#the world sucks and life isn't necessarily better but

[vacantgodling]

yo another one???????????

[gurggggleburgle]

Every time I think about the return to childhood extra I'm reminded that the reason it's no fun for Luo Binghe is that it forces this budding and progressive communication and understanding going on between the two to a standstill and in some ways reverses it.

And it's simply because Binghe has already been the doting child of Shizun before. He already knows what it's like to be seen as the fluffy kid hanging around his Master. He already knows what it's like to feel powerless and on an uneven ground with his Shizun. Binghe wants to turn back ASAP because he is finally getting to have an adult relationship and be seen as equal. He doesn't like being helpless (he may cry for attention but hes not helpless) but he also doesn't like being back where he was when he was a disciple.

And yeah it would suck. He can't be romantic with his own husband. He can't express himself and be taken seriously. Everyone is quick to pinch his cheeks and try to steal his husband. Your body isn't tall enough to reach the shelf you placed the pots and pans on. The knife is awkward in your child sized palms. Brooms are too tall. You can't scare off any of the people you dislike and you don't have a network of friends you can explain this too because you're a super scary demon lord and your closest possible friends are your coworkers and you happen to be their boss (and right now they might try to kill you) so you can't be vulnerable with them.

And yes. You can be open with your husband but he doesn't see the big deal the same way. He doesn't get it because functionally this is a good enough time for him because you're a cute dumpling and it's temporary. And yeah it is but also it's that you feel your husband is being nostalgic for a version of yourself that exists in the past that you don't necessarily want to repeat. Not to mention Binghe had a frankly shitty childhood. Yes his life improved once he moved in with Shizun for 3 years but that's 3 out 17. Most of that was spent in poverty and being stepped on by everyone else around him. He doesn't have a nostalgia for childhood. He doesn't miss being a kid. What he wants from that time is the lack of animosity and misunderstanding, the simplicity, that came from the abyss which by this point is mostly a mute desire. So it has to hurt being stuck in a situation like this. An emotional limbo of expression where you can't really say what's on your mind and people basically express the same opinions you're certain they already would say to your face as you stand smoll in the room. That has to hurt. That has to make you doubt things in your relationship. To hear every bias you have built in your head that others have confirmed constantly but now directly to your face while they think you're your own son.

It's a baad time.

If Shen Qingqiu had turned into a kid honestly I think Luo Binghe would have had a marginally better time. He'd love to see and dote on a tiny Shizun and pinch their cheeks and tease. But he'd be over it by the end of the week for almost the exact same reasons. Like yeah he can attic wife his husband so easy right now but he doesn't care about Shen Qingqiu being a kid. He has no reason to be invested in that experience. He doesn't get anything out if it. He still doesn't get to do what he wants which is an adult relationship with the person he loves that he can show people and present this to the world. Binghe doesn't get anything out of a child Shizun. It becomes a stall in exploring and learning each other which is the point of the extras. Yes, it probably be a wholesome good time but the same problems would happen but Shen Yuan isn't likely to nearly the same reaction because he's already a trophy husband. It's not like he's cooking or cleaning. He's already used to everyone wistfully staring at Binghe with interest. This doesn't effect how Shen Yuan processes their relationship.

It makes the fact that Luo Binghe still thinks that Shen Yuan will say no to marriage even after everything just hit harder. Because even after everything he's still thinking of that probably. There are more extras assuring him but that doubt remains and it's so juicy.

[writer-haru]

My feelings about Tsuna (from a the traditional "loser of society"/disabilty perspective)

Tsunayoshi Sawada, to put it bluntly, brings me such immense joy to have and hold as a protagonist in a shounen manga.

He is a loser like me, and despite his character development, he stays that loser. From the perspective of a mentally ill high school drop out, that means the goddamn world to me.

He is not a generic shounen protagonist that goes from average to godly.

He doesnt have a harem, he never even gets talked to by girls.

No, hes a bundle of nerves and snark that cant do math, sucks at swimming, and keeps putting his foot in his mouth and so so so much more...and by the end of it, despite still having these traits, hes still a better person.

Yes, Tsuna is a better person. Just. Not by capitalist or "American Dream" standards.

No, hes living his best life in ways that are manageable for everyone.

He isnt living a life full of regrets like he used to. Hes trying new things from talking to his crush enough that they are now friends to taking leadership roles among his family.

He is proud of the people he has come to consider friends and family to the point that even in the midst of battle/arguments with them, he still loves them. This is a far cry from the early arcs, where he is embarassed by Gokudera.

Self improvement manifests in many ways and Tsuna is. He's improving as a human being, not necessarily a power ranking based improvement like most shounen do with their training arcs here and heroics there.

No, Tsunayoshi is an example of improving internally with a nudge here and a push there by his loves ones.

As Nana would say: he may not go into a good high school or college, but he is glad to be alive.

From one loser to another, I love Tsunayoshi Sawada and he makes me want to be happier.

And sometimes, isn't such a goal what makes life living?

[artbyblastweave]

Hey, I just read this superhero series called Rising Stars. Have you heard of that before, and do you have any thoughts on it?

Personally I loved it. 113 children in utero get affected by the energy of a comet passing overhead, and start developing powers. They all get different levels of power, some never realise what their powers are, some just straight up suck.

Like there's a guy who's totally indestructible. But he's not and stronger or faster, he just can't be damaged. And he can't feel anything tactile either. So he over indulges in taste because it's one of the only sense he has, and ends up obese.

There's a girl with telekinesis, who can only manipulate small objects. The carotid artery is a small object, so she gets headhunted by the CIA for assassination work.

And then there's the reveal that their powers operate off a shared energy pool, and if one dies the remaining power gets shared among the remainder. And then people start turning up dead...

Rising Stars has been near and dear to my heart for a very long time. It's by no means perfect, but one of the things I find the most compelling about it is how it positions superhumanity as a fundamentally extremely finite phenomenon.

Works in which superpowers are introduced to a world that didn't previously have them will often break in one of two directions; either they'll treat it as a new, sustainable equilibrium that will somehow fail to change anything of import, or else it's a floodgate that opens and completely wipes away the status quo. But both scenarios generally take for granted that capes as a general phenomenon are here to stay- that there's some replacement-rate mechanism at play. Rising Stars depicts a world where this isn't true, and moreover it very quickly becomes clear to everyone that this isn't true- that these 113 people are the only superhumans the world is ever gonna get. That's enough to be extremely disruptive, but not necessarily paradigm shifting- and the worldbuilding reflects that in interesting ways, the sense that the reaction of many is just that they've gotta wait these assholes out.

Maybe some of them habitually dine-and-dash at upscale restaurants but what are you going to do, call the army every time? Not worth it. There's fewer than a hundred of these guys, it's not like letting it slide is going to be the start of something. One of them takes over Chicago and runs it as a fiefdom? Okay, that's bad, but it's one city and everyone else who's similarly inclined already rallied under her aegis, still not a paradigm shift. The entire containment strategy for the ones who are habitually supervillainous is to ring up one or two of the ones who decided to be superheroes and dump them in Antarctica, forcing them to walk back. Obviously not a great solution but what's the incentive to come up with something better? This isn't a growing population that demands a systemic response, it's the same six or seven guys every time, and you're only gonna have to put up with them for so long.

And the series really did a lot with the fact that these people all know each other- a small-town's graduating class worth of superhumans who all grew up together. The "oh, what's so-and-so up to these days" energy of it all. The comparable sense of wasted potential as you get into your late-twenties-early-thirties, take a look at what everyone you grew up with has been up to lately, and really seriously evaluate what it is, exactly, that you've actually accomplished with your life, compared to what you thought you were going to do when you were a teenager. The Specials don't even have the luxury of existing in a conventional superhero universe where their personal mediocrity (real or perceived) will come out in the wash due to all the other superpeople running around-they're wasting more than just their own individual lives through their inaction or failure, and the series milks that growing sense of rat-in-a-trap tension as their numbers start to really dwindle in earnest over the course of the comic.

[cripplecharacters]

One of my characters in a fanfic is Harriet Hook, daughter of Captain Hook. I was going to have her lose her left hand in an assassination attempt, where someone tried to burn down her house with her brother and sister in it as collateral. The door was barred shut with planks of wood, and, long story short, the fastest way she could get out left her hand severely burned and lacerated, with several shattered bones. If they had access to modern medicine they might have been able to save her hand but, because there wasn't even a way for them to keep if clean until the skin healed, the best they could really do was just amputate it. Like her father she replaced her hand with a hook (having one hand and no hook would make being a pirate kind of difficult,) and then she went from there. I just have a few questions.

Is it reasonable for her to be more angry about the assassination attempt than upset about her hand? Her father has been getting around fine with his hook for her entire life and he raised all three of them with either one hand or a hand and a hook, so she knows it's not the end of the world and that she has a good source on how to adapt to it. She's just more pissed that someone tried to burn her alive.

She later becomes a queen after the war (the war is why someone tried to assassinate her, because she's leading an uprising.) Would it make sense for her to either keep the hook or just go without rather than get a fancier prosthetic? She'll have the option but she already knows how to adapt to life with hook or with just one hand, but a fancy prosthetic, she's never seen anyone with those so it would be uncharted territory and I was thinking she'd prefer to just stick with what works.

Does this fall into the accident trope? I know it happened because someone was purposefully trying to kill her and she purposefully injured her hand because it was either that or let her siblings die and her children grow up without their mother, but it might still count. If so, is there a way I can make it better? I don't want to be disrespectful.

I get this is a long ask and you don't have amputee mods. Hope you all are having a great day!

Hello asker,

Making a note before my answer that we currently do not have any mods who are amputees!

So, to answer your question in parts:

Is it reasonable for her to be more angry about the assassination attempt than upset about her hand?

Yes, this makes sense. People can have a lot of complicated feelings about their disabilities, and to me it makes sense that one of her feelings about the event that caused hers is that what upsets her the most is that someone tried to kill her. Injuries do suck, but when they're caused by someone else's carelessness or malice, knowing or thinking about that can definitely be more upsetting than the injury itself. (Not that it has to be – different people will have different feelings about their respective injuries.)

Would it make sense for her to either keep the hook or just go without rather than get a fancier prosthetic?

Yes, this is definitely something many people in real life do. Here is a link to a post by cy-cyborg on why not all amputees use prosthetics, which also addresses that not all prosthetics work best for all people. In general, people like to stick with familiar things. If she has adapted to using just one hand or one hand and a hook, it makes sense that she could choose to continue doing so. "If it ain't broke don't fix it" type of situation. And as a character decision, her father's use of a hook as opposed to any other kind of prosthetic might influence her decision as well.

Does this fall into the accident trope?

When it comes to upper limb amputations that are not congenital, trauma is one of the more common reasons for them. Trauma (by which i mean physical trauma to the limb) is often accidental, so this isn't necessarily an inaccurate reason for your character to lose her hand.

So while it is an accident, I don't think that makes it automatically a disrespectful portrayal. In fact, your ask makes me think that it is a pretty respectful one. She has adapted to life with her injury and a hook is a common prosthetic even today. I think you've got some good character building blocks here!

Hope this helps,

– mod sparrow

[syndrossi]

resonant ch26 dvd commentary

That's right, it's a series now!

Favorite line:

“They will return soon enough,” he told the tiny dragons, feeling a kindred dismay that his sons had gone riding with someone other than him. “Until then, you must content yourselves with me.”

It's not my favorite chapter, and doesn't have any real bangers, but this was a fun little exchange. The mental image of Qelebrys and Shadow perched on Daemon's shoulders, all three of them wearing a glum/pouting expression, is very cute.

Favorite detail:

Carrying the theme that Daemon noticed when he took Rhaegar and Jon on Caraxes to and from the Giant's Toe, where Rhaegar is drawn to the beauty of the world when he's up high on a dragon, while Jon is looking at those ships below and pondering their significance. It's just as much reflective of their life experience as personality. Jon without the burdens he carries of having been a leader, responsible for administering multiple wars, might be able to afford to look upward or forward, rather than downward at the world encroaching in.

Favorite dynamic:

We had a few barbs traded with Cole, but it was fairly tame. Rhaenys and Daemon are my favorite dynamic again, in part because I enjoy writing people giving advice that makes sense to them but isn't necessarily the most healthy. No one character is an infinite font of wisdom, existing to dispense it to our heroes. Everyone has their own faults, flaws, self-interest, etc, and their advice is colored by it.

I'm talking, of course, about Rhaenys basically telling Daemon to suck it up, give up on having a good relationship with his brother founded on mutual understanding, and resign himself to the fact that his brother prefers a version of Daemon that isn't real, with all the edges filed off. Daemon does in fact know his brother better than Rhaenys, so it's actually not the best advice in this situation!

But it doesn't mean he didn't need to hear some version of "suck it up and figure out an approach," because he's been reactive/passive so far with Viserys. (Some of that is out of fear, to be fair.) But he can't afford to be afraid/not take risks, Rhaenys believes. Not with so much at stake.

(Rhaenys is not without her own self-interest, either.)

And Rhaenys has a better grasp on Otto than Daemon. She's not wrong about what he fears. So that was also good context for Daemon, if he pays it heed. But the conversation doesn't leave Daemon in a great place at the end, sadly.

"Quick" hitters:

I mentioned this before, but there were three separate scenes written for and removed from this chapter, including one that was up in the draft I saved on AO3 and then removed this morning before I posted it.

I think I figured out my real issue with this chapter, and it comes down to using the wrong lens during the Dragonpit parts. We're focused in tightly on Daemon and Rhaenys's conversation, which is fine/fair, but we pull back too much for the kids and hatchlings interactions. It would have been nice to perhaps get the actual introduction of the dragons as dialogue rather than exposition, and focus in a bit more on Jon during the final naming.

The chapter feels very self-indulgent and filler-y, which may be while I feel guilty about writing it. Not that you can't write those things, but I always feel like they fit better in side-stories.

Jon naming Shadow was added into this chapter after the fact. I'd decided on the name a while ago and kept trying to find the perfect moment for it, only for it to not really materialize. Jon making it a game the baby cousins could join in on ended up feeling right.

I kept going back and forth between the Valyrian and Common versions of "Shadow," but at the end of the day, Jon has a theme.

I really liked Harrenkos for a name ("suitably long" in Valyrian), given that Shadow is a longer boi than most.

With Laenor and Rhaenys about to be gone, and Rhaenyra in Dragonstone, the poor Velaryon boys are about to be on their own (with their nurses) for a while, poor lambs. We'll see if Daemon invites them over for supper a few times. That's a lot of kids to wrangle by himself!

I'd been holding onto this, but I don't think it's something I'll end up doing later on in the story, so I'll go ahead and share one of the deleted, incomplete scenes. Originally, there was going to be an attack on the carriage on the way back, but Daemon being up in the air on Caraxes made it a really poor choice on the part of their attackers (and the attack itself a little too obvious not to have the place swarmed with Goldcloaks), so I scrapped it.

Apologies to Rhaegar, who was going to get a hero moment and possibly his first kill (though I didn't get that far).

x~x~x

The hatchlings were exhausted after their exciting day, each settling on their laps to nap for the carriage ride back to the Red Keep. Jace soon followed their example, nodding off against Princess Rhaenys’s side twice before she rearranged him so that he could rest his head on her lap.

Jon had enjoyed their day out, but he did feel a sting of regret at not being able to accomplish either of the things he had wanted to today: gaining an audience with King Viserys, and speaking to their father about the candle. There was always tonight for the latter—or tomorrow. But he hated the thought of it continuing its efforts to torment Rhaegar, especially since they were now separated in the afternoon.

“Did you hear anything today?” he whispered to Rhaegar.

“Not in the yard,” his brother said, which was not a no.

The bumpiness of the ride down the sloped path leading from the Dragonpit gave way to the cobblestone of the Street of the Sisters. The sun had set, and the sky was halfway to twilight, leaving the interior of the carriage dark. Jon tuned his senses to hearing to distract from the unpleasant odor of Flea Bottom, which the street passed through briefly.

It was quieter than he remembered. Even the slums of King’s Landing had their equivalent of markets, and plenty of peddlers hawking their wares. He sat up straighter in his seat as the carriage slowed, and the strong scent of burning wood wafted through the window. He could hear the low murmur of their two Kingsguard ahead of the horses.

Jon glanced at Rhaegar, who met his gaze with a tense frown as their hatchlings stirred on their laps. Princess Rhaenys meanwhile was gently shaking Jace awake, turning to glance behind at the window. A glow was visible now, lighting up the area, and calls began to ring out from further away. Jon stood on his seat to get a better view; up ahead, he could see buildings aflame on either side of the street, and what looked to have once been a wagon burning in their path.

“Can we go around?” Jon heard Ser Erryk—or Arryk—say in a low tone to the carriage driver.

“Only if you fancy going deeper into Flea Bottom,” the man said.

“Turn back,” the Kingsguard ordered. “We will return to the Dragonpit.”

Smoke was beginning to drift through the window, stinging his eyes, and the shouts were growing louder. Jon reached carefully for his knife, which was strapped against his leg beneath his pants, though he did not yet slide it free. It was possible that whatever fire had broken out along their path was entirely accidental, but if so, it was extraordinarily convenient timing.

The clack of horseshoes on cobblestone was just audible over the din as one of the Kingsguard pulled alongside them. “My princess, remain within. We will turn and head back to the Dragonpit until the fires are put out.”

The tension in the knight’s voice told Jon that he too believed it to be no coincidence. The street was still narrow at this point, which meant two very long minutes of horse and carriage maneuvering to turn back north.

Too long.

The horrible scream of a wounded horse pierced through the din, and through the haze of the smoke still spilling in through the window, Jon could make out the shaft of an arrow embedded in its flank. Two clanking noises followed, the noise familiar to Jon—the clatter arrows deflected by a shield.

“Ser Erryk,” Princess Rhaenys called out tensely, holding Jace tightly to her side. Their young cousin was wide awake now, eyes large with fear.

There came another two loud thuds, this time above them, and Jon could see the point of an arrow splitting through the wood of the roof, and another a foot away from it.

“They are trying to set the carriage aflame, princess,” the knight said. By the sounds of it, he had drawn up along the side of the carriage opposite from where the first two arrows had come. “You and the children may need to leave it, if the fire catches.”

Jon could hear the agony of indecision in his voice. The carriage afforded protection from arrows, but the longer they remained within, the longer whoever was attacking it could get into position for—whatever it was they were after.

Us? Jon wondered. So far, none of the arrows had been aimed at the body of the carriage, but even so, he dragged Rhaegar several inches further from the wall. The other Cargyll brother joined his twin on the safe side of the carriage.

“There are at least four with bows,” he said. “They do not yet approach.”

The horse’s screams were quieting, which Jon knew meant another obstruction on the road. The smoke was growing thicker, enough to make Jace cough, and a glance upward revealed a darkening of the wood of the roof.

“Jon.” Rhaegar’s voice was low but urgent, his face set with tension. He extended a hand toward Jon. “Give me the knife.”

His first instinct was to deny the request, the notion of being unarmed in the chaos nearly unthinkable, but his arm was still injured. Rhaegar might lack Jon’s experience in a real melee, but he stood a better chance of defending them.

[end scene]

[depressedbloggerwrites]

i feel like writing an essay on why jeffannie is a horrible ship

disclaimer before i rant: you are completely entitled to your opinion on whatever ships you prefer! this is just what i think :)

i'm going to begin with the most obvious problem with jeffannie: the age difference. at the start of the show, she's eighteen (a TEENAGER, guys) and he's in his thirties. they are at vastly different stages of life. he has way more life experience than her.

even if we ignore that, they just make no sense together. they already have that father/daughter dynamic, and the chemistry community reddit is constantly on about is nowhere to be found. all the kiss scenes felt forced (maybe not debate 109, but i'll talk about that later). also, jeff having two awesome women competing for his love, and then going after the teenager with a boyfriend...interesting.

i don't think jeff is necessarily predatory; he is very clearly not exclusively attracted to girls as young as annie, but that doesn't mean his attraction to her isn't at least slightly iffy.

i saw someone say annie and jeff, a recovering addict and someone who currently has an addiction, would not have a very healthy relationship in the long run, and i agree. as the original poster said, annie worked so hard to put her addiction behind her, and being with jeff wouldn't be good for her.

also, whoever made that tumblr post saying every jeffannie episode would work better with jeffbritta or abedison was 100% right, which is why i'm going to discuss the problems with each jeffannie episode.

jeffannie began in debate 109, when annie and jeff had to argue the point that man is inherently evil on the greendale debate team, and the debate ends in a scene where the leader of city college's team launches himself out of his wheelchair; jeff instinctively catches him, and the leader uses this to support the point that man is good. annie proceeds to grab jeff and kiss him, which makes him drop city college's leader, which wins them the debate, because 'he dropped him because he was horny!'

god.

obviously, you can see why that made me uncomfortable to watch, but i guess you could look past it in the comedy and chaos of it all. anyway, jeffbritta would have made that episode so much better. britta would definitely be on the debate team, and since she and jeff actually had a normal age gap, which would make everything far less creepy.

next, let's talk about the worst thing in the world:

pascal's triangle revisited.

actually, the episode was fine. i enjoyed it. but that kiss at the end makes me so angry. jeff, you have these two beautiful women who you have been pursuing this whole season, and you go and kiss the teenage girl. THE TEENAGE GIRL. jesus fucking christ. and she had a boyfriend too. you know what would have worked? abed convincing annie not to transfer instead. infinitely better chemistry, and an abedison kiss that actually impacted the plot would have changed my life.

the conspiracy episode was excellent, but jeffbritta would have made it perfect. i don't think it expanded on anything problematic jeffannie-wise though, so that's a win.

and then you have intro to political science. i haven't really seen anyone talk about this, and it's once again not a bad episode, but i really think the writers just didn't want britta to have a storyline that actually developed her character, because she would have devoured in annie's place during this episode. jeff's dynamic with her is already perfect, and it would make so much more sense for them to run against each other, as opposed to jeff and annie.

all those alternate timeline jeffannie scenes in remedial chaos theory already sucked, but i didn't care too much because i knew they weren't going to push it into anything too serious, but then you had annie tell jeff he reminded her of her father mid-makeout and it's just...wow. so the creators knew they had this very obvious father-daughter like relationship, were fully aware of it, and still forced the ship. cool.

now, don't kill me for this, but i'm one of those people who actually genuinely, really liked season 4. and one reason why i liked it was because the one major jeffannie scene they had was the imaginary alternate timeline one, which acknowledged that jeffannie would not be good together, and was hilarious. so thank you season 4, they can never make me hate you <3

introduction to teaching was also great because there was a plotline centered around jeff and annie that never tried to force any sort of awkward romantic chemistry (at least that's how i remember it), which seems impossible in community. honestly, this episode just proved that platonic jeffannie is superior to romantic jeffannie.

but that period of bliss where there was no romantic jeffannie didn't last long, because then you have g.i. jeff.

i love g.i. jeff. it's one of my favorite episodes, and was phenomenal for jeff's character. there was just one line, where animated coma dream jeff tells animated coma dream annie, 'look at the rack i gave you.' that was just kind of gross and didn't sit right, especially since a major plot point of this episode was jeff turning 40 and having a crisis. annie was *checks notes* 23-24 during this episode. the age gap is still very concerning here, and was made worse because of the fact that it really highlights how jeff is aging.

and then season 6 got so close to leaving jeffannie behind, forever, and then they had to ruin it with the series finale. i'm just saying, we couldn't have a platonic jeffannie goodbye like we got with jabed (speaking of which, the jabed goodbye arguably hurt more than the jeffannie one)?

anyway, i am desperately hoping we get jeffbritta/abedison (or trobed!) in the community movie, even though i know that's probably not going to happen, i do not like jeffannie at all, and thank you for reading my explosion of angry thoughts!

[la-pheacienne]

Alright I'm choosing violence yet again because that's what we do in this house.

You guys are seriously creepy about adultery. Like. Seriously. It's not even a joke. In the beginning I thought this bizarre attitude was limited to fandom discourse but I don't think that's the case anymore. I think you guys will eventually need to come to terms with the fact that :

1) Adultery is not criminal behavior, at least in the Western world, since... quite a while actually.

2) Married people can and do fall in love with other people and even occasionally fuck them and this is a very real part of human experience that you need to eventually face.

3) Women who cheat on their husbands are not actually whores.

4) Being "the other woman" (funny phrase) does not automatically give you the seal of ultimate shame, depravity and ruined vagina unlike what your grandma may have told you.

5) Nobody is actually going to give you a golden cookie if you're a faithful god-fearing woman in your own marriage.

6) The fidelity of a man is not and should not be a reward for being a "good"/"correct" woman and having a faithful husband is not the Ultimate Badge of a Woman's Worth and Value unlike popular belief.

7) Likewise, having a man cheat on you does not make you Unworthy, Pathetic and Forever Ruined, it just means they wanted to fuck someone else. A man is not and should not be responsible for your value or worth, not even your husband.

8) From the list of all the harmful things a man can inflict on a woman, cheating is actually the least harmful. It is somehow rebranded as the most harmful, for obvious reasons patriarchy, which leads us to the centuries old pervasive mentality of "he's x, y and z (enter abusive, controlling, boring, horrible in bed) but AT LEAST he LOVES ME he's fAiThFuL and has eyes onLY for ME isn't that rOMaNTIC??". No, it is not. A man can cheat on you after years of being a supportive partner, giving you the best sex of your life, being a great parent for your kids, in short, after years of making your life better in all the ways that matter. A man can be blindly faithful to you and also be a horrible lover and a boring, controlling or abusive partner. Fidelity is socially treated as the number 1 undisputed proof of a man's love for a woman and number 1 undisputed proof of his value as a partner and it absolutely should not be so. This is actually a dangerous mentality and you learned it from me today.

9) Marriage vows are not engraved on our skin, they are not the unbreakable vows of harry potter where if you break them you lose your life, they are not the 10th commandments, they are not the vows of the night's watch. Marriage vows are nothing more than an legal agreement between two people and the state, and agreements are sometimes breached. People's genitals are not automatically covered with sealed concrete when they sign the paper, as much as it would like it to be so. People may agree on fidelity for life but they do preserve their bodily and sexual autonomy and free will even after marriage and sometimes they do prioritize that over their agreement because humans are just like that. I get that this very simple fact sucks, I do. But life sometimes sucks, relationships are unpredictable, people change their minds and can't/don't always want to resist on their desires or needs, and things don't always go as planned because as a general rule, you can't control other people's choices. Only your own.

10) Cheating is a morally reprehensible act, but that doesn't necessarily mean that people who cheat are inherently the epitomy of moral depravity or that their faithful partner is the saint in the relationship. Maybe they are, maybe they're not. Maybe they are both problematic, maybe the cheater is the victim, maybe the faithful partner is actually the problem. It fucking depends. In the year of our lord 2024 you need to perhaps acknowledge that this obsession with fidelity in marriage as the Absolute Hallmark of a healthy relationship and the Ultimate Seal of moral purity is actually a by-product of harmful strict patriarchal/religious values, real life is less black and white and the world is not split between faithful partners with a halo over their head and filthy cheating partners that should be lynched. This is bordering on biological essentialism and let's just say that's not the vibe.

11) A big part of the disgust "cheaters" inspire to a certain category of people is simply thinly concealed sex-averse puritanism, rebranded as ethics. Not all of us fall for that.

12) Feeling hurt, betrayed, traumatized, furious or disgusted after being cheated on is a totally valid reaction. Feeling outraged or disgusted on behalf of other people being cheated on isn't a valid reaction. The scarlet letter was published almost two centuries ago. You are still wayy too comfortable talking about other people's sex lives and passing judgment on account of what they are doing with their own genitals. Likewise, you do not have a say on the cheatee's choice to stay in the marriage. Some people do stay in marriages where they have been cheated on, and no, they are not necessarily weak people with no backbone and/or victims and/or financially dependent on their partner and they don't necessarily need saving. A marriage is an agreement between two (2) people and they are free to agree on whatever the fuck they want. You don't know everything that's going on between them.

The sooner you accept the above facts the easier human relationships will be for you, and as a minor but useful side-effect, navigating certain fandom spaces may become less tedious for you and me both. it's a win-win situation.

[the-reaping-lamb]

Quick stuff to get you on track for the AU:

-The Lamb remains dead, they aren't resurrected. Think of them as like, a phantom that can switch between worlds at anytime?

-Lambert still serves TOWW, but instead of being his vessel, he's instead a "Reaper".

-In this AU, his job is to essentially hunt down followers of the Old Faith instead of "converting" them into TOWW's cult. By doing so under the will of Death (Narinder), they are sent to Narinder himself, in which they are forced into servitude under him to gain their rite of passage to the afterlife. None of the followers who are killed are allowed to resurrect back.

-In addition to hunting down the bishops' followers, he's also tasked with collecting the souls of the wandering and delivering them to the afterlife

-The "Wandering Souls" are essentially people who were killed unjustly due to their devotion to Narinder or because they remained neutral in terms of religion. They are delivered straight to the afterlife where they are reunited with their loved ones, and are allowed to pass on quietly if they wish. Passing on is essentially the act of having their souls dissipate from the plane of existence

-They tried their hand at running a cult before becoming a reaper, but after a tragedy hit and all their followers died (their poor, innocent, beloved followers...) they decided that the cultist life was not for them. (Guilt, guilt, guilt...) so Narinder gave them a chance at something else different, that he thinks they'd be much better at. He's much more content with the life (or lack thereof) that he has now

-This version of Lambert is extremely jaded. There is a heavy weariness that follows them everywhere despite the fact they don't need sleep, and it weighs on them. Especially the first time he went to collect the souls of the members of his cult group.

-Narinder is happy to accommodate the Lamb's newfound vengeance streak + relieved that someone's able to collect any of the wandering souls that don't make it back to him. But he DOES feel a bit of remorse when he sees the Lamb looking so.... quiet. Like that

-Arguably the only time the Lamb smiles is probably when they're in the heat of battle, in which they're chopping away at people's heads with a manic grin

LAMB'S DESIGN:

-I wanted him to contrast Narinder and still reference canon Lamb's designs. So in some way, he still has his cloak, but it's made to hang off one shoulder instead of both.

-He doesn't bear the crown anymore, but that doesn't necessarily mean he doesn't use powers associated to Narinder. He IS his devoted Reaper after all. So instead of directly using Narinder's power, he uses the Sin that accumulates in people's bodies to fuel his strength

-Narinder has all his eyes showing, right? So I figured, I'm gonna make Lambert have his own eyes covered (or eyeHOLES, haha! Get it? Cuz he's actually eyeless as a Reaper? Haha! Fucked up!)

-If you look closely at the 1st fanart, you'll notice that there's a sliver of space between his head and neck- that's where he was first killed, actually. When he was still running the cult, he had it covered with the collar + bell, but when he became the Reaper, he proceeded to forgo the thing entirely

-Can you guess what his favorite weapon is? (Cuz I can't, it sucks) it's an axe! Ironic, considering he was killed with one- oooohhh wait, that's why he's using it, huh? :>

-He gets some sort of bittersweet, sick and sadistic joy from chopping people's heads off. It's 100% associated with his trauma from getting killed the same way. He likes to make sure his axe isn't nearly as sharp, so he can take his sweet time while still making sure it's as painful as possible

-He can visit his flock in the afterlife! They don't recognize him though, he lost them as a baby and he's been wandering since then. His family are expecting a scared young man to approach them, so they aren't aware of what he's become. He keeps it that way, and approaches them not as "their youngest" but as "TOWW's most devout servant". They're always staring at them longingly with a distant look

-If the Lamb is smiling, it usually means something REAAAALLY fucked up happened (that is 9 times out of 10 entirely his doing) because he just..... doesn't smile?? And it's fuckin creepy when he does it, jfc

[goodnightmemes]

THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER SENTENCE STARTERS (part two / ep5-8)

❛ Your life will take a complete change of course. Tonight. ❜

❛ Women are the natural leaders of the species. Ancient Egypt had it right. ❜

❛ I know we haven't always seen eye-to-eye, but we have to pull together now, don't we? ❜

❛ Okay, just because the door's open doesn't necessarily guarantee you a seat at the table. ❜

❛ You're not who I thought you were. ❜

❛ I really didn't want to think it, but...you're all fucking monsters. ❜

❛ Watching you shit on your principles would have been worth every fucking penny. ❜

❛ Why, if it weren't for you, they would all still be alive today. ❜

❛ The mind of guilt is full of scorpions. And I wouldn't wish their sting on anyone. ❜

❛ I don't need nor want to humiliate you, you're doing fine on your own. ❜

❛ Smart girls are only sexy until they don't wanna fuck you, and then they're competition, and then what do you do? You take them down a peg. ❜

❛ Don't have to be smart to be dangerous. I'm not scared of rattlesnakes 'cause they're so smart. ❜

❛ I assume I'm authorized to negotiate on your behalf with this individual? Unless you object right now, I assume I'm authorized to approach these negotiations from a hostile posture. ❜

❛ You're so out of touch with your human side...you can't even listen to anything outside your own head. ❜

❛ You've got to be smart. You have to realize, you can't trust people. Not you. Not anyone. ❜

❛ I haven't seen you sleep in like...I mean, it's been a fucking long time. Like, horror movie long. ❜

❛ You are losing it, honey. ❜

❛ Or maybe I know what's actually happening here. Crazy as it sounds. If all this crazy bullshit is right, then maybe I know how to stop it. ❜

❛ Well, she's... she's quite dead. Isn't she? ❜

❛ Life is insane. It is madness. The sooner you understand that, the better off you'll be. ❜

❛ The world might not be safe but listen to me, and listen carefully. I won't let anything happen to you. ❜

❛ All these terrible things and I thought, that's when people come together. But we've never been further apart. ❜

❛ I expect he's the kind of man you call if you, I don't know, accidentally kill a prostitute and need to dismember the corpse. ❜

❛ I like to think he killed someone. I like to think he's eaten human flesh. I like to think he took a piss on the tip-top of the world. ❜

❛ Tell me it's worth it. Tell me you know the risk and I'll be there with you. I'll back you up. Just tell me. ❜

❛ Shut your mouth, get your shit together. The fuck is wrong with you? ❜

❛ Men, when they think they're immortal, all they want to do is fuck. When they figure out they're going to die, all they want to do is fuck. ❜

❛ It just makes you think, you know, life is so fucking short. ❜

❛ You don't have to be a tyrant, but if you don't want to be consistently cruel, then you have to be sufficiently brutal at least once to establish authority. ❜

❛ Why the fuck would you do that? I'm sorry. Why the fuck would you do that, sweetheart? ❜

❛ You smell like shit and you look like shit, and you're acting weird. ❜

❛ If anybody spoke to me like this, there would be repercussions! You do not get a free pass! ❜

❛ I'm afraid you're ringside for my reckoning, old friend. ❜

❛ I thought it was an act. I figured you just played the housewife so you could keep a roof over your head. Spread your legs or suck his dick twice a week and you're set. You never have to work a day in your life. And I thought, "Good for her, she found her angle," but...this is really you. Isn't it? ❜

❛ I thought you only existed in the movies. ❜

❛ Words got us into this, words can get us out. ❜

❛ You're a collection of impeccable, elaborate masks in orbit of a stunted heart. ❜

❛ There are certain things one shouldn't have to face in life. Time enough for self-reflection after. ❜

❛ You're a monster, you know that? ❜

❛ I don't normally like to get my hands this dirty, but honey, you earned it. ❜

❛ You only ever wanted to be loved by him. You only ever wanted his approval. And it's still no fucking excuse. ❜

❛ I see you now. I look at you and I see... You. The poverty of you. ❜

❛ I don't know you. The man I know, the man that I love could never… But you're not him. Are you? ❜

❛ But I didn't know! Did I? I didn't know who I was dealing with. ❜

❛ That candle will last you an hour or so, then, I'm afraid, you're in the dark. ❜

❛ I find most people have a threshold qualifier. Something or someone they'd be unwilling to sacrifice, no matter how sweet the deal. ❜

❛ The real world is Darwinian. Survival, chaos, power. Leverage. ❜

❛ You feel it. In the air. We're sitting outside of time and space. ❜

❛ This is the moment luck meets opportunity. ❜

❛ In the ancient world, we'd seal this with blood, or spit. And then later, papyrus. But, a deal's a deal all over the world. ❜

❛ We're a... virus, I think. People, I mean. ❜

❛ But everyone loves something. And in that love there's collateral. ❜

❛ I have no collateral. Collateral is leverage. And I won't be leveraged. ❜

❛ I say this with love. Let it go. Let it all go. ❜

❛ There is a lot about my job I love. But there are moments like these that bring me no joy. ❜

❛ So I say, we stand tall and proud. Bill's come due. Let's not hide here in the basement like we've got something to be ashamed of. No. Not us. You and me against the world. ❜

❛ It may not have been perfect, but you can't say we didn't change the world. How many people can say that at the end? ❜

❛ I knew I would climb to the top of the tower on a pile of corpses. ❜

❛ It don't matter in the end why you did any of it. I don't fucking care why you did it. We don't want your confession, or your rationale, or your explanation. ❜

[fudgetunblr]

I've been thinking a bit about what alternative beginnings of the season they could've given the siblings, and here's some ideas I've had:

Luther was always number one, not necessarily because he was the strongest but because he was always the one most willing to please and be there for Reginald. He cared about his siblings, but he also cared about following protocol more. I think he'd want to be a part of a team, and therefore maybe he works in construction or something. He's not as strong as he once was, showcasing a life without powers, while still giving him something that felt meaningful to him. It ain't much, but it's honest work - and maybe that's what he needs. Also, he doesn't live in their old house obvi.

Diego always wanted to be a cop. Ik, Ik, ACAB, but it still would make sense for his character that despite his erratic behaviour, having kids and a wife and realising he needed to take care of them would calm him down a bit, leading him to a police job. It wouldn't be glamorous, and he could still want more. It would also showcase how he isn't as precise as he was without his powers, but still given him something that felt more meaningful.

Allison being a less successful actress feels correct. But having Ray walk out felt like such a disappointment. Perhaps instead either he died or she left him, showcasing that the Raymond in this timeline wasn't the same, and nothing was as it should. It would also make sense if she was really estranged from her siblings out of guilt. They try to pull that one, but they don't actually show it completely. Maybe she thinks they're madder at her then they actually are? Who knows. More self-reflection at the time-line she helped create.

Klaus being scared of everything was kind of interesting, considering he was once immortal. He didn't know it most of the time, but he also did drugs because of his powers. I like him starting this season off being clean, and also him just being extra careful. I don't think he would've gotten a job, he'd definitely mooch off of someone else, but perhaps not Allison. What if it was Luther instead? It feels like something he would do. Or Diego who forces him to babysit. They've never liked his bullshit, but I feel like Luther would've taken pity on him.

Five retires. Idk how, but he'd find a way. It would be a lot funnier seeing him just chilling out at an old persons home then have him be an agent. He's already done that shit, he's finished with all that.

Ben being a crypto-bro is so funny tho, idk, that can stay the same. And Luther picks him up from prison, and he's like "btw , Klaus lives with me" and we get some Ben and Klaus shenanigans.

Victor moving to Canada also feels correct.

I don't even know what I want Laila to do. I kind of enjoyed her being a stay at home mum, trying to do better than her own upbringing, but also showcasing how it's slowly killing her. Or perhaps she it content with it. Because just like five, she's spent her entire life running and flashing through time, maybe she enjoys settling down.

All this leads me to this - I don't like Ben spiking their drinks and forcing their powers back. I think it would be better if a real threat presented itself and they chose to get them back. Maybe Ben found the marigold and tried to talk Luther and Klaus into taking it. They tell him no, then someone, maybe Klaus, dies, and just like in the beginning, it's the thing that brings them all back together.

I love Klaus, and it would suck without him, but maybe seeing someone who has constantly escaped death so many times actually face mortality would bring a certain perspective. There's a threat (idk what that would be, something something, wrong timeline), and they're just not strong enough to defeat it without their powers. They don't want them back, they're content with their lives as they are, but they have to get them back now to save the world one last time.

Idk, that's just some thoughts. I think seeing them content and have shit ruffle up their lives one last time would've been an interesting way to return to. Alternatively, them being unhappy in the beginning, getting their powers back and then losing them again, because they recognise that they're happier without them. Just, any semblance of a character arc through the season and some introspective you know?

[checkoutmybookshelf]

Don't Fire Your Editors, Kids

When I started reading the ACOTAR series with my reading buddy, my sister started getting all up in my ear going "Throne of Glass is waaaaaaay better, you should read it." My skeptical little brain went, "that is rarely how authorial quality works," and then I picked up the book, read it in two days, and had to eat MASSIVE amounts of crow. Because when I finished the book, my abiding question was, "WHAT HAPPENED BETWEEN THIS BOOK AND ACOTAR????" Celaena has a personality, a well-handled and vaguely mysterious backstory that held my interest, her relationships were interesting, and she's damn competent. On top of that, the book was decently plotted and paced, and even the side characters were interesting. This was a pretty decent book, and I admit to being deeply but pleasantly surprised. Let's talk Throne of Glass.

Some light spoilers below the break, so be warned if you haven't read this and want to go in without being spoiled!

So apparently this book was pitched as "Cinderella, but if she's there to kill the prince, not kiss him," but she ended up doing a lot more kissing than killing, despite the fact that she's literally in an assassin's competition to be king's champion. I wasn't mad about it though, because by the time we actually get to the ball, our murder Cinderella has developed real--if somewhat complicated--relationships with Dorian, Chaol, Nehemia, and even Cain and the political actors of the castle that are driving a lot of the character development even as the contest sort of grinds the plot along. Ok, "grinds the plot along" might be ungenerous, because it's pretty clear that the contest isn't the main focus of the book, it's just the plot device that gets Celaena into the castle and back into society, and the fact that it gets pretty aggressively sidelined for actual character stuff isn't a bad thing, but while the character development is compelling, the plot pretty clearly understands that it's not the main character.

And I do enjoy our main character here. Celaena is deeply competent as an assassin, and she is deeply competent at survival. She survived a literal death camp for a full year, and still had her senses of humor and joy on the other side. She's kind of a murder Barbie as well, which I adore, because being a badass should not preclude enjoying pretty, sparkly, girly things like pretty clothes and jewelry, if the character wants to like that. Basically, I'm never going to shame a badass girl for encompassing BOTH those words.

Celaena also enjoys poking at Chaol, which is never ever not fun, and I really do like the slowish burn of Chaol learning that there is more to Celaena than just "best assassin in the world." That relationship is deeply fun, and honestly I prefer it to her relationship with Dorian as far as a romance goes, because while Chaol doesn't have NEAR the experience with brutality and mortality that Celaena does, the two hold more of a shared understanding of things that are hard in the world than she and Prince "My Parents and My Younger Brother Suck" do.

That said though, I think the relationships that I like the most are Celaena and Nox and Celaena and Nehemia. That Celeana was able to find a friend among her competitors speaks wonderfully to contradict our assumptions about her as an assassin. She is kind, she wants friends, and she is willing to not only put herself out to save Nox's life, she is willing to work with him on skills that, whether or not he is successful in this competition, will serve him well out in the world. Celaena doesn't necessarily get anything out of this either; if she loses, she dies in Endovier. If she wins, she's stuck stooging for the king for four years, and she or Nox could die before they ever see each other again. The relationship cannot be permanent, has no long-term guarantees, but they still find each other and help each other and make the best of the time they have. This relationship is super cute and I appreciated that there was more than just aggressive competition with the other dudes in the mix.

Speaking as a cishet AFAB gal, relationships between girls can be CHALLENGING. We don't get hard details about why Celaena doesn't trust other girls in this book, but we do get the lovely realization that actually she can trust other girls and have trusting, meaningful, and positive relationships with them. It's not easy, and the communication is perhaps suboptimal for political and security reasons, but learning that it's ok to trust Nehemia and lean into the feeling that she likes her and have that rewarded is lovely, and given the unfortunate continuing prevalence of girls hating on other girls in books, it was nice to see that addressed directly and directly contravened.

Besides, we still get Kaltain being mind-whammied into mean-girling, and if Perrington doesn't get his ass handed to him for that, we riot.

I will say that the relationships and character scenes are what I enjoyed most about this book, and I'm floored that it's as much better than ACOTAR as it is. This book was clearly well-plotted and well-edited, and I had fun reading it.

[mleemwyvern]

hi i’m here to ask about your superhero au

hello and thank you because im about to Go Off

so its set in a modern earthlike world, no minecraft stuff, and of course superheroes and villains are a thing. powers are gotten through an injection of power serum, which is mostly controlled by the government and given out through hero programs. you apply, do the tests and the training, and at the end if you're deemed good enough you get powers and a job as a hero.

powers also come with mutations, aka nonhuman traits, because i will never stop nonhumaning the hermits. a higher dose of serum tends to lead to more extreme mutations. some people believe it's also correlated to stronger powers, but that's not really a thing. especially because the strength of a power is hard to quantify. there's little way to tell what you'll get before you're dosed with serum- it's pretty much random.

power serum is the only way to get superpowers in this world. but the government isn't as good at controlling it as they think they are, and there's a thriving black market for the stuff.

unfortunately, a significant minority of the public don't like mutated people, seeing them as inhuman freaks. the flavour of bigotry varies but it is definitely there, and it sucks.

our heroes: the hermitcraft agency, formed by xisuma to help organize and support anyone with powers. they offer a variety of services from power training, to adaptive devices for mutations, to just a community of powered people. most of the cities heroes work there.

our villains: evil x and helsknight, who believe that power serum shouldn't be as restricted as it is. everyone should be able to get powers. the world would be better if everyone did. if everyone was mutated, it would be hard to hate, right? so, fueled by ex's ability to duplicate objects, they go around injecting anyone they can with the serum. against their will. as you can imagine this is A Problem.

i have developed detailed powers and roles in the world for every single hermit, all life series members, and various other hermit adjacents. currently working my way through empires. including a third bonus villain, xornoth, who has rapidly become a massive problem with his mind-altering abilities.

powers tend to be complex and detailed, because that is enrichment for me. they're often highly specific and have multiple uses.

since it's such a big au i won't describe any specific characters here, but i will drop the current list of them, and i encourage sending asks about individual characters! some have more lore than others but they all have a place. the amount of lore does not necessarily correlate to how insane i am about them. there was a lot of input from friends, especially @12u3ie, @will-falling-fell, and @winchestersinthetardisin221b

Hermits: all 28 of them.

Life Series: all 18 of them.

Empires: Pearl, Gem, False, Joel, Jimmy, Scott, Lizzie, Fwhip, Sausage, Pix (sort of- has a role but no powers)

Other: Zloy, Lyarrah (unpowered), Mrs. Welsknight, Quinn Hills, Jack (of kris and jack)

Villains: Evil X, Hels, Xornoth

[vaingloury]

Disparate Thoughts on Dungeon Meshi

I'm an anime-only watcher, so no spoilers beyond what's currently aired (eps 1-3) + mild map spoilers for a random 3.5e D&D module (Sunless Citadel).

- I'm not the first nor will I be the last to harp on the English localised title but Delicious in Dungeon sucks. I do, however, think going with the "DnD" naming scheme was a nugget of a good idea (let's face it, "Dungeon Food" sucks too). Maybe "Diners in Dungeon"/"Dungeons & Diners" instead (as in those who dine, not a place where one dines). Or "Dungeon Dine" (like "dungeon dive"). Regardless, I'll just be calling it Dungeon Meshi going forward.

- I don't know if this is coloured by me going into this series with the knowledge that Ryoko Kui loves Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 or a wider ripple effect of eastern dungeon-fantasy conventions being shaped by there not being an official Japanese translation of D&D between Basic and 5e, but the world-building's vibe is old-school D&D as hell. It feels like it was written by someone who maybe never got the chance to play the tabletop game much but spent hours poring over the 1e Monster Manual in hopes of getting a campaign off the ground (and ended up penning a manga instead, game scheduling be damned). There's the disarming of traps, feeling for secret doors, and even the iconic red dragon as seen on the covers of the Basic Dungeon Master's Handbook and 1e Monster Manual being the dungeon boss. Design-wise, the dungeon's layout it reminds me a bit of the map from Ruins of Castle Greyhawk or The Sunless Citadel (pictured below, right).

- The main cast is very tropey at the moment. Quite literally all the Basic classes are covered; the generic white man Fighter (Lv 1, no multi-attack yet :P) as the party face, the halfling/thief, the elf/wizard, the missing cleric, the dwarf... This works for this point in the narrative but doesn't make me particularly attached to any of them. They need another overarching obstacle.

- I generally don't like Studio Trigger's output (not the Imaishi-involved stuff anyway; Gridman fucks) but I respect how bouncy their animation usually is. So, I was excited to watch something animated by Trigger but not (originally) written by them. Dungeon Meshi, however, looks static and resorts too often to Dutch angles to maintain visual interest. There's a bit of an art shift in episode 3 where this improves; more fun "off-model" moments, the movements get a little bouncier, more color harmony. Hopefully, this stays and isn't just a guest director fluke. Form the snippets I've seen on the manga, Kui suffers a bit from "draw background killed my grandma", thus her ability to make her simple character designs emote well has to carry the page. The anime does the opposite; super detailed backgrounds but flat shading/lack of texture on the characters creates a need for them to over-emote with a "screen-shake" effect in order to stand out from their surroundings, which I could see getting old fast. The main event, the food, looks better in the anime than in the manga due to colour and animation bringing it to life.

- I don't usually laugh at Japanese comedies because they're either too slapstick for my tastes or too pun heavy for my JP comprehension level. Dungeon Meshi gets a point for making me "lol" more than once.

- Finally, a good panty shot:

- I watched episode 3 dubbed. EN Marcille > JP Marcille (I say this as a stickler for subs). The rest of the dub cast is fine but I'm probably sticking with JP because JP Laios' ability to scream > EN Laios (EN is a great generic white man, though). I'm not familiar with most of the JP voice cast. I think Chilchuck is my fave in JP.

Both languages have little breathing room between lines of dialog and I was hoping the EN dub would play around with the fact that the character speaking isn't necessarily the one on screen (thus less lip-flap matching, especially for Senshi, who has few indicators that he's actually speaking even when he's onscreen) but alas. I'll do another one of these if I have more to say later in the season 🥂

[carnivoreofthesea]

INSCRYPTION SWAP AU PT.1

i am slightly afraid to be made fun of PLEASE JUST LISTEN FOR THE FIRST PARAGRAPH AND THEN SCROLL IF YOU DONT WANNA READ IT ALL. this is impulsive so expect me to be silly crazy

leshy ---> tech

p03 ---> nature

grimmora ---> magic

Mags ---> death

Why in this way you ask?

Well leshy and P03 oppose each other the most and it felt natural, Still at odds and also keep their personalities. I feel like grimmora and mags would switch though is because death is a very real thing, but magic is fantastical and actively tries to stop death. Grimmora would also be able to keep her more happy attitude with realism with magic as its more of system/skill. Mags would take death and the undead pretty good as well because. bro is just a lil insane all around. Also consider a skull army that he wont stop lying to and say they'll come back to life eventually. OK PAST THIS POINT IM GOING TO GO MORE IN DETAIL BUT THATS THE BASIC IDEA GO AHEAD AND USE/CHANGE TO YOUR LIKING IF YOU WANT, JUST GIVE ME CREDS IF ITS LIKE EXACTLY THE SAME. if you make it your own then you don't need to cred, idc this idea is like really basic imo.

L3sh, Scybe of Technology.

He's still stoic and very immersed in his world, However now with a new technological theming. He makes sure to have the player learn about the intricate details of the tech they use. He's kinda like a happy old I.T. guy, Using all of his tech to its max potential. Its very early and traditional 60's and 70's era stuff, Whereas P03's was futuristic 80's. He tries to make sure that it can be easily grasped for most however most 60-70's tech is just a mess no matter what. He made all his limbs wires that can extend and compress, Expand and slim. So yes he is tall and muscly but also no bro is bobot he aint got shit. This also applies to his hair that flows all the way down his back but he usually doesn't mess with it, In fact the wires there probably aren't even connected to anything he just thinks they look neat. apart from occasionally oh you know. Tearing people apart to try and 'give them a fair playing ground.' he's normal i swear you guys.

ON P0LRIOD/L3SH X phoe

Yes they are still divorced. The same reasons, L3sh is neglectful at times and Phoe can be an asshole. L3sh can be too logical as well and has a rule of 'If you can, So can I. If I can't, then you'll never.' Which can be really degrading sometimes. He would even consider himself better than Peo at times, If not barely an equal. Leshys capability mixed with P03's cockiness makes an occasional asshole. They probably got divorced bc of L3sh's murder experimentation problems and also going weeks on end ignoring Phoe. Bro just check on your husband please.

Unsure of how he makes cards yet, So heres a few options!

-He makes his cards by taking parts of you and tech-ifying you. Your mind isn't necessarily required, As long as he's got like an eyeball and a leg you're fucked. You get transferred once he's finished by 'rewiring and applyinh new hardware upgrades.'

-He still takes a picture, however. its a literal copier. like a fucking business copier but bigger. You know the ones, that are all chunky and shit and have like only 3 buttons and are barely hanging onto life. then you get sucked into the card. This one might be my favorite out of pure hilarity.

-He consumes you with those wires that act as his hair, And then meticulously rips out the most important/cherished parts of yourself out before turning into a card that exits out of his chest plate. This is the most personal out of the options here. and possibly sexual now that i think about it? Have fun dying i guess

anyways ill repost this with the next parts when im done goodbye i am going insane💖💖

[residentdormouse]

monster: Is your OC monstrous in any way? Is there something that makes them monstrous? Are they aware of their own monstrosity? Do they accept it or reject it?

nightmare: What does your OC have nightmares about? How do they deal with their nightmares? Do they tell people, or keep it to themself?

pain: What's the worst pain your OC has ever felt? Do they have a high pain tolerance?

Thank you for the Asks!

(OC 'Not-so-Nice Question Game)

Answering for Hayden again, because I'm just mentally there right now...

monster: Is your OC monstrous in any way? Is there something that makes them monstrous? Are they aware of their own monstrosity? Do they accept it or reject it?

Personally I love playing with the good vs evil spectrum, and Hayden is no exception. It's something she battles with through Spiral, and something Flagg has no problem exploiting for an advantage. What she's capable of scares her. Who she could be is terrifying. Blood is on her hands, and she's not sure how to deal with it. What separates her from him? In her dark moments, she struggles to answer the question, and that in itself, is not a comforting thought. In Diving, she knows more, but that doesn't necessarily help. Especially when pain takes over. She sees red the same as anybody, and keeping that from not taking the wheel isn't easy.

nightmare: What does your OC have nightmares about? How do they deal with their nightmares? Do they tell people, or keep it to themself?

Nightmares are a given in this world. Hayden has learned to tell Flagg to 'Fuck Off', but it doesn't mean that shit doesn't linger. He plays on her fear of not being able to protect others, as well as her fears of what she is capable of and who she truly is. But now that everybody knows there are more to these nightmares than just garden variety terrors of their own making, there's little privacy with them. Not that Hayden really minds. Talking helps her, and she's horrible at lying. Plus, she wouldn't lie to Glen even if she could. They have both become quiet proficient at learning the best way to sooth the other through the worst of it.

pain: What's the worst pain your OC has ever felt? Do they have a high pain tolerance?

There is no shortage of pain in Haydens life. In her past, she's trained in healing, and the best way to learn is through practice. To heal, you need something broken. Not many stick through to the end of the course. Throughout her journey in Spiral amd Diving, she doesn't fair much better. While getting shot sucks, she'd say the burning inside your lungs as they cry out for breath is the worst. Both of them pale in comparison to losing those you love. Her pain tolerance is decent, but everybody has a breaking point.