#i messed up with how i read it i accidentally read an arc from the sonic universe comics too early

[acaiyatree]

hello sonadow folks, do yall have any fic recs that have sonadow have like. the same kinda dynamic they had in the archie comics??? i'm too lazy to continue the archie comics but i want to consume sonic media So.

#listen i am soooo lazy to finish it rn<33 #it's getting too complicated to read #i messed up with how i read it i accidentally read an arc from the sonic universe comics too early #so. that has now completely demotivated me to finish it #also bc i love archie!sonadow #truely the best ever they're both so fucking stupid and ridiculous #and most of all : shads has a life outside of sonic???? NO WAY !!! 😱😱 #but yeah. hn #sth #sonic comics #sonic #sonadow #sonic the hedgehog #shadow the hedgehog #team sonic #team dark #fic rec #fic recs #<-- sorry for clogging the tags < 3 #i just want. answers LMAO

[jeffthekillerzblog]

a major plot point or like the entire thing about my au is just the creeps moving on and having their own character arcs throughout the years and finally heal from their past trauma

(rest is me rambling about my au...u don't have to read if u don't wanna its pretty long)

Jeff's arc is big on him finding his brother and coming to terms with what really happened. jeff is so incredibly stubborn and a big (very) egotistical. he finds it hard to open up and after what happened he feels that there's no point opening up anyway bc he's literally a famous asshole serial killer who's messed up SO many people's lives. another big thing about his arc is just owning up to his actions and apologizing to the people he's hurt. for example, nina. he led her on, treated her terribly for no reason, and was overall just an asshole. after they get into an argument he'll eventually apologize bc like he didn't HATE nina, he's was and prob still is in a terrible mindset and copes in such unhealthy ways. IDK OK I'm rambling but my point is he does eventually apologize to nina not because he needs her or like wants to use her again. he apologizes because he genuinely misses her and BOOM they become besties again after jeff properly apologizes and ya. BUT basically jeff's arc is him finally finding liu after all these years and yeah he apologizes to all the people he hurt (or the IMPORTANT ones) like nina, liu, and EVENTUALLY... jane. but that's WAY into the future (besides nina) he's way too full of himself to apologize now.

Nina's arc is her getting over JEFF. her love for Jeff began when she met him. she already admired him, but he turned into a full on crush. he did lead her on, and it hurt her a lot. shed spent tons of nights alone when jeff was supposed to be sleeping next to her, and she just felt so lonely, especially since jeff was so neglectful. She talks to clockwork about it and they help her realize her self worth and comforts her (she's terrible at it). Nina starts hanging out with Nat and toby more often, and it makes her feel SO much better about herself. Eventually she does get fed up of jeffs bs and they get into an argument and nina decides to leave. she kicks him out of her apartment and she doesn't let him come back. (she does....when he apologizes.....) She eventually learns to love herself and realize she doesn't need a stinky man's validation. Theres also a bit of her coming to terms with her own trauma, but I haven't fully fleshed that part out yet.

BEN's arc is probably my favorite. he's lost all his memories of his past life, and now after he accidentally found out he's NOT just a computer AI program, he decides to take it on himself to find out who his family was, how his life was, and how he died. I wont say as much bc I want to keep it a surprise, but in summary it fucks him up LMAO

ok that's it. OBVIOUSLY the rest of the creeps are healing as well BUT I have not fleshed out their stories yet...oops. so its just three for now. Except MUCH more stuff about the trio bc I love them with my all.. if u have any questions feel free to ask :3

#jeff the killer #creepypasta #nina the killer #jeff the killer fanart #nina the killer fanart #BEN drowned #ben drowned #ben drowned fanart #creepypasta fanart #creepypastas

[beelzeballing]

actually i dont think ive posted my thoughts on ofmd s2 overall here yet have i?

ok here goes: i think it had incredibly high highs, and at some parts i genuinely enjoyed it more than i did the first season, episode 6 being peak imo. however, it had equally abysmal lows with some glaring writing-, tone- and pacing issues that all came to a head in the finale.

i once read someone say that, if you ever feel like a finale ruined the whole story, maybe you should take another look at the story. there were most likely cracks and problems all along, and the finale did nothing besides dashing the hope that these would perhaps be addressed later. very rarely do genuinely well written stories go completely off the rails in the finale and ruin the whole thing.

i think this is applicable here in some ways, SPECIFICALLY in regards to edward. good god edward was a MESS this season, and it's so sad because i loved the starting point! the kraken era was absolutely terrifying and iconic as FUCK but... they shouldn't have leaned so hard into the drama and trauma of it all. don't get me wrong, i loved that it did. it's one of my favorite parts of the season and i'm so glad we got it. but if they wanted this arc to work with the overarching plot as they wrote it, they would've had to lighten up the tone here CONSIDERABLY. had they played the kraken era for comedy then sure! edward's bad youtuber apology would've been funny. his fast redemption would've been less jarring. the lack of consequences less disturbing. but as it stands in the show, this arc is too dark to function with the later episodes.

i feel like they wanted to have their cake and eat it too here. they wanted the gritty drama of ed coming off the hinges entirely but also didn't want to deal with the aftermath of such a heavy arc in their silly pirate romcom. be that due to time constraints and budget cuts or because they were simply unwilling to, doesn't really matter in the end. the result is the same either way: a very tonally messy season with some accidentally troubling implications regarding abuse.

and mentioning troubling implications regarding abuse; izzy. my poor, poor izzy... his arc was absolutely glorious. i liked izzy the second he showed up in s1 and i was absolutely EATING this season up in that regard. and i think in this case, they genuinely did fuck it all up in the finale with that one stupid choice:

choosing to kill izzy was the DUMBEST thing they couldve done here.

ive talked about this over and over and over again. ive reblogged so many meta posts. and still i am left absolutely flabbergasted by how stupid of a decision this was. the fridging, playing at the fallen woman trope, killing the beating heart of the season and the character who delivers what is essentially a thesis statement, killing off the character whose arc is about coming to terms with his disability, having him die in edward's arms, comforting him and apologizing after an entire season of finding community and love outside of edward, the absolutely godawful pacing of it all, the extremely easy and obvious solution of just having IZZY become the new captain of the revenge to mirror s1 and hammer home how much he has developed since then in one go... i could go on. and i have. it was a stupid writing decision, completely fucked the tone and pacing of the finale and took away attention and time from things that really would've deserved a better wrap up (lucius and black pete deserved better)

now. the whole prince ricky & zheng plot line... yeah that shit sucked ass, sorry. they bit off more than they could chew here. i honestly think those are the arc words of this season:

✨️ bit off more than they could chew ✨️

right off the bat: i think he was good as a concept. bringing in a foil for stede who just doesn't Get It as stede does could've made for very good comedy and drama (and to be fair there is some of that). but that shit got away from them extremely quickly. nothing about how he's implemented past his first episode works, and i think this is very specifically because he's mostly played as the comic relief in his debut episode. making this completely bumbling fool, who gets his nose hacked off on his first job, the main villain of your entire season is... definitely a choice. idk. he didn't work for me at all.

ok wow mentioning shit getting away from the writers. this definitely got away from me. this was supposed to be a short lil post. well. i guess tl;dr i loved this season but jesus christ there was a lot wrong with it. if you want to hear more thoughts. ask box is open. be my guest. i have more to say so even if you dont ask i might add more to this at some point but im tired and have work tmrw.

#i was going to do shit today and now look at me. #0:18 at night #laying in bed #writing this shit #i havent even eaten. #christtttt #moogsin' #ofmd #izzy hands #our flag means death #ofmd meta #ofmd critical #ofmd s2 #ofmd spoilers #the izcourse #im not tagging any of the other characters cuz i shittalk all of them 😭 #listen i love edward hes my babygirl but this season did him DIRTY.

[rowanwithaz]

How Katsuki's Character Is Misunderstood.

I think people that hate Katsuki just don't really understand his character or how he breaks the cliches of most rivals in shonen.

Accidental rant :D

No Tragic Backstory.

Vegeta had his home destroyed,Sasuke's clan was murdered,Shadow lost everything,etc. They have "reasons" to be an asshole,people excuse they're actions because people say "You can't blame 'em,"

Which is kinda an awful way to look at people's actions and why they do it. A character always needs a motive,and killing half their family,giving them abusive parents,makes it easier to write them. (kinda like a cheat code)But,with Katsuki,he doesn't have a "good" reason to do all the bad things he did.Katsuki stands out because he has what we would call a good life. He has good grades,he has both of his parents,who love him,he has an awesome power,he has so many things going for him,so,in most people's minds he doesn't have any issues and he's just a spoiled brat who doesn't get what he wants. And I think that's what trips people up the most,because he doesn't have a objectively good reason to do anything,but,here's why it's GOOD he doesn't follow that formula. Katsuki is just a kid who was an asshole,that's really it,in reality it's so simple,but some how Horikoshi took one of the most simple things and made it so complicated and gave it so many layers.

Katsuki just felt like he wasn't enough even though people told him he was,he knew he had what people would call a "perfect life," that he was "perfect," and that's what messed him up so bad. He felt deep down,despite what other people were saying,he was inadequate; because one person who he shouldn't think is better than him makes him feel weak. It doesn't make sense. If you were pampered and told you were essentially perfect,then one slip up happens and someone who you have been told is beneath you,that should be beneath you,is the one who helps,it would confuse you too. (Also,remember,Katsuki is a CHILD when this all happens,and he had no one to talk to about it,so of course those feelings would build up over time). It also doesn't help Izuku always wanted to be near him,and when you look at it from Katsuki 's perspective,that person is only there to see you fuck up,that person (Izuku) is WAITING and WATCHING your every move. Waiting until you fuck up just to leave you and or mock you. You would feel like shit too if that's what you thought for ten years.

Katsuki is not some "brat throwing a tantrum because he doesn't get his way," He's confused and coming to terms with a lot of things. His arc is about acceptance. He learned to accept he isn't the best or strongest,he learned to accept he needed help,he learned to accept himself,he learned to accept Izuku.

The person Katsuki has been losing to his whole life,is the person he thought he should be. He had to let himself lose to win. GOD,THAT IS SO DEEP.

(*I also hate the whole thing of, "Well, Katsuki had no reason to be the way he was," then those same people will turn around and get mad that Toga is having a redemption arc because "nothing justifies killing" first, no one is saying it does,second,you were just saying you need a bad past to be forgiven for your bad actions,which is awful. Like,you can't make mistakes if you haven't suffered. That's fucked.*)

KaTsUkI DiDn'T fAcE aNy CoNsEqUeNcEs

My honest reaction:

Katsuki faced defeat his VERY first day at his dream school. It wasn't just that he lost,he had his HERO his IDOL the person he looked up to,insult and scold him while he sang the praises of Izuku right in front of him. I hate that argument so fucking much. Like,did you seriously read this blindfolded? It happens in the first VOLUME. And it just gets worse.

He gets kidnapped and then has to deal with all of that shit on his own. I also can't image being called a villain when you're trying your best to be a hero,and you got kidnapped because of your personality. Katsuki faced,in my opinion,the most brutal and most instant humbling ever. And real quick,I made a post about All Might and why I don't think he's going to die,and I brought up he sucked at teaching,and in my opinion,he was an asshole too. When he sees on of his students having a panic attack the first thing he says is:

"U.A. Will humble ya :D"

That is beyond problematic.

(Not All Might bashing! I think he's a great character,but I think he was an ass at the beginning of the series,that has a lot to do with his hero persona and his inexperience with children,and just socializing as a whole. And that's why I like him,because we see him grow to be less like his persona and more like his true,sweet,authentic self.)

Inconsistent Writing.

A lot of people get Inconsistent writing and...y'know...more than one tone and personality trait mixed up.

I've see people say, "I don't like how he's written because it's inconsistent,'' and I think that is bullshit. Mainly because out of all the characters Katsuki is objectively the most consistent one.

I saw this person say they didn't like how Katsuki's anger is treated as a joke then the most serious thing in the room,and I say that's valid,but I think the thing they don't understand is tone and context. In the context when it's a joke,Katsuki isn't necessarily even "mad". I think when it's used as a more comedic device,it's not his anger,it's his inability to express himself without yelling. And I think it's funny and interesting to see how Katsuki struggles to articulate himself when he's not "mad" or "yelling." He also lives in a household where communication is done by yelling.

The atmosphere and tone really matter too. When Katsuki has his more "funny mad" moments it's with a group of people all smily and happy. No one is actually "mad." Including Katsuki.

DAMN. I didn't mean to go on a rant like that. Uh,anyway;Katsuki is my favorite character,if you couldn't tell.

#mha #bnha #bakugo needs therapy #bakugo katsuki #Kacchan #great explosion murder god dynamight #Or should I say “murdered”? ahaha #i'll see myself out #greenade #charter analysis

[tokyo-daaaamn-ji-gang]

"#i remember first reading the black dragons arc and i was convinced koko and Yuzuha were secretly dating lmaoooo" wait what? can u tell me more?

Ok so there were a few tiny reasons I thought this all of them being extremely wrong now that we know what actually happened but at the time I thought I was onto something here. The first one being Koko not getting involved during the first incident until after Yuzuha got involved. At this point Inui was already threatening and waving the knife around at Hakkai but Koko said nothing and seemed unbothered until after Yuzuha stepped in. At the time it seemed like he was maybe trying to protect her from Inui.

Then we had the bit where Yuzuha seems unhappy that Mitsuya freed her from her financial role and seems annoyed Hakkai would do this. I kinda assumed this was because she already had a plan to get away from Taiju and she was worried about Hakkai accidentally messing it up/ getting involved. I also thought she was potentially stealing money from the funds as a sort of escape plan (I figured Wakui specifically stating she collected money was going to be important). And her not doing that job anymore meant she couldn't get anymore which would give her a reason to be annoyed at Mitsuya.

Then we had the link, the part where it showed Koko was obviously interested in money. So at this point money had been brought up twice within a couple chapters and I figured it was linked somehow, like they were both trying to get money. This was also the part where Koko showed he was willing to betray Taiju but refused to say why. I thought it made perfect sense for this reason to be Yuzuha. He didn't like how the boss was abusing his girlfriend but wasn't strong enough to do anything about it himself so was happy to betray him in hopes the others would do something. (This is very funny to think about now but I was really convinced this was it at the time).

Then we had the day of the fight, at the black dragons meeting we saw Inui do all the talking while Koko just stood there with an expression that looked like he was deep in thought. Then directly after this we saw Yuzuha get a text from someone. So I just assumed Koko was that someone and they were planning something.

Then this is where I started doubting it, since Koko and Inui had that talk and Koko said he was sticking with Inui and Inui mentioned a promise. I couldn't figure out where Inui would fit into this, especially since we've only seen him being loyal to the bd. But I thought maybe the promise was like an oath to the bd or something and Inui had suspicions of Koko being a traitor???

And then finally, the moment where I realised I was completely wrong. When Koko entered the church he seemed nothing but happy. I figured if he was going to break character/ reveal his true motivations then it would've been here. If he actually cared for her then seeing her so badly hurt here would've been what made him slip up and reveal himself.

Looking back it was definitely a wild theory where I took a load of small things and read a bit too much into certain bits!

#tokyo revengers #tokrev #tokyo rev #kokonoi hajime #yuzuha shiba #tokyo revengers spoilers

[soleminisanction]

The thing I keep coming back to, now that I've wrapped up the first part of "Batgirl, Repentant" and am starting to outline the second, is how much the book's hyper-focus on Steph hamstrings the story I think they're trying to tell.

I say I think because obviously I can't read the writers' minds so for all I know they taped the random lip service about hope and justice and fighting for the little guys onto the Stephanie-love-fest in a half-assed response to criticism, but I'm trying to give them the benefit of the doubt and believe that when the first arc ends with:

And that gets followed up two issues later with Steph telling Damian:

I want to take them at their word that that's what they're going for. But it's not the story they tell at all because, for all the lip service paid, there's not a single plot point that actually backs those themes up. Every single narrative element is instead 100% oriented around Stephanie, her feelings, her desires, and her ambitions, none of which involve helping or protecting other people.

Batgirl's first appearance in issue 1 isn't about bringing hope or protecting anybody, it's about, "Ooooh, who is this mysterious new Batgirl who's such a badass but looked down on by The Man for being a little chaotic? Ta-da, it's Stephanie Brown!!"

When she talks about promises being made to her mom (by which of course I mean lies, she's just lying to her mother) or the supposed "promise" she didn't actually make to Tim Drake, it's all framed as unreasonable expectations that other people are piling onto Steph's shoulders, without so much as a second thought for how the person she supposedly made these promises to might feel.

When Cass leaves her the Batgirl costume, it's not with requests to carry on the legacy or protect Gotham in her absence or even to look out for Barbara, it's all about Cass's relationship with Bruce (as though that was ever her motivation!) and then "Now the fight is yours, Stephanie" while she vanishes into the rain in her underwear. Like Batgirl is a toy she's letting Steph have her fair turn with now that she doesn't want to play anymore.

When Steph thinks about the symbolism of the Bat and of Batgirl, it's not about how it can be a symbol of hope and protection in the darkness of Gotham, it's about how it makes her feel powerful. Even when she worries about messing up it's framed as, "Nothing I do ever ends well" and "It's just a matter of time before I get caught," not concerns about the harm her previous attempts that "didn't end well" wound up doing to other people.

And despite the fact that there's a riot going on in the next few pages, she's not inspired to go out and help with that, but to assist a single dumbass cop who got in over his head.

And then again when Babs shows up to chew her out in the next issue, it's all about Steph and her safety. "You already died" this and "You have a death wish" that. Barbara Gordon, the original Batgirl, only gets to talk about the symbolism of Batgirl as it relates to Stephanie Brown -- "Wearing that Bat on your chest might scare off the smaller thugs, but you're literally asking, no, begging for attention from more dangerous criminals. You're a mark for anyone who wants to make theirs."

Again, even the fact that she fucked up in the past and hurt people is framed around Steph -- "The last time you tried being helpful, you accidentally brought Gotham to its knees." And while Steph pays lip service to "doing this instead of sleeping" because she "thinks it's right," she doesn't ever elaborate on what exactly is "the right thing" she thinks she's doing, and it's not like she's gone out to protect people. You can't even argue, like you maybe could with the street race, that she's doing a flashy display to show ordinary people there's someone on their side -- she's beating up random goons in an isolated chop-shop.

Then of course there's the fact that nothing about Scarecrow's whole Thrill plot makes any sense because he's not being written with any kind of coherent villain motivation, it's all just being done to set up moments for Steph. Why do some of his goons decide to spike the punch at a random college party and then run away at just the right moment to make themselves look as suspicious as possible? Because Stephanie's going to be there and they need to hook her into that plot.

And when Steph argues with Babs later about why they should work together to solve this case, does she express concern about her classmates or her university, or even point out that Barbara isn't working with an on-the-street agent like she has in the past and hey, maybe you'd be a little less stressed if you had someone to share the load?

Nope. It's just "I'm just as much a part of it now as you are!"

To say nothing of my eternal, teeth-grinding frustration over Barbara's characterization. "I'm only being so hard on her because I'm jealous that she's Batgirl and I'm not anymore." Fuck all the way off, Bryan Q. Miller.

This whole thing is so bad that when you get to the climax of this arc -- when they've tracked Scarecrow and his goons to their creepy hospital lair -- the stakes aren't that anyone is in danger, or that there's any chance that Scarecrow might be able to escape in the next five minutes before the police arrive. In fact, if Steph's actual motivation was to make sure Scarecrow saw justice, it would've been a better strategy for her to stay outside watching the exits so she could jump him if he tried to make a run for it.

But she doesn't do that. Because the actual stakes for the climax of the first arc are that if she doesn't swing in and beat the shit out of Scarecrow right the fuck now, the police will beat her to it and then Stephanie won't get the credit for saving the day.

They even try to clumsily raise the stakes by implying that Scarecrow works for Black Mask, a plot point that goes absolutely nowhere because -- whoopsie -- Black Mask is dead at this point and has been since before Steph came back to life. He only ever showed up again as a Black Lantern in Blackest Night, at which point Ivy fed him to a plant.

(They did not fix this in the trade paperback version BTW, I checked)

There's some effort to turn Steph's fight with Scarecrow into something more by having him spout some weird nonsense about how he's controlling people with drugs because, "Nobody truly has a choice little girl" while she represents free will fighting back against attempts to take it away, but that's seriously hamstrung by the fact that writing is all over the place.

Like, at the start of Steph's big dramatic speech, she's all but arguing against the concept of free will, echoing an earlier classroom discussion I've bitched about before, saying that people (by which of course she actually means herself) stay when things get tough "Because we don't know how to do anything else."

But on the very next page she poses the question again and answers it with... frankly complete nonsense.

Because the point isn't actually 'control vs. free will', the whole thing -- all of the forced, misunderstood philosophy that fills out this entire arc -- is actually just repeating the same question Babs was asking earlier, this time in metaphor -- why does Stephanie keep throwing herself into danger, why doesn't she just quit?

And her answers, apparently, are, "because this is who I want to be" and "because I don't know how do anything else." Neither of which spare even a passing thought for anyone but herself, which is kind of a problem if you're trying to present Batgirl's mission statement as bringing hope to the people around her.

Then there's the bit about "facing your worst self," which refers to slightly before this, when Scarecrow drugs Steph with Thrill (a move that makes no sense in-universe because again, Scarecrow is only here to set up set pieces for Stephanie and has zero internal logic of his own). What Steph sees during that sequence is her ex-boyfriend and previous identity tearing her down and telling her that she's not good enough to be a superhero, which implies that her 'worst self' is self-doubt, or possibly "letting other people make you doubt yourself." Again -- all about her, with other people framed as nothing but obstacles to her happiness.

And just to remind you-- she has no actual reason to be here. She's not "saving the city," the city is not under threat. She's not doing anything heroic by throwing herself into this fight. She's only doing this because she wanted the credit for saving the day. That's the only stake the story ever establishes.

It's like there's this standing assumption that she must obviously want to be superhero for selfless reasons, therefore they don't need to bring that up ever and can just focus on how much she wants to be one and how noble it is that she's willing to fight through pain and hardship to be one.

But that's just not how it works? Maybe if you were still writing for the Golden Age when the storytelling was simpler and characterization was optional, but not in 2009. Part of the purpose of a solo book's first arc is to establish/re-establish the core hero's motivation and, if it's changed, explain how and why.

Just as a contemporary example -- Red Robin sends Tim Drake off on what's literally a personal quest and spends its first arc establishing how he's darker and more alone than he's ever been before... but it still opens with him rescuing a kidnapping victim, reaffirming that, whatever he's going through and whatever he has to do to accomplish his goal, he's still, at heart, a hero who will put his own needs aside to protect an innocent. That's also the role that Tam Fox essentially plays in the second arc, giving him someone to protect even when he's isolated from the normal push and pull of the DCU.

Whether you're approaching Batgirl (2009) as a new reader who's never met Steph before in your life, or as someone who read her previous material, there is nothing in this first arc, or those that follow, that establishes her motivation beyond, "I want to be Batgirl and I won't let anyone tell me no." She'll occasionally say she's being selfless and heroic, but it's not backed up by her actions or her thoughts.

Perhaps the most blatant self-contained example of this "It's all about Stephanie and obviously she's a perfectly selfless hero so we don't need to bother establishing it," mindset comes in the denouncement of the first arc. They recreate the vow in the dark -- not the most iconic scene in Batman history but still one that's well-known, a moment that goes all the way back to the first appearance of Robin, when Dick and Bruce vowed an "undying oath" to fight together against crime and corruption and never to swerve from the path of righteousness, symbolically committing themselves to act as a light in the darkness and protectors of the innocent.

Batgirl (2009) recreates this scene... by having Barbara vow to support Stephanie Brown and only Stephanie Brown in everything that she does "for as long as she wants it" so she "won't go out alone" and end up in a chair like Babs did. Meanwhile, Steph's response boils down to, "Oh yeah totes me too," because, according to the book, she doesn't need to take an oath, it's just completely self-evident that she's already made her right choice and will obviously continue to do the same forever and ever, no doubt about it.

Two extra little details scattered throughout:

Through the entire series, Steph is constantly doing this obnoxious humble-brag thing of, "I'm Stephanie Brown, and I'm just a normal girl tee-hee" over images of her doing badass Batgirl things that are obviously supposed to be ironic, and she always uses her full name. The trade paperback version is literally called, "Batgirl: Stephanie Brown" because there's nothing else to say about this story. Tim Drake: Robin didn't use his full name this much and it was actually in the title.

And that's not even getting into how often they waste entire pages on splash images of just... Stephanie. Not Stephanie doing anything special, just, Stephanie, and we're supposed to be very awed and impressed by her because she's Stephanie Brown and she's Batgirl now wowie wow wow.

That one tiny little caption box in the upper-left corner of the last page of the storyline? That's literally the first and only time that the concept of "Batgirl makes sure everyone gets home to see tomorrow" is ever mentioned.

This his is all just the first storyline. This same pattern continues on into the rest of the book, only getting worse as they add in other Batfamily member guest-stars for Steph to show up and prove wrong, and stock civilians who do nothing but shower her with praise and adoration. The tiny little sprinkles they offer up of, "Oh yeah I'm doing this to bring hope to the people of Gotham!!" just don't compare to deluge of "Steph gets to be Batgirl because she wants to be Batgirl, that makes her the coolest motherfucker on the planet, and if you disagree you must be sexist."

---

TL;DR (and sorry this got so long) -- Bryan Q. Miller et. al seem to be either under the impression (or want to give the impression) that they're telling the story of Stephanie Brown, the plucky young girl who never gave up on her dream of being a superhero no matter the haters or setbacks she faced, and how seeing her succeed despite being so average and relatable inspires other average people to have hope and fight for a better tomorrow.

But the story they actually tell is of Stephanie Brown, a teenage girl utterly obsessed with becoming a superhero to the exclusion of all else, including her own well-being, future, and relationships with her friends and family, apparently just because she likes the way it makes her feel, has no self-control and can't imagine herself doing anything else, who is applauded and cheered for this by everyone she meets, save for a small handful of haters who are just there to be proven wrong, beaten up, or both.

The first could've been a good-ish story -- ish, because it doesn't actually engage with Steph's previous characterization, but that's a different post -- but it's just not the story they told.

#stephanie brown #batgirl #batgirl 2009 #batgirls #dc comics #dc #batman #meta #comics meta #barbara gordon #cassandra cain #hmmmm I wound up spending all day on this whoops #ah well it was a sick day and I needed to get it out of my head #there are worse reasons not to move for eight hours

[moonlit-mystery-writer]

Varia Bedroom Headcanons

@myrmyrtheorca @childe-of-saulot @tangomagnolija @unwrathful @srtruth

I gotta be fully honest, accidentally put all my energy into Mammon's room lol. I tried to spread the love, I did, but how I imagine a lot of their rooms can be summed up quickly. Meanwhile, Viper's has layers lol.

Viper/Mammon

Viper’s room is painted in dark indigos and deep violets, making it look really dim. Also making it look dim is the fact they only keep about three lamps in there in total and all the tapestries on the walls and ceiling. Most of these tapestries are old items from the others. A stitched up blanket Squalo had once ripped in frustration, old curtains Lussuria tried to toss out because he didn’t like them anymore, and other items of categories like that. In fact, that’s how they get a lot of their furniture. Wobbly coffee tables fixed via putting a book under it, an electric fan that only works half the time, and stuff like that. There’s a chest at the foot of their bed full of old uniforms and clothes. Bel’s old uniform from when he was a kid? They have that. Some clothes Lussuria planned to donate to a thrift store? Mammon’s got them tucked away. They might have a bit of a hoarding problem… But that’s something to be addressed another time!

They have the second biggest bed in the Varia base, the number one spot obviously belonging to Xanxus. It’s a canopy bed, only adding to the things that hang down in their room. The bed is also pressed right up against a wall that has a window seat that they’ve added more cushions and pillows to. They mostly sleep on said window seat, mostly using their bed as glorified storage space for things like books and their money. The bed is also home to their copious amounts of blankets, yet again, mostly ones they’ve stolen from the others or ones they’ve put back together.

The crowning jewel of their room though simply must be all their books and trinkets. If a shelf isn’t stuffed full of books and reading materials, it’s lined with little things they’ve found. Almost every surface in the room has trinket trays that hold a cacophony of things. Little metal thread spools, cheap rings, cool rocks, and more. You can find just about anything in their room! In fact, it’s practically guaranteed if you lose something small in the Varia base that it’ll end up in their room. Good luck getting it back though, they don’t like others getting into their room.

TYl/Future Arc Fran

Fran actually keeps a lot of the things from Mammon’s room there still. He lessens how many blankets he uses, removes a lot of the tapestries, and little changes like that. But the most he adds to the room are little things like posters or his own odd decor and trinkets he finds. 

Belphegor

So! In canon, he’s ranked the second in having the messiest room, so ignoring the mess that’ll be there! I feel his room is, rather stereotypically for him, painted in a deep red. He doesn’t have much in terms of furniture outside of his bed, a desk, a tv, and an armchair. He does however have a ton of posters and pictures on his walls. Bands he’s listened to once, tv shows he’s never fully finished, pictures of missions he liked, and more. Though, the set of photos he likes the most and that he has hidden in a corner of his room under a poster are photos of him and the rest of the Varia. He finds it too cheesy to admit to any of them how much he likes the pictures, hence the hiding.

One of his odder decor pieces is a dart board that he uses for knife practice when he’s bored. The wall around it has holes from said practice that he claims are intentional. Whether that’s the truth or not, no one knows as he never uses it when there’s someone else in the room. 

He does have some fairy lights in his room, but he doesn’t use them often. 1. Because he yet again doesn’t want the others to know about them. 2. Because I personally headcanon as having a sensitivity to light for various reasons. Maybe him and his brother throwing rocks at each other’s heads as kids wasn’t the best idea… But that’s a health problem to be handled later!

Lussuria

(For pronoun clarification, I use all pronouns for Lussuria lol) His room is the definition of cozy and warm. Lots of warm colors that aren’t too bright, sun shaped wall decor, lots of mirrors. I imagine her room either has multiple windows or one big one, either way, it gets a lot of natural light. They also have a lot of potted plants like succulents, an assortment of fresh herbs, different flowers, and some ivy. Lussuria also has a collection of soft things, normally those plush things you can microwave to help with muscle aches. They help her a lot after training sessions or missions when she can’t use too much Sun flames.

Levi A Than

I’ll be fully honest, I have very few headcanons for Levi’s room. He’s a hard character to decorate for. However!! I feel like his room would be green, but like a dark and dull green. And obviously, he has a Xanxus shrine/a lot of photos of him on one of his walls. Also we know in canon he has and uses 116 alarm clocks apparently. So I can only imagine he has enough surface space to match. So either, a lot of tables or they’re set up all around his room and even on some shelves. Outside of that, he really just feels like the type of guy to keep his room rather plain.

Squalo Superbia

Much like the others, I feel like Squalo’s room color matches his flames. However, it’s far more of a grey-blue than a bright blue like Rain flames. He also feels like the kind of guy to keep things simple. A desk with a chair, some framed photos, rather average bedding, and such. The stand out feature of his room is his giant fish tank that takes up a good chunk of the room. Whether he simply has multiple fish or some mini sharks, they’re painfully spoiled for aquatic pets. Only the best for his babies! This also means in his room there’s always the faint sound of his tank’s filter.

Xanxus

And finally, the darling boss’ room! Breaking the trend of his subordinates, I feel like his room is a dark color like a deep grey or black. And, as mentioned in Viper/Mammon’s section, his bed is the biggest. I feel like he keeps his room rather simple, but not plain. Fancy style dressers, stylized shelves, and things like that. Things you’d expect to see from someone given not only his personality, but also given the fact he was raised to be Vongola Decimo. Plus, look at the dramatic chairs he has in canon. His other furniture simply has to match.

#katekyo hitman reborn #khr #khr xanxus #khr varia #khr viper #khr mammon #khr belphegor #khr levi #khr lussuria #khr squalo #superbia squalo #khr fran

[randaccidents]

GIVE ME YOUR PLAN FOR RELASPE

GIVE IT TO ME

GIVE IT TO ME

GIVE IT TO ME

GIVEY NOWYYY

evil hands rubbing together emote

SO RELAPSE. THE PHASE DIRECTLY AFTER HOPE.

Remember when I said in the PSA that Heartless gets worse? This is that worse. This is that deepest part of the pit the au gets. So that means TWs for: suicidal ideation, themes of attempted suicide, self harm

Its a little long because of the main event in focus BUT I can still give you the summary (proceeds to write the longest thing possible this arc is MASSIVE and I have SO MANY THOUGHTS to keep it coherent)

Relapse starts with the first argument between Heart and Perseverance since Apathy. Heart has been awake consistently for awhile, but his progress has been stagnating and Perseverance has Suspicions. Especially with how hungry Heart has gotten for affirmation that he is needed and wanted.

And like the Mind that he is he uses a brute force approach. Straight up demanding to know what's going on, because they have tried everything so clearly the problem must be Heart. (metaphorically he relapses into old habits of being too cold and inconsiderate)

While Penitence does smack him over it (overprotective smh), this brashness is more familiar to Heart than them tip toeing around him and he responds in kind (and anger. A Lot Of Anger.) Hilariously, Perseverance is pretty thrown off by the argument because its been MONTHS since he's been in one, while from Heart's perspective its only been a couple of weeks.

During the argument, Heart accidentally lets slip some concerning views he holds about himself, and when he tries to backpedal Perseverance grabs ahold of the words and goes "nope. dealing with our problems right here and now", so Heart lets loose with ALL of the emotions and negativity he felt in Apathy. YOU told me emotions weren't needed. I'm just doing what you told me to do and left the unwanted part of myself in Apathy.

And this admissions HORRIFIES Penitence, who had never asked about what Heart and Mind talked about during Apathy. Perseverance meanwhile is desperately backtracking and trying to take back words said months ago, but Heart just presses down further in his anger. Penitence attempts to break them apart and gets Heart's anger turned on him. YOU abandoned me in the pit and allowed Mind to insult me. You're equally at fault.

It's a rough argument. I also intend for Perseverance to unintentionally be manipulating Heart's emotions and guide him towards giving them a solid answer, and that Heart would notice this and get angrier. Because Perseverance is using the logical "if I can push him into messing up" and deliberately saying the most pointed little things. This is the WRONG THING TO DO because he triggers Heart, and its just like the pit again with Mind insulting and ignoring his emotions again. Although to be fair to Perseverance, Heart finally yells at him about how he doesn't want to be the Emotional Side anymore.

And Penitence jumps in with a YOU ABANDONED YOUR ROLE? It's mostly generalized horror at the very physical side effects on Heart, but to Heart it reads like a rejection of his autonomy and decisions. Because oh, he fucked up, now they know he was weak enough to give up. Part of the stagnation was that he doesn't feel like they've changed at all, and now his stupid emotions are getting him judged again. So, he doubles down. And also restarts the process of rejecting the Emotional Side. WHILE PERSEVERANCE AND PENITENCE ARE IN THE ROOM TALKING TO HIM. Heart is a really good actor when no one is paying attention to him properly.

This argument makes it pretty clear to Perseverance and Penitence that for all the progress they think they made, they forgot to make sure Heart experienced the same progress. Because Heart still doesn't think the Emotional Side is necessary.

Perseverance and Penitence try to argue Heart down from his decision. Perseverance's desperation makes him more blunt and cold, while Penitence keeps asking what rejection of the Emotional Side accomplishes. And boys, that is not what you want to tell a suicidal person. They're all falling into old habits of arguing with Penitence trying to break them up, and none of them notice Heart begin to physically fade as the argument drags on.

The argument only ends when Penitence bodily drags Perseverance out of the room. When he returns he finds Heart having relapsed. Not fully: they did leave a spark of hope in Heart that he is wanted. But enough to slip into random bouts of unconsciousness.

Yall read the chicken plush story yeah? This is a devastating blow to their progress. Penitence blames Perseverance for going with a brute force option. Perseverance blames himself for doing that instead of thinking things through. Heart refuses to meet Penitence's glance or willingly talk to him. It's a massive disaster.

Perseverance wants to apologize. Except. Penitence won't let him. Or talk to him. Or willingly interact with him. Or looking after him.

Penitence is using old tricks: when Heart and Mind argue, separate them and ignore the one at fault for a week (in a metaphorical sense relapsing into old habits). He blocks Perseverance from Heart's room even when he wants to apologize, look he tried with a plush even.

It is very similar to how Penitence physically separated them during ROE and after via Apathy, and how he ignored Heart then. I hope you see where this may be going.

Perseverance inevitably runs out of things to do, having fallen out of habit in the weeks Heart has been awake, and Heart believes that Mind hates him. Because while separation of the halves is a tried and true method, this is not a normal situation. Perseverance feels bad enough already and it fuels his already bad overwork and lack of self-care, and it leaves him alone with his thoughts because he needs to find a solution, this is his fault so its his problem to fix, and he finally has the correct information.

And when he runs out of things to do the only thing left is to sit in his room and think. And as he feared from the start, thoughts turn to emotions turn to tears. And Penitence isn't there to help him through the messy explosion of grief and guilt that has been bottled for months that he feels as physical symptoms. He tries to redirect himself towards logical thinking, but the last thing he was thinking about was Heart rejecting the Emotional Side, and it sends him careening down the entirely wrong spiral of thought, including a lot of questions that a less vulnerable him would have stopped dead in its tracks before he could ponder on them.

You know, questions like, say, "what are the benefits of rejecting something that fundamental to you?", or "is it really such a bad thing? he still fulfills his physical purpose.", or "can I do that too? its not something limited to Heart is it?"

Yeah. The Wrong Path Of Thought. With a disturbingly Logical Conclusion. If he rejects the Logical Side, replicates Heart's decision? He will have peace from his thoughts, it will prevent him from making another mistake with Heart, and he will be less of a burden on Penitence by removing the need to look after him. Three birds, one stone. He mentally frames it as protecting his halves from himself. He ignores that it would probably shatter Penitence the same way Heart already did.

He doesn't make the decision immediately, but the thought plagues him. Penitence doesn't notice his changed behaviour and continues to block him from Heart. There A Thought: Penitence might not notice if he does go through with it. Another Thought: did Heart also consider that when he rejected the Emotional Side?

(Ironically, Perseverance reaches a similar conclusion and reasoning that Heart did in Apathy from a different angle. It would help the other halves if I was only my Physical Function, because my Metaphysical Function is harmful because I am harmful. And no one would notice when I do fade away.)

And he might have done it that night, if not for a misshapen chicken plush sitting on his desk. Perseverance wants Heart to have his apology. It takes another day to figure out the time to sneak into Heart's room, leaving the plush behind with a kiss to its head.

He doesn't lock his door when he returns to his room, Penitence hasn't checked on him in nearly a week now and he's confident they won't come now. He lies down in bed and tries to reject the Logical Side.

Key word being tries. Like Heart he struggles for awhile against the instinct to shy away from internal rejection, and then another while longer struggling to actually commit the rejection because he keeps approaching it logically. It takes time for the emotions of loneliness and sadness and tiredness to actually take hold and begin hollowing his brain.

You read the chicken plush fic right? This is a reminder that you read the chicken plush fic. That Heart, feeling more accepted because of the plush clearly made for him, demands Penitence let Perseverance in. Penitence, sent by Heart to bring Perseverance, walks in on his attempt. He notices that something's different both because Perseverance has become a light sleeper and because Penitence has spent the last few months recording and becoming familiar with the relevant vital signs, and panics. He slaps Perseverance awake (left the trident in Heart's room and didn't want to waste time or worry Heart grabbing it), interrupting his attempt. It is its own shock when Perseverance, scarily slow to realize he's failed and been discovered, only responds to being shaken by rolling over and hiding his face, refusing to speak.

Perseverance remains hollow, flipping violently between blankly staring at a wall and quiet mutterings of his logical justifications for his actions, all seemingly without recognizing Penitence's presence. Penitence has to shake him out of bouts of too long zoning out, much too similar to Heart's unconsciousness and growing closer each time.

Penitence is left to make up excuses for Heart and attempt to prevent BOTH his halves from falling off the edge into rejection. Heart may be getting better, but Perseverance is getting worse at the same time. He starts struggling where before he had Perseverance's help, not quite knowing where some things in the house are kept as the house gets messier and messier. Heart keeps bugging him about Perseverance, and everything is falling apart around him faster than he thought it could. He's going through bandages and gauze faster than before and his arms are starting to tremble from how often he's cutting and tearing open wounds. He's caught himself considering his legs as a new canvas at night. He unlocks his drawer and stares at the bloody noose he buried inside every night before locking it away again. The smile he puts on for Heart grows frailer by the hour.

(and here's the part that I'm a lot more unclear about whoopsie)

Inevitably, Heart grows frustrated at Penitence's lies and dodging around the question and yells at him, starting another argument. Except its less of an argument and more shoving Penitence headfirst over his own edge (again) into a major mental breakdown because everything is falling apart and its all his fault for being neglectful and ignorant and now they both hate him as much as he hates himself and he can't handle the stress of two terminal patients alone and the noose is looking incredibly tempting right now doesnt Perseverance rejecting himself means he's given up and they can finally die?

Heart picks up that something is deathly wrong when Penitence crumples to the floor like a wet rag sobbing and clawing blindly at his throat. Because the Soul he remembers is much more resilient than this and can take being yelled at. The Soul he remembers doesn't break down in front of him in pained screaming and turn violent hands on themself.

Heart shoves himself off the bed to stop and comfort Penitence, and finds out what's been happening in the house over the past few days from their shattered whimpers. With some difficulty, Heart manages to convince Penitence to let him try something, calming him slightly, and Penitence carries Heart (and his chicken! the chicken is important) to Perseverance's room.

A little bit mentally unclear on this sequence, but I want Heart to sit next to Perseverance and hug him, chicken placed in its lap, to apologize for being cruel and ask him to come back so he can properly thank it for the gift. I want Penitence to sit on Perseverance's other side at Heart's insistence and quietly apologize to them both for neglecting them all like that and promising to do better. For Perseverance to slowly, with their encouragement and love, come back to them and start crying, quietly apologizing for starting another argument with Heart and all the insults he threw during Apathy, and for abandoning Penitence. For them to promise to do better by each other and help each other get better, because all of them almost shattered alone.

That this collective trio of support is going to be what breaks them out into the Recovery phase of Heartless. Because they were never going to heal without being a trio. It had to be Heart, Mind and Soul together helping each other.

(and of course, Heart asks Perseverance if it used one of his dang hoodies for the chicken, to its quiet embarrassment. yes it did. it got them all laughing as Heart shoved the chicken plush into its face in revenge.)

Oh and fun fact! This was the original ending of the AU, not inclusive of the healing. Before I decided I wanted the AU to involve healing, this was where the AU deadended. Heart fully relapses, Perseverance entirely gives up, Penitence upon discovering both of these hangs himself. But the healing is SO much more satisfying :D

#reply #Heartless AU #Heartless stuff #cccc au #ooo this one was a long and rough one boys #honestly this is just a summary of Relapse lmao #but yeah you can see where the dead end used to be #but I decided on the HEALING and it is SO MUCH MORE SATISFYING #rand.writ #RIGHT TRIGGERS #suicide #suicidal ideation #self harm #selfharm #the EMOTION the EMOTION #I literally wrote and planned that last sequence right this second tbh #Heartless Story

[aeor-is-for-reccing]

Spanking: A Shadowgast Rec List

This week, we have spanking!  Check under the cut for 7 fics that feature spanking with a hand or toy for sexy reasons, and don't forget to comment and kudos if you like them!

Break Me, Mend Me by kaiannae (21835, Explicit) Reccer's Content Notes: Dubcon/Consensual Non Consent

Caleb's finds himself in a pit of self loathing, Essek offers a nice long session of punishment and debasement to help him get past it

Reccer says: This fic is so wonderfully cathartic to read, and the character writing is incredibly on point. Caleb is a self-loathing mess, but Essek cares for him so well here (even if that caring involves spanking him until he cries)

Are you hurting the one you love? by TheatricArcana (2341, Explicit) Reccer's Content Notes: Choose Not to Warn

Caleb and Essek both get really into a scene, only for Caleb to unexpectedly slip into the wrong headspace. Essek takes notice and uses their safeword on Caleb's behalf and does his best to comfort Caleb.

Reccer says: I liked it!

Discipline (Catharsis) by RoseArcaneum (4168, Explicit) Reccer's Content Notes: No Content Notes

Essek is experiencing a lot of self-loathing guilt feelings during the aeor arc, and Caleb spanks Essek over his knee.

Reccer says: One thing I really liked about this fic was the inclusion of both the negotiation and the aftercare of the scene, its like the cherry on top of some good emotional smut!

If nobody knows, tell me, what’s the crime? by MarsBar2019 (53612, Explicit) Reccer's Content Notes: Graphic Depictions of Violence

From author's summary: "For a master of subterfuge, Essek hasn't been so great at hiding that he might have some specific interests in the bedroom. Caleb is more than happy to oblige."

Reccer says: It's glorious! I love how Essek starts out constantly telling himself to keep it together, keep it cool, only to slip up and panic. And, of course, it's delicious that Caleb is into the very things that Essek was nervous about. And the wizards love each other very much!

Coping skills by Eldritchmochi (251061, Explicit) Reccer's Content Notes: None

Disabled Essek meets Caleb at a munch and ends up entering a dynamic with him. aleb shies away from impact play but it's what Essek craves.

Reccer says: I myself have EDS and have wanted to engage with the BDSM community. Until reading this fic I really wasn't sure what would be possible! It is a fantastic and accurate depiction of EDS and how disabled people want to be treated.

the golden thread around your neck whispered visions of my undoing by MarsBar2019 (177218, Explicit) Reccer's Content Notes: No Content Notes, Drug Addiction

Caleb becomes secretary to the wealthy CEO Essek Thelyss, an accidental kinky relationship forms

Reccer says: The tension is just amazing, in both buildup and payoff. The way they tease each other is so fantastic and theres a lovely wide range of kinks featured

There were two recs for the following fic:

Harnessing Gravity by TiliaC0rdata (12338, Explicit) Reccer's Content Notes: Dubcon/Consensual Non Consent

Caleb and Essek decide to do a little sexy roleplay- Caleb as the helpless exchange student, Essek as the arrogant bully who's decided to take advantage of him.

Reccer 1 says: Features a lot of really hot CNC roleplay between the wizards, mixed with some very tender and sweet boundary negotiation

Reccer 2 says: A+ roleplay with Essek domming empire student Caleb. I love that Caleb does safeword, they discuss what went wrong and are able to continue the scene

Aeor is for Lovers is an 18+ Shadowgast Discord server. The above fanfic recommendations were pulled from our community for this weekly event. All fics, unless otherwise specified, will primarily feature Shadowgast. Have any questions about what this is? Check out the FAQ! Next week, we’ll be back with polymorph shenanigans!

#shadowgast #caleb widogast #essek thelyss #critical role #fan fiction rec list #cr fic recs #aeor is for lovers #cr fic #cr fics #critical role fan fiction

[wellship]

I recently came across your zosan wedding planning/wedding comic again and then all I could think about was who proposes or what Zoro or Sanji's proposal would be like in your mind because I desperately want your thoughts about it. Sorry if you've already spoken about this topic, I just adore the way you portray One Piece characters.

AW thank you very much! That's so sweet of you to say! I certainly love to think about them in their little scenarios HAHA so I'm glad you like reading about it!

To tell the truth I never used to think that ZoSan would ever get married or "need" to get married, and I thought it was a bit OOC of them when I'd read it in other fics etc... until Whole Cake Island, HAHA. Egg on my face. I think the idea of marriage between them was something that genuinely never occured to them, but after Sanji went through that arc - and Zoro felt like he'd nearly lost him - it would force them to actually think about it and realise, hey, shit, yeah, I think if we were married... I would really like that.

I think Sanji would like the old-school romantic symbolism and the public declaration/pride aspect of marriage, plus the security of knowing someone likes you enough they're willing to tie themselves to you legally - while Zoro would appreciate the ritual of marriage; he wouldn't give a shit about the legal aspects of it, but pledging your devotion to one another in front of all the people most important to you? That's kind of his whole thing, lmao... with Luffy and Kuina and even Mihawk, it's obviously very important to him that he makes his intentions known. He's been quite dramatic about it. I think when it came to the actual wedding day, Sanji would be surprised by how seriously Zoro was taking it, and how heartfelt his "vows" were (I think it would end up sounding more like Zoro was preparing for battle than exchanging traditional wedding vows butttt I also think Sanji would swoon over that more).

Of course, to GET to a wedding day still requires one of them to pull the plug and ASK, which is a degree of communication which still eludes them even post-WCI, lmao. I honestly think it would have to go something like... Sanji joking around with Zoro after Wano, saying "Can you imagine us? Married? Lmaooo" and Zoro's just like "? Yeah, easily"

Cue Sanji's mental bluescreen, because, huh? What? Did marimo really just admit that he'd be fine married him? Is that the same thing as wanting to get married? And so he'd prod him about it and Zoro's like... I mean. I kind of thought we already were, to some degree, what with the whole "I came back from hell for you" thing- ("You came back from hell to kill me" "semantics") and Sanji would have to clarify like 10 times if this means Zoro actually plans to marry him and if that means they should and is this is actually happening- and they eventually settle on yes, it's happening, Zoro has just told Sanji he wants to marry him so now Sanji can start planning their wedding if he needs to.

At which point Sanji EXPLODES on him because what kind of proposal is THAT!?!? He deserves to be romanced off his feet with a huge public display of affection and love after all the shit he went through on Whole Cake Island- proposals are supposed to be once-in-a-lifetime events that make you sob and you can tell your grandchildren about them ("we're not having kids")... so Zoro is forced to re-propose to him, probably getting help from each of the Straw Hats in turn about how they think he should do it "properly" (all of which just end up pissing Sanji off, humiliating him, or missing the mark) until they get into a huge argument where Zoro accidentally lays out exactly why he loves Sanji and why he wants to marry him- and that does it. Sanji's a weepy mess and they're ~engaged~

Then the wedding itself is probably equally as disasterous as on Whole Cake because the Straw Hats are involved but this time Sanji is having a blast.

Edit: Alright, fuck it. Here are what the Straw Hats would suggest as their "ideal proposal"

Luffy: He doesn't really get it and thinks Zoro's proposal was already the best way to do it. Keeps badgering Sanji not to be so stingy and just marry Zoro already because he wants cake which pisses Sanji off more. Zoro doghouse count: 1

Usopp: Usopp bursts into tears (he's shipped them for so long) and is almost useless but does eventually pull himself together enough to suggest writing it in the sky. And he has just the invention to do it! This one is actually going pretty smoothly and Usopp is nearly done using his dial-powered drone to spell "will you marry me swirly-brow" over the ocean while Zoro draws Sanji out of the kitchen by the hand when the drone explodes and showers them all in pieces and singes Sanji's hair. "How could you have trusted like that." Zoro doghouse count: 2

Nami: Nami thinks about a man proposing to her and gags but tries to use her imagination and says just throw a bunch of money at it and it should be fine. Lavish him with fine chocolates and champagne and then put the ring in one of the glasses. ("What ring?" "Oh for fuck's sake") Zoro buys expensive champagne & truffles but a cheap ring and it makes the champagne taste like shit and Sanji goes off on him about wasting food. Zoro doghouse count: 3, Zoro debt to Nami: +$5,000

Brook: Brook tells him to simply go traditional, get down on one knee, and speak from the heart, and even offers to accompany Zoro on the deck with a romantic violin. This one is actually working, Zoro's kneeling, everyone's watching and smiling and going "aww", Sanji's swooning, Brook gets into the fucking zone and absolutely shreds it on a violin solo so rambunctious it turns into a Thousand Sunny dance party and both Sanji and Zoro are pissed off at being outshone. Zoro doghouse count: 4, Brook doghouse count: 1

Franky: Franky suggests Zoro takes Sanji to some sort of live show and get on the projector Denden Mushi to hold up a sign asking Sanji to marry him. Zoro takes Sanji to a Groggy Ring game with a sign under his jacket but the camera never actually pans to him and he spends so long trying to get the camera guy's attention that he totally ignores Sanji and they get into a huge blow-out fight (and win the match). Zoro doghouse count: 5, Team Swirly Moss: Undefeated

Chopper: Chopper offers to do it for him with a note. Zoro thinks this is an adorable idea because if Chopper toddled up to HIM like a little ring bearer saying "do you want to marry Sanji? Y/N" his heart would melt so he agrees. Sanji does not agree. Huge fight. "Do it yourself." Zoro doghouse count: 6

Robin: Rose petals. Candles. Wine. Soft music (not by Brook). Aquarium bar. Just the two of them, late at night, with no one else around. Invite him there and simply ask him plainly. Tell him you love him and let the night take its course. This is actually 75% of the way successful before they realise Robin is DEFINITELY watching them from like 50 hana-hana eyes plastered around the aquarium and they BOTH leave in a panic. Zoro doghouse count: Still 6, but with added heebie-jeebies

Jinbe: Zoro, haggard, asks Jinbe how the hell he's supposed to propose to Sanji and Jinbe asks what's stopping Sanji from proposing to him. "Hey, what the fuck? You're right! SHIT COOK-" Huge fight. Zoro doghouse count: 7, Sanji doghouse count: 1

Good thing it works out in the end.

#zosan #what a sweet ask! as you can tell I will take any excuse to ramble about my headcanons HAHA

[unovan-gardener]

//heyy I hate to ask this bc it's probably annoying/inconvenient but my brain does this dumb thing where it's like, "you can't interact with that person, you're months out of date with their lore" which is stupid but brains suck sometimes

//so. I hate asking this cause it's probably time consuming but. Could I maybe have a summary (doesn't need to be detailed!!) of unovanra (& possibly joltik guy, since you guys are very connected characters I think) lore? Specifically after minkst went to jail

//I know this would probably take for ever, so if you just give me arc tags or a link to posts with major events that's totally fine too! I don't mind reading through stuff at all and I like your writing! But if I didn't have a starting point / label of "here's what's important" I'd try to Read Everything and get burned out

//Thank you! Sorry! Your characters are cool! AAAAA

//okay!!!

i will do my best!!! it will be under the cut for length!! HEED TAGS SERIOUSLY THIS IS SUPER LONG. ITS FROM LATE NOVEMBER TO NOW. ITS SO LONG. PLEASE.

NOV 24-29: okay so! after Minsk got arrested, CD stayed with their dad for a while, since their dad found out how their face got burned and he did a skin grafting surgery on their wound. CD is scared of catmons after this. While CD is in surgery and recovering, their dad (Atley Deo) takes over the account briefly (his tag is #pater plantarum). He is the head of Deo horticulture, a plant based business. Auzi owes Atley a blood debt. Atley asks about service mon and everyone and their mother suggests a smeargle. It is revealed that CD's mother and Atleys wife died in childbirth. Joltiks boyfriend breaks up with them while CD is out. When they come back they are very woozy.

NOV 30-DEC 1: CD decides to adopt an eevee egg from @/allthatglitterzz, and they receive a smeargle service mon to monitor their heart "arrythmia" , lovingly named Stencil. nobody thinks its an actual arrythmia and also people are even more theorizing that he is a plant. Speaking of that arrythmia, CD has a heart attack while home alone, and Stencil calls Joltik instead of their dad to come help. Their heart had stopped entirely, but a zap from Tik sets it back going again. Joltik calls CD's dad, and then leaves before Atley comes home.

DEC 2-DEC 6 : The eevee egg hatches! She is a beautiful baby girl and her name is Porridge, Pidge for short. CD is diagnosed with the TIsm for plant identification reasons /joke. CD and Joltik watch a lot of competition reality tv shows.

DEC 7-DEC 8: Nothing really important happens

DEC 9- DEC 15 : Joltik asks CD to catch them in a pokeball. CD keeps buying candles and they keep going missing, much to their annoyance. CD catches Joltik and it goes poorly, Joltik gets a bit messed up because of it. His candles continue to go missing, people begin to theorize about litwik. A new problem arises: a resident with a mightyena that is hopped up on X attack is roaming campus. DEC 16- : A candle appears on CD's windowsill, looking a lot like a litwick, although it has no flame. its merged into the windowsill and cannot be moved. It continues to amass more wax. CD names it Kerosene, after being hounded a bit by anons. DEC 17 -18 : Pidge briefly goes being, being found in Joltik's dorm. She knocks over a drawing filled with thunder stones and evolves into a Jolteon. Mightyena guy comes back, CD is on duty and patrols to chase him off. CD runs into him on patrol, and Pidge gets her ear torn off by the mightyena. CD goes offline, and Kerosene takes over the phone. It is implied that Kero evolved into a lanpent and consumes the mightyena to save CD. Kero uses a spirit box to communicate, saying that CD was at a pokecenter, and asking for help as she is lost. Joltik comes to find her. DEC 18 -23 Nothing overly important happens. CD accidentally helps Joltiks eevee Mint evolve into Umbreon.

DEC 23- 26: CD's dad finds out about the mightyena attack, and wants to assign CD a bodyguard which they think is stupid. their dad makes them stay home for a while. Tik comes to visit and watch shows while Atley is out. Atley comes back early, but isnt mad, just starts interrogating Tik a bit.

DEC 27-30 : Christmas present from dad!! It's a sprigatito named trowel!! Technically Juniper's first canon interaction with CD! @/sinnohstruggles

DEC 31: Lucretia Minsk escapes prison

JAN 1: the nuytsia project arc starts. should be tagged #the nuytsia project but is occasionally mispelled as #the nuystia project. Summary: joltik is infected by a parasite that makes them compulsed to protect and take care of CD, CD is revealed to be kept alive by a living plant inside them after being stillborn. Atley gains remote access of CD's phone for a brief takeover to try and explain why he did what he did. Atley then proceeds to let himself be taken to jail without struggle. CD is very very sad and distressed by the events of the arc. ARC OFFICIALLY ENDED JAN 8

JAN 9-12 : not a whole lot of importance here, cd gets sleepy and slow in the cold because plant. Juniper and CD start dating and they are cute lmao JAN 13-20 :CD's granparents get in contact, finally hearing that Atley is in jail. They attempt to get custody of CD, all of the pokemon, and all of Atley's assets. Atley did not get along well with his parents and a Lawyer will be in contact with CD, as they are being taken to court. CD quits their job as an RA and drops out of college due to stress from the oncoming court case. They begin lashing out a bit, because of the stress. CD has an argument with Juniper where Juniper attempts to help them but CD feels like they are being treated like a child. They throw the phone at the wall in frustration and Kero takes over the account. During the court case, CD has a heart attack due to the stress, and their grandparents use that to win the case, gaining custody over CD and all of Atley's assets.

JAN 21-22 : CD is taken to live with their grandparents. Their pokemon are taken from them, leaving them only with Stencil, Trowel, and Pidge (as well as Kerosene who is there secretly). CD is locked in their room at the grandparents house during this period, not allowed to leave. The house is cold and they feel slow and sick, not allowed plants or anything from home. They are fed food that makes them sick. CD begins sending audio messages to their friends, but they are short because they get in trouble when caught. It is revealed that the house is in Icirrus City. Kerosene evolved into a Chandelure in order to melt the window and get CD out of the house. JAN 23-FEB 1 : CD's phone is still broken, so they post audio recordings for a while. While in the Snowy forest, CD finds a eevee named Kiwi in a basket, who becomes very clingy and comes along with. It is revealed that CD has now been declared a missing person by their Grandparents. ALSO JUNIPER AND CD ACTUALLY STARTED DATING THE 28TH I FUCKED UP. Anons start hounding CD to go to moss rock because they think it will activate CD's latent plant powers. CD notably doesnt want Kiwi to evolve and gives kiwi 5 everstones. Kiwi dips once they get to pinwheel and loses all their everstones somehow, evolving into a leafeon, much to cds dismay. CD goes home very grumpy about this.

FEB 2- :Silvervine arc starts. should be tagged #silvervine arc. Summary: kiwi roots into cd, merging into them and making them a leafeon hybrid. minsk kidnaps CD, brainwashing/mindcontrolling them with her control over cat-mon. The hybridization merge makes CD have a rush of endorphins and dopamine to minimize the pain, giving them a floaty fuzzy feeling. cd helps minsk with some gardening ;3 lore is dropped, and CD escapes, fully hybridized, but still somewhat conditioned to listen to certain command phrases told to them by minsk, and feeling floaty fuzzy when they fall into leafeon instincts. THIS ARC ENDED FEB 5TH FEB 5th- Onward: Juniper went to a psych ward after stress from CD not wanting to see him post hybridization, he is still there. CD is briefly blocked by both tik and juniper. CD goes to live in lostlorn for a while. CD kinda breaks up with Juniper??? unclear. CD can now spead to cat mon and understand grass types. they meet a tropius named Yache who joins their team. CD lives with Juniper's pokemon team for a while before an argument happens and they leave again. now theyre kinda homeless! also! they turned into a leafeon for a few days and now they can kinda do that sometimes maybe work in progress I hope this was helpful!!!

#tw kidnapping #tw brainwashing #tw mindcontrol #tw manipulation #tw pysch ward #pokeblogging #rotomblr #pkmn irl #pokemon irl #irl pokemon #irl pkmn #pokeblr #anon ask

[gem-in-the-horizon]

Needed to draw today so you all get to see a draft of the Horizons OC I've been working on. She's existed conceptually for roughly two months but I think I've finally settled on a design, personality and story. Art and lore dump under the read more. It's a lot of text.

Summary: Zir accidentally scared her, and her first response was to react with violence. I imagine Zir is bitten by some spicy teenager and goes "what if she's hungry and that's why she's violent :'(" so takes her to get ramen. Start of a beautiful friendship.

Story wise, she's very guarded and has been on the streets for "a few years" not much is revealed to the main cast about her backstory because it's not really relevant. I have a feeling Zir and Conia of all characters would be able to recognize a messed up teenager and know not to pry.

Her character arc follows that of a former street cat adjusting to things like having three meals a day and not having to sleep so guarded + getting used to a bed (hence the closet nest). She's not exactly personal when they first meet, or ever.

She doesn't reveal any information about herself like name or age, so Zir decided "Eh, she's spicy, so how about a pepper nickname?" and gives her a bunch of them. From the RVTs perspective, they would have zero idea what her "real" name is among all the nicknames.

For relationships, she views Zir as "the nice idiot" and sees him as trustworthy. Conia is "the pretty one" and Amethio is "emo boy"

She warms up to Zir the fastest, then Conia second. She'd be able to recognize Amethio as coming from a bad household as well, so they'd have a bit of unspoken solidarity between them. She wouldn't rile him up unless he initiated it, and both are very quiet when left to their own devices. But if he starts shit, she's not afraid to finish it.

She's not overly attached to Amethio personally, but recognizes him as someone Zir and Conia care about a lot, so she'd be defensive of him. Story-wise, this would be in the form of physically assaulting Friede for what she views as a verbal attack on Amethio. (Fun!)

Trivia: She didn't have a lot of sweet foods growing up and is very intolerant to them. She thinks they are "poison", and the sugar makes her ill. She really likes sour foods, and tolerates spice really well. When given the choice, she prefer fruits and vegetables to prepackaged or fast food.

Other: By no fault of her own, she's rather underweight at the start of the story, so it's a progression of her improving her physical and mental health throughout. Zir and Conia are also excited about the idea of Amethio having a friend his age, though it's a while before either of them are particular interested in interacting with each other.

thanks for reading all this :] it's okay to reblog, she's just not in main tags because she's a work in progress, and I'm probably going to change some details later.

#Red Hot Chili Pepper OC #my art #original character #*points at lore* do you see my vision #tldr is “Zir and Conia accidentally but kind of purposely adopt another teenager” #my ocs

[licncourt]

I've only read the first trilogy a decade ago and while swimming around book fandom for the last couple of months i've come accross different opinions regarding Lestat post QotD. I've also heard that AR massacred his character in Tale of the Body Thief.

How would you describe Lestat's character arc post QotD? Is there even a character arc? Does he finally get to mature a bit and work on his issues? Does it happen off page? Did he get lobotomized like Louis and Armand?

God this is such a hard question, especially when it comes to a character arc because yes, there is technically a discernable arc for Lestat, but the problem is that it was entirely unintentional and the opposite of was AR seemed to be going for.

The first book after QotD is the best example of this I think. It starts off really strong with Lestat struggling to cope with the effects of Akasha's abduction and the changes to his body, as well as a bittersweet but well-written look into what his relationship with Louis is like at this point in time.

Unfortunately it goes completely off the rails after that. It's hard to say that Lestat is wildly OOC because he's really not. Most of what happens feels pretty authentic to someone with Lestat’s personality dealing with trauma through the lifestyle and moral lens of vampirism. He's manic and self-destructive and vacillating wildly between lashing out at loved ones and total emotional dependency.

The issue becomes some of the plot events themselves and how they're handled. This books is pretty notorious because it really ruins the growth Lestat has experienced up to this point, most pressingly by making him a rapist in both a human and vampire sense.

If this had been played as a reaction to his own assault and a fucked up attempt at taking power back and "embracing" evil to cope, MAYBE this could've been spun into at least some kind of existential horror narrative about cycles of abuse and becoming the evil that you hate, but the tone, the context, and AR's real-life opinions on these issues make it clear that this is just the author's idea of "what men are like" (it literally says that in the book).

This is really the first step in Lestat transitioning from what he is in the trilogy into a messed up male power fantasy for Anne Rice that lacks any kind of self awareness, nuance, irony, or character consistency. From this point on, this macho character completely eclipses the Lestat we knew before as AR turns him into something unrecognizable.

This progresses across the rest of the books (with very brief glimpses of the "real" Lestat that are just enough to add insult to injury). If she had written him as putting on macho playboy persona as an act to deal with his own fear and trauma and vulnerability, it might’ve worked (although it still would've gone on too long). Instead, this is completely unironic, a full change of character with no explanation given as AR started to project her own ideals onto an established character.

By the end of the series, he's clearly happier, but it feels hollow because he's also not himself. He's magically not traumatized anymore, he's a prince who's the perfect masculine ideal and everyone fawns over him as a god. It feels like some desperate fantasy TVL Lestat would have had instead of reality.

He's definitely more mature and suddenly able to commit to Louis and make "good" choices, but we never see how he got there or what changed. There's no healing process shown and no reason for any of the changes. It's jarring and confusing and you're happy for him, but unsatisfied. Sure, things are better for him, but his character is far less interesting and a lot more unlikable so you can hardly be excited for the good stuff.

So basically AR turned Lestat into accidental existential horror over the course of two decades and then popped him out the other side as an alpha male with an eight pack and a crown.

#poor lestat #guy didn't deserve that #trilogystat my beloved #honestly i just ignore the 90s and 00s and then cherrypick from the 10s to create a lestat arc that doesn’t suck #answered #vc #lestat de lioncourt #meta

[minimujina]

so. hear me out. scaramouche and nilou

maaaajor spoilers below, dont read if you dont know about scaramouche’s full lore and character arc and everything!!

i had this idea because you know how when he becomes wanderer (after losing his memories) and starts to work for that guy in the grand bazaar for free?? he HAD to have seen nilou perform before, i mean he must have right. and since he’s a completely different person from the big emo bastard scaramouche, i imagine that he would be so enchanted by her dancing that he might approach her after a show to tell her. he’s really sweet and just sort of floaty, ykyk how he was before he got his memories back. just a little guy :)

they would hit it off and stuff and maybe they’d go for a walk or something around the city or in a garden :) it would mostly be wanderer listening to nilou talk, since he cant remember anything about himself, and hes much more interested in her anyways. he finds himself really smitten anshjddhhd

i think that would probably be like their only interaction before he gets his memories back, but it was enough to spark a connection on both ends (especially since he told nilou jack shit about himself—she’s left wondering who the hell the guy with the big hat was lmao)

however, since he has now returned to being a bastard full-time, he tries to distance himself from nilou to protect her. he knows that if he saw her again and she realized he was a completely different person, he wouldn’t know what to do. there was too much to explain. he would feel so guilty not having an explanation if he accidentally said something rude or acted out of line. and in the end, he might just end up driving her away from him—which would be yet another loss of a person who is in some way special to him. and he’s not sure he’ll be able to endure that kind of pain all over again. what if she only liked the other version of him, and not this version, who was jaded and cynical and hurt?

auntie buer is not having any of that though lol—she quickly finds out he sort of might maybe like nilou (it wasnt that hard, he was literally thinking about her constantly. the thoughts of how to avoid her kept getting interrupted with fluttering admirations about her, how lovely she is, how sweet, how yadda yadda, and then he would get mad at himself and shake his head). and so nahida does some meddling (idk details theyre tbd) and BOOM confrontation ez clap

i could say more but. it runs off into a specific scene with details that arent necessary for this drabble post.

i thought of this last night and slapped some words onto a google doc before the inspiration slipped (it is quite literally an entire page of a block of nonstop words, there are no breaks whatsoever and its a mess😭) and i wanted to post a modified and much less aggressive key-smashing version of it to see if i can convert anyone to my rarepair agenda :-)

i might. might may maybe might write this story but i already have so many ideas i Cannot commit to and so many other things i should be focusing on. at the very least it will probably be a long time before i post it if i do end up writing it fyi—but this will definitely be in the back of my head

(so like. does. does anyone see what i see. does anyone else think this is cute. because im losing my mind thinking about these two in This specific scenario) (please let me know if this is cute or if i am delusional)

#i am quite literally in love with cylou but i mean. this👆👆👆👆👆👆👆this is some good shit to me #genshin impact #genshin impact drabbles #genshin drabbles #nilou #wanderer #scaramouche #kunikuzushi #nilou x wanderer #wanderlou #wanderer x nilou #scaramouche x nilou #genshin rarepair #mujimush #genshin writing #genshin x reader

[scalamore]

Ch 115 - Timeline of Rupert’s feelings

I was mind blown when I saw Rupert’s flashback/thoughts, because this information is GOLD. The novel was vague throughout in exactly when both Rupe/Lali developed feelings for each other, but I I’m so happy to get concrete details in the manhwa! In the novel portion, it was all written vaguely so it could have happened at any time, but for the manhwa, it specifically key moments of their time together. CH 10ish - their first meeting Ch 14 ish - their official first meeting Ch 32 - the gun scene/the promise

Ch 28- her looking out for him when he was sick CH 59 - her coming back after he thought she would leave forever. Ch 78 - seeing her again after a long time apart, and to have her still worry about his well-being.

So, he was already wishing she would stay by his side in Ch 59, and he found the act of her being close to him and brushing his hair lovely and his heart was already beating strongly; and in Ch 78 he already had such strong feelings he wanted to grab her as she left and kiss her.

Basically with this info, we can pinpoint the moment he really started developing feelings for her as after he rescued her from Grand Duke Ventibolt’s mansion (he realized he really messed up, he won’t let her go on any more dangerous missions, she’s too important) —> so we see his feelings really starting to bloom in the arc when he takes revenge on Arnulf’s maids.

Things just make more sense to me, because his reaction to seeing Lari hurt is not simply “because one of my things was hurt”, but rather “because they hurt Lari, who i deeply care for.” It’s also seen in that sene, where when they messed with Tori, he had gotten angry and shot warning shots at Arnulf from afar and sent a threatening letter; when they messed with Lari he was so angry he stomped all the way there to personally warn Arnulf and reveal his real voice.

Because Lari is worth it. And when you re-read season 3, now with the realization that Rupert’s loved her all this time, his actions just make more sense as a whole. There’s no way he would protect and go so far for her, if there wasn’t a strong motivation like [love] behind it. Because while he may [cherish] both Lari and Tori, he doesn’t [love] Tori.

It makes sense why he reacted the way he did in Ch 83 when Lari asked him if he trusted her or not, and if she was different: He was correct in sayin that he doesn’t trust her (because she’s free to leave the palace anytime, he doesn’t have a leash on her or anything, and he doesn’t think she’ll actually stay for him), he doesn’t want her to be like Tori (because tori has no freedom and is an alchemic doll). He’s just honestly telling her that no, he doesn’t trust in her words alone that she’ll stay. But the next chapter, when he says he trusts that she didn’t poison him is true - he never considered her a suspect, and he doesn’t think she’ll hurt him either. He cares for her and doesn’t want to suspect her for things like that.

Ch 86, when she wakes up from poison and accidentally falls on top of him, is the first time we hear from him how he’s afraid of getting closer to her, coveting her, and “knows how it won’t end well”.

Similarly, he has similar feelings after he sees her naked, and reaffirming how he wants to be with her in Ch 98 - he “wants” her more than ever, and is afraid of ruining her. During the debutante, he’s bursting with jealousy because she’s unexpectedly super popular, and he gets lost in the moment and leans in for an unsuccessful kiss.

And in Ch 110 he just wants to grab on to her and hold her close, but when she firmly rejects him after confirming what he feels for her is [love] - he has a vision of Eva, who again serves as a warning for him to not dare covet Lari, because he’s the reason why she tried to die, and why she still wants to die if she stays at the palace. When you think about it, he’s loved her so strongly this whole time, but held back all this time because he was scared of his own feelings. To him, the feelings of [love] equate to possessiveness/ obsessiveness, and that caused Eva to want to die. He doesn’t understand the possibility that the feelings he has toward Lari is a positive, natural feeling because he genuinely cares about her, and that his body’s desire for physical intimacy (hugging, kissing, etc) is also normal - he’s a young adult after all. But since he thinks that the moment he touches Lari, she’ll hate him forever/want to die, he’s absolutely stuck. But the good thing is, is during the separation he re-assesses those feelings and learns that the solution to his problem is simple: as long as Lari likes him back and is Ok with his touch,then there shouldn’t be an issue anymore :) but the issue is how to get her to like him :( good thing it doesn’t take too long :)

#your majesty please spare me this time #rupelali #manhwa #rofan #otome isekai

[little-peril-stories]

Happy STS! So if you don't mind, imma keep asking questions about The Queen of Lies until the big day arrives (whenever that may be!) Consider me your unofficial hype machine.

What was the biggest challenge or difficulty you encountered in the course of writing TQOL that you didn't have when writing TPOT? Did it surprise you? And why do you think it was an issue here and not in the original story?

Thank you, Claire, for the ask! Happy STS! Even though it's Wednesday!! I super do not mind, and I'm sorry I took a while to get to this. I'm staying with family and my free time always gets kind of messed up when that happen.

I love having you as my unofficial hype machine and I appreciate it so so much!!! 💕

This is such a good question. I have been pondering it for days. I kinda got rambling so I'll add a Read More to avoid taking up too much real estate on the dash.

One thing I struggled with: writing Will so that his snark and defiance still felt fun and fresh despite the fact that we've met him in this way before, but also writing Will so that he still felt like the same person. His character arc is really different in TQOL, and his struggles and suffering are largely (though not entirely) of a different sort as well. We get to see a different side of him for at least part of the AU, and I guess I feared accidentally just making him into a whole new character. I still want him to feel like himself.

(Of course, this wasn't an issue for TPOT because it was the first time I was writing him and I had nothing to 'keep consistent' to.)

So...yeah. Keeping the characters consistent from TPOT to TQOL was a big challenge. Colette also got a bit of this; she definitely reads a little different in the AU, although there are plot reasons why, and I did pull from one (TPOT) scene in particular to explore one aspect of her character we really only see once(ish) in TPOT.

I didn't worry about this for Breanna because as far as I'm concerned, she is a different person, and this story is of how she grows into someone far more like Bree.

If I'm being honest, my biggest challenge with TQOL is happening, like...now. I've started my readthrough and will soon be preparing to post it. The story just kind of fell out of me, so fast that I didn't have much time to second-guess myself, but that's all coming out now.

is it realistic enough? (super did not care about this while writing TPOT; now there are some things I would edit out)

was I too mean to [character] in [x] chapters? (in TPOT, there are like 2 things from early in the story that I feel were either 'too mean' or 'not realistic' and I may very well edit them out, but I didn't have this concern. Even though I was, like, really mean to the characters.)

did I do enough time period research? (super did not care about this for TPOT. enjoy your anachronisms. yum yum.)

did I treat [x] subject with the appropriate amount of sensitivity, care, and respect? (in TPOT, I really only had this concern with *that one chapter* but with TQOL, there's a few things I'm nervous about)

even though I knowingly and purposely repeated some plot elements/tropes because I wanted to see if I could / because I just wanted to, will readers see that as cheap or lazy? (n/a to TPOT)

is there enough whump for the whump people? (n/a to TPOT. there is whump aplenty in there)

is the romance executed well enough for the romance people? (lol in TPOT I was allergic to Bree & Will's romance until the bitter end so this was...not really on my mind)

and the list goes on.

Thank you so much for your question. It made me think a lot!

#happy sts! #storyteller saturday #lps the queen of lies