#FINALLY DREW HIS ARC 4 FIT

[astral-schools]

YOU BETTER GET READY TO DIE !!!!!

#w101 #w101 fandom #wizard101 #wizard101 fandom #w101 oc #wizard101 oc #oc: finny #sal art #FINALLY DREW HIS ARC 4 FIT #i decided after his villain arc he changed clothes and got a new weapon #for most of arc 3 i was. technically using the cabal banner which i think is funny #and then i had darkmoor gear for a while #but now i have everything stitched to this slay outfit #oh the bit on his scythe is not a mantis skull btw. they dont have bones #its a carapace :] shed shell #giving him rainbow hair was a mistake its such a pain to draw #he looks fire tho

[yyh4ever]

Yoshihiro Togashi Handwritten Letter

Togashi sent a handwritten letter to the idol Yumiko Seki, answering 11 questions. The letter was read aloud in the Iwakura and Yoshizumi's Show, on TV Asahi, on November 14th and 21st, 2023.

There's already a translation of the Q&A by the hunter fandom (please read it), but I want to share my favorite parts and maybe some interesting info that was said during the TV program. You can watch the full version on bilibili. The whole film studio was decorated with Hunter x Hunter manuscripts and figures, and BGM from both versions of the anime was played during the broadcast.

The MCs of the show are two female comedians, Yoshizumi and Iwakura. The guests were Yumiko Seki (former Sakurazaka46); singer Toshiya Miyata (Kis-My-Ft2), a huge Hunter x Hunter fan; and the comedian Shintaro Morimoto (TONTSUKATAN) who read Togashi's letter and served as moderator.

At the beginning of the show, Seki-san revealed she met Togashi in a Sakurazaka46 live concert.

Everyone was shocked to learn she met him face-to-face!

Then, Seki-san showed an autographed shikishi Togashi-sensei gave her when she graduated from Sakurazaka46. (T/N: She announced her graduation on December 13, 2022, and graduated on April 30, 2023 at the Sakurazaka46 3rd TOUR 2023).

Killua: "Graduation is the starting line!!"

It's interesting to add that Killua is Seki's favorite character and orange & white were her penlight colors, also her favorite colors. That's why Togashi drew Killua holding a bouquet of orange and white flowers.

Miyata joked that he will make sure that everyone knows he loves Hunter x Hunter by the time he graduates from Kis-My-Ft2 boy band. Morimoto told him "don't graduate just to get a shikishi" (LOL).

By the way, Miyata loves Kurapika, so I hope Togashi gives him a Kurapika shikishi one day :P

Here's Togashi's huge letter!

Before reading sensei's answers, they anticipated the huge success of the show, and came up with the hashtag #冨樫先生からのお手紙 (letter from Togashi-sensei).

It was a success indeed, trending all over social media.

Then, Morimoto started to read the Q&A.

The second question was about the Hunter x Hunter character setting. Before reading the answer, they showed a Togashi's memo containing a detailed timeline of each character that he uses in order to develop the story without creating any contradictions. There's a timeline of the Chimera Ant Arc, and a table of the princes' entourage, allowing Togashi to distinguish them. He even drew characters that didn't appear.

Miyata left his seat and came closer to the monitor, so he could see the memo better. He's a crazy HxH stan just like us.

This material is actually from Jump Ryu's booklet (2016). You can also watch the Jump Ryu video with subs on YouTube, where Togashi explains better how this character table works.

Here's the part of the answer Togashi talks about Killua's inspirations. I am a huge fan of MDP Psycho!

The author of "Toy-y", Atsushi Kamijo, thanked Togashi on his Twitter. He also wrote that he loves Level-E.

When answering question 4, we found out Togashi-sensei watched Sakurazaka46 New Year's special feature in 2021, when Seki-san asked for the complete set of Hunter × Hunter.

But, because Togashi-sensei is such an introvert, he thought he would make her feel uncomfortable by actually sending it. It took him two years to finally decide to send it.

Miyata laughed so hard, saying: "Togashi-sensei is such an otaku!!" (LOL)

Seki-san confirmed Togashi really sent the Hunter × Hunter set to her ^^

The 5th question was about Togashi's favorite nen ability. Seki-san and Miyata also shared their favorite type of nen.

Seki-san loves Killua, thus she likes transmutation. She also likes Hisoka's analysis about nen, and thinks Killua fits his description about transmuters perfectly.

As for Miyata, he loves Kurapika, therefore he likes the conjurer type. He remembered that in order to conjurer chains, Kurapika had to imagine, touch, draw, and even licked real chains.

He was curious if Goreinu, a character that appears in Greed Island, had to do something similar and touch gorillas in order to be able to materialize them.

Miyata is a crazy HxH fan, he came up with many curious tidbits and did a deep analysis of the series. It's not confirmed in the manga or any databook if Goreinu is really a conjurer, but I really liked his point of view.

Question 7 about Meruem's final moments was really touching. After hearing Miyata's explanation about Meruem and Kogumi, Iwakura almost started crying.

Tears rolled down her cheeks when she saw the double spread of Meruem's final moments.

The funny thing is, at the beginning of the show, she told us she had only read the first chapter.

So, Morimoto joked: "Why did you have to stop at volume 1!!?" XD

Morimoto also revealed that Togashi-sensei's favorite scene is Meruem and Kogumi double spread.

Question 8, what does Togashi do on his days off? Morimoto asked Seki-san's opinion. She imagines Togashi having mandarin oranges on a kotatsu table, and talking to cats on the porch.

T/N: Eating oranges while sitting around a kotatsu table is a japanese tradition during the winter.

Togashi didn't mention anything like that in his answer, but there's an interview with Naoko Takeuchi (WITH magazine, May 2022) where she says, "We have been married for over 20 years. Although we have small fights sometimes, my husband is extremely kind and quiet, like a hermit (...) The house we have lived for 20 years is also a place of healing. Sometimes we have meals or tea in the garden". So, I can totally picture Togashi-sensei eating oranges in the winter and talking to cats.

Togashi-sensei stated he is the type of person who always has sound playing while he is working, just like Yoshizumi-san. She was happy she was acknowledged in his letter!

The question 9 was about manga that Togashi-sensei found interesting recently. Miyata remembered that Togashi had wrote a recommendation on the obi of Kimestu no Yaiba (Demon Slayer) volume 4, praising the series. I had completely forgotten Togashi loves Demon Slayer!

In his letter, Togashi-sensei wrote he couldn't give the name of the series he's currently into, since he would get criticized. But he left some clues. Yoshimizu said the crazy amount of ッッッ (small tsu) used in his answer was maybe a keyword, and that the fans would probably figure it out. She had no idea what manga he was talking about, though.

Togashi-sensei also wrote this manga is a true story published in 2023. So, many fans came up with the Autobiography of Keisuke Itagaki (author of Grappler Baki): an autobiographical manga depicting the harsh life experienced by Keisuke Itagaki in the "JGSDF 1st Airborne Brigade" that consumed his youth!

I started reading it, and the author really loves to use "ッッッ" at the end of the sentences. I don't think it's the kind of content I would recommend to an idol like Seki-san. Anyway, I don't know whether that's the correct answer or not, but it seems so.

The manga that Togashi-sensei ended up recommending was "Oi! Tombo". It has been serialized in Weekly Golf Digest since 2014. An anime is also scheduled to premiere in 2024. I was happy to see that the Golf Digest X Account mentioned his letter!

Seki-san was introduced to an unexpected golf manga, but she immediately became interested, saying, "I really want to read it'' and "I want to buy it right away.'' I guess we all felt that way. I'm definitely watching the anime!

The 10th question was about the ending! The reaction of the guests and MCs when Morimoto read there's an Ending D in case Togashi-sensei dies was priceless.

Before Morimoto could read the "Ending D", Miyata recalled he went to watch the Hunter × Hunter movie "Phantom Rouge", and received a copy of Volume 0. He grabbed it, and showed the Q&A with Togashi-sensei, highlighting Question 4: What will end up happening to Kurapika and the Phantom Troupe? A: "They will all die."

He was really looking forward to knowing the ending of Hunter × Hunter, but not this one (LOL). Morimoto and Miyata were too nervous, they took a sip to calm down before reading the "Ending D Pattern".

The final question was about the amount of text in volume 37. Miyata commenting that his answer also had an incredible amount of text made me laugh so hard. It was a huge answer indeed.

Togashi's last words were:

"Words are da best!" (Words rule/Nothing can beat words/Only words wins/ whatever sounds better in english).

Everyone laughed so hard, because this is actually a slang used by young people or fandom to say someone or something is the best. He wrote the letter in polite japanese, it was fun he ended it with a slang. By the way, Togashi-sensei loves slang, specially fandom unique vocabulary, as he usually uses it Hunter x Hunter. He's a fan of Keyakizaka46/Sakurazaka46 after all.

Miyata was excited to hear that Togashi-sensei himself is "bugged", which makes him want to continue reading HxH even more. One thing that caught Miyata's attention during this final question was the part Togashi-sensei mentioned he needs to settle many issues during the voyage of the Black Whale ship. Actually, the word "settlement" (解決) captured the attention of many fans, as they posted a lot about that on social media.

Miyata thought about people on board the ship whose fates needs a resolution. He wondered if this was about Kurapika and The Phantom Troupe since the conditions to what Togashi-sensei said in volume 0 (everyone's gonna die) are right there to happen soon.

He showed his Volume 0 again. LOL, I hope Togashi-sensei was just joking.

Of course, let's not forget that are many other unfinished business that needs a solution in this arc, we have a whole succession to the throne war in motion. But, Miyata was really hyped about Kurapika and volume 0.

The show ended with a big thanks and bow to Togashi-sensei!

Miyata said he has been reading HxH for more than 20 years, since he was in elementary school. No matter how old he is, he still gets excited about it! He loves Hunter × Hunter!

Morimoto asked Seki-san to say some final words to Togashi-sensei. Besides showing all her love for Hunter × Hunter, Seki-san was really cute and asked Togashi-sensei to take really good care of his health!

That's it, sorry for being like Togashi-sensei and writing too much. Although my posts are more about Yu Yu Haksuho, I feel I needed to address his letter too. I didn't take the Ending D too serious, since it was discarded. However, I think it was a cute closing to HxH. Like Miyata-said, everything went back to the beginning, The Whale Island where it all started.

I just want Togashi-sensei to live long and write his favorite ending!

There were other interesting parts, like Seki-san telling Togashi-sensei to make a DVD BOX of the TV show. In the end, everyone wanted to make one ^^ (me too). It is a really precious letter. I hope Seki-san frames it and make an altar :P

Thank you very much, Togashi-sensei!

#イワクラと吉住の番組 拝啓、中の人～冨樫義博先生～ #Yoshihiro Togashi #Youtube #Shintaro Morimoto #Iwakura #Yoshimizu #Iwakura and Yoshizumi’s Show #Seki Yumiko #Sakurazaka46 #idol singer #Kis-My-Ft2 #Toshiya Miyata #Miyacchi #hunter x hunter #Killua #Kurapika #自伝板垣恵介自衛隊秘録~我が青春の習志野第一空挺団~ #冨樫先生からのお手紙 #Handwritten letter from Togashi-sensei #HunterxHunter

[solo-uno]

Early Wrestlemania Xl predictions: 

Bayley v. Iyo for the Women's Championship

Winner: Bayley 

Rhea Ripley v. Becky Lynch for the Women's World Championship

Winner: Rhea Ripley

I could see it going either way. I think Becky will put over Rhea.

[Enter surprise return here.]

Sami v. Gunther for the IC Title (+Gable probably)

Winner: Sami Zayn

Gunther don't gotta generate more heat. He's already elevated the IC Title with star power & by surpassing the record. I don't see him retaining. I'll be surprised if he does.

KO v. Logan v. Randy

Winner: Logan 

Unfortunately, wwe has pushed him consistently. People outside the wwe space would hear about him beating 2 veterans at Wrestling's superbowl. I don't foresee Randy winning :( it is Logan v KO's story. 

KEVIN SAVE US!!

AJ Styles v. LA Knight

Winner: LA Knight

It's a much needed win for LA Knight as a face. This would tip the scale in his favor since he's been on a losing streak.

The Rock & Roman Reigns v. Cody Rhodes & Seth Rollins

Winner: The Bloodline

—If Cody wins night 1, he will lose night 2.

Night 2 will be an "all-out" fight, fits the Main Event high-stakes feel. 

Seth Rollins v. Drew McIntyre for the World Heavyweight Championship 

Winner: Drew McIntyre/Damian Priest

Seth has given everything to that title. He'll probably drop it here. Damian will finally cash in on the winner.

Cody Rhodes v. Roman Reigns

Winner: Cody Rhodes

Cody has been taking undeniable "Face of the Company" steps, setting him up for a win. Roman dont gotta beat Hogan's record. His reign is a big deal as-is

Jey Uso v. Jimmy Uso

Winner: Jey Uso

Huge win for Singles Jey. It would fit his 4 yr arc. Either way it's gonna cook.

—If Cody def. Roman the Bloodline will be in shambles. funny if Roman lost and Jimmy won lmao. 

Tag title ladder match: TBD cause I don't know who's in it yet

The Tag Titles should and hopefully WILL switch hands.  

**will make new post later. Gon change depending on match storytelling or new "hints"

**Just based on the show and for fun. I don't read rumors for my sanity 🤣 maybe I'm wayy off

#wwe #wrestling #wrestlemania xl #wrestlemania xl predictions #wrestlemania #cody rhodes #roman reigns #sami zayn #gunther #jey uso #jimmy uso #the usos #the bloodline

[xinambercladx]

A cut scene from "Children of the Force?" Nope. But it fits, I think. This is an illustration of a scene from my fanfiction, "Figment", which starts off during Holocron Arc. You didn't think I ONLY do fanart of bounty hunters, did you? Heck no! I love these guys. And, my gentleman Jedi Kenobi, it's about time I drew you! <3 I can't wait for the finale of the Kenobi show. Clone Wars art style is thankfully very geometric. Goodness, humans are SO much easier to draw than Bane is with his exaggerated bone structure. o_____O; Read "Figment" fanfic on AO3 <-click.

-- Chapter 4 releases on the 24th. xInAmberCladx's Fanart Archive <-click

#obi-wan #obi-wan kenobi #kenobi show #anakin #anakin skywalker #mace windu #mace #jedi knights #jedi masters #children of the force #holocron arc #cad bane is hungry again #just give the man some soup! #star wars #star wars clone wars #star wars fan comic #fanart

[bluefox4]

10 Characters, 10 Fandoms, 10 Tags

Tagged by @kingdomoftyto here. Took me three days to get around to it but I did it. I’ll put links for the ones that you can get online. A few fandoms I have some honorable mentions since it was a tough choice.

1. Hunter (The Owl House) - This is the character that drew me into The Owl House in the first place. Saw the clip from Hunting Palismen where he talks about thinking he had no future in a world like this on my dash and had to look further into it. I just want good things for him in the end, but the angst possibilities are also good. Honorable mention to Luz since I love her but the fav goes to Hunter.

2. Marius von Raum (The Mechanisms) - A gremlin. In The Bifrost Incident his short scene in “Expert Testimony” is great. His voice, the dramatic way he pouts as soon as he is told that Lyfrassir Edda doesn't want the story told through song. Just very fun. Honorable mention to Ashes O'Reilly and DrumBot Brian.

3. Lars (Steven Universe) - His character arc was great. He wasn't comfortable being himself for a long time and then when he finally was he flourished.

4. Macaque (Lego Monkie Kid) - Disaster man, needs Therapy. First appears as a villain and now seems to be taking the Vegeta route in character development. I think he is an interesting character. Honorable mention Red Son.

5. Wolf (Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts) - Says "I don't like other people and will let you die" precedes to keep the others alive and help them. Wolf is that character that her trauma makes it hard for her trusts others even though she does want that connection with others (otherwise she would have left Kipo very early).

6. Tris (Circle of Magic by Tamora Pierce) - Rough around the edges and also has trauma reasons for not trusting others. Shoved from relative to relative, bullied by her peers of course she is going to come across as mean when she first meets people. Her love for learning, her love of animals, and her loyalty once earned all make her such a great person. Also, love her magic. Honorable mention to the other kids of Discipline Cottage: Sandry, Briar, and Daja.

7. Jon Sims (The Magnus Archives) - Disaster man. Trauma defense mechanisms and some poor life choices make him fascinating to follow. He wants to do good, but well the story he is in well doesn’t really make that easy to do.

8. Ray Crisp aka Berzerker (X-Men Evolution) - "I'm going to fry this turkey." I love this quote ok. But I think I might be one of the few people that like his look, and I think part of it is that he stands out a bit from the others. There are hints about his backstory but since he is a minor character in the series his backstory is basically free real estate. Love his powers as well. Honorable mention Amara.

9. Sidney Malik (Widdershins) - His my icon for one. The icon is from a scene of him struggling to figure out how to word something in a letter (he was trying to tell his parents that he had been expelled from university) and that just felt fitting. One of the reasons that I don't post many things is just struggling to figure out how to word things in the first place. But he is just so excited about the adventure that he is dragged into. He is a very happy character. Honorable mentions to Harry, Mal, and Ben.

10. Papyrus (Undertale) - I just love skeleton. I never played none Mercy Routes but I know from hearing about the other endings that he understands the danger that he is in fighting the human but hopes that he can get through to them or failing that at least buy time for others to escape. He is a wonderful person. He has high standards for himself. Just love him. He wants friends. How can anyone kill this man?

Lego Monkie Kid can be watched on Amazon while Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts can be watched on Netflix.

Ah, I do not have ten mutuals so I won’t be tagging ten people for this. Feel free to ignore if you don’t want to do this. @emeraldmew @miyuzaki-1 @shea @actofcreation @theakumabaka

#it was hard to chose characters for this #I ended up going with the first ones that I thought of but once I started thinking of characters I started thinking of more than ten #Raven from the Teen Titans cartoon is an honorable mention #and while I haven't gotten through all of Digimon Survive still in the first chapters Ryo has grown on me #despite how much he is shoving my character away #he is freaking out understandably #looks at spoilers RYO! #my child is endanger #he is probably going to be a blorbo but since I haven't finished the game I'm not sure yet #so he's going in the tags

[fedzkun]

Villain Hunt Arc Meta: All For One’s Horrific Guide to Methodically Breaking Down Your Local OFA Holder

Ft. Turning the ‘Overpoweredness’ of OFA into a Setback, and AFO’s Successful Manipulations Of Midoriya Izuku

In which I also give AFO too much credit for all the pain he’s probably caused, and theorize that his plans to break Izuku actually started getting enacted even before he’d escaped Tartarus.

(A.k.a. me loving the angst because this is really good angst writing, but also hating it because the manga doesn’t come with a Angst with A Happy Ending tag unless you count Izuku’s ‘this is the story of how I became the greatest hero’ which isn’t really a guarantee of happiness )

So. What an arc! In the span of ten chapters (starting from the end of the War arc) Hori delivered a full-on Villain-looking, Vigilante Midoriya Izuku. Congratulations, Horikoshi, for finally introducing Akatani Mikumo!

The fast pacing and lack of breather panels are so fitting for this arc truly. AFO never gave them a moment’s rest. Yes, from henceforth as he’d promised... It’s always going to be his turn.

Izuku is making amazing progress with unlocking the full power of One For All. In his words, his abilities might as well already be on par with what a healthier All Might could do, and with no recoil to boot. Plus, there’s only one last quirk to unlock. For villain fights, I don’t think we need to worry about him losing, or him breaking anymore bones at this time.

Which, some might argue, makes Izuku too ‘OP.’

To start with, I want to talk first about the ‘overpoweredness’ of the One For All quirk. It’s a wonderful quirk truly, having inspired and amazed so many because of its sheer power. Used well, it could grant instant victories and restore the people’s wavering faith to the heroes. Because with a quirk like that on your side, everything’s going to be alright, right? There’s always gonna be that bit of hope that something is still strong enough to stand against the looming evil...right?

Yeah. That’s what the people who’d lived under All Might’s Era of Peace thought so too. History repeats.

OFA’s ‘OP-ness’ is both a great blessing and a great burden.

Here are some points on how the narrative has made OFA's 'overpoweredness' a setback:

1. All For One—that bastard—exploits the urge that comes with OFA. Just as ‘AFO the quirk’s’ goal is to steal OFA, OFA’s job is to defeat AFO, and Izuku is sacrificing himself to its cause.

Here’s another thing I want to point out: The conclusion that the heroes drew about AFO planning to capture Midoriya Izuku alive? In rereading, I’m starting to believe it’s nothing but a mere assumption of his plans. Aside from the deal made with Lady Nagant—of which I think AFO didn’t take seriously anyway and set her up for failure— (and while we as readers are already aware of his true intentions to wear Izuku down) it’s weird that nowhere had AFO directly mentioned to Izuku that he’s going to kidnap him and take his quirk from him.

2. OFA made Izuku so brilliant (e.g. Pros and former Pros alike going “This kid...”) that they really can't help but place all their hopes on him. Sighs. In an ideal world, this would be a dream come true of Izuku getting his due credit for all his heroic achievements Pro heroes have started to do to Izuku what they’ve done all their lives to All Might--which is to put him on the pedestal, while they fall back to cover him like guards/safety net. Hence, falling back to the One Pillar Model mindset.

3. OFA makes Izuku untouchable, not only to the villains, but also to his allies. Prime material to reinforce isolation. And if Izuku doesn't want to be caught, he won't make it easy for either side.

4. OFA IS SUS AF, OKAY? What are the Holders doing?! While gaining access to them makes it easier and convenient to have personal trainers in handling OFA, the vestiges prove to add a lot to Izuku’s mental load. If they’d allowed Izuku to come to the point of being caked with blood and filth, they’re not doing very well at guiding him. Realize that most of their arc interactions with Izuku is Quirk Talk. They, of all people, should know how AFO’s machinations work! Hey First, for the love of god, warn Izuku! He’s showing so many signs of being manipulated that you should be picking up on. please /sobs ;;

Tbf, like, I’m pretty sure that the Holders haven’t been as mentally okay either, which would feed into Izuku’s current mindset.

Now that the setbacks have been listed, let’s dive in to AFO’s plans to toy with Midoriya Izuku.

PHASE 1: Pre-Tartarus Breakout

Speaking of OFA being sus, there’s something that has been niggling at the back of my mind.

All For One basically tells Izuku: “You were my main interest that entire time I was in prison”. So, to pass the time in Tartarus (since he can’t use any(?) of his quirks), AFO has been doing nothing but apparently daydreaming and designing a personal hell for the Ninth Holder during that entire period. HOWEVER, it also made me wonder…

…Even before he’d broken out, had AFO made any moves at all in enacting his plans to break Izuku?

Yeah?

And here’s the kicker: he says that before Blackwhip bursted out.

AFO is a master manipulator. Assuming that Izuku doesn’t have any latent AFO quirk (for whatever reason *coughs* maybe dfo if you're a believer) or that Quirk Singularity has anything to do with it, what is the trigger to Izuku suddenly having access to Blackwhip?

I’d argue that it is All For One himself.

Why? What’s his goal? If you notice during the Joint Training arc, Izuku is feeling pretty confident about his progress. He’s rather happy and feeling blessed, and he is making leaps and bounds with base power OFA.

AFO can’t have that. He can’t allow the Ninth Holder to become too emotionally stable, or else he’d have a stronger will. So by somehow activating Blackwhip, AFO makes Izuku feel like he hasn’t made any progress with his quirk at all. During the evaluations, Izuku mentions that he still needs a lot to work on, and while not all of it is visible, with the way he behaves, it’s pretty evident that his self-confidence has taken a rather large hit.

But, wait! If AFO had tampered with OFA during the JT arc, paving the way to unlocking the rest (like he’d also done during the War arc when he tried to ‘steal’ it then), then wouldn’t AFO be sabotaging himself since he’d be making Izuku a more formidable opponent?

Sure. Except that the quirks inside OFA are mostly useless when it comes to the mental part of the fighting. The only thing they’re useful for is for the current Holder to be able to play keep-away in the physical realm. And AFO could easily just find counters for those through his work on Tomura.

You know how else the situation becomes advantageous for AFO? With every quirk unlocked, Izuku’s goalposts keep on getting away from him, and Izuku will always feel like he isn’t ready or prepared enough. Izuku will push and push himself to master OFA to its fullest, to become more powerful, at the cost of his mental/emotional stability and physical wellbeing as he wears himself down.

And every time Izuku grew more powerful, and became more ‘OP,’ he is burdened with all the aforementioned setbacks that came with it. He could be the most powerful person in the world, but it’s all for naught if he doesn’t take care of himself. This plan is both a high risk and high reward on AFO’s part, and as of the moment, with a bloody Izuku staggering all over, AFO is visibly reaping these high rewards.

PHASE 2: Post-Tartarus Breakout

He’s going to toy with Izuku until Izuku fucking breaks. What follows is his series of actions that instills the desired responses from Midoriya Izuku. Let’s see how the master manipulator plays this game of chess, shall we?

Izuku’s plan: Reach out to villains and try to save them.

AFO’s counter: Kill off those who turn their back against villainy and/or acknowledge Izuku as a true hero.

Izuku’s resulting response: Stop reaching out to villains. Gain an instant victory and move on.

After all, what do you get when you block a hero from showing sympathy? You get an unfeeling living weapon.

---

Izuku’s plan: Work with the top pro heroes to bring down AFO.

AFO’s counter: Make plans that will serve to highlight how the top pros are just slowing Izuku down. (e.g. Making moves while it’s raining, so as to divide them, but also to bring out No. 1 Hero Endeavor’s "slowness" in the rain. Nope, I don’t think that’s a throwaway line at all.)

Izuku’s resulting response: Grows more reckless, often leading the charge.

---

Izuku’s plan: Track AFO down.

AFO’s counter: Lead them to dead-ends. Or when they do supposedly reach something, endanger them.

Izuku’s resulting response: His tunnel vision worsens, as he grows more desperate.

---

Izuku’s plan: All Might following him around is okay since it would help All Might from worrying so much, and Izuku could simultaneously keep an eye on and protect All Might.

AFO’s counters: There are a lot to really fuck with this bond, damn you AFO.

Taint that passing the torch memory of ‘You’re Next.’

Declare that All Might no longer interests him. Liar. He outright stated before that he’s one for keeping a grudge

Send another assassin to Izuku [Underlying Message: You yourself are a walking danger zone to those whom you dearly care for.]

Izuku’s resulting response:

Interpret that memory of ‘You’re Next’ as taking up the position of being AFO’s shiny new plaything, and therefore supposedly sparing All Might from the torment (Unfortunately, making Izuku push AM away is just part of the torment ;A;)

Think that AM is no longer in the direct line of fire as long as AFO focuses on Izuku

Finally, push his last line of morale support away, and completely isolate himself.

Btw, I wonder how All Might feels about Izuku using Nana's quirk to get away from him.

---

The suffering doesn’t end.

Izuku’s plan: Save people.

AFO’s counters: (possibly offscreen) Send more villains and assassins to torment Izuku some more with the knowledge that he can’t save them. Sending villains out also puts innocents in danger.

Izuku’s resulting response: He won’t stop for anything. He won’t sleep, won’t eat, won’t slow down. He will always do his best to save as long as someone is in danger.

His body will keep on moving and moving and MOVING on its own.

--- All For One is very effective as a supervillain. He has managed to make the heroes think that his only goal is to capture Izuku alive for his quirk. He has Izuku right where he wants him: dancing to his tune at the palm of his hand, utterly toyed with, left with no escape in sight.

Psychologically vaulted.

.

.

.

PHASE 3

And so, if Izuku is being manipulated to drive himself further and further into self-destruction, what then is there left for All For One to do?

So much more. Because, my god, I think AFO has mastered the art of traumatizing the OFA Holders.

All For One once told All Might, “I will destroy all that you’ve protected.” And boy, is he delivering. He's definitely not done with AM btw.

First, he destroys All Might's image. And he is manipulating Izuku to drive himself to that point. To looking into his absolute worst.

And when that point arrives, AFO will hammer the final nail home.

Something like...

BEHOLD

JAPAN’S SYMBOL OF PEACE.

And oh, how it'll hurt. To see All Might's pride and joy be flaunted about as looking nothing like a hero to the masses, for him to be so utterly humiliated.

"See what I did to All Might's successor."

AFO will be banking upon the possibility that the angry masses will not want to be saved by whom they're tricked into viewing as someone that's the cause of all the pain. Izuku might have the willpower to stay true to his resolve, but with him on the verge of total breakdown, what would happen when he is shunned by the very people he is trying to help?

I once wrote a post about how the current events seem to be a bastardization of Izuku's wildest fantasies: he's working with the top pros, he has the most powerful quirk, and he's working with All Might (whom technically acts as a sidekick to him rn).

AFO has warped all that into a never-ending nightmare. And Izuku...

Izuku is really in need of saving.

Last thoughts:

Let me just say that it shouldn't be a competition about who gets to get through to Izuku. Right now, he’s gonna need all the help he can get, and it can’t be delivered by only one or two people. Saving Izuku is going to be a team effort, a solid support system that sees Izuku as their classmate/friend/student/actual person that they care about. And there’s sufficient space for that.

More hands reaching out means more chances to catch him if he falls.

#bnha #bnha 317 #bnha manga #bnha analysis #bnha meta #all for one #afo #midoriya izuku #all might #toshinori yagi

[canonicallyanxious]

Omg excitring times. David/Matteo and Kieu My/Fatou obvs!!

i reblogged this ask meme as a poorly veiled excuse to write essays about fictional relationships so thank u for indulging me <333

[i am so irritating so i'm adding in a cut sorry in advance for how word vomity i get over characters who aren't real ksdjfnsdkfnsd]

For context: send me a ship and I will say if I ship it or don't ship it and answer some questions about it etc. etc.

David/Matteo - ship it

[do I ship davenzi or did following this story irreversibly change the course of my life? who can say]

1. What made you ship it?

This is kind of an interesting question because I feel like due to the fact that I was extremely attached to evak and og skam s3 back in the early times of the skamverse heyday I was kind of unfairly predisposed to enjoy most evak variations (i mean i did watch skamfr s3 and enjoyed most of it up until the last few episodes if that says anything about that lol), that said davenzi feel distinctly different to me from evak, for many reasons despite sharing similar story beats. like Matteo was... idk such a lonely version of Isak?? So much more detached from his surroundings and sort of just floating through life (how he basically stumbled into the relationship with Sara is an example that comes to mind), so much more obviously yearning not to be.

and i think a big part of what drew me to these two at the beginning is i think they did such a good job of setting a different tone in a way that fits these characters and their story so well. i feel like david had a similar sort of loneliness to Matteo, in a very guarded sort of way, and i think that's part of what drew them to each other - when they meet eyes in the absolutely iconic heaven by blaze scene (will never fucking forget when that clip dropped btw. it was like 4 or 5 in the morning or whatever my time and the confirmation that beanie boy was ger!Even was fucking euphoric and we didn't even know beanie boy's NAME and i've never experienced a rush like watching that shit drop in real time i swear) i feel like there's this sense of recognition, almost like kindred spirits or something?? like here is a person who might intrinsically understand who i am and what i'm going through and i don't even have to say a thing (like Matteo's line in ep 7 to Sara, i think deep down this is the heart of what he's been wanting this whole time)

i loved also that because matteo was a lot more detached in some ways his story was more about him reclaiming agency in his own life and actually reaching for the things he wanted, and in that sense David challenged and pushed him in the way he needed (and vice versa for David in terms of letting himself actually be vulnerable around someone). That first conversation, the very guarded push and pull, david's challenge to matteo's "i thought you could make a wish" with "it's just an eyelash" and then crucially asking him what he would wish for anyway, and then finally at the end when matteo pulls a smile out of him and it's so amazing partly because it feels so earned - yeah i was gone from the start sdkjfsdnkfjsdf

2. What are your favorite things about the ship?

WOW WHERE TO EVEN BEGIN. like legitimately this is so hard to answer ksdjfnksdjfnds but i guess one thing that comes to mind is how well-balanced they are in terms of their personal character arcs and how they help each other grow, like i said i think that manifests in David pushing Matteo to actively fight for what he wants and Matteo helping David to be vulnerable by being so open and trusting himself and i just think that's good writing yo! i love also that they're both such fucking gremlins but in such different ways, we love couples that love to have fun with (and at lol) each other! also not to be that bitch but i love that it's a love story centering a trans character and we got to see that character experience love and joy and self-acceptance so completely. it might be silly but i'm not joking when i said seeing that happen for David who is such a well-realized character in his own right helped me tremendously in finding comfort in my own identity.

3. Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

God hell if i know what counts as a popular or an unpopular opinion for anything at any given time but i guess what i will say is that i remember when dr s3 was dropping i got, like, unreasonably annoyed at people who were like "oh so matteo is Even and david is Isak actually!" i mean looking back now i can't blame them because the parallels are there, they are literally an adaptation of this story and of course people are going to try to find connections where they can, but aside from the fact that matteo and david are pretty different characters from Even and Isak at the time it sort of felt like it was, like, playing down david's agency in the story? or reducing even and isak's own roles in their story to the active versus the passive one?? idk if that makes sense skdjfhnsdkjfs i just think it's kind of reductive to say the story was a role reversal just because Matteo was more assertive than Isak in some places but maybe i'm just being sensitive ksdjfhnsdjkfsdjk

on a lighter note again idk if this is an unpopular opinion, this is really just my own personal headcanon honestly but in my mind davenzi are one of two relationships in the entire skamverse i can see lasting after high school (the other one is Amira/Mohammed, what can i say i'm a druck stan through and through), like with most other couples i'm invested in i can see them being more on and off or like breaking up and getting back together a few years down the line or even just like splitting amicably and remembering the times they had together with deep fondness (idk how obvious it is but i'm not a huge believer in the longevity of high school relationships as much as I love my skamverse ships), with davenzi though idk i'd put bets on them being the real deal babey call me biased but i won't apologize for it

Kieu My/Fatou - ship it [it feels silly to even type this like of course i ship Kieu My and Fatou, I have eyes and breath in my lungs, who do you think i am]

1. What made you ship it?

actual physical proof i have been clowning since week 1:

lol but in all seriousness in season 5 i thought there was totally potential there as one of the relatively rare instances in the skamverse that a relationship has had significant development across multiple seasons (i don't count most noorhells in my brain sue me) and some already pretty compelling themes established about authenticity and such with the huge caveat that their story had to show Kieu My as a real and flawed person versus the idealized version Fatou had of her (which it did!!! and it gave me rights!!!!) but i think i was pretty cautious up until the first clip of season 6 when Kieu My and Fatou walk home and they talk about axolotls and Kieu My rides Fatou's skateboard and tripped and fell and theiR HANDS CAUGHT like they hadn't talked much objectively speaking but from the moment i knew they Had Hands i was fully 100% on board ride or die until the end (i'm sorry that i'm gay but there's nothing i can do about it)

another part of the season that i can pinpoint as a real turning point for me was the end of episode 5 - particularly Fatou telling Kieu My that she's good. Like i think up until then i was still kind of like "hmmm it depends on where they go from here" esp after the end of ep 4 but like getting more of Kieu My's side of things, seeing the way these two characters both put so much pressure on themselves (and how those aspects of their character arcs push and pull with each other), Kieu My's earnest attempts to connect with Fatou in such stark contrast to her Ice Queen persona, Fatou's attempts to shut her out before realizing she just didn't want to do that and running after her to kiss her on her doorstep, man. that shit Hit u know.

2. What are your favorite things about the ship?

I hate this question ksdjfnsdjkfnsdkjfs it'S SO HARD but here are some things that come to mind:

I have mentioned this before but i think the character work of this season is SO good and imo a big part of that is the way that their insecurities push and pull against each other and how that sort of pushes them into confronting those insecurities. like the conflict that comes from Kieu My's struggles to be vulnerable because of her past experiences of being abandoned when people saw her beyond her party girl ice queen persona versus Fatou's fears and insecurities surrounding being stupid and therefore not good enough? Chef's kiss! Ten out of ten! We love to see them accept themselves by accepting each other!

there's this line at the end of ep 10 where Kieu My says "I think if you were like me we would still be alone swimming around somewhere in the universe" and almost a full year later this line still makes me feel INSANE like this is it! this is their entire relationship stripped down to its bare essentials! like genuinely this one line makes me feel so many things i have to list it as its own thing i simply must

I love love love that their story was given the focus and attention of a full season, i love that they were afforded so much time and care and attention, i love that they got so many moments to just be with each other and that those moments were portrayed with such intimacy and tenderness, i love that they got care and attention and development BEFORE their season and even after their season, i love that two queer girls of color got this but also their story was about SO MUCH MORE than their identities, it just means the fucking world to me okay idk how else to say it

On a sillier note: i love that Kieu My's peace offering at the end of ep 5 was to bring Fatou banh xeo because her mom is a "really good cook". having just come back from the holidays with my parents wherein they asked me what i wanted to eat and the first thing i said was "mom's banh xeo", Kieu My you are SO FUCKING VALID. but also food as their love language as like a general thing is really really good, i'm a huge fan

3. Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

Man idk what's popular and what's not??? At the time that the season was airing i felt like the season was judged pretty harshly [and somewhat unfairly so in some cases imo], when despite its problems i feel that there is also so much good it brings to the table that deserves to be acknowledged, but idk what the general consensus about the season is anymore so who can say. also i'm not super into the idea of jealousy with these two but i don't think that's like specific to kieutou i'm just not a big fan of jealousy as a source of romantic tension in general

#answers #inmyarmswrappedin #no one asked me to be this fucking extra on main but it happened anyway oh well #druck meta #look this tag is appropriate okay #somewhere in this incoherent mess there is something that resembles analysis i promise #story meta

[mach-speed-spin]

Character design analysis: Kai Hiwatari

I’m starting this thing where I analyze character Beyblade designs and how they changed over the seasons. I’m starting with an original series character because Burst is ongoing and characters can return in future seasons (I will do also mfb since it ended)

We start with his season 1 design. From a fashion standpoint, it makes no sense. In the context of Beyblade, it fits right in. Beyblade takes suspension of disbelief and tells you to either roll with it, or just laugh at the ridiculousness of it. Kai’s design is arguably the strangest of the main cast (possibly second to Ray, but that’s debatable)

Working our way from the top down, he has 2 hair colors, bluish grey at the front and dark blue at the back. It’s styled in what I can only describe as half the quintessential shonen hair. The front is improbably spiky and is pretty long. But look at the back

It’s long, but it’s not spiky in the slightest save for it coming together at the back into something which probably has a name, I just don’t know it. Kai manages to give off “rebel” vibes, for lack of a better term, while also looking stylish. That hairstyle needs a lot of effort to keep

Moving on to his facepaint. It’s 4 blue traingles. They change slightly each season but here it looks like someone drew a triangle on a flat surface and it didn’t translate perfectly to the curved surface of a human face. The 2 top triangles are bigger and point horizontally. The bottom 2 are smaller and point diagonally. I don’t know why they were included in Kai’s design to be honest. If they wanted to give him something that made him stand out they could’ve just used the gloves or scarf. Having both plus the facepaint feels a little overblown but again, Beyblade doesn’t half ass anything

Down to his scarf. It’s most iconic appearances were in G-Revolution. Here only one end sticks out, instead of 2 like in G-Rev. It also shows no sign of being weighted. I’ll get more into it when I get to his V-Force and G-Rev designs

That sleeveless top looks terrible. It looks uncofortable and it’s a crime againts fashion. It’s also not something particularly notable about Kai. Really it’s just there so we can see his muscular arms

Speaking of his arms, look at his gloves. My favorite part of his original design, he never uses them after this season. They are implied to be weighted, but are definitely not as heavy as his scarf on G-Rev (more on that later). I love them, and they work with Kai, but Dranzer has minimal red (even though the bit-beast is all red. Go figure). They probably got rid of them because it didn’t match the aesthetic of his bey

His belt buckle looks kinda cool, but it’s not that remarkable

His pants are unreasonably baggy. I get that you’re a beyblade thief but no need to be able to carry 70+ pounds of plastic. Other than that, nothing notable

His shoes feel like a last minute addition as well. I can’t tell what they were going for, and they aren’t good, but you don’t notice that unless you specifically pay attention to his shoes (which are never the focus of any shot)

Kai in V-Force keeps the hairstyle (some slight changes but that’s due to the new animation studio)

His facepaint now consists of 4 traingles all pointing diagonally, instead of 2 poitning horizontally. Again, probably just the studio change

His scarf is gone but looks like he’s wearing a turtleneck? What? This decision genuinely baffled me. The scarf may have had its best moments in G-Rev, but it was still iconic in 2000. Almost as much as his gloves and you wouldn’t remo- oh wait

His top now has these things that go around his arm. I don’t know what they are called but I’m sure others pull off the look better than Kai does here. They kinda look like wings but giving characters wing designs would be executed better in G-Rev

The rest of his top is tight, but better than in season 1 (again, not a major part of his design)

He replaced his solid gloves for arm warmers. I would make fun of this if not for the fact that I want those arm warmers for myself. The red gloves looked better on Kai but those arm warmers would look better on me

He changed his belt buckle, but it’s not too different

Baggy pants now have these weird red parts. I don’t know how they attach

His shoes look normal now

The lack of scarf and weighted gloves is obvious. This means Kai was not wearing weights in V-Force (unless those pants are carrying rocks). Kai also seemed weaker in battles during V-Force and he was much thinner. I don’t know if this was intentional but in-universe it’s likely the consequences of the Russian arc from season 1

This doesn’t seem like much other than Kai in formal attire since he’s not training nor battling, but I still found some things in it

First the tie. It’s not very tidy. Considering Kai’s design implied he cares about his appearance this seems strange. But considering his mental state at the beginning of V-Force it’s not surprising

Second, and most importantly, he wears a single earring on his left ear. He doesn’t wear any earrings in his regular design, no matter the season. This implies that Kai only wears an earring when he’s presenting formally. Why?

Also is that eyeliner?

Kai in G-Revolution is more similar to himself in season 1 than in V-Force. His hair is longer but still kept in the same style

He has eyeliner. I don’t know why but I kinda like it

Look at his facepaint. The triangles are slightly crooked. I guess they were meant to look like bird claws a bit. It’s not bad, just strange when you’re used to straight triangles

His scarf now has both ends sticking out. It’s also weighted. Considering it cracked concrete by being cropped when Kai had his arm extended horizontally, I need someone to do math and tell me how heavy that scarf is.

He has a shirt and a jacket instead of that top he used before. Finally Kai gets sleeves. It’s a cool jacket that looks badass without looking like he was trying too hard

He wears normal (or at least normal in-universe) fingerless gloves.

His belt buckle looks like someone overlayed his season 1 and V-Force buckles into one. Small detail, but considering it’s the final season, it’s nice

Kai wearing kinda baggy pants instead of super baggy pants. I never though I’d see the day

His shoes would be normal if not for the fact that they have these red belts (are they belts?) holding the pants to them. Like all of Kai’s shoes, it’s a minor part of his design that doesn’t really stand out

Overall, Kai’s G-Revolution design is very toned down compared to previous ones. Except for the scarf not being in V-Force, the more iconic parts of it stayed consistent (hair and facepaint). He’s also buff as hell in G-Rev

Kai at the end of the series can be seen wearing this. I couldn’t get a full-body picture but he’s wearing a long coat (reminds me of the Matrix). It’s probably to hide all his wounds. Not much can be said about it other than it looks cool

#beyblade #character design analysis #kai hiwatari #beyblade overanalysis

[fuanteinasekai]

Time to talk volumes 25 and 26! I said I would translate the afterwords for both volumes together, and I have regrets. So, it’s a week late, but I finally finished.

Why did I put volumes 25 and 26 together? Because each contains about half of the 5 chapter long “Village of the Sleeping Vessel” arc, and because they were treated as two halves of a whole. As you can see above, both the cover illustrations and the afterword illustrations are part of a set: complementary Natori/Matoba covers and complementary Natsume/Tanuma illustrations. Because I’ve never compared these two pairings or anything.

The covers are interesting for the way they seem to reflect Natori and Matoba’s contrasting points of view. But I’m most personally interested in the afterword illustrations because they seem rather optimistic to me, and because they tell a story. While the first half was melancholy, and seemed to suggest that Natsume and Tanuma would be drawn to each other even if Natsume were hopelessly cut off from the human world, the second half seems to show Tanuma being able to cross that line and come see him anyway.

Anyway, author’s notes translation ahead!

Volume 25

お疲れ様でした。

この先ネタバルとなりますので最後に読んでいただけるち嬉しいです。

２５巻目となり夏目たちの関係性も変わりつつある中、夏目友人長を描き始めた頃にいつかやってみたいなと思っていたお話もやっと描けるようになってきました。話を思いつきつつも初期の頃の夏目やニャンコ先生でほうまくビジョンが浮かばずやれなかったものが少しづつ描き取れるようになってきました。

反対に初期これがやりたいと思いつつ、今の関係性ではもうそこはクリアしてしまったから描くことは出来なくなったなという話がいくつかあります。簡単には寄り添えなかった頃の夏目でしか表現出来ないような話が使えなくなった事が寂しいような、それもまた良いかと思えるような不思議な気持ちです。そんな描くには時期を外してしまった話も形や方向を変えてちゃんと育てていつかまた見えたらぜひ描いていってみたいと思っています。

Thank you for reading.

Spoilers follow, so please read this last.

With volume 25 and relationships between Natsume and others changing, I’m finally able to draw the stories I wanted to draw when I first began Natsume Yuujinchou. As I think up stories, I’ve been able to gradually write down things that I couldn’t draw in the beginning, when I didn’t have a clear vision for Natsume or Nyanko-Sensei.

On the other hand, there are things I wanted to draw in the beginning but can no longer do because that issue is already settled in the current relationship. To put it simply, it’s sad* that I can no longer use the kind of story that can only be expressed by a Natsume who doesn’t get close to others, but I have a funny feeling it’s also a good thing.** In order to draw that kind of story, I’d like to change the form and direction of the stories for which I missed the time period and develop them properly, and if I see a chance again I’d definitely like to draw one someday.

“Sad” here is sabishii, which is commonly translated as lonely or desolate, but can also refer to the melancholy of something no longer existing. ** Fun fact: she used this same “funny/strange feeling” expression when she said Tanuma was the reason for the “characteristic distance” between him and Natsume.

—

{Note: in addition to the afterword illustrations, Volume 25’s afterword background is illustrated with silhouettes of the Mid-rank yokai on their mission, as well as what appears to be Nishimura, Kitamoto, and Taki. Also the kitty brigade. Also Sensei in a suit for the anniversary bit. Volume 26 is arranged differently and does not have background illustrations. Additionally, the only mini illustration in 26 is this at the very beginning:

}

特別編21

16ページという事で何が入るか悩んだのですが中級達の得体の知れなさも出せるものを描いてみたいなとやってみました。連載が長いので時々、自分にこっそりお題を出して描く事があるのですが（例えば『つきひぐい』の回はモノローグ禁止とか）せっかく小ページの回なので「主人公を描かない」を。けれど描いてみて夏目が出ていないとなんとなく閉鎖的な感じもして、そこが新鮮でもあり反面、異種間の緩衝材的な存在は大事だなと再確認した回でした。

Special 21

I was worried about what I could fit into 16 pages, but I wanted to try to draw something that would display the mysteriousness of the Mid-Rank yokai. As the series is so long, I sometimes draw something where a secret problem for myself appears (for example, in “Tsukihigui” monologues were forbidden). For these rare few pages, it was “the protagonist can’t appear.” But when I started drawing it, it somehow felt closed off without Natsume appearing, and while that was novel on the one hand, it also reaffirmed that some kind of buffer between species was important.

—

第百·百一·百ニ話～　依代*の眠る里

百回記念日という事で担当さんと話し合って久しぶりに長めのお話を描かせていただけることになり感激でした。いつもなら登場したらすぐ帰ってしまうキャラ達をもう少しじっくり描けるのは本当に嬉しくて。

初期から描いてみたい話だったのでワクワクしつつも、アレと同じ形がいっぱいいたと言う事にジョックを受ける方もいるのではと気を引き締めながら描きました。田沼やタキといる時は自然でいられるようになってきた夏目ですが、祓い屋としての名取や的場といる時は強くあろうとする面があるのか、かえってそういうものが意外に脆さになるのかも知れないなと描いていて感じました。

成長したから出てくる不安定なものも描きとっていけたらなと思っています。

Chapter 100, 101, 102: Village of the Sleeping Vessel

I was moved when, after talking with my editor about commemorating the 100th chapter, I was given a chance to write the first long story in a long time. I was really happy to be able to put a little more care into characters that normally leave as soon as they appear.

At the same time as I was excited to be able to do a story I’ve wanted to draw since the beginning, I was also bracing myself that some people would be shocked by so many of the same shape. Natsume has gotten to the point where he can be natural around Tanuma or Taki, but with exorcists like Natori or Matoba, there’s a side where he tries to be strong, and I felt while drawing like that sort of thing might, all the more, unexpectedly turn fragile.

I think it would be nice if I could keep drawing uncertain** things that appear as a result of growing up.

* “Vessel” here explicitly refers to vessels designed to be occupied by kami, known as yorishiro.

** This “uncertain” is actually the same “unstable” that she used when talking about Natsume and Tanuma’s “unstable worlds,” (aka my blog title) so I was a little startled to see it here! It’s also super-vague, which always makes me Suspicious.

—

特別編22 ８ページという事で悩みました。小ページだからいっそいっぱい描きたいキャラを出そうと言う事でみんなに話を聞いてまわる話にしてみたいなと。パトロールは大事ですよね。

Special 22

I was worried about there being [only] 8 pages. Since there are so few pages, I thought of filling it with characters I wanted to draw, and I wanted to go around talking to everyone. The patrol is very important, isn’t it?

—

Special Anniversary Notes:

こんにちは、緑川です。 夏目友人帳、２５冊目となりました。 何度目であろうと　こうして一冊にしていただく度、緊張と嬉しさを噛み締めております。 相変わらず漫画を描く楽しさや難しさと格闘しておりますが面白く読んでいただけるものが描けるよう頑張っていきたいと思っております。どうぞよろしくお願い致します。

Hello, This is Midorikawa. We’ve reached Volume 25 of Natsume Yuujinchou. No matter how many times it happens, whenever I get a new volume like this, I enjoy the tension and happiness. As usual, I’m still grappling with the enjoyment and the difficulty of drawing manga, but I’d like to do my best to be able to draw something that’s fun to read. Thank you very much.

長い間、コミックスでお馴染みだった、 左端の1/4コーナーですが、この巻からなくなっております。 雑誌では広告が入る場所で、ネームの時は展開やシーンのタイミングを見ながらどこへ入れるか悩ましいスペースだったのですが、コミックス化の際にはなかなかお伝えする機会がないご挨拶やお礼を書き込めた思い出深いスペースでした。

The 1/4 space on the left side of the page has been familiar in comics for a long time, but it’s missing from this volume. It’s a space for advertisements in a magazine, but when I’m captioning, I worry about where to place it while looking at development and scene timing. But it was a space full of memories for me, where I was able to writing greetings and acknowledgments I hadn’t really had a chance for when it was turned into a comic.

夏目100回記念

長く続けさせていただき連載100回目を迎えることが出来ました。 本当にありがとうございました。 「依代の眠る里（第一回）」が丁度百回目となり、掲載号ではLaLaの先生方がご協力くださりそれぞれの作品のどこかにこっそりと隠れニャンコ先生を描いてくださいました。とても可愛いニャンコ先生をたくさん描いてただけて、ご協力いただいた先生方や企画を考えてくださった編集部様方や読んでくださってきた読者様方に感謝で胸がいっぱいになりました。大事に致します。

Natsume’s 100th Anniversary

After a long run, the 100th chapter of the series has arrived. Thank you very much. When the exact 100th chapter (Village of the Sleeping Vessel Chapter 1) went to print, the LaLa senseis [mangakas] cooperated to secretly hide Nyanko-sensei in each of their works. I am full of gratitude to those who drew so many super cute Nyanko-senseis, to the editorial staff who planned it, and to the readers. Take care.

お手紙

お手紙とても励みになります。 可愛いイラストを描いてくださったり、素敵なお話をきかせてくださったり、思いを込めて感想を書いてくださったり、とても嬉しく大切に読ませていただいています。 なかなかお返しできませんがまた楽しんでいただけるよう頑張っていきたいと思っています。

Letters

Letters are very encouraging. I’m very happy to carefully read your letters: the cute illustrations, lovely stories, and thoughtful impressions. I can’t really answer them, but I want to do my best to keep appreciating them.

Volume 26

{Note: Volume 26 does not have an overall commentary, just the usual “thanks for reading, please save this for last.” Also both volumes have an acknowledgements section I did not translate. Please spare me.}

第百三·百四話 依代の眠る里

久しぶりに長めのお話を描けて本当に嬉しかったです。読切形式だといつも途中でもう次は何をと頭がいっぱいになりますが、こうしてすぐに締めずに展開できるととてもワクワクして漫画家になりたかった頃の気持ちが思い出されました。短く切ってしまいたくない話も沢山あるのでまた機会がありましたら読んでいただけると幸せです。ずっとやりたかった依代の里のお話でしたが今の心境になれた夏目だから帰れた話でもあるのかなと感じました。同業だからの連帯認識とその時の考えで会う度に変化していく名取と的場の微妙な立場も描き取っていきたいです。絆ある友人を人事ている夏目、祓い屋である事でも力になれるはずだと信じている名取、おおくを知り見る事は出来ている故動く事が出来ない事もある的場、きっと力になれるはずなのに同行できない田沼、秘密を見守る猫達、ニャンコ先生、描きたいものがいっぱい描けて楽しかったです。そしてもっとこの話で描きたかったなと思っている事もあるのでまたしっかり練って描いていきたいです。

Chapters 103, 104: Village of the Sleeping Vessel

I was really happy to write a long story for the first time in a while. With standalone stories, my head is always already full of what I’m going to do next when I’m halfway through, but this time I was really excited to be able to develop the story without immediately bringing it to a close. It reminded me of how I felt when I first became a mangaka. There are many other stories I don’t want to cut short, so if I get another chance I’d be happy for them to be read. I’ve wanted to do the Yorishiro Village story for a long time, but with Natsume’s current state of mind I feel like there are probably other stories I could return to. I also want to keep drawing Natori and Matoba’s delicate position, which changes whenever they meet because of the sense of solidarity as colleagues, and because of their thoughts in the moment. I was happy to be able to draw so many of the things I wanted to draw: Natsume who believes in his close friend[s], Natori who believes he should be able to support [Natsume] even though he’s an exorcist, Matoba who sometimes can’t act because he is able to know and see so much, Tanuma who surely should have been able to support [Natsume] but couldn’t accompany him, the cats who keep a secret, and Nyanko-sensei. Also, sometimes I think about how I wanted to draw this story even more, so I want to keep polishing it up properly.*

* A little confused by present tense here. Maybe she wrote this note while they were still editing between magazine and tankobon?

—

第百五話　クッキーと森の入り口

里から帰った夏目は田沼に色々報告せねばならないのではと思い出来たお話です。ニャンコ先生について、妖絡みで仕事をしている人達について。けれど隣あってみると話すというより一緒に何かやっているうちに気持ちの整理がついていき、夏目なりに田沼への報告が出来たのではと感じました。アニメグッズで担いだ風呂敷に穴が空いていてみかんを落としているニャンコ先生を描いてくださった絵があるのですが、ああいう可愛いお話も描きたいと思っていたのを思い出しました。

Chapter 105 Cookies and The Forest Entrance

This is a story that developed out of the thought that Natsume had a lot he needed to tell Tanuma when he came back from the village. About Nyanko-Sensei, about people who work with yokai issues. But when I saw them side by side, I felt that rather than talking, Natsume would sort out his feelings while they did something together, and that he would be able to report to Tanuma in his own way. There’s an anime merchandise illustration of Nyanko-Sensei dropping satsumas from a hole in the furoshiki slung over his shoulders,* and it reminded me that I wanted to draw a story with something cute like that.

*Good news! I found the merch:

—

第百六·百七話　亡き友を訪ねて

依島さんは２０巻目の「とおかんや」といお話で夏目と先生と名取が会いに行った元祓い屋です。２４＋３２ページでは入らないかなとも思ったのですが、ずっと描きたかった話で、依代の里をやった今描いておきたいと入れさせていただきました。依島さんを描く時は時代を少し離れて描けるような気がして楽しいです。夏目と対等の妖力を持つ相手との行動も描けて新鮮でした。そんな力ある先輩が事情があるにしろ辞めて引き篭もっている現状は後輩達には少し複雑なのではと思っています。賑やかな娘達、広いお屋敷、キラキラしていた空間に透けてくる侘しさのようなものに気付いてしまう瞬間の様なものも描いていけたらと思います。

Chapter 106-107 Visiting a Late Friend

Yorishima-san is a former exorcist who Natsume, Sensei, and Natori met in Volume 20, “Ten Days.” I was worried that it wouldn’t fit into 24+32 pages, but I’ve been wanting to draw this story for a long time, and now that the Yorishiro Village arc is done, I got to fit it in. When Yorishima-san appears, I feel like I get to draw something a little out of time, which is fun. It’s also refreshing to be able to draw Natsume doing something with someone who holds the same level of spiritual power. I wonder if it’s not a little complicated for the juniors when that kind of powerful senior goes into seclusion without regard for circumstances. I got caught up with the cheerful daughters, spacious mansion, and sense of refinement that sparkles through the space, and the time spent drawing seemed to pass in a flash. I wish I could have kept going.

#The text isn't showing up in drafts so please open if you want the translations. #This was really long and I'm out of practice #so there may be a few mistakes #But I think I at least got the ideas down #gonna go lay down for a while #spoilers #though minor #if you haven't read everything up through 2020

[isagrimorie]

I was never sure about MG and Lizzie. Sometimes I enjoy the idea of but it’s been 4 seasons now and many years into knowing each other.

Lizzie has thawed towards MG enough to consider him as a friend and openly fly her secret geek heart with.

It’s been so long and while MG is consistent about his feelings towards Lizzie while trying to be respectful… Lizzie’s feelings for him doesn’t seem to have evolved into a romantic place.

She’s not happy when his attention is elsewhere but that feels more like because she’s accustomed to being the center of his affections and not anything romantic on her side.

Then there’s the whole Ethan thing that seriously appeared out of nowhere in an episode where all Lizzie talked about is how awesome Hope was.

And then there’s the whole MG and Ethan thing, and my realization that if Lizzie was a genderswapped… in some aspects she would be Ethan.

Then there’s the teasing in the Therapy box of Lizzie/MG/Ethan throuple in Josie’s Grey’s Anatomy episode. But that was clearly something for Josie’s head and not Lizzie.

Lizzie’s Therapy Box section was wholly focused on Hope in a Western revenge AU (which was fantastic).

I don’t know where I’m going with this except that, it’s been years and maybe it is time for MG to really move on.

Lizzie and MG are both vampires now, maybe somewhere along their eternal lives they could hook-up or be in a relationship just to see if they work or don’t.

Meanwhile, I really think he should make like Boyle from Nine-Nine and that white dude in Nancy Drew re: Bess.

MG is an awesome guy and character, and he is trying out this leadership hat, which unfortunately doesn’t seem to fit. I think he’s better as a consigliere than boss, and it’s become apparent to me the one who stands out as Super Squad leader is Cleo.

(Also, I’m not sure if this show will do MG/Ethan because they’re already doing Jed/Ben… and I’m not sure if the network would approve more).

I really did love his Triad arc and tying in with the theme of legacies and then nothing came out of it, after.

Season 1 Legacies was still the best season finale of the show.

#tv: legacies #thinky thoughts #milton greasley #lizzie saltzman

[amphtaminedreams]

Farewell to Spooky Season, AHS Style: Lookbook no.12

Hi to anyone reading,

Happy belated Halloween!

I capitalise it because if I'm gonna recognise any day as sacred, it’s the spookiest one of the year! Halloween 2020 obviously hasn’t been as exciting as usual, parties and club nights being banned has meant there’s been far less opportunities to dress up, but I still managed to get out for the night before they announced the upcoming second lockdown and do a couple of spooky movie nights (and carve a pumpkin!)!

I originally intended for this lookbook to be last minute halloween costume inspo but I was lazy and didn’t manage to get it out on time-a lot of these looks minus the makeup and maybe an accessory or two could work on any day or night out so I thought I’d go ahead and post it now anyway. Celebrating the fashion moments of American Horror Story is something I’ve wanted to do for a while; it’s probably not the first show you’d think of for sartorial inspiration but Mr. Ryan Murphy has fucking fantastic taste in stylists and the first five seasons of AHS in particular, which I’ll be focussing on in this post, have given us SO many amazing looks. The man may be guilty of many things-subjecting us to the character of Will Schuester, trying to turn Richard Ramirez into a thirst trap, embarrassing everyone who raved about how good Scream Queens was when he wrote season 2-but costume related laziness is not one of them. We see more consistency in a Ryan Murphy character’s wardrobe than we do in their story arcs and I respect that because honestly, as much as I love joining in when it comes to ripping into his ability to cohesively bring an AHS season to a close when it airs, I’d probably be the same; if you put Lady Gaga in front of me and told me to write her lines I’d probably end up getting overly invested in what her character was going to be wearing in the scene too. 

So! Enough Ryan Murphy bashing from me! I’ll get on with it! Starting with 3 season 1 inspired looks:

Murder House: Elizabeth Short, Tate Langdon and Violet Harmon

-striped jumper from caitlinlark on Depop, kick flare jeans from ellagray-

When it comes to reflecting on season 1 of American Horror Story, all I can say do is thank the internet overlords that Tumblr has moved on from the romanticising school shooters and wearing normal people scare me tops phase to instead collectively taking the piss out of the “GO AWAY, TATE!”, “YOU’RE ALL THAT I WANTTT! YOU’RE ALL THAT I HAVEEE!” exchange. 

In terms of fashion *moments*, whilst season 1 doesn’t stand out as much as the seasons that come after, Violet and Tate’s wardrobes did give birth to a bit of a 90s grunge renaissance with their oversized knits and faded jeans and layering of textures. It did also give us good costumes in the form of Alexandra Breckenridge’s Moira O’Hara and Mena Suvari’s portrayal of the Black Dahlia, Elizabeth Short; unfortunately, I didn’t have a slutty maid costume lying around so I did the best I could at giving the outfit Elizabeth wears when she makes that fateful visit to the Murder House a modern, more party appropriate update.

In terms of season rankings, Murder House isn’t my favourite. It starts off really great but lulls a bit towards the end and I could never get behind Violet and Tate as a couple because you know, one of them is a school shooter who sexually assaults the other’s mum, and that’s a hurdle that I think most couples might struggle to get over irl. That being said, it was the season that started it all and showcased some of the most innovative writing and directing on TV, and it opened up a spot for horror on primetime television which as far as I know was kind of unheard of before then. Back when I first watched it, I had no idea what to expect not only because I’d never seen horror in a serial format but also because it seemed to be able to get away with the kind of storylines you’d expect network executives to fire people over. It introduced us to Jessica Lange and Sarah Paulson and Evan Peters and Denis O’Hare who would go on to make the show what it is today and more importantly, through Jessica’s glorious portrayal of Constance Langdon, provide us with an endlessly versatile meme format for this trying time.

Asylum: ‘60s Lana Winters, ‘70s Lana Winters, and Sister Mary Eunice McKee

-afghan coat from louisemarcella on Depop, red AA skater dress from julietramage, pink gingham co-ord from zshamim-

I think we can all agree: Asylum would’ve been a perfect series of television if it wasn’t for the completely unnecessary alien storyline. Like, I get that they fit in with the whole good vs. evil theme as a kind of non-biblical alternative to the idea of a higher, all-powerful being but there was already so much going on that it just wasn’t needed. Aside from that, I think the general consensus amongst watchers of the show is that Asylum has the best writing of any season and I think I’d tend to agree. It’s not my favourite because it’s too depressing to rewatch but if we’re talking the first time round, this is the series that had me hooked. Lana Winters?

Iconic. 

Sister Mary Eunice? Iconic. The Name Game? Iconic. Remember when you couldn’t go a day on Facebook without seeing that one photo of Naomi Grossman as Pepper used as the go to “what I really look like” photo in one of those “expectation vs. reality” style posts on your newsfeed? Those were simpler times.

Because this season was mostly situated within the hospital, we didn’t get that many proper outfits but when we did, they were stunning; if I had to state my absolute favourite AHS character of the entire show I’d probably go with Lana Winters and the part her wardrobe played in her characterisation would 100% play a part in that. The late 60s/early 70s was such a wonderful period for fashion and through her character we get to see both of those explored a little. Of course there’s also *that* Sister Mary Eunice scene with the red slip dress and suspenders too which yes, could be a perfect halloween costume, but I also strongly believe should be a perfectly acceptable outfit for any day of the year. 

Coven: Misty Day, Madison Montgomery, and Zoe Benson

-chiffon dress from rags_to_riches on Depop, pinstripe corset from hanpiercey, and tennis skirt from mollie_morton-

I hate to be a basic bitch but I have to say it: Coven is my favourite season of American Horror Story. Once you get over the complete waste of Evan Peters’ acting capabilities that resulted from the *choice* to have him play Kyle, the unnecessary rehash of the Evan/Taissa pairing from season 1 in what I can only assume was an attempt to capitalise on the popularity of the questionable Tate/Violet relationship, and the subsequent sacrifice of any interesting character arc we could’ve foreseen for Zoe Benson beyond her obsessing over a resurrected, non-verbal frat boy, it’s a perfect season. A supreme (heh) balance of horror, humour, and character drama, as well as the stunning aesthetics and forever quotable dialogue, make it my go-to season if I’m ever considering a rewatch. And if you disagree, let me jog your memory with the most mainstream (not to get all “normal people scare me” and suggest AHS is not a mainstream show, I literally just mean in the sense that even those who have never watched the show will have seen this)  reaction GIF set any FX show has even spawned:

Buzzfeed employees had a field day, Emma Roberts enthusiasts (I mean me) finally saw her cemented as the pop culture icon Scream Queens has since showed us she deserves to be (because not enough people have seen Unfabulous, Nancy Drew or Scream 4) and the gays everywhere rejoiced at the year’s worth of meme fodder they’d been provided with. It was Madison Montgomery’s world and we were truly just living in it.

And the fashion! I mean, Stevie Nicks meets 21st century teenage witches! Come on! 

Freakshow: Dandy Mott, Maggie Esmerelda and Elsa Mars

-olive green satin skirt from morganogle on Depop, headscarf from tonijordan, platform sandals from elliefewt, PVC skirt from bethpin_, corset top from sadieflinter, beret from house_of_erotique, flame detail platform boots from mad_rags_vintage-

When people talk about the declining quality of AHS, they usually point to Freakshow as the beginning of the end, but I have to completely disagree. I wasn’t a fan the first time round but on rewatch it’s probably the most emotional season of them all; no, there aren’t as many “horrifying” moments as in other seasons and Elsa is probably Jessica’s worst performance (which is still an incredible one by anybody else’s standards), however it makes up for it with the most sympathetic bunch of characters yet, and on the flip side, also one of the most amusingly depraved with Finn Wittrock’s Dandy Mott. Fans usually argue that the season went downhill once *SPOILER* Twisty the Clown was killed off but for me, he really primarily served as the catalyst for the far more interesting devolution of Dandy, who, imo, is the show’s strongest villain to date, rivalled only by Bloody Face. Then there was the episode Orphans too which made me cry buckets, the sole AHS episode to do so. 

We got a lot of great fashion content in this season too: the theatrical opulence of Elsa Mars’ wardrobe, “Maggie”’s nomadic fortune teller costumes, and all those twee suits we saw Finn Wittrock in. Highly underrated if you ask me. It seems an odd choice for me to use Elsa’s Dominatrix look as an inspiration for one of my looks here when we have that Life on Mars performance outfit and all the extravagant robes Jessica got to waltz around in for reference buuuut I didn’t really have anything to do the vibrancy of either of those justice so I went with the black leather option which is much more me. Am I saying I moonlight as a dominatrix? Maybe. Lol, no. I wish. It’s not for lack of trying. WHERE ARE ALL THE GENUINE TWITTER PAYPIGS AT!? Your girl wants to insult creepy men and get some new clothes out of it xoxo

Hotel: Hypodermic Sally, Liz Taylor, and The Countess

-silk white bralet from xlibby_maix on Depop-

Hotel is another season that I liked a lottttt more upon rewatch, once I knew I was okay to tune out the (completely predictable and utterly nonsensical) Ten Commandments Killer storyline that so much of the season initially seems to hinge on. I love Chloë Sevigny but the fact that her and Wes Bentley’s wooden John and Alex Lowe are positioned as the protagonists at the expense of the far more interesting Liz Taylor, James March and Hypodermic Sally really does a disservice to what is an otherwise great season upon initial viewing.

The visuals this season are magnificent and I think if I had to pick one character’s wardrobe to steal from the entire cast of AHS characters, it would be The Countess (a toss up between her and Misty Day tbh, so I kinda just settle for low-key channelling both). No fucking idea where I'd wear any of her clothes to but I’d make it work. Liz Taylor and Hypodermic Sally have some amazing looks too-there’s just honestly so much to choose from; that being said, this post wouldn’t be complete without a specific ode to the vampire goddess Elizabeth Bathory, who is everything I want to be in life minus the murderous qualities:

Everything. EVER-Y-THING. LOOK AT HER!

Lady Gaga is really a fucking goddess isn’t she. And people were claiming before they’d even seen it that she couldn’t act? A patriarchal society doesn’t like women that can do it all. Just saying. 

Anyways!

That’s it for now! I hope you enjoyed the post if you did read til the end! Sorry I couldn’t get this out before Halloween, I was typing and Picmonkey-ing madly from 2 in the afternoon on the 31st but I taking fucking forever to get ready and had to abandon all hope of getting it out on the day by 4PM. I’ve got so much content planned and it sucks because a couple of them are lookbooks which now feel completely redundant given we’re heading into a second lockdown, but maybe I should just do it anyway? The grunge inspired moodboard I just did seemed to get a good reception too so I’ve got some more of them planned. 

As always, hope everyone is keeping well, and feel free to inbox me with any suggestions, queries or even just to say hi if you need someone to talk to! I check here quite a lot so I should see it. Lots of love to everyone in this time!

Lauren x

#american horror story #ahs #lookbook #fashion #fashion inspo #style inspo #style #styling #Ryan murphy #lady gaga #violet harmon #taissa farmiga #the countess #tv show fashion #Sarah paulson #70s fashion #lana winters #Emma roberts #witch aesthetic #finn wittrock #Jessica lange #style inspiration #fashion blog #misty day #Madison montgomery #boho #bohemian

[keyofjetwolf]

Hi would you like some rage about She-Ra season 5?

If the answer is no, please don’t click below. For real. Really for real. I’m not looking to piss in anyone’s Cheerios. I think if you were satisfied (or better!) with the show, that’s fantastic and I envy you. As I have always said, love what you love. My opinion is mine and means precisely nothing beyond that. If you think you may be even a little bummed reading about how someone didn’t like it, skip this post and go on with your day, I promise you’re not missing anything worthwhile.

IN A SIMILAR VEIN: If -- before, during, or after reading -- you feel inclined to argue with me, I am begging you to please not. I cannot begin to tell you how much I don’t want to be argued with on this right now. I’m still extremely disappointed and cranky, and I’m not much in the mood to have a measured, reasoned debate about my feelings. Much as my opinion has no bearing on you, your opinion has no bearing on me, and as I’m giving you the option to opt out, I’d appreciate the same courtesy. If you want to write your own post on your own blog, go nuts! Just please leave me out of it. I PREFER TO BE CRANKY AT TELEVISION SHOWS THAN PEOPLE.

The rest of you, come on down. I don’t promise coherency, but I DO promise a lot of stuff said in all-caps!

---

Hello! Thank you for joining me! We watched the remaining few episodes of She-Ra last night! I hated them! Yaaay!

What did I hate? OH HO HO MANY THINGS FRIENDS MANY THINGS. It’s not just stuff from the final couple of episodes either, I want to clarify. It’s the entire final season, settling on last few episodes like the freshly fallen snow on your front lawn that some frat boys decide to pee their names into. By the time we’d gotten to these last episodes, there was really nothing left for me but confirmation of all the shit I’d come to hate. SO THANKS I GUESS FOR PROVING ME RIGHT

Which isn’t to say there was nothing to enjoy in the final episodes! There was!

5. She-Ra’s Triceps. GET BUFF GIRL. I LOVE how Adora and She-Ra look similar, but very much not identical. Adora’s no slouch when it comes to physical stuff, but they go the extra mile to show us how She-Ra is that much more. HOW RARELY DO YOU GET TO SEE A WOMAN WITH MUSCLES. I’ve been nothing but impressed by the ways the show drew the line between Adora and She-Ra, and however I felt about its handling of other elements, it didn’t let me down here.

4. Sometimes A Family Is A Twink, A Lizard, And Their Imp Baby. I don’t have further commentary on this, and I need none.

3. Welcome Home, Daddy. THIS WAS SO SPECTACULAR. Glimmer had, I would argue, the most realized arc in the story. It was so gratifying to see this as a culmination, not just of her own struggle with her magical power and ability to harness it, but her willingness to do what needs doing, however personally difficult. That was a stumbling point Angelica could never overcome, continually trying to micromanage and protect Glimmer rather than trusting her and recognizing her for the asset she was. Also though, more succinctly: YESSSS BITCH

2. A Shanty! THIS WHOLE SCENE WAS PERFECT NO NOTES. Just the right blend of silly and sincere, a genuine delight as even brainwashed Mermista had had enough of Sea Hawk’s shit, AND so much more clever than it seemed at first glance. THIS IS THE ONLY VALID HETEROSEXUAL RELATIONSHIP IN SHE-RA I AM NOT TAKING QUESTIONS AT THIS TIME

1. Shadow Weaver. SHADOW FUCKING WEAVER. What a complicated, fascinating character, bar none the most interesting in the entire series. I do think they pulled their punch right at the very end with her, but I AM capable of remembering I’m watching a kid’s show, so I can only get so disappointed about it. Mostly, she remained a beautifully morally complex character, and she was one of my greatest personal delights from beginning to end*.

(*) Boy did this show have one single solution for mommy issues though.

THAT WAS ABOUT IT. So let’s get to why we’re all really here, and that is MY SCREAMING OH MY GOD WHERE DO I BEGIN

Nah, I know exactly where to begin.

GLIMMER AND BO JESUS MCTRISKET I AM GOING TO EXPLODE AND SHOWER THE UNIVERSE IN THE SHRAPNEL OF MY HATE

WHY IS THIS HAPPENING

WHERE DID IT COME FROM

HOW CAN I SHOVE IT BACK IN THE HATEFUL SPEWHOLE THAT SIRED THIS BULLSHIT

WHY WHY IS THIS HERE WHY IS THIS IN MY FACE WHERE MY EYES HAVE TO SEE IT FUCK ME SIDEWAYS THIS IS THE MOST UNNECESSARY SHOEHORNED IN HET ROMANCE FUCK A DOODLE NONSENSE I HAVE EVER HAD THE MISFORTUNE TO BEAR WITNESS WHAT IS IT DOING IN THIS OTHERWISE EXPONENTIALLY GAY CARTOON

WERE YOU PANDERING TO THE STRAIGHTS

WHY ARE YOU PANDERING TO THE STRAIGHTS I ASSURE YOU WE ARE COVERED BOTH HISTORICALLY AND FICTIONALLY

ALSO NEED I REMIND YOU THAT YOU HAVE ALREADY ACHIEVED HETEROSEXUAL PERFECTION

NO MERMISTA NO WE ARE NOT ALL JUST LIKE OKAY WITH THIS

Oh my FUCKSTICKS, I could’ve rolled with so much more that angers/disappoints me about She-Ra’s ending if every single thing I feared about this hadn’t proved true.

AND. IT. WAS. SO. UNNECESSARY.

What exactly did pairing off Glimmer and Bo do for the story? For their characters? THIS IS THE PART THAT’S STABBING ME IN THE DELICATE WEBBING OF MY TOES. Because -- COME WITH ME A MOMENT SWEET ANGELS -- because I was under the impression that, oohhhh, I dunno, FRIENDSHIP WAS A HUGE FUCKING IMPORTANT PART OF THIS PASTEL HELLSCAPE

Is it, She-Ra? IS IT REALLY???? When not one but BOTH of your childhood friendship pairings end in romance? When you close out your five seasons with romantic relationships so painfully and specifically sown across the character landscape like an overzealous gardener turned loose on the world?

You know what you have at the end? DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU DID

THIS ISN’T A BEST FRIENDS SQUAD IT’S A DOUBLE DATE THAT NEVER MERCIFULLY ENDS

And again I ask, Why?? What was it about Glimmer and Bo’s relationship that needed them to become romantic? What was LACKING that this was the solution?

THIS IS WHAT MAKES ME LOSE MY GODDAMN SHITTING MIND I AM SO FUCKING DONE WITH THIS INSIPID MYOPIC TRASHBAG OF A CONCEPT

I believed She-Ra’s entire premise about friendship, I believed it wholeheartedly, and I’m so PISSED that at the close of day, narratively, it swept it all the bin. AND YES, YES IT DID, otherwise, WHY IS IT THERE. It serves no story-based need, it serves no character-based need, it has no NEED at all. So is it meant to be a “reward” to Bo and Glimmer for winning the war, as if their lifelong friendship were not reward enough? Is it meant to show they’ve walked through the flames and emerged with stronger, deeper bonds, because of course a relationship can only go SO deep without fucking. There’s no avenue to Romantic Relationship that doesn’t simultaneously point to something lacking in Platonic Relationship, AND I AM FURY PERSONIFIED

I am so tired of this. I’m SO TIRED of this.

And it didn’t need to be there. They didn’t even TRY to give us a good reason. That may be the part that makes me the angriest. Of COURSE they hook up romantically, of COURSE their platonic love would grow into “more”.

Fuck YOU, She-Ra. I thought you were better than that. YOU WERE SO CLOSE TO BETTER THAN THAT

THEN THERE WAS CATRA

I get it, I guess. I mean, I think it’s shittily written, but I GUESS. Honestly, end of day, I just don’t care about Catra enough to really get too angry about it, particularly when as I’m so fucking incendiary over something much more important to me. But it’s also the show’s greatest creative failure, and even if I HADN’T gotten angrier at other choices, it would’ve still cut its own legs out from under it.

Catra’s “redemption” was weak and sad and did a disservice to her and everyone involved. She started self-centered and shitty, and she ended just as self-centered and shitty, only we’re fine with that now. She learned nothing and changed nothing, but also nobody ever demanded it of her, so I can only lay so much at the character’s feet. The problem is ultimately creative, where I think Noelle Stevenson got lost in her own love of the character, and somewhere along the way forgot that if you take them out that far, you have to be willing to walk them the long road back. Compare to poor Glimmer, for fuck’s sake, whose greatest sin was being desperate enough to be manipulated by the character whose entire fucking DEAL is being THE manipulator. How much shit did she get for that? How long was she punished? Meanwhile Catra becomes THE Big Bad for a while, nearly unravels all of reality in a fit of supreme lesbian angst and self-pity, directly leads to the death of the planet’s ruling monarch who also happens to be GLITTER’S MUM and DIRECT FRIEND TO THE SHOW’S HEROES, but that’s fine, you did one sorta good thing one time and even though it was also wrapped in a thick film of self-pity and a final fuck-you at Adora, all is forgiven!

Speaking of, Adora suffers just as much from stunted growth. From the beginning, her thing was control, unable to free herself from the responsibility of everything and everyone. What did we have at the end? Adora as the only one who could save everything and everyone. Yeah, they kept asking what it was SHE wanted, BUT THEN SHE NEVER ACTUALLY GOT TO CHOOSE. NOT activating the failsafe wasn’t an option for her, and while she wound up not having to die to do it, even that wasn’t her choice in the end, it was Catra’s. (Don’t even get me started on her nth hour “You love me?” fuckery when it wasn’t once for one single second shown to be a question of such life-turning importance.)

All of which could be interesting! That Catra and Adora went through all this, came so far to wind up right where they started? AWESOME. LOVE IT. FUND IT. But really all that happens is nobody minds now that Catra’s a self-involved little shit and tee-hee another Best Friends Squad Mission being bullrushed by Adora within five minutes of ending the last one isn’t that funny?

I can’t even dig much enjoyment out of Adora and Catra as a trope subversion (if one of them was a male, their romantic involvement wouldn’t have even been a QUESTION), because the show lost its fucking mind with romantically pairing everybody off in the final five minutes. WHICH BRINGS ME RIGHT BACK TO MY PREVIOUS SCREAMING SO I’LL STOP THERE.

There was other stuff, of course. I think it was a TERRIBLE decision to spend the last season with the focus split between the two groups of rebels, and writing half the cast into brainwashing. I think the Nettossa and Spinnerella stuff was wasted and lacked any punch at all because the show for some reason or another couldn’t be bothered to let us spend any time with them to care. The waste of Scorpia and Mermista especially (to people named Jet Wolf who are me) was fucking CRIMINAL. Speaking of Scorpia, wouldn’t her showdown with Bo have been so much more poignant if they’d had really any kind of interaction before that moment to build from? (Sure, it’s Scorpia, so if you’re going to sell the lack of context with anyone it’s her, BUT ALSO.) Hey, remember Huntara? No? NEITHER DID THE SHOW.

All my details aside though, MY MANY MANY MANY DETAILS, what kills/rages me most about She-Ra was how so much potential from the first four seasons was just flushed away. Whether it was the creative team shooting itself in the foot or corporate pressure and rushing from Netflix, I don’t know. I don’t CARE. This is the show I was given, so this is the show I have, and that kind of fall after that kind of potential doesn’t just irritate me, it makes me SAD. I wouldn’t be this disappointed if I didn’t think it could have been -- WAS -- so much more.

Time will tell if I can separate out the final season from how much I loved those that came before it. I like to hope so, because I did love it intensely and loved whenever I got the chance to really dig in and talk about it.

WHATEVER ELSE I SUPPOSE I WILL ALWAYS HAVE THIS

Again please remember that I am not at present looking to argue or debate my feelings and opinions. I get to just be angry and disappointed, as a treat!

#jet wolf watches she ra #a novel by jet wolf #ANYWAY THAT'S ENOUGH ENERGY SPENT ON THIS CHILD'S CARTOON FOR ONE 24 HOUR PERIOD

[fictionalnormalcy]

TBWASN Ch.4

The Boy with a Strange Name

Rating: Mature (Graphic Depictions of Violence)

Fandoms: Fusion of the How to Train Your Dragon books and animated franchise

Additional Tags: jaded protagonist, modern day AU, moving somewhere new, fitting in, making friends, additional DreamWorks characters, back to hometown

Summary: Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III has lived nearly seventeen years of life. In the span of those years, he’s moved twelve times. Five of those years his mother was alive. Then a tragic accident left Hiccup in the sole care of his father, Stoick Haddock. Berk was where he had been born. That much he knew.  Over every, single, move his father put him through, it wasn’t until he reached sixteen years old that Berk was the city in which the father finally decided to plant roots. At least, that was what he claimed. After years of being victimized at each school he attended, Hiccup was determined to keep a low profile at Berk High. His past is intent on preying upon him, deciding that Berk was perfect place to come back into the light. However, like all good things that came to him, there was always something to drag him back down into the pit of despair. A dormant secret, tied into his family history, was ultimately brought into the light when Hiccup settles on Berk. A secret tied with guilt and tears, and it all goes downhill from there. He discovered what his father truly did those long stretch of years, and finds he has a gift that had been nonexistent for centuries.

Ch. 4: The New Kid’s First Day Part II

He kept waiting for her to snap. While it may not have him being the cause of it, he noted that Astrid was easy to irritate. If someone dropped something in front of her, she would glare at them for a few seconds before side-stepping and continuing. From her manner of acting, she reminded him of girls from other schools he had attended. They put themselves in the spotlight, and would throw a hissy fit if anyone dared to try to shoot them down.

They demanded attention, and practically lived to ridicule those too shy and weak. Hiccup always maintained a wide arc around them, never daring to look them in the eye. Sure Astrid seemed very similar to those other girls, as well as being blonde with blue eyes and harsh features, but at the same time Hiccup decided he shouldn't be quick to judge her. She turned toward him and smiled, not yet having said anything about his skinny form or worn out satchel and coat.

And besides, she hadn't declined in giving him a tour of the school and had been eager to welcome him along with Regina and Trent.

"So you've been here on Berk for at least a week now right?"

"Not quite."

She looked him straight in the eyes, then when she realized he wasn't going to embellish she glanced at his schedule that she still held. She had yet to make any comment, and he wondered how intrigued she could be by a simple sheet of paper.

"What's the verdict on my schedule?"

"They're sending you all over the place. I'm sorry, Monday mornings I'm always a little wayward. Here you go."

He hoped she understood his classes better than he did. His schedule had been made based on the classes he had taken back on Meathead and his transcript. Ms. Myrles had asked if he wanted any changes, and all he had replied with was that he wanted time to think about it. She gave him a week to decide if he wanted any changes, and hoped the classes would be enjoyable. He had been assigned the second level of art class and he was wondering if he could ask for Advanced Placement.

Math was not his strong suit, and he agreed with the level he had been given. Luckily Berk offered the same class he had previously been taking. While Meathead required their students to take seven classes, here in Berk there were six blocks. He just wondered how long the school day was going to last.

"Okay so this is the plan."

They had paused at the top of a staircase, one that was hidden away. There wasn't as much foot traffic, Astrid had said. Mentioning that it would be a good path to take to get to the arts department and math department.

"We've still got six minutes before the bell rings. I can show you where your first three periods are, but you can't exactly cross the school in such a short time. So we're splitting the school into seven sections for you. The exit to the student parking lot and drop-off zone is at the southeast corner of the school. The school has three floors, along with a basement which contains the gym and swimming pool. Now we're on the second floor, but we need to cross across the math department so we can get to your first period. Now come on."

She grabbed his wrist, and self-consciously he drew it back. He understood the message without her having to make physical contact. They had to move quickly.

Keep reading

#httyd #httyd books #fanfic #my fic #tbwasn #the boy with a strange name #mature #graphic depictions of violence #modern day au #AO3 #jaded protagonist #slow burn #33 chapters so far #hiccup haddock the third #hiccup horrendous haddock III #astrid hofferson #stoick the vast #fishlegs ingerman #book fishlegs #snotlout jorgenson #tuffnut thorston #ruffnut thorston #httyd camicazi #heather the unhinged #eret son of eret #httyd dogsbreath #angst

[wistfulcynic]

The Bend of the Arc (4/ 4)

SUMMARY: Emma Swan hates Killian Jones at first sight. He's everything she despises in a man: arrogant, provocative, and a known criminal associate of the city’s most notorious gangster. She’s determined to put him behind bars, until a shocking event forces them together and Emma discovers that there’s a lot more to Killian than meets the eye.

-

THANK YOU SO MUCH to everyone reading this story! I’ve been blown away by your amazing and insightful comments, and so touched. You are all thoroughly brilliant and I want to hug you. Contact-free internet hugs for all!

All the love always to @thisonesatellite​ for her ‘splaining, even the cold kind ❤️

Rating: M (smut and language)     Words: 5.8k (of 30k total)   Tags: Modern AU, enemies to lovers, bounty hunter!Emma, criminal!Killian, smut, bedsharing

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | On AO3

-

PART FOUR: 

It didn’t take long to prepare for their departure. Neither of them had come with any luggage; Killian simply packed his tuxedo and her dress and shoes into a large plastic bag and tossed it into the back of the Jeep. They had a quick breakfast and cleaned up the kitchen, quickly tidied the rest of the cottage and then were ready to go. 

Emma took a last look around as Killian reset the security system, trying to fix the little space in her memory. A heavy ache of sadness sat in her chest knowing that she would never see this place again, and Killian… she had no idea what might happen between them when they got back. What she even wanted to happen. 

The drive down to the lake was a silent one. Emma noticed that the path they took down the mountain was straighter than the one that had brought them up it, keeping mostly parallel to the meandering line described by the creek he’d shown her, the one she was to follow if she ever needed to find the lake again. 

The motorboat was precisely where they’d left it. Killian turned off the Jeep and tucked the keys beneath the visor, then fetched the jackets and life vests from the back as Emma grabbed the plastic bag with their clothes. She tossed it into the boat before putting on her jacket and vest and stepping aboard, with no need for Killian’s hand this time. Moments later they were underway, rounding the curve of the lake and heading back to the river that would lead them to the larger lake and the boat that had carried them to it, the one Killian claimed belonged to one of his employees. 

It too was right where they’d left it. Emma frowned as she removed her vest and jacket, handing them to Killian who boarded the larger boat with them tucked beneath his arm and stowed them in a compartment beneath the seating on the deck. 

“Don’t you worry, leaving things like this?” she asked. “A yacht, just sitting there, and the keys left inside the Jeep?” 

“Hardly anyone lives out here,” he replied, turning another key to start the boat’s engine. “And those who do keep to themselves. It’s why I chose this place.” 

Emma stayed on the deck of the boat as it purred down the skinny lake—which she soon realised was not a lake at all but a long and winding inlet that opened out into the sea. Land masses crowded the horizon, some clearly islands and others possibly part of the mainland split up by more inlets. Killian steered them gradually to their left, maintaining a more or less straight course in that direction until slowly the islands became less plentiful and a city began to resolve in a blue-grey haze before them. 

“You’d better get below,” Killian told her. “And stay quiet.” 

“What? Why?” 

“Remember that passport you don’t have?” 

“Oh.” 

She went below and curled up again in the bunk where she’d slept the night of their escape, but no sleep claimed her this time. Voices filtered down from above, muffled but recognisable as Killian’s and another that sounded like a woman. Their conversation was short and soon the boat was moving again. Emma waited another twenty minutes before venturing back onto the deck. 

“Aye, love, it’s clear,” Killian said with a smile when she poked her head through the small door. “We’re back in American waters.” 

“So,” she said, resuming her position on one of the padded benches, “you basically smuggled me into Canada,”  

“Basically.” 

He seemed disinclined to elaborate, tension creeping visibly into his posture as they drew nearer to the city.  Soon Emma began to recognise the skyline and about twenty minutes later they arrived back at the marina. 

Killian brought the boat into the mooring they’d taken it from and tossed the lines to a short, round man with a dark beard and an anxious disposition who appeared to be waiting for them. 

“Everything all right, Mr Jones?” he asked. 

“No problems, Smee,” Killian replied. “Thank you for the loan of her.” 

“Anytime, sir.” 

The man nodded to Emma as she debarked and gave her a nervous smile. She smiled back, as warmly as she could manage, then followed Killian across the lot to where his car was parked—another thing just as they’d left it, but with one addition. Graham was leaning against the hood with his arms crossed and his badge prominent, watching them approach with a hard expression. 

He and Killian shook hands, the kind of handshake men exchange when they’d prefer to exchange fists to the face, and then Graham turned to Emma. His eyes raked over her, taking in every detail, leaving her with the uncomfortable sensation that he could see everything she’d done over the past few days—that she had slept with Killian and how her feelings towards him had changed. It made her angry; it wasn’t Graham’s business who she fucked or how she felt about them, and she returned his appraisal with a cool stare. 

“Are you all right?” he asked her. 

“Fine,” she snapped. “Never better.” 

Graham shot Killian another dark look. “Come with me,” he said. “I’ve got a cruiser waiting to take us to the station.” 

“I’d prefer to drive myself, mate, if that’s all right,” Killian replied. 

“If you must,” said Graham. “But Emma comes with me.” 

“I’m going with Killian,” said Emma firmly. “And I’m stopping by my place first, to get a change of clothes. 

Graham’s eyes flitted from her to Killian and back again, his jaw clenching, and she wondered if he would pull rank. Finally he gave a short nod. “Fine. Be at the station in an hour.” 

He turned on his heel and headed for his cruiser, squealing out of the parking lot a minute later in a way that felt deliberate. Killian didn’t look at her as he got into his car and so she simply got in herself, hugging the plastic bag with their clothes tightly to her chest. 

Killian knew where she lived. Of course he did, thought Emma, just as she knew where he lived. He went straight to her apartment, parking in her usual space and wordlessly following her inside, where she retrieved her dress and shoes from the plastic bag and held it out to him. 

“Sit wherever,” she said. “I’ll just change quickly and be right back.” 

He nodded, taking the bag, and she retreated to her bedroom where she shed his clothes and replaced them with her own. As glad as she was to put on actual underwear and clothes that fit—and she was very, very glad for it—the ache in her chest throbbed again as she folded Killian’s jeans and t-shirt and rolled up his socks. She ran a brush through her hair and pulled it into a ponytail, and when she opened her closet to fetch her jacket she froze. 

Killian’s jacket was there beside it, the one he’d put around her shoulders the first night they met. The one she’d intentionally kept to fuel her anger and keep her determination to see justice done to him fresh and hot, and now—

Now it made her want to cry. 

Slowly she removed it from the hanger and held it to her cheek. It smelled like him, that warm, spicy scent that was so familiar now. Emma buried her face in it, breathing deeply and fighting back her tears. Then she placed it gently atop the pile of his clothes and put on her red leather. 

When she returned to her living room Killian was still standing where she’d left him, staring out the window with an expression she couldn’t read. He smiled when he saw her, a smile that started bright and quickly dimmed, one that seemed involuntary. 

“Well,” he said, waving his hand at her outfit. “That’s better, isn’t it?” 

“Much,” she replied, smiling back. “Um, here’s your clothes.” 

“Thanks.” He put them in the bag with his tuxedo. 

“And, uh, I should probably give this back too.” She held out his jacket. 

“Ah.” Killian stared at it, emotion flaring in his eyes but quickly quenched. “Er, yes, thanks.” He took the jacket, not looking at her. 

“Killian—” 

“We should probably get going. I wouldn’t want to face Graham’s wrath if we’re late.” 

“Yeah. But can we, um… can we just...” 

“What?” 

Talk, she wanted to say. Fix this, whatever this was that had been so fragile last night and felt shattered now. But she knew there wasn’t time and Killian’s face was shuttered again, carefully concealing all traces of the man she already missed. 

She put her hand on his arm and he caught his breath. “Emma,” he whispered, “I—”

She stepped closer and he swayed towards her, reaching up to stroke her cheek with trembling fingers that curled around the back of her head as she tilted it up. 

“I—” he tried again, then his lips were on hers, his arms closing tight around her. Emma whimpered and stood on her toes, pressing as close to him as she could get, her own arms twined around his neck and clinging like she never wanted to let go. 

She didn’t, but she couldn’t hold on to him, not when he was still keeping things from her. Not when she could never trust him. Emma had been down that road before and she knew where it led—jail time and a broken heart, and a son she would never know.  

Killian kissed her with a desperation that echoed in her soul, fingers tangled in her hair and clutching at her waist, mouth hot and demanding and achingly gentle, sweet and bitter, an elegy, an apology and a goodbye. 

As their lips parted he let his forehead rest on hers, his eyes closed. “We should go,” he said. 

Emma squeezed her own eyes shut, breathing him in. “Yeah,” she whispered. “I’m ready.”  

~

Graham was waiting for them at the station along with what seemed like half his precinct, sweeping Emma away while Killian was corralled by the others and leading her to an interview room like she wasn’t there all the time and didn’t know the way as well as he did. 

“Do you want anything to drink?” he asked her. “Coffee, or—” 

“I know what the coffee’s like in this place so I’ll pass, thanks.” 

Graham’s lip twitched. “Fair.” 

A knock sounded at the door and he opened it to admit his partner, a dark-haired man with a perpetually smug expression. “Emma, you remember August Booth?” he asked, cringing slightly when Emma and August turned to him with identical exasperated eye rolls. 

“Of course I remember August, he still owes me fifty bucks from the last poker night,” said Emma. “I know this case is a big deal, but can you please remember I’m your friend and not some stranger who needs to be handled with kid gloves?” 

“My friend,” Graham repeated. “Right.”  

August sat across from her and laid a clipboard and a small tape recorder on the table. “Emma, I need you to make an official statement of what you witnessed at Robert Gold’s mansion, do you consent?” he asked. 

Emma nodded.  

“And you consent to have your statement recorded?” 

“Yes.” 

“Good. Sign here.” 

She did, but before August could turn the recorder on, Graham spoke from the doorway. “Are you sure you’re ready for this, Emma? You’ve had a stressful past few days, we can do it tomorrow—” 

“No,” said Emma firmly, wishing Killian were here and also wishing she didn’t wish it. “I want this over with and I want Gold to go down.” She nodded to August. “Let’s get started.” 

~

It took more than an hour, with Emma telling and retelling her story and August asking questions, pressing her for more details, for everything she could remember. When it was over she was exhausted and emotionally raw, with a pounding head and a fierce desire for a hot bath and a soft bed, and Killian. Maybe he would agree to stay with her tonight, she thought, rubbing her temples. Just for tonight. Just one more night.

She returned to the bullpen to find Graham waiting for her. 

“Everything go okay?” he asked. 

“Yeah, I think so. You’ll have to ask August for the details because my brain is mush, but… yeah.” 

Graham gave her a sort of half-hug, wrapping his hand around the back of her neck to massage it. “You did well.” 

 “I’m just glad it’s done.” 

“Gold’s been remanded without bail,” he informed her. “You should be safe enough to go home, though I’m placing a couple uniforms outside your door just in case. Is your car here?” 

“No.” 

“I’ll get them to drive you then, too.” 

Emma shook her head and pulled away. “That’s okay, Killian can—” 

“Killian’s gone,” Graham snapped, his face going dark. 

“What?” Her heart twisted, bent and folded itself into a tight knot of agony. 

“He left half an hour ago. Said to tell you goodbye, and he’s sorry.” Graham’s eyes flashed. “What does he have to be sorry for, Emma?” 

She shook her head. “Nothing.” 

He snorted. 

“Nothing like what you’re thinking,” she snapped. Anger surged within her, hot and cleansing, burning away the pain.   

“So you didn’t—” He made a vague gesture with his hand, scowl deepening, and oh, Emma relished this anger. 

“Didn’t what?” she asked with a tight, mocking smile. “Fuck him?” Graham winced, and her smile became a sneer. “Oh yeah, I definitely did that. And you know what? I’d do it again.” 

He clenched his fists, nostrils flaring. “So much for your high-and-mighty ideals about trusting criminals,” he spat. 

“I never said I trusted him.” Emma intended the words to sting but her voice rose on a wobble and she spun away, pushing and elbowing her way through the crowded bullpen towards the exit before Graham could see her tears. 

She was nearly there when his hand closed around her elbow. “Emma,” he said, softly and without rancour. “I’ll drive you home.” 

~

Graham pulled up in front of Emma’s apartment and turned off the engine. They sat in silence for a moment, she desperately clinging to the remnants of her anger and he staring at his hands. 

“Emma—” he began. 

“Why do you hate Killian?” The last of the anger slipped away as she spoke his name, leaving the hurt stronger in its absence, leaving her wanting only to curl into a ball and weep forever. 

Graham sighed and rubbed his eyes. “I don’t hate him. Once I loved him like a brother.” He paused, his throat working. “Part of me still does.” 

“But then why—” 

“Because I don’t want to see you become just another woman he hurts!” Graham cried, twisting in his seat to face her. “Did he tell you about the others?” 

“He told me he’d hurt people—”

“Did he tell you he had an affair with Gold’s first wife?” 

“No, but—” 

“Gold found out and she turned up dead. Stab wound to the heart.” 

Emma’s own heart twisted even tighter. “That’s on Gold, not Killian,” she whispered.

"Maybe. But when Gold’s current wife got shot, that was Killian.” 

“He shot her?” Emma exclaimed. “I thought she was—”

“She survived,” Graham said harshly. “But Killian and Gold have a lot of ugly history and he had no right to bring you into that! I should never have allowed it.” 

“Graham—” 

“And then the way you were looking at him earlier—he’s not worth it, Emma! Whatever you think you feel for him, he’s not worth it.” Graham swallowed hard and turned back to face the steering wheel. “I’m not saying this out of jealousy.” His voice was low and rough. “I know that’s what you’re thinking, and I won’t deny that I wish there could be something between us. But I'd be happy just to see you happy, and Killian—all he’ll do is hurt you.”  

“He won’t,” she replied. Not intentionally, anyway. “He wouldn’t.”

Graham slammed his fists on the steering wheel. “For fuck’s sake!” he cried. “Haven’t you heard a word I’ve said?”   

“Every one.” Emma was surprised by how calm she felt, though the ache grew with every beat of her heart and tears hovered at the back of her throat. “I know how hard it was for Killian to lose your friendship, but it must have been even harder for you. Seeing what he became, knowing there was nothing you could do to stop it.” 

“I—” He nodded, swallowing hard. “Yeah. It was.” 

“He hasn’t changed as much as you think. He’s still a good man at his core, despite everything." 

“Emma—” 

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to—” her voice broke “—to see him again. I know I can’t trust him.” She put her hand on Graham’s and squeezed gently, leaning forward to catch his eye. “But there is one thing I can tell you with absolute certainty, and that is that Killian Jones would never, ever hurt me.” 

Graham stared at her for a long moment, then shook his head. “I hope you’re right,” he muttered. 

~

Gold pled guilty to Felix’s murder, along with a dozen other charges of money laundering, fraud, and larceny. His plea came as a surprise to the district attorney, who had offered him no deal. The case against him was solid and she was hoping to make a landmark of it, expecting Gold to use all the resources at his disposal to fight the charges. 

“So why didn’t he?” Emma asked Graham. 

“Once his wife found out what he’d been doing, she threatened to leave him if he didn’t confess everything and accept the consequences, no strings attached,” he replied.  

“Wow.” Emma gave a low whistle. “I think I like this woman.” 

When Gold was sentenced to life imprisonment with no possibility of parole—the district attorney could smell blood in the water and pushed for the maximum sentence—Emma was in the courtroom to witness it. She had testified before the grand jury, coolly recounting what she had witnessed in the gallery with her eyes on Gold the whole time, unflinching even under his icy, furious glare. She thought about Killian and how his staunch support had helped her through the worst of her trauma, had brought her to this place where she could stand strong, look evil in the eye and see justice done. 

You’re a tough lass, he’d said, and she was determined to live up to that.  

As the judge’s gavel fell, Emma was filled with a deep, primal satisfaction, and when Gold turned as he was being led away and his eyes found hers in the crowd, she couldn’t resist a smirk. This time at least there would be no escape from that justice. Not for Robert Gold. 

Killian wasn’t at the grand jury or the sentencing. She hadn’t really expected him to be, of course, but still she’d hoped… she’d hoped. 

Days passed and then weeks, weeks Emma thought would dull the ache in her chest and soothe away the itch beneath her skin, the one that urged her just to call him. But the time only weighed more heavily the longer it stretched, and with each day that went by the itch to call him grew both stronger and easier to resist. She knew his number, of course, and of course he must know she did. If he wanted to hear from her he would have said so. He would have left a message with Graham, or called her his damn self. She knew that he must have her number too. 

She went back to work, back to chasing criminals and deadbeats. The old thrill she felt at catching them was undiminished, but every time one spat at her or called her a cunt she couldn’t help remembering Killian when he’d been in their shoes, the challenge of sparring with him and how exhilarating it was, even when she’d hated him. 

Killian was rarely far from her thoughts. She thought of him when she was bored on stakeouts and found herself wishing for a book, when she ate a piece of the fruit she now found herself buying and when she put cinnamon creamer in her coffee. She thought of him when she slipped her fingers between her legs at night and when she cried herself to sleep afterwards. 

She thought of Killian every time she didn’t ask Graham if he’d heard from him, every time she resisted the urge to drive past his house and every time she bought a new romance novel, because damn it she was hooked on them now and she wasn’t giving them up just because every one reminded her of how damned much she missed Killian Jones. 

Feel what you’re feeling, Killian had said to her. It’s the only way to heal. 

Emma had a lot of un-felt feelings—more than a decade of them, from as far back as the day she’d refused to hold her baby though his newborn wails tore at her heart. She’d refused to feel the loss of her son or of his father, refused to mourn Neal or acknowledge the traces of love she still had for him. Refused to let anyone else get close enough to make her feel—until Killian smashed through the walls she’d built around her heart without even trying, catching her off guard with kindness and bone-deep decency from the last person on Earth she’d expected to show either. 

It made her wonder if she might have misjudged other people in her life and if maybe, possibly, letting some of those people in might not be so bad. As much as missing Killian hurt—and it hurt, with an agony that sank its claws into the very deepest depths of her—she couldn’t regret the time she’d spent with him. And maybe, she thought, possibly, that was what he’d meant by healing. Feeling her feelings didn’t lessen the pain of them, but it gave her the tools she needed to manage it. 

She felt guilty for giving up her baby. She felt stupid for letting Neal manipulate her but still sorry he’d died in the jail cell she’d put him in, sorry she’d never told him about their son. She felt angry at her own parents for abandoning her, and not even properly—not given her up for adoption just tossed her on the side of the road like a piece of trash. She felt weak for how hurt that made her feel and how worthless, and she felt angry at the system that allowed her to fall through the cracks of it, angry at a society that forced her to become hard just to hold on to herself. 

She felt. And then she began to heal.

~  

A month after the sentencing an envelope arrived in Emma’s mailbox. A plain manila one without much in the way of identifying markings but thick and heavy. She tossed it onto her kitchen table with the rest of the bills and junk and then promptly forgot about it, her mind all on the deadbeat father she was hunting—the one who owed over $80,000 in alimony and child support to his two ex-wives and the five kids they had between them—and there were few people Emma relished nailing more than a shitty-ass parent. 

When she got home that night it was late and she was tired, looking forward to some Chinese takeout or maybe just instant ramen and her bed. She tossed her keys at the table where they missed the little bowl she kept there to hold them, landing instead on the envelope. Emma frowned at it as she retrieved them, and after depositing them firmly in the bowl picked up the envelope and examined it. The postmark was local but there was no return address, no company name or any other information about the sender. 

Graham would tell her not to touch it. But even if there were any associates of Gold’s still lurking out there seeking revenge on her, Emma figured they’d just shoot her and not send mysterious envelopes through the mail. She sat down at the table and ripped it open, and instantly she was wide awake. 

Within the envelope were records, financial ones, page upon page of them. Business records, bank accounts, tax documents. All in the name of Killian Jones, and each one helpfully annotated with notes and arrows and little diagrams, so that even her inexpert eye could recognise the picture that they painted. 

Emma stared at them in shock. This was everything she had spent months looking for, the hidden money that lay behind his legitimate businesses. Offshore accounts, shell corporations, all so skilfully concealed that she could never have hoped to uncover them. This was what he had refused to tell her about at the cabin. 

The papers wrinkled beneath the pressure of her fingers as she realised what this meant. Killian had given her every scrap of evidence the police would need to pursue charges against him. She could take it to them now and he would be arrested, and she knew that if she chose to do that he would go quietly, with no complaints and no resentment against her. He wouldn’t try to run or use clever lawyers and legal tricks to escape the consequences. She could send him to jail, where they both knew he belonged. 

Or she could… not. 

Something at the bottom of the stack of papers caught her eye—another, slightly smaller envelope. Emma opened it somewhat warily and stared again, this time in astonishment. Inside were more documents but these ones contained no evidence of crime; very much the opposite, in fact. One of them gave details of a foundation that had been set up to provide free shelter, counselling, and legal services to help teenagers escape abusive homes, while another described a college scholarship fund for kids in the foster system. This included money for tutoring, application advice, and SAT/ACT prep courses that would put the foster kids on a more equal footing with wealthier ones whose parents could afford such things. 

There were others too, women’s shelters and free clinics, and Emma wondered how the hell Killian had managed to pay for all of this. He was rich, sure, but most of his assets were tied up in his businesses; this level of investment was well beyond what he could afford on what he had that was legal and liquid. 

Her answer came in the last document in the pile. Short and straightforward, it outlined the liquidation of every single thing he owned that wasn’t strictly aboveboard, and how that money had been funnelled into the charities he’d set up. Millions of dollars, just given away, leaving him with a decent income from his remaining concerns but nothing at all like the wealth he’d had before. And it was done so neatly, Emma realised, all but tied up with a pretty red bow. The charities were funded with money that was sparkling clean, laundered so well it would take experts years to sort out how he’d done it. She could still turn him in using the other evidence he’d given her, without endangering any of the good things he’d done with his dirty money. 

Killian had placed his fate entirely in her hands.

Emma laid the papers down on the table, let her head fall into those hands and sobbed. Her emotions, wild and confused for so long now, resolved themselves, solidified and crystallised into one shining and inescapable certainty. She was in love, for the second time in her life, and once again with a man on the wrong side of the law. It was history repeating itself, the one thing she’d sought to protect her heart against, but with two crucial differences: Killian was not Neal, and this time her eyes were wide fucking open. 

~

“William Smee?” 

The little man appeared at the railing of his boat, smiling much less nervously than at their first meeting and wearing a red knit cap that struck Emma as oddly whimsical. “Miss Swan, is it?” he called. 

“Yes.” 

“Come aboard.” 

It hadn’t taken long to find him. The owner of the boat Killian had borrowed was indeed one of his employees—his, never Pan’s. Though it seemed that Smee had once worked for Gold, until he’d messed up a job and nearly lost his life for it, until Killian had given him a reason to take on a different kind of employment. 

People who owe me considerable debts and loyalty, he’d said, and he’d said the man’s name as well, loudly and clearly enunciated and within her hearing.

Emma climbed up to the deck to find Smee waiting for her, still smiling, his expression polite and expectant. 

“How can I help you ma’am?” he asked. 

I’m pretty sure you know how, Emma thought, but she stated the obvious anyway. “I need you to tell me how to find the place where Killian moors his boat,” she said. “When he needs a bit of an escape.” 

Smee’s smile widened. “I’ll do you one better,” he said. “I’ll take you there.” 

~

Killian’s boat was there at the pier when they arrived, long and sleek and very unoccupied. Smee moored his own next to it, then turned to Emma with another smile and a proffered hand. 

“Is there anything more I can do for you, ma’am?” he asked. 

Emma took his hand and shook it firmly. “Nope, I can take it from here. But thank you.” 

“My pleasure,” said Smee, and handed her a life vest. “Take this too,” he advised. “Or Mr Jones will have my head.” 

Emma strapped the vest on securely before boarding the motorboat that was just where she expected to find it, though somewhat cleaner and with a newer engine than she recalled. It started up with a rumbling purr and Emma gripped the tiller carefully, steering the boat in a wide arc, less smoothly than Killian had but then she’d only done this once before—in an old boat belonging to August’s boyfriend’s cousin and for no longer than it took to master the basics. 

She aimed the boat as best she could for where she thought the river was, altering her course twice before she found it then nearly running aground on its narrow banks. But she stayed afloat and soon found herself emerging into the lake, rounding its curve and heading for the pier, pulling the motorboat up with what she thought was impressive smoothness and securing it to the piling, right next to another motorboat of a similar style. 

It took her a good fifteen minutes to locate the mouth of the stream, but once she had and had followed it a little ways up the mountain she spotted a Jeep parked along its banks. A newer model than Killian’s and in a different shade of green, but the keys were beneath the visor and Emma felt no trace of surprise at finding them there. 

She was better at driving cars than boats and it wasn’t hard to follow the path of the stream, a path she remembered quite well from her trip down it several months before. Soon she spotted the cottage off to her right and turned away from the stream, navigating carefully through the trees and into the little clearing. 

She got out of the Jeep and retrieved a large duffel bag from the back, withdrew from that the large manila envelope and a Zippo lighter and headed for the fire pit. Selecting a few from Killian’s store of seasoned logs, she arranged them in the pit as she had seen him do, tucking dry twigs in around them for kindling but adding no tinder. Instead she held the lighter to a corner of the envelope and watched it catch, watched the flames lick up and spread across it, devouring the papers inside. She held it up to the twigs until they caught fire then nestled it beneath them and the logs and watched the flames grow, leaping high in the air, the sparks rising up to meet the streaks of sunset just visible through the trees. 

“I hope you meant to do that, love, because I don’t have any other copies,” said a voice behind her, and though she was expecting it, waiting for it, longing for it, she still gave a little start at the sound. “Do you?” 

Emma turned, her heart in her throat, to see Killian standing just to the side of the porch, watching her with soft eyes and a heartbreaking smile. “Wouldn’t you like to know?” she retorted. 

His smile widened. “I definitely would.”

Her feet carried her towards him, around the pit and across the small distance that separated them, then launched her into his arms. “No other copies,” she said. “Though I kept the papers in the smaller envelope. All of them but one.” 

He stroked her cheek, fingers tangling in her hair. “Emma, I’m sorry,” he murmured. 

“For what?” 

“Leaving you like that, at the station. I just—I couldn’t—” 

“You had things you needed to do,” she said. “And so did I. But we’ve done them now, right?” 

“Yes,” he said fiercely. “I swear to you, I—” 

“I believe you,” she interrupted. “I trust you.” 

He made a strangled noise, his eyes blazing with joy and awe and wonder. “You do?” he croaked. 

“Yeah.” She smiled softly. “And I love you.” 

“Bloody hell.” He pulled her closer, too roughly, his arms too tight around her, and buried his face in her hair. “I love you so much, Emma,” he whispered hoarsely. “But I wasn’t sure—I didn’t know—” 

“Shhh,” she soothed, stroking his head until he relaxed and loosened his hold on her, pulling back to wipe his eyes. 

“I wasn’t sure you’d come,” he said. “Even after… after everything, I wasn’t sure you could take the risk. It’s been—well, it’s not been an easy past few weeks. Months, really.” 

“For me either,” she agreed. “But we both needed it, I think. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking actually and there’s so much I need to tell you. But first…” She draped her arms around his neck and gave him a saucy grin. 

“Mmmm?” he murmured, nuzzling at her cheek. “First what?” 

“First I’ve got a duffel bag full of marshmallows and chocolate and you, Killian Jones, are going to make a s’more. And eat it.” 

His chuckle sounded low in her ear, the voice that followed it light and happy. “For you, my love? Anything.” 

“Good,” said Emma, and kissed him. 

—

@thisonesatellite @ohmightydevviepuu @kmomof4​ @mariakov81​ @katie-dub​@spartanguard​ @darkcolinodonorgasm @courtorderedcake @squidvisious @cluttermind @teamhook @lfh1226-linda​ @shireness-says @stahlop

#cs fic #cs ff #cs ff au #captain swan #captain swan ff #enemies to lovers #finally at the lovers bit #okay it's still a bit angsty #not sorry about that tho #gotta earn that happy ending #the bend of the arc #profdanglaisstuff

[daisyjohnsonsblog]

Episode 9: A Detailed Look and Evaluation

Time to completely deconstruct this episode!! This is gonna be a long one so strap yourself right in and prepare for a DIVE into the mind-blowing goodness that is episode 9. 

Plot and Structure (with a Side of Daisy/Coulson)

OKAY I'm just gonna preface this with the fact that I think that Drew Greenberg did a great job with this episode. In terms of how it fits with the overall season arc, I can see that it’s more of a stand-alone episode, but it’s nonetheless really crucial in building all the characters, especially Daisy and Coulson (but more of that later, like a LOT more). 

let’s start with the main idea. everything is repeating, but going closer to a possible destruction? 10/10 would recommend. The escalation, the tension, the suspense. I mean like, I basically just said the same thing three times but what I'm trying to tell you is that my butt was glued to the seat and my heart? racing off faster than the Zephyr towards the vortex.

Structure of this episode was Super Interesting. Because only Daisy and Coulson were aware of what was happening, there’s this amazing intensity that is created as the episode goes on and stakes get higher. Only both of them know what happened, and even Daisy is only half-informed. This creates a super unique dynamic which effectively narrows down the attention and action onto Daisy and Coulson. Even when Greenberg uses this focus to draw in different characters in turn (Simmons, Enoch, and Sousa all take turns in this focus), the overall focus is on Daisy and Coulson: they’re the ones moving forward, trying to solve the problem. All the other characters become closer to props as Daisy and Coulson move to save the team, so we really get those quality Daisy/Coulson moments. *contented dad and daughter tropes sigh*

More Plot, but this time on the Time Plot and the Aftereffects

I think Greenberg found a great loophole when he used the time plot to essentially reset Simmons’ access to her Forbidden Memories. This way, the Zephyr gets fixed AND we don’t need to worry about endangering Fitz by her remembering Also, Elizabeth Henstridge did an amazing job in that scene when she Remembers (not to mention the directing. we stan). That emotional intensity is really beautiful and completely believable, but also leaves you wondering What On Earth She Remembers to make her have such a huge emotional and physical reaction. 

However, I also wonder how the next episode will deal with the time loop. I mean, I’m guessing only Coulson and Daisy will be able to remember everything that happened? So how will Sousa feel around Daisy if he doesn’t remember that conversation they had, or that kiss? in this way I get the impression that this episode has many hypothetical qualities rather than being strictly believable; in other words, more fiction than science. (I mean, Greenberg kind of concessed to this when Coulson’s guess to why they both remembered was that they “both fell asleep in futuristic sleeping pods”). You can see Daisy and Coulson are asking themselves “What if?”. Daisy’s is What If she allows herself to act on the feelings that exist between herself and Sousa. Coulson’s What If is manifested in his spiel on the time loop essentially being a metaphor for if he chooses to continue life as a Chronicom. I suspect that the writers are building ground for the end when Coulson needs to make a choice on whether or not to continue as a Chronicom. 

And I know I said earlier that this episode works more like a stand-alone episode, but it really reminds me of the whole plot of season 5, when the team was also trying to break the time-loop. And this season the writers have been doing frequent callbacks to the previous seasons, so I guess the episode’s place is as an echo to season 5.  

Daisy Johnson

In any case, this episode itself creates an amazing space for an in-depth look at Daisy and Coulson. That part where Sousa essentially breaks down Daisy’s character, how she’s gotten used to being alone (she hasn’t really had any love interests since season 4. I mean, you could argue that daisy/deke was gonna be a thing at some point, but I think we’ve moved past that.) despite being surrounded by friends. she’s headstrong. that image of Daisy running at a brick wall? Pretty much the past seven seasons. Sousa picking up on that so quickly and so accurately makes me wonder how closely he’s been watching Daisy, or (not to sound too critical and pessimistic) if he knows Daisy so well because he knew someone else like her - someone of her “type”. If the latter is true, then I would worry that Sousa is attracted to Daisy because she reminds him of someone else - that Daisy. Mostly because that isn’t a great foundation for a lasting relationship. Also he’s only known her for like, a week. I feel that part of it is pretty rushed, but I get that with only 13 episodes we don’t have time for a slow burn. Still, I hope that they get that dynamic right. If Daisy’s arc is gonna include a relationship, it better be a VERY VERY good one. 

Coulson 

For me, this episode was crucial in filling in Coulson’s character. I felt like his whole revival had kind of been swept under the carpet. Sure, there were moments when he had been overwhelmed, but they were super brief. I think that these conversations are LONG overdue. There’s been a lot of stored grief of both sides of the coin: I don't think Daisy ever got to truly leave Coulson behind, emotionally or mentally, and I don’t think Coulson ever really got the chance to share his experience(s) with dying and coming back to life. 

Adding on to this already complicated situation is the fact that Coulson is essentially an LMD. The whole team, Coulson included, have very recent memories of LMDs taking over and threatening their very existence. This episode, and especially Coulson’s denial of the possibility that he has a soul was very very necessary. It’s only natural that Coulson - or Coulson’s memories/stimulated personality - have these doubts. Just that bit showed us how much Coulson is struggling to align what he knows with who he is now. The Phillinda heart in me was half-hoping that he would have the convo with May, but I think I like this approach more. May has had somewhat more of an emotional development than Daisy so far in this episode. Still, the whole conversation kind of reminded me of the convo he had with May back in season 1 when he showed her his scar. *teary look* those were good times. 

Final Thoughts

I’m honestly very satisfied with what we’ve seen of Daisy and Phil so far. I just hope that that will continue and they’ll both get closure. There’s this sense of finality, especially when Enoch said that “families grow apart”. It’s somewhat ominous and melancholy but it also feels right. Daisy has had some pretty amazing adventures and missions, but there’s also the fact that I think she does want a normal life; even if not boring normal, then a stable life. We first saw Daisy as a “hacktivist”, and she’s never had proper stability: orphaned from birth, and then homeless, and then through the literal physical and emotional chaos. Through seasons 1 to 2, Daisy has been searching for parental figures (cue her very telling dream of Phil and Melinda being her parents), and then from then, she’s been more of...soul searching I guess. So if Sousa can give her that, then I’m all for Sousy. x

#agents of shield #melinda may #phil coulson #Phillinda #philinda #daisyjohnson #Daniel sousa #daisy x daniel #sousy #fitzsimmons #jemma simmons #mack #yo-yo rodriguez #long reads #screenrant #marvel #essay #film essay #crazy film analysis #mcu #Daisy Johnson #captain america #Enoch Coltrane

[aion-rsa]

Star Wars: 12 Snoke Facts You Might Not Know

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Set up in the first half of the Sequel Trilogy as a powerful new Star Wars villain, Supreme Leader Snoke of the First Order turned out to be something else entirely. Despite fulfilling the role of Emperor Palpatine in The Force Awakens, he’s completely off the table by the end of The Last Jedi. And in The Rise of Skywalker, the galaxy is only big enough for one galaxy-conquering villain as Kylo Ren’s fall shows.

By the end of the trilogy, Snoke is revealed to have been a bio-engineered villain all along, Force-puppeted tool Emperor Palpatine used to regain his grip on the galaxy while hiding his weakened physical form on the Sith planet of Exegol. His triumphs no longer truly his own, Snoke’s ultimate legacy is the rise of Kylo Ren as well as legendary motion capture actor Andy Serkis’ performance. 

As we look back at Snoke’s short tenure as the big bad of Star Wars, here are some facts you might not know about Supreme Leader Snoke: 

1. Snoke Was a Strand-Cast Created by Palpatine

Emperor Palpatine created Snoke to be his proxy through which he could regain his power. Although Snoke was bio-engineered in a lab on Exegol, he was a strand-cast, not a clone. This bit of Star Wars jargon means Snoke isn’t an exact copy of anyone, but isn’t natural-born either. We’ve heard the term “strand-cast” before. In The Mandalorian, Kuill speculates that Grogu might be a strand-cast — a speculation which turned out to be wrong when Ahsoka revealed Grogu grew up in the Jedi Temple. 

Palpatine’s ultimate plan was to use Snoke as his voice to whisper in Kylo Ren’s ear. It was one of several ways he was working behind the scenes all along to build the First Order — itself just a shell for the new Empire being built on Exegol. With his own clone body decrepit but his spirit still strong in the Force, Palpatine could possess other people but was looking for a permanent new vessel. 

Stream your Star Wars favorites right here!

Snoke was likely born from these experiments but was too imperfect a vessel to house Palpatine’s spirit. There were other candidates, like the strand-cast who became Rey’s father. But since the process that created strand-casts could not reliably replicate Force-sensitivity, Palpatine’s “son” was not Force sensitive. It was another dead end. The Sith lord next turned his attention to Rey in The Rise of Skywalker.

This strand-cast/cloning storyline shares several plot points with the classic Dark Empire comic series, where Palpatine bided his time until he could come back in a younger, stronger clone body and re-create the Empire.

2. Snoke Wasn’t Aware of His Own History

Unlike Palpatine’s strand-cast “son,” Snoke didn’t know he was created in a lab by the Sith lord nor that he was being manipulated to rebuild the Emperor’s forces. In fact, despite being created some time after the Battle of Endor, he believed to have lived through the rise and fall of the Empire.

All of this is revealed in the novelization of The Force Awakens, in a twist that might actually have been a result of The Rise of Skywalker not having been written or planned out yet. But his status as a Sith sleeper agent fits with Palpatine’s plan, too. Snoke truly believing that he himself was really a dark Force user who had lived through the Galactic Civil War likely prevented Ben Solo/Kylo Ren from sensing the deception throughout his time as Snoke’s apprentice. Palpatine needed Snoke to believe the lies he told Kylo Ren so that he could more easily manipulate the fallen Skywalker.

3. Hugh Hefner and Snoke’s Injuries Informed How Serkis Played the Character 

Andy Serkis rose to fame as the motion capture performer behind Gollum’s creepy mannerisms in The Lord of the Rings, quickly becoming well-known for injecting unique life and personality into monstrous characters. For Supreme Leader Snoke, Serkis drew from “the gold-lamé Hugh Hefner look,” the shining robe evoking the Playboy magazine founder. Serkis says he and The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson also considered drawing inspiration from “so many different dictators,” but settled on the uncanny Hefner idea. 

Snoke’s visual appearance was still being finalized when Serkis joined J.J. Abrams to work on the character for The Force Awakens. Therefore, the actor developed his ideas about the character at the same time as the artists were developing theirs. In The Last Jedi, Snoke finally appeared in the flesh as opposed to as a hologram, allowing Serkis to draw even more from the villain’s grotesque physical appearance. 

Serkis says he imagined Snoke’s deep scars were the source of some of his anger. “He’s terribly powerful, of course. But he is also a very vulnerable and wounded character,” Serkis told EW (via io9). “He has suffered and he has suffered injury. The way that his malevolence comes out is in reaction to that. His hatred of the Resistance is fueled by what’s happened to him personally.”

4. His Look Was Based on Classic Horror Movies 

According to the book The Art of The Force Awakens, “J.J. [Abrams] and [creature effects supervisor] Neal [Scanlan] didn’t want him to be old and decrepit, like the Emperor,” said senior sculptor Ivan Manzella, who sculpted a maquette of an elderly, bald face for Snoke. Early ideas made the difference even clearer by making Snoke a female character. 

The final result did look a lot like Palpatine, though: a hunched old man with a face distorted by deep wrinkles and scars. Manzella, who also made the final sculpt, says that Abrams wanted his look to evoke Hammer Films horror movies (such as classic takes on Frankenstein and Dracula). In particular Peter Cushing, who played Victor Frankeinstein and Abraham Van Helsing in several Hammer movies, was a direct inspiration. 

Manzella also added what he felt was a sense of beauty to the character: “I imagined him to be a beautiful marble sculpture, so dark and menacing, but actually quite beautiful to look at … It’s almost like Snoke was quite handsome when he was younger.”

The Frankenstein comparison is especially apt since Palpatine and his Sith cultists built Snoke themselves.

5. Snoke Is Not a Sith Lord 

You may have noticed that Snoke does not have the “Darth” title like the Dark Lords of the Sith do. He was never given one because he isn’t technically a Sith Lord. But the fact that he’s a bio-engineered being created by Palpatine explains why his training of Kylo Ren followed the Sith mold so closely, since all along Palpatine was trying to manipulate Ren.

During the time of The Force Awakens, many fans theorized that the next film would reveal Snoke to be Darth Plagueis, the Sith master who taught Palpatine the ways of the dark side. Plagueis was interested in extending one’s lifespan through the use of the dark side, so an old man with mysterious origins could very well have been him. This theory didn’t pan out. 

6. Rian Johnson Felt Snoke’s Presence Distracted From Rey and Kylo Ren’s Stories

The fan theories didn’t line up with what The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson had in mind for moving the Sequel Trilogy cast into the future. In a conversation with EW (via Collider) Johnson explained his reasoning for knocking Snoke off the Sequel Trilogy’s chessboard.

“When I was working on the character of Kylo, I came to a place where I thought the most interesting thing would be to knock the shaky foundation out from under him at the beginning of this movie…By the end of this film, he’s gone from being a wannabe Vader to someone who is standing on his own feet as a complex villain taking the reins.”

But if Kylo took the reins, where would this leave Snoke?

“That made me realize the most interesting thing would be to eliminate that dynamic between the ‘emperor’ and pupil, so that all bets are off going into the next one. That also led to the possibility of this dramatic turn in the middle, which could also be a really powerful connection point between Kylo and Rey.”

Instead of focusing on Snoke’s history, Johnson found Kylo Ren’s ongoing story more relevant and felt killing Snoke was necessary to push his former apprentice’s arc forward.

7. Snoke Chose Ben Solo Because of His Skywalker Blood

Speaking of the Sith, Snoke may not be one, but he is interested in the lineage of one of the strongest Sith of all time. He chose to corrupt Ben Solo specifically because he was the grandson of Darth Vader. Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa were perhaps too ingrained in the light side and too dedicated to the cause of the New Republic for Snoke to manipulate them, but the mercurial and directionless Solo was the perfect target. Using Ben’s obsession with Darth Vader to turn him further to the dark side was a relatively easy task for Snoke.

In the comic series The Rise of Kylo Ren, we learned how Snoke began reaching out to Ben from an early age– and another comic, Age of Resistance: Supreme Leader Snoke, also fills in some of Snoke and Ben’s history. Before the events of The Force Awakens, Snoke spent a lot of time planting seeds of distrust between Ben and his uncle and teacher Luke Skywalker from afar, all while biding his time on a space station with an expansive garden, where Ben flees for guidance after the destruction of the Jedi academy. 

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Some time after this, Snoke took Kylo Ren to the Force cave on Dagobah from The Empire Strikes Back to experience a vision. There, Kylo kills an illusory Luke, but stops short of killing his parents. But Snoke encourages him to use his anger, fear, and other emotions associated with the dark side to complete his training.

The visual dictionary for The Rise of Skywalker shows how deep Palpatine’s plan went. It says Palpatine intended killing Snoke to be the mark of Kylo Ren’s full descent into the dark side and rise into Sith-hood. Snoke’s death was in a way a symbolic killing of a Sith master — it’s traditional for the apprentice to kill the Master — while Palpatine himself remained alive and well to take over as Kylo’s new master. A final, decisive victory over the Skywalker bloodline.

8. Snoke Trained At Least One Other Apprentice Before Kylo Ren

According to the The Force Awakens Visual Dictionary, Snoke canonically trained someone else before Ben. Little is known about this mystery apprentice. We don’t know the person’s name, when this took place, or how it connects to Palpatine’s overarching plans. The existence of this apprentice is implied by Snoke’s description of Kylo Ren as his most gifted apprentice, suggesting there must have been someone else to compare him to. 

In the Age of Resistance comic, Snoke also mentions that he plans to have more apprentices after Kylo Ren is gone. But Ren cuts that plan short in The Last Jedi.

9. Snoke Had At Least One Earlier Run-In With Luke

The facial scarring and collapsed cheek Serkis talked about might have been created by Luke Skywalker. In The Rise of Kylo Ren, Ben Solo alludes to “what Master Luke did to you.” But Snoke is more interested in Ben’s conflict with Luke. 

What happened between Snoke and Luke is still unknown. It’s possible that whatever confrontation led to Snoke’s scars was also the first time Ben met Snoke. 

10. Snoke Played a Key Role in the Empire’s Transformation into The First Order

Since Palpatine had to hide his weak clone body from everyone except his secret Sith acolytes, he placed Snoke in charge of the day-to-day growth of the First Order. Through his own lackeys, General Hux and Captain Phasma, Snoke spearheaded the new stormtrooper program that captured and indoctrinated children, building a military force powerful enough to go against the New Republic. And behind the veil of the Unknown Regions, an uncharted sector of the galaxy where the New Republic held no dominion, Snoke helped reorganize what was left of the Empire into the First Order, eventually becoming its Supreme Leader. 

Snoke’s Attendants, the purple-robed aliens seen briefly in The Last Jedi, are also part of this initiative. They are the ones who helped the Imperial remnant settle in the Unknown Regions, using their abilities to blaze hyperspace trails that made First Order conquest much more efficient.

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11. Snoke’s Flagship, The Supremacy, Is the Only Ship of Its Kind

Snoke’s flagship was ripped in half by “the Holdo maneuver” in The Last Jedi, a strong blow by the beleaguered Resistance. Along with being the site of Snoke’s throne room, the Supremacy also contained enough factories to produce entire fleets for the First Order.

In fact, it was the base of operations for the entire First Order, which did not have a capital planet but instead maintained their military superiority from space. Technically, the Supremacy was a Mega-class Star Destroyer and the only one of its kind ever made. 

12. Snoke’s Ring Contains a Relic From Darth Vader’s Castle

Snoke was a collector of Sith relics and secrets, traveling around the galaxy in search of knowledge, settling on his Force philosophy, and collecting things before he recruited Ben. It’s unclear how much of this Sith pilgrimage really happened versus the memories implanted by Palpatine, but it does appear that Snoke did actually discover the lost concept of a Force dyad, which he used to bring Rey and Kylo together.

He also discovered many dark side artifacts. One detail that’s easy to overlook in The Last Jedi is Snoke’s ring. The gaudy gold ring contains a hunk of black crystal. The Last Jedi Visual Dictionary defines this as obsidian from the catacombs beneath Darth Vader’s fortress on Mustafar. The ring also features “gold etched with glyph of the Dwartii.” In both canon and Legends, Dwartii is a planet which is home to several different schools of philosophers. 

The post Star Wars: 12 Snoke Facts You Might Not Know appeared first on Den of Geek.

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