#still. thinking about it. special vs lucky

[laniidae-passerine]

if we were to look at it through a racial lens, I do find it very interesting that Jupe’s wife is white. that the audience at Star Lasso are majorly white. that he’s basically robbing the Haywoods, a black family, of their horses to feed them to an alien creature for white people’s entertainment. that he was the token asian adoptee in sitcom as a child. the model minority. fitting himself back into a system that used and failed him as a child, so he can find some semblance of respect and power as an adult man, only to still be swallowed up whole.

[utilitycaster]

Part of why it’s tough to talk about the most recent episodes is that I feel a lot of people treat party dynamics, culpability vs. victimhood, and overall character focus on the show, based on an idea of a zero sum game, and I find that fallacious.

It’s really valid for everyone to be furious at Ashton, and I don’t think anyone has behaved wildly inappropriately towards them. I don’t think Bells Hells behaved in a therapy-approved manner either, but as is frequently discussed this is fiction and not real life and therapy-approved discussions are so boring and unnatural in, to be honest, either fiction or real life, that this is not a metric anyone whose opinion I respect would use.

It’s also extremely understandable how Ashton got here. As Taliesin said on 4SD, and now in-game and in-character, the fact that nothing good had ever really happened to Ashton means that they jumped at the first sign that they might be special and ran with it. The Ashton and FCG parallels continue; the past week has been a bunch of important people telling him how unique and cool he is. Jumping into the lava even worked out well for them! And so, riding high on that hubris, and with the knowledge that the rest of the party would probably stop them, they deliberately deceived everyone but Fearne. He even admits that the fact that “very smart people” (Evontra’vir, Allura, arguably Percy) advised against it was part of why he made the decision he did. It was perfectly in character, it did come from their trauma, and it still was a choice that was harmful to them, to the rest of the party, and to a vitally important mission. Ashton covers the situation well: they wanted someone else to blame, but in the end it was their fault.

Ashton is both deeply traumatized and also responsible for a number of their own problems. To be honest, I think this can be said to an extent about everyone in the party, but that’s beside the point. Within the fandom, swinging entirely to one side (They are a horrible selfish monster who ruined everything and are lucky the party is still talking to them) or the other (He has had a very hard life and exploding hurt a lot and everyone should be nice to him as a result) is an incomplete picture at best and a realization of the post author’s unexamined bias at worst.

It’s much easier to cover the other kind of zero sum: that of the show’s, and the fandom’s focus. The show is telling a story. In a good story, everyone will get their time in the sun, but if you’re counting how many minutes each person talks you have quite literally lost the plot. If your favorite isn’t getting the time you wish they did, it’s worth considering what sort of actions they take. Rarely do I find a main PC to actually be sidelined; more frequently, they just have a more subtle plot and the actor playing them realizes this. And in the case of the fandom’s focus; I’d be a hypocrite if I said complaining wasn’t valid, but you’ll achieve far more by making good posts about an underrated character than whining that other characters exist. People can enjoy multiple things at once, and frequently do.

[kyrieeleisonelise]

Ai + Nino vs Ruby +Kana

The narrative is clearly drawing a parallel between Nino and Ai’s relationship compared to Kana and Ruby. Both involve a hardworking and talented girl (Nino and Kana) feeling growing resentment and bitterness when they are outshone by a newcomer who’s somewhat troubled, but has something ‘special’ about them, and gets favoured by others.  (Ai and Ruby). 

But how similar is the relationship? Is Ruby and Kana’s friendship just as doomed as Ai and Nino’s? 

While they are only meant to be playing roles, it’s clear that Kana does have genuine resentment and jealousy towards Ruby. The fall out between them is real. 

  It’s not touched on much, but it’s mentioned a few times that Ai was favoured by management- Ichigo saw her as a daughter. Similarly, Miyako is Ruby’s adoptive mother, so Ruby does get favoured in the group. 

We are shown just like Nino, Kana is completely outshone by Ruby as an idol. Ruby has more fans and gets more opportunities. Nino and Kana went from main-players to just backup for their more popular member . 

Nino is still fixated on Ai, feeling intensely jealous and hateful of her, but also greatly admiring her and putting her on a pedestal. Kana has been shown to relate to these feelings more and more. 

The latest chapter with Kana playing Nino and Ruby playing Ai shows how the original confrontation plays out.

Nino starts by expressing how lucky Ai is, and how much more popular she is. Nino isn’t initially overtly hostile, but is clearly upset. 

But Ai is very dismissive. It’s not clear if she’s being dense/doesn’t know how to handle the situation, but it comes across like she just doesn’t care. She doesn’t stop eating her ice cream even when Nino is clearly upset. 

Nino gets increasingly frustrated and escalated and says some awful things to Ai, but Ai seems almost completely unbothered, not even breaking her smile. When we saw current-Nino a few chapters back, this event and the following fallout has clearly still deeply impacted her. 

Nino simultaneously hates and is obsessed with Ai. 

Nino is resentful for what she feels Ai took from her, but the fact she was unable to move her emotions a little makes Nino interpret Ai as this almost superhuman infallible being. She puts her on a pedestal. 

Nino was never able to resolve her issues with Ai, because from her point of view, Nino hated and admired Ai to such an extreme degree, and Ai didn’t particularly care at all. She was just a detached being who was vaguely ‘trying to love her’ even if Nino was trying to hurt her. 

But did Ai really not care? Was she as unbreakable as Nino thought she was? Was she so detached from others that nobody could hurt her? 

Not according to Ruby’s interpretation of her reaction. 

With the latest chapter, we have the benefit of hearing Kana’s interpretation of Nino’s character. 

As Kana is playing Nino, she realises that Nino and Ai probably used to be friends. 

It could of just been an ordinary fight between girls, but because of Ai’s emotional walls the argument was never resolved and turned into a much, much bigger rift. Nino wouldn’t of been so upset with Ai if she didn’t originally think of her as a friend. This chapter seems to imply that Nino wasn’t just jealous of Ai, but also incredibly hurt when she felt she couldn’t reach her in any way. 

. 

Nino was deeply wounded by Ai’s seeming indifference to her suffering and to her vitriol. Not only does she continue to hate Ai for hurting her, she also admires her for her skill/talent and see’s her as untouchable and unmovable. 

I explored it a bit further in a previous post, but I think Ai’s handling on Nino’s emotions was due to her lack of social skills/minimising as a defence mechanism rather than indifference.

Will Kana and Ruby end the same way? 

I don’t think so. 

Although Kana is in a similar position to Nino in the recent arc and there have been a lot of parallels, she is a very different character. Nino was a rookie idol and probably much younger than Kana at the time of the argument (if she’s the same age as Ai, probably about 14?). 

Kana is a young adult whose spent decades in show biz and has more life experience than most people her age. Even though Kana has insecurities and can be impulsive/hot-headed she has   had to be resilient to last as long as she has in show biz. 

Ruby is by no means the first person Kana has had to compete against or felt jealous of. Show business is full of competition. Akane is Kana’s main rival for example. Akane has arguably more for Kana to be jealous of; she’s more successful as an actress and she was dating the boy Kana liked. 

Although she is jealous of Ruby, Kana has enough self-insight not to completely loose her mind to it like Nino. 

The only reason she originally expressed her resentment was to help Ruby act (although I believe this was a little extreme and misguided).

Kana’s maturity compared to Nino is evident throughout this chapter with her insightful analysis of Nino’s feelings/her relationship with Ai. 

 Nino doesn’t have the foresight to see how Ai’s background in a children’s home has lead to her developing maladaptive coping strategies. Kana is also able to recognise to an extent how Ruby’s difficult past impacts her behaviour, and has empathy for her. 

Importantly, it’s been established multiple times that Kana’s speciality is acting. Although she does feel jealous of Ruby, part of her knows that ultimately being an idol isn’t her dream. Being an actress is. Kana can never surpass Ruby as an idol, but I don’t think Kana’s true-calling is to be an idol. Even during her argument with Ruby, she specifies that she can’t surpass Ruby as an idol.

Compared to Ai and Nino, where Ai is portrayed as a ‘better’ version of Nino (At least of Nino’s ‘ condensed character-type’ she portrays as an idol).

And Ruby? Ruby is very different from Ai. I’ve mentioned it before in a previous post that Ruby does hide darker parts of herself to an extent, but Ruby is much more open emotionally than Ai.

Just compare their reactions to their friend telling them to die/disappear. 

Ruby does not hide that she is deeply, deeply hurt by Kana. Unlike Nino, Kana is never left feeling that Ruby never cared about their friendship in the first place. 

Ruby allows herself to be vulnerable more than Ai ever could. While Kana admires Ruby, she doesn’t put her on a pedestal, she knows she isn’t a the ‘ultimate invincible idol’. 

During Ruby’s black-star era/rise to fame she was so fixated on revenge that her friendship with Kana and Mem fell on the wayside, but it was clear she still cared about them.

The lead up to Ruby and Kana’s argument is complete different. Instead of being on completely opposite ends of the emotional spectrum, they’re both emphasising with each other; Ruby is worried how her performance will impact Kana’s career, and Kana understand Ruby’s desperation to do well in the movie.  

I don’t know if Kana and Ruby will make up in the next chapter or if this argument is going to continue on. Ruby doesn’t seem to be in the best mental state, so she may not be ready to make amends with Kana immediately. 

I have a feeling the emotions of the characters is going to continue to run parallel to the emotions of who they’re playing in the script. 

But ultimately, I don’t think Ruby and Kana are doomed to follow in Ai and Nino’s footsteps. They are both different people.

I also wonder if Nino and Ai’s relationship would of ended differently if Ai hadn’t been killed. I think Ai matured a lot from her argument with Nino (14) compared to when she had her babies (16). If she hadn’t died, maybe Ai could of matured enough to communicate with Nino and Nino could of matured enough to understand Ai.

This is pure speculation, but I think Ai’s death traumatised Nino to the extent she is frozen in time, unable to move past her childish view of Ai as the perfect idol. A former friend who you wished dead actually getting killed has to be pretty traumatic (and of course, there’s always the possibility of Nino being involved in Ai’s murder which is another can of worms/ ) 

[zoe-oneesama]

What did you think of the explanation about the Rooster Miraculous powers in the episode Destruction? In my opinion it was a enlightening explanation (considering that we are talking about ML), but it also have a few incongruences, like the Lucky Charm and the Genesis, that are very similar powers (sure, they're not the same power, but have a lot in common)

"Enlightening" is not the word I would use.

For one, it's just a rehash of all of That Guy's arguments on the subject in real time, so that's kind of funny. That said, it was pretty much given that they HAD to put this in early in the season or people would be all up their ass about "Why doesn't Gabriel do THIS?" with all these new powers.

I think it's good that the Rooster can't disrupt kwami magic: in this case, the ability to give away other holder's identities. Kwamis themselves can't tell you a name because of magic, so it makes sense that the Rooster, channeled through a Kwami, could also not disrupt this magic. It makes me wonder, then, if the Rooster cannot give the ability to disrupt other kwami's abilities - for example, can the Rooster not give the power to get through Shell-ter or Resistance?

I'm a little put out that the Rooster can't copy other Miraculous abilities ONLY because, thanks to the New York Special, we know there are HUNDREDS of Miraculouses and Kwami, so that *technically* would be very limiting. But I also get they needed to get out of the way that the Rooster can't just make up for any reclaimed Miraculouses or the main two, and in the scale of just the show, this is probably fine. (But maybe don't introduce the idea of HUNDREDS OF POTENTIAL POWERS THAT THE ROOSTER CANNOT GIVE YOU?)

"Sublimation: I give myself the power to shoot ice from my hands!" "Sorry, your request is denied: That power belongs to the Kwami of Loneliness."

The reason Orikko can't do this is something about each kwami represents a concept and you can't have duplicates of the same concept (unless the concept is Replication lmao). So even though some kwamis holder's abilities are similar (like the Goat and Ladybug), because they are different concepts (Passion vs Creation) it's technically allowed because they're not stepping in on each other's turf.

This apparently doesn't stop the butterfly or peacock, though, since we've had SentiPace, Volpina, and Copycat~ sucks to suck Orikko.

And then of course the third "explanation": Orikko can grants powers, not wishes. Thing is they STILL DIDN'T PROPERLY EXPLAIN THE DIFFERENCE IN THE CONTEXT OF THIS SHOW! I STILL do not understand what constitutes as a desire vs power.

Gabriel tells Orikko to grant him the power to locate the Ladybug and Chat Miraculous and they explain that's a wish not a power, but their example ala Xuppu does NOT explain whether or not if Gabriel just rephrased the skill (like, grant me the power to summon the Ladybug and Chat Miraculouses to my hand when I snap my fingers) if THAT would ALSO not be allowed.

Xuppu's analogy is If I Ask Santa for Socks, That's a Wish, but If I Ask Santa for the Power to Make Socks, Santa Has to Know How to Knit Socks In the First Place to Teach Me-

Which just implies that the Rooster can only grant powers that Orikko already knows how to do???? Should've just cut out the "Santa has to know how to knit" part because now there's extra steps.

So basically, the Rooster can't override kwami rules, like the inability to give away holder identities, can't copy other kwami's powers, and can only grant ability type powers, not "wishes" (the definition of which is still not clear and feels like it could be worked around).

This Miraculous needs an instruction manual.

[tendergraphite]

Francis Is The Worst Character. (And Why You Should Think So Too.)

My first Francis post, and it's probably not the one people wanted. Lemme paint the scene—You've just committed a murder, so are on a drug/drinking spree for the night so you can feverishly ignore the fact you are having a mental breakdown. You awaken in your own bed after (Lucky you?) To your best-friend at your bedside. He makes you tea! All is lovely and you're still buzzing quite a bit from the previous escapades; You are very much not sober.

You are unconcerned, I mean? You've already set a clear boundary with your friend, and he knows you are uninterested (Either that, or not ready yet.) So you turn around, because you trust him—And then your best-friend assaults you.

Wouldn't the first thing you would feel, be betrayal?

In what way, is that sexually appealing whatsoever outside of fantasy? ''Oh but this book is fic-'' It's set in a realistic setting, it's fiction yes, but is supposed to be read as something that could really happen. The other thing here is intent, how did the writer intend for this scene and it's characters to be read? Well, let's consider how Francis has actually been set up vs how the general audience perceives him.

Bunny was assaulted by Francis: This is implied at the beginning of the books set-up—It isn't obvious without the later context, and it's hard to put two-and-two together when the peace's of information are so scattered In the book. We'll get one peace of the puzzle, before we are distracted by another that in the moment appears more intriguing. I however, have theorised Bunny for one, defended/lied for the group in the beginning in order to keep the peace for Henry's sake.

When the matter of Francis had come up in the restaurant, Bunny had been stiff and waved of the peace of information and quickly skipped of to the next topic. Richard later even points out how utterly uncomfortable the two are when together, how ''Something'' Had clearly happened between the two but he didn't know what.

When the vail later shifted, and Bunny became entirely honest about what he really thought about each member of the group—He'd been so harsh about Francis homosexuality because he was still deeply wounded by the assault. (I'd like to point out it proves Bunny did know Francis was gay the entire time, but was just lying.)

He doesn't feel safe around Francis; never once in the book do we have a scene/implied scene (apart from the assault) of the two alone. It might even be why Bunny is so touchy about people knowing when he is drunk, or has slept with someone—Because those are signs of weakness that could be taken advantage of, and were similar conditions to what he experienced.

The matter of Charles is far more grim, unlike Bunny he'd never been able to stand up to Francis—He was more susceptible to the manipulation. We do catch a glimpse of Charles true feelings the night before the funeral, where for a moment Francis's jabbering causes Charles to puff up like a wounded animal.

Francis is so incredibly abusive it borders on comedic how much he gets away with. He plainly victim blames Charles, who obviously really does have amnesia—Francis would've done this to anyone, Charles wasn't nearly as special as he tried to make him sound; Bunny would've suffered the same fate as Charles if he had the chance.

Alcoholism is Escapism—Addicts are some of the most vulnerable individuals in society, who're simply trying to escape the demons they cannot face within their everyday life. Charles is one such person whose running away from overwhelming guilt—And instead of being met with compassion, he is taken advantage of by Francis. Charles is assaulted repeatedly, and the worst part is Francis entirely felt justified in doing so.

Francis is a favored character in the fandom. He's funny, charming—And suffers from a mental illness many themselves suffer with. It's likely why on first reading, when Francis reacts to Richards confrontation—They take his side, because Boohoo; He's insecure, he hates his appearance, he's so lonely and is inlove with Charles! Charles is rejecting him, Francis can't help himself Charles is the perpetrator and not a victim-!

It's a wonder whenever we do see Francis react to the consequences of his actions. It's as if he's glaring down at a fire that just spat at him because he'd fed it to much.

At each turn, I see the audience feel sorry for Francis when it is unwarranted and doesn't even make sense. My best guess has to be that people relate to him because of his Anxiety. He's perceived as weak and without capability of taking responsibility for his actions; He comes of as defenceless, which has therefore translated to him being a good person.

But Francis is anything but, whenever Francis gets anxious it gets misread as guilt for the murder, when what he really felt was fear for getting caught. Charles had felt guilt for Richard being dragged in, but Francis felt concern that Richard would get them in trouble.

Richard had been into Francis, but that wasn't consent. Merely being physically attracted to a person has never and will never ever somehow translate or equal consent. Even if you are dating them, or are married, that is not consent.

Consent isn't a game, someone's boundaries are not a game. It all doesn't suddenly change because their gay, and people think two men kissing is hot. (I mean it is, but consent is sexier and there is non of that going on here.)

A lot of us are actively looking for queer representation in our media, and only recently has that demand really being met in what we consume today. But let's be honest, that's been a very recent thing. Obviously we want Francis and Richard to be something that it isn't, because look! A book I really like, with characters just like me! But Francis is a serial rapist, and no amount of twisting the text can change that. This book does have queer themes, but you won't find what you're looking for in Francis.

-

This post was inspired by this poll, which hasn't even been completed yet. But currently Francis is winning which deeply annoyed me.

[lansplaining]

About how wwx is the 'problem' in the yunmeng bros reconciliation I completely agree and that's why I think wangxian works so well in canon : none of wwx's past actions have hurt personally lwj, so wwx doesn't feel very guilty. Wangxian is true love but there's a canon where wwx performs the core's transfer on lwj plus lxc died at nightless city plus lqr died during the war = so now lwj is a lonely sect leader = lwj loves wwx in every universe! but I really don't know how in this they can have their happy ending

GOD this is such a great point.

i've been working on a long meta that has accidentally taken a year because i was waiting for all of the 7 seas translation to come out about the difference between the show's "In a person's life he needs to learn to say two things-- thank you, and sorry" vs the book's "Between you and me there is no need for thank you and sorry" and I think you've actually just nailed it?

one of the things that typifies MXTX love interests is that they're simply willing to go farther for one another than anyone else in that person's life. this always feels especially clear in TGCF: mu qing and feng xin trample well past the boundaries any normal person would hold when it comes to standing by xie lian, but at the end of the day, things simply go too far and they have to go (and even then, intend to come back!!)-- whereas hua cheng literally never gives up, even in death. it is a level of devotion that xie lian is lucky to have, but not actually something that can be expected of most people, which is something i feel the narrative acknowledges.

the same thing can be said of jiang cheng and lan wangji in regards to wei wuxian, or even the contrast between wangxian and xiyao. jiang cheng takes his support of wei wuxian as far as he possibly can, and much farther than the wider world realizes-- and frankly, much farther than even wei wuxian realizes (why do you think he still had chenqing a) at all or b) literally in his pocket you absolute goober). lan wangji is able to go much farther, partly because of his personality but partly because of the pure luck and happenstance of his social position. he isn't constrained by the same things jiang cheng is, he doesn't have the same demands to balance. and, of course, he doesn't share the complex familial baggage and all the other history that leads to wei wuxian and jiang cheng hurting each other so much.

maybe "between you and me, there's no need for thank you and sorry" isn't really a "moral" (for lack of a better word) in the same way as CQL's thank you and sorry, but just a statement of fact, and an acknowledgement of coincidence and luck. they share a history that means they don't need to thank or apologize the way they both do to others in their lives, and that's part of what makes the relationship feel so good and so special.

CQL would need to change this because of the changes they made to the pacing of wangxian's relationship. because they are able to recognize and partially acknowledge how they feel about each other much earlier, they actually are able to hurt one another with the same depth as jiang cheng and wei wuxian. this means that it's now got to be a relationship where such apologies are necessary-- though as you say, not with as much lingering guilt as there would be with something like a core transfer. the words have to be said (and thus a new "moral" about what those phrases mean), but all that's needed are words: there's no permanently lingering baggage to weigh down the relationship forever and make it, as you suggest and as i totally agree, impossible.

[mercuriart]

Oh God I'm having Dazai - Mori parallels thoughts again

I... Don't think this idea of "they're both afraid of each other" is a hard truth. Not in the way it's presented in the series at least.

I mean, yes, Dazai is 100% terrified of Mori, but not because of what he's done or what he's capable of (I mean, yeah that too - specially young Dazai but I don't think it's limited to him, I think he's lucky he was the first of the ADA to be arrested, I think if he had to deal with the whole "one member of the ADA will be sent to the PM" thing he'd have an immediate breakdown out of fear of what will happen to them). I think Dazai is afraid of Mori in the way that a child with abusive parents is terrified of turning out like that. I think he's afraid of looking in the mirror one day and find Mori staring right back at him - I think he's afraid of finding out that no matter how hard he tries to run from him, he will always be there.

And I also think that Mori isn't afraid of Dazai's potential, or of Dazai being able to hurt him, or take his place as the boss. I mean, he is worried about all that, but I don't think it comes from a place of fear - I think it's more like... Mori has expectations for Dazai, and for whoever takes his place as the boss, and for the mafia and the city itself, and Dazai is still an independent person (specially now, but even back then, Mori couldn't fully control him), and people don't meet expectations as often as tools do - and he can't turn Dazai into a tool no matter how hard he's tried to. So, he's worried of Dazai's personhood ruining everything he's worked for. But I don't think he's afraid of that possibility - he wouldn't have just let Dazai go if that was the entire deal. (Yes I'm a firm believer he actually let Dazai go vs. him trying and failing to keep Dazai in the mafia - I'm not getting into that right now though)

So the thing he's actually afraid of is... I think it's something revolving around Dazai being so, so much like him - at least in his eyes -, and also being so far away from everything he is. Dazai and Mori are both the darker part of the city, and yet Dazai is striving to be a good person, and has always been better than Mori ever was, even when he was a hurt, lonely kid. And he keeps being better, keeps trying so hard to walk the path of a good person.

Dazai and Mori both run from what they've done and from the guilt they should feel, but Dazai does it as to not lose hope on the person he's meant to be (and is slowly getting better at not running), while Mori does it because feeling guilt as the PM's boss -feeling guilt as the man he is- would just... Stop him. He cannot allow himself to stop, because he is convinced all that he's doing is for a greater good, so he cannot allow himself to feel guilt, ever. So he's chosen the narrative that, as the PM's boss, as someone who chose the darkness, what he's doing is objectively the best path - and more importantly, the only one that someone like him could choose.

But Dazai didn't, and Dazai is just like him. So he buries the implications of that in a layer of fear that he knows better how to ignore - because if he addresses that, if he begins to unpack the idea that someone just like him chose to be good, chose to not hurt but to save... Then what does that mean, about his best choices? About his greater good?

I think they're not afraid of each other. They're afraid of the reflection they see when they look at each other.

[fyodorloveclub]

About Shibusawa and Mori being fathers.

Shibusawa is always bored, so getting himself a child and heir will decrease his boredom, yes? He did not care for you first, you just an incubator and when finished you will cast aside. BUT being near you after getting pregnant, awaken something in him. He want to spend more and more time with you, maybe because of his ability he sees you as his mate now? Even after birth, he won't let you go, EVER. Mind you he got an unhuman cock/2 cocks, so you are for an ride. As for his "hatchlings", he will spoil them and will teach them to be cunning and strong as their daddy.

Mori will love his children (especially girls), he will give them best education, toys, books, food, medicine, clothes, protection, etc. but also teach them important medical knowledge, how to fight, educate them, help them to grow to be cunning, strong and mature human beings. I think he would prefer his child/ren to choose their own path, other than mafia, and even after possible parting ways will still love them will all his heart.

~🩺

OBSESSED WITH THISSSSSSS hehehehhe

i love the idea of shibu falling in love with the forced mother of his children (esp if this is an ovi situation...) and calling them hatchlings... anon u get me so much omg. but maybe in a scenario where like u said he purely just saw you as a means for incubation, he never quite pays attention to you. to who you are beyond what you (your uterus) can provide. until … he does. the man starts to notice how loving and caring and patient and kind you are in the way you take care of and love on his hatchlings. and of course he was possessive over you the second you got pregnant with his babies but it was different - in his head, you were a thing; a means of production. but you became his. and by god you better feel lucky and special because tatsuhiko shibusawa doesn’t fall in love with just anyone. but when he does, he falls hard. he’s so obsessed with every little thing you do, just wants you by his side 24/7. and now he’ll use those 2 cocks to actually pleasure you vs. only just impregnating you :)

and abt mori - i agree!! i think how he raises his own real children would be a bit different than how he treats elise. he’ll genuinely try to raise them and shape them to be the (like you said) cunning, strong, sophisticated people he knows they can be. they are mori children after all. i think he’d maybe give the illusion that he wants his kids to have freedom outside of the mafia and be able to choose their own life path, but he’ll always have them under his thumb i think. he’ll always have some semblance of control over their life whether they see it or not. and i can see mori choosing one kid (not even necessarily the oldest) to act as his heir, but they’d definitely have to pull their own weight and prove that they genuinely have what it takes to fill his shoes and potentially follow in his footsteps. as doting and spoiling as the man is, i don’t think he’d just hand the title of pm boss down to any of his kids if they didn’t deserve it.

thank you for sending this in hehehe i love talking abt this

[grav3-bust3r]

something i’ve been thinking and reminiscing about recently is; when i first start playing Splatoon 2, i didn’t know that every player got to do the Hero Mode. i saw Marie say i had the “look in my eyes” that she was looking for and i was like, “wow.. i can’t believe i’m so lucky that I got to experience this… i’m the one who got chosen to save the Zapfish! i’m the only person who got to see this!” like, i was 14 (i’m pretty sure) when i got Splatoon 2 (started playing at the end of the Fork vs. Spoon Splatfest, like i got to see the results), and i know i was (and still am) kind of a dumb person, but.. that genuine belief that i was the only one who got to do the Hero Mode was.. a very special experience

[danganronpa-headcanons-imagines]

Hey this is literally my fist time sending a request ever. But can I get a kokichi who has a crush on a very flirty girl. In fact her ultimate is the ultimate flirt. But she gets even more flirty around kokichi because she likes him too. And kokichi i would think is kinda hard to fluster but at some point she finally does and shes so happy. Thanks. Sorry if this is just nonsense.

Yo, glad to be the first person you send a request to! And don't apologize, it's not nonsense. To be honest I prefer a longer prompt, as it helps lead me! ----------

Kokichi vs The Ultimate Flirt

The Ultimate Flirt, huh? Kokichi wasn't impressed, that's not even a valid talent either! So when he heard of your talent he just kinda shrugged his shoulders

The moment you entered the room, that changed. You were just gorgeous. And your voice? Something about it drew him in like a fishing lure. So the moment you approached him he was ready

Pretty much every person you talked to would eventually get flustered and clam up. Which after so long, has gotten frustrating. No one ever could just TALK to you anymore. Despite people praising the ground you stood on, you felt alone

But with Kokichi... he had bite. He wasn't falling at your feet or losing brain function, he actually had a discussion with you! You had someone you could genuinely talk to!

Actually getting to talk to you made Kokichi realise why you were so well liked. You were really funny and pleasent

After meeting you made an effort to talk to him as much as possible, both to your and his delight

Yeah, both of your crushes on each other only got worse as time went on. You were attracted to his headstrong attitude, and he was attracted to your wit and confidence

It didn't really process in your head, but you were eventually getting more and more flirty with Kokichi in an attempt to make him a blushing mess

But that is NOT easy. He was used to manipulation tactics, which are still evident in flirting techniques. Sure your words were nice, but they couldn't make him break

Everytime you used a line on him, he was able to push back without faltering

It soon became a little game of yours! You'd try to flirt, he'd flirt back, it was fun for you two and made you smile

But being the Ultimate Flirt isn't all sunshine and rainbows. A lot of people take advantage of you, or just do anything to please you. It wore you down over the years

But there was one day that just broke you. Long story short, you learned that half of your friends only wanted to fuck you. They didn't give a shit about a genuine friendship and were using you, which broke your heart. Kokichi found you crying on a park bench, and somehow felt himself feeling genuine empathy

He talked to you for over an hour, just listening to your issues and trying to cheer you up by offering to make their lives hell, making you laugh

Eventually you started to feel so much better. You could just feel that he actually cared, in his own special way

As you felt the last bit of sorrow exit your body, you sighed and looked deep into his eyes

"You know, being around you makes me feel better than ever. I know you said you have a hard time with relationships, but I feel lucky to have you. You should be thanked more often, so... thank you. Thank you Kokichi, for lighting up my life"

Neither of you ever expected it to happen, but suddenly his face turned bright red, jaw hanging open. His eyes were wide, darting around nervously, and he struggled to speak. It was like seeing a Unicorn, no one had ever seen it before, but you got lucky. The sight of his facade crumbling away was adorable

A laugh slipped off your lips and you couldn't stop yourself. After soooo long, so many attempts to crack him, you finally did it! And you didn't even mean to this time!

Kokichi pouted at your laughter, but his heated cheeks sold him out

After that day, you still flirted with him. But everytime he brushed it off, you loved to bring up that one night

When you officially started dating and told everyone, literally no one was surprised. Pretty much everyone thought you were already dating

----------

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[gamequoteshowdown]

The Matchups for Round 3!!

Sorry I didn't do this for Round 2, I kinda forgot :)

Poll 1:

"You're just a corpse who doesn't know he's dead" - Valter, Fire Emblem: Sacred Stones vs "Teammates!? Friends!? To hell with that! Why am I inferior to you!? I was extremely particular about my life, my grades, my public image! So someone would want me around! I am an ace detective! A celebrity! But you… You're just some criminal trash living in an attic!? So how!? How does someone like you have things I don't!? How can such a worthless piece of trash be more special than me!?" - Goro Akechi, Persona 5

Poll 2:

"I am so fucking normal right now" - Harry du Bois, Disco Elysium vs “SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL IS GOING TO HAPPEN” - Harry du Bois (in the form as a potential mural painting), Disco Elysium

Poll 3:

"Take care, [player]. I was lucky to have known you. Though the parting hurts... the rest is in your hands!" - Grovyle, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky vs "Hello! This is the part where I kill you!" - Wheatley, Portal 2

Poll 4:

"I have no idea what to do with my life, but that's okay! Because I'm still working hard! Even if it's on nothing at all!" - Papyrus, Undertale vs "Despite everything, its still you." - Narrator/Chara/Frisk???, Undertale

Poll 5:

"Life is worth living, even if it hurts you, even if you hurt in it." - Solid Snake, Metal Gear Solid vs “Oh? Is that how it is? Yeah, okay, I like you too. Neat! Still going to kill you, but now we can both enjoy a mutual romantic subtext to the murder.” - The Razor, Slay the Princess

Poll 6:

"Pick a god and pray!" - Frederick, Fire Emblem: Awakening vs "Take care of yourself, kid, cause someone really cares about you." - Sans, Undertale

Poll 7:

"Almost Christmas means it wasn't Christmas!" - Phoenix Wright, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney vs *clap ... clap ... clap ... * "Oh good, my slow clap processor made it into this thing, so at least we have that" - GLaDOS, Portal 2

Poll 8:

"Blood comes in four types: A, B, O, and AB. However! No blood test can determine whether a murder was committed… in cold blood!" - Phoenix Wright, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney vs "In the dark times, should the stars also go out?" - Steban, the Student Communist, Disco Elysium

Poll 9:

"When life gives you lemons, don’t make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back! Get mad! I don’t want your damn lemons, what the hell am I supposed to do with these? Demand to see life’s manager! Make life rue the day it thought it could give Cave Johnson lemons! Do you know who I am? I’m the man who’s gonna burn your house down! With the lemons! I’m gonna get my engineers to invent a combustible lemon that burns your house down!" - Cave Johnson, Portal 2 vs "And the universe said you are not separate from every other thing and the universe said you are the universe tasting itself, talking to itself, reading its own code and the universe said I love you because you are love." - Minecraft End Credits, Minecraft

Poll 10:

"We do not have much connection, you and I. Still, this encounter feels special. I hope you won't mind if i think of you as a friend" - Solanum, Outer Wilds vs "Why are we still here, just to suffer? Every night I can feel my leg and my arm, even my fingers. The body I've lost, the comrades I've lost, it won't stop hurting. It's like they're all still there, you feel it too, don't you?" - Kazuhira Miller, Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain

Poll 11:

"Today, we're dancing for no reason. Someday, we'll disappear for no reason." - Unnamed NPC, Pokemon Black 2 & White 2 vs "Wait, which one is the one where you hear your tie talk to you?" "Mental illness." "Because I have that." - Kim Kitsuragi & Harry du Bois, Disco Elysium

Poll 12:

“You don’t know a thing about love! That’s why your wife left you!” “…I’m gonna do violence to yah.” - Gramble Gigglefunny & Wambus Troubleham, Bugsnax vs "Your god sent me because your confession was taking too long." - Sol Badguy, Guilty Gear

Poll 13:

"All your base are belong to us" - Cats, Zero Wing vs "You deserved better from me than one sword and a world full of troubles." - Chrom, Fire Emblem: Awakening

Poll 14:

"Memes, the DNA of the soul." - Monsoon, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance vs "I can't go to hell. I'm all out of vacation days." - Burgerpants, Undertale

Poll 15:

"I can't read!" - Sissel, Ghost Trick vs "Hold on, my boy. A gentleman should never ruin someone's dreams without a reason." - Professor Layton, Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

Poll 16:

"Grandma's so proud of her little pumpkin, assassinating the President like that!" - Lily, Fallout: New Vegas vs "To feel sadness is to live... but as long as you are alive, the future is a blank page." - Merlon, Super Paper Mario

The polls will be released between 7 and 8 am on Monday! Rally up your fandoms cause Round 4 is the Quarterfinals!!!

[kandisheek]

FIC REC WEEK 5 - FLUFF

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT: copperbadge

I really love the way copperbadge writes the Avengers team dynamics. Found family is one of my favorite things ever, so it always fills me with joy when a writer does it so incredibly well. Plus, the humor and feel-good vibes are top notch, and the dialogue has made me laugh out loud on several occasions. In short, copperbadge is amazing, and we're very lucky to have them in this fandom.

Here's some of their work that I think you should check out:

The New (New) Normal

Pairing: Steve/Tony Rating: T Words: 9,064 Tags: Sick Tony, Hurt/Comfort, Slow Burn

Summary: Tony has a thing about germs. Steve understands it a lot better after seeing him sick. Though he could still use some help understanding why he's so annoyed that Rhodey's the one who got to bring Tony soup....

Reasons why I love it: Awww, not Steve being jealous because he wants to be the one taking care of Tony, he's so precious. I really love all the talk about the arc reactor and its influence on Tony's health. And Steve employing the same remedies he received back when he was sick feels really nostalgic, especially with that nod to his memories of his mother. This fic is really great, and if you haven't already, I hope you go and check it out!

A Partial Dictionary Of The 21st Century By Captain Steve Rogers, US Army

Pairing: Steve/Tony Rating: E Words: 13,888 Tags: Getting Together, Loss of Virginity, Steve vs the Future

Summary: Steve is adapting well to the new millennium, and he has the dictionary to prove it.

Reasons why I love it: I take a special kind of joy in fics that talk about all the ways Steve is adapting to his new life in the future, and this is one of the best. I love all of the other Avenger cameos, and Steve's developing relationship with Tony is just delightful. Plus, all the little tidbits of Steve loving futuristic things put a giant grin on my face. I love this fic so much, so I hope you check it out, if you haven't already!

Thems

Pairing: Steve/Tony Rating: T Words: 1,186 Tags: The Sims, Matchmaking, Getting Together

Summary: Steve discovers a secret simulation on the game server.

Reasons why I love it: The Sims was one of my favorite games growing up, so I'm really happy that it found its way into fandom the way it has. Also, the plot twist of who created the simulation in this fic is really fucking sweet. I love this one so much, and I bet you will too!

Transfer Students

Pairing: Steve/Tony Rating: T Words: 1,489 Tags: Orphans, Jean Grey School, Puppies

Summary: Five times the Avengers pawned kids off on the Jean Grey School.

Reasons why I love it: Long-suffering Logan is so much fun. Also love how casually everyone drops off kids in front of Jean Grey School like it's nothing. This fic is hilarious, especially if you love the X-Men as much as I do, so I highly suggest you go and check it out.

Make It Rain

Pairing: Steve/Tony Rating: T Words: 1,072 Tags: Hot Weather, Science Bros, Global Warming

Summary: Steve Rogers is SO DONE with global warming.

Reasons why I love it: Who knew that Steve whining about the weather would be so goddamn adorable? And the rest of the team being so nonchalant about it just makes it even funnier. Plus, Tony being an amazing boyfriend – we love to see it. I hope you go and read this one for yourself, because it's amazing!

[ducktracy]

I'm not sure if you've been asked this before but: Your thoughts on Duck Amuck vs Rabbit Rampage? Both have a very similar premise and I was just wondering which one you think works better.

DUCK AMUCK ALL THE WAY! i have my obvious biases of course… but i do very earnestly think that Duck Amuck is a much more superior cartoon and works better in every way. i admittedly think Rabbit Rampage is one of Chuck’s worst cartoons, but this is somewhat a compliment in itself because if that’s what a dud looks like for him? then you’re doing something right.

Jones’ Bugs is not sustainable for the cartoon, whereas the premise works perfectly with Daffy. (it helps that the initial concept was tailored TO Daffy and his needs.) i could see RR working better if it was the more reactionary Bugs of Bob Clampett’s or Friz Freleng’s, but instead the whole short feels very awkward in that Jones’ Bugs is trying to be something he’s not. i was initially happy to see his Bugs get with mad, because i love the thin-skinned Bugs of yesteryear, but after awhile kept asking myself when it would end and came out feeling annoyed rather than impressed. Bugs wouldn’t let that fly. he’d put a stop to it after a minute, whether that’s taking care of the source problem or just disengaging entirely.

Duck Amuck works so well because Daffy is one of the most versatile fictional characters ever created. he is incredibly adaptable, and the crux of the cartoon is all ABOUT adaptation—how can Daffy (or Bugs) still be seen as themselves when they’re being forced away from their core identities? how does Daffy as a four-legged, flower headed, flag toting amalgam still manage to read as Daffy first and foremost?

Daffy’s outbursts (or disarmingly polite concessions) work because they feel so genuine. he’s a reactive, emotional, responsive creature of impulse. likewise, there is an overwhelming sympathy in Amuck not present in RR. Daffy isn’t asking for the hijinks to stop entirely (at least, not early on)—he just wants something he can work in. he’s willing to adapt! can’t be one of the Three Musketeers? you’re doing a farm scene instead? fine. it’s not ideal, but he’ll do it.

it also helps that Daffy has such a natural extroversion. interaction with the audience is a core part of his character and has been since the very beginning. when Bugs talks to the audience, it’s funny, but you don’t feel like you’re on the same footing as you are with Daffy. Bugs will give you the time of day to crack a punchline or dubious expression at you, but is largely invested in himself. Daffy is one of the only characters who can talk, show off, confess to, and bargain with the audience and have it feel totally natural. i always like to default to this clip as an example. nothing of it feels forced or pedantic, it doesn’t feel like a “special privilege” or just a narrative device that he’s taking time out of his day to talk to us—how lucky are we! it’s just an instinct.

as a result, with both cartoons having the characters converse to an entity off screen that simulates the illusion of them talking to the audience, Daffy feels natural in this regard. it feels stilted and odd for Bugs to do the same. there isn’t that same exact friendliness or organicism that’s present with Daffy.

also, the ending for both: Elmer is the one causing Bugs all of this turmoil????? really?????? this complete rube of a man whose soul has been shattered multiple times by Bugs, even/especially in the face of deadly weapons? having Bugs as the animator in Amuck makes perfect sense. like. of course it would be him. who else? who else barely has to lift a finger for Daffy to be crushed by his own impulses? the reveal in RR just feels totally lame

regardless, i will give RR this: it is animated ENTIRELY by Benny Washam and nobody else, which is an incredible feat in and of itself. Washam draws some particularly appealing Bugses, so there is a lot of eye candy to be had. regardless, it just does not work for Bugs at all. i know i have my biases (Daffy will forever be my favorite fictional character and i personally am not a fan of Jones’ later Bugs), but i do just believe that the two don’t even compare, Duck Amuck all the way!

[mcfiddlestan]

Ship it/Don't Ship it

Frostiron, WinterFrost, Winteriron, Pepperony. (The last I'm grinning evilly at because I will look forward to the angry discourse. LOL)

FrostIron

Ship It (I SHIP IT HARD.)

What made you ship it?

Around the time the first Avengers movie came out, I was just dipping my toe into Tumblr and Twitter fandom. I found and started following a ton of RP accounts on Twitter. And since RDJr is my favorite ever since Weird Science, there was a lot of Iron Man fanart on both of my dashboards. Shippy fanart started to slip in -- and while Stony was very prominent, so was FrostIron. My love for Loki had already started to bloom (plus, I was fascinated that IRL British Ginger Dork could, with a little hair dye, become My New Favorite Villain), and seeing him constantly paired with My Favorite New Hero -- and there was A LOT of very cool art --made me go Ooh. Plus, I befriended this awesome Tony RP writer who had an awesome RP thread with a Loki, and that, plus all the fics I started to read, just plunged me, heart eyes first, into SHIPPING IT HARD. I watched the movie 10x in the theatre, started watching all the interviews with RDJr and Hiddles, and eventually, I read a college au (that I loved) and decided I could totally write them even tho I hadn't written anything in a couple years. Thus, Dark Side.

What are your favorite things about the ship?

Besides the whole enemies-to-lovers thing? And besides the fact the ship was comprised of two of my favorite actors (at the time)? I mean, their whole dynamic is not so secretly my ideal relationship. The sarcastic barbs lobbied back and forth that rests comfortably atop the sexual tension the ability to keep up with each other is flamed on by. The intelligence that kind of quipping and humor requires -- and let's face it: someone is always hotter when they can stimulate your mind and your body. Add in the bonding that can happen over the shared Terrible Paternal Relationship and The Trauma That Makes Our Humor So Great and how they can heal each other, the debate between science vs. magic, and how they're much more alike than one would think. The fics that explore how discovering how much they have in common and how they learn to see each other in a different light (whether superhero and supervillain or not) are some of my faves and an element I often insert in my own fics. IDK, I just love them.

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

Not really? Any gripes I have are more with authors' characterizations of them. I don't go telling anybody they can't write them the way they choose, tho. I just nope out of fics that have anything I don't want to read. And then I write my own. :D

WinterFrost

Ship It

What made you ship it?

Similar to FrostIron, I discovered WinterFrost through mostly RP. But probably what made me fall head over heels for this pair was dipping my toe into RP myself. The friend whose Tony Stark I loved mentioned in convos that they wanted to start RPing a Bucky but wanted him paired with a Loki. They asked me if I wanted to try my hand at RP, so I did. This was about 6-7 months before CA:TWS was released, so there wasn't much if any, WinterFrost content yet -- and it was actually still called Lucky at the time. Anyway, Bucky was post-CATFA, and my Loki was post-Avengers (we mutually decided to start there instead of post-The Dark World). They randomly met and organically began to fall in love. The truth is, this ship is special to me bc, as we wrote Bucky and Loki falling in love, we were falling in love. So, it's all kind of woven together with my own love story. Kind of bittersweet now.

What are your favorite things about the ship?

There is a bit of a dark element to WinterFrost that I'm kind of drawn to. The RP was the only place I ever really explored that (kind of) -- although I did have an idea to turn my PWP WinterFrost into a serial killer AU. I eventually abandoned that idea. For a lot of reasons. By dark element, I mean the darkness in both characters potentially being compatible and flourishing. Bucky as the Winter Soldier was almost devoid of emotion (except when he saw Steve, in the movie at least); Loki, in contrast, was highly motivated by his emotions but kind of let himself get battered and embittered by them. At least the way I wrote my Loki. Beyond that, there is a great capability for them to bond over their trauma (again, similar to FrostIron). There is no bigger troll than Bucky (c'mon, he grew up with Steve Rogers, ffs), and Loki would relish in the chaos Bucky would cause with his commentary. I feel like there's a mutual mending they can do for each other. Loki can help Bucky battle his demons -- as a demon slayer himself -- and Bucky can show Loki a love like he's never known.

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

Nah. Similar to FrostIron, it's down to characterizations. I'll literally read anything about these two.

WinterIron

Ship It

What made you ship it?

I was already into FrostIron and WinterFrost -- and RPing both. So it was kind of like, "I ship Tony and Loki and Bucky and Loki, why not Tony and Bucky?" I RPd that for a bit, too. I haven't read or written a lot of this ship, so I'm not sure what I like beyond it being two actors I love, two characters I love, and liking that they could both find a little bit of happy with each other. Also, it's interesting to think about the internal crisis Tony would endure for falling in love with the man responsible for his parents' deaths.

What are your favorite things about the ship?

I honestly have no idea. Like I said, I haven't really dug deep into this one yet, like I have FrostIron and WinterFrost. It's definitely one of my smaller ships.

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

No, but I wish people would leave WinterIron shippers alone. Way too much hate flung at this ship and the people who write it. It's annoying.

Pepperony

Don’t Ship It

Why don’t you ship it?

Honestly? It's because of Gwyneth Paltrow. I don't like her, as an actress, as a personality, as a hawker of vag candles -- whatever. I never liked her portrayal of Pepper. And don't come for me, y'all, bc believe me, I know how this sounds -- but I thought she looked too old to play Pepper. Yes, she was only 34, and RDJr was 43, and that's an age gap in itself (and coincidentally, Leslie Bibb was 35, which btw she does not look older than GP and...yeah). I think I felt the way they were portraying Tony Stark's womanizing ways it didn't make sense (to me!) that he'd go for someone closer to his age and stick to younger women. (Blame my brother. He's been dating girls my age and younger since high school. His first son's mother is my age. She was 4mo along when we graduated from hs. He dated a slew of girls near or around my age well into his 30s. His second son's mother was 6yrs younger than me. He's gross, I know. I tell him all the time.) Anyway, I love Tony and Pepper's dynamic in the comics (the few I've read), and when I RPd a Pepper (I did not use GP; I used my idea of a perfect Pepper: Jessica Chastain), I was told the way I wrote her was closer to comic!Pepper than MCU!Pepper, which I gathered was a good thing. People often misunderstand that my distaste for Pepper has nothing to do with the character herself. I LOVE the character. I think she's a badass, and I think she's the best working partner Tony could have -- which is why probably why I always writer her as Tony's closest confidant. But I also think they did Pepper a disservice by casting GP.

What would have made you like it?

A different actress, lol.

Despite not shipping it, do you have anything positive to say about it?

Like I said, I love the character of Pepper. She's a great foil to some of Tony's more grandiose ideas and she has a way of handling him without him realizing he's being handled. Maybe I'd ship it if she didn't start out as his secretary? There's something very creepy about a relationship between a boss and a secretary to me. Idk. As Besties, I love Tony and Pepper. Beyond that? No.

Don't come at me yall. @mischief-and-tea-by-the-sea made me say all these things. LOL (jk ily!)

Thanks for asking!

Ship It/Don't Ship It

[satashiiwrites]

morning writing drafts

I should be working on sleepless in la. 

Big SHOULD there. 

Instead, I think i’ve come up with a name for a 911/mass effect mashup.  And been graphic editing because who wants to finish their rom com that should have been done already?  

*sigh*

Title: The First Spectre (aka previously known as untitled 911/Mass Effect space opera slowburn) chapter 1 vs prologue

Fandom: 911, Mass Effect Trilogy

Pairing: endgame Buddie (MShenko equivalent).  Assume anything else is fair game until we hit ME3 territory because i’m totally making Taylor into Miranda and Abby is going to be Liara. 

Tags/warnings: i’m still not committing to writing this monster length fic(and I do mean monster length if I go for it—like 600k of the slowest of slow burns).  In the meantime i’m evidently writing a beginning, a divorce-era horizon disaster, and can clearly picture the catalyst firing/’don’t leave me behind’ scene in all its angsty goodness. Author may be in deep trouble.  First draft.  Assume Eddie=Kaidan Alenko and Buck=MShep.  Chimney is totally Joker.  Use of military terms that may confuse some audiences and be completely inappropriate as author does not have a military background and just reads too many generation kill fics. 

Tagging because they asked @shortsighted-owl​.  If you would like to be tagged for any updates or snippets from this one please let me know. 

Lieutenant Edmundo Diaz—known to his family as Eddie or everyone else as Lt Diaz or just Diaz—sat in the copilot’s chair on the bridge listening to Flight Lieutenant Han, aka Chimney, grumble about their newest mission orders.  Eddie thought that the grumbling was mostly for show—being assigned to work under Captain Robert Nash was a coveted position and good for your career.  The Normandy (known also by it’s engineering designation as SR-118) was a new type of freighter that was a joint project between the Alliance and the alien council races. There was no ship faster or with better handling anywhere in the fleet. 

Chimney really should be happier he was getting the privilege of flying the equivalent of the most luxurious, high tech interplanetary transport ever made.  Instead, he was grumbling about scuttlebutt that he’d heard while getting his clearance physical from Dr. Wilson. 

“Did you hear who you’ll be working with?” Chimney asked Eddie, implying that Eddie should be unhappy about his new CO.  

“I heard I’d be working with Commander Buckley and there’s nothing to say.  He’s a good soldier.”

“A good soldier?!?  You heard what happened on Akuze right?  That he’s the only one who survived?”

“It means he’s capable and smart,” Eddie argued, trying to put an end to Chimney’s rant that had been going on for over a half hour.  “That’s good to have in a team CO.”

Chimney scoffed. “His entire team died except him. You going to be happy with him hanging you out to dry while he hightails it to safety?”

Eddie was beginning to think that the intel folder that had been sitting in his inbox wasn’t common knowledge as there’d just been a string of nonsensical numbers and letters as the sender’s contact information.  He’d been sent the extended—and highly classified—report on the Akuze Incident as well as the redacted official report that had been released to the press along with his official orders and a copy of Commander Buckley’s jacket. Eddie thought that Commander Buckley was lucky to have survived the first contact the Alliance had ever had with a thresher maw that had literally devoured an entire colony and then the rest of his naval special warfare unit that had been sent to investigate why the colony had gone dark.

Thresher maws were basically giant, hungry space worms with teeth the size of a small shuttle and spat acidic venom up to 3 clicks with eerie accuracy that would melt through shields and armor in less than two minutes.  If you didn’t die from the acid then you had to worry with either being eaten or crushed to death.  The damned things also hunted by noise and vibration so there was no escaping them other than getting off planet in a hurry. 

Eddie might have nightmares about incidents like Akuze.  Commander Buckley had his respect for surviving one. The fact that the commander wasn’t out of his brain and stashed in some head doctor’s padded room drooling from being drugged to the gills spoke to his mental strength and resiliency.  The rest of his military jacket was even more impressive with the noted list of assignments and commendations including that he’d graduated from the Interplanetary Combatives Training (ICT) program and was one of the rare N7s. 

Eddie’s only question was who had sent him the file—he was to be the XO for the ground team but it was highly unusual for him to have gotten this much intel up front…so who had given it to him?  It could be Captain Andersen since his name was also all over Commander Buckley’s file which suggested a mentor-mentee relationship but it could also have been the Commander himself or a third party who wanted to somehow prejudice Eddie in some way. 

He was inclined to give his new CO the benefit of the doubt and see how things went.  Paperwork often omitted some truths and as a biotic Eddie had experienced his fair share of off-the-books blowbacks and prejudices. 

Chimney, however, wasn’t.  The man was an inveterate gossip and had his ear tuned to get all the latest scuttlebutt.  Eddie had only known him for a few weeks but he knew if he needed to know anything about anybody on the ship then Chimney was the person to see.