The bullet had lodged between his eyes, blood quickly pouring from the wound and dripping onto the floor.  Secondo grimaced for a moment before he turned to look at Mist.

“Take care of this please.”

“Yes, Papa.”

Mist pointed at some nearby Ghouls and snapped her fingers.  While Earth and Water lifted the body up Secondo uncocked his gun and spun it back into its holster.  He turned and took a few steps towards the bar before glancing back at the Ghoulette that was still sitting calmly at the table.

“Cirrus, a moment por favore.”

As he walked towards the bar he shot a look towards Cowbell.  The Ghoul took the hint and started playing again, Cumulus’s voice joining not long after.  At the bar he leaned against the front of it and nodded towards Air who quickly poured him a whisky.  The liquid burned down his throat, but he held it out for a refill.  Before he could tip that back Cirrus stepped up to his side and slipped the glass out of his hand, coughing after she tipped the contents into her mouth.

“Lucifer, how do you drink this?”

“You get used to it.”  Secondo held his hand out for his glass and nodded towards Air again.  As the Ghoul filled it once more he met the Ghoulette’s eyes.  “Are you that bored?”

“Can you blame me?  There’s nothing to do.” 

He raised an eyebrow at her statement, downing his drink in one gulp.  When Air filled it once more he handed it to Cirrus.

“Let me guess, you’d rather be riding around with my brother.”

“Well yeah, those shitheads need my help.”

“Do they?”  Secondo watched her throat move as she gulped the drink down.  “Help with what exactly?”

The only answer he got was Cirrus coughing as the liquid burned her throat again.  The fact that she wouldn’t meet his eyes was answer enough though.  Copia’s Ghouls were loyal to a fault.  When she finally spoke, Secondo froze.

“Don’t you want revenge?  For what Saltarian did to your family?”

“What I want is to live my life without looking over my back waiting for the next Saltarian.”  He also wanted more whiskey and another cigar.  Cirrus sighed and set the glass down at the bar before turning to head back to the poker tables.  Secondo shot a hand out and grabbed her wrist tugging it towards him. “I also would like you to take over for Cowbell please.” 

Cirrus nodded her head, but when Secondo didn’t let go she turned back to him.  He brought his other hand around and slipped his fingers into the sleeves of her top. When he dragged out the two aces he smirked at her and flicked them behind the bar. 

“Oh no, how did those get there!”

Secondo snorted and let go of her before pointing towards the stage.

“Piano, please.”  He winced as Cowbell hit a few wrong notes.  “Before I shoot him too.”

He watched as she made her way to the stage and unceremoniously shoved Cowbell off the piano bench.  When Cowbell looked his way he jerked his head towards the bar.  Secondo sighed as he watched Cowbell wander over, reaching out for his glass that Air had thankfully refilled again.  Before his fingers could close around it another hand intercepted it and Secondo gritted his teeth when he turned to look at the hand’s owner.

He really hated his little brothers.

“Was that a gunshot I heard?  In my good Christian town?”  Terzo drank the whiskey and then slid the glass back across the bar towards his older brother.  Secondo glanced up towards the door when it banged open, an out of breath Alpha stumbling in.  He froze when he caught Secondo’s glare, his eyes glancing towards Terzo before he quickly turned on his heel and left.  “Oh don’t be mad at Alpha fratello.”  

“I needed Omega, not you.”

Terzo smirked and lazily leaned back against the bar.

“Well, I was in Omega’s bed so…”  His smirk grew at the look of annoyance on Secondo’s face.  “You have become surprisingly uptight for someone in your line of work.”

“I just wish you’d stop sleeping with your deputies.”

“You know me fratello,”  Terzo grabbed Secondo’s glass again and held it out for Cowbell who had settled behind the bar.  “I sleep with everybody.  Right, Cowbell?”

Secondo turned his glare to Cowbell when the Ghoul fumbled the bottle of whiskey in his hands, thankfully catching it before it hit the floor.  He turned back to his brother and leaned in to stare him down.

“Did you know what Copia was up to?”

“You mean did I know our little brother planned on kidnapping Mr. Saltarian’s fiancé and ransoming her for a shit ton of money?”

“Si.”

“I did, actually.  Thought it sounded like a good time.”  Terzo ignored Secondo’s clenched fist slamming onto the top of the bar and turned his eyes toward the casino floor.  “Didn’t know he planned on attacking the wedding though.”

“The what?!”  He ignored the glances their way and grabbed onto Terzo’s ridiculous velvet vest.  “He’s going to do what?”

Terzo’s demeanor changed immediately, his hand shooting up and gripping Secondo’s wrist.

“You’re not as observant as you think you are, fratello.  If you were, you would have noticed that Copia has been planning this for a long time.”  He dug his fingers into Secondo’s flesh causing the older man to wince and let go.  “You also would’ve noticed that you had some of Saltarian’s men here.”

Secondo yanked his arm away and looked out over the crowd.  Most had gone back to whatever card or dice games they had been playing.  The only face he saw looking his way was Mist’s.  She was leaning against a pillar by the roulette table, her steely gaze watching the brothers with interest.  He took a deep breath and looked back at Terzo.  The shorter man was smoothing his hands down his vest and straightening the sheriff star pinned there.

“I take it Copia is heading back here?”

Terzo snorted and shook his head before looking back at his brother.

“Where else would he go?  Should be back tomorrow if everything went well.”  

Secondo pinched the bridge of his nose, squeezing his eyes shut at the impending headache.  That fucking idiot, of course he would come back here.  Copia wouldn’t give a second thought to dragging that girl to The Ministry.  Probably where he expected to exchange her for the ransom money as well.  Willing to endanger everything in order to get his revenge.

“That selfish prick, when is he going to move the fuck on from this?”

“Never, you know this fratello.  Copia isn’t going to be happy until Saltarian is dead.”

“Yes well, more then Saltarian is going to die if he continues this idiotic plan of his.”  Secondo nodded towards Mist and watched as she slowly made her way over.  “I need to buy some time before he gets back here.”

“To do what?”

“To let Saltarian know we aren’t involved in Copia’s bullshit.”  

“Who gives a fuck what Saltarian thinks?”

Secondo resisted the urge to grab Terzo again, his wrist still aching from the man’s grip.

“I do and if you could bring yourself to give a shit about anything but getting your dick wet you should too.”  He waited for Mist to get to his side before speaking again, “We need to keep Copia away a little longer.  Do you know where he is?”

“Somewhere west of the Missouri River.”

Lucifer, please save him from these two.  Secondo looked out towards his customers when the majority of them started whistling and clapping.  Cirrus and Cumulus were bowing and waving at the crowd before they started another song.  His eyes lingered on Cirrus for a moment, an idea forming in his head.  She of all people would know where Copia might be.  He could send her out to stop him and keep him away while he tried to sort this mess out.

“Cowbell, go switch with Cirrus.” 

“But I ju–”

“Now.”

Secondo turned back to his brother and placed a hand on Mist’s shoulder.  He could feel how tense she was and knew she had picked up on the seriousness of what was happening.  

“Fratello, what are you going to do?”

He ignored his brother and looked back out at the crowd.  Secondo could see them now, a few men scattered about that were paying more attention to him and his brother than the games they were supposedly playing.  Too involved in whatever game Saltarian and Copia were playing with each other.  A game that could easily destroy everything Secondo had worked to build after they settled here all those years ago.  He couldn’t let that happen again.

He wouldn’t let that happen again.

~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~

Ethel had to come back and get you both.

With Copia’s lips on yours it felt like you were the only two people in the world.  You really had no idea that kissing could be so…involved.  There had been a few quick pecks from would-be suitors back home.  “City boys” that kissed like it was expected and something to get out of the way rather than something to enjoy.  Both kept their hands to themselves and stayed a respectable distance away from you as they leaned in for a brief pressing of their lips against yours.

Kissing The Cardinal was a completely different experience.

Copia kissed with his whole body.  As it continued he had kept one hand tangled in your hair and his other arm curved around your back.  He didn’t seem to want any space between you, something that you had zero complaints about.  Your own hands wandered wherever you could reach and you kept track of where he seemed to enjoy being touched the most.  So far he had reacted the strongest to your nails running across his scalp, a deep rumble vibrated in his chest whenever you did it.

Even in the midst of your wildest fantasies you had never felt like this before.  It felt so good to kiss him, to feel his hands on you.  You whimpered into his mouth when his arm moved from behind your back, but he quickly placed his hand on your waist before sliding it down your leg to your knee.  He squeezed there and your leg jumped causing him to pull his mouth away and laugh a bit.  Copia leaned his forehead against yours, both of you looking into each other’s eyes and panting trying to catch your breath.

“Principessa…”  His fingers started to move against your knee and you waited for him to squeeze it again, but instead you felt the cool air of the room hit the skin of your leg.  Copia was slowly pulling the hem of the nightgown up.  Your skin began to break out in goosebumps all the way from your ankle to your thigh.  Copia let his other hand leave your hair and he cupped your cheek instead, his eyes not leaving yours.  “Is this alright?”

You had been trying to get the word ‘yes’ out of your mouth, but the sudden feeling of his bare hand on your knee turned the word into a gasp.  He had your nightgown bunched up and his thumb began to trace circles against your skin.  Your legs had begun to tremble in anticipation and maybe in another life you would feel embarrassed for being so needy, but all you felt right now was want and what you wanted was Copia.  He was right here, right in front of you and he wanted you too.

Unfortunately that was the moment Ethel decided she had waited long enough and after a series of sharp knocks she had told Copia to leave you alone so you could get dressed.  He had called out an apology and then pressed a kiss to your forehead before dropping the hem of your nightgown and letting it settle back at your ankles.  

“We’ll pick this up later, eh Principessa?”

He grabbed his clothes from yesterday and then he had turned and left the room with a smirk, telling Ethel good morning again before going to track down Harold and the Ghouls.  Ethel had turned her own smirk on you and you could only imagine what you looked like right now.  Hair messed up from Copia’s fingers, your lips swollen, not to mention how your cheeks were burning from the scrape of his beard.  At least he had fixed your nightgown before he had left.

“Let’s take a look at those clothes, alright dear?”

The rest of the morning was spent with Ethel as she sorted through piles of clothes to find a few things for you to take.  You had tried to convince her there really wasn’t room to pack anything extra, but she had her mind made on setting you up with some more practical traveling clothes.  Hopefully Copia would be ok with it because it would be nice to have some things that fit you better than someone’s spare pants.  At the very least Copia would probably be happy you wouldn’t be wearing Swiss’s shirt anymore.

Ethel spent the time talking about random subjects.  You learned about where she grew up and what originally brought her across the country.  She shared a few funny stories about her two boys, both of which she and Harold had adopted rather than have any of their own.  Ethel’s life had been so different from yours and it was amazing to hear her talk about it all.  She had lived a full life even before she met her husband.

“How did you and Harold meet?”  When Ethel didn’t say anything at first you thought maybe it was a story she didn’t want to tell.  However when you looked at her face the older woman had a small smile and her cheeks had pinked up a bit.  “If you don’t want to share that’s ok.”

“Oh, no dear.  I don’t mind sharing.”  Her smile grew a bit and she held up a blouse before continuing.  “I stole his horse.”

“You stole…are you serious?”

“I was a handful when I was younger, driving my father crazy with all the things I’d get up to.  But my mother had passed away many years before and he was mostly focused on the general store he ran.  I was angry over losing my mother and angry over him ignoring me to work there so I caused a bit of trouble around town.”

You had a feeling that when she said ‘a bit’ she meant a lot.

“Did Harold live there too?”

“No, he was just traveling through one day looking for work.  I was minding the store while my father ran an errand and Harold refused to talk to me, saying he would only talk to the owner.”  Ethel sniffed and shook her head.  You could tell the memory of that still irritated her.  “So as soon as my father got back I stormed out of there, jumped on his horse and rode the hell out of town.”

She was quiet for a moment, lost in her thoughts before she continued.

“Well, long story short, the sheriff caught me not long after.  He tried to get my father to bail me out of jail but that old bastard refused!  Said I should finally face the consequences of my behavior.”  Ethel turned and smiled at you, bumping her shoulder against yours.  “So Harold bailed me out.”

“Really?”

“He did, he bailed me out and I haven’t been able to get rid of him ever since.”  You laughed with her, imagining a young Ethel moving around town with a lovesick Harold on her heels.  She quieted down, still smiling at you as she reached over and tucked some of your hair back behind your ear.  “Now, how about you tell me how you and Mr. Emeritus met.”

You couldn’t help but freeze for a brief moment.  This wasn’t something you and Copia had talked about.  You weren’t sure what he would want you to say.  Obviously not the truth, you were sure Ethel wouldn’t take kindly to finding out that Copia and the Ghouls had kidnapped you, despite how much the…situation had evolved since then.  You would need to get creative, come up with something that would be easy to believe.  Your lips began to pull up in a smirk when you thought of how worried Copia was for you to be able to think on your feet.

Time to show him what a city girl could do.

~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~

After spinning what you felt was a grandiose, but still believable tale of how you and Copia met and fell in love you helped Ethel wash some sheets and blankets.  She had looked at you like you had two heads when you told her you had never washed anything before.  Thankfully her look of disbelief was quickly replaced with the familiar kind look she had been giving you.  Once again you felt an ache in your chest, wondering how different your life might have been with someone like Ethel as a mother.  

It wasn’t that you didn’t love your own, but it was more just a feeling of indifference.  The home you grew up in was cold and empty despite the numerous fireplaces and furniture.  You had always felt alone there.  The maids and cooks were instructed to converse with your family as little as possible.  There had been a few people you had befriended when you were younger, but it always seemed like as soon as you got close to someone they’d be replaced.  Your parents were so strict when it came to you, so cruel.  You had always known it wasn’t fair or even normal, but the more time you spent away from them, from that environment, the more you realized how wrong it had all been.

The farmhouse just felt so right.

Ethel had given you a basket of things to hang outside while she took some lunch out to everyone else.  She had a few rope lines hanging behind the house and walking out to them gave you a chance to see the farm in daylight.  It was so beautiful you kept finding yourself stopping to take everything in.  The house itself had a large porch in the front with a few benches and seats scattered about.  There was even a swing and you were tempted to take a moment to sit down and enjoy the scenery, but you didn’t want to be caught not working.

As you walked around the front of the house you took in the large pasture that stretched out from the porch up a hill in the distance.  There was the barn not too far away, with a few other smaller buildings nearby.  You thought you heard shouting and laughing so that had to be where they were doing the repairs from the storm.  The house and barn definitely looked like some work could be done, but nothing that really stuck out to you as dangerous.

Behind the house was where more fields stretched out.  It looked like at some point there might have been crops there, but at the moment everything looked like random plants and weeds had taken over.  Large patches of dandelions had cropped up and you took a moment when you set your basket down by the laundry lines to pick one.  The bright yellow flowers were always your favorite, despite many thinking of them as weeds.  Your father would always make someone go out and pick them from the yard around your home, but you tried to sneak a few into your room whenever you could.

You twirled the dandelion stem between your fingers as you watched the grasses and tree limbs move in the breeze.  It seemed silly but you let yourself have a moment imagining what it would be like to live here.  Maybe you could start growing crops again, harvesting things to take to a market somewhere.  Growing things to use for your own cooking.  Your eyes fell closed as you let your mind wander even further…thinking of who you wanted to share this dream with.  The question you were afraid to ask yourself was at the edge of your thoughts, ready to ruin your daydream any moment.

Would a man like Copia be happy in a place like this?  With you?  

You tucked the flower into one of the button holes of your blouse and then threw a blanket over the line, smoothing it out before a growing noise behind you made you pause.  Hoofbeats were getting closer and you quickly turned your head, the momentary fear instantly leaving when you saw Copia approaching on Brizio.  He had an easy smile on his face, looking more relaxed than you had ever seen him.  His black hat was perched on his head like always, but otherwise he was only in pants and his red button up.  The shirt was barely done up, probably unbuttoned as the air got warmer.  Your eyes couldn’t help but drift to the exposed portion of his chest, lingering there too long and risking him noticing.  When you quickly looked up to his face you sighed at the smug grin on his face.

Of course he noticed.

He chuckled when you turned and started clipping the blanket in place.  You knew ignoring him wouldn’t actually work but at least you could hide your own smile.  Fueling his ego would just make him even more insufferable, not that it bothered you so much anymore.  Especially when it made you feel butterflies in your stomach or when it led to him being close to you.  Brizio stepped close enough you could feel his snout bump against your shoulder so you spun around again to glare up at his master.

“Copia I’m busy.”

“Looked like you were daydreaming to me.”

When Brizio started snuffling into your hair you pulled away, reaching down to grab another blanket.  

“Well what are you doing?”  You glanced back at him with a raised eyebrow.  “Shouldn’t you be helping Harold?”

“I was, but his beautiful wife brought us lunch so I decided to come see my beautiful wife.”  

To hide your red cheeks you ducked around to the other side of the blanket as you clipped it to the line.  You saw his and Brizio’s shadow grow as they moved closer to the blanket, the sun bright on their back.  The blanket moved when Brizio pressed his muzzle into it and you pulled it away from him.  

“Copia!  These are clean sheets keep him away.” 

“Ai, Brizio is clean.”

You rolled your eyes when he gave the horse a pat on his neck.

“Yes I’m sure he’s just as clean as his master.”

“Principessa, I can’t believe you.  Here I am wanting to spend time with my wife and she chooses to mock me.”

When you walked back around the sheet he moved to block your way, smirking when you huffed and crossed your arms.

“Copia I have work to do.”

“It can wait, come on a ride with me.”

“A ride?  Where?”

He shrugged and looked around, much like you had done earlier.

“Eh Harold has been talking about the farm all morning.  I just want to take a little tour.”  He turned and smiled down at you.  “Come with me.”

You hesitated a moment, biting your lip as you peered up at him.  Going on a tour was something you wanted to do, but after this morning you were a little nervous being so close to Copia again.  You wondered if he would kiss you again, you hoped he would kiss you again.  But you weren’t sure if you’d be able to make the first move.  Even for something you desperately wanted. 

“Will we be gone long?”

“Not long at all and I promise the laundry will still be sitting here safely when we return.”  You took a few steps closer and reached out to rub Brizio’s neck, looking up at him when he clicked his tongue.  “What if I promise to keep my hands to myself?”

You gave him a smirk of your own as you studied his face.

“What if I don’t want you to?”

Copia gaped at you a moment, but before he could speak you both turned toward the house when you heard Ethel’s voice.

“Mr. Emeritus!”

“Quickly now, Principessa.”  He laid the reins on Brizio’s neck and held his hands out for yours.  “Come on, before she catches us.”

Ethel shouted for him again so you quickly made up your mind and placed your hands in his.  A little squeak escaped you when he started lifting you up.  You placed your right foot on top of his and pushed off the ground, laughing when he spun you around so you were sitting in front of him.  He kept an arm around your waist as you settled against him and adjusted your skirt.  It was a large billowy thing Ethel had given you this morning, perfect for horse riding.  

Copia grabbed the reins with his other hand and turned Brizio away from the laundry line to face the house.  You snorted when he waved at Ethel, the woman clearly not amused at Copia’s antics.  Her hands were on her hips as she stared him down.

“Don’t worry signora!”  He pressed his heels into Brizio’s sides and said something in Italian to the horse.  Brizio immediately took off in a trot away from the house.  Copia turned in the saddle to face Ethel again before you got too far away.  “I promise to bring her back!”

He wrapped his arm more firmly around you and dropped his head into the crook of your neck.  You shivered when you felt his stubble tickle the sensitive skin there.  His warm lips pressing kiss after kiss onto your skin.  After a few moments he brought his lips to your ear, his mustache scratching along the edge.  You took in a quick breath when he nibbled on your earlobe.  At the same time his hand started to wander along your waist, moving up higher and higher until it was resting right below your breasts.  

“Copia!”

He shushed you, leaning down to press a few more kisses on your neck before he straightened up again to whisper into your ear.

“Are you ready for a ride?”

~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~

It was dark before you made it back to the farmhouse.  Copia stopped at the barn first, leaving Brizio in Aether’s care before he took your hand and led you back to the house.  You were both quiet as you walked.  Copia kept looking out over the fields and you found yourself stealing glances at him.

The tour had turned into more of what had occurred between you both that morning.  His hand on your chest had continued to wander, his lips on your neck making you shiver.  It wasn’t long before you were squirming against him, quiet whimpers leaving you. Eventually he stopped Brizio under the cover of some trees and turned you so you were sitting sideways across his lap.

“Principessa?”

You were startled out of your thoughts by his voice and you looked over at him.  He had paused at the bottom of the porch steps, pulling you against him as soon as your eyes met.  Your eyes fluttered shut when he pressed a gentle kiss into your forehead.  When he pulled away he tucked your hair back behind your ears and gave you a small smile.

“What?”

Copia shook his head at your question and just continued to smile at you.  He glanced down at your chest and gently pulled the dandelion you had tucked into it away.  You were surprised it had survived his wandering hands while you had been on the ride.  He twirled the stem between his fingers much like you had done before lifting it up and slipping the stem behind your ear.

“Let’s get inside before Ethel comes looking for us.”

Thankfully Ethel didn’t seem too upset by your absence for most of the afternoon.  She came over and squeezed your shoulders before shooting a quick glare at Copia.  You expected him to make some sort of smart comment but instead he broke out into a wide yawn.  Amongst the lamps and candles lit inside the house you noticed how tired he looked.  There were bags under his eyes that were normally hidden by his dark makeup.  Ethel took a few steps towards him and gave him a quick pat on his shoulder.

“How about you go clean up and your wife can help me set dinner out.”

All she got was a quiet nod before he took his boots off and wandered down the hall.  You followed Ethel into the kitchen and helped her put the finishing touches on dinner, stealing bites as you worked.  Harold packed a few baskets and left to take the food out to the Ghouls while Ethel sent you down the hall to collect Copia.  As you approached the door you didn’t hear any noises so you quietly opened it to peek inside.  The only light illuminating the room was from the moon shining in from the window, but you could just make out Copia’s form on the bed.

“Copia?”

You took a few steps into the room, about to call out his name again before you noticed how still he was on top of the covers.  There was a pile of clothes on the floor by the foot of the bed and you carefully stepped over them as you crept closer.  He had changed into a clean shirt and pants at least before laying down.  You studied his face and could see that the dirt and grime of the day had been removed.  A few wet strands of hair had fallen across his forehead as well.

The urge to brush the hair away was strong, but you didn’t want to risk waking him.  Copia looked so peaceful, it almost felt like a spell had been cast upon the room.  You found yourself holding your breath and you had to be careful letting it out slowly to not make too much noise.  The floorboards creaked when you took a few hesitant steps back and you winced.  After waiting for a few moments and not seeing him stir you turned and carefully crept back out of the room.  

Ethel wasn’t upset about dinner changing, she just gave you that familiar soft smile and told you to take care of him.  You and Copia could join her and Harold for breakfast in the morning instead.  When you got back to the room Copia had turned on his side to face the wall.  You quickly removed your clothes from the day and grabbed the nightgown, pulling it over your head and immediately glancing back over to the bed to see if he had been watching.  The brief pang of disappointment you felt when he continued to sleep made you nearly roll your eyes.

The cowboy was getting to you.

There wasn’t an easy or quiet way to get into the bed and under the covers, but you crawled up from the foot of the bed as carefully as you could.  The only light in the room was from the moon shining through the window, just enough to illuminate the side of his face not smooshed into the pillow.  He looked so peaceful, his breath quiet and his body still.  More hair was hanging down and you couldn't help but hesitantly reach out to brush it back just like he did to your own hair.

“Go to sleep, Principessa.”

You jumped at the sound of his voice, jerking your arm back and shoving it under the covers.  He peeked his green eye open and it sparkled when the moonlight hit it.  When you saw his mouth slowly pull up in a smirk you huffed and turned so that you faced the wall.  The bastard had probably been awake the whole time.  A few moments passed in silence so you settled further into the bedding.  It wasn’t until you felt his arm slip around and pull you closer to him that you let your eyes close to drift off to sleep.

~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~

Secondo hadn’t felt this tired in a long time.

Not since the first few years after the attack, when he still expected Saltarian to show up with more men.  To see another home burned to nothing, to see more people he loved killed.  It wasn’t even just the fear of Saltarian though.  It was also the constant fear of if they would make it or not.  If they’d be able to keep everyone safe and fed.  He and his brothers had worked tirelessly to rebuild things.  A new home and a new way of life for the members of the Church of Emeritus.  

After those first few years things had seemingly relaxed.  There had been no word or sign from Saltarian or any of his associates.  The Ministry, his casino and his home, had steadily grown since then.  It wasn’t just his home now, so many of the Ghouls and Ghoulettes called it home as well.  Most of them worked there or around the town in some capacity, Impera was what they ended up calling it in the end.  Secondo and his brothers had settled somewhat comfortably in their own roles there, with Primo eventually moving a few days ride away for some peace and quiet.  Everyone seemed, if not happy, at least content with their new life.

Everyone except for Copia.

A knock on his door interrupted his brooding, but it opened before he could tell the person to go away.  Terzo waltzed in, looking rumpled and like he’d spent the last hour at the bar.  Not the best look for the town’s sheriff, but everyone was so used to it that if he didn’t look this way that’s when people would be concerned.  Either way Secondo didn’t have the patience to deal with him at the moment.

“What do you want, Terzo?”

“Ah, I see you’re in an excellent mood like usual.”  Terzo flopped down into one of the chairs across his desk with a heavy sigh.  “What happened?  Did you have to shoot someone today?”

“Not yet.”  He glared at Terzo when he brought his legs up and set his feet on the edge of his desk.  “Don’t you have someone’s bed you could be warming?”

“Always.”

“Then what the fuck do you want?”  His brother’s face sobered a bit and Secondo felt a quick pang of regret for snapping at him.  Terzo was getting dragged into this nonsense of Copia’s as well.  He was at risk of losing his family and home too.  Secondo took a calming breath before continuing.  “Has there been any word from Cirrus?”

“That’s what I came to ask you.”

Secondo shook his head and turned to look out the balcony windows behind him.  Cirrus would hopefully be back tonight or tomorrow morning.  It was a long trip for what would hopefully just be a quick conversation with Copia.  His brother might be pissed at Secondo for interfering, but he would at least listen to Cirrus.  The extra time would make sure his letter had gotten to Saltarian.  A letter Secondo had written in a hurry before sending Alpha and Earth off with it.  Hopefully it would be enough to keep the man at bay.

“Fratello?”  Secondo turned back to Terzo and his face softened a bit at the look on his younger brother’s face.  He raised an eyebrow, waiting for Terzo to continue.  “What do you think Saltarian will do?”

Before he could answer the door to his office burst open, Mist quickly striding in.  The look on her face was one Secondo hadn’t seen for nearly 10 years.  

“What is it?”  He got up and moved around his desk, reaching out to place a comforting hand on the Ghoulette's shoulder.  “Is Cirrus back?”

Mist shook her head and took a steadying breath before she shared her news.

“Saltarian is here.”

Go to Chapter 8: Playing House

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[snikt111]

hi hi hi hi I found out about Hal Jordan TODAY and am going so autistic over him it’s insane can you please give me a rundown on what his deal is I think you’re the Tumblr Green Lantern guy

omg hi, insane compliment btw, tysm! i'm glad to give you a rundown!! also definitely check out @katmaatui for more hal info, red is SUPER knowledgable abt him. @rillette, @catboyollie, @halcarols, @starsapphire and @yellowcorps (along with so many others that i cant think to tag off the top of my head) have some great hal takes too! (edited the post just to tag more ppl)

apologies if this is a bit rushed/messy, i'm doing this while i smelt stone in minecraft LMAO

that being said... i think this will be a long one, so more below the cut :3

(cw for light mentions of pedophilia, abuse, canon typical violence)

okay, so hal jordan is the first human green lantern of the GREEN LANTERN CORPS. it's important to note that there was technically a human green lantern before him (alan scott, originally from earth two/the justice society, but integrated into main DC canon after crisis), but his power comes from a different source- which is a whole different ballpark that would take ages to explain, lol, so i'll move on from that.

hal was originally introduced in a showcase issue in 1959, but ended up getting a solo run in the mid 60s because of his showcase issues doing well. he's been a test pilot, middle brother, compassionate, rule follower (although being surprisingly liberal for the time) with an interesting relationship with star sapphire carol ferris since those first appearances. for the first 20 odd years of his appearances we had no information on his parents, but we got a lot from other family members, such as uncle titus, cousin hal jr (aka airwave), younger brother jim jordan and older brother jack jordan. through the 60s and 70s those members of his family were developed along with him; with the audience learning that jim's wife sue thought jim was green lantern, rather than hal, and hal himself training his cousin, hal jr.

the most known version of how hal got the ring in the first place is probably based off of geoff john's rewrite in the mid 00s, reiterating the original story of abin sur crashing onto earth and dying, leaving hal with his ring to be trained by sinestro and the rest of the glc, while also changing miniscule details that had been developed in emerald dawn 1 & 2 (which was released in the 90s, more on that later). the main premise of abin sur's crash has stayed the same, but the story around hal's current life, job, family and stability keep changing. for instance, the original comic with abin sur in showcase only showed hal getting the ring, the guardians choosing him. the first rewrite i can think of was emerald dawn volume 1, published in 1989 and continued in emerald dawn v2 (1991). here we get the classic hal watches his father die in a plane crash with carol ferris beside him as a pre adolescent, and some of the biggest implications of the mistreatment from his father. we also get introduced to hal, despite his stick to the rules, straight edge attitude, making some serious mistakes and putting people in danger and even death- with the implication of alcohol abuse. the audience HAS known hal used to be in the air force since sometime in the late 60s or early 70s (sorry, i don't remember the exact issue!), but emerald dawn shows us that hal's moved on from the air force and into test piloting, and that his mother keeps having to bail him out for making mistakes. emerald dawn vol 1 shows the abin sur moment, followed by fights that cost hal's friends life, and is followed up by sinestro training hal in emerald dawn vol 2, where we get to see the iconic scenes of hal finding out about sinestro and his... dictatorship.

along with that; how the guardians and rings are treated and hal and the glc's perception of them is vastly changed over time. in the early days of gl in the 60s, the guardians were really never to be seen. hal was repeatedly summoned to them and then had his memory almost fully wiped- only leaving a vague notion of his orders. the guardian's called hal to them at seemingly the worst times, ending up with him almost getting injured, getting in trouble at work, and even ending up jobless and homeless. the chaos of being a green lantern has been around the WHOLE time, but originally, the green lanterns didnt really... fight it. the guardian's were their masters (and even father figures, to hal) and not to be questioned. the rings in the 60s were also much more powerful, despite the yellow weakness (the yellow weakness is the notion that from about the 60s to the mid 90s the green lantern rings were completely unable to be used against anything yellow). time travel, phasing, teleporting, etc were all very viable and common things- as well as forceful shapeshifting, invisibility, mind control, mind reading, etc etc. these days, writers have dampened these powers down to mostly shooting light and constructs.

okay, it's parallax time. the emerald twilight arc from the mid 90s wasn't an arc that was as thoroughly planned out over a long period of time as it probably should have been. a lot of fans at the time (and even now) hated what happened there, and claimed it ruined hal's character entirely. i can understand why! but, at it's core, the parallax arc is a story about a broken man pushed to the limit, fully grieving his home and family (originally, he lost his brother jim in the destruction of coast city, along with a lot of other family members) and being goddamn fed up with how his "masters" treated him and the rest of the corps. the so called "perfect lantern" (no, he wasn't that much of a rebel, despite what johns wants you to think) snapped and essentially tried to gain as much power as he could to bring back coast city. when the guardians stripped him of his powers so he couldn't, hal became enraged and took down every lantern in his path, just to get to the guardians and that power. long story short, he kills the guardians and absorbs all the energy from the central power battery on oa, becoming parallax- essentially a god. this marks the start of zero hour, an event made by dc to restructure and reset; giving the comics a new generation of heroes. hal destroys the world and remakes it, but is ultimately taken down by kyle rayner, the new green lantern, with the help of the jla, jsa and associates. there are a few more run ins with parallax after this, before kyle convinces parallax/hal that he can make up for all of this by reigniting the sun after it went out- aka killing himself. hal does it, is stuck in limbo for awhile and then becomes the spectre to continue to make up for the horrible things he did as parallax. the spectre is the spirit of god's wrath and vengeance, a weapon used to drag sinners to their very own, self made hells, and scare the shit out of people. the spectre, from it's very first appearance, is a ghost like spirit that takes on a host, and is primarily described using christian terms and is used in a very... christian ideology. HOWEVER, the spectre 2001 confirms that hal is jewish (jewish mom, catholic dad) and that belief system, plus his personality as a whole, literally makes him change the spirit of vengeance into the spirit of redemption, for at least as long as they are bonded. the whole parallax to spectre arc is about grief, pain, cycles of abuse and terror, redemption and guilt. it is NOT about a fear bug that possess hal. (im so serious though, the spectre 2001 is one of the best comics ive ever read. amazing. changed my world view) but... geoff johns changed all of it, decanonized the spectre, and ruined the legacy of parallax and hal's growth as a person by releasing green lantern: rebirth in 2004/2005. this retcons hal's breakdown and journey through grief into him BEING POSSESSED BY AN ENTITY CONTROLLED BY SINESTRO THAT FULLY CHANGES PREVIOUS GREEN LANTERN CANON AND IMPLICATIONS. also, fucks up the importance of kyle becoming ion, but whatever. geoff johns writes hal (and even more so, carol) so very wrong, and change their stories so vastly in ways that go against the stories very meanings.

SIGH.

now... time to get started on some rougher stuff. hal jordan misconceptions. i'm saving that arc for last.

- hal jordan wasn't much of a rule breaker or rebel until the 70s/80s, where he BEGAN (very slowly, mind you) to be radicalized by oliver queen during denny o'neil's green lantern/green arrow. hal was painted as more of a conservative during this period (which, admittedly, kind of goes against previous canon... he's always been relatively central to liberal, not to any extremes like ollie though, lol) but gets more and more understanding of how power structures work and how lower classes are mistreated during this time- which ends up opening his eyes a bit to how shitty the guardians are. (this is helped by the guardians literally just. leaving. the green lanterns and kind of disbanding them so they can go fuck the zamarons, lmao). geoff johns tried to change this narrative into making hal a very... maverick-from-top-gun type of character, who punched his way out of the military (when, in reality, the original story during emerald knights in the late 90s was that hal had been framed for stealing a jet and was dishonorably discharged, which he took the punishment for because he knew someone had to) and hits on women constantly and gets ladies and allat (which, funnily enough hal was awful at getting carol to like him for a long time, since carol fell for green lantern rather than hal. not to mention the awkwardness of carol's proposals or hal's many, many failed relationships). hal has always been insecure and lowkey boyfailure, he is NOT a top gun maverick tom cruise sorta guy! fuck you jeremy adams!

- hes not that much of an idiot asshole. hal can be a real dick, he's had that going for him since the beginning, but he isn't what you read in batfam fics. he's not stupid and shouldn't be the laughingstock of the justice league. i assume this idea started from the obsession with batfam and the fact that the jla has quite the history of ignoring hal and his issues (as well as. all of their issues. theyre not so great at work life balance), but it's gone too far. hal isn't making fun of the robins and pissing bruce off bc of that. hal isnt fooling around on the job 24/7 (he takes being a gl and pilot VERY seriously, although he does enjoy some danger and high stakes) or slacking off to get girls. again. not top gun maverick.

- hal has not been a creep since the beginnings. hal was not weird with carol in the 60s. things were weird between them, yeah, but that's based off circumstance and the craziness of star sapphire and green lantern. he was NOT being horribly sleazy! i hate that i even need to say this, but i see this take too much not to

- going off of what was said above, lets discuss the arisia arc. if you want to be a real hal fan, this is unfortunately something you need to know about. in action comics, after crisis and the guardians left to go fuck the zamarons, most of the green lanterns fell apart and seperated. a small group went to earth- led by hal and consisting of hal, john stewart, katma tui, kilowog, salaakk, ch'p and arisia rrab. (also sometimes guy gardner, but that's complicated) previously to this arc, hal treated 14 year old arisia like a beloved little sister, welcoming her and leading her into the corps just like everyone else. things started to change once the timeline gets closer and closer to crisis, where arisia starts showing that she has a crush on hal (who is roughly 30s at this point). any advances made by arisia are shut down by hal at the beginning, because she's a child. now, it's unfortunately a common thing to just call hal a "pedophile" because of what happens in this arc- but it really isn't that simple. still weird and icky, but definitely not to the degree of which some fans like to act like it is- esp to attack hal fans for, which is... an odd choice regarding how many fucked up things every character (esp male characters) did back in the day. arisia ends up using her power ring to artifically age herself up, making her body AND MIND into that of a young adult (the comic makes this very clear). once this happens... hal stops rejecting her. they get together, they kiss. the only person in the group of green latnerns who actually has an issue with it is john (salaakk is meh about it, but he just doesn't like human-esque romance no matter what), and katma even directly encourages their relationship. kilowog ends up crushing on arisia as well, and guy gardner hits on her repeatedly throughout the whole period. eventually, hal and arisia break up, but this legacy (thank so much englehart, for wrtiting this. /sarc) is a big controversy among the comics crowd. "is hal jordan a predator?" personally, and i know a lot of friends/mutuals/other gl fans choose to erase the arisia arc entirely (versus how canon ended up retconning it to be 14 earth years is equal to that of an adult and she didn't really get super ages up, or whatever) and go with the familial relationship between hal and her. that's my preferred version! i know red (@katmaatui) has explored that version as well as an alternate version where the arisia arc did happen, and how it affects arisia in particular, which is really depressing but super interesting. anyway, it's complicated and weird and nuanced, but that whole occurence doesn't mean hal's a bad character or person (cause yk. retcons) and it's certainly not bad to like his character. (definitely ignore any guy gardner fans who try to bitch about this arc. cough cough. guy was ALSO into her and hit on her repeatedly. smfh) most people who bring this up to demonize fans didn't even read the arc, and don't know the nuance or the other weird shit that happens in it. (hal is not a horse, sigh)

OVERALL NOTES!

hal jordan is a super complicated character with an extensive history spanning from the 60s to his worse written appearances in modern age. it's okay to like any version of the character, but it is important to note the changes that have been made, the storylines butchered and lost, and more. he has quite the legacy, and he's particularly interesting as from a moral standpoint. hal's a real sweetie though, when it gets down to it! he's neurodivergent coded (imo at least.. his dad very much gets onto him for being disrtracted, hes kinda shit at social interaction (and then amazing at it the other half of the time) etc etc. "spacecase") and his dad is an abusive asshole, who he desperately doesnt want to be like but thinks he NEEDS to be like!

[larkspurglove]

Wow 2.2 absolutely stuck the landing for the Penacony arc. Anyway spoiler heavy thought dump below

AVENTURINE’S ALIVE YIPPEE!!! He cannot catch a fucking break though, bro has a chance of being demoted or kicked out of the stonehearts, and then Boothill breaks into his room and aims a gun at him. Get my man a vacation please.

Anyway GOD I LOVE HOW THEY DID THE TWIST. Misha manifesting in reality has irked me since I first noticed that only the trailblazer sees him, because him being a memory zone meme made 100% sense except for that one little piece of info.

While it’s a bit sad that Boothill and Black Swan aren’t actually travelling with us, the fake ending felt weirdly jarring but also convincing enough that for a second I doubted myself and thought it was the real ending.

The use of end credits gives me a heart attack each time but it’s really funny, although there are a few things I noticed in there.

1) Gallagher’s actor is listed as Penacony???

2) ‘Dreammaster’ as Sunday’s servant, then Gopher Wood as Dreammaster. Like what does that mean

This shit was terrifying. This was the moment that made me think ‘this is lowkey Sumeru all over again’ but this time instead of power hungry sages you have several OP people in one area and a sad Christian bird boy running the show.

(By the way this ALSO ALSO made me realise that Aventurine’s eyes are like Ena the Order’s one giant eye. What’s up with that)

Argenti showing up scared the shit out of me but it was kinda funny. However I don’t know if this happened to anyone else but he just didn’t have a voice when he showed up. As in there was just zero speech, just the text.

Also ACHERON’S NAME IS RAIDEN BOSENMORI MEI WAHOO!!! All we’re missing is a Kiana expy and then we have the hi3 trio in hsr.

As for Sunday and Robin doomed by the narrative siblings auahshshdhehsjshdh. When I’m more awake I’m going to write a ten page essay on Sunday’s characterisation and how his faith pulls from Christianity/Catholicism/etc. Like it’s genuinely such a good use of Christian-type belief I’m going insaneeeeee.

Boothill is so silly I adore him. Just a silly guy. Sure he is threatening to kill Aventurine but like he’s silly.

Gallagher being a History Fictionologist was unexpected but also makes so much sense. I’m still kinda concerned about how many people refer to him as a dog in a seemingly literal sense but we’ll unpack that later. Also it makes him showing up and saving Firefly from getting arrested even funnier tbh. Cause like, I thought the stowaway the Bloodhounds were looking for was Boothill, but since Gallagher’s a Fictionologist he just fucking lied and it came true. Iconic.

What interesting about Penacony and the Xianzhou is that they both deal with death, but the Xianzhou deals with the concepts of immortality and the consequences of trying to outlive your death, while Penacony’s messaging is that death and hardship is inevitable but life isn’t worth living if you’re not willing to withstand those tragedies.

By the way I’m 1000% sure that the ‘puppets’ during Sunday’s transformation into the Dominous thingy aren’t metaphorical stand ins for the hundred thousand something Oak Family members but literal stand ins. Unless proven otherwise I think Sunday killed those guys to power up the Order death machine. There’s another universe where Hoyo doesn’t have to worry about censorship and there’s just dead bodies being moved around like puppets, trust me I’m John Hoyoverse.

There’s still a lot of loose ends to wrap up and while I’m 100% certain that 2.3 is gonna be ‘oh fuck the IPC is on Penacony’ I really hope these are resolved. Off the top of my head some of them are

Sunday and Robin’s relationship

The consequences of Sunday’s actions

Where the fuck Aventurine was if he was just in the Reef place the entire time he was ‘dead’

What the IPC actually want with Penacony (it’s probably either for profit or for dead aeon remains)

How Gallagher ended up on Penacony/how he became a Fictionologist

Is Misha still around???

Whether the absence of Order followers scheming is gonna stop the dreamscape from collapsing or not

WHERE IS FIREFLY

What the consequences of summoning a bunch of Galaxy Rangers to Penacony will be

WHERE IS ACHERON

Some of these might already be answered but this quest was like six hours long and that was with me speed-reading most of the dialogue and now it’s 1 am in the morning. I do not have enough brainpower for this shit.

I can’t wait for 2.3 the ‘Sunday goes to jail and the IPC get harassed by a Cowboy’ arc

[haleyboook]

Sexiest man alive’s photographer wife pt. 3!

Warnings: none

Word count: 2,176

check out part 2

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Squirming out from under Chris I leave the room as he takes up the entire bed

Dodger follows and I let him out while I turn the heater on in this unnecessarily cold house

While he sleeps off the alcohol I work and respond to emails

The top priority one being the People magazine one. I’ve photographed for better magazines but I think I’d enjoy this one

Who wouldn’t want to photograph the sexiest man alive?

Hell, I would enjoy it

Don’t tell Chris I said that

She calls me as I stare at the coffee pot slowly brewing coffee

“Hi”

“Hi! We wanted to solidify some plans, I have received the final decision and we have plans set in place with the winner.”

“Can I know yet?”

She pauses saying “I’m sorry. We can’t discuss it yet.”

I sigh saying “Figures. Alright, I’m back in Boston. I can do a meeting and some prep work if you’d like at the location. Have you decided where?”

“No… we were actually hoping that you had some suggestions outside of the studio.”

Nodding and drinking the hot coffee, only to spit it back out as it burns my mouth I say “I have a place in mind, but you may need to adjust your wardrobe for the shoot. My friend, is a rancher and owns a beautiful property. I can send you his info but for it to be private you’re gonna need to rent it out.”

“That can be arranged. Thank you!”

“And when do I get to meet the winner?”

“We will have a preliminary shoot a day before. When are you free? He only has one conflict with the dates you’ve provided but all the rest work. He’s pretty flexible with the schedule.”

Smiling I say unknowingly “Sounds like my kind of person.”

We both laugh and she says “Oh for sure.”

Dodger lays on my feet and I say “Let’s shoot for Wednesday. That’ll give me enough time-”

“It’s supposed to rain on Wednesday.”

I groan saying “Okay… Tuesday? Sorry I haven’t checked the weather.”

“Rain, again.”

“Monday?”

“Tomorrow? You think you could do it that early?”

“And the preliminary shoot would be…today?”

She pauses saying “Wait.. it’s Saturday? Sorry. It was a long night.”

She laughs and says “Tomorrow would be the preliminary shoot and interview and Monday would be the shoot. Do you think you could do it?”

“Yeah. I’ll move some things around.”

“Perfect. Thank you.”

I wrap up the call, petting Dodger as Chris begins to wake up. At 11, and he looks around our bedroom confused

“Did I really dream she was here?”

I drop a pan on accident, cursing as Dodger barks at me. I shush him and attempt to quietly put it away

Chris stands up and groans but smiles as he enters the room, I poorly attempt to clean up as his arms snake around me

“Honey, you’re home.”

I smile and he kisses my shoulder as I say “Only took a flight from hell to get here.”

“Well I’m thankful you’re home.”

I kiss him and he holds me tightly. I pause saying “You were drunk last night.”

“Yeah, Scott had friends from high school to meet up with and I joined. I had a bit too much to drink. I need coffee. Tons of coffee..”

He looks to the nearly empty pot as I try to slip out of his grasp. He holds me tightly as he shakes the empty pot saying “Seriously?”

I laugh as he throws me over his shoulder and says “Where did you hide it!”

“I’m sorry! You’re the one who forgot to go grocery shopping!”

He tosses me onto the couch shaking me saying “I need it!” In full actor dramatics he puts on a desperate act

He shakes his head saying “We had half a bag left.. and you consumed it all. At this point I could just..”

He pretends to fall asleep on top of me and I laugh loudly as I say “it only made like 4 cups!”

“4 cups! Only 4 cups! What are you a caffeine addict? My wife everyone… the coffee hog. Who clearly loves coffee more than her husband.”

Laughing loudly he kisses my neck saying “Tell me where you hid it.”

I go into a fit of laughs as his scruff tickles my neck and he shakes his head as he smiles to me “You’re laughing won’t help you out of this. No matter how much I love you.”

I smile widely and hold his face in my hands saying “I’ll drive you to the store. And buy you some coffee.”

“Just when I thought I could never forgive you.”

Smiling he kisses me and pulls me up to my feet

He makes a bee line for the coffee pot, dumping the half a cup of coffee into a cup

He gives me a look and I smile “Sorry.”

He says “I should’ve gone shopping. I was just too busy trying to get through to my wife via telephone. But clearly she doesn’t have a working one anymore.”

I shake my head saying “I’m telling you, flight from hell..”

He shakes his head and follows me out the door. I look to him as he gets into the passenger seat, still with his morning hair and sleepy eyes

“You look very cute.”

He looks to me and says “Handsome.”

I shake my head saying “Sure.”

I squeeze his hand as we make our way to the store, getting our coffee and going about our day

He doesn’t mention the Sexiest man alive news

And I don’t get around to it

It slips our mind as we leave work out of our day off

Just enjoying the time right now

The next day, I wake up early. Too early.

I slip the top sheet off our bed as I cover myself up with something as I slide the comforter over Chris,

kissing his lips and walking to the kitchen

“Were you really not going to call your brother in law and tell him you were home?”

I jump as I look to the door and grumble saying “Scott. Don’t scare me like that. You knew I was home already, when you dropped off my drunk husband.”

“I didn’t think you remembered that.”

Nodding I say “I do. Why are you here? We are so busy I am actually wasting time having this conversation with you.”

“Rude. I’m here to take Dodger to my sisters. Chris wasn’t anticipating you being back yet so maybe that changed. Are you naked?”

I grumble, tightening the sheet around me saying “I’m in my own home. That I own with my husband. I’m allowed to be naked. I have a sheet over me and I wasn’t anticipating you being here right now.”

He makes a face saying “What are you up to today? Chris says he has meetings.”

“Meetings. Editing. Boring contracts I’m sure. And some NDA’s most likely.”

“Fun..” he says unconvincingly

Nodding I say “I’m going to consume the remainder of the coffee left in this pot, would you mind making another while I shower and quickly leave? I need to get across Massachusetts to the site early.”

He nods and I quickly consume all the coffee and get into the shower. Changed, and out the door after a swift kiss to the top of Chris’s head

Arriving at the set I hug my friend, that owns the ranch, Aaron

“What a pay day for me. Thank you.”

I nod and say “It’s the perfect place for what I have in mind.”

He nods and hesitates but asks “So… do you know who it is yet?”

I laugh and say “No. I don’t, not yet. But soon, he’ll be here soon enough. I should go set up.”

He nods and I retreat back to my set up. Lily, my assistant that I have missed dearly that works with me in America most of the times says “I’ve missed you.”

I hug her saying “Never leave my side again. The assistants they gave me in London were so mean. I can’t believe I ever did this without you.”

She laughs and says “What camera were you thinking?”

“I want all the lenses out, but let’s stick with the newest model canon sent me. That’ll produce some good shots.”

Chris arrives and says to the assistant helping him “How did you manage to get this place?”

“Oh, they rented the whole ranch. It’s beautiful, right?”

He nods saying “My friend actually-”

He’s directed into a makeup chair and the hair dresser says to the makeup dresser “Make sure you make the makeup wind proof.”

“Same to you for his hair.”

“There’s actually not much wind here right now.” Chris admits

They both look to him and say “Your hair is darker than usual.”

“Yeah, it’s for a role.”

“Are you keeping it this way?”

He looks to them confused saying “Maybe? I’m not sure yet. My wife usually cuts my hair and dyes it-”

“Your wife is darling. That interview she did is one of my favorites.”

He nods saying “She’s amazing. I know.”

“Is she really thinking about making a cooking book?”

“No. She’s a photographer not a chef. But maybe some day. She only cooks as a hobby. She is in high demand for work lately so she doesn’t have much time for it.”

“I heard she’s actually back in the states, that’s what our assistant manager told us.”

I’m quickly surrounded by people as everyone needs to ask me a question, Chris looks over saying “Who is that?”

The makeup artist Ava says “That’s the photographer. She is amazing. I worked with her on a project a couple years ago and she produced stunning shots.”

He says “Oh really?”

“Beyond amazing. She photographed Harry Styles for Vanity Fair. Oh my god, talk about talent.”

He looks to her quickly, remembering his wife photographed him for Vanity fair and stands up from the seat

“We aren’t done…”

I look to Lily as she helps me answer questions “The winner is here, the model.”

I look around as it begins to filter out and the photo shoot set director points towards Chris

I smile as I look up and Chris quickly produces an even bigger smile as I push my camera into Lily’s arms

Chris quickly does a fast walk, near jog towards me as I step forward.

His arms are wrapped around my hips as he hugs me tightly, lifting me slightly as we both laugh loudly

He kisses my cheek “Chris.” I say as I kiss his cheek in return

I hug him tightly as he says “Well, now look at you. My darling photographer wife.”

“What are you doing here?” I laugh out as I struggle to say as he kisses my neck and his scruff sends me into a fit of laughs

Lily clears her throat, holding up a paper just handed to her saying

Talent: Chris Evans

I smile to him, hugging him tightly saying “Congratulations. I’ve known for many years that you’re the sexiest man alive but I guess the world has finally caught up with me.”

He says “I was going to tell you, but we were enjoying our time just the two of us. We needed that and-”

I kiss him and the staff freeze in place confused at what’s going on

Professionally I go by my maiden name…

But it’s kind of public knowledge I’m married to him, honestly, I go by both.

I respond to both.

Lily smiles widely as she crosses her arms waiting, Lily loves Chris. She’s been over for dinner and parties a good amount of times

We are on quote her “Auntie and Uncle.” Chris eats it up, Lily is sweet and knows us pretty well

She puts up with my artistic fits I have occasionally… more often then not

He kisses me as he says “You’re making me blush already. And here I thought I was going to get some uptight photographer that makes me pose uncomfortably for hours.”

I smile as my feet finally touch the ground once again. “Now, that’s not a given. As your wife I get away with more now. You know that.”

He shakes his head saying “You have no idea how happy I am to have you here.”

My smile beams as I scrunch my nose saying “People are looking.”

He chuckles saying “You’re punny without even trying.” I shake my head as he says “All nerves, gone. Just seeing your goofy face.”

“Beautiful is the word you’re really looking for, my dear.”

He nods and says “This is going to be the best shoot we’ve ever had, guaranteed.”

I shake my head and look to Lily saying “Give me the ole’ reliable please.”

Chris gasps saying “Ole’ Betsy?”

“Get me ole’ betsy, lils.”

Lily sifts through my many bags of equipment

Chris smiles and says “Yep. It’s going to be a good day.”

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

I’m sorry!!! One more part! And that’s it! Finals are currently happening at school so I’ve been having one every day grrrr, but here’s part 3!

Hope you enjoyed it!

I am also accepting requests through my profile!! So if I like your suggestion I will write to it!

One more part soon! ♥️

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[virgobingo]

hey! love all your jjk metas :)

just wanted to throw thoughts at you if you are interested!

so the very sparse info Gege provides for Gojo and Geto has, imo, some fridge horror to it. They must remain head-canon but I'm curious if you think my thoughts are a stretch or not.

child abuse cw

I wondered if Suguru snapping after finding Nanako and Mimiko was meant as a subtle hint at Geto, a child from a non-sorceror family, having childhood abuse background. His rampage at the village seems cohesive character-wise, but I always thought killing his parents felt a bit jarring and OOC at that point in his "insanity spiral." The first crime comes from outrage & hatred, while the latter is over the top cold logic- his explanation "it would be hypocritical to spare them" seems underwhelming to me.

2. Gojo having a bounty on his head throughout his whole childhood. He might have infinity but on a practical level, loved ones are vulnerable to blackmail or hostage situations. Logically they are a weakness and the more you have, the weaker you are.

I think Gojo has so many things going on that contribute to his isolation and inability to connect- (obnoxious personality, immense power, trauma from Toji attack) that this crazy aspect of his life is brushed off. I feel like in any other character, the bounty would be seen as a major contributor to their psychology.

We see throughout the story that anytime Gojo loves or shows humanity towards another (Amanai, Suguru, Megumi (even Yuuji)) he is narratively punished for it.

Cheers!!

hello!

thank you for sharing your thoughts! i'll try my best to explain my own. my thoughts on gojo are especially jumbled since he's such a complicated character.

(1) gege has shown himself to be the type to of artist to ground his fiction in reality. i think the narrative overwhelmingly points to jujutsu sorcerers generally being perceived as "freaks" by non-sorcerers. miminana are extreme examples of this, whereas the old man geto beat up in the hidden inventory arc is a milder one.

"how would parents react if their child told them they could see/hear things they couldn't?" -> that's the question i imagine gege asked himself when he wrote this detail into jjk.

i think geto's abilities were a cause of concern for his parents, with the potential for it to have actually translated into fear. he does seem to have a special place in his heart for chosen families. i think that suggests a difficult home life. we can only speculate how bad it was though. enough for him to go through with him killing his parents nonchalantly, as far as we know. abuse wouldn't be a wildly off-base assumption.

(2) i think gojo's character is definitely marked by his station in society. the good and the bad that come with it. people really don't tend to talk about the bounty on his head, bc it's such an "oh, by the way" fact that gege fits into the story. gege probably mulled over it though (he's a serious overthinker). so i don't think it's something ppl should dismiss when thinking about gojo's psychology. some of his self-imposed isolation can be traced back to instances like it.

as an older kid and a tween, especially. i would guess gojo was probably asking himself stuff like who can he trust in this world? who can he open up to? when the world is out to kill him. the bounty on his head also probably accustomed him to solve problems with power/violence.

i think this mindset was disrupted by geto in high school, though. gojo grows to be quite generous with his trust after him. he has a lot of faith in others as an adult. so i think geto, on top of everything, inadvertently helped gojo heal and process some of his pain from childhood.

i say this bc the disconnect gojo seems to refer to in ch 236, seems different. more a result of the higher state of mind he acquires. he basically tells geto in the afterlife that it isn't rooted in loneliness, after all. which i also take to mean, not necessarily in childhood trauma by that point. but a sense that no one can possibly understand what it means to be strong— and still be powerless.

that's why i believe gojo wasn't being punished for his humanity so much as being taught a lesson on how power can only take him so far— time and time again.

this whole lesson sets up the world to be able to move on without him. life doesn't ultimately hinge on one person and i think gojo knows this to be true, which is why he's always so.. relaxed when he's taken out of the equation. while everyone else scrambles to put him back in. (funnily enough, even fans do this). 

ppl look at him and think he's above them. when inevitably, he'll die, just as all beings do. which i think is what the following sequence was about, too. and what gojo mostly meant when he said "he alone is the honored one [to come to knows this]"(in contrast to when gege used it for sukuna(x) who goes on to distinguish himself from gojo in the way he only pleases/satisfies himself). the saying has several connotations (x).

hope that makes sense!

[raayllum]

I know you like to analyze thematically in TDP a lot and you write top down the same way, so I’m curious, what are some of the themes/motifs in your upcoming novels? and do any of them coincide with TDP?

(GASP you get a gold star oh my god thank you!! and i will try to not make this too Long but i'm very excited!!)

Basic premise for ppl who have never heard of my novels before:

Latest generation of a reincarnated group of chosen ones have to grow up in a world of increasing violence and political instability that they're supposed to fix while also facing their own choices and demons. The main character, Ally, starts off as an 'unchosen one' — she lost her powers as a young child and has been trying to get them back, which kinda makes her resent her chosen one friends just as much as she loves them. The other two co-leads are her twin sister, a former child soldier with death powers she doesn't want, and her friend / one sided rival, a draconic-powered prodigy looking for redemption and to escape her past.

The funny thing is that when I was writing out my series (2014-2017 has all the pieces we currently have, though things have ofc been finessed since then) only ATLA existed as an inspiration point, which was, "How do you always know the Avatar is going to be a good person (and what if you didn't? What if they weren't)?" + "what if there was more than one running around?"

The rest was all from my head. There's a mystical magical heart broken into pieces. A continent divided in two with a long history of war. Characters anchored to the idea of Autonomy who then go through a loss of powers arc (hi Callum s2) and then brainwashing/possession arc (hi arc 2 Callum) that was probably by far the funniest coincidence. Circles and cycles and children and choices. The fact that these all just also found their way into TDP shows just how much it feels like the show was Made For Me in the best way creatively, and one of the reasons I think I've found TDP so personally rewarding to analyze—happy coincidences all around.

There's other coming-of-age themes of course that are shared between the two—grief, identity, friendship—but being prose I get to lean more into religious and political worldbuilding in much more detail.

I think my novel(s) are also more grey and angsty (especially later on) than TDP was at the start, too. A good chunk of my protagonists don't have any moral reservations about assassinations or killing/torturing people push come to shove while also still wanting and trying to be Good People, but that just makes the ethical dilemmas more interesting to explore. That said, everything is ultimately more Hopepunk, I just prefer to never pull punches on the way there

Motifs I like to use:

a tarot inspired in-universe version of chess for foreshadowing purposes

stage motif (who are you when you're performing for everyone around you / constantly fronting?)

birds / ravens

wolves

knives

eyes / the ouroboros (snake eating its own tail)

Themes: gods vs monsters (vs humanity), complex family and friend dynamics, living vs survival, grief and cycles, loss of sense of self, idolization and scapegoating as two sides of dehumanization, etc.

I also wanted to have unique power sets (Moon is one of my favourites with leaning into shadow magic and being able to make things temporarily out of moonlight, or Life not just being all fuzzy plants and animals and showing more of the well, brutality of being alive).

People have said my main protag is basically if Claudia and Rayla were the same person and yeah that's a fair assessment, Unfortunately for her.

I feel like I blabbed enough here but if you want more info on writing things from a top-down approach / what it's like to build from theme first I'd love to talk about it more in relation to TDP (and also my books, mayhaps!)

[daniwib]

Fic Writing Review 2023

Words and fics

• 281,412 words published to ao3

• approx. 150,000 more unpublished (unfinished WIP’s)

• 2 fandoms (911 & 911 Lonestar)

• Most recent drop: Night at the (Wax) Museum – an utterly cursed piece of work that is virtually unreadable. Seriously. I dare you to try. I wrote this for a guess-the-writer event and made it so unrecognisable as my own work that virtually no one read it at all. It’s a fun story and I hope that more people will read the grammatically correct version that I’ll be posting hopefully today.  

• Longest fic in 2023: empty, broken, lonely, hoping at 44k (Buck and Christopher are presumed dead when Buck’s building burns down) This is one of my favourites this year.

Top 2023 fics by kudos

• empty, broken, lonely, hoping (Buck and Christopher are presumed dead when Buck’s building burns down). I really like this one and am quite proud of it. One of my favourites I’ve written this year.

• Losing Hope (Buck gets pregnant right before the lawsuit but loses the baby). Huh. This surprised me. I never thought I’d write mpreg or lawsuit fic OR that it would be one of my highest kudos’d fic this year. How bizarre!

Upcoming events and projects for 2024

Gah this is scary, I have so many.

Reluctant Werewolf crack – I really need to sit down and finish the last chapter of this. It’s about half done.

Coronation crack – likewise. I got blocked when RWRB was released and featured a polo scene very similar to what I was planning for Buddie in England and haven’t been able to get back to it since. I think I’ll scrap that chapter and just finish it off. I loathe having unfinished wip’s partly posted, it does my head in.

Big werewolf AU – featuring all my favourite tropes of kidnapped Buck, worried Eddie, Buck whump and Eddie whump too. I started it in January 2023. It’s fully plotted and maybe 2/3’s written at around 70k.

Navy Seal Buck – there’s something so fun about secretly bamf! Buck going all out to protect his firefam. He gets whumped during the course of, naturally. Again, started in January 2023, fully plotted and is maybe half done at about 50k-ish.

Angsty Buckley family drama set around the Madney wedding aka the one that will make you all weep. Fully plotted, partly begun.

Kidnapped TK – this one is so big and complex that I’m thinking of turning it into a novel some day. Fully plotted and partially written.

Eddie porn reviewer. Plotted only.

Buck sex worker. Plotted, partially written.

Carla romance novelist gets Buddie together. Plotted, partially written.

Plus the other 90+ ideas in my Ideas folder!

I’m unlikely to get much done before Christmas, too busy with family stuff and am recovering from having to have an emergency appendectomy while also having Influenza A this week. It’s been… rough.

Same for January as hubby and I are going on the first holiday alone together since having kids – Tasmania here we come! I am very glad my surgery didn’t ruin that.

Thank you for the tag @sherlockcrossing  

No pressure tagging: @daughterofscotland  @rogerzsteven @cal-daisies-and-briars @ronordmann and anyone else who wants to share!

Rules: Feel free to show whatever stats you have. Only want to show Ao3 stats? Rock on. Want to include some quantitative info instead of stats? Please do this. Want to change how yours is presented? Absolutely do that. Would rather eat glass than do this? Please don’t eat glass but don’t feel like you have to do this either.

[vermillion71401]

MY REVIEW ON PSYCHO PASS PROVIDENCE

Disclaimer: I’ve been Psycho Pass fans since (roughly) 9 years ago. I’ve never want to write any reviews on the series until now because I NEED THIS TO GET OUT OFF MY HEAD, and there’s some things I don’t understand. Still, I’m just a fan, this review is based on my opinion only. After I finish this so called essay, I found more question than answer, so if you don’t want extra headache, don’t read it. Also if you’re not Kouaka shipper, pass it, you’ll find me annoying.

Apologize beforehand if there’s any typo or any missed info. I hope you understand my write (English isn’t my first language, so I struggled a lot.)

This post consist on four part; review, my opinion on character, relationship, and my irregular thoughts throughout scene.

BEWARE OF THE SPOILERS.

..

STORY, CHARACTER

PPP occur after Kougami’s return to Japan. Shorty after, Peacebreaker make their way to steal Stronskaya Paper for their gain, terrorize everyone that blocked their plan. Akane can’t stay still after witnessing horrible acts of this group and their leader, determine to arrest them along with division 1 and SAD team.

Overall story is pretty straightforward, which I like. They make a new storyline and new interesting character and villain, makes it compelling. A new system like General is a fresh idea, rather than just stick with Sybil System. We actually can relate to villain, learn through his trauma and backstory, eventually we feel sympathy for him. Not to mention some cool stunt and action.

Aside from storyline, what makes this more interesting is we get to see relationship development between Kougami, Akane and Ginoza before S3. The three OG character since s1, and how they see each other now.

Akane, as a main character can finally have some development also in the end of the movie. I wish they explore it more.

MUSIC, VISUAL & ANIMATON

The music director did a good job on this. The music match with the atmosphere of the scene so well, so we, as an audience totally immerse in the story. Some soundtrack even take samples from season 1, create nostalgic feeling into it.

Production I.G did it again for visual animation! Texture detail, smooth animation and background image is top tier. I have no right to complain anything.

OVERALL CONCLUSION (7.5/10)

This is what movie should be. Action, good plot, good character development. I had so much fun than I expected to be and recommend to every anime fan to watch it.

..

MY OPINION ON CHARACTERS:

Kougami

Kougami being Kougami again. Ever since SS3, I think we truly knows what kind of person he is, and he’s never change. That might be the reason why he didn’t regret what he’s done. Some people care for his well being though, like Prof. Saiga and Akane, she’s concern he might be used as violence tool only, that’s why she actually wanted to bring him back to CID.

In this movie, aside from being agent, it’s refreshing to see him being a detective mode even for a little moment, like the scene he had with Shion, because apparently he has brain too :/

2. Akane

Some thing never change, Akane and her unshakeable trust to the system. Like I mention before, I wish they explore more the moment before she took the action.

Throughout the film, she seems more emotional than usual. Her explosive anger remind me of s2 Akane so much.

After the incident, I was speechless of how brave she is to let it all go. Imagine your flawless, peaceful, secure life suddenly take turns and now all people will label you as unhinged. She earn my respect.

3. Ginoza

He’s truly MVP, along with Sugo. He basically carried everyone, especially how he help Sugo and Frederica.

His interaction with Kougami at first is amusing and predictable. He only mad for awhile, before he finally accept him again. At the end, his face shown frustrated for Akane’s decision, leaving everything that she achieve so far. I wonder if he feel failed again to ‘save’ his friend.

4. Frederica

She’s the perfect example of good subordinate, I think. She’s the type who obedient to her boss, not judging or question Yabuki’s decision. The contrast between her and Akane in this aspect made me laugh and make me realize that Akane is such a rebel, (lol). But she wouldn’t rebel if Sybil wasn’t an asshole.

5. Akira

Sad tool to Yabuki and Shindo :’( Seriously, he remind me so much of Kougami. Akira is selfless, willing to sacrifice himself as undercover agent for MoFA. Not to mention he even beat Kougami and Sugo in close fight, state how strong he is. If it’s not because of his kindness to spare Kougami on that scene with Tonami possessing Yabuki, Kougami would be dead by now. I think that’s why Kougami make frustrated face when he die. Seriously, his death is such a shame. He also makes me think that Kougami wouldn’t end up like Tonami, but more like him, because until PP3, the man doesn’t have ambition.

..

RELATIONSHIP OPINION:

Kougami and Akane

Idk if some people see this relationship is sink, or whatever. For me it’s actually the opposite. Akane FINALLY understand Kougami a little more. Even inspired by him. I don’t know exactly what she see in Kougami that inspire her to shot Kasei, is it because despite his CC, he actually have conscience, and ‘certain’ reason to commit crime, thus leads to make people questions (and debate) his justice?

(I’m an idiot to not know this, lol).

Akane care for him. I know the official denied romance between them, but she clearly care for him. She doesn’t want him to work like a bloodthirst hound, and value his life. At the same time I can also see what writers planning to do with him since Desmond Rutaganda address him in PP movie. 

I also notice they cut down their screen time together, even some scene that usually involve in face zooming, now they don’t. They could make their reunion so much more friendly, but they choose not to. (My guess is because they’re main characters, they can’t become lovers, that could potentially mislead the genre.) Honestly, this is so sad. If they can’t make them canon, why bother making such a great dynamic between them. Male and female can’t be friends, if you ask me. It’s too late for sudden change between them.

It’s a shame because I miss them being a partner again. Fight side by side.

Anyway, probably the only person who support her deeds is just Kougami. Regarding the convo these 2 have after he shot Tonami will address later.

2. Ginoza and Akane

Ginoza intention to become shield for her is honestly so pure. His reasoning sounds like personal feelings rather than fulfilling his duty as enforcer. Other than that, I’m more curious about his feelings after the incident. From what I see through his frustrated face and kind of ‘resentment’ face in PP3, my guess he’s somewhat angry to her for sacrifice her life (and angry at himself). I wonder what kind of face he’d make if he knew Kougami inspired her (lol, rip Kougami.)

3. Kougami and Frederica

Not so much thought, beside Kougami actually look angry at her when he lied to the team and professor. Though only angry for a second, he quickly being professional again when Akane mad at Frederica. (and look at Akane face, she’s shock and somewhat feel distance because her ex-enforcer standing up to his new boss.) Poor choice of words, Kougami.

My thoughts and issues will have another post.

[nikethestatue]

I’m seeing everyone talk about plot holes and inconsistencies in HOFAS. I read the book very quickly in another language and so I don’t really remember these. What are some plot holes in HOFAS?

One thing that’s been bugging me is, probably the only hole I caught, is the concept of limbs growing back for the Vanir, but this doesn’t happen in TOG or ACOTAR. Now that we know the Fae of Midgard are exactly the Fae of ACOTAR, and the Shifters are exactly the Fae of TOG, and it doesn’t seem like any type of evolution has occurred to change the Midgard Fae at all, im confused how regeneration is a thing. I suppose it’s never directly been mentioned in TOG. But Lucien is missing an eye. That faerie in book 1 ACOTAR had his wings ripped out by Amarantha and died from it. We know angels can regrow theirs. I know Cassian and Azriel have their wings shredded and healed at different points, but to me that seemed more like skin regrowing after being damaged rather than whole limbs regrowing. Idk, these things dont bug me severely but it is noticeable…

Just off he top of my head:

Amren who arrived during the time of the asteri/daglan can offer almost no info on them

She was in Prison during Fionn's/Theia's time, but regardless, she supposedly was there in the beginning and she can't provide any insight to anyone

Bryce arrives and conveniently, they just KNOW that she is gonna go exactly where the slithering beasts are...right

When someone drops from the sky or whatever and tells you that your whole world might be re-invaded and you have a history with these immensely powerful creatures who want to come back to your planet, asking 'may i look into your head' is just fucking dumb. It doesn't make you the King of Consent. It makes you the Lord of Dumbness. Why even have this daemati power if you never use it, even to save your people and your world potentially, because you are so...honourable? Come on. That's just ridiculously stupid. And oh-so convenient.

15 thousand years is a long time, but the amount of history that the Fae lose in that time is kind of dramatic. They conveniently remember nothing about their beginnings or anything that's connected to their past. But it doesnt make sense that they would forget because they live thousands of years. That time span could be only 4-6 generations. So their 15k is equivalent to our 200 years. We DEFINITELY know what happened 200 years ago. Like between Rhys and his dad alone, it's 1,500 life span. If grandpa High Lord lives for 2K years before, and another great-grandpa for another 2-3K years, we are REAL close to 15K. But no one remembers shit.

They dont even remember who built Velaris.

So for 15K years, NO ONE, not one person bothered to go on a walkabout in Hewn City, to check out all these walls with all these stories on them. It took Bryce to drop in and just miraculously look at a wall and see the entire history of prythian just like that.

Apparently, Azriel forgot how to winnow. So they needed some very elaborate way of crossing some river. Because he couldnt just transport them across it...

According to SJM 15,000 years is close enough to have an unbelievable resemblance between Ruhn and Rhys so much so that they look like twins, all because they shared some ancient ancestor. But apparently it's far enough for Rhys to know nothing about this ancestor, even though he is her direct descendant.

You have Rhys, whose blood is 'programmed' into the Prison and its wards, you have AMren who spent TWO THOUSAND years in Prison, you have Lanthys, a death god who heard the Harp and its note singing, you have the Bone Carver who imprisoned himself willingly in Prison--and yet NOT ONE OF THEM sensed the presence of an Asteri sleeping in a glass coffin beneath their feet.

Yet Super Bryce found the sleeping Asteri in 2 days. And managed to kill her too.

I can go on and on, but I think you get the point.

Prythians look like backward dopes and maybe they are, but I don't think they are supposed to be? Like the MOST POWERFUL HIGH LORD IN HISTORY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! was taken by some girl in pink sneakers. Not to mention her stealing Azriel's prized unique dagger just like that.

[lifeonmvrs]

SPIDER-SONA TIME!!

[Image Description: two digital drawings of void-crawler (my spider-sona). the character is drawn five different times throughout the whole canvas. on the top left corner, void-crawler is unmasked, smiling and doing a peace sign. there are two white text boxes representing void’s internal thoughts that read “gotta love hammerspace. how else would my hair fit otherwise?*”. underneath there’s a turquoise text box that reads “*editor’s note: it would not.” in the middle left side of the canvas, void-crawler is shown with a surprised expression and the spidey sense lines. there’s a white bubble text that reads “omg i have squiggly lines!!”. near that drawing, there’s a smaller one with a chibi head of void doing a salute with a turquoise bubble text with a white center reading “of course, officer!”. an arrow points to text saying “talking with hero voice (a.k.a. deeper)”. on the bottom left corner, there’s an unfinished but colored drawing of void-crawler drinking a milkshake with half their mask off and with little hearts on the side. there’s an arrow pointing at the drawing accompanied by text that reads “pretend this is okay [heart emoticon] and finished…” on the right side of the canvas, there’s a full-body drawing of void-crawler. void has a hand near the face in a thinking manner and the other near the hip. to the right, there’s a written text that says “void-crawler!” in all caps. the background is a yellow note-taking paper texture. the second image shows the front and back design with some mannequin models as template. background is white. /end ID]

more info below:

alright guys, let’s do this one last time. my name is mars walker. i was bitten by a radioactive spider. and for the last 2 years, i’ve been the one and only void-crawler. i’m pretty sure y’all know the rest. i saved a bunch of people. got spider-man to be my mentor. did a couple of team-ups with him and deadpool. i saved the city but i… couldn’t save peter. i stopped fighting for a while. changed my suit and hero name. and now i’m back, stronger than ever, wahoo! because no matter how hard life gets, i always find a way to come back and save the city. cuz who else will if not me?

amazing intro proving i’m a hero… check!

whole backstory explained… on hold

hi! finally posted this, i made it like a week ago. anyway, i think i would have some extra powers, as a treat.

first of all, enhanced spidey sense. i don’t only perceive near danger but FUTURE danger as well. basically i get visions, premonitions, prophecies, whatever you wanna call them. they are always about danger and there IS a way to change them. i dont know how that would work with time and space continuum and all those complicated things, but who wants logic, boring!! (i’ll solve the plot hole soon, dw 😭🛐) (if any of y’all have any idea how to solve it, pls tell me)

i would be able to break the 4th wall cuz i constantly do irl anyway,, sometimes life follows a specific storytelling pattern and has very notorious plot armor and that makes me think “huh… weird”

i would also have sensitive senses, and that includes night vision! (i already have sensitive hearing irl and it’s a nightmare! good luck void-crawler). i could also “change” my appearance? i would not physically change it, but i would release some kind of chemicals or stuff that would make people see other thing. this is inspired by the ant mimicry spiders do. spiders DO change physically, but i think mine would be just psychologically. idk, i thought that would be cool :P

the design of my spidey suit is inspired by, spidey of course, but also by deadpool’s suit. cuz i’m obsessed with both of them atm, so had to add that to my story 👍 AND IT WILL MAKE SENSE STORY WISE MUAHAHAHA! cant wait to tell y’all the backstory.

yk that thing miles and gwen do when talking to their dad while in the spidey suit (deeper voice)? well i would do that all the time i’m talking with people that are not aware void-crawler is mars walker. and my bubble text would show that by being mostly turquoise with a bit of white in the center :3

[lestappenforever]

Controversial opinion to send here but I think Charles re-signing with Ferrari is totally the right move for him. Here's my take:

1. We are often forgetting that this year is still tying up loose ends with the remnants of what Binotto and the old crew were up to. The crew that did not prioritize Charles, and built a car not suited to him. Our frustrations with this season are tied a lot to what was left by old management.

Halfway through the season and we can see that Fred and the newly appointed heads are making good effort and progress. The car was reworked to help Charles' driving range, and the strategy overall has improved significantly from last year. Of course, strategy under pressure vs not under pressure is still to be seen. But still overall, less terminal strategic fuckups this year.

The 2024 car and the 2024 season overall will be the first one under Fred's direction as team principal, and should be the season to judge them on, not this one, or any past seasons.

Additionally, for those who think Sainz is the problem - we're finally hearing that he's only being offered a 1 year contract. If true, this means Ferrari are prioritizing Charles, and are looking for a better #2 for him. This is exactly what a team needs to win a title, and they are building that for him. They are finally going in the right direction - let's let them give it a shot.

2. Contracts as we've seen, are not set in stone. Therefore it's good that Charles is signing until 2029. Of course we know he's talented to stay in F1 anyway, but this guarantees him a seat. And if it's a 2+3 like previously rumoured, then it means he's guaranteed a seat and he still has options to leave if he wants. And in that situation, he's probably going to be the most sought after driver on the grid, and he'll get paid even more to go to another team. It's a good business move.

3. We are severely over-romanticising the situation if Charles were to leave to RB. They might get along and avoid a brocedes situation, but battling Max on his home turf where he knows all the people, how the team runs, how the car generally works, and where the entire team treats him like their golden boy - Charles will have a tough time winning there, assuming he's more talented than Max and has the speed to begin with. And he'll have to deliver on his very first season there, because new regulations are approaching and there's no guarantee RB will be good in 2026. Coming into a new team and winning a championship immediately? Nearly unheard of. As shitty as we may think Ferrari is, they have the best and only shot at beating RB these days.

4. Charles is not an idiot. We are outsiders who just see him as the Ferrari boy with a dream, but he obviously cares a lot about winning, and winning championships. He is unhappy unless he's winning, despite being in his dream team. We joke about him being brainwashed or being delusional about Ferrari, but we don't know him personally. Even so, I'd bet if you asked him would you rather win a WDC not at Ferrari, or never win a WDC but be a Ferrari career driver? He'd pick the former. If we know anything about Charles, it's that he is an insanely competitive person. He wants to win above all. Therefore, if he's re-signing with Ferrari, it's because he's seen the proof of the future project, or he knows that Ferrari is his best and only shot at a title. He knows more inside info than we do. I'm sure him and his management have done their research and made the appropriate decision.

-

Of course I understand the frustrations and it's easy to think he'd be better off if he left - but I really don't think there's a better team out there for him. Do I love Ferrari? Not as often as I'd like to. But do I think Charles should go elsewhere? No. And it's not his fault - the grid has some very talented drivers and unfortunately the other top seats are already taken. No matter what you think about Ferrari, this is still a top 3 team. Literally half the grid would probably jump at the chance to drive for Ferrari. At the end of the day, I still think it's the best option out there for Charles.

An interesting take, without a doubt, anon, and I definitely see where you’re coming from!

It's not a take that I agree with, having watched Ferrari fail time and time again for so many years, but that’s the beauty of having different opinions, and I love seeing different opinions from different people. So I'm very glad you decided to share your thoughts, and I don’t find it controversial at all. ❤️

[princess-of-the-corner]

"In what sense? Of timeline? I mean each Season is going to be roughly a year?"

Sorry for not being specific.

I meant summary of what changed in each season in comparison to Canon

Okay hm so off the top of my head without going too far into my notes:

Actually side thing is I just realized that most of the Major Changes have to do with the various villains. The Trix being salvageable to the Good Side(after a bit), Darkar getting downgraded to normal, Valtor has been changed completely tbh. The Wizards of the Black Circle have been almost completely yeeted. Tritanus is more of a civil war situation than an outright coup.

Interesting tbh.

Season 1:

Same basic plot of Bloom learning about Magic and going to Alfea, learning about her actual heritage, the Trix being fucks. Some things go sideways, some plots are diverted.

Changes include

A good chunk of adjusting the whole 'Ancestral Witches' thing and the Fall of Domino because having that happen ages ago but also less than 20 years ago is ?????. Short version: A group called 'Ancestral' that wanted to take over everything invaded Domino for the Dragon Flame. Yadda yadda Daphne yeets Bloom to Earth, gets Spirited in the process, most of the population is killed, most members of Ancestral were either killed or arrested but a few escaped. This is treated as a semi-recent tragedy that most Adult characters remember

Faeries and Witches are the same thing, just using Light vs. Dark Magic. Not different species. Not good vs evil. (Light is not always 'good', Dark is not always 'evil'). The neutral word for them is Magixae. While people from all worlds(other than Earth for reasons unknown) can use base Magic, only Magixae have major powers and can transform like they do. And they only make up a small percentage of the population.

Stella actually has plans to study as both a Faerie and a Witch because stuff with Solaria and the duality and all that. She's starting with Faerie though.

Alfea/Cloud Tower/Red Fountain are colleges, not high school

Bloom actually has friends back in Gardenia, though they're all going off to college, but they appear when she goes home for breaks

Bloom is 100% aware she was adopted and they do kind of assume from the get-go that her bio parents might be from one of the other Magical Realms and she just ended up on Earth

Winx is very 'Sci-Fi disguised as Fantasy' so I'm leaning hard into the fact that they're all aliens and have non-human features and biology which will get explored!

Sky and Brandon still switch places, though it's less 'prince and the pauper' and more a legitimate thing of there's been assassination attempts on the royal family. Diaspro and the arranged marriage also still exist, but Sky is 100% adamant that he's not going to marry her no matter what their parents say.

The Riven/Darcy plot is a legit thing with like. No hypnotisim just genuinely liking each other even if Darcy did start it up just for info. Temporary breakup when the Trix go full evil but....

Kinda dragging the Trix into more 'somewhat understandable, villains with genuine goals not just' to be evil, salvageable and will be dragged to the Good Side eventually' kinda plots. Longer posts on that, but Darcy is the first to jump ship because she's like 'Look I am an ambitious, power-hungry bitch, but I draw the line at full on murder/massacres'. (Speaking of, don't. Don't question the logic re: befriending the person who tried to destroy the world last week. I'm doing some Friendship is Magic shit wtih this we only think about fucked up implications when we want to.)

Diaspro also gets some character development when she tries to take Sky out of the major battle and he decides to stay

Bloom's adoptive parents and friends from back home get dragged into this and are actually helpful in the battle.

Season 2:

Mostly the same plot re: Pixies, Darkar, adding Aisha, so on and so forth. Lot of changes to what Darkar is and the whole shadow phoenix/shadow flame thing with a touch of change to Dark Bloom.

Changes off the top of my head:

Diaspro and Darcy are now added to the main cast as well. Diaspro enrolled herself into Alfea because she wants to find something to do other than being Sky's trophy wife(he's still not into her). Darcy is serving community service. Both of them get dragged into the main plot because the adventure is underground and their powersets are great for this.

Darkar has been downgraded to 'just some guy'(which like. Having a supposed Deity be defeated in only one season and never come back? Kinda lame!). Previous member of that 'Ancestral' group that attacked Domino. Wants the Dragon Flame for the original 'let's take shit over reasons.

His plan involves the Dark Bloom thing. He learned from seeing the Trix fail that taking the Dragon Flame by force won't work, so he decides that using magic brainwashing stuff to have Bloom turn against her friends would work. So we get him posing as Avalon to get access to her.

The "Dark Bloom" thing isn't a 'Dark Faerie', but Bloom channeling the dark/negative emotions into her Magic and going Witch(remember: same species, just depends on where they draw their Magic from)

What is the 'Shadow Phoenix' thing? The opposite energy to the Dragon Flame? It's the Dragon Flame itself. Some yin and yang shit. It is everything. Creation and Destruction, Life and Death, all of it.

Oh also Riven can go Faerie and we get some of his trauma lmao.

Season 3

Final year of Alfea, earning Enchantix, etc. Some of the plots are the same. But there are many a change!

So, firstly, I switched up things for gaining new forms. Charmix was just kind of a 'natural level up progression', but Enchantix takes the new 'you have to overcome something personal'. Mostly because I think it's fucked that Enchantix is supposed to be the normal endgoal(with other forms being optional) but you have to die to get it??? Also there's too much bullshit regarding 'must save someone from your world' because hello??? How do you decide that what counts as 'their world? What do you do with Bloom other than Mary Sue her way out of it?

So everyone gets a plot relating to overcoming something, but we're also going on trips around the Realms and visiting their Homeworlds.

This is probably the most plot-heavy season as everyone has their own arcs going so I won't go into it all here.

But also know that as we're trraveling to all the worlds, we get a LOT of worldbuilding

[cpunkwitch]

answering my own questions

[pt: answering my own questions]

dont really get sent anything and not many people sent in the questions when the games were posted and reblogged, and i wanted to talk about stuff, so here we are.

this might end up being a multiple part post series?

ask game one (link)

(if comfortable) tell us about your condition? as much info as youre comfy with sharing.

i have a defect in the base of my spine, since i was born its caused me chronic pain all throughout my development and in recent years its only gotten worse, twisting my spine, headaches, jaw issues etc. i've also got highly suspected rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia and ive been diagnosed with a pretty bad case of anemia so bad that everytime a doctor looks at my results after bloodwork they give me a pained look and say "heyy...did you know your iron is low? like...really really low?". that and a hand full of other things, vitamin deficiencies, etc. i dont mind talking more about this

2. do you know about the spoon theory? if yes, what do you think of it?

i'll be honest, the majority of my knowledge of spoon theory off the top of my head is that "drawer with limited supply of spoons" is the disabled way of saying i only have so much motivation and energy (phys, as "battery" usually refers to social and emotional) in me. i've read up on it ages ago but would not be able to put into better words what i still remember about spoon theory (esp since we had a different host back then), i like that its just so much quicker and easier to convey my amount of ability to do things for the day by saying whether or not i have the spoons for it.

i do like to joke that my drawer is always stocked with knives and forks for the ablests, but sometimes that requires spoons to handle too. /silly

3. do you have mobility aids? if yes, which ones? if no, do you want any in the future?

i've mention how i really wish i could have a wheelchair if i were in a different situation, i dont know if i'll ever get one and i almost cried when my brother responded to my joke of "would you make on for me?" with an "i would if i could", i really would like a wheelchair of some kind in the future if the world were more accessible and i were in a safer place. right now though, i've just got my cane that still needs repainting. i guess my moms back brace counts too, i take it with me to work sometimes.

4. how did you find out about cripplepunk? what drew you to the community and movement?

i dont exactly remember but i've known about it for years. i (prev host) might have come across it looking up different punk aesthetics, though im not completely sure why it showed up in a punk aesthetic list, possibly because its punk and people misinterpreted it? my first glimpse was seeing patches on jackets, spiked customized aids, cripples/phys disabled people in your classic punk attire (piercings, dyed spiked mohawks, ripped jeans and fingerless gloves) and i loved it. im a sucker for self expression through appearance and customizing things and then when i found out it was a whole community for support and centered around being physically disabled in general and slowly came to terms with my own disabled body and started accepting myself, i kinda fell in love with cripplepunk in the "this feels like home" sense.

i could probably ramble way more but i'll stop there.

5. if you deal with any kind of pain, what's your method of pain management?

i use hot packs, ice packs, voltaren cream, sometimes i take a cbd gummy, i do little stretches when i remember them, i take walks and hot baths/showers, im trying to go back to the chiropractor and my favourite instructors in rehab (theyre trans friendly and complimented my cane when i first came in with it i love them so much), and i take whatever meds i can, normally anti-inflammatory like ibuprofen but because i cant swallow pills i either take liquid (yeah, childs liquid meds works, the couple hours of mild relief is still worth it) or powdered tylenol or something. the hot/cold stuff depends on the pain and where on my body the pain is.

6. do you stand or sit in the shower or do you prefer baths/find bathing easier rather than showers?

i take baths for my muscles and during the damn monthly ouch in order to relax my body. i take showers just for my shoulders and when im feeling icky and wanna rinse off or something, i take showers on a "regular" basis and i normally stand because the only way i sit is if im crouched in the tub and if i do that i get extra dizzy standing up to get out when i turn the water off. thankfully im no longer near passing out when i take a shower but i still have to sit on the floor matt after because my legs demand rest. i gotta be careful with hot water cuz not only will it make me overheat quickly (i will not realize if in standing in blood-boiling hot water and turning myself into a cooked lobster until after im out) but it can also cause me to literally fall asleep in the bath which can go wrong.

7. do you have a sort of comfort item or safety blanket that helps you feel better, especially on the worst days?

a couple things. a few of them are stuffies/plushies, or music, games or books to help me keep my mind off it i suppose.

8. name 3 things you hate about hospitals/doctors/nurses/the medical system

a) a lot of them refuse to take people seriously or actually listen. sure maybe theyre tired or heard the same shtick before and wanna make sure this person isnt just a drug user trying to pity their way into getting more, but even then all matters a patient presents them with should still be taken seriously and never brushed off or mocked.

b) the fact that the er, the place you take a ticket and wait, is called the Emergency Room, when its normally scheduled appointments and people taken in by the ambulance that are top priority. sure its called the er because most visits through the er are rushed "emergency" last minute visits, people going there because they couldnt schedule an appointment and needed to see someone on that day, but still it feels wrong to call it the emergency room when its really just a waiting room and regardless of the visit they arent actually treated as emergencies. the whole system of just going to see a doctor feels messed up and most of the time you end up just going to see a nurse, get a check up and leave when they tell you what they got after a talk and examination or they schedule to see you again when a doctor is available. because of this i tend to prefer walk in clinics.

c) the fact that they charge to damn much, no matter if youre insured, it still charges so much. no matter what they do. and yeah, healthcare in canada is free to an extent if youre insured but a lot of times they charge more than your insurance can cover and not everyone can get/has insurance. not to mention the medical debt so many people have in america. i get that staff and hospitals need pay and funding but the government should have that covered and not have the patients charged so much for getting help. i almost got charged over 3k just for my short visit to the ward because there was an issue with my insurance and thats a whole angry story for another time.

9. whats an accessibility tool you wish was more accessible/that you had access to?

one of them is aac, the one i have on my phone i have to disconnect my phone to and has a limited amount of phrases i can pick from. id like it better if the app or just aac programs in general when directly to your device speaker by default, had more options for more ease conversing and none of them were behind a damn pay wall, in-app purchase or otherwise. i rarely use it for several reasons but i'd love if i could use it more with less limitations.

also wheelchair ramps. i dont have a wheelchair ramp but i wish people stopped walking on them when theyre clearly able-bodied, i wished my parents taught me and my siblings what the ramps were for and not to run up and down them as well as other parents to their kids because those things are supposed to be clear for a wheelchair user. i also think the corners should be rounded for ease of turning and that wheelchair accessible paths in general should be firm to the ground (not a wimpy matt on the sand that flips over and gets buried on the beach unmaintained), maintained and cleaned regularly, not have any gaps (ive seen so many of the small ones installed in doorways that have a height gap above the ground which causes trouble getting the wheelchair on the ramp let alone through the damn door) and not have railings made of metal if theyre outside (they can often reflect light into peoples eyes and get too hot to touch in the sun both of which are not good issues to have no matter how small they seem.)

those are at least the first to come to mind.

10. whats the worst accessability cockblock you've seen ableds do/make?

theres quite a few i've seen but atm nothing significant comes to mind other than overpricing mobility aids or placing paywalls in front of aids in general.

however there was the few times in more than one school i went to you had to go to the office, provide a 'valid' reason and ask them for a key to the elevator, otherwise they make you take the stairs. i know they do it because they dont want able-bodied kids messing with it n shit but its stupid, it should be accessible to everyone regardless. thank fuck both collages ive been to so far give free elevator use to any staff or student but in the schools i went to i was only allowed have the access key because i couldnt walk up the steps on my sprained/twisted ankle and i had to give it back at the end of every day. the last school even limited my use to just the morning or 1-2 periods that i had on the second floor. nevermind if my locker was up there.

11. whats an accessibility tool youre very thankful for?

screen readers. my little brother uses/used em more than me and i dont use them too often but im glad they exist in general i used them when i was younger and my english teachers gave us work on the computer, i used it like an audiobook and it helped me majorly. i hate that people dont always provide translations to things and make things harder on screen readers by using coloured, tiny, non-serif font-ed or 'quirked' text but ever since i was a kid i was just as happy they existed as i was about braille.

12. name 3 things you like about hospitals/docs/nurses/the medical system

a) that there are some people there who are actually hoping, willing and ready to listen and help others.

b) that they provide things for kids like toys in the waiting room, people who specialize in caring for kids in the hospital, some doctors even have their office decorated. one doctor i went to had her entire office winnie the pooh themed and it helped me out a lot when i got blood work done n stuff, it was really comforting to stare at pooh bear instead of the sharp pokey in my arm.

c) that things are usually kept quiet with low voices, as it reduces risk of overstimulation as well as avoids hurting anyones head and protects privacy of those talking about whats going on. voices are usually only raised to a normal talking level when in the privacy of a nurse or doctor office and its something i dont see really acknowledged anywhere.

13. do you have any favourite disability rep? (media or character)

not picking from my own sources, when it comes to physical disability rep, its hard for me to pick something that involves a realistic character because most of them arent very well portrayed or i cant personally relate to. i can list Freddy freeman as one, hes a crutch user and how the shazam movie portrayed him does well in expressing what ableism can be like for some visibly disabled kids in school. i could probably list some shows that handle disability well through other means if i thought of them, i know theres a few that handle it through super heros being disabled (the one spider-person who's got both a wheelchair and a cane from the recent spiderverse movie for example) or non-human characters having differences that are implied to be disabilities, and i adore that creativity, especially with showing disabled super heros as it tells disabled kids theyre still strong, not broken, they can still be cool and do great things just like able-bodied people. hard for me to name specific things off the top of my head though, guess i like specific tropes around disability rep more than anything. it helps normalize disability and thats what really makes me happy with it. (thats a big reason why i made @/your-fave-is-crippled)

14. least favourite/worst disability rep?

not phys disabled but sia's fucked up movie right off the bat still angers me. i cant name any specifics once again, normally if theres some rep that i dont like i purposely forget they exist to begin with, they arent worth remembering if they arent gonna do it right, y'know? id rather forget and move on than linger and rage about it if i can help it.

15. list some creators (youtubers/bloggers etc) that are disabled and/or cater to a disabled audience that you enjoy? (if any)

@crippled-pvp, @cripple-culture-is are a couple blogs i follow that i enjoy seeing on my dash (sorry if you dont want to be tagged!)

there was a deaf/hoh girl i used to frequent the content of as she talks a lot about signing and i really enjoyed her videos, shes such a sweet person but i never remembered her name nor any of the other creators i watched/followed. no one else comes to mind atm

16. favourite aspect about the general disabled community?

i like that there are people with advice at the ready, whatever question you have or info you need etc, theres always going to be someone with the words you need. i just like how helpful people can be in general in this community and how easily support is accessed through the community.

17. least favourite aspect about the general disabled community?

the fact that theres in-fighting, fake claiming, judgment, quick assumptions, and general internalized ableism still going on when we're supposed to be a community helping each other out not tearing each other down. im not just talking about the fight over "inclusion vs exclusion" on cripplepunk and other sub/separate communities in the disability community.

18. favourite aspect about cripplepunk?

i think my answer to "what drew you to cripplepunk" also answers this.

19. least favourite aspect about cripplepunk?

honestly? none. i hate the people forcing themselves into a space not meant to include them nor benefits them in the first place. i cant actually think of an issue i have with the cpunk community, only issues with people outside being upset over how "exclusive" it is because they want in.

20. free space:

feel free to ask me about any of my answers! i'll make a second post for the second ask game some other time. its currently 11pm and i have to get up early for morning classes yuck

[ID: banner reading "dni if... proship, transx/id, syscourse/discourse blog, anti-mspec lesbians/gays, anti-lesboy/turigirl more in pinned rentry. this blog is protected by the addams family, the de rolo family and co." in all black lowercase text. It has a grey cloud background. On the left is the De Rolo coat of arms with a cobweb in the top corner and symmetrically flipped on the right is the symbol of Vox Machina with the same cobweb in the bottom corner :End ID]

[ridiasfangirlings]

1/2) "also don't get me started on the ways Homra in Las Vegas did not line up with Case Files". Please, tell us more about this. And how do you think the situation could have been saved? What to add or remove? I have a feeling that when writing the story about Homra, the author was too lazy to read the story about Scepter 4 and he asked a person from the outside to read the parts with Homra and write down the key points on pieces of paper, and then he lost half of the pieces of paper,

Keeping in mind that I haven’t got time to go reread all of Case Files or Las Vegas, I’ll start by listing some of the major inconsistencies that come to mind off the top of my head. First, there’s the issue of Fushimi’s reason for going to the US and his movements throughout. In Case Files it’s indicated that his express reason for going was to get the components for what would become the Yuishiki system, and the narration at least makes it feel to me like meeting Homra was an unexpected (and unwelcome) side issue: “As far as he was concerned, his trip to America was all kinds of wretched. He was exhausted to the bone by having to play along with the stupidly cheerful locals, and just as he was preparing to leave, he ran into “acquaintances” by chance and got dragged into trouble he absolutely had neither need nor time for. As a result, he had been wounded in the arm and forcibly rewarded with American confections he wanted no part of as a present.” This definitely reads to me that Fushimi was not aware that Homra was in America and that his meeting them was something random he didn’t expect.

By contrast, Homra in Las Vegas has Timeless Palace very clearly asking Fushimi to go to America because of the Mizuchi issue, they know Homra is going to Las Vegas and Fushimi is asked there as a former member and someone who dealt with Mizuchi in the past. In that case, Fushimi should know Homra was there — even if he did additional training while all this was going on, he still knew 100% that Homra was in the US and was waiting for them. Timeline wise this also gets messy with Case Files because Fushimi has several phone conversations with Hidaka throughout, including one where Fushimi is stated to be at a fancy party with people trying to feed him. If he’s in Las Vegas waiting on Homra, where did he get the time to go to a random party? In addition the epilogue of part one straight-up states that Fushimi was called back early to deal with the S4 issue. But the Homra issue is already resolved by the time Fushimi leaves, so technically the reason he was there is done and complete. Munakata also seems very calm when calling Fushimi at the airport in the aftermath, not like he’s hurrying Fushimi home at all, even though as mentioned Case Files literally states Fushimi was called home early and intended to do more training. 

The second big issue is Totsuka. In Case Files Munakata runs into Totsuka in the archives of S4, looking up information on “a certain Strain.” Which Strain, you ask? Not sure, because a Strain isn’t involved in Las Vegas! Mizuchi and Ed are both former clansmen. Totsuka also responds to Munakata asking about Mikoto with “Well… At present, his life is being targeted both by the American government and an insanely strong assassin the likes of which we’ve never seen before, but other than that, yes, I suppose he’s well. Business as usual.” This does somewhat track with Homra in Las Vegas, since Mizuchi was at least originally involved with the US government and Ed could be considered a strong assassin…but neither one of them is an issue at this point in the timeline, because Fushimi’s already come home and the matter was settled before he left America. So why is Totsuka even there? There shouldn’t be any info at this point that’s so urgent he needs to come all the way home while the rest of Homra is still in Las Vegas. 

Between these issues it really feels like the novels are only vaguely related, honestly I almost feel like they should have just left Homra’s actions in Las Vegas as a vague behind the scenes thing and just made the actual story like them at some onsen in a rural Japanese town away from Shizume and that’s where everything goes down, because Las Vegas largely exists to be complement Case Files and it doesn’t. Practically the only thing they remembered was Fushimi injuring his arm in Las Vegas. I feel like this could have been fixed pretty easily too: first, have Fushimi meet with the Rabbits not in S4 but when he’s in America. Rather than the Rabbits asking him to go to America, simply state he was already in America for training and was interrupted. Now all his scenes calling Hidaka can be assumed as having happened before he was called away, and he still leaves early (and change that phone call with Munakata in the final chapter of Las Vegas to indicate as much, that the Homra mission interrupted his training and now he’s being sent home early). 

The other issue I suspect is due to Gora trying to finish Homra in Las Vegas within a year’s timeframe, so they had to shorten the story: I wouldn’t be surprised if they’d already forgotten Totsuka referencing a Strain, and because they only had so much room for the story Fushimi would have to go home quite early on for the story to still continue on without him afterward. In general I would say this was actually one of my biggest disappointments with Homra in Las Vegas, I felt like it was really just getting started and then it ended. I can absolutely see a version where Ed runs off after fighting Fushimi and Yata, Fushimi gets called home and has to leave, Homra regroups and discusses the joint issue of Ed and Mizuchi. Maybe they mistake Ed for a Strain somehow and that’s why Totsuka has to go back to S4 for info, which is where he learns that Ed truly is a clansman of Kagustu (something S4 would absolutely have on file), and he returns to Las Vegas at a crucial moment with this information. This leads into a big final battle that ends the story. Basically the story needed a little more room to breathe in order to fit with Case Files and I think just to work as a standalone story, and unfortunately due to the schedule Gora set for themselves it ends up as a weird little side story that doesn’t quite fit with Case Files and isn’t really satisfying as a standalone either.