#we haven't seen exactly how her powers work

[rmorde]

With talks about RCT output and worries about Shoko getting shafted regarding her powers... let's see the rough translations.

Warning: Spoilers

Sukuna: No, when you use RCT on another person, the efficiency is usually less than half compared to when you heal yourself.

Kinda make sense? It was already established long ago that RCT is incredibly difficult to pull off.

Shoko doesn't have any Innate Technique. Since her name implies that she is not part of a clan, she likely has no Inherited Technique either. So all she has is usage of Reversal (RCT). Considering how highly valued she is by the school, she must be incredibly good at it.

Now, her feats were said to be healing and re-growing limbs. However, we saw how Toge is still missing an arm and so does Hana. Maki is also heavily scarred.

But it's not all failures tho, Shoko is the one that healed Nanami after fighting Mahito the first time and he seemed perfectly fine the next day. Another example is Geto who was severely injured in the afternoon, but was back to normal within 24 hours.

And... that's about it. We do not have any further clue regarding her powers. This is both a boon and a bane.

Let's start with this lack of info as bane.

Sukuna: Her RCT isn't even as powerful as me or Gojo Satoru

This is what people are worried about. Frankly, so do I. This devalues Shoko's skill. It is not helped by the fact there are other characters introduced already that possesses RCT.

Sukuna's observation here could be taken as Shoko being not that special after all especially since we do not really have much information about what she can truly do so far. With her confirmed heals being 2 Perfectly Fine and 3 Not Exactly Fine, it may seem Sukuna is right.

HOWEVER!

#1 Sukuna has been wrong before. He has a habit of underestimating people right until he spent a lot of time knowing them through fights.

Case in point #1: Gojo. From fish to the guy he never shuts up about, Sukuna seem to like/respect (?) him in the end. I mean, just an observation here, Sukuna tends to name drop Gojo a lot actually like with Megumi.

Case in point #2: Yuji. Sukuna is practically annoyed with Yuji because he doesn't see any value in him. Yet, in this very recent chapter, he acknowledged Yuji at last! Sukuna hates it but he admits that Yuji isn't as bad as he initially thought.

#2 Sukuna is comparing Shoko to Gojo. GOJO who is The Strongest sorcerer?! IMO, Sukuna is being extremely biased here. Like really?! What did he expect? For every single sorcerer Gojo hanged out with to be on the same level as he is in terms of everything he does?! Then again, Sukuna fucking expected Hiromi to pull off the insane feats Gojo did during their showdown (and Hiromi delivered! My beloved! He was taken away so fast.)

Therefore, Sukuna saying Shoko isn't as great as him and Gojo is not really a downgrade exactly. They're two monsters on an entirely different scale. Shoko not being on their scale is just expected.

Seriously. Wtf is up with Sukuna? He's like a heavyweight champion whining why a featherweight champion (Shoko) couldn't compare to him and his rival (aka Gojo) in punching power right after beating the lights out of a promising rookie (aka Hiromi).

#3 We still lack information about Shoko's RCT to fully judge her. So far here are the solid facts:

She can heal people and help them regrow loss limbs which is legit since they are keeping her away from any fights.

There is probably a time factor for her abilities. -> Nanami & Geto probably got healed immediately by her so they recovered 100% -> Maki, Toge*, and Hana* probably missed the time window to become 100% healed -----> *Maybe Sukuna being the one to maim Toge & Hana is a factor too.

Her power level is not Sukuna/Gojo Grade.

The new info that RCT is only 50% effective when applied on others seems to be a general fact which may or may not apply to Shoko. Maybe she is greater than 50% effective at using RCT on others provided she heals a patient within a specific time window.

This could be copium but we actually haven't seen for ourselves Shoko healing someone. What we often see is the result/aftermath of her work.

I may misremember it (if I am please tell me) but I think this is the only image we have of her actually doing RCT... until she got distracted by Satoru and Suguru's shenanigans with Yaga that is.

I just don't want my baby girl be done dirty. Shoko is THE jujutsu doctor for fuck's sake.

GIVE HER RESPECT!!!

[errolluck]

Dear Americans and people outside Mexico: Please stop.

I have seen many posts of people outside Mexico saying: Congrats, Mexico! Claudia, a leftist feminist ambientalist jewish woman, is president! Take notes US!

Meanwhile, you go out in the streets in Mexico today and no one is celebrating. No one. The streets are empty, everything feels sad and hopeless.

A lot of people didn't want her. Because we know what is going to happen.

Morena (her political group) is literally in every position of power. From senators, to city governors. They have EVERY SINGLE thing in the goverment.

You know how bad things are gonna get for us here? Do you know what she has allowed? What THEY have done to our country? All the shit we have been through because of them?

No, because you don't care. You haven't cared enough to research who this woman is really and just praise her without knowing a shit.

Because you have to make everything about you, don't you?.

"I can't believe Mexico has a woman president before US!"

"OMG, US take notes!"

"The US-"

Can you stop for a second and think outside of your bubble? Do you truly know who this woman is and what she has done to Mexico? Or you are just using this to talk about you and your own country and problems?

Please. Please do your research.

She is not your precious feminist ally.

She has denied multiple times the ongoing wave of violence against women in Mexico (11 women go missing A DAY). She has sent riot police to gas feminist protests.

Did you hear what I said?

11 WOMEN GO MISSING A DAY.

EVERY DAY 11 WOMEN NEVER COME BACK, ARE KILLED, ARE RAPED, ARE TORTURED, ARE GETTING FORGOTTEN WITHOUT LEAVING A TRACE. EVERYDAY.

And she denies this. She has denied MULTIPLE TIMES that the violence against women is at an all time high.

A feminist would denied that 11 mothers/sisters/daughters/aunts/girls/women/people are going missing PER DAY?

No. Because she doesn't fucking care.

She is no ambientalist.

She was more than happy to support the Tren Maya, a project AMLO, the former president, was hooked on making since the begining.

The issue?

DEFORESTATION. MASSIVE DEFORESTATION.

10 MILLION TREES HAVE BEEN CUT DOWN.

Entire natural spaces gone for a train that isn't even working and already is having problems.

Also, how can I forget this?

27 people died, 80 injured.

The line 12 (Linea 12) of the CDMX Metro collapsed. The structure and the entire transport had (and still are) been neglected by the city administration.

Guess who was in charge of CDMX at the time of the tragedy?

Exactly, Claudia Sheinbaum. What was she doing instead of sending resources and money to fix and mantain the Metro?

But political propaganda for herself, of course!

And even after that tragedy, there have been multiple issues and accidents in the metro. A fucking coworker of a family member was trapped in a wagon alongside multiple people for HOURS due to a malfuction of the metro. They weren't allowed to get out even if they were cooking alive due to the heat of being inside a closed wagon and police ordered them TO NOT FILM what was happening to them.

She is not a saint. She is not an icon. She is not someone you should praise.

FUCKING INFORM YOURSELF BEFORE TALKING.

Mexico is not USA. Get it? We don't have the same politics and issues you have, get that?

The entire world doesn't revolve around you. We aren't your argument to use, we aren't your little meme to fuck around with.

We are people that are tired. People that didn't want this. People that are upset, dissapointed, mad, hopeless.

My blog isn't a political place, so as a final note, I want to say this:

I want to be wrong. I really, really want to be fucking wrong.

I want my country, Mexico, to be ok. To be a better place to live.

I HOPE to be wrong and that things get better. For me, for my family, for my friends, for the millions of people that stay, study, work, breathe, live and love this country.

Claudia Sheinbaum, I really want to be wrong about you. Not because I love you, but because I love Mexico.

I don't have high hopes for the future, but I really, REALLY, want things to be better.

That's all I have to say for now.

[kbagraces]

Flip A Switch - Lando Norris

Lando Norris Mafia AU

As much as we try to suppress the stigma, strong women will continue to be perceived as intimidating until you learn to love us.

PART 1 - Unnecessary Violence

Women are small. They should act naive, innocent and weak. That's what you were told. That's what i was still told. Mother said it's the most attractive thing a girl can be. My brother said it's the safest thing a girl can be. Daddy said it is the most stupid thing that i could be. 'Be strong', daddy said and to that i would reply with what my mother and brother had instilled into me. Anger would rise up, "You're a bright girl y/n, but you trust too easily. That'll do you no good if you follow in my footsteps."

I wanted to follow in his footsteps, i really did, but i was stuck in the contrasting beliefs of society and my father's expectations. I wanted to do him proud, he after all risked his life everyday to keep our family safe. But i was just a girl, what could i have done?

Daddy never got a real funeral, that's just the way it was for us kind of people. I think of him everyday, but no one dares to utter his name which leaves my mind to be his only place of rest. After he passed, my mother went awol, i haven't seen her in months. My brother is now mad with power, thinking that he can drag daddy's organisation from the pits it collapsed into. He is wrong. Daddy always said Keegan didn't have the ability to work in such a treacherous environment, but of course he never listened.

"Keegan, daddy wouldn't have wanted this. This is so far from how he'd organise things" I exclaimed, chasing after him down the halls of our family home. It was supposed to be an 'event' of sorts to celebrate my fathers life, too little too late i thought, Keegan never celebrated his life when he was actually alive. I was certain this was an attempt at gloating to his so called peers about his ever so important role, despite it being quite the contrary, he is only making things worse, which is literally impossible, but somehow not for Keegan.

"Just because you were dad's favourite does not mean that you know how to run this company, y/n. You're still a little girl. You know nothing. I learnt it all the day Dad bailed on us. Stop acting like he was a Saint, because, if you actually knew anything about how to run this, you would know he was far from it."

I wanted to fight back, but causing a seen was wrong, unnecessary and exactly what he wanted, and you would see me dead before I followed another mans orders, related or not.

The halls were starting to burst with people. The luxurious fabric of suits and gowns brushing against my bare arms as a turned from my brother and stormed away from his ignorance.

The corners of my mouth slightly turned upwards as i caught glimpses of those that i knew but not enough to allow them to want to stop for a conversation. The amount of people i didn't know however most certainly outweighed those that i did and that was how my brother worked. Quantity, not quality. All ego, no class, clarifying to me that this is in no way what my father would've wanted and is unfortunately all down to my brothers stupidity and selfishness.

The mafia is a dangerous place. Being the daughter of a previously feared leader does underpin you with some stereotypes. I, however, wasn't as conformist as the other girls that i knew. I wouldn't let the sleazy sons of other organisations tempt me into going against my family for a below average shag in the back of a stolen car. I'd like to think i had a little more class. As i looked disgustingly at the girls who were doing just that the mingling started as the sound of erratic jazz music drowned out the painfully boring conversations of controversy. Not even a week earlier most individuals were likely to have been literally at war.

I glanced across the room, my mothers 'friends' dotted around, judgemental scowls plastered across their faces. There we certainly some unusual and dangerous occurrences unfolding in front of me.

The jazz music cut off abruptly as my brother clambered on stage a few feeble looking goons following him in a pathetic attempt in looking intimidating, my hand instantly raising in humiliation.

"Well, that's embarrassing." the presence beside me uttered into my ear. My eyes raising in the attempt to recognise who the husky voice came from. Empty eyes were starring into mine, looking as disappointed as i was at my brothers underwhelming speech that he's spluttering out. I hummed in agreement turning back to the mess unfolding in front of me.

"I'm Lando."

Lando.

I recognised his face, flashes of my fathers profiles flickered through my mind as i tried to put name and face to his crime. He once worked here, but was found to be a rat.

"Norris?" Rat.

His eyebrow raised along with the slight quiver of the corner of his lip. "Impressive, you really are your fathers daughter. Perhaps it should be you that is up there." He nodded towards the stage.

An unsettling feeling rushed through my body, pushing his shoulder i questioned, "what do you think you're doing here? Do you not have an inch of respect?"

"I-"

He was cut off as Keegan pinned me as the next victim of his embarrassing 'speech' if you could even label it that. "And there she is." His eyes dark, filled with hatred. "The attention seeker of the family. The reason that dad died. The reason that i was neglected as a child. My father never appreciated me, i was the one destined for this life. I worked so hard to make him proud but princess y/n/n always stole the limelight. Which is why, you're out sis." He spat.

I felt empty, shocked. Out?

A hand wrapped around my bicep dragging me through the crowds of people. My senses finally kicked in after i was out of the hall.

I shook off the grip, "get off me!" I yelled. One of brothers goons looking into my eyes. "Out." He stated, nodding his head towards the entrance of my home. I tilted my head in shock.

"No. Fuck you. This is my fucking house. Who do you think you are?" My arm swung for his face, knuckles connecting to his cheek with unexpected force, after the shock had escaped him he grabbed my arms, pinning me to the wall my face pressing onto the cool surface. I felt the barrel of a gun press into my skull. Fuck. "You just find it so easy to fuck things up don't you. Keegan didn't say kill you, but i do fancy seeing your brains splattered against this wall."

"Why because you think it'll make Keegan love you a little bit more. Aw so cute-," i heard the gun being cocked and then suddenly all of the pressure he held against me fled my body, bang.

Swinging round, I was expecting pain to hit my body, nothing came. There he was lying on the floor, Lando standing above him, gun in hand starring at the victim on the floor. Silence filled the corridor and the hall that i was just forced out of. "Out. Now." he glared at me, his eyes flickering to the entrance doors behind me.

We began walking towards the doors before the guest in hall, looked out in curiosity to see a dead boy on the floor, blood pouring from his head. "I didn't need your help." I demanded as we excited what was once my home.

A snort left his nose, "you know, some how i don't think that is true and you're welcome by the way." We reached his car, to which he nodded his head to.

"You're joking, right? You really are mad if you think i'm going anywhere with you, whether you saved my life or not, i do not want to be around you.", now it was my turn to laugh.

"So you admit that i saved your life?" I rolled my eyes and began to walk down the road.

"They'll be after you. We can help you." he shouted down the road.

"See you around, Norris." I yelled back. No way in Hell am giving him what he wants, at least not right away.

***

Keegan hadn't tried to find me, but opposing gangs had and although i can certainly fight my own in a 'normal' situation, when fifteen groups of ruthless and revenge hungry men are after you it becomes hard to leave your house.

"You could just give Norris a bell." Mandi suggested. Sitting in her box room which in fact had been my bedroom for the last two weeks. She was my only friend and the only one who knew everything about me. But things such as what she just stated shows how she can still be so out of touch.

"No."

"Y/n. Think about it. Your life is at risk and as much as your dad hated the McLarens*, he would've hated you dying more." She attempted to reason, and she was right,. "And who gives a damn about your brother, do you not want to help McLaren in taking him down? He literally tried to kill you!" she exclaimed.

Rolling my eyes, "well no he didn't, just one of his goons."

"You trust too easily. Please just think about it, gorgeous. You're the strongest person i know but right now, you can not fight this battle alone." She sighed getting up from my bed, "love you, goodnight."

"Night Mands."

I don't need your help, but I think we can come to a mutual deal.

-y/n

Y/n, I knew you'd come round. Are you currently busy?

Yes i'm going to bed. I'll discuss terms tomorrow. Night.

————

Masterlist

A/N

*im using the car names as gang names as I'm just that uncreative!

[rriavian]

So I'm sure this point has been made already but something I really enjoy about the Corinthian (specifically in the show as I haven't read the comics) is that the entirety of season one is just him finding increasingly elaborate ways to avoid interacting with Dream.

And I love it because it's the smartest thing he could have done.

Desire technically does something similar but that's a different point. Typically the 'villain' plots to have at least one moment to gloat over their fallen enemy. Arguably we should have seen this in episode 1, once Dream is trapped, because it's the perfect moment for the Corinthian to saunter down to the basement and be like 'haha I've just told Burgess all of your secrets and I'm going to leave you here in this glass cage I told him to build'.

But the Corinthian doesn't do that.

For an antagonist that enjoys indulging in his vices the Corinthian shows impressive impulse control when he chooses to. He keeps away from what is perhaps the biggest temptation of all.

There is so much I could say about that specifically, but I might come back to it another time. The point is that even though there shouldn't really have been any risk the Corinthian leaves as fast as he can, hoping to never come back, and while I'm sure he felt tempted to taunt his creator he never does. Then when Dream is free the first thing he does is try and get someone else to confront him, and when that doesn't work he follows Ethel to where John is. But the Corinthian only interacts with him enough to make sure he's on his way to the ruby, doesn't go with him, because he's not interested in getting caught up in the battle himself.

And the Corinthian doesn't even want to make it obvious he's helping at all.

Yet he's still prepared. Though the Corinthian only acts when Dream is free he still knew exactly where to find Ethel, who she was, what she'd stolen. That confrontation may have sent him back to the Dreaming (arguably the first time the Corinthian indulges a little of his urge to taunt though he only says he'll fight Dream if he comes after him, not that he's already making a move) but Ethel's amulet doesn't really do much to slow him down.

It's a near miss for sure.

It could have put him directly in Dream's path if timings had been different but the Corinthian doesn't lose his cool. In fact, as soon as he realises Dream isn't in his realm he slyly starts seeing how much information Lucienne might tell him. Her neutral greeting already made it clear she wasn't outright suspicious of him. It's a great scene!

(Again I could ramble about it.)

The Corinthian knows that he doesn't have the power to defeat Dream himself but he's smart enough to consider what else he can do. He knew enough about how to hypothetically keep Dream trapped to the point of advising Burgess on it, had obviously thought about it, and crucially ended up being right. Diving into the second half of the season would make this post way way too long, but the Corinthian is still trying to play things from behind the scenes, figuring out who else he can use to attack Dream.

He spends the whole season trying to stay hidden and at no point did I think it made him seem weak.

Alongside all else he is the Corinthian is shown to be methodical, patient and calculated. Realistic. It's a really nice demonstration of character for them both - for him and Dream - the Corinthian understands how powerful Dream is and never lets himself forget it, which means we as the audience never forget it. The inequality in power is built into the story, he constantly treats Dream as the biggest threat, someone who could wipe him out of play if he revealed himself. It makes for a very satisfying antagonist, one who actually seems to use their brain, because the Corinthian knows exactly what he's up against.

And it shows how terrifying Dream is to his enemies.

Because he's the antagonist of the Corinthian's story. One the Corinthian refuses to give in to, rejecting every opportunity he might have had to manipulate his way back into Dream's good graces, to return to the Dreaming with the rest. While I do think the Corinthian believed he wouldn't be forgiven no matter what, I still love how he stands by his own convictions, and though there are similarities with Gault I find his reasoning more complex and compelling. However we might consider the morality of both characters, however we might weigh the merits of their perspectives, from the Corinthian's point of view Dream is very much the villain. And he isn't an easy one to defeat.

The best chance anyone has against him is to run, to hide, maybe try and delay him with a trap if circumstances permit, but you better hope he has better things to do then give chase.

The Corinthian doesn't try to fight him.

Instead he does everything he can to stay out of Dream's way right up until there are no other options.

[demeterdefence]

you know, for a comic that claims to be a "feminist retelling," it is incredible how meaningless and vapid the actual "feminism" tends to be

just using the latest update, where ouranos is verbally trying to tear rhea down and metis just kind of ... does this? and let's be clear, i don't expect metis to break into some kind of longwinded speech, considering the moment, but it doesn't like ... do anything.

is there even any reason to say rhea and metis knew each other? beyond just being fertility goddesses, have they ever actually met? metis reaching for rhea would have a lot more power if we knew of their relationship prior; because we don't know if there was one (and there very likely wasn't, rhea mentions metis to zeus while she's dying in his arms and tells him to use metis like ouranos used her) the casual aspect of this interaction falls flat on its face.

it's great to have girl boss moments and "fuck yeah" scenes, and those can be great as a feminist aspect, but feminism and women solidarity is more than that. it's something rachel has tried to do numerous times but can never actually stick the landing on. the concept of all the fertility goddesses working together could be empowering, but thus far, we haven't seen them connecting - they're just posing in their met gala reject dresses, framed in such a way that we see their breasts over and over. wouldn't this moment have been better if metis and the other fertility goddesses had put their hands on rhea's shoulders, or shown that they were together beyond ouranos? there wouldn't even need to be text; showing the three of them surrounding her, showing her love that she couldn't find with kronos, showing her that she wasn't alone.

if rachel wanted to prove that rhea was too badass to be affected by ouranos, then metis reaching for her just serves as pointless space filler. there's no point to her repeating "no, no, no" because it defeats the whole purpose of rhea being strong. it makes it seem like rhea is as fragile and timid as ouranos is trying to claim. again, we don't even know if metis and rhea know each other, and we have to remember that in previous chapters, rhea is the one who told zeus to consume her, and that metis slept with zeus when he was very much underage. we don't exactly have positive links between the two, so having metis act as some kind of comfort just feels. obligatory. like, throw in some surface level girl comfort.

visuals can be so powerful, and just seeing all the fertility goddesses rallying together facing ouranos, rather than separately posing, could have been so phenomenal. isn't that the whole point of this narrative? isn't the whole point that love goes both ways, that strength comes from connection and love (not just romantic, but maternal, friendship, allyship?)

unrelated, i don't think it's a coincidence that both persephone and rhea have been bashed by their father-in-laws in The Big Showdown, or that the bashing follows the same line of taunting. both have been called useless and weak, and it just seems to drive the point home that rhea and persephone are more or less twins. this is the most persephone-looking rhea has ever appeared, which is gross for a lot of reasons, but i digress.

showing, not telling, goes a long way, and it would be nice if we could see the actions of women supporting each other, rather than being told it's happening.

[jamiedc-they-them]

Good People Part IV: Safety in Numbers (Platonic)

Summary: A new friend joins you on your travel for this infamous head. A vault gives you a moment of safety. But, like always, the world comes crashing down around you. But this time, it's not just you that it collapses for.

Episodes 5/6/7.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

"Should we wake them up?" Maximus, the Knight you had saved - and the one who had saved Lucy - asks as he sees you slumped against a pillar, eyes shut. It hasn't been too long since he had gotten out and saved your friend, and yet you found yourself drifting off.

Lucy looks back to you, You look peaceful. For once, you don't look at war with yourself.

There's a feeling she has inside. For a moment, it reminds her of how she is with her brother - loving, protective; but most of all, accepting.

"I think a few more minutes won't hurt them. I think they need it. Haven't really seen them rest yet."

Maximus nods. He knows he needs the head and all, but he can also understand Lucy's reasoning. This place isn't kind to anyone, and having your guard down isn't the greatest thing. But, you do seem to need it at this moment. That, and you did save him, so.

Lucy gets him to agree to have you both accompany him to find the head. 'Safety in numbers' she says. He can't exactly argue with that; after all, without you two, he'd still be in the suit - or dead.

Maximus packs up his things. Lucy gets up and approaches you, crouching down in front of you. She lightly taps you on the arm.

"Y/N. Y/N, wake up," she says, keeping her voice soft. She keeps her taps quick, respecting the boundary with touch.

You jolt, then seem to calm down as you open your eyes. The first thing you do, she clocks, is check the area around you both.

She smiles, "made good on my promise," she teases, "no urination for you, my friend."

Friend. It feels nice to say it now and know it goes both ways. You're friends. Maybe Maximus can be one, too. Still, one step at the time.

You snort, eyes softening as you look to her, "that you did," you say, standing up - she mirrors you - as you then stretch a bit, "thank you."

"I should really be the one thanking you," she says, "it's you who got me the help."

You shrug off the thanks - still not there with that, it seems; ok, she can work with that - and roll your shoulders, "was all the Knight. I just got him out of the suit."

She wants to argue in your honour, but doesn't. Like said before, she can work with this. Baby steps.

"We're gonna be travelling with him," she says to you, "he needs the head too. So, I figured, someone else looking out for us can't hurt, right?"

You don't seem too sure at first, then nod.

You all go on your way, Lucy asking about what had happened in the last 200 years, as if either of you can summarise that.

"People in charge did what they always do," you say, "they chose power over lives."

"Sounds a bit like a red to me," Maximus says.

You shrug once again, "maybe. Still, ain't exactly patriots out here to shoot me for it."

Lucy looks at you concerned, Maximus shakes his head. You're an odd one, but you're honest. So, he respects that.

You come to a bridge, with two people on the other side. Lucy tries to calm the situation down. You and Maximus, seemingly reading each other, get ready. You stand in front, no weapons, but you'll go down first and give him time to draw.

It works, and part of you believes that it just might work, too. But, the inevitable happens; the fiends see the pipboy on Lucy's arm, and they draw. Your instinct was correct; Maximus draws Lucy's weapon, and gets a shot off. A shot hits his arm, you move Lucy back, just to be safe - it all happens quick, but you still manage too - and he then fires the second round off.

"I hate it up here," Lucy laments.

"Don't we all," you say, looking to Maximus, "your arm ok?"

"It's nothing."

"It's not nothing," Lucy protests, "you've been shot!"

"I'll be fine," he says, "let's just keep going."

Lucy looks to you. You sigh, nodding at your friend, before looking to the Knight:

"Look," you say, "we'll keep going," you put a finger up to stop Lucy before she says anything and continue, "but, we'll also keep a look out for a stimpack, or something for that wound, ok?"

Maximus nods, going with the diplomatic solution.

"See?" you say, "not so bad for a red, huh?" Maximus snorts at your tease. He shakes his head. Sure, he'd probably disagree with a lot of your views on things, but you're good as a person - hell, you gave him the space he needed for that interaction. He decides then and there to trust you.

The three of you continue. You reach Shady Sands, and Maximus tells you about how he was from here. He was a survivor, and how the Brotherhood gave him a purpose.

You might fully like the Brotherhood - at least in what you've seen; a company like that with brutality will always go wrong in your eyes - but Maximus is a good man, even if tortured.

You look from the massive hole, to Lucy. To your friend who gave you a purpose - at least for a little bit. You gulp.

You were bad luck. Hell, you even hit your head when Lucy first said 'hello' to you. You're a magnet for trouble. Yet, she stuck with you. Fought for you in your honour. She stuck by you when others would've left.

You find what you think is a hospital. Lucy enters, you follow, then Maximus does.

You split up, trying to find what you can.

You find some caps. Maybe your luck really is turning.

You hear a scream. Lucy's scream. You run out, back into the lobby area, and barge through a door...only to find that apparent adjoining one is fake.

You feel the floor give out from under you...

You wake up in a startle. For once, no dreams haunting you.

"Good, you're up," you hear a voice say. You turn, alert. It's a woman. She holds up her hands, "look, I understand the concern," she says, "but, we're not a threat. We're not a threat. We have your other friends. They asked about you."

So, they're alive, you know that at least.

"You're Y/N, right?" the woman asks. You nod, now noticing the blue jumpsuit...there's no way, "I'm Birdie," she says to you.

You approach the window, and look out at everything. It's all so clean and...nice. Everyone smiles.

You look back to Birdie, who seems to be waiting for you to ask, "are we -- I mean...is - is this a -"

"A Vault?" she asks, smile on her face - seems your instinct was right, "it is," she confirms, nodding as well.

You nod, taking it all in.

"Now," Birdie says, we kept you in there to make sure you weren't radiated or anything. But, all seems clear. You're free to see your friends. We'll get some food in you, then show you to your room."

"My room?"

She nods again, "welcome to Vault 4."

You are let out, and look over the railing at the place. It's like a community all onto itself.

Lucy spots you, and instantly beams, calling out your name and giving a wave. You wave back, before making your way down to join them.

Lucy gets up, and gives you a hug. You stumble a bit, but soon find yourself being ok with it.

"I'm glad you're ok," Lucy says.

You tap her on the back, and she pulls away - seemingly understanding your code language for 'too much'. She nods, "come eat."

You sit down, Maximus and you sharing a nod. Birdie, and then Ben - the overseer, come over and introduce themselves. You cant help, though, but notice Ben's one massive eye. No one else seems to bat on eye. And, hell, you've seen your fair share of mutations out in the Wasteland - as Maximus says, it happens. But, Lucy seems more disturbed.

You, however, let yourself feel a positive emotion for once - it doesn't feel natural to you - and it's a feeling of safety.

"Lucy," you say, "we're in a vault, that's gotta be something, right?"

"I - I want it to be," Lucy says, "but...Y/N, my Vault fell. I don't want - I don't want it to happen anywhere else."

"That's fair," you say, voice soft and distant; you both have your trauma's, and both have similar reactions with it - wanting to do all you can for it to not occur again.

Yours was isolation, her's seems to be more vigilance.

Still, she softens as you look around in awe at the place. Maximus clears his plate, before looking to you.

"Hey," he calls out. You look to him, "after we finish, did you wanna go see our rooms? I think they should be near each other?"

You look to your plate - at the actual full meal in front of you that you've barely touched. It feels wrong, eating this amount of food, but you've been given it. They have given it to you. And it would be rude to not take them up on this.

You look to Maximus, your new friend, and nod. He smiles, bright. You do too.

Lucy looks between you both. She's still unsure, something in the back of her mind telling her that something isn't right; but, she then sees you both and your eagerness for this place. To her, it felt like a homecoming; to you, it was a new world with a whole new set of rules to understand - and, god, the eager look you both had; the conversations you both have as you finish your own food. She doesn't interrupt you, she just lets you both talk, and that, that is what makes her feel that humanity may just make it through this to the other side; connections. Friendship.

She turns down the offer to go up with you both, saying that she'll catch up, but wishes you both the best. Her smile is honest, but you don't see the way it struggles to stay up right. She wants to best for you, she does really, but that voice in the back of her head won't leave you alone. It seems that, here anyway, it's not there for you - but instead now for her - and so she'll follow it.

You're her friends. She has to look out for you both.

Maximus is right, your rooms are next to each other. Everyone is so nice here. They smile and wave. They say 'hello' and pass you by and leave you be. No one tries to take things from you. No one has an ulterior motive. Everyone is just kind.

That, and no one pisses on you, so that's a win in your book.

Maximus give you a nod and a 'see you later' before entering his own room. Your door opens. You flinch at the hiss it makes, but Ben just assures you that it's ok.

You enter, and it shuts behind you. Ben explains how to reopen the door. He even demonstrates it for you, before leaving you to get acquainted with it.

It's bright. Colourful and expressive. There's no dirt on anything. There are clothes left out for you. Even a kind of gown. You take off your clothes, and enter the bathroom. You see a shower, you turn it on. It works. There is a heat that hits you. It's comforting. You put yourself fully under it, letting it wash over you fully, before you start using some soap to clean yourself. It smells nice. You could get used to this.

You get out of the shower, getting changed into your new clothes. You feel something on your cheek. You put a hand to it and wipe. Puling away, you see a tear.

More come after that. A mix of happy and sad emotions all hitting you at once. You've never let yourself feel. You've never been able to. But, here you are, letting yourself have a moment. To process fully all that you've been through. All you've lost, and what you've gained in such a short amount of time.

You hear a knock on your door. You open it, it's Lucy. She looks concerned, out of breathe. Just a mix of things.

She enters, shutting the door behind you.

"Y/N, I - I think..." she pauses whatever she was about to say, seeing your state, "what happened?" she asks.

"I, uh," you say, "I don't know," you wipe some stray tears, "just - just something dumb. Nevermind -"

"It's not dumb," she assures. She has so much suspicion for this place, and yet her first concern is you.

There's a beat of silence. She waits. Despite the anxious thoughts on her findings. She waits.

"It's just..." you look to the floor for a second, before back up to her, "it's a lot," you confess, "all of this. I smell good, Luce. I don't -" you shut your eyes, seeing the memories you are used to seeing, "this is a good thing. A nice place. Nice people."

She nods, wanting for you to go on, "and I don't - I don't know how to feel about it."

She turns her head to the side, watching as you struggle with your words - so, she says a few of her own, "you deserve good things, Y/N."

You scoff, looking back up at her with your arms folded and back hunched, "maybe," you say, not fully believing it, "but...least I'll have you, right?" your walls are down fully. Emotions on your sleeve. Assurance, that's all you want.

"Always," and she gives it. It's instant, too, tone serious. Your lip wobbles.

"Even after we find your dad?"

She nods, eyes firm, "I'll do whatever I need to, to get you guys a spot in my vault. You'll be safe there. I promise."

A few more tears slip, and you nod. You let yourself have this. Something good. Something to hope for.

Then --

"'Your vault'?"

She nods, hating to have to crush your hope a bit, "there's something wrong here, Y/N. They're - They're talking about Shady Sands. They celebrate Moldaver!" she says to you in a whisper yell.

Your eyes widen.

"Look," she says, putting hands on your arms, "I will fix this. I won't leave you behind. But, you deserve something good, Y/N, and I mean that. Even for a little bit longer."

You look at her, eyes shinning with new tears - one of worry for her.

"I will be fine," she promises, "I know Vaults. I did engineering there. That, and I can take care of myself."

You never doubted that, but still, "but, safety in numbers."

She nods, "I know. But, like I said, I know vaults. I know where to go and how to get there. Before this all comes crashing down, you deserve some piece of mind. Just, keep an eye on Maximus, ok?"

You nod. You can do that.

"Be safe," is all you ask her.

She nods, giving your arms a squeeze, "always am."

"One hundo percento?"

She smiles. There she is, "one hundo percento."

"Okey Dokey."

Her smiles softens, "Okey dokey."

With that, she's gone. Determined now more than ever.

She knew her feelings for Maximus, the word for them. An attraction. But you, it was a deep platonic love. A similar one to Norm.

If this was before everything she'd seen, she'd name it gladly. Fami-

But, she wasn't that person. She was still Lucy Maclean to her core, but something had shifted in her. Something broke. She'd always help if needed, but there was an edge now. A voice in the back of her head that told her that all was not well. It did with her father and Moldaver. She hated it, the doubts it plagued her with. She kept walking, though.

So, when it came to your friendship, she refused to use the familial term. Just in case.

It does go wrong. But, not entirely as she expected it to. These people were victims, who killed their oppressors.

She'd read stories of people like this. She idolised them. And yet, now, she was the one doing the oppressing. The one doing the judging.

She knew her sin. She understood it, clear as day. Still, you both had done nothing wrong. Nothing at all. You'd both just lived above ground with shit luck to life.

So, despite having like no leverage, all she asks is simple.

"Can my friends stay?"

And, to her surprise - once the initial shock of them not killing her, and even giving her supplies for above - they say yes.

She's glad. She's done that right at least --

BOOM! BOOM! BANG! The sounds of Maximus in the armour reverberate off the walls, before a gunshot goes off from a rifle. You're both here. 'Saving' her.

"No, no, no, no, no!" She calls out to you both. But you're too caught up. Too caught up in trying to save your friend, that you don't even notice said friend trying to stop you.

You don't get far, but there is still some damage done. You may have smashed a window to get to the weapon. And Maximus may of stolen the fusion core for the armour.

"Guys!" Lucy calls out. It works on getting your attentions, "I'm ok!" she assures you, "look! look!" she gestures to herself, "no injuries! They were even giving me stuff. Look!" she says, grabbing an item that was inside the crate they have, "they aren't the bad guys. They're the victims!"

It really takes the winds out of your sails. You and Maximus both look to each other, before you both in sync say a single thing:

"Sorry."

With no arguments from any of you, you are banned from the Vault. Lucy looks to you and Maximus; him with the core, yourself with the weapon. Finally a -

"We need to give them back," Lucy says. You both look at her like she's mental.

"I mean it," she says, "we're not bad people. We don't just steal. Especially not after something like that."

"We tried our best," you say, folding your arms like a child being reprimanded.

Lucy rolls her eyes, "I know, and I thank you for your courage in your actions," she says, "but, the circumstances did not require them. They're good people. They need all the help they can get. Plus," she says, bringing out her pistol, "I have this."

You whine, leaning back and shutting your eyes, "but I want a weapon!!"

Lucy rolls her eyes again, "You can still fight, Y/N. You don't need a gun for that. We have each other, and our wits. And," she says, looking between you both, "once we're done, you won't need a weapon again. We'll be safe in the Vault. Trust me."

You and Maximus look to each other. You both sigh, then nod. He takes out the core; you open the door for him and you both deposit your items. You hear a 'thank you!' from below.

"There," she says, "how'd you feel?"

"Vulnerable," you say, gaining a third eye-roll.

"That's not a bad thing," she says.

"I don't mean the emotional kind."

She shrugs, "I know. But, we'll be ok. We have each other, and soon we will have the head. Then we'll be free."

Maximus looks to you. You just gesture for him to go ahead of you. He does, after giving you a pat on the shoulder.

You sigh, taking your own leave. Lucy watches you both leave. She nods, taking a steady breath.

"Okey Dokey," she says, before following after you.

You've done a good thing, she's happy that it's gone well. That, for once, an interaction out here has gone well and ended happily for everyone.

She just hates that voice in the back of her head. That doubt. That fear. That hesitation.

You're her friend. Her best friend, she'd wager. Someone she'd burn down a vault for - hell, she almost did - but there was also that voice in the back of her head. One that said to watch out. To not get fully attached.

There was a dark cloud in her mind. One she didn't quite know how to get rid of.

But, she knew one thing.

You had her, and she had you.

All the way, no matter what.

Part V

[quitealotofsodapop]

So if Wukong didn't know MK was playing superhero, why was he able to be caught by Spider Queen? The answer is clear. He took the younger cubs down to see the parade. That way, he could be closer to the fireworks, and his kids are entertained. He ended up being caught up in the initial attack and discovered MK playing hero while trying to evacuate the cubs away from the angry spider lady trying to turn people into spider zombies.

Wukong is not happy, but at this point there are far more important things to deal with. He orders MK to get his siblings somewhere safe while he handles Spider Queen. When MK protests, he tells him that MK's arachnophobia would only get in the way, and he is still Sun Wukong, the gods be damned Great Sage Equal To Heaven and the Monkey King. He isn't so far into his retirement that he can't put an upstart little princess in her place.

The plan backfires and Wukong gets captured by LBD and Spider Queen, of course, but hey, the Noodle Crew gets to meet MK's siblings! Sandy babysits them while they're in Heaven trying to get the stuff. All they know of it is that MK's mom was caught by the Spider Queen, they don't know yet exactly who his parent is. Not until much later when Wukong and DBK break out of their bonds and save them.

"Holy shit, is that Sun Wukong!?" ;Probably Tang

"Mom!" :MK

"MOM!?" :Literally eveyone

After all is said and dine Wukong makes good on his promise of a long talk, or rather lecture, and MK is grounded.

"I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU WOULD BE SO RECKLESS! Xiaotian, your father an I taught you better than this! What were you thinking!?"

"But when you were my age you were at war with Heaven, though!"

"And look what that got me! Thrown in a furnace and pinned under a mountain for 500 years! What you did was stupid and reckless. What if you'd gotten hurt!? Your still mortal, MK!"

Referencing.

Yesss. Wukong canonically adores New Years, and I def agree that love extends to the cubs too.

Wukong does a "surprise" visit to Megapolis to show the younger cubs the New Years Parade + check up on his eldest while MK is helping Pigsy with the foodtruck. Likely all in glamours, but MK 100% gets an embarassing visit from his mom at work. The Noodle shop gang tease him endlessly about it.

Then cue the Spider Queen's invasion, and Wukong giving MK the cubs to watch for the moment while he Kings Up. MK doesn't want his mom to go in his condition, but Wukong is still The Monkey King, and has no idea that his son has been superhero-ing for the past couple of months.

The gang all meet up on Sandy's airship, and the kiddos glamours all drop from stress. This is where the gang confirms (they had suspiscions) that MK is a disguised demon - they dont mind since thats sadly common in human-dominated cities. MK specifically being a monkey demon gets Tang asking questions though.

Red Son shows up and has a brain-fart mid-plan when he recognises who "Noodle Boy" actually is;

Red Son: "Xiaotian!? I haven't seen you since we were calves! This explains so much!" MK, nervous sweating: "Not now dude! My mom got captured by the Spider Queen, and my dad is MIA right now." Red Son: "Ah but of course. Seems we have the same predicament then. No fear, I have a plan to defeat the Spider Queen and save our respective parents." Tang, panic-nerding: "MK, how do you know Red Son!?" MK, flash of SWK-esque anger: "NOT NOW."

The gang get to the Celestial Realm and retrieve what they need to make the antidote - though not without attracting the attention of a certain hound that just realised her fave monkey is here.

MK, petting the dog: "I'm sorry Quan. I can't play right now! I'm saving the city." Xiaotian Quan: (*sad whine!*)

Meanwhile at the Spider Mech; DBK has finally met his little brother/enemy once again. DBK in his anger, yells about Sun Wukong's "little-thief successor MK" ruining so many of his family's attempts at gaining power, and Wukong just blanks;

Wukong, scary parent voice: "Xiaotian has been doing what!?" DBK: "The Little Thief is Xiaotian!?"

DBK would also shout at Wukong for putting himself in danger in his condition, but quiets when he learns that Macaque is missing. Tieshan had seemed worried since DBK got back (infact, maybe its why she decided to free him), and everyone knows that the shadow monkey wouldn't leave his mate without reason. When LBD arrives, DBK and Wukong immediate get a chill up their spines. They both know that she's somehow involved with Mac's disappearance... DBK has his super-saiyan moment of worried-anger and frees both himself and his xiandi so that they can find their reckless kids.

The Noodle Shop gang (+ Red Son and the cubs) bust on through with the spider-venom antidote and manage to subdue the Spider Queen with their combined forces.

Tang is about to fanboy at the sight of Sun Wukong in the flesh when MK and the cubs yell something that shatters his preconceptions.

MK & the cubs: "Mom!" "Mama!" Noodle Shop Gang: "MOM?!?" Wukong, swarmed by baby monkeys: "Thank Nuwa you're all ok!" (*hugs them all tight*) Wukong: (*suddenly bonks MK on head with a sandal*) Wukong: "And you! How dare you not tell me that you've been fighting demons this whole time! You told me you were only getting a job for mortal experience!" MK: "But mom! I did get a job! I've been using my spare time trying to figure out what happened to dad!" Wukong: "Which I specifically told you Not to do!! Your father has gotten himself tangled up with a very dangerous witch and I'm not letting you run into one of her traps!" Noddle Shop Gang + DB fam: (*standing at a safe distance from the yelling*) Tang, dizzy with excitement: "Anyone else feel like they're in a fantasy right now?" Mei: "Hm, not really. I knew Xiaotian since we were pups. My grunkle Ao Lie is the same dragon-horse from the stories." Tang: "Excuse me!?"

Erlang shows up on Earth asking Wukong tf just happened - his third eye showed him the chaos in the Celestial Realm and Lao Tzu is pissed for his missing pills and Furnace. But he immediately leaves when he sees tje carnage of a saved mortal city + Sun Wukong. (Erlang: "Ah. Say no more.")

[samdeancass]

Love at First Sight

Pairing: Stiles x McCall!fem!reader

Genre: Fluff

Characters: Scott, Stiles, Y/N

Description: Y/N and Scott are cousins and haven't seen each other for 5 years when you left Beacon Hills. When she arrives back, Scott throws a party for her and introduces her to Stiles, who seems very happy to meet her.

You smiled widely as you pulled up outside Scott's house, excitement building up inside. Scott is your favourite cousin and the one that you're most close to, so you couldn't wait to knock on his front door and surprise him. Being so close to Scott you knew all about the supernatural world and the fact that he was an alpha werewolf, so you knew that there would be no surprises coming your way, or so you thought.

You walked up the path to his house and knocked on the door, leaning on your heels as you waited. Your smile grew and grew as you heard Scott's voice and the jangle of the keys in the lock. He stood there in both shock and happiness when he swung the door open and seen you standing there.

"Y/N? What the hell are you doing here?" Scott opened his arms and engulfed you to his chest, nearly squeezing the life out of you. "Scott...can't...breathe." "Ooo sorry, I tend to forget my strength sometimes." You chuckled and took a look at Scott, closing the door behind you.

He really had changed since the last time you seen him. There was a lot more muscle on his body and he seemed to have grown quite a few inches. "I see the werewolf life is treating you well then." You gestured up and down whilst Scott chuckled, nervously rubbing the back of his neck.

"Yeah, I guess I've changed a lot since you last seen me. How long's it been?" "Five years." Scott's mouth hung open. "No, it can't have been that long. Seriously." You nodded your head and smiled. "Yep, seriously."

You both walked towards the sofa and sat down. "Anyway, you didn't answer my question. What are you doing here?" "Well, my dad has changed jobs again so we needed to move house. It turns out, he's going to be working just outside Beacon Hills! You'll be seeing a whole lot more of me because this time, we're staying!"

A beaming smile spread across Scott's features. "I've just had the perfect idea. Seems you're now back permanently, you're going to need some familiar faces so I'm going to throw you a party. A welcome back party."

You furrowed your eyebrows. "I'm not too sure, Scott. What if they don't like me?" He put his hand on your shoulder and gave you a comforting smile. "Trust me, they are going to love you."

____________

Scott had given you the low down of all the people who are going to be at the party.

"So, Lydia is a banshee. What exactly is that again?" You smoothed down your dress and put on the finished touches to your make-up. "Lydia can sense when someone has died or is near death. Her scream is also very powerful and can throw people back a good few feet."

You nodded your head. "Derek, Liam and Malia are all werewolves?" He nodded. "Malia is a were-coyote. Her mom is a coyote, her dad is a werewolf. Liam is my beta, I turned him accidentally when I was trying to save him. Derek is a strong werewolf, one of the most powerful I've seen."

"Kira is a kitsune? A fire fox?" You put some hairspray in your hair and turned round to Scott. "And she is also my girlfriend." You widened your eyes and smacked him on the shoulder. "Scott McCall, why on earth did you not tell me you have a girlfriend?" His cheeks grew red with embarrassment. "I...I" You laughed and ruffled his hair. "I'm only kidding. But please tell me you know at least one human that isn't me?"

At that, Scott's smile grew wide and cunning. "My best friend, Stiles. He's the smartest person I know but he's also very sarcastic." "It sounds like I'm really going to like him." A soft smile grew on your face before you turned back towards the mirror for one last check.

"C'mon, Y/N. We can't have you being late to your own party." Scott grabbed your hand and led you out the door and down the stairs to meet everyone.

____________

Everyone you had met were extremely nice to you and welcomed you into the pack. Lydia, Kira and Malia were all very happy that they were no longer outnumbered by the boys. Derek was very welcoming to you which Scott said was a complete surprise because he usually just growls at people and walks away.

"And this is Stiles. Stiles, meet Y/N. Y/N meet Stiles." Stiles turned around to greet you when your eyes met. You were completely mesmerised by his chocolate brown eyes and the cute little freckles scattered across his face. Stiles' mouth hang agape as his eyes gazed over your features. Seeing the reaction you both had to each other, Scott smiled to himself and slowly walked away to watch his plan hatch.

"H-hi, I-i'm Stiles." He kept his gaze on you which made you blush. "I'm Y/N, Scott's cousin." You both stood there for a while just staring at each other. "I'm sorry, I don't know how someone as beautiful as you can be related to Scott. I mean, he's a dog."

"Hey! Just because I'm not standing next to you doesn't mean I can't hear what you're saying!" You laughed at the joke, nervously tucking your hair behind your ears. "You are right, though. He is a dog." "Thanks a lot, Stilinski."

"Anytime, pal." He winked at Scott before turning his attention back to you. "So, Scott's told me a little about you and I have to say, I'm very intrigued." You both began to walk together towards the back yard to try and grab some privacy.

"You're intrigued by me? A human? You literally live in a town full of supernatural creatures and you're interested in my life?" You both sat down facing each other on a bench, your arms leaning on the table. "Well, I don't have a normal human life. I'm always dragged into Scott's werewolf drama. I wanna know how the other half live."

You told Stiles all about your life and the different things you had accomplished. Throughout the conversation, Stiles didn't once take his eyes off you; always keeping his attention on you.

You both sat in a comfortable silence just staring at each other until you both slowly leaned over the table and kissed. It was new and exciting and sweet. Excitement and electricity run through your nerves as you kept the connection, Stiles' hand resting against your cheek.

Your hand rested on top of his as you leaned into his warmth, a warm blush spreading across your cheeks. Stiles smiled at you, completely content, until the moment was ruined by wolf whistles and squeals coming from the back door of the house, or more rightly Scott.

"My plan worked! I knew you two would hit it off." Scott smiled confidently at the both of you. You both shook your heads at him. "Can we not have, like, five minutes privacy please?" Lydia pulled Scott back into the house and closed the door but not before giving him a thump for good measure.

"So, where were we?" Stiles leaned over the table again and pressed his lips to yours, this time more passionately. "I think we were getting up to the part where we make out, a lot." Stiles wiggled his eyebrows and pulled you over the table and into his lap causing you to laugh and slap his chest.

From that moment, you guys were inseparable and it was all thanks to Scott who you both knew would never let you forget it.

Teen Wolf Tags:

@bxoken-heartss @hellomyweirdos @redcoatgirl

[justanotherhh]

something i haven't seen much of so far is analysis of charlie's journey from the perspective of someone who also needs to change how she engages with others (vaggie too, but that feels more obvious as she's an ex-angel/exorcist and a sinner)

when charlie tries to help angel by confronting valentino it's been built to in the other episodes, because it's made very clear that she doesn't respect sex work -- she's got that "we need to save them from themselves" type attitude you see a lot with people who haven't done critical analysis into their own biases from a position of mildly-to-severe privileged disgust and haven't engaged with the perspectives of sex workers as people who can frame and understand their own experiences (whatever work they engage in and why they do sex work to begin with). same for her opinions on addiction

the scene where angel has to do a reenactment with sir pentious frames addiction as

something to be judged

something pitiable

something predatory

which isn't exactly a great way to bring angel onboard with the programme/make him feel less like shit. meanwhile the anti-sex + weirdly heteronormative attitude is also present in that scene by having sir pentious dress up as a virginal young girl in an anime-type school uniform with a big lollipop (the irony of this being practically indistinguishable from a porn setup feels very intentional), who declares that "she" won't be having sex before marriage as the great crescendo (sidenote, monogamy in the afterlife sounds.... like a long time to be monogamous......... yzma voice: "why do we even have marriage??")

angel, up until his duet with husk, is having it made clear again and again that the people seemingly helping him find the essence of his being inherently gross. he likes sex -- yeah there's the performance/face he has to wear to get through the day, but i think the bdsm club was a sincere suggestion and vaggie literally calls it disgusting/shoots it down without thinking about how to do so respectfully (again, she's an ex-angel/exorcist, she has biases of her own to contend with, but also the implications that nobody in heaven is having fun sex or negotiated kink and bdsm... tragic. do they even have a sex club called consent up there?)

charlie is a fairly conservative person at the beginning of the story. yes, she wants to help, but her framing of what "help" looks like doesn't take into account her own biases; presumably she grew up with the idea that "sinners are bad people" as much as anyone else did, if not more considering lucifer gave up on the sinners and that's been her environment from birth -- cut off from the people she's supposedly in charge of, but "hearing stories." (in both the pilot and happy day in hell she clearly has a fondness for the sinners, but it's as an outsider, someone who does not relate to them, and generally there's that overtone of "royalty doesn't know shit about what anyone is going through" which, charlie being a ruler, i wonder if that will be a focal point or just something to accept, it's not a dealbreaker for me, just something i noticed, esp as helluva boss has poked on power dynamics in hell along those same lines). the yearly murdering of demons is, likewise, something that is simply status quo and so even getting to a place of "hey maybe we shouldn't do that" is big and was inevitably going to create more cracks in the logic of black-and-white heaven-or-hell, so it's cool that that's where we the audience get to first meet her -- right as those threads are about to start unravelling

but at the very beginning, in some ways she echoes elements of characters like adam and lute (who are of course far more in-your-face, being villains) in her original assessment of what makes someone "a bad person" -- it causes her to create a system that doesn't actually work, and then of course the hotel is destroyed, but next time they'll build it to be better! (metaphor *jazz hands*)

why is angel in hell, is the question later asked. is it because he was/is an addict? because he drinks? because he does sex work? because he likes sex? (it may be because he's killed people/was in the mafia, but we don't have all the context yet, for now those are the things people know in the story itself) at the beginning charlie isn't asking the right questions, questions that would need her to go into herself and challenge her own biases, but throughout season 1 she goes from merely proclaiming that "everyone" can be saved, to sincerely challenging the idea of "needing to be saved" from things that shouldn't be judged in the first place. "if angel's can do whatever and remain in the sky." yeah, how are we stipulating what's allowed and what isn't hmmmmmm? stay tuned for s2

(and youknow, apologises to angel for overstepping his boundaries, so it's not like angel doesn't know that she does care for him, s4 gives a lot of development for their relationship as well -- it's the tipping point for a lot of what comes next)

interested to see how that challenging will continue in s2. she's gone from "we have to make you into a good person by cutting out things that make me (and others) uncomfortable from a conservative/purity-based judgemental framework" to "why do we have these systems of judgement in the first place?"

tl;dr angel changed a looot in s1 but so did charlie. she understands better now that the work she's doing is going to look very different from what she'd first anticipated, and poking at her own biases in relation to angel helped that journey and brought her closer to actually understanding and relating to the people around her

(there's another element here about charlie and vaggie as queer women in this particular universe, but it's a slight tangent so... different post)

[genshinemblem564]

Sagau headcanons

Some of these may be important to future stories and story chapters

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• The Creator of Teyvat has a divine presence so powerful that those who suffer from a curse need only stand in their presence for the curse to be lifted, this also affects spiritual contracts with steep prices, however, this dissolves the contract completely, both positive and negative effects.

• The immortals (archons, familiars, adepti) are all extremely bothered by how often you talk about "When I'm gone..." You apologize profusely telling them you haven't fully processed this information yet.

• Kaveh was the one to design your temple, and he's quite proud of this. You made the request to add a few extra rooms and he obliged, not knowing what you'd do with this space but not daring to ask. To his, and many others', surprise you had invited some of your loyal followers to live with you, these extra rooms were to provide proper work space for everyone.

• Unfortunately for your followers, the more important they were, the less time you could spend with them, as they are almost always busy with something. The only exception to this is Ei, with her Plane of Euthymia and the Shogun bearing the responsibilities, she could spend hours with you. She'd like to spend more time with you, but you also have your role to play.

• After being revealed as the creator, you spend a lot of time talking with Ayaka, as you begin to worry that some people are only being nice to you because of your title, just like her, so you know she's the right person to talk to about this. She can't help but feel a little guilty with how happy this makes her, she hates seeing you suffer, but she loves not only that you're relying on her, but that she's able to relate to you in some way as well.

• Venti is not happy with how he found out your identity. One night the two of you had a chance meeting, you spent a good few hours trading stories and ballads, the ones you shared were from or about other game worlds, and eventually the traveler and Paimon came by. As you spoke, the phrase "Tone-deaf Bard" left your lips, upon realizing what you said everyone there nearly screamed, you included. The only one to use Paimon's ugly nicknames other than Paimon, is the creator.

• Not really a self aware headcanon, but the traveler will always be Aether and the abyss ruler will always be Lumine in my writings,for two reasons, one, this is the choice I made on my account, and two, that is how it is in every trailer and ad I've seen.

• Aether once asked you your opinion on the Abyss Order, hoping to indirectly ask about Lumine. Everyone was shocked and annoyed by this "Why bother their grace with such a pointless question? The Abyss is the enemy of Teyvat so obliviously they despise them just as we do." That's what everyone said. You told them that the Abyss is one of the biggest bunch of hypocrites you've met. Everyone but Aether was confused by this, what made them hypocrites? That's when you revealed the Abyss Order's motives, needless to say everyone was shocked by this.

•More of a theory but I felt like sharing it in this format. It was only a matter of time before this happened. Abyss mages had surrounded you and Aether, not trying to harm you, more forcefully recruit you, and the Abyss princess herself was present. As expected, she "requested" you join her cause, to which you replied " I'm not siding with anyone who can't get their facts straight." Even Aether was confused this time, before Lumine could speak, you asked what she remembers of Khaenri'ah's destruction, she described it exactly as you remembered it except for one thing. You inquired about the strange power used to destroy the nation, because that power was eerily similar to the powers of the unknown god Aether is tracking, the fact that the Irminsul was tampered with only furthered your suspicions. Needless to say Lumine, as well as the present abyss soldiers were absolutely livid.

• The Abyss Order, upon gaining the knowledge you possessed, were quick to apologize and turn over a new lead, leaving everyone shocked and confused, even more so when you told them that a simple heart to heart was all it took. Now the siblings are reunited, hopefully for good this time, and Teyvat has one less major threat to deal with.

• You practically demanded that the anemo gnosis be returned by the Fatui, they thought you wanted all of them returned so they brought all of them to you, which prompted the response "Why did you bring all of them? I only wanted the anemo gnosis returned because it was stolen, the rest were obtained through fair deals and trade, you can keep them." The Fatui soldiers and harbingers were confused, but they weren't going to argue if you're letting them keep the rest of the gnoses.

• When you were first revealed to be the creator, Venti had asked why you drink so little, about one glass of wine a day. You thought you'd be funny and mess with your acolytes a little, leading you to say "Because, last time I got wasted tarantula hawks became a thing." You then proceeded to describe these nightmarish creatures in great detail. You come to regret this sudden outburst of mischief when you noticed Diluc hiding a wine bottle from you.

• If you're like me, then you tend to ramble about the games you enjoy, leading the younger followers to gather as you tell other worldly tales of heroism.

• Yanfei was impressed with you before you even arrived in Teyvat. In fact, you had her respect soon after you first met, looking for the smaragdus jadeite, the moment you learned that the jadeite was made into earrings you immediately guessed that either they were fake or that the man who rented them out didn't care about customer safety. While she had deduced as such just as fast, the same can't be true of other people, the traveler and Paimon are proof of this, so the fact that you can so easily keep up with her is rather impressive.

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I'm sorry about the two exceptions to the headcanon topic, I just really felt like this format fit them and I couldn't think of enough details for them to warrant their own post, but I hope you enjoyed this. Also, feel free to use any of these, generally make posts like these when I can't flesh an idea out properly, so these are free game.

[myechoecho]

The Double, ep 14

I just about lost my mind to see the Duke and Li start to work together, even if it is only the passing of information. The Duke has listened to what Li said about being alone and having no spies. So he using his spies for her (which is suspect overlaps with his own investigations). He calls her over, warns her about the Consort's plan and that she needs to be careful since the Consort's is Emperor's favourite. What more is Li listens and tells him, at least very generally, what she plans to do. PROGRESS.

The whole theatre scene was so good. Yes, the Duke used Li for cover but he clearly just wants to be there with her. You can tell with the whole question about the tea. He's desperate to know more about her and just what exactly happened to make her bitter about love. But he also knows just how far to push because he stops easily when she says he can't ask. You can tell in the way he softly smiles while watching her enjoy the play.

The Duke's fan not only doubles as a boomerang but a shield as well. I think the last character I saw so tied dramatically to a fan was Yi Bang Won in My Country: The New Age. I love how the Duke protects her and then holds her when she is injured. And Li does not pull away but leans into his embrace. The Duke is definitely angry that Li got hurt.

He tends her wounds personally, and respects her boundaries in regards to her keeping her shirt on. He does, however, get irritated when she says if he thinks him treating her is a favour then she'll get someone else to do it. In this case in particular, I think he feels guilty that he was not able to protect her fully so it would never be a favour to him. It's him atoning to her.

However, her next words softens his irritation. Because she explains and understands fully why he invited her there. She doesn't blame him. She's actually perfectly fine with it because it made her useful. I think Li is starting to see the difference between the Duke, where she and the Duke are useful/helpful/supporting each other, to her husband when she did everything for him (we really haven't seen Yurong do much for Li during their marriage). Plus, I don't think the Duke ever had someone see his thought process so clearly without him explaining it.

It's going to be SO GOOD when they fully, equally work together.

I also love how Fang Fei, as Li, has not forgotten Jiang Li. She is fully committed to avenging Jiang Li and sorting out all her regrets. She has two different revenge plots going on.

As for the Yurong, he remains an interesting character. His situation with the Princess is really a role reversal. With that type of power play, it normally is a woman who is under the control of a man. However, he is also exerting what power he has over her. He flat out tells her that what she did was reckless and she would have been punished (true). He frames it as him protecting her. Note how he also calls her Wanning and not Princess, which I think is a significant change. He tells the Princess to let it go - what does it matter when he is by he side? At this point I have my suspicions that he realizes that Li is actually Fang Fei. He's placating the Princess to protect Fang Fei and probably to let her complete her revenge.

[breakthrough88]

Overthinking Lorelai's Epithet

This will contain spoilers for Prison of Plastic Lorelai's epithet lets her do essentially anything she wants but there are still some rules to it that I want to go over. When and where Lorelai can use her powers First things first, something that a lot of people tend to gloss over is Lorelai DOESN'T NEED her dream bubbles to use her epithet. She turned Giovanni into a gargoyle and grabbed Naven with plants before she made her mega-dream bubble. Lorelai's dream bubbles are just pocket dimensions for her to use her epithet in. You could technically play soccer inside your house but you go to a soccer field so you have more space and you won't break your mom's expensive vase. Same concept with Lorelai's dream bubbles. At the end of the book, Lorelai makes her hand glow to look at Giovanni's baseball. Plus Molly brings up Lorelai used to use her epithet more outside of the dream bubbles.

How people get affected by Lorelai's Epithet

Unless it's done for showmanship like Lorelai's rhyming, it seems that the target of her spells has to be touched with something physical. Each time she does something to another character it's generally in the form of a magical projectile except when she gives Giovanni the gargoyle potion. We haven't seen Lorelai go "You're a toad now" and then someone turns into a toad without any sort of action. However, we will have to wait for the series to go on before we can figure that out. It can be assumed Lorelai can also touch someone to affect them but because she isn't exactly a close-quarters combatant we likely won't see anything like that. We also know she can set terms for her spells such as when Rick, Trixie, and Feenie go in and out of the bubble they still transform into their mini forms. When dealing with her own creations Lorelai can morph them as she pleases when she makes Spelling Bee disappear with a snap. It is possible she can affect real people with just a snap but we haven't seen her do it, so for now we'll just assume that only works in regards to her summons. Lorelai's Body Sort of going off how people are affected by her epithet. Lorelai can alter her body as she pleases without any effort such as when she gave herself fangs, went rubber hose, and REMOVED HER HEART. This might also be an explanation as to how part of Lorelai's hair is blonde but my personal headcanon is that Martin's genetics are so freaking weird it gave Lorelai two natural hair colors. I mean Molly has stars in her hair, I think it wouldn't be too far-fetched for Lorelai to have naturally multi-colored hair. I know people who are also fans of One Piece compare Lorelai to Uta in terms of powerset but I just want to bring up that Lori can also make herself stretchy and rubbery like Luffy... just food for thought. Exiting the Bubble

When people exit Lorelai's bubble, not including when Molly uses her epithet to do it, it seems to be a chaotic affair with people sent tumbling outside. Even when Lorelai fully exits her own bubble she does a somersault. Some would say she's doing this on purpose but at the end of the book when the bubble is destroyed, everyone except Naven and Lorelai herself is put in a random position, even when it's not on purpose exiting her bubble isn't exactly a calm affair. This leads to my next topic. Lorelai's Control and Imagination

Lorelai claims she had much better control over her epithet when she was younger. I think it may be a matter of as she grew stronger, the more thought she needs put into her work. Not in terms of creativity, but in terms of setting boundaries within her own magic. I'm no gardener but here's the analogy I came up with. Say you are planting flowers. If you don't put them in a flower box or some sort of way to keep them in their own little area they can grow into places that you don't want. Lorelai is planting her flowers but isn't doing anything to stop them from getting into unwanted places. Lorelai makes her bubbles but she doesn't put in the effort to make sure they stay a certain size. When she makes her worlds she thinks about what she wants in them but isn't making sure they end on her terms. This applies to what Jello said on a stream about how Lorelai could make nutritious food but only if she concentrates during the entire digestion process This kinda plays into how Lorelai's imagination is required for her powers to work. Despite the fact she said newt when she transformed Rick, he became a chameleon because that's the image she created in her head. Plus it explains the ogre being just a little guy since Lori was put on the spot when she made him. Her emotions also affect her control given all the times she gets flustered when talking to Giovanni and I'd bet her having her traumatic breakdown was a key part of how the bubble was destroyed at the end of the book. I would also like to hope her "Heartless Spell" was more from being unable to control her emotions rather than intending to physically remove Molly's heart. Maybe the intent was to brainwash Molly into doing stuff? Still not great but better than murder. I'm a Lorelai fan, I recognize she's done awful stuff but she's not the worst person in the series. But I digress. Everything is Temporary This we don't know nearly as much about and the only time this has been brought up is by Martin Blyndeff of all people. Martin says everything Lorelai makes eventually fades away which he claims is why the family isn't rich. We don't know if Lorelai's stamina goes down each time she makes something or if it's a constant drain the more spells she keeps up. I think it's likely the former and everything Lorelai does just naturally has some sort of time limit before it fades into nothingness. However, we don't know what this time limit is.

[evewasheretoday]

Heathers Movie - Jealousy (Headcanons)

Heather Chandler:

She'll have an icy exterior while subtly trying to undermine the person she's jealous of behind the scenes.

She would definitely resort to manipulation or power plays from here and there.

Especially if talking PEACEFULLY didn't work at all (if she even considered or tried it).

Heather Duke:

She'll try to resist the temptation of doing anything bad in the slightest to that person.

But she will be passive-aggressive, wearing a fake smile here while making some pretty cutting remarks there to that person.

She might start copying some things about that person in some sort of way in outdoing them.

Heather McNamara:

It's most likely she'll internalize her jealousy and pretend she's fine with it despite the fact it's totally eating her out inside.

She'd likely just brush it off as nothing until it's forgotten.

But if Duke and Chandler know about it, they might encourage her to do some things she wouldn't think of doing before to that person instead.

Veronica Sawyer:

Would definitely distance herself from people.

Write in her diary to vent her feelings and make some sense out of her emotions.

She'll definitely be passive aggressive towards that person from time to time subtly.

Bonus:

Chandler couldn't keep quiet about it any longer. “Jesse James is becoming quite the attention hog.” She quipped during lunchtime.

“He is?” Duke furrowed her brow in confusion at Chandler as she set her book aside. “I mean, I haven't seen the guy hanging out with anyone but Veronica.” She added.

Chandler scoffed before replying. “Honestly, Heather, did you have a brain tumor for breakfast? It's pretty clear that JD is monopolizing Veronica's time all to himself.”

Duke blinked once and twice before smiling sheepishly back at the blonde. “Oh right.” She chuckled a little embarrassingly.

Chandler, content that Duke had caught on, rolled her eyes at the auburn-haired girl.

“Exactly.” She replied. “I think it's time we remind Veronica of where she should be.” She added, putting a hand on her hip in thought.

“—Or we could just talk to her and let her know how much we miss spending time with her.” Mac chimed in, smiling brightly at her friends while she did so.

Chandler and Duke exchanged a glance at each other before giving her a look that asked if she was okay.

“Yeah, no.” Chandler said flatly, shaking her head. “We don't do that, Heather.” Duke replied before sighing exasperatedly to herself.

[dandelion-wings]

On thing about Mondstadt’s government that bothers me is that everybody boils it down to just the Knights on one side, and the Church on the other. Which, sure, they’re what we know the most about…

But it completely ignores the ‘Community Representative’. Considering their signature is one of three needed to (legally) make use of the Holy Lyre, alongside the Grandmaster and the Seneschal, they must be pretty damn important. So assuming they have equal power to those positions, which are at the head of the Knights and the Church respectively, what actually is that power? Presumably it’s an elected position (the title is that of a ‘representative’, plus I would be severely disappointed if there wasn’t even a hint of democracy in the Nation of Freedom), but is there a structure under it similar to the Knights and Church? Is there a completely separate civilian, secular government that for some reason just barely comes up? If it is elected, how is that handled? If both Grandmaster Varka and the Seneschal are on expedition, does that mean they hold more authority than Acting Grandmaster Jean and whoever is Acting Seneschal (assuming an acting-title’s authority, though still above everything else below the proper-title, is still considered secondary to that of said proper-title)? But if so, why hasn’t it come up? Or is it just some guy elected to act as a more expedient alternative to something like a full referendum?

God, I have an education in history and political science that is just begging for some damn answers!

I mean, I don't have an education in those things and am not real good at working those things out myself, so I don't know that I can provide you too much useful commentary here. XD;; But while I'd love if Mondstadt did have some democracy, I... am pretty convinced that it's a theocracy, actually. The Knights and the Church (which tbh seems to exist under the overall umbrella of the Ordo, given that Jean says in her voiceline about Barbara that "the order also manages the Church") fulfill pretty much all the governmental functions we actually see happening at all, including the whole thing in Jean's quest where Charles expects tax forms from her.

I'll admit I also lean that way because I read into Mondstadt as a whole (its history but also our introduction to it, where Amber initially nabs us for unauthorized entry and then there's a whole early section about gliding regulations) a theme of humans repeatedly being given freedom, and gradually rebuilding restrictions upon themselves. Which I don't think is entirely a bad thing, in that I do think communities generally function better with organization and administration and such, but, like, Mondstadt has gone all the way into tyranny before and could again. Mondstadt building itself an increasingly restrictive theocracy feeds into the theme I like drawing from it, so of course that's the reading I tend towards! But, still, that's where I'm at about it.

(I draw a lot of my read of this national theme from the line, "Mondstadt is the City of Freedom, but unchecked freedom without any kind of rules only invites chaos and anxiety," in Jean's character details, and I haven't seen anyone else talk about it, ever, so it's entirely possible this is actually character brainrot I'm projecting onto the city as a whole. I'm fine with that.)

Presumably there is a further government apparatus, but I tend to believe it's probably under the higher authority of the Ordo. Maybe with checks and balances, maybe not (exactly how I arrange the setup for fic where it's needed is specific to individual fic, because the openness of canon leaves the kind of room that makes it easiest to go with what works for the plot). "Community Representative" on its own is very vague; looking at the line where it actually appears, it's talking about the Holy Lyre in the context of the Ludi Harpastrum, so it could even be a role specific to the yearly organization of that particular festival! That said, it does sound a bit more like it's a regular thing, and given my presumption of theocracy above, I think this:

Or is it just some guy elected to act as a more expedient alternative to something like a full referendum?

honestly is the most likely possibility. It would make sense given Mondstadt's ethos and history--you have a representative of the community to sign off on certain decisions (hopefully elected, as you said, but who knows exactly how it happens), like that one about the Lyre, to show that the people agree. Possibly it's a triangle with the Grand Master at the top and the Seneschal (given the above "manages the Church" line) and Community Representative as equals who have input but not ultimate power on the next level down, possibly they both exist largely to rubberstamp the Grand Master and Seneshal's decisions, possibly it's an area-of-authority divide. Regardless of the exact divisions, Jean does seem to have some fairly unilateral powers in the areas of domestic defense and peacekeeping, but that's... something you do want the head of your military-and-police order to have, generally, so who knows how broad her powers actually are to act without the Seneschal and Representative's approval in other areas. The game is, as always, frustratingly uninformative.

Anyway, tl;dr: my personal reading of Mondstadt tends to render the Community Representative as relatively unimportant, despite the equal billing in that quest, because over and over again in quests and lore and voicelines we don't see anything but "the Ordo handles things," and Mondstadt honestly makes most sense to me as a theocratic city-state. I think they're more likely a representative "voice" in the government than a significant power, and I don't think they represent any significant "third branch" other than possibly, given Mondstadt's history, a symbolic reminder that its people have toppled tyrants before and can do so again.

[adachimoe]

If this guy had just been a magician then we wouldn't be dealing with this shit

During one of his Social Link rank ups, Adachi implies some things about his career. I know, I know, he said "I became a cop because GUNS". But also: he's a dumbass.

Thus far, the player has only seen Adachi being a bumbling moron running away from a little old lady at Junes. But we see a side of him we haven't seen before: It turns out that he has sleight of hand and he's quite good at performing magic tricks.

He doesn't think he could have made a living if he had gone into a profession working with his hands, even if he does demonstrate that he's good at it. He does acknowledge that his life might have been different. And when fiction does things like this, we in the audience know that the unspoken implication is that he would be a lot happier this way.

Adachi doesn't exactly try to hide how much he hates his life. But, at the same time, it's not like he tries to do much to change it. Part of it we see in his rank 6 social link when he talks about how "I'm lonely, but it's easier that way". But another part of it is that by being a police officer instead of a magician or something else, he gets to work at a government job. Job security certainly contributes to one's quality of life.

But I think there is something else worth noting about this, and it's based entirely off the year Adachi was born - 1984. (Insert the "literally 1984" calendar meme image here.)

Adachi was born when Japan's economy was flourishing and the Yen was quite strong. Based on the timing, I think his parents had a kid under the assumption that, "Japan is prosperous, the Yen is powerful, things are great, everyone has money, or other valuable assets (stock/land)". If you've played Yakuza 0, this might vaguely sound familiar when it comes to Kiryu's story and his adventures in real estate.

This is a hilariously bad and overly simplified explanation, but it wasn't until the year after Adachi was born when the country and the bank began having economic issues. This eventually lead to the big blow up in the early 90s, stock and real estate nosedived, and the whole country went into a period of economic stagnation called the Lost Decades.

During Japan's period of growth, the country was seen as a powerhouse. My dad remembers when Japanese tourists were traveling all over due to strong yen - really a reversal of how it is now with people flocking to Japan due to how weak it is. People there would get a job and be set for life. While this was thanks to their economy and the assumption that "Wow, we have a lot of $$ in land and/or stocks, things are great", the "hired for life" thing can also be seen as being tied to Japanese labor laws. This changed after the economy exploded, and some companies began taking on temp workers who had less rights and less protections.

If you start to compare Adachi's situation and birth year to the main cast, it's really no wonder they make him so damn mad and frustrated lol.

Yukiko and Kanji can inherit their family businesses. Their families aren't wealthy, but they have stable businesses they operate out of their family homes. They can inherit both land and jobs.

In Yukiko's Social Link, she talks about getting licensed as an interior coordinator as a backup in case the ryokan doesn't work out... Hm, I think learning that she even has options would piss Adachi off further lol.

Naoto I am under the impression is doing well since she already has a career as a detective, plus the backing of her grandfather.

Yosuke's family doesn't own Junes, but his dad is the manager at the Inaba store, and nepotism is a thing. But it seems that he too has options, as in Ultimax, he's going to cram school so he can go to university.

Rise already has a career. Unfortunately, it's part of Japan's terrible and exploitive idol industry.

Even Marie has a career, it seems.

One can assume that if Adachi's parents got on his ass if his grades dropped, then Adachi does not stand to inherit something from his parents (or perhaps their assets lost value?), nor is he already successful.

Chie feels like the outlier here. From what we know about her, her parents don't have a business she can inherit, no famous grandfather, she's not a popular idol, and she doesn't have Main Character privilege. We also know from her Social Link that she wants to become an officer like Adachi.

Really, I think Adachi is too young to have grown up on promises of some kind of prosperous future thanks to Japan's strong economy, merely to have the rug pulled out from under him and have his dreams crushed in 1991 (he'd only be 7, after all). So where Chie might optimistically see the ability to help and protect people as an officer, Adachi might see stability and survival because of his parents and how they raised him and the economic situation.

"Don't be a magician, get a secure job" is something our parents would tell us in the west too, so maybe it doesn't seem that special or related to their economic situation at all. Pretty sure his folks would say it to him even if he was born some 10-15 years earlier. But I think it does help illustrate why he would pick security (or why his parents picked security for him), his failure case (have fun being a replaceable temp worker while waiting for your big break as a magician), and what some of his ire towards the Investigation Team is about (he had to study; why do they get to go kill god after school???). In some ways, he feels like an American millennial whose life was affected by economic circumstance, but everything that comes out of his mouth makes him sound a boomer lol. Get off my dungeon lawn, you damn kids.

[athena-theunicorn]

Okay, I don't usually make super long posts but I had to explain these out in detail and have people tell me I'm not crazy.

TL;DR: Why Tears of the Kingdom could be the end of the timeline (not necessarily a circle end, either), and why our theories saying Zelda was Hylia during the trailer era were right.

First order of buisness, I don't watch many theory videos. I haven't seen anyone talk about this here or on reddit, so I assume it's not a very well known thought, but I could be wrong. I could also just be spouting bullshit. The only three games I've completed have been SS, BotW, and TotK.

How is totk the end of the timeline?

Excellent question. Thus begins my tedtalk.

So, we know that Ganondorf was a Gerudo King, yes. He was esentially sealed away by Rauru because at the time they didn't have a working master sword to kill him with. Ganondorf lay in stasis in the depths of the first castle for probably many millennia. Zelda is able to tell them all of this because she's seen it all happen before, right in front of her eyes. So she is able to prepare them for war accordingly.

But since Ganondorf in this time was only sealed, it means he never died. And we don't know all exactly what Rauru's power is capable of. We don't know if, for example, bits of Ganondorf's power was able to escape and create figureheads to aid in the destruction of men named Link and Princesses named Zelda.

You heard that right. I think that Ganondorf was the first Evil Incarnate to grace the Kingdom of Hyrule. He was somehow able to reach bits of his magic and create weaker versions of himself to hopefully end or at the very least terrorize the future generations of the Kingdom he wanted so desperately. He created Demise to warn the generations of the terror he would cause. It was never a curse, but more like a promise.

It explains the (somewhat silly) health bar during the final battle. It explains why when he was disturbed for the first time in eons his was brittle, dehydrated, and weak to the Sword. Using his magic to make lesser versions of himself drained him, leaving him with a mummy. But when he finally awakened he was able to revive himself while Link was running around Hyrule looking for his Zelda.

But now that Ganondorf is vanquished once and for all with the Master Sword, I believe he is no longer able to send bits of himself out to terrorize people, thus ending the timeline for good.

Whooh. Okay.

Why is TotK Zelda actually Hylia?

This point is only slightly connected, so bare with me.

So, in Skyward Sword we know that it is explained that Hylia sent Hyrule to the sky to ward off a great evil and such. And in the Dragon Tear scenes on totk there are no sky islands, thus letting us believe this is before the islands were sent to the sky, if this is truly the first generation in a land called Hyrule.

In the final dragon tear scene ( I know, I'm sorry to bring it up, it still makes me cry too), Zelda - or the Light Dragon - is seen flying through the cloud barrier.

We aren't shown this part, but I think that hen Zelda flew above the cloud barrier, parts of the land broke off and went with her, ascending to the skys like how Skyward Sword described. Execpt Skyward Sword said that Hylia was the one to make Skyloft. But whos to say they're not one in the same?

Do you need more evidence? Well sure.

The other three known dragons (Farosh, Naydra, and Dinnral) are named after the three golden goddesses, the ones that left Hyrule in Hylia's care. Now, we don't know how these dragons came to be, if they were always there, if they're the goddesses spirits, or if they actually ate secret stones themselves. But you know who doesn't have a dragon? Hylia. And the Light Dragon has no name other than that. Because Hylia was the one to eat the secret stone, and Zelda didn't know she was Hylia herself.

Additionally, this explains why Zelda had such a hard time in Breath of the Wild reaching her powers. Because she was praying to nobody, and when she finally looked into herself for the answers she was able to finally reach that power. Hylia had nothing to do with it, and praying to her was all a lost cause anyway.

Dear god my brain hurts. But this was fun low key.